The Easy Grammar الحلقة الرابعة

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Two-Word Verbs The term two-word verb refers to a verb and a preposition which together have a special meaning. Two-word verbs are common in informal English. Here is a list of some of these verbs. bring up To rear children; to mention a topic. call up To call on the telephone. clean up To make clean and orderly. do over To do again. drop off To leave something/ someone at a place. fill out To complete an official form. get on To enter an airplane, car, etc. give back To return an item to someone. go over To review or check carefully. hand in To submit an assignment or report. hang up To conclude a telephone conversation; to put clothes on a hanger or hook. look over To review or check carefully. look up To look for information in a reference book. pick up To get someone in a car (e.g., in a car); to take in one’s hand. put away To remove to a proper place. put on To put clothes on one’s body. put out To extinguish a cigarette, fire, etc. show up To appear, come. take off To remove clothing; to leave on a trip. take out To take someone on a date; to remove. think over To consider carefully. try on To put on clothing to see if it fits. turn in To submit an assignment, report; to go to bed. turn off To stop a machine, light, faucet. turn on To activate a machine, light, faucet. turn out To extinguish a light. turn up To increase volume or intensity. There are two categories of two-word verbs: 1.) Separable: --I handed my paper in. In separable two-word verbs, a noun or pronoun may come between the verb and preposition. 2.) Non separable: --She gets off the train. With this kind of verb, a noun or pronoun must follow the preposition. Using Gerunds A gerund is the -ing form of the verb used as a noun. Like nouns, gerunds can be subjects or objects: SUBJECT GERUND: --Playing golf is fun. OBJECT GERUND: --We're used to having a lot of fun. In the second example, the gerund having is the object of the preposition to. This pattern is fairly frequent in English. By is often used with gerunds to describe how something is done: --By calling the office, you'll be able to know what's going on. Here are a number of common verbs followed by gerunds: finish--They finished working at 6 p.m. stop--I stopped calling you at midnight. quit--They quit eating for 24 hours. avoid--You can't avoid answering the question. keep (on)--They will keep on studying. enjoy--My neighbor enjoys walking his dog. appreciate--She would appreciate hearing from you. mind--Do they mind selling their car? NOTE: Go is followed by a gerund in certain idiomatic expressions related to sports and physical activities. --Did they go shopping yesterday? --They went sailing at the lake. --We are going skiing this winter in the Rockies. Formation of -Ing Verbs There are certain rules for forming -ing verbs just as there are for the -ed forms. 1. VERBS THAT END IN -E Drop the -e and add -ing: hope-->hoping date-->dating 2. VERBS THAT END IN -Y If -y is preceded by a vowel, keep the -y: buy-->buying If -y is preceded by a consonant, keep the -y: try-->trying study-->studying 3. VERBS THAT END IN -IE Change the -ie to -y: die-->dying lie-->lying 4. VERBS THAT END IN TWO CONSONANTS Just add the -ing ending: start-->starting Verbs that end in a vowel and a consonant follow special rules. FOR ONE-SYLLABLE VERBS: 1 vowel-->2 consonants (stop--> stopping) 2 vowels-->1 consonant (dream--> dreaming) FOR TWO-SYLLABLE VERBS: 1st syllable stressed-->1 consonant (listening) 2nd syllable stressed-->2 consonants (preferring) Using A Few, Few, A Little, and Little A few and few are used with plural count nouns: --a few friends, few ideas, a few things to do, etc. A little and little are used with noncount nouns: --little money, a little rain, a little wind, etc. NOTE: Few and little give a negative idea, conveying the notion that something is largely absent: --They have very little money. --We have few options remaining. NOTE: A few and a little give a positive idea, indicating that something exists or is present: --I have a little free time today. --Do you have a few moments? Placement of Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives and adverbs are invariable in English. Adjectives always come in front of the noun they modify. Adverbs usually come after the verb they modify. ADJECTIVES: a good book an excellent dinner a fine wine a charming person a hot day an unreasonable person ADVERBS: --This newspaper is published frequently. --The Immigration Agent is speaking quickly. Indefinite and Definite Articles There is no need to worry about whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter in English. Normally, a noun is preceded by a definite article (THE) or an indefinite article (A, AN) as follows: DEFINITE ARTICLE the tourist the area the card the hotel the restaurant the people the signs INDEFINITE ARTICLE a tourist an area a card a hotel a restaurant some people some signs Note that definite articles refer to something specific, while indefinite articles refer to something non-specific. Use an in front of words beginning with vowels and some with plural nouns. Asking Questions In English, you can ask simple yes/no questions by either inverting the subject and verb or by using rising intonation: --We can change money here. (simple, declarative statement) --Can we change money here? (question with verb first) --We can change money here? (question with rising intonation) NOTE: In the case of the simple present tense, it is necessary to use a form of the verb to do as an auxiliary in making a question: --They like this bank. -->Do they like this bank? --You have a passport. -->Do you have a passport? Contractions You will want to learn how to use contractions as soon as possible. Contractions are used constantly in informal English. Examples of contracted subject/verb forms are: TO BE: I am-->I'm he is-->he's we are-->we're you are-->you're they are-->they're TO HAVE: I have-->I've we have-->we've you have-->you've they have-->they've Contractions are frequently used with compound forms of verbs, especially the progressive or continuous form of the present tense (I'm going. / We're leaving.) and the present perfect forms (I've received the letter. / They've already left.) A later lesson will deal with the compound forms of verbs in greater length. Count And Noncount Nouns Count nouns are nouns that can be counted (e.g., a book, two friends, three cars, etc.). A count noun may be preceded by a or an in the singular; it takes a final -s or -es in the plural. Noncount (or mass) nouns refer to things that cannot be counted (e.g., money, rain, snow, butter, wind, air, clothing, etc.). Noncount nouns are not preceded by a or an and have no plural form. COMMON NONCOUNT NOUNS advice weather equipment news water jewelry information music postage work money luggage Some nouns can be both count and noncount nouns: --We drank some wine. (Noncount) --We ordered three wines. (Count) (It is implicit that three different wines were ordered.) Direct and Indirect Speech In newspapers, magazines, and books, you will often see quoted or direct speech: --They said, "We have no record of this transaction." --He stated, "I don't know what happened." In spoken English, reported or indirect speech will be used instead: --They said that they had no record of this transaction. --He stated that he didn't know what happened. In reported or indirect speech, no quotation marks are used and the subject of the main clause and the dependent clause are the same. Here are some rules for tense usage in indirect speech: 1. If the main verb of the sentence is in the past (said, reported, stated, etc.), the verb in the dependent clause will also be in the past. 2. Here is a chart indicating typical transformations: QUOTED IN-->REPORTED IN simple present-->simple past present progressive-->perfect progressive present perfect-->past perfect simple past-->past perfect future-->conditional EXAMPLES: --I said, "She reads the paper everyday." -->I said she read the paper everyday. --I said, "She is reading the paper everyday." -->I said she was reading the paper.... --I said, "She has read the paper everyday." -->I said she had read the paper.... --I said, "She read the paper everyday." -->I said she had read the paper.... --I said, "She will read the paper everyday." -->I said she would read the paper.... In reported speech, an imperative will change to an infinitive. Furthermore, say will be replaced by a form of tell: --He said, "Show me your passport." -->He told me to show my passport. The Emphatic Form of the Present The third form of the present tense in English is for emphasis. When you use do as an auxiliary in an affirmative sentence, it makes the verb stronger: --Do you speak English or French? --I don't speak French, but I do speak English. --He does understand you, doesn't he?* *Do for emphasis is also used in a sentence with a tag question when you want to be sure you have the right information. Exclamations! Most exclamations in English are preceded by what or how: --What terrible weather! --How awful! What is used much more frequently than how in everyday language. Exclamations can be as brief as one or two words (What a mess!) or as long as a sentence: --What a way to end my vacation! NOTE: Don't forget that what and how are most frequently used in questions: --What did you say? --How much does it cost? Expectation and Should In a previous section, you learned how should can be used to express advisability: --The front desk clerk should give us a discount. Another way should can be used is in expressions of expectation: --They have been working hard. They should do well. (In this example, should means will probably.) The past form (should have) means that the speaker expected something that did not happen: --I haven't heard anything from them. They should have called by now Expressing Necessity: Must/Have To/Have Got To Must and have to both express necessity: --You must fill out this form. --You have to pick up Mr. Roberts. In some situations, must is more urgent or stronger than have to: --You must be here for your appointment on time. I have a busy schedule today. --You have to take another course next year. The expression have got to is similar in meaning to must and have to but is reserved for spoken English: --I have got to study more. (i.e., I must study more.) Expressing Opposition Here are some ways to show opposition when the result is the opposite of what you might expect: 1. ADVERB CLAUSES even though although though --Even though it was hot, we wore our coats. 2. CONJUNCTIONS but ... anyway but ... still yet ... still --It was cold, but we still went swimming. 3. PREPOSITIONS despite in spite of --They went skiing despite the warm temperatures. Here are words that show direct opposition: 1. ADVERB CLAUSES whereas while --Paul is tall, whereas Richard is short. --While Sue is industrious, Marie is lazy. 2. CONJUNCTION but --The travel agent is tired, but she is still working. 3. TRANSITIONS however on the other hand --Carole is beautiful, however, she doesn't dress very well. Whereas and while are used to show direct opposition; it does not make any difference which idea comes first and which second; the same rule applies for but / however / on the other hand. Forms of Other Forms of other are used as either adjectives or pronouns: SINGULAR: another book (is) another is PLURAL: other books (are) others (are) SINGULAR: the other book (is) the other (is) PLURAL: the other books (are) the others (are) Note that a final -s is used only for a plural pronoun (others). Another means one more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. Other/others (without the) refer to several more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. The other(s) has a different meaning (all that remains from a given number or specific group): --I have three apartments. Two are mine. The other is yours.