Grammar Points
Every week, Mr Micawber adds a new language point here for you to think about!
(Courtesy of An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage by Leech, Cruikshank and Ivanic)
YES and YEAH
Yes is a word for giving an affirmative answer to questions, etc.
Yeah is more casual and less 'correct' than yes, but it is actually more frequent in conversation. Just be careful not to use it in formal relationships.
Friend: Did you enjoy the meal? - You: Yeah, I sure did!
Boss: Did you enjoy the meal? - You: Yes, I certainly did!
WONDER
1. Wonder (verb) introduces an indirect question: subject + wonder + if/whether/what/etc.
I wonder if anyone phoned while I was out? - Yes, Jack did. He was wondering what you were doing tonight.
2. I + wonder + if/whether introduces a polite request. It uses the unreal past tense.
I wonder if you'd mind mending this tape. I was wondering whether you would like to see a movie tonight.
WISHING ABOUT THE PAST
You cannot change the past, so you can only wish (with regret) about things which did not happen, hence unreal events. So the structure is: noun + wish + 'that' clause containing past perfect verb.
I wish (that) I had finished university; then I could get a good job.
Do you ever wish (that) you'd remained single instead of getting married?
He always wished that he had become an astronaut.
WHILE (and WHILST)
While introduces an adverbial clause of time.
While means 'during the time that X', where X is an action or state that is not instantaneous but lasts for a short or long period of time.
While is often followed by the progressive form of the verb ('be + -ing').
While they were dancing, someone took their photograph.
You can talk to me while I'm brushing my teeth.
While does not always refer to time; it is also used to link two contrasting ideas: Twenty-five percent felt that taxes should be raised, while 75% said they should not.
Whilst is a much older and rare form of while.
VERBLESS CLAUSES
A verbless clause is a clause with no verb. It is called a clause because it has the meaning of a clause, and because it can have elements like subject, complement, object, and adverbial, as other clauses do.
Some examples of verbless main clauses:
How about a cup of tea?
Sorry about the mistake.
What lovely weather!
Off with his head!
Some examples of verbless subordinate clauses:
If in doubt, contact your local agency.
Tired and hungry after their long hike, the trekkers rested on the riverbank.
Once inside the building, the police quickly captured the robber.
USED TO and BE USED TO
Used to + bare infinitive verb form refers to a past situation or habit. It is always past tense; there is no present form: I used to work in Fujisawa. When I lived there, I used to visit Enoshima often.
Be used to + -ing verb form: 'used' is an adjective meaning 'accustomed', and 'to' is a preposition. Its tense depends on the verb 'be': I was used to driving a lot when I lived in LA. Now I'm more used to taking the train.
UNIT NOUNS or 'COUNTERS'
Unit nouns are words like piece and item which allow us to divide uncountable nouns into countable segments or units: a piece of cake/chicken/toast/paper/advice.
We use different unit nouns for different uncountable nouns, but some (like piece and bit) are used more generally: a bit of cheese/cloth/trouble/fun/dust/rope/etc.
Others are very specific: a loaf of bread, a bar of soap, a lock of hair.
Of course, we can also use these unit nouns in the plural: 'Two lumps of sugar, please.'
ONCE, TWICE & THRICE
We usually say 'once' instead of 'one time' and 'twice' instead of 'two times':
I've been to Kyoto only once.
I've told you twice now to stop eating with your fingers!
But 'thrice', meaning 'three times', is very seldom used nowadays, and sounds quite old-fashioned. It is a word whose meaning you should know, but you will probably never need to use it.
TOWARD(S)
Toward(s) means 'in the direction of':
The train was headed toward(s) Odawara.
When Muslims pray, they face toward(s) Mecca.
It will rain toward(s) evening tomorrow.
You can use either form of the word.
SOME POINTS ABOUT INFINITIVES
The to-infinitive form of a verb consists of 'to' (the infinitive marker) and the basic or dictionary form of the verb: to run, to eat, to prognosticate. I like to eat spaghetti.
The bare infinitive form of a verb is the dictionary form without 'to': run, eat, prognosticate. He helped us eat the spaghetti.
When we make an infinitive negative, we put 'not' before 'to': We are sorry not to have met the Dalai Lama.
When we link two infinitives with 'and' or 'or', we can omit the second 'to': He never wants to eat or drink before his tennis matches.
There are many verbal idioms containing the to-infinitive: able to, be going to, have (got) to, ought to, used to.
THAT (INTRODUCING RELATIVE CLAUSES)
'That' (= 'who' or 'which') introduces defining or restrictive relative clauses: The painting that I bought is on the table.
We can usually omit 'that', and often do so in speech: The painting I bought is on the table.
However, we CANNOT omit 'that' if it is the SUBJECT of the relative clause: The gallery that sold it to me said it was by Picasso.
STATE (STATIVE) VERBS and EVENT (ACTIVE) VERBS
State verbs describe conditions which exist over a period, e.g. be, believe, consider, know, like, want, wonder.
Event verbs describe an action that happens in a limited time and has a definite beginning and end, e.g. ask, come, get, give, learn, say, take, tell.
State verbs usually don't have a progressive form– (X) I am believing your story– but many of them can appear in progressive when they are describing an immediate action or process: You are being rude!
SOMETIMES and SOMETIME
Sometimes (= on some occasions; occasionally) is an adverb of frequency. It usually goes in front or middle position in the sentence: Sometimes I eat dinner in a restaurant.
Sometime (= an unspecified time in the future) is an adverb of time. It usually goes at the end of the sentence: Let's have dinner together sometime.
SOME
In natural English, 'some' replaces 'a/an' when we are talking either about more than one thing or about something that we cannot count:
I found an egg.
I found some eggs.
(X) I found eggs.-- This is not a natural sentence in most contexts.
Some grammarians look at 'some' as the plural indefinite article. That is, while the definite article is 'the' for both singular and plural (the cat, the cats), 'some' is the plural indefinite article (a cat, some cats).
SINCE and FOR
Since is followed by a point reference of time while for is followed by a phrase indicating a length of time, but both words generally govern a present perfect verb form:
I have lived in Japan since 1990. (a point in time)
I have lived in Japan for twenty years. (a length of time)
SHALL
Shall is used mainly in questions with Shall I? or Shall we?
Shall is rather rare in British English and very rare in American English.
Shall I/we? is used in making offers in British English: Shall I turn on the air-conditioner?
Shall we? is a way of making a suggestion about the future: Let's go out for dinner, shall we?
Shall I/we? is a way of asking for advice: What shall we do this afternoon?
Shall is also used for formal instructions: All students shall wear the approved school uniform.
In an older or more formal kind of English, shall is sometimes used instead of will in statements. Some people feel that it is not correct to use will after I or we in statements about the future, especially in writing, so they use I/we shall instead. You will often find shall used in this way in English written before c. 1950: I shall arrive next Monday.
RELATIVE CLAUSES
A relative clause adds information about one of the nouns in a main clause.
The relative clause goes immediately after the noun it relates to: My boss, who is very demanding, asked me to work overtime again.
The relative pronoun goes at the beginning of the relative clause: The girl whose bag was stolen has gone to the police station.
The relative pronouns are: WHO, WHOM, WHOSE, WHICH and THAT.
The relative pronoun can be omitted unless it is the subject of the relative clause: The girl (whom) I like has left the class. But: The dog that ate the bone got sick.
THE POSITIONS OF PREPOSITIONS
As its name tells us, a preposition is normally 'placed before' a noun phrase, but sometimes the preposition goes at the end of a clause or sentence. The preposition at the end is common in speech and informal writing: Who is she working for? Some people think it is more correct to put the preposition at the front of the clause: For whom is she working? However, this is common only in very formal writing. In general, do not be afraid to put the preposition at the end.
THE THIRD WAY
In addition to the '-s' possessive and the 'of' possessive, there is a third, more natural way to show a close relation (possession, location) between two nouns. This is simply to place one noun before the other:
The city buses (not "city's buses") always run on time.
Teacher training (not "teachers' training") is very important for our educational system.
A SPECIAL PATTERN WITH THE POSSESSIVE
1. Sometimes we use the possessive '-s' plus the possessive 'of' pattern together (Y of X's): a friend of my mother's, some books of James's. We use this mixed pattern particularly when X is a person, when Y has an indefinite meaning, and when Y is something belonging to X.
The value of this form is obvious when we look at sentences like this: I have my mother's picture vs I have a picture of my mother vs I have a picture of my mother's.
POLITENESS
The general rule is: The more words you use, the more polite you are. This is how a sentence gets more polite:
ORDER: The door!
IMPERATIVE: Close the door.
IMPERATIVE + 'PLEASE': Please close the door.
QUESTION FORM: Can you (please) close the door?
QUESTION FORM + EXPLANATION: Can you close the door, please? I'm cold.
TENTATIVE FORM: Could you close the door, please? Would you mind closing the door?
EXTRA POLITE: I wonder if you'd mind closing the door, please.
OBJECT PRONOUNS AS SUBJECTS
There are three situations where the object pronoun is often used although it is the subject in terms of meaning:
(1) After 'than' or 'as' in comparisons: They work longer hours than us.
(2) In replies without a verb: 'I'm feeling very tired' - 'Me too.'
(3) As a complement after the verb 'be': 'Is that the Prime Minister?' - 'Yes, that's him.'
In all three cases, the subject pronoun ('we', 'I', 'he') is uncommon and quite formal, even though some people think it is correct. The object pronoun is much more common.
Or, you can use the subject pronoun + verb: They work longer hours than we do.
'NUMBER' IN TWO PHRASES
A number of + plural noun = several, a few, some:
A number of people have asked me to speak at the meeting.
The number of + plural noun = a single figure:
The number of people in Japan is decreasing.
NONE
When none means 'not any of it' (uncountable), we use a singular verb: None (of this bread) looks fresh.
When none means 'not any of them' (countable), we often use a plural form of the verb: None (of these apples) are ripe.
NEGATIVE TRANSFER
(i) I think (that) Mary takes sugar.
To make the 'that'-clause in sentence (i) negative, we can say either (ii) or (iii):
(ii) I think (that) Mary doesn't take sugar.
(iii) I don't think (that) Mary takes sugar.
Sentences (ii) and (iii) have the same meaning, but (iii) transfers the negativity to the main clause. We call this 'negative transfer', and we prefer it to the ordinary negative in (ii). Negative transfer takes place with verbs like think, believe, expect, etc.
HAVE TO, HAVE GOT TO and MUST
'Have (got) to' and 'must' have similar meanings and are often used synonymously:
You have to / have got to / must pass this test if you want to enter the program.
However, 'must' has no past tense, where it is replaced by 'have to':
Where's the post office? I have to / must mail this letter.
Where have you been? - I was at the post office. I had to post that letter.
LOOK AT, SEE and WATCH
See is the most common verb: it is normally followed by an object, and it just means the accidental action. 'I see it's raining!'
Look at means 'using your eyes for a purpose'. It is a planned action: 'I looked at the strange man carefully'.
Watch is used when we look at something (happening or moving) over a period of time: 'We watched the movie on TV last night'.