Gramlessons from 1 ==> to 5 Gramelesson 1 : Asking questions (1) -The basic rule for asking questions in English is straightforward: Invert the order of the subject and the first auxiliary verb. *It is snowing. = Is it snowing? *He can speak German. = Can he speak German? *They have lived here a long time. = Have they lived here a long time? *She will arrive at ten oclock. = Will she arrive at ten oclock? *He was driving fast. = Was he driving fast? *You have been smoking. = Have you been smoking? -If there is no auxiliary, use part of the verb to do. *You speak fluent French. = Do you speak fluent French? *She lives in Brussels. = Does she live in Brussels? *They lived in Manchester. = Did they live in Manchester? *He had an accident. = Did he have an accident? -Most questions with question words are made in the same way: *How often does she use it? *Why dont you come? *Where do you work? *How many did you buy? *What time did you go? *Which one do you like? *Whose car were you driving? -Note who , what and which can be the subject. Compare: *Who is coming to lunch? (who is the subject of the verb) *Who do you want to invite to lunch? (you is the subject of the verb) *What happened? (what is the subject of the verb) What did you do? ( you is the subject of the verb) -Note the position of the prepositions in these questions: *Who did you speak to? *What are you looking at ? *Where does he come from? Gramlessons 2 : Asking questions (2) -In the section Questions 1(last Gramlesson), we looked at how to ask direct questions. To make a question, we invert the order of the subject and the first auxiliary verb. *Where is Johnny? *Has he found it yet? -If there is no auxiliary, use part of the verb to do. For example: *What time did he arrive? *How often do you play tennis? -However, when we ask for information, we often say Do you know…? or Could you tell me….? These are indirect questions and more polite. -Note that the word order is different. For example: *Do you know where Johnny is? *Have you any idea if he has found it? -Note that we don’t use do, does or did. For example: *Could you tell me what time he arrived? *Would you mind telling me how often you play tennis? -Use if or whether when there is no question word. *Has he done it? = Do you know if he has done it? *Is it ready? = Can you tell me if it is ready? -The same changes in word order happen when we report questions. Note that in reported questions, the verb changes to the past: *What are you doing? = He asked me what I was doing. *What have you done about it? = He asked me what I had done about it. *Do you work with Pamela? = He asked me if I worked with Pamela. Gramlessons 3 :Question tags -We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a comment and so keep the conversation open. Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag. *Its beautiful, isnt it? *He has been, hasnt he? *You can, cant you? *It must be, mustnt it? *You know him, don’t you? *He finished it, didnt he? *He will come, wont he? *It isnt very good, is it? *It hasnt rained, has it? *It cant be, can it? *Jenny doesnt know James, does she? *They didnt leave, did they? *He won’t do it, will he? -Notice these: *There isnt an ATM here, is there? *Lets have a cup of coffee, shall we? -To reply, use the same auxiliary: *Its beautiful, isnt it? ~ Yes, it is. I think its fabulous. *It isnt very good, is it? ~ No, it isnt. In fact, its terrible. -Although, the rules are very simple and mechanical, in order to use them easily in conversation, they have to be automatic. So you need to hear and practice them very often. Gramlessons 4 : May or Might *May* -We can use may to ask for permission. However this is rather formal and not used very often in modern spoken English. *May I borrow your pen? *May we think about it? *May I go now? -We use may to suggest something is possible. *It may rain later today. *I may not have time to do it today. *Pete may come with us. *Might* -We use might to suggest a small possibility of something. Often we read that might suggests a smaller possibility that may, there is in fact little difference and might is more usual than may in spoken English. *She might be at home by now but its not sure at all. *It might rain this afternoon. *I might not have time to go to the shops for you. *I might not go. -For the past, we use might have. *He might have tried to call while I was out. *I might have dropped it in the street. Gramlessons 5 : Had better -We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice. Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give advice about the present or future. *Youd better tell her everything. *Id better get back to work. *Wed better meet early. The negative form is “had better not”. *Youd better not say anything. *Id better not come. *Wed better not miss the start of his presentation. -We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use “should”. *You should brush your teeth before you go to bed. *I shouldnt listen to negative people. *He should dress more appropriately for the office. -When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use “should”. *You shouldnt say anything. *I should get back to work. *We should meet early. -However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the advice is not followed, that something bad will happen. *Youd better do what I say or else you will get into trouble. *Id better get back to work or my boss will be angry with me. *Wed better get to the airport by five or else we may miss the flight.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 02:01:44 +0000
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