Verbs
A bus stops and the side door opens. As a passenger gets off, a dog makes a spontaneous decision and jumps onto the bus. If we could have read the dog's thoughts, they might have been:
"I'm tired. Why should I walk home?
I think I _____________ (TAKE) the bus!"
...I think I WILL TAKE the bus!"
Which position(s) can 'daily' occur in?
(A) Jack (B) calls (C) his mother (D).
D only – definite frequency adverbials are NOT used in front or mid position and no adverbs can occur between a verb and its object
Restate the following sentence as reported speech:
Jane told Mary, "Don’t give Jim any money! He'll just gamble it away."
Jane told Mary not to give Jim any money because he would (he'd) just gamble it away.
What are the theme and the subject
in the sentence below?
"After his last class Jack used to go out for a drink with friends."
Theme: After his last class
Subject: Jack
Correct the error in this passage:
He had never been to Paris, but he thought he would enjoy visiting the parks in the spring, and he was sure he would love very much the French wine.
... love THE FRENCH WINE VERY MUCH.
Which verb form is used for performatives – things that are realized as one says them?
Also give an example sentence.
simple present
Example sentences will vary, e.g. I promise to work hard.
Which of the suggested completions is most apropriate?
"The gazelle ran ___ , hoping that the lion would grow _____ with time."
A. more and more quickly … more slowly
B. more and more fast … more slow
C. more quickly and more quickly … slowlier
D. faster and faster … slower
D: The gazelle ran FASTER AND FASTER, hoping that the lion would grow SLOWER with time.
When writing about Richard Clayderman’s upcoming 2019 concert in Glasgow, a Glasgow Life reporter used the subjunctive form 'be':
"To mark the 40th anniversary of his music career, the French pianist has insisted that he be accompanied by a local string section from Glasgow for his only UK concert date in 2019."
What is the MOST LIKELY reason that the reporter used the subjunctive?
A. He wanted to emphasize that the Glasgow string section will not accompany the pianist.
B. He was emphasizing his belief that being accompanied by Glasgow's string section was very important to the pianist
C. He used the subjunctive 'be' to indicate the statement is reported speech, much as in German.
B. He was emphasizing his belief that being accompanied by Glasgow's string section was very important to the pianist
Which kind of coherence chain does the following passage illustrate?
"My dog chased off two foxes that had found their way into the garden. I had noticed that several of my chickens had disappeared. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess what happened to them."
A. simple linear progression
B. continuous progression
C. hypertheme
D. split rheme
E. none of the above
E - none of the above: Neither of the later themes ('I' and 'it') have a referent in the sentence before them
Correct the two errors in this passage (one per sentence):
"America has now more trees than it did a century ago. Most of its forest ecosystems are now more young and less developed than they were before European settlement."
America NOW HAS more trees...
Most of its forest ecosystems are now YOUNGER...
Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses.
Jack asked Jane, "Do you remember ___________ (LEARN) about tense and aspect? I don't."
Jane answered, "I do. Maybe you just 'forgot' _______ (COME) to class that week."
LEARNING .... TO COME
Sentence A has two passive forms; B only has one.
A. The teenager threw the beggar some coins.
B. The teenager called the beggar a bum.
Give all three passive forms, and then explain why the 4th passive form doesn't exist.
For A: The beggar was thrown some coins by the teenager.
& Some coins were thrown to the beggar by the teenager.
For B: The beggar was called a bum by the teenager.
'a bum' cannot be passivized in B because it is a complement, not an object.
Restate the following quote as reported speech:
Sue asked herself, "Why do I always end up cleaning up everything in our flat? John should do more around here – starting now."
Sue asked herself why she always ended up cleaning up everything in their flat. She added that John should do more around there – starting then."
Which sounds more coherent – A or B? Explain why.
A. The man put his dinner on the table. Under the table was a hopeful dog.
B. The man put his dinner on the table. A hopeful dog was under the table.
A because it exhibits simple linear progression: "... the table" in the theme of the second sentence (under the table) refers to the same table mentioned in the rheme of the first sentence.
The theme in B (a hopeful dog) is not mentioned anywhere at all in the first sentence.
What is wrong with this sentence?
"After working through the night, a short nap is what I always need."
Explain the error & correct it by changing the bold part.
Error: It has a dangling participle – the fronted ing-clause gets its subject from the main clause after it, but that is wrong (a nap was not working all night)
Correction: After working through the night, I always need a short nap.
Explain the difference in meaning between Tom’s and Sam’s behavior (and what the speaker thinks about it).
A. Tom can't have gone out drinking – he has an exam tonight.
B. Sam shouldn't have gone out drinking – he has an exam tonight.
In A, 'can't have' expresses the speaker's certainty that Tom would not go out drinking before his exam
In B, 'shouldn't have' expresses the speaker's disapproval that Sam went out drinking before his exam
Put these 4 adjectives...
fishing – old – sad-looking – wooden
in their neutral order to modify 'shack' in:
"The hermit lived in a ... shack."
The hermit lived in a sad-looking old wooden fishing shack.
Look at X and Y. Which has a subjunctive in the that-clause?
X. Jill insisted that Jack leave the party before midnight.
Y. Jill insisted that Jack left the party before midnight.
Now give a paraphrase for the different meanings of insisted in X and Y.
DO NOT EXPLAIN THE THAT CLAUSE!
X contains a subjective form
In X, insisted means 'ordered' / 'demanded' / 'told'
In Y, insisted means 'reiterated' / 'repeated' / 'stood by' an opinion/belief
Consider this sentence:
"The old man sat on a bench in the park."
Add a sentence that forms a coherence chain by simple linear progression.
Answers will vary, e.g. SITTING THERE was so relaxing (or) THE BENCH was near a fountain. (or) THE PARK was so peaceful.
Correct the three errors in this passage:
The young practical bride-to-be need not to limit her purchases to wedding wear. At Target, she can choose buying her wedding dress, a nice new TV, and a shovel all in the same order!"
The PRACTICAL YOUNG bride-to-be NEED NOT LIMIT (or DOESN'T NEED TO) limit... At Target, she can chose TO BUY...
Which sounds 'better' and why?
A. A cat sleeps under a tree. Suddenly a baby bird is falling out of its nest and landing right in front of the cat.
B. A cat is sleeping under a tree. Suddenly a baby bird falls out of its nest and lands right in front of the cat.
B sounds better because the background situation/state is in the progressive and the quick sequence of events/actions in the foreground are in the simple present.
First, complete sentence adding these adverbials in their neutral order:
'this morning' – 'with great care ' – 'next to the fence'
"She planted the roses ..."
Then tell us something that YOU did with great difficulty... Include adverbials for when and where you did it. USE NEUTRAL ORDER FOR YOUR ADVERBIALS
She planted the roses with great care next to the fence this morning.
Examples will vary, e.g. I did my homework with great difficulty at my parent's house last night
Fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms
I have been meaning ... (GET) a new computer, but I keep ... (FORGET) ... (DO) so. Mine just crashed again, which means ... (REWRITE) my homework from scratch. I need ... (STOP) ... (PUT) off that purchase.
I have been meaning TO GET a new computer, but I keep FORGETTING TO DO so. Mine just crashed again, which means REWRITING my homework from scratch. I need TO STOP PUTTING off that purchase.
Consider this sentence pair:
"The beggar doesn't much like noisy dogs or children. He LIKES peace and quiet."
What kind of chain is that?
Now change the second sentence into a pseudocleft sentence that brings LIKES into the theme position: What he likes is peace and quiet
What kind of chain results?
original: Simple linear progression (second sentence theme 'He' refers first sentence theme 'The beggar')
with pseudocleft: Continuous progression (second sentence theme 'What he likes' refers to part of first sentence rheme 'doesn't much like...'
Correct the FIVE errors in this passage (one per sentence):
"Film star Dorothy Gibson managed surviving the Titanic disaster. After narrowly escaping death at sea, Gibson was the first of the world to write a film script about the disaster. Rarely stars get a chance to portray their own life dramas. Gibson even got to wear the very same dress in the film that she had worn that night – a white silk lovely gown. Sadly, all copies of the film were destroyed in 1914 in a studio fire."
Film star Dorothy Gibson managed TO SURVIVE the Titanic disaster. After narrowly escaping death at sea, Gibson was the first IN the world to write a film script about the disaster. Rarely DO STARS GET (or: STARS RARELY GET) a chance to portray their own life dramas. Gibson even got to wear the very same dress in the film that she had worn that night – a LOVELY white silk gown. Sadly, all copies of the film were destroyed IN A STUDIO FIRE IN 1914.