Grammar Five English grammar topics which will help you in your learning process.
Tag Questions So, too, but, neither, not either Phrasal verbs Modals Conditionals
Ulacit
May-August
Ariel Sotela
TAG QUESTIONS According to (Birchley & Saumell, 2012, p.127) we have to “use tag questions in speech and informal writing to check information or ask for agreement”. Tag questions are generally used when we want to repeat something that we already know just in case the receiver person has forgotten it. It is a way we use to have a person’s agreement. (Birchley & Saumell, 2012, p.127) stated that “if the main clause has no auxiliary, the tag question is a form of the verb do”. For example: John Lennon sang with The Beatles, didn’t he?
We must know that if the first clause is in negative, the question clause has to be in positive and vice versa.
Examples with each pronoun I
I’m older than you, aren’t I?
You
you’re not from Rio, are you?
She
Fatima is pretty, isn’t she?
He
Tom works here, isn’t he?
It
It’s not a windy day, is it?
They
they can’t go today, can they?
You
you guys are moving, aren’t you?
We
we can live here, can’t we?
Examples with auxiliaries Such as have, do, will, can or should. You won’t be here tomorrow, will you? You’ve lived here for a long time, haven’t you? We should live here, shouldn’t we? Marina doesn’t work on Thursday, does she?
REFERENCES Birchley, S & Saumell, M (2012) p. 127. English in common. New York, United States: Publishing house, Pearson Education Inc.
At first, tag questions were quite difficult for me to understand, I knew that I had to practice making up examples to be more comfortable with this topic, then I made some index cards which I always read on my free time to review. That’s how I learned this topic… practicing!
USE OF SO, TOO, NEITHER, NOT EITHER AND BUT. At the time we are talking or writing and if we want to show contrast we use but. For example Mariana’s flu ended, but Jose’s still ill. Amy eats meat, but her boyfriend doesn’t. To express similarity we use so, too, neither or not either. For example John is a chef, and so is his sister Marie. Angelique is an engineer, and her father is too. Joanne isn’t single. Neither is brother. The police officer wasn’t kind to us. The doctor wasn’t either.
Believe it or not, I learned about this topic with a tutorial posted on YouTube. In classes we did some online practice but I didn’t understand very well, I decided to look up on internet and I found this‌ Very useful! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU8hzuiwXmo
PHRASAL VERBS It’s the combination of an adverb and a preposition. Phrasal verbs can have more than one meaning. Form: Verb + particle = phrasal verb. “Particles and prepositions look the same, but they act differently” (Bonner & Fuchs, 2006, p. 160).
Particles Prepositions of the verb.
Changes the meaning. Don’t change the meaning
Here are some examples and its different meanings. Phrasal Verb
Meaning
Example
Make up
Create
Give up
Abandon/quite
Look after
Take care of someone
Run into
Meet accidentally
Work out
Exercise
Let down
Disappoint
Maria made up a big lie to her parents. She’ll give up if she doesn’t win the race. Dania looks after her grandmother every weekend I ran into Paul yesterday at the mall. I work out every day to be healthy Luis was let down by his sister.
REFERENCES Bonner, M & Fuchs, M. (2006) p.160. Focus on grammar an integrated skills approach. New York, United States: Publishing house, Pearson Education Inc. I’m still learning the list of phrasal verbs, it’s something very extend. The phrasal verbs that I’ve learned so far are the most common ones and there are too many (that’s the good news). I always try to review them and make up sample sentences; I hope to have learned all of them by the end of this year.
MODALS We use modals to say that something is certain, not possible, to talk about abilities or strong obligations. Must/must not: Strong obligation which comes from an authority. Have to/don’t have to: Is a lack of obligation. Should/shouldn’t/ought to: Obligations or just to give advice. Should have + past participle: Is use to criticize your own or other’s person behavior in the past. Might/could/may: Past, present or future possibility. Can/can’t: General possibility, something certain. Something not possible. Examples: I must pay my bills. You don’t have to come, it’s a non-important meeting. Maria should study more if she wants the scholarship. She might be pregnant. Luis can’t have a cat, he’s allergic.
I learned how to use modals by myself. One day, I tried to make a role play as if I was a crime solver and I recreate a crime scene, supposed how everything was as a detective. It was a very funny and entertaining way to learn about modals.
CONDITIONALS Conditional zero: Always true situations. If + subject + verb in present + subject + verb in present. For example: If I sleep more than 8 hours, I feel tired all day.
Real conditional: It is used for real or possible situations. If + subject + verb in present + subject + will. For example: If you eat proteins, you will be stronger.
Unreal conditional: It is used for unreal or impossible situations. It has an imaginary result. If + subject + verb in past + subject + would/could + verb in present. For example: If you brought the assignments, you would keep the grade.
Third conditional: It is an imaginary situation in the past. If + subject + past perfect + subject + would/could + have + past participle. For example: If I had brought my assignments, I wouldn’t have lost my grade.
My learning process about conditionals was very hard. I learned this topic with all the practice we did in classes and the extra help of the picture above this comment, I have it printed next to my desk.
ACTIVITY What does it mean pick up, back up, call back, cheer up, get over, ask out, and figure out. Make a sentence using one of those. Describe your English learning process with a partner using tag questions. Imagine that you’re in a foreign country wandering around to find a historical place you’ve always wanted to know. Ask someone for the address to reach that place using modals. Make sentences of contrast and similarity using so, too, neither, but, not either. Make sentences using personal anecdotes for each one conditional.