Grammar in general Flashcards
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
I prefer to get killed by a bear than to put up with this insanity!
Robert Kaspar is correct in pointing out that “prefer X **than **Y” is incorrect. The standard form is “prefer X **to **Y.” However, there is also the standard from “prefer to do X.” In this sentence the two forms come together and clash with each other. There are two ways to resolve this problem.
One way is to use “rather than” along the lines suggested by Brandon Cork (but without the second “to” and no comma):
I’d prefer to be killed by a bear rather than put up with this insanity!
The other way is to avoid the use of “prefer” altogether” (as suggested by Karen Tiede):
I’d rather be killed by a bear **than put **up with this insanity!
I would recommend the second as the more concise and natural way to express the sentiment contained in the sentence. The word “prefer” is not strong enough to express the sense of outrage that the speaker is feeling. (Compare: “I’d rather die than betray a friend!”)
Some other points:
“Would” is necessary because the speaker is expressing an **imaginary **(or hypothetical) rather than a real situation. Without the use of “would” the sentence would imply that the speaker has **actually **been given two choices (being killed by a bear and putting up with the “insanity”) and asked to choose one. (Compare: “I prefer the one on the left to the one on the right.”)
“Be” is necessary (rather than “get”) because “get” implies an accidental occurrence. (Compare: “His shoulder got dislocated in the fight.”)
Losers / defeat collocations and expressions
Recently on this blog we looked at the idioms and collocations that we use to describe winning. Sadly, for every winner, there is a loser so this week, we’re looking at a set of less happy phrases – those that we use to describe losing.
Starting with the verb ‘lose’ itself, note that one person or side loses **to **another person or side: They lost to Liverpool on Saturday.
Moving on to the much used word ‘defeat’, a person or team that loses may be said to suffer defeat: England suffered defeat in their World Cup opener. If they lose by many goals or points, the result may be described as a crushing defeat, a humiliating defeat or even a resounding defeat: Van Gaal’s side suffered a humiliating defeat in the second round of the League Cup on Tuesday./This was a crushing defeat for the reigning champion. When, on the other hand, a person or team loses by very few goals or points, the result is sometimes described as a narrow defeat: United experienced a narrow defeat to Lucena in their opening game in Marbella. The phrase be narrowly defeated is also often used: The reserve side were narrowly defeated on Saturday in a pre-season run out against City.
‘Concede’ is a useful verb in the context of losing. To concede a goal/point, is to allow the opposing player or side to score a goal or point against you: Amazingly, Newcastle conceded three goals within the first eighteen minutes. ‘Outplay’ is another useful verb. If a player or side is outplayed, they are defeated because their opponent(s) performed more cleverly and successfully: Captain Ben Evans admitted that his side were **outplayed **by India.
Not surprisingly, a number of the more informal phrases used to describe very easy defeats sound quite violent: For example, a person or side may be said **to take **or get a thumping or **take **or get a hammering: Team USA took a thumping from Costa Rica./They got a hammering in their next match. Similarly, the phrases take a battering and **take **or get a drubbing are used to mean the same thing: They **got a drubbing **at Old Trafford earlier in the season, losing 7-1.
And finally, a couple of nouns to describe very easy defeats. A game or sports event that one person or side wins very easily may be described as a walkover, (also US walkaway): They may well win, but it certainly won’t be a walkover for them. A whitewash, meanwhile, is a game or sports event in which the losing person or side scores nothing: In the event, the match ended in a whitewash for City.
Well, I hope you won’t need to use any of the above phrases to describe your favourite sportsperson’s or team’s performance when they next play!
Victory! (Winning words)
When a person or team succeeds in winning a game or competition, they may be said to gain avictory over their opponent(s): The Welsh side gained a victory over their rivals. Another way of saying this is that the game ends in triumph for one side: The game ended in triumph for Argentina. If they win with ease, they are sometimes said to cruise to victory: Juventus were never really in trouble as they cruised to victory over their Spanish rivals. An individual or side that cruises to victory may also be said to run rings around their opponents or (informal) wipe the floor with them: United rang rings around/wiped the floor with City. A victory in which the winning person or team is very much better than their opponent may be called a convincing win/victory or a comfortable win/victory: United began their tour with a convincing victory over LA Galaxy./Murray warmed up for Wimbledon with a comfortable victory over his opponent.
- In informal UK English*, a person or team may be said to play a blinder when they perform particularly well: Midfielder, Johnny Jones, played a blinder of a game. Another way of saying this is that they did not put a foot wrong: Another brilliant performance from this young defender – he didn’t put a foot wrong from start to finish. A person or team that wins everything that can be won in a set of sports competitions may be said to make a clean sweep or sweep the board: Guyanamade a clean sweep of the team titles at the Shooting Championships. /Guyana swept the board.
- In a sporting or a work context*, we may talk about reaching the heights, meaning ‘achieving the highest level of success’: It wasn’t until he was in his early thirties that he reached the heights of his golfing career. (We may use the phrase dizzy heights, to sarcastically refer to a level that we don’t really believe is impressive: In the next tournament, we reached the dizzy heights of the quarter finals.) Similarly, we may say that someone is at the peak of their career or has reached the pinnacle of their career, meaning that they have achieved as much as anyone could in that profession: He was now captain of the national side and had reached the pinnacle of his career.
Whoever you support, may their games or competitions all end in triumph as they cruise effortlessly to victory!
Must / Have to / need to
Have to/Need to
The first thing to say is that if we want to talk about something that it is necessary to do, ‘have to’ and ‘need to’, (followed by the infinitive of the main verb), generally sound correct and natural:
- You have to/need to be there for eight o’clock.
- I have to/need to get some money out.
- You have to/need to get a form from the office.
Must
‘Must’ is also used to talk about what is necessary, though it can sound *urgent *in a way that ‘have to’ and ‘need to’ generally do not. People often use ‘must’ to say that it is necessary that they themselves do something. They are reminding themselves to do a very important thing:
- I **must **call my mum tonight!
- I **must **remember to pay Emily for the ticket!
Another use of ‘must’, (often in speech), is when we suggest very strongly that someone we know well should do something, often because we know they will like it, or be helped by it. We are recommending something to someone, or advising them, but in a very definite way:
- It’s a brilliant movie – you **must **see it, Tom.
- Ooh, you **must **try this chicken – it’s delicious!
- You look so tired, Lucy. You **must **get some rest!
When ‘must’ is used to talk about a rule or standard that is necessary, it is likely to be in an official context:
- All participants **must **be 21 or older.
- Applicants **must **have a strong command of the English language.
- Meat **must **be cooked thoroughly.
Past and future tenses
Note that ‘must’ can only be used in the present tense. To talk about something necessary in the past or the future, use ‘have to’ or ‘need to’:
- I **had to **catch the train so I left early.
- You will need to tell Jim.
‘Must not’ or ‘do not have/need to’?
Remember that these negative forms of ‘must’ and ‘have to/need to’ mean something completely different. Must not is used for talking about something that it is necessary *not *to do:
- We must not forget our past.
- We really **mustn’t **miss that train!
- You **mustn’t **tell Alice – she would be so upset.
The negative form of ‘have/need to’, (not have/need to), is used for saying that there is no need to do something. We can do that thing if we want to, but it is not necessary:
- There will be food at the party so we don’t have/need to bring any.
- You can come if you like, but you don’t have/need to.
Do I have to?/Must I?
To form a question with ‘have to’ and ‘need to’, we use the auxiliary verb, ‘do’:
- **Do **you have to pay for the service?
- **Does **Maria need to buy a ticket in advance?
‘Must’ can also be used in a question form, (‘Must I …?’/Must we …?’) but it is less common and sounds quite formal:
- (formal) Must we all attend?
Have to and have got to
Note that British speakers of English often say have got to instead of ‘have to’. When speaking, they usually abbreviate the ‘have’ part:
- I’ve got to (= I have got to) finish this essay this afternoon.
Note that ‘have got to’ can only be used in the present tense.
Highly delighted, bitterly disappointed, ridiculously cheap: adverbs for emphasis.
We often make adjectives stronger by putting an adverb in front of them. The most common ones are **very **and, for a stronger meaning, extremely:
- He was very pleased.
- The ship is extremely large.
However, we don’t use very or extremely for adjectives that already have a strong meaning, for example* fantastic, delighted, huge, furious.* For these, the most common adverb is absolutely. **Utterly **is even stronger, and is usually used for adjectives with a negative meaning:
- This apartment is absolutely perfect for us.
- At the end of the day, I was utterly exhausted.
Really is slightly informal, and used both with strong adjectives and other adjectives:
- Your shoes are really dirty.
- Her bedroom is really tiny.
If you want to show that something surprises you, you can use surprisingly, or, for more emphasis, amazingly or incredibly:
- The food was surprisingly good.
- It was incredibly difficult to get a ticket.
To emphasize how bad something is, you can use terribly. **Dreadfully **and awfullyare used in the same way, but sound slightly more formal:
- She was terribly upset.
- We were dreadfully late for the meeting.
You may be surprised to learn that terribly and *awfully *can also be used with positive adjectives in a rather formal way:
- We were terribly relieved.
- That’s awfully kind of you.
**Highly **and **hugely **are also slightly formal. They are usually used most often with positive adjectives:
- It’s a highly successful company.
- This issue is hugely important to us.
However, note that if you hear someone say that a person will be highly delighted, they are almost certainly being *sarcastic *(saying the opposite of what they really mean):
- You’ve lost your coat again? Your mum will be highly delighted to hear that.
You can use **ridiculously **if you want to emphasize that something is not reasonable:
- These clothes are ridiculously expensive.
- The portions are ridiculously small.
Some adjectives are very often used with a particular adverb, and you need to learn these combinations. Here are a few useful ones:
- **bitterly **cold/disappointed
- highly likely/unlikely
- **heavily **pregnant
- **blindingly **obvious
- **seriously **ill/injured
- **badly **damaged
More advanced students can improve the range and style of their English by listening out for or even inventing more interesting combinations. For example, while it is fine to describe the sun as extremely hot, or a lecture as very boring, it would be very impressive to produce **blisteringly **hot or mind-numbingly boring.
Describing emotion with metaphors of heigh
Metaphor **is when we use the word for one thing to describe the characteristics of another. For example, if we say ‘This city is a jungle’, we mean that the city is a wild and dangerous place.
That is a clear and obvious example of metaphor, but there are metaphorical ideas that are so common in our language that we hardly notice them. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson wrote about this in their famous book Metaphors We Live By. They say that these ideas are so much a part of our language that they actually affect the way we think and behave.
In this blog I want to look at one example – using words connected with height to describe happiness and depth to describe sadness. Lakoff and Johnson call this an orientational metaphor, meaning that it describes position in space.
To begin with, we often use simple height adjectives for emotion. We can say that someone is feeling a bit **down **or low. Even the word depressed comes from the literal meaning of being pushed down.
The phrase up and down is interesting – although it would seem to mean ‘sometimes happy and sometimes sad’, it is in fact used to indicate that someone is having a difficult time:
- He’s been a bit up and down since his wife left him.
It is possible, but less common, to use **up **on its own to mean happy, though high usually implies that someone has taken drugs. However, these words are used in other phrases in similar ways to down and low:
- They are in high spirits this morning.
- We sang a song to keep our spirits up.
We often use verbs connected with movement up or down to talk about emotion:
- His spirits rose/fell when he heard the news.
- The captain tried to raise the morale of the team.
- The music helped to lift our mood.
- It was difficult not to sink into despair.
There are several colourful idioms that use the idea of being very high up to express happiness, for example over the moon, on top of the world, walking on air, and on cloud nine (the number nine is said by some to come from a meteorologist’s classification of a very high type of cloud).
At the other end of the scale, we have at a low ebb, in the depths of despair, and down in the dumps. And the most unhappy people of all have hit rock bottom.
How to Improve your IELTS Writing Score in 4 Steps
Step 1. Are you answering the question?
This might sound like a silly question, but a lot of candidates in the IELTS test do not answer the question properly. The first criterion that the examiner is looking at is ‘Task Achievement’. This means ‘Did this student answer the question correctly and fully?’ You need to understand what the question is asking you to do before you start writing. There are several types of question, and you must be able to understand all of them. Just writing in general about the topic of the question will lose you marks, if you don’t do what the question asks.
Here are some examples of the common types of question:
i) The ‘To what extent do you agree?’ question.
Here you are given a point of view or an opinion and are asked how much you agree with it. Be careful! There might be 2 opinions, so you will have to give your opinion on both of them. An example might be:
- Globalisation allows trade and the spread of technology between countries, but it also means that national traditions and customs are lost forever. To what extent do you agree with the above?
It is tempting to answer this question by listing all the advantages and disadvantages to globalisation. If you did this, you would not be answering the question, and so would lose marks in Task Achievement. You must say how much you agree with the statement. You can completely agree or disagree, or you might agree with part of it but disagree with the other part. However, you must give your opinion and reasons for it.
ii) The ‘problem solution’ or discussion question.
In this type of question you are given a problem. You might be asked to say what the causes are, and to suggest some solutions. For example:
- Pollution in cities is an increasing problem today. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?
There are 2 parts to this question – causes and solutions. You must write about both. The language that you will need in this type of question is quite specific. To state causes you can say:
“causes…”, “is caused by…”, “results in”, “is the result of”
Solutions can be made using:
“the government/people should…”, “if people did X, then….”, “By doing X, we would/could…”
iii) The argument question
With this question you are given a statement with maybe 2 sides, and asked to give your opinion on it. That is, you should say which side is the best, or to state the advantages and disadvantages. It is good advice to make your argument balanced. This means you need to look at both sides of the problem and discuss them equally. You can give your opinion at the end, or make it clear in each paragraph. An example of this kind of question is:
- Nowadays, many students decide to go abroad to study in a foreign university. While there are a lot of benefits in doing this, there are also some drawbacks. What are the main advantages and disadvantages to studying abroad?
You could answer this question by listing a few advantages to studying abroad, and then listing the disadvantages in the next paragraph. This is fine, but what about mixing them up? Start with an advantage followed by a related disadvantage in the same paragraph. For example:
- “One advantage to going to a foreign country to study is that the student will learn a new language. […] However, it takes a great deal of time and money to get your language level up to the required standard…”
This organisation produces a much more interesting essay. Spare a thought for the poor examiner who has to read hundreds of essays on the same topic. Give him/her a different, more interesting essay structure, and you just might score a few more marks.
Once you have understood the question, you must make your position on the question clear, and present developed and extended ideas. Give reasons for your answers, and use examples to help explain what you mean and to extend your ideas. Every question tells you to support your answer with examples and relevant evidence, but students often forget to do this. This leads us nicely onto the next step.
Step 2. Does your essay make sense?
The next criterion the examiner uses when marking your essay is ‘Coherence and Cohesion’. What, I can hear you say, do they mean?
‘Coherence’ is about how logical your essay is. Have you used paragraphs? Is there a progression from one paragraph to the next? Is the information in the paragraphs arranged logically? Each paragraph should have a topic sentence that introduces the topic of the paragraph. The other sentences must logically develop that subject and should not introduce another topic.
‘Cohesion’ is like the glue that sticks your sentences together. There should be a flow from one sentence to the next so you need to use some cohesive devices like ‘however’, ‘in addition’, ‘because’, ‘as a result’, etc. However, be careful of overusing cohesive devices. If you use too many, it will seem unnatural. Another thing the examiner is looking for is referencing words. These are words which you use to refer back (or forwards) to other words. Here are two examples:
i) While it has many clear benefits, it is obvious that globalisation also brings problems.
Here ‘it’ refers forwards to ‘globalisation’.
ii) One of the advantages to studying abroad is mastering a new language. This skill will be of great benefit to the student for the rest of their life both in work and outside.
‘This skill’ refers back to ‘mastering a new language’.
We’re half way there now. The next 2 steps are the ones you probably think most about when doing an essay. They are just as important as the steps above.
Step 3. Have you used a range of vocabulary?
In order to score highly in the ‘lexical resource’ criterion, you need to use a variety of vocabulary accurately. This is where all your hours of reading and making notes of new words pays off. The examiner wants to see you using synonyms and collocations correctly and effectively. If you are writing about recycling rubbish, can you think of other ways of saying this?
recycle – reuse, separate out, reclaim, salvage rubbish – waste, litter, refuse, trash
Again a word of warning; don’t try to use 5 different ways of saying the same thing, because it will sound very unnatural. One or two should be enough.
What else can you do to show a range of vocabulary? Well, you can use different forms of the same word family to demonstrate your flexibility.
an increase (noun), to increase (verb), increasingly (adverb) recycle waste (verb), recycled waste (adjective), waste material (‘waste’ as an adjective)
And finally, learn vocabulary in chunks. When you are studying, and you meet a new word, look at the words before and after it. What other words go with the new word you are learning? They are very important, because if you don’t know what they are, you will not be able to use the new word correctly. This is called collocation.
For example, if you learn the word excited, you also need to learn the preposition that goes after it –about. A correct usage of this word and preposition would be: “He was excited about his job”.
Another example would be the word wind. There are certain adjectives which can be used to correctly describe wind. We can say “a strong wind”, but not “a big wind”.
Another thing to think about is what form does the new word take? By this I mean does it take the –ing form (e.g. look forward to doing something) or the to form (e.g. We made preparations to visitthe sights.). If you ask yourself these questions when you meet a word you don’t know, you will greatly improve your ability to use them correctly and so impress the examiner.
And last but not least…
Step 4. Have you used a range of grammar?
This is probably the area that students worry about the most. To get a high score in the‘Grammatical range and accuracy’ criterion, check that you have used a good range of grammar. As you are writing, and when you are checking your writing at the end, see if you have used a few of the following grammatical structures:
tenses – present/past simple/continuous, present perfect, past perfect, will/going to passivesrelative clauses complex sentences e.g. As it was a hot day, we decided to go swimming.compound sentences e.g. It was a hot day so we decided to go swimming. modal verbsconditionals
This is not a final list, but if you have a few of these structures in your essay, and you have used them correctly, your grammar will be varied and you will show the examiner that you can write using complex structures.
So, by looking more carefully at each of the writing criteria you should be able to see where you can make progress. I hope that by following some or all of the steps above your IELTS score will improve. Remember, it won’t happen overnight – it takes time.
Good luck!
Pretty Amazing Prepositions of Place:
In, On, At, and More!
The cat is in the tree.
Do you have problems working out your **in **from your on; your **at **from your from; or your **up **from your down? If so, this fun exercise can help you to figure out which is the correct preposition to use and how to remember them.
First things first: what exactly is a preposition of place? Simply put, a preposition of place is a preposition which tells us where something or someone is located. There are actually only three prepositions of place – at, on and **in **– but they can be used to describe almost any number of places. These are:
- **At **–is used to describe a certain point or place
- In–helps us to describe an enclosed space
- On–means we are talking about a surface
Let’s look at a few examples of how we use prepositions of place.
- Janice is waiting for you **at **the bus stop.
- The no-smoking sign is **on **the wall.
- I live **in **New York City.
However, in conjunction with these three prepositions, we can also use prepositions of direction which help clarify exactly where something is located. There are many more of these which are used to confirm when, where and under what conditions something is located. For example, let’s take a further look at our first preposition of place: at.
- Janice is waiting for you **at **the bus stop, **by **the library.
In this example, we already knew that Janice was waiting for us at the bus stop. But, by using the preposition of direction by, it tells us exactly which bus stop Janice is waiting at. So, by using the two prepositions (place and direction) we are given clearer instructions and information. Let’s move on to our next example.
- The no-smoking sign is **on **the wall **between **the entrance and the foyer.
Here we are told exactly where the no-smoking sign is located, so we can expect to see it as we walk into the building.
I live **in **New York City, close to Times Square.
New York is a large city, but the additional information gives us a more precise location. Before we get to the fun exercise, here is a list of just some of the prepositions of direction which we can use in conjunction with prepositions of place:
- **Above **– The picture hangs above the fireplace.
- **Against **– The fly flew against the window.
- Among – I sat among a group of people.
- **Behind **– The ball is behind the garage.
- **Between **– The playing field is between the two buildings.
- **By **– I stopped by the light house.
- Close to – I wanted a table that was close to the window.
- In front of – There was a man in front of me in the queue.
- **Inside **– Let’s get inside before it starts to rain again.
- **Near **– I live near the tube station.
- Next to – The pharmacy is next to the doctors office.
- **Onto **– The pigeon flew onto the roof of my car.
- **Opposite **– The restaurant is opposite the car park.
- **Towards **– The crowd is heading towards the concert stage.
- **Under **– The bag is under the table.
Now, let’s get physical!
To help my students learn and remember these prepositions, I actually ask them to physically place objects in the places which use the prepositions they are trying to remember. So, get yourself something memorable that you can place somewhere in your house or garden:
- Put a teddy bear **on **your bed.
- Plant a pumpkin **in **your garden **by **the wall.
- Put your mobile phone **in **your purse **near **the door.
- Move your neighbour’s pet tortoise **into **your bathtub.
This physical representation will be much more memorable than any flashcard or list of words. It will stay clearly in your mind when you put your Grandmother’s teapot **among **the flowers in the garden, or put the cat **under **the piano stool next to the bookshelf, or even when the pink cushion lands **behind **the dog **on **the sofa.
So, practice, choose your object, choose your preposition of place, make it funny if possible, and then you’ll remember it.
Participation and creativity is the key, even if you use really ridiculous places such as in my ear oron my head and so on. You could even do this with a friend. Take some silly photos and post them on Facebook! Why not?
I can guarantee you won’t forget your prepositions of place after that! For more information on prepositions, visit me on Facebook where you will find daily bites of fun English. You can also find me on italki most days either teaching or gladly helping out with any English language queries you may have.
Body shapes
The English language is full of words that describe the shape of our bodies, some of them positive and some of them less positive. Let’s take a look at some of the more commonly used words for body shapes.
Probably the most commonly used adjective to describe someone who has too little fat is thin. ‘Thin’ is often used in a negative way: She’s very pretty but she’s too thin. Skinny, a slightly informal word, means very much the same: I don’t like his looks – he’s too skinny. Even thinner than ‘skinny’ is **scrawny **(also a slightly informal word). Someone who is scrawny is so thin that their bones stick out: He was a scrawny little kid. Gaunt, meanwhile, is used to describe a very thin face, sometimes a face that is thin because a person is ill: Her face was gaunt and grey. The adjective emaciated describes someone who is dangerously thin, usually through illness or extreme hunger. It describes the whole of the body: Some of the patients were quite emaciated.
The above adjectives are generally negative, but there are as many adjectives to describe people who are thin in a way that is positive. Probably the most common of these is slim. If someone is slim they are quite thin in a way that is attractive: Charlotte was looking lovely and slim in the photos. Other synonyms for ‘slim’ have an extra meaning in addition to ‘having little fat’. Slender, for example, means ‘slim and graceful’: She was small and slender, like a dancer. **Lean **describes someone who is slim and strong: Long-distance runners are usually fairly lean. Petite, which is positive in tone, means ‘short and slim’ and is only used for women and girls. Slight, meanwhile, which is neither positive nor negative, means ‘thin and delicate’.
Of course, there are just as many words to describe the opposite situation. **Fat **is probably the most commonly used adjective for describing someone who has too much flesh but, it is very direct. We sometimes use other, slightly less negative words to describe someone who is a little fat. Stocky, for example, means ‘strong and wide’: He’s got the stocky build of a rugby player. **Solid **too is often used in this way: As a child, James was always quite solid. Similarly, big is sometimes used as a less direct way of saying ‘fat’: Sophie didn’t use to be so big, did she? **Plump **and **chubby **mean ‘slightly fat’ but both sound almost pleasant and are often used of young children: She was admiring the baby’s plump little legs./Look at his lovely chubby cheeks!
Some ‘fat’ words, on the other hand, are very direct. **Overweight **is an adjective that a doctor might use to describe a fat patient. It is slightly clinical in tone. A patient who is extremely overweight might well be described by the doctor as obese.
So many ways to be fat and thin!
Adjectives to describe smells
As adult humans, we can distinguish about 10,000 different smells. It’s no wonder, then, that we have so many words and expressions to describe them. This week we’re taking a look at those smellwords – words that describe good smells and words that describe bad smells.
Most smell words are either positive or negative. ‘Smell’ itself, however, can be either good or bad, depending on the words around it. ‘I love the **smell **of baking bread.’ is perfectly possible, as is ‘It’s a horrible smell, like rotten eggs.’Interestingly, without an adjective before it, or some other information, it seems usually to refer to a bad smell: Have you noticed the **smell **in the bathroom? / I can’t get rid of the smell. The derived adjective smelly, meanwhile, is always bad: smelly feet/smelly socks.
Staying with bad smell words, then, (and there are more of these than good smell words), if something stinks, or reeks, its smells very strongly of something unpleasant: Eww, whose trainers are these? They stink! / The whole house reeks of smoke. ‘Stink’, and less commonly, ‘reek’ are also nouns: There’s a real stink coming from the wash basin. (Note that ‘stink’ in both verb and noun forms is slightly informal.) The derived, informal adjective stinky is defined in most dictionaries as ‘having a very strong and unpleasant smell’, though, funnily enough, it’s often used quite admiringly of strong-smelling cheeses: The World’s Top Ten **Stinky **Cheeses. Whiffy, an informal, British adjective, is always negative: He hasn’t had a bath for a couple of days and he’s starting to get a bit whiffy. There is also a noun whiff, though this can be neutral. It is often used in the phrase **catch a whiff **or get a whiff: I caught/got a whiff of after shave as he walked past.The noun stench, meanwhile, refers to a very strong, unpleasant smell: the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh.
Moving on to specific bad smells, a pungent smell is very strong and sharp: the pungent whiff of goat’s cheese. An acrid smell is strong and bitter, causing a burning taste or feeling in the throat: Clouds of acrid smoke rose from the building. **Fetid **means ‘smelling extremely bad and stale’: Inside the cave, the air was fetid. **Musty **is a little similar, but less strong, describing the slightly unpleasant smell of something that is old and rather damp: **musty **old library books. Putrid, meanwhile, means ‘smelling of decay’: the putrid smell of rotten meat.
And so to nice smells: An aroma is a strong but pleasant smell, usually coming from food or drink: the **aroma of freshly baked bread. We also use the derived adjective aromatic, often for the sort of food and drink in which taste and smell seem combined: aromatic teas, such as Earl Grey. Scent **is similar to ‘aroma’: Both products have a lovely **scent. The noun fragrance **and the adjective **fragrant are also used for sweet, pleasant smells and are associated with flowers: This flower is noted for its delicate fragrance./fragrant herbs**. The noun bouquet, meanwhile, is quite specialised, being the characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur: a dry white wine from the Umbria region, with a fruity bouquet and intense flavour.
Finally, there is a useful phrasal verb associated with smells. Something that produces a smell is often said to give off a smell: The iron gives off a strange smell when it’s heating up.
Present Tenses for the future
When I am president é equivalente a “Quando eu for presidente”, para não deixar margem de dúvida que ele, candidato, será de fato eleito. Já que When I will be president não é permitido pela gramática, usa-se simple present com intenção de futuro. Isto não é uso coloquial. É corretíssimo.
- What time does the film begin?
- Que hora começa / vai começar o filme?
E para planos já acertados:
- I start my new job on Monday.
- Começo / Vou começar a trabalhar na segunda.
Orações adjetivas (relative clauses) com who, which, that, whose
Resumo
- Pessoas: who / that; coisas: which / that
- who / which / that podem ser omitidos quando outra palavra é o sujeito da oração adjetiva.
- Orações adjetivas restritivas não são precedidas de vírgula.
Nas frases seguintes, encontramos as orações adjetivas who smoke e which leak.
- People who smoke live dangerously. (Pessoas que fumam vivem perigosamente.)
- Shoes which leak are useless. (Sapatos que têm buracos são inúteis.)
As orações adjetivas definem melhor as pessoas e coisas.
Orações adjetivas que se referem a pessoas são introduzidas por *who *ou that.
Orações adjetivas que se referem a coisas são introduzidas por *which *ou that.
- Is this the man who / that stole your bag? (É este o homem que roubou sua bolsa?)
- I need a car which / that is reliable. (Preciso de um carro que seja confiável.)
Essas orações adjetivas são restritivas e, portanto, não são antecedidas de vírgula.
- That *vem também após everything, nothing, something e anything.
- We threw away everything that was left. (Jogamos fora tudo o que restou.)
- Whose *corresponde a “cujo, cuja, cujos, cujas”.
- He’s the man whose wife had the car accident. (Ele é o homem cuja mulher sofreu o acidente de carro.)
- They’re the couple whose son lives in Rome. (Eles são o casal cujo filho vive em Roma.)
Orações adjetivas sem pronome relativo
Resumo
- Pessoas: who / that; coisas: which / that
- who / which / that podem ser omitidos quando outra palavra é o sujeito da oração adjetiva.
- Orações adjetivas restritivas não são precedidas de vírgula.
Nas orações seguintes, **he **e **who **são o sujeito da frase (aquele que escreve).
- Tom is that journalist. He writes for the Times.
- Tom is that journalist **who **writes for the Times. (Tom é o jornalista que escreve para o Times.)
Nas frases seguintes, **we **é o sujeito do verbo met; who não é o sujeito, mas o objeto.
- Tom is that journalist. We met him.
- Tom is that journalist who we met. (Tom é aquele jornalista que nós ficamos conhecendo.)
O pronome relativo que é objeto e não sujeito pode ser omitido.
- Tom is that journalist (who / that) we met on holiday.
- Was that the woman (who / that) you saw in my office?
- I’m going to wear that pullover (which / that) Jenny gave me.
O pronome relativo não é sujeito, e sim objeto, quando um substantivo ou pronome fica entre who / which / that e o verbo.
Discurso direto x Discurso indireto (1)
A: Have you heard this crazy story about Dave?
B: Yes. Jim told me. He told that / said that / told me that Dave ate a fish andfound a gold ring in it.
A: Do you believe in it? Which restaurant was this? Who else was there?
B: Well, Jim said / **told **me that Ann was there.
A: What does she say? Has anyone spoken to her?
B: I haven’t, and when I saw Jim yesterday afternoon, he said that he hasn’t **hadn’t **spoken to her either.
Discurso direto (direct speech) versus discurso indireto (indirect speech)
- O que alguém diz pode ser citado diretamente ou relatado indiretamente.
- Discurso direto
- Ann said, “Tom is an idiot.” (A Ann disse: “O Tom é um idiota”.)
- Discurso indireto
- Ann said that Tom was an idiot. (A Ann disse que o Tom é um idiota.)
- Pensamentos também podem ser relatados.
- Pensamento: “Sally will be late.” > Relato: I thought/knew that Sally would be late.
- Discurso direto
- **Say **ou **tell **introduzem na maioria das vezes o discurso indireto. O verbo tell vem antes da pessoa a quem se diz algo. Quando essa pessoa não é mencionada, usa-se o verbosay.
- He **told me **(told) that he knows London well. (Ele me disse que conhece bem Londres.)
- He **said **(said me) that he knows London well. (Ele disse que conhece bem Londres.)
-
That muitas vezes é omitido.
- Tony said that (said, that) he will be here at six.
- Ann said she (said, she) loves fish.
Transposição temporal no discurso indireto
RESUMO
Transposição temporal com o verbo introdutório no passado: presente > passado, present perfect > past perfect, can > could, may > might, will > would
Caso o verbo introdutório do discurso indireto esteja no passado (p. ex., said), o verbo da frase relatada freqüentemente é transposto para o passado.
-
presente > passado
- “I feel ill.” > She said (that) she felt ill. (“I‘m working.” > She said (that) she was working.)
-
present perfect> past perfect
- “I‘ve had a dream”. > She said (that) she had had a dream.
-
can/may > could/might
- “I can/may come.” > She said (that) she could/might come.
-
will > would
- “I‘ll be there.” > She said (that) she would be there.
Os verbos no passado (a não ser no present perfect) e os modal verbs could, might, should e would permanecem quase todos inalterados.
-
passado
- “We saw Tom there.” > She said they saw (ou: had seen) Tom there.
- “He was smoking.” > She said he was (ou: had been) smoking.
-
past perfect
- “I had eaten.” > She said she had eaten.
-
could / might / should
- “I could help.” > She said she could help.
-
would
- “I wouldn’t tell him.” > She said she wouldn’t tell him.
Uma transposição temporal não ocorre necessariamente quando o relatado vale ainda ou sempre.
- “When I see him, I‘ll ask him.” > She said she‘ll ask him when she sees him. He’ll be here soon.
A transposição temporal é escolhida pelo falante quando ele quer se distanciar do relatado e indicar que não garante a veracidade deste.
- Político: “Inflation is low.” > Relato no jornal: The government said that inflation was low.
