Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Verbs' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Verbs'

Re: could have done or were able

Thomas Tompion — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:19:30 GMT

There are moments reading what people say about English grammar where I wonder if I speak the same language as is described in the grammar books, and if there is some sort of secret conspiracy to foist on learners a rule which doesn't apply in the language as it is spoken or written. For me discussing this issue has, on several occasions, not just in this forum, produced such moments. I suspect that, as in my technical subject (Economics), errors in books become part of an erroneous collective paradigm, as writers of new books look at the rules laid out in the old books before they add any ideas of their own.

It's famously easier to disprove a negative rule than to prove it - you only need a few examples from impeccable sources. If I've understood them correctly, people are saying here that could is not used in the past to express occasional ability, except with certain quite narrowly limited verbs, often verbs indicating what happens inside one's brain - I could understand, I could see, I could grasp the idea, etc.

I don't believe that this rule applies in the language I was brought up to speak, but it's not enough for me to say this, I need to produce examples from an impeccable source where could is used in the proscribed way. So I went to Jane Austen's Emma and found the following examples:

to assist him first in pacing out the room they were in to see what it could be made to hold (Emma, Chapter 29)
The fever was over, and Emma could harbour little fear of the pulse being quickened again by injurious courtesy. (Emma, Chapter 39)
and it was with difficulty that she could summon enough of her usual self to be the attentive lady of the house, or even the attentive daughter. (Emma, Chapter 50)
Harriet was most happy to give every particular of the evening at Astley's, and the dinner the next day; she could dwell on it all with the utmost delight.(Emma, Chapter 55)

Now that's just one book by an author who is widely admired for elegance of style. If I looked further, I am confident I could multiply them many times. These examples seem to me not to follow the rule being put forward by Mr Swan, or by some grammarians here, yet to me the use of could in them seems entirely natural and normal.

Where am I going wrong?

Re: "about", "at the thought of" or nothing?

Thomas Tompion — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:30:47 GMT

A few points might be worth considering:

1. Most native English speakers have no idea whether they are using appositive nominative phrases, or adverbial clauses of time.
2. If there were no rules, no conventions about how words fit together, there would be no language. And no point in this forum.
3. Most native English speakers distinguish between plurals and singulars, between past and present, even between subjunctive and indicative forms. Common errors of uneducated speech in certain parts of the country, like double-negatives (I didn't see nobody for I didn't see anybody), or of regular verb forms (He has went for he has gone) are an irritation to many.

I think you need to decide how best you learn a language: some learn best from talking, others from books. As a learner you need to find out if you learn best from the ear or the eye, but never think that the conventions (rules) can go out of the window, because they are essential to the accurate communication of ideas, which is what we are concerned with here.

I think the question raised in this thread is about distinguishing between plural and singular; that's a pretty basic distinction.

Re: could have done or were able

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:44:18 GMT

Hi, Why do you think the tutorial on modal verbs at the Englishpage.com gave this as part of the whole showing how the modal 'could' be used? There seems to be no mention of general ability here.

could
past ability

I could run ten miles in my twenties.

I could speak Chinese when I was a kid.

"Could" cannot be used in positive sentences in which you describe a momentary or one-time ability.

Yesterday, I could lift the couch by myself. Not Correct

I couldn't run more than a mile in my twenties.

I couldn't speak Swahili.

"Could" can be used in negative sentences in which you describe a momentary or one-time ability.

Yesterday, I couldn't lift the couch by myself. Correct

be able to

Re: The Callan Method

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:20:08 GMT

Hi everybody,

I strongly disagree with the views mentioned on behalf of the Callan Method. Just because it promises to get the student where he or she wants to, doesn't mean the Method deserves criticism. I've been teaching English both the traditional way and the Callan Method way for about a year and a half now and I find that the Callan Method is much more productive (great emphasis on 'much') because it forces the student to cope with real language and real life situations, not just nonsensical vocabulary (words like 'juggle' or 'juggler', etc which I believe are to be found in almost all elementary books, not the Callan ones, though).

The Method completely fulfills every single promise it gives to the student provided that a skilled and well-educated teacher (not necessarily a native speaker) holds the classes. The problem is that many language schools actually applying the Callan Method do not have well-trained teachers. To make matters worse, many teachers who claim to be teaching the Callan Method way are no more than common frauds who are likely to fit into the groups they are teaching - but not as teachers, as ordinary students who have great gaps in their knowledge. Their only goal is to make money. Thus, they knowingly bring shame on their well-qualified colleagues and the Method itself.

As far as the qualifications of lectors teaching the Callan way are concerned, I must emphasize the great need that is placed on their in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of grammar as well as vocabulary. Every time a non-professional teacher is confronted with the grammar in the Callan Books, they find out they are not suitable for the position of a teacher. In short, they do NOT understand what defective verbs are, they have difficulty in comprehending the various nuances of the verb have - used either as stative or dynamic, for that case, with or without DO-support, using the marginal modal auxiliary verb DARE, keeping pace with Robin Callan's explanation of the sentence structure which is broken down into sentences - clauses - clause elements - phrases - words and phonemes (which is, by the way, something that is an acknowledged fact supported by Quirk and Greenbaum and other leading grammarians), etc. As a result, they commonly give up teaching English the Callan way and turn towards teaching the traditional way because there they are not required to understand any such 'high' grammar, ie they are limited to simple terms which put as little effort on the part of the teacher as possible. Laughable, wouldn't you say?

To comment on the vocabulary used in the books, I personally find it well chosen, though I'd fill in some more lexical items in the higher stages, mostly in the stages 11 and 12. Apart from that, the vocabulary is often witty and easy to remember. I've grown to like the way it is proportioned in the books, though I still find that stage 1 is quite difficult for beginners who start learning English from the scratch. Nevertheless, what one might describe as sexual harassment or hatred towards women, I consider a witty and hilarious approach to teaching. I've asked my students on many an occasion about their personal feelings when being confronted with such chunks of language and ALL of them agreed that it was something unusual but not in the negative sense. As the words and phrases are groupped together in witty sequences, it was easy for the students to remember the words not only for a couple of hours or days but for long periods of time - without learning them at home again (!!!) which is something students normally do after finishing a course which uses the traditional approach of teaching.

So much to my comments, though I could still write much more than just those few paragraphs.

To conclude, for those students who are still thinking whether to take up learning English the traditional way or rather try the 'English-in-a-quarter-of-the-time' method ... well, I'd go for the latter.

Re: not instead of don't?

Cool Breeze — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:59:58 GMT

Clive

I recommend that you not cook dinner tomorrow.

Think of it as a shortened form of '. . . do not cook / should not cook . . . '.

Other verbs with which you can do this include, for example. I ask that . . . and I request that . . ..

If you want to think of not cook in grammatical terms, bear in mind that cook isn't an indicative form but a subjunctive enabled by recommend. Subjunctives are made negative in the same way as infinitives, by placing not before them; the auxiliary do cannot be used.

Re: could have done or were able

Velimir — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:21:12 GMT

Thank you very much for your answers Thomas Thompion and CalifJim,

Those ambiguities are exactly the problem for me, specially inÂ regardÂ to expressingÂ "past ability". In many situations I can't easily decide what "could" or "could have" really mean : "able", "possible" or "optional".
I most often understand "could have + verb" as "quite possible action which didn't happen" but sometimes also as denoting "ability to do".Â "Was able to" many times sounds awkward to me as it would be for example in the slightly different sentence from the one Thomas gave in his post :

The fire was raging but luckily I was able to open the door.

I tend to use "could" instead of "was able" in similar situations but in Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage" it's clearly stated : We do not normally use "could" to say that somebody managed to do something on one ocassion, instead we use "was able" , "managed" , "succeeded" etc." . In the next passage Swan gives exceptions to this and gives list of verbs which can be used with "could" to denote ability to do something. Â Those verbs are : "see" , "taste" ,"understand", "feel" , "hear" "smell" and "guess" . He also says that "..we use "could" for "general ability" to say that somebody could do something at any time,whenever he/she wanted. In negative clauses to denote inability i.e "couldn't"+ verb, it can be freely used in this sense.

Â Would you please check the three varieties of the following sentence so I can reduce a bit a confusion about this point. Â For example,not having a can opener, I've just opened a can of tuna fish with a knife and I'm kind of joking with my friend :

I could have opened it with a fork as well.

or

I could open it with a fork as well.

or

I was able to open it with a fork as well.

Thank you very much for your help

Past perfect lesson plan (upper intermediate).

David_R — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:59:01 GMT

Hi there,

I was wondering if a site moderator or an experienced teacher could have a look at this question and the lesson plan that follows. This is important, as it is for my first job application. Thanks again.

Develop a detailed lesson plan for a 90-minute lesson. Imagine there are 8 students of upper intermediate level in your course. Use the text below for reading and also for some language work (vocabulary and grammar).

At the age of nineteen, and to the horror of her parents, Sylvie had a heart tattooed on her shoulder. Eight years later, a lot has changed in Sylvieâs life, but the tattoo is still there. How does she feel about it now?

âWell, one decision I now regret is getting this tattoo. Iâd always liked the idea of having one. I really thought they looked good and some of my friends had them. I felt a bit scared about how much it would hurt, and I knew that my parents would hate the idea, but one day I got this done. It seemed like a really good idea at the time, my boyfriend really liked it and I think if he hadnât been so keen I wouldnât have done it. My parents were completely horrified, of course. I remember my dad saying heâd never seen a girl with a tattoo, and he hoped he never would again, but they sort of accepted it in the end. Now, I wish Iâd thought more about it, especially the fact that you canât get rid of it, or itâs incredibly painful and expensive anyway, so I suppose Iâm stuck with it now.â

Level	Upper Intermediate
Lesson Length	90 minutes
Objective	To be able to use the past perfect tense when speaking about past events.
Target Language	Subject + had + past participle of main verb (She had got a heart tattooed on her shoulder)
Assumed Knowledge	At upper intermediate level, students could be revising the past perfect, but it wonât be a new structure for them. Students should have a sound knowledge of the present and past tense and be able to use indicative, negative & interrogative verb forms.
Anticipated Problems	Students may come across vocabulary they have not encountered before.
Solutions	Drilling new vocabulary chorally and individually. Checking with concept questions, reinforcing this with a timeline and substitution table.
Preparation and aids	Flash cards and drawings to elicit the context of the story, white board, markers and handouts.

Stage

Activity

Interaction

Timing

WARMER:

Begin with some word associations, (to revise vocabulary).

Check homework, first in pairs, then as a class.

T-S

P-W

5 mins

INTRODUCTION:

Elicit from students, does anyone know what a tattoo is?

Begin to show students various flash cards of tattoos.

Talk about the pictures, ask anyone if they have, or know anyone, who has a tattoo. If so how do they feel about it now?

T-S

5 mins

Put students into pairs and ask the students what they think, are the benefits of tattoos, and also, what they think the negatives are.

S-S

2 mins

Elicit the vocabulary from the students, focusing on the key words that will prevent them from understanding the text.

Then use concept questions for the meaning of the words, for example; horrified. I could write the word on board and ask questions, such as;

Are you happy?
Are you nervous?
Are you scared?

I could also show pictures of people with scared expression on their face, or mime this expression. This can be applied to other words they donât know.

T-S

15 mins

Have students brainstorm words they know, that have a similar meaning to those previously identified. Also, some vocabulary that might be associated with the text.

T-S

3 mins

Allow students 2/3 minutes to gist read the text.

Write up on the board some gist questions about the text to give them confidence, such as;

T: Does Sylvie have a tattoo?

S: Yes

T: Is the speaker talking about an action in the past?

S: Yes

T: Does Sylvie have a tattoo in her shoulder?

S: No

T: Does she regret having the tattoo?

S: Yes

T-S

5 mins

Put students in pairs and have them compare answers to the gist questions.

S-S

3 mins

PRESENTATION:

Write target language on the board, I will then elicit the past perfect tense in the sentences from the students. Using lots of examples such as;

Past Perfect:

She had already eaten when I arrived.

The painting had been sold twice before it was destroyed.

He had been waiting for four hours when he finally arrived.

The house had been being painted for over a month before they began to decorate the interior.

I will also draw a time line on the board, like the one below, to further explain these sentences.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A TIME LINE HERE, BUT IT FAILED TO COPY OVER.)

PAST before then then now FUTURE

You

They

She

âd

Had

Hadnât

always

never

been

done

I could then write this substitution table on the board to help students identify the past perfect tense in the text.

T-S

20 mins

CONTROLLED PRACTICE:

Put students into pairs and give them jumbled sentences from the text, have them write out the sentences correctly, using the past perfect tense. From a hand out, or from jumbled sentences on the board.

S-S

5 mins

Put students into different pairs, and then get students to compare the sentences they have written.

S-S

2 mins

Go round each student, asking them to read out the sentences they have written.

T-S

2 mins

PRODUCTION:

Put students into pairs; have them read the text again. Then ask them to write more detailed comprehension questions about the text.

S-S

10 mins

Have every student read out one of their comprehension questions and ask each other for the answer.

S-S

4 mins

Put students into new pairs and ask them to write 2/3 sentences about something they have done, in their own life, with the sentences in the past perfect tense.

S-S

4 mins

Have students read out these sentences, then ask each other to read out the next sentence.

S-S

4 mins

Have students write a summary about their thoughts on the text for homework.

T-S

1 min

Help editing this paragraph.

xpistonsx — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:01:23 GMT

This paragraph is part of a compare/contrast essay. I am comparing one character from Animal Farm and one from either Julius Caesar or Lord of the Flies. The two I chose are Napoleon and Jack. Some guidelines I have to follow are: Only a max of 2 "to be" verbs per paragraph and use present tense. I don't think my second example (about the limitations) is the best, so if you can come up with a better one please suggest it. Also, I need some help restating my thesis for my conclusion paragraph. Any help would be appreciated. Here is my contrast paragraph:

Thesis: Both William Goldingâs Lord of the Flies and George Orwellâs Animal Farm, illustrate that people are hungry for power.

Napoleon, a pig, and Jack, a human, differ in their hunger for power. One example is how they use their power to get their respective societies to do what they dreamed about. Napoleon uses his power to keep the animals in check and to take care of the farm. Napoleon forces the animals to work most of the week to build the windmill and to harvest the land for food. He also uses it to direct the animalsâ attention from the growing shortages and inadequacies on the farm. Jack, on the other hand, uses his power to turn his group of boys into blood-thirsty savages. He turns the groupâs focus to killing pigs and dancing around campfires. Both charactersâ actions prove to be costly and lead to negative effects. Second, different limitations are another example of how the characters could use their powers. Napoleon is looked up to as a leader, which practically gives him the power to mostly do whatever he wants because the animals think he is always right. But he still must follow the commandments which he secretly changes, though, through Squealer to give him more power. In contrast, Ralph appoints Jack a leader position at first as head of the hunters. His power is limited by Ralph because most of the society will listen to him. Since Jack wants more power, he makes the decision to leave Ralphâs group and form his own. This gives him more freedom and ultimately unlimited power. The limitation each character has on their powers affects their decisions and ultimately the end result of their societies. Both characters fail to utilize their powers for the good of the societies and cause destruction and mayhem.

Re: how do you say negatives of "used to"

Madhulk — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:55:08 GMT

Just didn't use to+verb.

For instance: I used to go fishing would become

I didn't use to go fishing.

Re: Use of did/ have/ had in a phrase

Grammar Geek — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:40:43 GMT

Hello serenalucy, and welcome to English Forums.

Let's go through the tenses in the positive and the negative.

Present: He likes to sing. He does not like to sing. We use the verb "to do" + not to form the negative.

Past: I swam 2 miles. I didn't (did not) swim 2 miles. We use the past form of the verb "to do" + not to form the negative.

Present perfect: I have seen that movie. I haven't seen that movie. In the present perfect, we keep the aux. verb "to have" and simply make it negative.

Past perfect: When he saw her at the party, he realied he had met her before he was 3 years old. When he was introduced to her at the party, he knew he hadn't met her before. As with the present perfect, simply add "not" to the form of "to have."

An exception to this rule is when the main verb is a form of the verb "to be." In that case, simply add "not" - often in the cotnracted from.

He is happy, he isn't happy. I was there, I wasn't there.

Does that answer your question?

Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Verbs' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Verbs'

Re: could have done or were able

Re: "about", "at the thought of" or nothing?

Re: could have done or were able

Re: The Callan Method

Re: not instead of don't?

Re: could have done or were able

Past perfect lesson plan (upper intermediate).

Level

Target Language

âd

Hadnât

Help editing this paragraph.

Re: how do you say negatives of "used to"

Re: Use of did/ have/ had in a phrase

âd

Hadnât