LEARNING MAP

WEST

• TAG ENDINGS

• We use tag questions to confirm information.This meal is horrible, isn't it?That film was fantastic, wasn't it?

We use tag questions when we are already sure of the answer and just want confirmation (falling intonation with the tag question).

We use tag questions to check information.You haven't got a piece of paper, have you?You don't know where the boss is, do you?The meeting's tomorrow at 9am, isn't it?

If we do not know the answer, these are real questions, and we use a rising intonation with the tag question.

• important points• In the present tense, if the subject is "I", the auxiliary changes to

are or aren't.I'm sitting next to you, aren't I?

With let's, the tag question is shall we.Let's go to the beach, shall we?

With an imperative, the tag question is will you.Close the window, will you?

We use a positive tag question after a sentence containing a negative word such as never, hardly, nobody.Nobody lives in this house, do they?You've never liked me, have you?

• When the subject is nothing, we use it in the tag question.Nothing bad happened, did it?

When the subject is nobody, somebody, everybody, no one, someone, or everyone, we use they in the tag question.Nobody asked for me, did they?

If the main verb in the sentence is have (not an auxiliary verb), it is more common to use do in the question tag.You have a Ferrari, don't you?

With used to, we use didn't in the tag question.You used to work here, didn't you?

We can use positive question tags after positive sentences to express a reaction such as surprise or interest.You're moving to Brazil, are you?

• REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

• form• myself

yourselfhimself / herself / itselfourselvesyourselves (plural)themselves

• functions & examples• We use reflexive pronouns when the subject and object are the same.

I burnt myself on the stove this morning.NOT: I burnt me on the stove this morning.

You can help yourselves to drinks.NOT: You can help you to drinks.

He blames himself for the accident.NOT: He blames him for the accident.

We use reflexive pronouns to emphasise the subject, meaning "that person or thing and nobody/nothing else"."Did someone paint your house?" "No, I painted it myself."He was planning to ask his assistant to go, but in the end he went himself.

• important points• We do not use reflexive pronouns after feel, meet, concentrate

and relax, and we do not normally use them after wash, shave and dress, unless it is necessary to make it clear who does the action.He finds it difficult to relax.NOT: He finds it difficult to relax himself.When I got up, I washed.NOT: When I got up, I washed myself.

If it is clear that the meaning is reflexive, it is not necessary to use a reflexive pronoun.He gave the present to him.He gave the present to himself. (We need a reflexive pronoun to clarify who the present is for.)

• I took my mother with meNOT: I took my mother with myself (The only possible meaning is reflexive so we don't use a reflexive pronoun.)

We can use by + reflexive pronoun to mean alone.She likes to go on holiday by herself.

We cannot use a reflexive possessive pronoun: we use my / your... own.They all did their own work.NOT: They all did themselves work.

• THE + ADJECTIVES

• scale ( or gradable) and extreme adjectives and limit adjectives. Gradable adjectives , such as hot can be "more or less" - something can be anywhere along a scale including freezing, cold, warm, hot, boiling .... The ones at each end are the extreme adjectives of the scale. Scale adjectives can be modified by expressions like very, terribly or a bit when they're in the middle of the scale very hot, a bit cold, etc.

• The extreme adjectives, on the other hand, can't be moved, they are absolutes and require absolute modifiers like absolutely eg - absolutely freezing. Similarly, the adjectives in the middle of the scale can form the comparative and superlative - colder, coldest - while the extreme adjectives can't *more/most boiling.

• Limit adjectives can't be conected to a scale - they are either/or, eg dead, alive, identical, true, false. These are complicated - we sometimes treat them as gradable - very true - and sometimes as limit - completely true, sometimes can't modify them at all - *very/totally dead - and sometimes can only do so metaphorically : I felt totally alive.

• The more the merrier.• The hotter the better.• The higher the worse.• The more complex the better.

• INVERSION

• Use of Question Form • In this case, the question form (auxiliary + subject +

main verb) takes the place of the standard positive sentence structure (i.e. He goes to work every day):

• Examples • Not only do I enjoy classical music, but I also have a

season ticket to the symphony.Seldom has the boss been so upset!

• In this case, the question form is substituted for standard sentence structure in a statement. Generally, an inversion is used to stress the uniqueness of an event and begins with a negative.

• Negative Adverbials • Time expressions: never, rarely, seldom • These time expressions are used with a

perfect form or with modals and often include comparatives:

• Examples • Never have I been more insulted!

Seldom has he seen anything stranger.

• Time expressions: hardly, barely, no sooner, or scarcely

• These time expressions are used when a there are a succession of events in the past.

• Examples • Scarcely had I got out of bed when the

doorbell rang.No sooner had he finished dinner, when she walked in the door.

• After 'Only' Expressions such as 'only after', 'only when', 'only then', etc.

• 'Only' is used with a time expression. • Examples • Only then did I understand the problem.

Only after understanding the situation does the teacher make a comment.

• After 'Little' • 'Little' is used in a negative sense. • Examples • Little did he understand the situation.

Little have I read concerning nanotechnology

• Inversion after 'So', 'Such', and 'That' • 'So' • 'So + adjective ... that' combines with the verb

'to be'. • Examples • So strange was the situation that I couldn't

sleep.So difficult is the test that students need three months to prepare.

• 'Such' • 'So + to be + noun ... (that)': • Examples • Such is the moment that all greats traverse.

Such is the stuff of dreams.

• Inverted Conditional Forms • Sometimes conditional forms are inverted as a

means of sounding more formal. In this case, the conditional 'if' is dropped and the inverted forms takes the place of the 'if clause'.

• Examples • Had he understood the problem, he wouldn't

have committed those mistakes.Should he decide to come, please telephone.

• USING CONTINUOUS TENSES

• Continuous Tenses• The continuous tenses (incomplete tenses) include:• Present Continuous ("I am choosing")• Past Continuous ("I was choosing")• Future Continuous ("I will be choosing")• They are formed with the progressive (continuous) aspect.• This aspect indicates that an action or state, past, present, or future, was,

is or will be unfinished at the time referred to.• The continuous aspect is formed by the auxiliary verb "to be" and the -ing

form (the present participle).• Continuous + perfect• If we combine the continuous and perfect tenses, we get:• Present Perfect Continuous ("I have been choosing")• Past Perfect Continuous ("I had been choosing")• Future Perfect Continuous ("I will have been choosing")

• COMMON ERRORS

• The pairings either/or and neither/nor can be used to group two people or things. Although not a major grammatical error, the grouping of more than two things is technically incorrect (as in the first example below).

Examples: Neither the forwards nor the scrumhalf, all of whom were within 10 metres of the tackle, nor the crowd appealed for a foul. (three things grouped) I could neither laugh nor cry. Either the clerk or the secretary has the keys to the Rover. The clerk or the secretary has the keys to the Rover. ("Either" left out) He did not find the key either on or under the mat.

2. The pairing neither/nor plays a negative role in the sentence; be careful not to use a double negative.

• DOUBLE NEGATIVE?

The two sentences below are examples of double negatives: David doesn't know nothing.David did not see no car.

Literally, these sentences mean that David does know something and that David did see a car. • Adam did not find the key neither on nor under the mat.

(This is a double negative.) He did not mention neither the flooding nor the landslide. (This is a double negative.) He mentioned neither the flooding nor the landslide. He did not mention either the flooding or the landslide.

• If both elements are singular, then their verb is singular too.• ELEMENTS?

The "elements" are the words which follow either, or, neither or nor. (The elements and their verb are in bold in the first example below.)

• 1. If the pairings either/or or neither/nor form part of the subject of a verb and both elements are singular, then the verb must be singular too.

• Examples:Neither Mark nor Dawn is at the function. "Mark" (singular - i.e. one person), "Dawn" (singular), "is" (singular - i.e. not "are")Neither Dickens nor Thackeray was a panderer to the public taste. "Dickens" (singular), "Thackeray" (singular), "was" (singular - i.e. not "were panderers") Either the clerk or the secretary has the keys to the Rover. "clerk" (singular), "secretary" (singular), "has" (singular - i.e. not "have")Neither Simon nor Gary do as they are told. "Simon" (singular), "Gary" (singular), "do" (plural - should be "does")Either a mouse or a rat eats the cable at night.

• Sometimes, it may sound wrong to use the singular form of the verb. Be confident and, if both elements are singular, use the singular form. Neither Jeremy nor Sarah was in the shop at the time of the theft. (i.e. not "were in the shop")

• Top •

• If any one of the elements is plural, then use a plural verb.• 1. If the pairings either/or or neither/nor form part of the subject of a verb and at least one of

the elements is plural, then the verb must be plural too.

Examples: Neither the lawyer nor the detectives are able to follow the sequence of events. "lawyer" (singular - i.e. one person), "detectives" (plural - i.e. more than one person), "are" (plural - i.e. not "is")There were neither cakes nor ice-cream at the party. Neither the firemen nor the policemen know him. (i.e. not "knows") Either the budgies or the cat has to go.

• He seems....• He sounds......• It smells........• It tastes........

• Number and Amount

• Number or Amount? • Use the word amount with quantities that

cannot be counted and number with quantities that could be counted one-by-one.

• Examples: He had a small amount of ammunition left.

• He had a small number of bullets left. • This follows a pattern similar to fewer and less.

• Farther or Further? • Farther refers to length or distance. It is the comparative

form of the word far when referring to distance. • Further means "to a greater degree," "additional," or

"additionally." It refers to time or amount. It is the comparative form of the word far when meaning "much."

• Correct: London is farther north than Juneau. (Refers to distance)

• Correct: This plan requires further study. (Meaning "additional study," refers to amount)

• Correct: According to my timetable, we should be further along. (Refers to time)

• TO RAISE = to lift something, to elevate, to bring to maturity, to increase, to set upright by lifting or building

• Terry raised her hand to wave at her friend. My grandmother raised cotton. I'm raising some tomatoes. The store always raises prices.

• TO RISE = to move upward (without assistance) to move upright from a lying, kneeling, or sitting position to return from death

• Hot air balloons rise. Frank's rising from the sofa. The sun has already risen this morning. Zombies rise from the dead in horror movies!

• Lay or Lie? • Lay means "to place something down." It is something

you do to something else. It is a transitive verb. • Incorrect: Lie the book on the table. Correct: Lay the

book on the table. (It is being done to something else.)

• Lie means "to recline" or "be placed." It does not act on anything or anyone else. It is an intransitive verb.

• Incorrect: Lay down on the couch. Correct: Lie down on the couch. (It is not being done to anything else.)

• The reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses.

• The past tense of lay is laid. • The past tense of lie is lay. • Incorrect: I lay it down here yesterday. Correct: I

laid it down here yesterday. (It is being done to something else.)

• Incorrect: Last night I laid awake in bed. • Correct: Last night I lay awake in bed.

(It is not being done to anything else.)

• The past participle of lie is lain. The past participle of lay is like the past tense, laid.

• Examples: I could have lain in bed all day. They have laid an average of 500 feet of sewer line a day.

• Layed is a misspelling and does not exist. Use laid.

• Leave or Let? • Leave means "to allow to remain." • Let simply means "to allow" or "to permit." • Incorrect: Let him alone! • Correct: Leave him alone!

(Allow him to remain alone.) • Incorrect: Leave me do it again. • Correct: Let me do it again.

(Allow me to do it.)

• Unique and Other Absolute Modifiers • Unique means "one of a kind." Therefore, comparatives, superlatives, and words

like very, so, or extremely should not be used to modify it. If it is one of a kind, it cannot be compared!

• Incorrect: He is a very unique personality. Correct: He is a unique personality. • This same logic applies to other words which reflect some kind of absolute:

absolute, overwhelmed, straight, opposite, right, dead, entirely, eternal, fatal, final, identical, infinite, mortal, opposite, perfect, immortal, finite, or irrevocable.

• In most cases they cannot be modified by very and similar words, nor can they be used in comparisons.

• Many times there is a similar word which is not absolute. For example, instead of using the word unique in the above example use a similar word that is not absolute.

• Incorrect: He has a more unique personality than Marie. Correct: He has a more distinctive personality than Marie.