[approx. transl.- by tradition, the circumstances are placed in the sentence, as in the name of the game "What? Where? When?", Namely: "How?" ( modus operandi) ---- Where? ( circumstance of place) ---- When? ( circumstance of time). But this is only the simplest scheme.]
A grammar book asks you to choose the right sentence:
The grammar book asks you to choose the correct sentence from three:
I"ll meet you _____.
(a) Sunday at 8 o'clock at Heathrow Airport
(b) at Heathrow Airport at 8 o'clock on Sunday
(c) at Heathrow Airport on Sunday at 8 o'clock
Apparently the key says that only (b) is acceptable. But are the others ungrammatical?
And in the answers you will see that only option (b) is correct. So the other two are wrong?
Not in the slightest! Though that isn't to say that they would all be equally frequent. Grammar books point out positional preferences governing adverbials of place, time, manner, and so on. But all options will be heard - including the other three possibilities.
By no means! Although it cannot be said that all three options are equally common. Grammar guides give advice on "ranking" circumstances of place, time, manner of action etc. in a sentence. But in speech you will hear not only all options a, b, c, but also three more options d, e, f:
(d) at 8 o'clock on Sunday at Heathrow Airport
(e) at 8 o'clock at Heathrow Airport on Sunday
(f) on Sunday at Heathrow Airport at 8 o "clock
Which will be used, on any particular occasion, depends on many factors. Here are a few:
The choice of option in each case depends on many factors. Here are some such factors:
The preceding context: e.g. if the preceding question had been "Where shall we meet - and when?" that would privilege reply (b) or (c), whereas "When shall we meet - and where?" would privilege (a) or (d).
- prior context. If before that you were asked the question: "Where will we meet - and when?", then it is better to choose options (b) or (c). And in response to the question "When will we meet - and where?" options (a) or (d) are better.
Rhythm: the strong stresses on "Heathrow Airport" disturb the underlying stress-timed rhythm less if they are in final position.
- speech rhythm: the heavy emphasis on "Heathrow Airport" breaks the overall rhythm less if these words are placed at the end of the sentence.
Weight: longer elements tend to occur later in the sentence, which motivates the use of "Heathrow Airport" in final position.
- the weight: longer groups of words tend to be placed at the end of the sentence. This, too, may serve as a motive to put "Heathrow Airport" at the end of the sentence.
Emphasis expressed by tonicity, usually on the last content word: this could push any of the three elements into final position, depending on which meaning is most in mind - time, day, or place.
- semantic stress expressed by the force of sound (accent) and usually falls at the end of a sentence: it can move any of the three circumstances to the end. It all depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize: time, day or place.
Semantic bonding between the verb and the following adverbial: the locative element in the meaning of meet is stronger than the temporal, and would pull "Heathrow Aiport" towards the verb.
- semantic connection between the main verb and the circumstance. For verb meet stronger connection with place (where?) than time (when?) - this is what can pull "Heathrow Aiport" closer to the verb.
These factors pull our intuition in different directions, of course. We must expect considerable usage variation here.
All these factors naturally pull our intuition in different directions. Therefore, in real speech, we should expect different arrangements of circumstances in different situations.
Some people think that it is flat-out ungrammatical EVER to put an adverb of time before an adverb of place. Where does this rule come from? I "m not sure. It" s been a standard part of ELT for a long time. But context is everything. Sentences like these should never be judged in isolation. Being able to give ELT students ‘a rule’ makes life simpler both for the students and the teacher. Sometimes you have to withhold part of the truth. This is fair enough when students are in the early stages of learning, but once they become advanced they need to know that what you call a "rule" is in fact only a tendency. If they don't realize that the alternatives exist, they will fail to appreciate the range of usage which actually exists in the language, and cut themselves off from actively controlling the full expressive richness of English.
Some people think that you should never put circumstance of time before circumstance of place. Where did this rule come from? I don't know. It has long been an integral part of the training of teachers of English (ELT = English Language Teaching). But it all depends on the context. Sentences with circumstances cannot be considered in isolation from the context. Perhaps a simple rule makes life easier for both the teacher and the students. (And therefore) sometimes you have to hide part of the truth. This is justified at the initial stage of learning, but advanced students need to know that the learned "rule" reflects only the trend. If they are not aware of the existence of other alternatives, they will not be able to correctly navigate all the possibilities of the language and will be cut off from the active use of the expressiveness of the English language in all its richness.
Good day to all! No one will deny the importance of effective time management. Therefore, today we will continue to study the timing of certain events and certain events, as well as talk about your schedule. You will study the circumstances of the time and learn to see the difference between circumstance of exact (at 6 o'clock, at 9:30) and approximate time (after dinner, in summer, tonight). Circumstances of approximate and exact time in English
First, let's understand what I mean by exact and approximate time. For example, take the question: When will you come? You can answer it in different ways:
— Monday evening.
This is the approximate (in the evening) and exact time (At 18:30).
Let's remember the article How to fill out a questionnaire?, this knowledge will help you in scheduling. Now let's read a short conversation between VOA radio reporter Martin Lerner and his co-workers. Journalists discuss upcoming plans and timings for various events they have already attended or are yet to attend:
Howard: When are you going there? — When are you going there?
Martin:I am going there on Tuesday. — I'm going there on Tuesday.
cara: I'm going to work now. There's a meeting this morning. - I'm going to work now. I have a meeting scheduled this morning.
Howard: When is the meeting? - When is the meeting?
cara: It's at eleven forty-five. — Eleven forty-five.
Waleed:Eleven forty-five? When is our meeting, Martin? "Eleven forty-five?" When is our meeting, Martin?
Martin:Our meeting is at eleven forty-five. - Our meeting is at eleven forty-five
Have you read? And now try to identify which phrase uses the circumstance of the exact time, and which approximate. Read the conversation piece aloud several times. And to learn how to perceive the fluent speech of ordinary Americans, listen to the audio recording of the lesson several times: /wp-content/uploads/2014/10/russian_english_033.mp3
Well, if you want to practice American pronunciation on your own, then repeatedly repeat after the announcer all expressions with the adverb of time in English, trying to reproduce each sound as accurately as possible.
Circumstances of time in English
Use a convenient table with vocabulary in Russian and English to learn English temporary circumstances, learn how to make your schedule in American style. A table with text will help you master new material much faster.
| Temporary circumstances | |
| General time phrases | |
| in the morning | in the morning |
| next year | next year |
| last week | last week |
| at nine o'clock | at 9 o'clock - exactly on the hour |
| at nine fifteen | at 9:15 - hour + minutes past the hour |
| on Saturday | on Saturday |
| in the evening | in the evening |
| three years ago | three years ago |
| next week | next day |
| Nouns | |
| turn | change |
| demonstration | demonstration |
| ocean | ocean |
| places | places |
| pollution | pollution |
| weekend, end of the week | weekend |
| party | party |
| Verbs | |
| change | to change |
| dress / dress | dress |
| Adjectives | |
| surrounding | environmental |
| noisy | noisy |
Save the chart to your computer or print it out so you can review and review the words from time to time.
Repeat also the previously learned, interesting and useful audio lesson Vehicles in English
Get Homework (Homework):
Your application is accepted
Our manager will contact you soon
close
An error occurred while sending
Send again
Do you want to make your speech in English richer and brighter? Does it irritate you when you often use the word “very” to an adjective in your speech and cannot find another, more emotional synonym? Then this article is for you!
Under the strange name "adjective modifiers (intensifiers)" (adjective modifiers, amplifiers), adjectives and adverbs are hidden, which have a bright color, giving liveliness, emotionality and beauty to speech. Such words are placed before the usual neutral adjective, reinforcing the meaning of the word. You all know amplifiers as very, really, absolutely, totally, etc.
In this article, we will not only write a list of such amplifiers, but also tell you when and how to use them. Let's start with a list of the most used ones. That's how varied you can say about the weather.
Now let's look at more detailed examples.
|
|
|
Thus, examples show us that amplifiers (modifiers) are placed before the adjectives hot (hot) and cold (cold), giving them a different color and making them more or less strong.
Please note that in the examples above, adjectives in the positive degree are used. The question is: can modifiers be used with comparative adjectives? Yes they can. You can add a few modifiers to enhance the comparative degree of adjectives. Here are those modifiers:
a bit/a little taller (slightly/slightly taller)
E.g. My father is a bit/a little taller than my mother.(My dad is a little taller than my mom.)
much/far/a lot older (much older)
E.g. He is much older than his wife.(He is much older than his wife)
You certainly remember the function of comparative adjectives (to compare two or more things/persons, etc.) But what's the difference between huge (huge) or tiny (tiny)? Modifiers like this help us express the degree of difference between two objects.
However, not all modifiers can be used with adjectives. In English, there are adjectives such as non-gradable (no degree) or strong / extreme (strong). That's it, they cannot be modified, because they already have opposite meanings. For example:
Doesn't it sound "very disgusting" and "very awful"?
This is so because the adjectives disgusting and awful already contain the 'very' (very) amplifier in their meaning - (disgusting - very unpleasant (very unpleasant), awful - very bad (very bad).
However, there are several enhancers that can be attached to these strong adjectives:
For example:
- The movie was just terrible.
- He was an exceptionally outstanding child.
- The food smelled really disgusting.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, modifiers (amplifiers) are often used in spoken, informal, semi-formal speech to make it brighter. Of course, adjectives have their own "special" intensifiers that are often used with them. Here are the most common ones:
In order to build even the simplest sentence in English, you need to know the word order in the language. This seemingly simple but very important topic is the starting point in learning English grammar.
Subject + predicate + direct object
In an ordinary affirmative sentence, the subject is placed immediately before the predicate (verb). The direct object, when present, comes immediately after the verb. For example:
- They bought a car. — They bought a car.
- We can't do that. - We can't do that.
- The girl in a blue dress was playing the piano. — The girl in the blue dress was playing the piano.
Predicate
Note that by subject here we mean not only the main noun or pronoun, but also the adjectives or descriptive phrases that refer to it. The rest of the sentence, which does not refer to the subject, is called the predicate. For example:
- The girl in a blue dress was playing the piano.
Indirect additions and circumstances
If there are any other parts in the sentence - indirect objects or circumstances - they usually occupy a strictly defined place.
Position of indirect complement
after direct object if it contains the preposition to.
An indirect addition is put before by direct object when to is absent. For example:
- The teacher gave dictionaries to the pupils. The teacher handed out dictionaries to the students.
- The teacher gave them dictionaries. The teacher gave them dictionaries.
Position of circumstance
The circumstance can be placed in three places:
Before the subject (usually these are circumstances of time)
- In the morning he was reading a book. — He was reading a book in the morning.
After the addition (here you can put almost any adverb or adverbial phrase):
- He was reading a book at the library. — He was reading a book in the library.
Between the auxiliary and the main verb (as a rule, these are short adverbs):
- He has already read this book. He has already read the book.
Normally, in standard English, no other words are placed between the subject and the predicate, or between the predicate and the object. But there are a few exceptions. Here are the most important ones:
Adverbs of frequency of action and indirect objects without the preposition to
- I sometimes drink coffee in the morning. - I sometimes I drink coffee in the morning.
- He showed the driver his bus pass. - He showed driver your bus pass.
If you follow these simple rules, you will be able to avoid misplaced words in an English sentence. The examples given are intentionally simple - but the same rules can be applied to more . For example:
- The woman,, never went to sleep before - A woman [who often felt lonely] never went to bed [without calling her sister].
Stylistic change in word order
Of course, there are exceptions to the rules, and writers or speakers often use non-standard word order for special effect. But if we now focus on exceptions, we digress from the main principles, and the problem of word order in a sentence can seem very complicated.
So here are a few more examples: you should be aware that such sentences exist, but don't try to use them unless absolutely necessary until you master the principles of normal word order (remember to learn how to walk first, and then run!):
- Never before had he felt so miserable. He had never felt so miserable before.
If the sentence begins with never or never before, the subject and verb are often inverted, i.e. change places. Don't use inversion when never follows the subject!
- Hardly had I finished cleaning the house, my friend called. I had hardly finished cleaning the house when my friend called.
(When a sentence begins with hardly, the subject and verb must always be inverted.)
- Had they known, they "d never have done that." - If they knew this, they would never have done that.
(The inversion is used in hypothetical condition structures when the if is omitted.)
- Whatever you can tell me, I know already. “Whatever you tell me, I already know it.
Here's the extended addendum, Whatever you can tell me, placed at the beginning of a sentence for artistic reasons: this sentence structure is not necessary, it's just .
Now, having mastered the rules for constructing simple sentences, you can move on to more complex sentences with subordinate structures.
How do you feel about non-standard word order in English? Difficult, don't you understand? Share in the comments!
Specifying where, when, how and why the action is performed. It gravitates toward the end of the English sentence, and in the initial position it enhances its meaning.
Circumstance expression
Adverb
Ilivethere - I live there
Participle (and turnover)
(While) reading,he made notes - Whenreadingis hedidnotes
finishedhis experiments, he compared the results – Having finishedtheirexperiments, is hecomparedresults
Prepositional infinitive
She went there to study physics - Shewenttherestudyphysics
Prepositional gerund
She went there for studying physics - Shewenttherefor studyingphysics
prepositional noun
They were walking in the forest - Theywalkedinforest
Subordinate clause
She'lldoitwhenshereturns - She will do this upon her return
Theplantgrowswheretheotherscouldn'tt - This plant grows where others could not
As it was rainingwe stayed at home – From-behindrainwestayedHouses
Shemusthurrylestshebelate - She needs to hurry so as not to be late
I'lldothisworkifIhavetime - I will do this work in my free time
thought he was very young,he was a good worker - Despiteon theyouth, is hewellmanaged
These parts of speech can act as a circumstance in one word, in a phrase or syntactic complex.
He was walking slowly - Hewalkedslowly
He goes there tomorrow - Hegoestheretomorrow
We visit them every day - Wevisitingthemdaily
The boy rushed in , his blue eyes shining happily- Boybroke inwithburningeyes
Types of circumstance
- time
Heroseatdawn - He got up at dawn
He seldom goes there - He rarely goes there
- places
He lives in the south of England - Heliveson thesouthEngland
He went south - He went south
- mode of action
He talked to her slowly choosing his words – Hesaidwithher, slowlypicking upthe words
He talked to her walking up and down the room – Hesaidwithherpacingonroom
- causes
Her eyes were red from want of sleep - Hereyeswereredfromlack of sleep
Notknowingwhattoaddshestopped - Not knowing what to add, she stopped
- goals
He set the alarm clock to get up at 7 - Heputalarmon the7 am
- result
Usually after a predicative adjective preceded by too or followed by enough.
It was too hot to go out into town - Get outincityIt wasstuffy
- conditional
Healwayscameifinvited - He always came if invited
- concessive
They managed in the end , in spite of great difficulties- They arefinallymanageddespiteon theobstacles
- degrees (usually before the defined)
She'sawfullynice - She's terribly cute
I was a little uneasy - I felt uneasy
- comparative (usually with as if/though)
The infinitive expresses comparison on the basis of the goal, the participle - on the basis of the image.
He took her hand as if to shake it - Hetookherhandlikeforhandshakes
English Joke
The eminent financier was discoursing.
"The true secret of success," he said, "is to find out what the people want."
"And the next thing," someone suggested, "is to give it to them."
The financi shook his head contemptuously.
