Job Discussion Forums

[BrentBlack]

Hey guys,

I think I have got Part 2 wrapped up. Just wanted to see if you all would help me to correct any mistakes by explaining what I did wrong and how I may find the correct answers?

These are my answers to the following questions:

(i) What is the difference in meaning between the following sentences?
(ii) Identify the grammatical structure underlined in each sentence

(a) When I arrived at the station the train left

i. The train left precisely at the moment of arrival.
ii. Simple Past Tense

(b) When I arrived at the station, the train was leaving

i. The train was in the process of leaving at the moment of arrival.
ii. Past Progressive Tense

(c) When I arrived at the station the train had left

i. The train was already gone at the moment of arrival.
ii. Past Perfect Tense

(a) She had her house painted

i. Someone painted her house for her.
ii. Simple Past Tense

(b) She had painted her house

i. She previously painted her house herself.
ii. Past Perfect Tense

(a) He stopped to smoke a cigarette

i. He ceased what he was doing in order to have to have a cigarette.
ii. Simple Infinitive

(b) He stopped smoking cigarettes

i. He ceased the habit of smoking altogether.
ii. Noun

(a) You must see him

i. Implies the speaker wants the subject to go see HIM.
ii. Must is a modal auxiliary verb + infinitive (see)

(c) You must have seen him

i. The speaker implies the subject saw HIM at a previous time.
ii. Must is a modal auxiliary verb + have + past participle (seen)


Thanks in advance,

Brent

[Sashadroogie]

Dear Brent

Pretty good, but some other things to consider:

'Had her house painted' is a causative - related to passive voice.

'Stopped to smoke/smoking - verb patterns.

'Must have seen' - a past modal of deduction.

Good luck!

[BrentBlack]

Also, in part 3, is it appropriate to give the correct answer, or do I need to do more?

example:

(b) Borrow me your pen, will you?

The part of the sentence that is wrong is BORROW. One may ask to borrow a pen, but in this case, one would say, �lend me your pen, will you?� One could also say, �Will you lend me your pen?�

(d) Can you remember me to go to the bank?

The mistake in the sentence is REMEMBER. One would properly ask, �Would you remind me to go to the bank?�

Thanks,
Brent

[mozzar]

Remind me to remember! It suprised me how many students mixed it up at first.

[BrentBlack]

[Sashadroogie]

Not sure what the instructions are for Part 3. I'd presume that correction would be enough, but you may need to say how you'd explain the difference between words like remind/remember or lend/borrow to students. Not as simple as it may seem at first.

L1 may not make the distinctions that English does in these examples and so they may only have one word for our two. For example, in Russian there are dozens of discrete words for our word 'go', depending on whether you go in one direction only, go and return, go regularly, go on foot. Can be baffling at first for English speakers. Some teacher input can help a lot here. Ah, Russian verbs of motion - the joy!

Same for 'remember/remind' - can be baffling for speakers who only have one word to cover both ideas in L1. So, it is important that students know that two people are involved with remind, but only one with remember. We do the latter ourselves, but the former someone must do this to another. Language grading is crucial here too, and it might be worth thinking about how to use a whiteboard to aid you.

All the best.

[fluffyhamster]

Is 'smoking' in 'He stopped smoking (cigarettes)' a noun? I mean, what's 'asking' in 'Let's stop asking (questions)', or 'doing' in 'Let's stop doing this'?

But I suppose you could fudge the issue by calling 'smoking (cigarettes)' and 'asking (questions)' simply "activities" (regardless of the parsing that might be invoved).

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Quite, clearly...gerunds...

Way to dumb them down...

NCTBA

[johnslat]

It's a gerund - 2nd principle part of the verb (i.e. present participle) being used as a noun.

Regards,
John

[fluffyhamster]

Or you could just call "them" -ing forms.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Look...if an -ing form of a word isn't following a "be" verb...it's either a gerund or an adjective.

Somebody...prove me wrong...

NCTBA

[johnslat]

Dear NCTBA,

Sing, "It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing."

Regards,
King John

[Sashadroogie]

[Sashadroogie]

[johnslat]

Dear Sashadroogiw,

Well, I swan.

Principal parts of verbs

Present Present Participle Past Past Participle

The second part (i.e. the present participle - which is the NAME of the second part of a verb) can be used in the following ways:

1. as a verb - in all the continuous tenses: I am writing.

2. as a gerund: Being peeved is Sashadroogie's passion.

3. as an adjective: But I'm a forgiving man.

Regards,
John