Pragmatics waste-basket

Mey( 2001) gives us a full account of how pragmatics developed from the “waste-basket of semantics” into an independent and important domain of the linguistic research.
At the beginning, the semantics was called the “waste-basket of syntax”. In the late fifties and early sixties, linguists tried to make linguistics a science. Thus they applied many mathematical methods to the linguistic study. Linguistics was ideally considered as an algebra of language. In the mid-fifties, Chomsky developed his famous theory of generative-transformational grammar. Although he knew the domain of his research is somewhat limited, he concentrated his attention on grammar and pay no attention to the study of meaning. In this way, semantics came to be called the “waste-basket of syntax”. In the early seventies, some linguists began to try to turn the study of meaning into the foundation of the linguistic study instead of syntax. Semantics mainly concerns about the conditions under which a sentence could be true or false. In the semantic research, linguists found that many language phenomena could be explained by semantic theory, but these phenomena didn’t attract much attention at that time. All their unsolved questions were thrown into a new basket, pragmatic basket. Some natural language does make sense, but we can’t prove it to be true. These problems kept bothering the linguists, but were left to be unnoticed. Later these unsolved questions became the main items of the pragmatic study. In this sense, pragmatics became the waste basket of semantics.  
“In the Chomskyan linguistic tradition, well-formedness plays the role of the decision-maker in questions of linguistic ‘belonging’: a language consists of a set of well-formed sentences, and it is these that ‘belong’ in the language; no others do.”(Mey, 2001:25). In 1968, Lakoff published an article, entitled “Presupposition and relative well-formedness”. Lakoff , for the first time, publicly rejects in writing the formal-logic criterion of syntactic “well-formedness”. Chomsky considers this criterion as the ultimate standard to judge a linguistic production. However, what we perceive as correct in the real communication often collides with the correctness as prescribed by some grammarians. For example, according to English grammar we should us who when we are dealing with a noun which is human (and naturally animate), whereas we use which for a noun-human (possibly also non-animate) referent (Mey, 2001:25). But sometimes we don’t obey the rule in the ordinary language. For example, we usually use who to refer to our motherland or our pet. If not, it would be unacceptable.
The semantics and pragmatics may be somewhat alike in terms of the subject of the research. Both of them deal with the meaning, but what the semantists only concern about is whether the sentence is true or false. Then some problems arise. Some sentences don’t have true value, but it does make sense in the natural language in a certain situation. Some sentences have the same ‘true conditions’(that’s to say they are logically equivalent), but these sentences clearly don’t have the same meaning. Some semantists noticed these problems, but they just left them unsolved. Only when we take the language user and the context into consideration, can we find the answers to these questions. Later, these unsolved questions became the main issues of the pragmatic study.
Concerning the relationship between syntax, semantics and pragmatics, semantics was once regarded as the waster-basket of syntax, while pragmatics was once called the waster-basket of semantics. From syntax to pragmatics, the domain of the linguistic research is enlarged step by step and the study becomes more and more practical. In fact, syntax is the foundation of syntax, and pragmatics is based on the research of syntax and semantics. And linguistics gradually develops into a versatile subject covering almost every aspect of knowledge concerning language. 

Lecture Notes:Introduction to Pragmatics

Introduction to Pragmatics

1) Pragmatics:

Pragmatics is a branch of general linguistics like other branches that include: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax and Semantics. There are a lot of philosopher and linguists who have tried to define Pragmatics such as Charles Morris’s famous definition of pragmatics as “the study of the relation of signs to interpreters-”, Levinson’s consideration of pragmatics as being “the study of those relations between language and context that is gammaticalized, or encoded in the structure of a language.”, and Mey’s definition as “Pragmatics studies the use of language in human communication as determined by the conditions of society.”. Ran Yongping expressed his idea in his book A Survey of Pragmatics : “Pragmatics is a discipline not only concerning the sense, but also concerning the derivation of sense and the understanding of underlying meaning as its objects. It aims to decipher the negotiation and derivation of meaning in communication. So pragmatics studies, aiming at the derivation of sense during intercommunication, are by-directional dynamic studies.” (Yongping:1998). He put emphasis on dynamic studies, based on the idea of British scholar Thomas, the founder of dynamic pragmatics, who argued that the studies of pragmatics should aim at interactive sense. Language is alive not dead, and it is for using, so only the dynamic studies are significant.

2) Background of Pragmatics:

On mentioning the origin of pragmatics, we can go back to ancient Greek and Roman academic works. At that time some great philosophers had discussed something related to pragmatics. And we can say pragmatics develops from philosophy. Why? First, The term “pragmatics” first appeared in linguistic philosophy in 1930s, for then western philosophers began to shift their focus onto the studies of language symbols, which developed into semiology later. And the early pragmatics was just a branch of semiology that was under the philosophers’ studies, which means that pragmatics originates from the philosophers’studies on language. Second, the theoretic basis for pragmatics is from philosophy. To be more specific, pragmatics originates from the following aspects: the studies of semiology; the studies of linguistical philosophy in the 20th century and the studies of function linguistics on language forms. Third, the main studies of pragmatics such as indecicals and presupposition also have philosophical background. Here we should mention some philosophers who have played very important role in the development of pragmatics. Such as Wittgenstein, Morris, Austin, Searle, Levinson, Leech, Pierce, Carnap and so on. Wittgenstein and Austin once had discussed the origin of pragmatics in England, France and German in 1930s. Morris, who played the most important role in the first stage of the development of pragmatics, held an opinion that the studies of pragmatics must involve the aspects of society, of psychology, of nerve, of culture and of other things that affected the symbols and their meanings. And the most influent thing that he did on pragmatics was that in 1938 he had divided semiology into three parts: syntactics, semantics and pragmatics. The famous philosopher Carnap had very similar ideas with Morris, and he made some supplement, he thought that the studies of pragmatics should on the relationship between users and words as well as the reference of words. And he divided studies into pure theoretic ones and descriptive ones. And he made the aims of pragmatics studies more specific, that is the relationship between language users and words and the reference relationship. Bar-Hiller, the student of Carnap, suggested the studies of pragmatics should have definite aims and he claimed that the definite aims should be decitics such as “I”, “Here”, “Now”. Austin and Searle put forward the Speech Act Theory, which was the most influent topic in the studies of pragmatics during the second stage.

The Most Important Three Issues of Pragmatics and Three Stages in the Development of Pragmatics:

In 1983 Levinson and Leech published their respective works Pragmatics and Principle of Pragmatics, which set up the theoretic system of pragmatics. In 1977 Mey and Haberland started the Journal of Pragmatics in Holand. The start publication of the Journal of Pragmatics, the publishing of Pragmatics and the International Pragmatics Association that was set up in 1988 are considered the most important three issues for the development of pragmatics and indicate that pragmatics has become an independent discipline in linguistics. Generally speaking, the establishment of pragmatics as an independent discipline experiences three stages: the first stage is from the late 1930s to late 1940s, during this period, some philosophers such as Pierce, Morris and Carnap considered pragmatics to be a branch of semiology and all the studies were within the domain of philosophy; The second stage is from the beginning of 1950s to late 1960s. During this period, three famous philosophers called Austin, Searle and Grice made studied on speech act and implicature theory, and their achievements sustained the basic theory of pragmatics. The studies were still within the domain of philosophy then; The third stage is after 1970s, the biggest three issues happened and pragmatics became an independent discipline.

3) Schools of Pragmatics:

The studies of Pragmatics are divided into two big schools------British & American School and European School which can be subdivided into France School, Prague School and Copenhagen School. British & American School is traditionally centering on studying the sentence structure and grammar, and their studies of pragmatics is also restricted to several definite topics such as deictic expressions, conversational implicature, presupposition, speech and conversation structure. Their studies belong to Micro-pragmatics. European School has a wide visual and understanding, and their studies even include conversation analysis, cultural anthropology, social linguistics and psycholinguistics during intercommunication. Their studies belong to Macro-pragmatics.

4) Types of Pragmatics:

There are three divisions of Pragmatics:

• Micro-pragmatics,
• Macro-pragmatics and
• Meta-pragmatics.

When we talk about Micro-pragmatics and Macro-pragmatics, we may ask what are micropragmatics and macropragmatics. Mey have talked about them in details in his book Pragmatics: An Introduction. The studies of Micro-pragmatics are, on the level of language using, centering upon the discussion of pragmatic tasks aroused by the understanding of language symbols’ reference and implicature during conversation, including Context, Conversational implicature, Reference, Pragmatic Principles, speech Acts and Conversation Analysis. While the studies of Macro-pragmatics are, on the level of society & culture, focus on the problems of how to use language for language user during the process of communication, including Pragmatic Acts, Literary Pragmatics, Pragmatics Across Cultures and the Social Aspects of Pragmatics Metapragmatics which can be considered as a review, a survey or a reflection of pragmatics itself, including making statements about itself, questioning itself, improving itself, quoting itself and rethinking the methodologies and theoretic system during the process of its studies. If you want me to say more about Metapragmatics, I can consult what Caffi said: there are three ways of dealing with metapragmatics: one, as a theoretical discussion on what pragmatics is, and what it should comprise; two, as a discussion of the conditions and possibilities that enable people to act by using words, to ’do’ pragmatics by acting pragmatically; and finally, three, as the pragmatic pendant to the metapragmatic level, which is often captured under the label of ‘reflexive language’ .

5) New Development:

Since the 1980s Pragmatics, as an independent discipline, has been developing very quickly and soundly, so far, it has got delightful achievements and attracted more and more students and scholars to conduct researches on it. And now, pragmatics has new development, many scholars begin to do cross studies. Such as interactional sociolinguistics, interlanguage pragmatics, cross-cultural pragmatics, pragmatics and translation, pragmatics and language teaching which contains two: pragmalinguistics and sociopragmatics, cognitive pragmatics and clinical pragmatics.

Reference:

Mey. 2001. Pragmatics: An Introduction.

Pragmatics: Course Description

Pragmatics: Textbook & References

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

A pronoun that ends in self or selves is either a reflexive or an intensive pronoun.


Reflexive Pronouns:

A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and directs the action of the verb back to the subject. Reflexive pronouns are necessary to the meaning of a sentence

Notice: that if you drop the reflexive pronoun, the sentence no longer makes sense. (Ben Carson dedicated to becoming a doctor.)

Intensive Pronouns
An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or another pronoun within the same sentence. Intensive pronouns are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

• You yourself have overcome many hardships.
• Dr. Carson himself has survived great poverty.
  

Notice:that when you drop the intensive pronoun, the sentence still makes sense. (Dr. Carson has survived great poverty.)
Avoid the use of hisself and theirselves, which are grammatically incorrect. Use himself and themselves instead.

Lecture Notes: PRONOUNS

Pronouns: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or other pronoun.

Pronoun Function in the Sentence:

Correct pronoun usage is determined by the function of the pronoun within the sentence. Is the pronoun the subject or the object of a verb or preposition?

Object forms: me, us, you, him, her, them.

• Those flowers were given in honor of Andrew and I. [Incorrect]


• Those flowers were given in honor of Andrew and me. [Correct]

To complete this sentence, “of” must have an object; therefore, “Andrew and I” must become “Andrew and me.”

Subject forms: I, we, you, he, she, it, they

• Me and her went to the game [Incorrect]
• She and I went to the game [Correct]

Because “me and her” are object forms, they cannot function as the subjects of this sentence; they must be changed to “she and I.”

Types of Pronouns:
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to a person or a thing.

1st person – I, we, me, us
2nd person – You
3rd person – He, she, it, they, him, her, them

Indefinite Pronouns:

Indefinite pronouns function as nouns in a sentence, but do not take the place of a specific person or thing.

Singular:
Anybody, No one ,Anyone, Nothing, Anything, One
Each, Somebody Everybody, Someone
Everyone, Something
Plural : A couple, A few,Many,Several,Both

There are also some indefinite pronouns which function as both singular and plural: all, some, none. If these pronouns refer to a noun measured by amount, they are singular. If they refer to a noun measured by number, they are plural.

• All of the students are going to the principal’s office. (Plural)
  [Students can be individually counted; therefore “all” is a plural pronoun]
• All of the work we have done is pointless. (Singular)

[Work cannot be counted individually; therefore, “all” is a singular pronoun]

Relative Pronouns

Like personal pronouns, relative pronouns refer back to a person or thing and must function as either an object or subject in the sentence. Object forms include whom and whomever. Subject forms include who and whoever.

Difficulty arises when there is uncertainty about how these pronouns are functioning in the sentence. Ask yourself, “Is the pronoun a subject or an object?”

If the pronoun is following a preposition or verb, treat it as an object.

• At whom did you throw the bouquet?
  [“Whom” is the object of the preposition “at”]
• The professor picked whomever he wanted.
  [“Whomever” is the object of the verb “picked”]

If the pronoun is the subject, use the subject form.

• Who is the speaker at the banquet? (Who is the subject of the sentence)
• I will choose whoever speaks up first. (Whoever is the subject of the noun clause)

Agreement in Person and Number:

A common error occurs when pronouns do not agree in person and number. To avoid these errors, remember that the word that a pronoun is replacing is called the antecedent. As such, pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number:

• The students went to his or her rooms. [Incorrect: Students is a plural antecedent]
• The students went to their rooms. [Correct: The plural pronoun agrees with the plural antecedent]

The most common pronoun agreement error in number occurs when the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun:

Incorrect:
1. Each of the fans cheered as they watched the team sprint onto the field.
2. Everyone brought their pencil for the evaluation.
3. Both women in the portrait balanced her jars.
4. Several of the men raised his hand to volunteer.

Correct:
1. Each of the fans cheered as he or she watched the team sprint onto the field.
2. Everyone brought his or her pencil for the evaluation.
3. Both women in the portrait balanced their jars.
4. Several of the men raised their hands to volunteer

Ambiguous Pronoun Reference

Another common error is ambiguous pronoun reference. This occurs when the user uses multiple or ambiguous antecedents. If a personal pronoun is used following multiple antecedents, the reader may be unsure to which antecedent the pronoun is referring:

• The captain told his first officer that he could take leave next week. [Does “he” refer to the captain or the first officer?]

To avoid these errors, either make sure that pronouns clearly refer back to their appropriate antecedents or rephrase the sentence so that there is no confusion:

• The captain told his first officer that the officer could take leave next week.
• The captain granted the officer’s request to take leave next week.

Also, demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) are often used in an ambiguous manner:

• This may be contributing to the increase in crime. [What does “this” refer to?]

“This” is a demonstrative pronoun that might be referring to any number of causes. To avoid errors, specify the causes, or, if they have been specified in a previous sentence, find a key word to repeat:

• Negligence may be contributing to the increase in crime.
• This negligence may be contributing to the increase in crime.

Pronouns are a useful tool in avoiding repetition and monotony in writing. However, if you are using pronouns, be sure to keep these rules in mind so as to avoid misinterpretation and confusion.

Lecture Notes: Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Like a noun, a pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea. The word that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns such as we, I, she, them, and it are called personal pronouns. Personal pronouns have a variety of forms to indicate different persons, numbers, and cases.

Person and Number

There are first-person, second-person, and third-person personal pronouns, each having both singular and plural forms.

Case

Each personal pronoun forms has three cases: subject, object, and possessive. Which form to use depends on the pronoun’s function in a sentence.

The following chart shows all the forms of the personal pronouns:

Subject Pronouns

A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence or as a predicate pronoun after a linking verb.

Pronouns as Subjects

Use a subject pronoun when the pronoun is a subject or part of a compound subject.

• The Apollo program was a great success. It got us to the moon. (It, referring to The
  Apollo program, is the subject of the sentence.)

A pronoun can be part of a compound subject.

• You and I both think we should go on to Mars.
  

Predicate Pronouns

A predicate pronoun follows a linking verb and identifies the subject. Use the subject case for predicate pronouns.

Remember, the most common linking verbs are forms of the verb be, including is, am, are, was, were, has been, have been, can be, will be, could be, and should be.

Object Pronouns

An object pronoun is used as a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition.

Direct Object The pronoun receives the action of a verb and answers the question whom or what.

Indirect Object The pronoun tells to whom or what or for whom or what an action is performed.

Object of a Preposition The pronoun follows a preposition (such as to, from, for, against, by, or about).
Always use object pronouns after the preposition between.

• It’s a contest between him and me. (NOT between he and I.)
  

Possessive Pronouns
A possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun used to show ownership or relationship.

The possessive pronouns my, your, her, his, its, our, and their come before nouns.

The possessive pronouns mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, and theirs can stand alone in a sentence.

• This cat is mine. That cat is his.


• Is the striped cat yours? No, mine is all black.


• What color is his? Hers hasn’t come home yet.

Possessive Pronouns and Contractions
Some possessive pronouns sound like contractions (its/it’s, your/you’re, their/they’re). Because these pairs sound alike, writers often confuse possessive pronouns and contractions.
Remember, a possessive pronoun never has an apostrophe. A contraction, however, always has an apostrophe. The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out in a combination of two words.

LECTURE NOTES:POSSESSIVE NOUNS

POSSESSIVE NOUNS:


When creating possessive form nouns there are 8 simple rules:

1. If a singular noun does not end in s, add 's.

• The delivery boy's truck was blocking the driveway.
• Bob Dole's concession speech was stoic and dignified.
• The student's attempts to solve the problem were rewarded

2. If a singular common noun ends in s, add 's- unless the next word begins with s. If the next word begins with s, add an apostrophe only. (This includes words with s and sh sounds.)

• The boss's temper was legendary among his employees.
• The boss' sister was even meaner.
• The witness's version of the story has several inconsistencies.
• The witness' story did not match the events recorded on tape.

3. If a singular proper noun ends in s, add an apostrophe.

• Chris' exam scores were higher than any other students.

4. If a noun is plural in form and ends in an s, add an apostrophe only, even if the intended meaning of the word is singular (such as mathematics and measles.)

• The instructor asked us to analyze ten poems' meanings.
• The dog catcher had to check all of the dogs' tags.
• It is hard to endure the Marine Corps' style of discipline.

5. If a plural noun does not end in s, add 's.

• Many activists in Oregon are concerned with children's rights.
• Everyone was disappointed with the American media's coverage of the Olympics in Atlanta.

6. If there is joint possession, use the correct possessive for only the possessive closest to the noun.

• Clinton and Gore's campaign was successful.
• She was worried about her mother and father's marriage.
• Beavis and Butthead's appeal is absolutely lost on me.

7. If there is a separate possession of the same noun, use the correct possessive form for each word.

• The owner's and the boss's excuses were equally false.
• The dog's and the cats' owners were in school when the fire broke out.

8. In a compound construction, use the correct possessive form for the word closest to the noun. Avoid possessives with compound plurals.

• My father-in-law's BMW is really fun to drive.
• The forest ranger's truck is painted an ugly shade of green.
• Your neighborhood letter carrier's job is more difficult than you imagine.

LECTURE NOTES: THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NOUNS

Capital letters are used with:

1. Names and titles of people

• Winston Churchillb.
• Marilyn Monroec.
• the Queen of Englandd.
• the President of the United Statese.
• the Headmaster of Etonf.
• Doctor Mathewsg.
• Professor Samuels.

Note: The personal pronoun 'I' is always written with a capital letter.

2. Titles of works, books etc.

• War and Peaceb.
• The Merchant of Venicec.
• Crime and Punishment
• Tristan and Isolde

3. Months of the year

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

4. Days of the week

• Saturday
• Sunday
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday

5. Seasons

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

6. Holidays

• National Day
• Eid Al Fitr
• Eid Al Adha
• New Year's Day
  

7. Geographical names...

• names of countries and continents
  America
  England
  Scotland
  China
  Peru
  Albania
  Africa
  Europe
  Asia
• names of regions, states, districts etc.
  Sussex
  California
  Queensland
  Provence
  Tuscany
  Vaud
  Florida
  Costa Brava
  Tyrol
• names of cities, towns, villages etc.
  London
  Cape Town
  Rome
  Florence
  Bath
  Wagga Wagga
  Vancouver
  Wellington
  Peking
• names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes etc.
  the Atlantic
  the Dead Sea
  the Pacific
  Lake Leman
  Lake Victoria
  Lake Michigan
  the Rhine
  the Thames
  the Nile
• names of geographical formations
  the Himalayas
  the Alps
  the Sahara
• Adjectives relating to nationality nouns
  France - French music
  Australia - Australian animals
  Germany - German literature
  Arabia - Arabic writing
  Indonesia - Indonesian poetry
  China - Chinese food
• Names of streets, buildings, parks etc.
  Park Lane
  Central Avenue
  Pall Mall
  George Street
  Sydney Opera House
  Central Park
  Hyde Park
  the Empire State Building

Lecture Notes: Nouns

Definition:

A noun is a name given to an object or idea.

Classes of Nouns:

1. A common noun is a name given to any one of a class of objects (tulip, city, face, movie, girl, clue, lake, cookie).Common nouns can be classified into the following sub-classes:

• A concrete noun is the name of a perceivable object (spoon).
• An abstract noun is the name of a quality or idea (truth, ethics).
• A collective noun is the name of a group of things (mob, herd).
• A mass noun is the name of a non-countable collection (time).

2. A proper noun is the official title of a specific object; it is therefore always capitalized (Dionysus, Bela Lugosi, Atlantic Ocean, Mother Goose).A proper noun can always be put into its common noun class: Texas -> state; Atlantic -> ocean; Bela Lugosi -> man (or actor).


Properties of Nouns

There are four basic properties for English nouns:

1. Gender - a property that indicates the sex of the referent. These include:

• Masculine - king, uncle, boy, etc.
• Feminine - queen, aunt, girl, witch, etc.
• Common - parent, singer, table, etc.

2. Person - property indicating the relationship between the noun and the speaker. These include:

• First person - object(s) speaking (I, John, am here.)
• Second person - object(s) spoken to (John, come here.)
• Third person - object(s) spoken of (John is here.)

3. Number - An indication of one or more than one object. This includes:

• Singular - denotes one object (cat)
• Plural - denotes more than one object (cats)

4. Case - Indicates the grammatical function of the object. These include:

a. Nominative - The noun is the doer of the action (or the subject)

• The sun shines. (subj)
• Grant was a general. (subj complement)
• The chief, an old man, rose. (appositive)
• Charles, please come here. (direct address)

b. Objective - The noun is acted upon

• Bob repelled the intruder. (d/o)
• Mom gave Ellen a hug. (i/o)
• Tom hit Bill, the new boy. (appositive of d/o)
• Mom gave Ellen, her daughter, a hug. (appositve of i/o)
• The man under the tree smiled. (obj prep)

c. Possessive - Denotes ownership or agency

• The boy’s kite... (one boy)
• The boys’ kite... (more than one boy)
• John and Bill’s kite... (joint ownership)
• John’s and Bill’s kites... (indiv. ownership)
  
  Plural Forms
  
  In English, plural nouns are formed in different ways:
  1. Regular plurals - Formed by adding -s or -es to singular noun forms (cars, boxes, etc.)
  2. Irregular plurals - Formed by spelling change (foot -> feet; mouse -> mice; child -> children)
  3. Double plurals - A noun that can have both a regular and irregular plural form (brother -> brothers or brethren; bandit -> bandits or banditti)
  4. Plurals treated as singular - Some nouns have a plural form but a singular meaning(news; means; physics, dollars)
  
  
  Role of Nouns
  
  A noun can have a variety of functions in English, including:
  1. Subject of a verb - who/what does the action.
• The water ripples.
• Sparks flew.

2. Object of a verb - who/what receives the action; for whom/what?

• I scratched my nose. (d/o)
• I gave the lady the case. (i/o)

3. Object of a preposition - the “what?” of the preposition.

• The pendulum swings over the pit.

4. Complement - completes the meaning of another noun or pronoun.

• I am a student. (sub. complement)
• I saw Joe, the new hire. (obj complement)

5. Appositive - A noun used to explain or identify another nounal.

• I waved at my guest, a strange fellow.
• The story, a tale of fabulous imagination.
• I called Bob, my professor.
  

Lecture Notes: Subject-Verb Agreement

Every clause in English has a subject and a verb, and these must agree in person and number.

Rules:


A. In simple present tense :When the subject is third person singular, the verb must have the [-s] form, i.e. end with - s or -es.

• My friend lives in Boston. ('friend' is third person singular)
• The sun rises from the east. ('sun' is third person singular)
• The dress looks like a brand new. ('dress' is third person singular)

It is easier to remember to make the subject and the verb to agree when the verb comes immediately after the subject. However, many English learners fail to make the subject and the verb agree when they are separated by a prepositional phrase, a relative clause or an adverbial phrase:

wrong

• The mother of these boys work as a computer programmer.

(The verb 'work' is agreeing with 'boys', but 'boys' is the object of the prepositional phrase 'of these boys'. It should agree with the subject, 'mother', which is singular.)

right

• The mother of these boys works as a computer programmer.

wrong

• The clothes that I gave to my sister was too small for me.

(The verb 'was' is agreeing with 'sister', but 'sister' is part of the relative clause 'that I gave to my sister'. The subject of this sentence is 'clothes', which is plural.)

right

• The clothes that I have to my sister were too small for me.

wrong

• President George Bush, like most previous presidents, come from a wealthy family.

(The verb 'come' is agreeing with 'presidents', which is part of the adverbial phrase 'like most previous presidents'. In this sentence 'President George Bush' is the subject, with which the verb must agree.)

right

• President George Bush, like most previous presidents, comes from a wealthy family.

B. A gerund subject is always considered singular.

• Jogging is good for your health.
• Smiling causes people to be nicer.

C. With most phrases of quantity, the verb agrees with the noun in the phrase.

Note:

When the quantity is singular such as 'one of', 'each of', 'every one of', or 'a group of'', the verb is singular but the noun of that phrase must be plural.

wrong

• Each of the book costs $1.

right

• Each of the books costs $1.

wrong

• One of the room is very messy.

right

• One of the rooms is very messy.

wrong

• A group of student is touring the campus.

right

• A group of students is touring the campus.

D. With some nouns, it is not obvious that they are singular or plural.

1. Names of places or things are singular.

e.g. countries (the United States, the Netherlands), organizations (the United Nations).

2. 'News' is singular.

3. Fields of studies are singular.

e.g. economics, physics, mathematics, statistics.

4. Diseases or medical conditions are singular.

e.g. diabetes, measles, mumps, rabies, rickets, shingles.

5. Expressions of measurements (time, money, distance, weight) are singular.

e.g. three days, one hundred dollars, two miles, fifty pounds.

6. Arithmetic expressions use singular verbs.

7. Some nouns are plural even though they do not end with -s or -es.

e.g police, cattle, people, sheep, fish, staff, faculty.

8. Languages are singular, but a noun that means the people of a country takes a plural verb.

9. When an adjective is preceded by 'the', it means the people with that quality or characteristic (the poor = the poor peole, the rich = the rich people, the disabled = the disabled people) and it requires a plural noun.

Lecture Notes: Future Tenses

Simple Future Tense

A. Meaning

The simple future tense is used to describe an event that will occur in the future, e.g. in two hours, tomorrow, in five months, next year, in 10 years, etc. There are several instances when the future tense is required:

1. To express a prediction - As human beings, we can only speculate about the future; in other words, we never know for certain what will happen in the future. We can only predict, or make guesses about future events, based on what we know now. Weather reporters try to predict the weather for the next few days, economists try to predict the state of the nation's economy in the following year, business people try to predict how much money they will make, and students try to predict what grade they will get at the end of the semester. When an event is probable or possible, it is a prediction.
2. To express a prior plan - We can also use the future tense to express a prior plan. We know that an event will happen because we have already planned it. We are going to make the event happen. For example, I am going to stop by at the bank in the afternoon because I already thought about it and decided to go this morning. I intend to go to the bank.
3. To express willingness - Sometimes, an event will occur in the future because we volunteer to do it at the moment of speaking. It is not making a prediction or a plan; it is someone being willing or choosing to do it. If a parent asks his or her child to wash the dishes, the child can choose to do it. The child did not plan to wash the dishes, but he or she can volunteer when asked by the parent. To express a future event that is on a regular schedule - We know that something will happen in the future also because it is part of a regular schedule. Some of the things on a regular schedule are the bus, train, plane, movies, work, businesses and school. For example, tomorrow is Friday, and we know that Macy's Department Store closes at 9 p.m. every Friday. Therefore, we know that the store will close tomorrow at 9 p.m. We can make this prediction because the store has always closed at 9 p.m. in the past, and it will continue to follow the regular schedule and close at 9 on Fridays in the future. Only a few words apply in this category, e.g open, close, begin, start, arrive, leave, etc.

B. Usage

There are four ways to express the future time - will,be going to, present progressive and simple present - but their usage is not identical. Study the chart below:

Predictions Prior Plans Willingness Regular Schedules
(a) will (c) be going to (e) will (f) simple present
(b) be going to (d) present progressive (g) present progressive

(a) You are studying so hard. You will get an A on the test. (b) You are studying so hard. You are probably going to get an A on the test.

(c) Emily has invited her friends over for tomorrow. They are going to watch a video together. (d) But Tom can't come. He is playing baseball tomorrow.

(e) A: It's getting late. Can somebody take me home?

B: I will take you home.

(f) The bus leaves in 10 minutes. You'd better hurry up, or you will miss the bus. (g) The movie is starting at 7:30 p.m. We will have enough time to have dinner first.

C. Form

* The main verb is always in the base form.

Affirmative Statements:

a. will + verb
b. be going to + verb ('be' is in the simple present tense form)

• It will rain tomorrow.
• It is going to rain tomorrow.
  

Negative Statements:

a. will + not + verb (contracted = won't)
b. be + not + going to + verb

• Ron will not come to school next week.
• Ron won't come to school next week.
• Ron is not going to come to school next week.

Questions:

a. will + subject + verb
b. be + subject + going to + verb

• Will the energy crisis continue for a long time?
• Is the energy crisis going to continue for a long time?

Future Time Clauses

A time clause is a dependent clause that begins with a time adverb such as when, after, before, as soon as, until, while, and it must be connected to an independent clause. Even though the actions in both the time clause and the independent clause will happen in the future, the verb in the time clause is in the simple present tense while the verb in the independent clause is in the future tense. For example:

• When William gets home, he will take a shower.

('When William gets home' is a time clause and it expresses a future event. )

• I will pay the rent after I receive my paycheck.

('after I receive my paycheck' is a time clause and it also expresses a future event.)

When the sentence begins with a time clause, there is a comma before the independent clause. When the time clause follows the independent clause, there is no comma.

Future Progressive

A. Meaning

The future progressive tense describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future, and it will continue even further into the future. Remember that stative verbs cannot be in the progressive.
1.
A: I will call you tomorrow at 7 a.m.

B: But tomorrow is Saturday! I will be sleeping at that time.
2.
When Christy graduates from college, her sister is going to be starting high school.

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

a. will be + verb-ing
b. be going to + be + verb-ing

• At 7:30 a.m tomorrow, I will be driving in heavy traffic.
• At 7:3p a.m. tomorrow, I am going to be driving in heavy traffic.
  

Negative Statements:

a. will + not + be + verb-ing
b. be + not + be + verb-ing

• When Derek moves to New York, he will not be taking all his furniture.
• When Derek moves to New York, he is not going to be taking all his furniture.

Questions:

a. will + subject + be + verb-ing
b. be + subject + be + verb-ing

• Will you be using the computer when I get home from school?
• Are you going to be using the computer when I get home from school?

Future Perfect

A. Meaning

The future perfect tense is used to describe an event that will be completed before another future event. It is to emphasize that it will be finished by a certain time in the future. The future perfect is often used with the time adverb by the time and adverbs already and yet, and only 'will', not 'be going to' is used for the perfect tense.

For example:

a. By the time we get married, we will have dated for 3 years.
(We started dating in 1999. We will get married in 2002. By 2002, we will have dated for 3 years.)
b. Monica and John are living in an apartment now. But they will have already bought a house by the time they have their first child.
(They don't have a child now, but they will in the future. By that time, they will have already bought a house. So the baby's first home will be their new house, not the apartment.)

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

• will + have + past participle
  By the time you come home, I will have finished cooking dinner.
  

Negative Statements:

• will + not + have + past participle
  We will not have finished our project by December 2002.
  

Questions:

• will + subject + have + past participle

Will Sally have read 20 pages by 6 o'clock tonight?

Future Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The future perfect progressive tense is used to describe an action that will be in progress before another future event. It is to emphasize the duration of the action, i.e. how long by another time in the future. Like all other progressives, the future perfect progressive indicates that the action will not be finished at that time. This tense is not commonly used.

1. By the time my daughter graduates from college, I will have been working at this company for 25 years.
(My daughter will graduate in the future. At that time, I will have worked for 25 years and I will continue to work.)
2. A: When did Theresa start acting in movies?
B: Let's see. She will have been acting for exactly one year next month, so she started in March of last year.

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

• will have been + verb-ing
  By 2003, Dr. Garcia will have been doing research on cancer for 50 years.
  

Negative Statements (very rarely used):

• will not have been + verb-ing
  Brian has quit smoking. By the time he sees his doctor, he will not have been smoking for a whole month!
  

Questions:

• will + subject + have been +verb-ing
  Will Jerry have been running for 4 hours by the time he crosses Golden Gate Bridge?

Lecture Notes: Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses

Lecture Notes: Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses


Present Perfect

A. Meaning

1. The present perfect tense is used to describe an event that happened some time before the present time. The exact time of the event is unknown or unimportant. But the important thing to remember is that the original time of orientation of the discourse is the present; in other words, you use the present perfect tense when you begin talking about present events but need to go backwards in time to talk about a past event. The past event is somehow related to the present time.

For example:

I want to go shopping because I have not bought any clothes in a long time.

"want" is in the present tense, which means I want to go shopping now. The time of orientation of the first verb is the present. But the speaker has to go back from the present time to the past to express what has or has not happened. "I have not bought any clothes" means that the speaker has not bought clothes since some time in the past until now.

If the time of orientation of the discourse is in the past, you can not use the present perfect tense.

For example:

wrong a. Margie graduated from high school. Then she has entered a very good college.
right b.Margie graduated from high school. Then she entered a very good college.
right c. Margie is smart. She has entered a very good college.

Sentence (a) is wrong because the first sentence begins in the past. She graduated from high school first. Then she entered college, still a past event. So the next sentence should be in the past as well, as in sentence (b). Sentence (c) is correct because the first sentence begins in the present, "is", which is a present condition. Then we have to go back into the past to explain why she is smart now. She is smart because she has entered, some time in the past, a very good college. Her entering a college in the past is related to her present condition.

Some common adverbs used with the present perfect tense are ever, never, already, yet, still, just.

2. The present perfect is also used to describe an event that has occurred repeatedly before now. Again, the original time of orientation must be in the present. In other words, use the present perfect tense to describe how many times something has occurred so far.

For example:

a. Sally loves the movie Gladiator. She has seen it five times.

b. Mr. Johnson has graded 50 tests so far, and he is still not finished.

Notice that the verb "loves" in sentence (a) is in the present tense. It is a present condition. But when and how many times did she see the movie? Some time in the past, many times before now. So the verb in the second sentence must be in the present perfect, "has seen". Sentence (b) is also expressing a present situation; Mr. Johnson started grading tests some time in the past, but right now he is not finished, which is a present condition.

B. Form:

• Affirmative Statements: has/have + past participle

1. Julie has been a dancer for three years
2. The politicians have voted on the campaign finance reform.

• Negative Statements: has/have + not + past participle

1. Julie has not danced in three years.


2. The politicians have not voted on the campaign finance reform.

• Questions: has/have + subject + past participle

1. How long has Julie been a dancer?


2. Have the politicians voted on the campaign finance reform?

Present Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The main difference between the present perfect and the present perfect progressive is that the progressive tense emphasizes the duration of an activity that began in the past and is continuing in the present. The event is still happening in the present time. The present perfect progressive tense occurs often with for, since, all morning, all day, all week, etc.

1. Tim has been studying for a test since last week. He will do very well on it. (He started studying last week and is still studying because the test is some time in the future.)
2. I have been running errands all day long. (I started running errands in the morning and I'm not done yet.)
3. My sister has been making her own clothes for many years now. (She started making her own clothes a long time ago and is still making them.)

Note:

You cannot put stative verbs in the present perfect progressive tense. They can only be in the present perfect tense.

wrong: I have been knowing John for seven years.

right: I have known John for seven years.

wrong:George has been having his car since 1998.

right: George has had his car since 1998.

Some common words and expressions used with the present perfect progressive tense are recently, lately, these days, which indicate that the action started a short time ago and has continued to the present time. It implies that the action or event is fairly new or recent.

1. 
   My teacher has been giving us a lot of homework lately. (He didn't use to give us a lot of homework. But a few days ago, he started to give us a lot more.)
2. Kelly has been dating. We're very happy for her. (She started dating not too long ago. This is her new boyfriend.)
   

B. Form

• 
  Affirmative statements: has/have + been + verb-ing

1. Mr. Davis has been teaching for twelve years.
2. We have been waiting for the bus since 5 o'clock.

• Negative Statements: has/have + not + been + verb-ing

1. Mr. Davis has not been teaching since 1995.
2. I have not been working since I got laid off last month.

• Questions: has/have + subject + been + verb-ing

1. Has Mr. Davis been teaching for a long time?
2. What have you been doing with your free time lately?
   

Past Perfect

A. Meaning

Just as the time of orientation for the present perfect tense is the present, the time of orientation for the past perfect tense is the past. The discourse begins at a certain time in the past, but when it needs to go back into the past even further, that is when the past perfect tense is used.

For example:
a. I failed the test because I hadn't studied enough for it.

b. When we saw Akiko last week, she had lost a lot of weight.

c. We arrived at the airport after the plane had already left.

In sentence (a) "failed" is in the past tense, indicating that the event took place in the past. But when did the speaker study for the test? Before the test took place. So the discourse moved further into the past, which requires the past perfect tense. In sentence (b), Akiko had lost weight before we saw her. In sentence (c), the verb in the first part of the sentence, "arrived" establishes the time of orientation as the past. But the second verb "had left" indicates that the plane left before they arrived. It took place before a past event. So were they able to get on the plane? No, they weren't.

Some subordinators that may require the past perfect tense in the independent clause are when, after, before, by the time.

wrong: By the time he had been five years old, he learned to read.

right: By the time he was five years old, he had learned to read.

right: He had learned to read by the time he was five years old.

wrong: When I had come home, my family already ate dinner.

right: When I came home, my family had already eaten dinner.

right: My family had already eaten dinner when I came home.

But look at the sentences below:

d. When we arrived at the airport, the plane left.

e. When Bruce went to Africa, he lost a lot of weight.

In sentence (d), both the verb in the dependent clause, "arrived", and the verb in the independent clause, "left", are in the simple past tense. It means they arrived at the airport first. Then the plane took off. Did they get on the plane? They probably did. In sentence (e), Bruce first went to Africa, then he lost a lot of weight.

Note:

If the past events are listed in succession, or in sequence, then the past perfect tense is not used. This is often the case when adverbial conjunctions of sequence, first, second, then, next, finally, etc., are used.

wrong: The plane had already left. Then we arrived at the airport.

right: The plane left. Then we arrived at the airport.

wrong: First, we had graduated from high school. Next, we went to college.

right: First, we graduated from high school. Next, we went to college.

B. Form

• 
  Affirmative Statements: had + past participle

1. By the time I graduated from college, I had already found a job.

• Negative Statements: had + not + past participle

1. When Walter graduated from college, he had not found a job yet.

• Questions: had + subject + participle

1. Had Walter found a job by the time he graduated from college?
2. What had Mae done before she came to the U.S.?
   

Past Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The rules for the past perfect progressive are the same as those for the present perfect progressive, except that the time of orientation is the past. The past perfect progressive is used to describe an event that was in progress at another moment in the past or that had completed just before another event in the past.

For example:

1. We had been sleeping for two hours when you called us. (We went to bed two hours before you called us. We were still sleeping when you called.)
2. When I saw my cousin last month, he looked really good. He had been exercising regularly. (He started exercising several months ago. He was still exercising regularly when I saw him. )

B. Form

• Affirmative Statements: had + been + verb-ing

1. Benjamin had been waiting for 30 minutes by the time we got to the restaurant.
   

• Negative Statements: had + not + been + verb-ing

1. Benjamin had not been waiting long by the time we got to the restaurant.
   

• Questions: had + subject + been + verb-ing

1. How long had Benjamin been waiting by the time we got to the restaurant?

English Tenses – Graphic Comparison

Course / Duration

• action taking place before a certain moment in time
• puts emphasis on the course or duration of the action
  
  Result
  
• action taking place before a certain moment in time
• puts emphasis on the result
  
  
  
  period of time

• action that started before a certain moment and lasts beyond that moment
• actions taking place at the same time
  
  

moment in time

• action that takes place once, never or several times
• actions that happen one after another
• actions that suddenly take place
  
  
  

Lecture Notes: Past Tense and Progressive Verbs

Simple Past
A: Meaning
The simple past tense is used to describe a situation or an event that occurred in the past. Although the exact time of the event may not be stated, the simple past means that the situation or the event started and ended in the past and is not related to the present at all.

The time adverb when means 'at that moment' or 'right after'. See the examples below:

• When I came home, I started to make dinner. (Right after I came home, I started to make dinner. I came home first, then I started to make dinner.)
• The little girl began to cry when she saw the big dog. (First she saw the big dog. At that moment, she began to cry.

B: Form

• Affirmative statements: When the verb is regular, add -d if the word ends with an 'e' or -ed if the word ends with any other vowel or consonant. For example:

Larry moved to Argentina.
The concert ended at 9:30 p.m.

• Negative statements (Do not add -ed to the verb.):

Larry did not move to Argentina.
The concert did not end at 9:30 p.m.

• Questions:

Did Larry move to Argentina?
What time did the concert end?

Be careful!! Do not add the 'be' auxiliary to the verb if it is in the active voice (i.e. the subject is doing the verb). Compare:

right The teacher praised the students for their good work.
right The students were praised (by their teacher) for their good work.
wrong The teacher was praised the students for their good work.

Past Progressive
A: Meaning
The past progressive tense describes an event that was in progress at a specific time in the past. The action was not finished at that time. This tense is usually used when describing an event that was happening at a specific time, for a short period of time, or when another event occurred.

• At 7 p.m last night, I was having dinner. (I'm describing what was in progress exactly at 7 p.m. I started eating at 6:50, and at 7 I was still eating. I finished eating at 7:10.)
• Jennifer was taking classes at Canada College. (She took classes for a few weeks but did not finish.)
• Henry was watching TV when the phone rang. (Henry started watching TV first. Then the phone rang. He was not finished with watching TV.)

Note: You do not use the past progressive tense when you are describing a succession of events or a process. For example:

wrong At 7 p.m. last night, I was having dinner. Then I took a shower. (The second sentence implies that the first action ended. When he was taking a shower, he was no longer eating.)
right At 7 p.m last night, I had dinner. Then I took a shower. (First I ate dinner, then I took a shower.)

wrong Jessica was washing the dishes. Then she dried them and put them away.
right Jessica washed the dishes. Then she dried them and put them away.

These events happened one after another. First she washed the dishes. (She finished washing the dishes) Next, she dried them. Then she put them away.
In such cases, the verbs should be in the simple past.

Note: As in the case with the present tense, stative verbs cannot be in the past progressive tense. For example:

wrong I was knowing my neighbor very well.
right I knew my neighbor very well.
wrong The teacher was not understanding me.
right The teacher did not understand me.

B: Form

• Affirmative Statements: be + verb-ing

Debbie and John were studying at the library last night.

• Negative Statements: be + not + verb-ing

Debbie and John were not studying at the library last night.

• Questions:

Were Debbie and John studying at the library last night?
Where were Debbie and John studying last night?

Progressive Verbs to Complain
You can use the present or past progressive to complain or to describe a problem or to express annoyance. It is often times used with always.

The teacher is always giving us so much homework. I am so tired of doing homework all the time.
When I was in high school, I did not like Derek because he was always teasing the girls.
Can you fix my car? It is making a funny noise.

Expressions of Place with Progressive Verbs
A prepositional phrase of place (e.g. at school, in the house, at the restaurant, on the playground) can be placed after the be auxiliary but before the -ing verb. In this case, the focus is on the location, not the action, of the subject. The sentence can end with the prepositional phrase and still make sense. The -ing verb merely gives extra information. Compare:

What is Michael doing?
right He is watching TV.
right He is watching TV in the living room.
wrong He is in the living room.

Where is Michael?
right He is in the living room.
right He is in the living room watching TV.
wrong He is watching TV.