English Grammar in Motion. Learning Grammar in Context

CONTENTS

UNIT ONE: QUANTITATIVE ADJECTIVES

UNIT TWO: HOW OFTEN/ HOW MUCH/ HOW MANY/ HOW FAR/ HOW TALL, HOW LONG

UNIT THREE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

UNIT FOUR: CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

UNIT SIX: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

UNIT SEVEN: DO AND MAKE

UNIT EIGHT: QUESTION TAGS

UNIT NINE: RELATIVE PRONOUNS

UNIT TEN: REPORTING QUESTIONS WITH QUESTION WORDS

UNIT ELEVEN: INFINITIVES

UNIT TWELVE: WANT/ GET & HAVE+OBJECT+ADJECTIVE and OTHER USES

UNIT THIRTEEN: GERUNDS

UNIT FOURTEEN: NOT DOING and NOT TO DO

UNIT FIFTEEN: ELSE / PREFER

UNIT SIXTEEN: ADJECTIVES AND ABSTRACT NOUNS

UNIT SEVENTEEN: THE USE OF ADVERBS ENDING IN ‘–LY’

UNIT EIGHTEEN: PREPOSITIONS

UNIT NINETEEN: EXPRESSING PURPOSE & REASON OR CONSEQUENCES& CONCESSION AND CONTRAST

UNIT TWENTY: ELLIPSES WITH SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

UNIT TWENTY ONE: PERFECT MODALS

UNIT TWENTY TWO: WHATEVER/WHENEVER/ HOWEVER/WHOEVER/WHATSOEVER/ WHEREVER

UNIT TWENTY THREE: IT’S TIME/ I WISH/ I’D RATHER

UNIT TWENTY FOUR: TOO.TO / SO THAT

UNIT TWENTY FIVE: INVERSION USE

UNIT TWENTY SIX: Present and Past participles

UNIT TWENTY SEVEN: HYPHENATED COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Introduction

‘Grammar in motion’ is a self-study book intended to help contextualize different grammar structures. Learning grammar in context is more important as a language is learned for communication purpose. Learning grammar out of context is like uprooting a plant and transplant it in a vase without soil. The roots will have nowhere to hold into so that they help the plant grow healthy and robust. In the same way, grammar out of context is like that uprooted tree. Soil is like a text from where learners will be mastering grammar structures, looking at how they are used, and as Mart (2013) puts it, context helps improve learners’ ability to use them conveniently. For this reason, the writer decided to write a grammar book but with roots well holding into soil to make the learning of grammar much easier, more productive and fruitful. Different self-created dialogues and examples banks serve as soil for the structures to grow in students’ language base. For example Mart (2013) suggests that Students should be given a chance to see how grammar functions in a sentence.

This books contains twenty seven units. Each unit tackles a particular grammar structure. Not all grammar structures are handled. Based on the author’s teaching experience, the structures under discussion were deemed more important than others. They were selected, responding to students’ needs (students as second language learners) suiting the teaching to their needs. Those grammar structures are contextualized in self-created dialogues and examples bank (different sentences or passages from other scholars’ works).

Each unit is subdivided into different activities. Some units have more activities than others, depending on their weight. But no unit counts less than three activities. The first common activity is about reading self-created dialogues to learn about how a given grammar structure is used in context. The second common activity is about perusing different sentences and passages from other scholars’ publications. The examples banks serves as a proof to the reader that it is not only the writer who used the structures in context, but also many other researchers. It also ensures the reader that there is no difference between the way the writer uses the structures and other scholars. Furthermore, the examples banks motivate students to learn English alongside with other subjects, bearing in mind that they cannot fully grasp the subjects they are doing in English without mastering general English. The last common activity is about using the same structure in the reader’s own texts. After reading through writer’s dialogues, and then perusing examples bank to see how other scholars used a given grammar structure, the reader can produce his/her own texts to check her/his understanding of the structure under discussion.

Other activities are not common. These activities include the first activity about testing the reader’s knowledge. This activity aims to prepare the reader, testing their skills before learning about it. This test-your-knowledge activity is necessary, for the reader needs to feel the need to learn about the structure after failing to provide correct answers. There is no worry about not being able to find the right answers at the beginning. Reading dialogues and examples banks will indicate clearly the pitfalls for the reader to sort out the correct answers by themselves. Another activity comes after the reader has exhausted the content, where s/he has to refer to the answers s/he provided in the test-your-knowledge activity to see areas of improvement.

It is true that learning grammar in context is superb. However, explanations are sometimes needed in some cases to show the reason the grammar structure is used the way it is, especially when it appears obscure and confusing, swimming against the tide. For example in unit 23, it is not easy for non-native English learners to figure out the mistake in this sentence “I wish my children are with me now;’ instead of ‘ I wish my children were with me now.’ Now and past use defies common sense for such learners and this needs more clarifications. It is in this context that the writer includes some ‘notes’ referring to further readings.

The self-created dialogues deal with day-to-day topics and conversations. No technical words were used. The aim was only to display grammar structures in context; something that can help any second language learner, using English as a medium of instructions follow their courses without any worry.

(Reference: Mart, Ç.T. (2013). Teaching Grammar in Context: Why and How? Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 124-129. doi:10.4304/tpls.3.1.124-129)

UNIT ONE: QUANTITATIVE ADJECTIVES

FEW/ A FEW/ LITTLE/ A LITTLE/ MUCH/ TOO MUCH/ MANY/ TOO MANY/ A LOT OF/ PLENTY OF/ LOTS OF / A GREAT DEAL OF

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Activity Two : Now read the following conversation as see how quantitative adjectives are used in context

Business has slacken

A and B are arguing about drastic changes in income generated from their businesses. They are grumbling about the profits that have plummeted and they are speculating about the reasons for the crisis: people mindset has changed; market is saturated with substitutes; people are running up debts and defaulting on them, among other reasons. Despite the sink in gaining, the marked rise in spending prevails and the issue remains for the adult.

A: My business is in no shape today. We used to sell too many pairs of shoes ten years ago, but today things have changed a lot. Any reason behind the change?

B: I’m also confused about how to knock mine into shape. Running business today is very challenging. Many people have gone into business and the market is flooded with a lot of products. Many substitutes have hit the shops and the demand for shoes of our fashion has sharply gone down. It requires fierce competition to earn some money, which was not the case twenty years ago. Only few people knew about wholesale and retail businesses. We had the monopoly on the businesses, which buoyed our profits. Since agriculture constituted the mainstay of people’s income, they were interested in growing crops. They thought farming was enough to survive on. But today plenty of farmers gain little money from agriculture production and have shifted to other businesses including ours, boxing us into a corner. We urgently need to revitalize our business through suiting it to customers’ needs and new business environment, otherwise we will go bankrupt in few days.

A: You’re making a point. I remember that few people were interested in having shops in my village. Most of the people were only farming and selling their crops at a lower price; only to buy from the traders at a higher price later. But today our region is dotted with shops carrying a variety of goods, opening twenty four hours a day. Too many shop assistants touting for (to try to persuade to buy) just a few customers!

B: Yeah! Shop assistants outnumber customers. There are also a lot of peddlers. The market is not large enough, which makes the purchasing power relatively low. All these factors conspire to undermine our business profit.

B: Sure. Profit is now a big worry to us. A lot of people have just little money; they afford cheap products and services. Moreover, today a sheer number of inhabitants have known about saving. They have dispensed with (get rid of) exorbitant spending since a decade ago. Not many are keen on buying expensive products on the market as they used to.

A: I myself can’t spend that much now. I used to spend a good deal of money on parties and holidays because I had made a robust profit. Today spending and gaining mismatch, the reason why we need to drop expenses.

B: Surely the books should be balanced. We need to change and acclimatize (adapt) ourselves to the new life style even though we are living in rampant consumerism society. Children do not mind restraining spending though.

A: You remind me of my daughter who was complaining last night because I had treated her to cheap clothes and toys.

B: Unhealthy family economy is a matter for parents, not for children. Holding the expenditures in check is not their concern.

A: That’s right. Children are oblivious of what’s going on. But the crisis has an adverse impact on them in one way or another. It effects the way they are raised. Their education is impacted a lot; their physical growth affected due to lack of enough square meals. Anyway…..no one gives what they do not have.

B: Adaptation is a must; that’s a quality bestowed on human beings.

A: I missed telling you about the explosion of many customers who default on their loan. My customers are not meeting their debts.

B: That’s a crucial point. I also have more than enough who are slipping into debt default. The business slackness is leaving numerous issues in its wake. I think there is also unhealthy taxation imposing a huge strain on our trade.

A: We should lobby for some tax cuts so as to lift this barrier upon our business community; otherwise our economy may lie in ruins.

B: I don’t want to invite trouble by initiating this lobbying. Let’s manage the little we have. But any more tax increase will invite catastrophe in this business environment already teetering on the edge of downturn. Many will close their doors because of infinitesimal return on investment. On the whole, it is an issue to be viewed from a lot of perspectives.

A: Sure. Let’s meet soon again. I have some pressing issues downtown.

B: Ok. See you!

Notes

Many/ a few/ few are used with uncountable nouns (chairs, people, houses, cultures, …), while much, a little, little are used with uncountable nouns money, sugar, salt, water, information, furniture, ….) . A lot of / lots of/ plenty of are used with both countable and uncountable nouns (and it means ‘much or many’. A great/good deal of (a large amount or number) means ‘ a lot of or lots of’ but is used with uncountable nouns. A little/ a few means enough while little/ few means not enough. Some and enough are used with both countable and uncountable nouns. See (Vince, 2007, pp.122-129; Hewings, 1999, p.128, pp.136-138, Ansell, 2000, p.285; McCarthy and O’Dell, 1994, pp.114-115; Murphy, 2004, p.174; Hewings, 2005, pp.100-105; Swan, 2016, pp.171-172, pp.167-168)

Activity three : Read this Examples Bank through and see how other scholars use quantitative adjectives in their work.

Example Bank

- Much of what is called “consumerism,” and often condemned as such, must be understood in the same ambiguous, ambivalent. (p.490)38
- A careful analysis of content of those textbooks often reveals that a great deal of attention is given to management and very little to leadership. (p.6) 79
- The public puts a great deal of trust in nurses, and the credibility of nurses is strong in the eyes of patients, families, legislators, and the general public. (p.14) 79
- My superior is in no way superior to me by virtue of positions. He or she does a different kind of job, one that includes a lot of managing and coordinating. (p.64) 79
- One must constantly look forward even if it takes a long time, lots of work, and energy expenditure to get there. (p.100)79
- In many countries, OR has tested new approaches to encourage people to seek VCT. (p.5)4
- Whenever you are operationally defining a variable, it is always better to divide the variable into many categories instead of just a few. (p.47)4
- Liz clearly has a lot of experience in retail, but in a very different area. (p.17)37
- A lot of people get terribly self-conscious about using these sorts of statements. (p.170) 37
- Many jobs in the legal, medical, scientific and computing areas have lots of jargon words associated with them. It is always very difficult to know when and where to use such words. (p.141) 37
- I start with the premise that helpers often ask too many questions. (p.141) 31
- After a few interviews Desmond gets a job that is within his capabilities. (p.346)31
- A lot of communication goes on without actually talking. (p.17) 61
- I know you are not feeling strong at the moment, but you have shown a lot of strength in the way you have helped you family/ made friends here and started to study. (p.55) 61
- He had aggressive outbursts in which he hit people nearby, and for a few weeks he did not speak much or want to play. (p.60) 61
- Even if there is little information about when and where their relative died, a yearly ceremony may be a confronting reminder of the past, and help to give a sense of continuity to the child’s life. (p.62)61
- The director of education was very stern and didn’t seem to listen much. (p.7)19
- A lot of this was due to disability equality training which was ‘opening eyes and minds of schools’ and because ‘more and more people are enabled to challenge the status quo’. (p.66)48
- She was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbours. (p.381)50
- We consume a great deal of water, so the marginal utility of the last gallon consumed is as low as its price. But we buy very few diamonds, so the marginal utility of the last carat purchased is very high. (p.458)82
- Some young people rely mainly on their friends, parents and teachers to decide on a suitable career for them. They have little information about their own interest, strengths and weaknesses, and personal qualities may not be happy in a job that others think would suit them. (p.60)21
- Do not worry about that; there is plenty of time to do research that will help you recall. (p.8) 36
- There is a limited time to answer the complaint, and you will need to speak to your attorney within few days of receiving notification of lawsuit against you. (p.40) 36
- This is one critical instance where an accomplished defense attorney can do a lot of damage to the plaintiff’s case. (p.69) 36
- Plaintiff’s attorneys often sue doctors because they want a settlement. They want the easy money. It costs a lot of money to take a case to trial. Therefore, if fewer doctors settled their cases, plaintiff’s attorneys would need much more selective in picking which patients they will take on as clients. More selectivity equals less lawsuits overall. (p.76) 36
- The plaintiff will talk a lot about sympathy. However, sympathy can be looked upon from a different angle. (p.82) 36
- I have seen a lot said and written about the fact that good documentation will prevent law suit . (p.116) 36
- Therefore in attempting to give your opinion of the complaint, you likely will not have much documentation to reference. (p.42)36
- Now it’s pretty much work and kids and there isn’t much romance between us. (p.104) 54
- Assessing risk is not a black-and-white issue. It takes a great deal of skills from the interviewer to engage a person in such a serious conversation. (p.234) 54
- My office, since I was doing a lot of family therapy, didn’t have these items for the children. (p.327) 54
- As you know there are a few instances where I do have to break this confidentiality; when someone talks about having committed child abuse, or seriously going to harm oneself. However, you are not held to those same standards. (p.324) 54
- To have only one couch and a chair for the therapist while working with a family of four is nonfunctional. Having too many seats in a room might also be problematic. (p.327)54
- Although few firms are without vision statements far fewer have ones that are truly serviceable. (p.201)18
- Too much knowledge and too many different skills are required for any individual to accomplish such complex tasks successfully alone. (p.2) 83
- Lots of people don’t like to work in groups. Many of us don’t like to go to meetings and think that they are a waste of time. (p.2) 83
- A great deal of money is spent on these kinds of training, and, in my opinion, much of that money is wasted. (p.15) 83
- Many groups are getting too much. They often have an array of helpers such as sponsors, coaches, leaders, trainers, and consultants. (p.17) 83
- Too much help often increases group dependency on experts and reduces the chances that members will learn to be effective and productive on their own. (p.17) 83
- Based on what has been discussed so far, there are a few things that people can do and a few attitudes that people can take on that make the process of group development easier. (p.30) 83
- It takes only a few minutes but can make a big difference in relation to group success. (p.57)83
- They go berserk the moment they have a little success, thinking that their talents can be cloned ad infinitum. (p.293) 52
- I don’t have much patience with people in our company who are always waving articles about our competition in front of me, saying, “We’ve got to counteract this.” (p.294) 52
- As I often tell associates, if you find yourself playing in a big apple orchard, and there’s no body in the apple orchard but you, and there are still a lot of apples on the tree, there’s no point going into a peach orchard. (p.295)52
- That rather unusual management philosophy has drawn a good deal of attention over the years…..the way we work—letting our employees choose what they do, where and when they do it, and even how they get paid -has seemed a little too radical for mainstream companies. (pp.51-52)78
- He has a friendly personality, is outstanding, and smiles a lot. He does his work well and even takes initiative to resolve problems on his own. (p.83)46
- Alex and Amanda enjoy spending time with their cousins. Their cousins are about the same age, so the children have a lot in common. (p.136)46
- Actually a lot of home remedies do make sense. We tell patients to have a high-carbohydrate snack like banana before they retire for the night. Warm milk works too. But I’d advise you not to eat a heavy meal before bed. (p.292)29
- Historically, much emphasis has been given to the distinction of depression from dementia in late-life. (p.6)28
- Humans lose a great deal of heat through their heads, so covering the head with a scarf or hat is beneficial. (p.25)63

Activity four : Look at your answers in activity one and see if you have made it.

Activity five: Write your own text or conversation in the space provided using quantitative adjectives

UNIT TWO: HOW OFTEN/ HOW MUCH/ HOW MANY/ HOW FAR/ HOW TALL, HOW LONG

Test your knowledge

Activity one : Look at how the underlined words are used in the following sentences and provide corrections if necessary

A. How far do you travel to work on foot? B: Four times.

A: How many is this raincoat? B: Twenty dollars.

A: How often is it from here to your workplace? B: 4 kilometers.

A: How many are you? B: Seven students.

Activity two : Now read the following conversation as see how they are used in context

Running business in central Africa

Running business in central Africa is the concern of A and he is querying all about the journey. Even the brother of B has travelled there since some years ago and B, not being on speaking terms with him, is dying to meet him and reanimate their brotherhood. B is warning A as security in DRC is not sure. So he has to spend most of his time in Rwanda.

A: How often do you travel to Africa?

B: I always travel to Central Africa, especially to Rwanda and DRC.

A: How much information do you have about the region?

B: Too much info. How much time have you got so that I tell you about the area?

A: Unfortunately time is not on my side now. Could you possibly visit me tomorrow?

B: It is possible. You seem to be burning with curiosity about the place. Why such a vested interest in the area?

A: I like central Africa where I can run business smoothly, especially in the DRC.

B: I see you are intent on doing business overseas (be determined). How much money have you put aside? Travelling there is costly.

A: I have accumulated too much and I think it will suffice since things are cheaper there than here in Europe. How far is it from here to Africa?

B: You have to cover so many kilometers.

A: How long is the road Kigali-Goma?

B: Not very long. It’s a three-hour trip.

A: How many travel agencies running there?

B: Many indeed. You needn’t worry about transport. The buses northbound run from Monday through Sunday.

A: How secure is it to live there?

B: Rwanda is more secure than in the DRC. Just run your business in the DRC and sleep in Rwanda. These days security is scarce because of insurgency.

A: How many insurgents?

B: A lot of insurgents.

A: You mean too many?

B: Yes, that is the reason why you need to be careful.

A: How about the counterinsurgency? How much effort is made by the government’s troops?

B: I can’t tell how much, but I’m certain it’s not much. There are always new insurgencies. It is likely too difficult for the government to quell all of them. The citizens fall victim to the wars and the death toll runs to millions of victims.

A: They are in a sorry sight. Anyway….Do you hold any news about my long-lost brother? He is your best friend; you know.

A: You are asking me how much news I have about your brother. Right?

B: Yes of course if you do. I have not been on speaking terms with him for a long time. It’s as if we have drifted apart for the rest of our life.

A: So sorry to hear that you’ve lost touch with him! No news. He went to Africa last year to seek his fortune and he hasn’t called since then.

B: He used to interest himself in business but was of no interest to him to move abroad. It’s strange that he is far away. The distance has left a huge vacuum in our brotherhood.

A: How tall was he when you were still living together?

B: He was 1.71m tall. I think he is now 1.74m tall.

A: How much did he weigh then?

B: He weighed about 70kilos. I miss him.

A: Sorry. I hope you will sink your differences when you meet. The answer lies with you.

B: If ever I have a chance to meet him, I will never blow it. I promise you. This will set my mind at rest. Is your plan to do run business there still fluid?

A: Yes but I can’t couple it with my studies. I have to keep it on ice (do nothing about it) until I have gained my degree first.

B: How much longer do you still need to bring your studies to an end?

A: One year. Sorry I have to go. I have a meeting to attend. See you!

B: When time is ripe for the plan, I will give you more information. I have a wealth of it. See you.

Notes

How much is used with uncountable nouns, and we use it to ask about quantity. How many is used with countable nouns, and we use it to ask about a number of things we can count. How far and how long are used to ask about distance. How long is also used to ask about time duration. How often is used to ask about frequency. See (Balwit, 2016; Vince, 2007, p.126) and https://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-24600.php (accessed on 20/12/2020) for more details.

Activity three : Look at your answers in activity one and see if you have made it.

Activity four: Write your own text or conversation in the space provided using the grammar structure

UNIT THREE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

MORE.THAN, THE MOST….., THE TALLEST….., TALLERTHAN, AS…..AS, THE SAME AS, ….

Test your knowledge

Activity one : Look at how comparative and superlative adjectives are used in the following sentences and provide corrections if necessary

1. Peter was not as intelligent than Clarisse in my class, and he was the more talkative students I had ever known.
2. Ihope I was more tall than my girlfriend, but not as tall than her brother John, the more handsome boy in the village.

Activity two : Now read the following conversation one and two and see how comparative and superlative adjectives are used in context

CONVERSATION ONE

Reminiscence about past school life

A and B are reminiscing about their carefree days at school comparing their skills, their friends’ size, their teachers and authorities in general; how they were not treated on equal footing; with some receiving unfair advantages and so on. One teacher, the most renowned teacher in the school, fueled a hard life on one girl due to his sex desire. And it was very hard to sue him for the violence as no radical evidences were produced to convict him.

A: I’ll never forget Jojo. He was my best friend and was the most intelligent in our class. We studied together and our class numbered 46. He was great at maths and physics and I had a flair for languages. Music was a closed book to both of us; contrary to Safi who was an accomplished pianist. We taught each other swapping subjects but he was very quick at learning, as quick as Jack who ran the same subjects in the next class. Jack was as tall and placid as him but slim mer than him. His maths was also shaky. Jojo was the same height as me but I looked old er than him. I didn’t know how he managed but he really looked the youn gest in our class. I also remember Betty, the most gorgeous girl in the whole school. She was a friend of mine and I loved her a lot. She was capable of convincing all students about her ideas. I was a little jealous of her because she always came top of the class in class presentations. I knew languages, but I was not a thrilling presenter. She was the most exciting presenter. Her presentation excited a lot of interesting questions from us and sometimes pointed comments from her rivals. I was the smart est writer in the class. My writing was far better than hers. Nonetheless, teachers were much kind er to her than they were to us. Even the principle loved her more than any other student. Her being the center of attention in the school was the envy of all of us. We held the view that we were not treated on an equal footing with her. In the end, she turned out to be the most hated girl in the school because a lot of students were cross with how she received an unfair advantage. Fortunately, we were in the final year; so it was not the most serious problem she had since we had to drift apart soon. The most serious problem for her was that some teachers wanted to have sex with her. She was luck ier than Jane because she was in the final year. Jane was in S5. She still had a lot of trouble with the most intelligent but irresponsible mathematics teacher in our school.

B: If he was pestering her to sleep with him, why didn’t she report him to school authorities?

A: It could not work. First of all, the teacher was the most skilled teacher in the entire school. He had a real feel for sciences. Since it was located in a remote village, it was not easy to find teachers alike. His skills had no parallel in the vicinity. He believed he was the most indispensable of all teachers. This gave him an advantage over them. Secondly, some of the school authorities were also forcing naughty intentions on students and it was not easy to press charges against him as they were themselves just as guilty. Thirdly, he didn’t do it openly. It was easy to fail his subjects, the most credited subjects in our section and be denied the promotion to the next class level. She was more exposed to repeating the year than any other student in case she dared to decline to comply with his wishes. Fourthly, all the other teachers did not want to bear any sort of grudge against their colleague. What they could do was only to advise him to comport himself; not to accuse him of the seemingly persistent misbehavior. Lastly, his reputation outside was so good that no one would believe in the girl’s accusations. Her allegations could be easily nullified. He was the most honored teacher, the most respected since all parents knew the school’s good results significantly depended on him. The teacher always received a complement as a mark of recognition and respect for his outstanding service to the community. He was not treated on equal terms with other teachers. Anytime he encountered school stakeholders, he was on his best behaviors. Without a shadow of doubt, denting his intact reputation was not a one-shot affair.

B: So what happened to Jane?

A: As she had the same problem as Betty, she contacted her to ask how she could mend the knott iest problem at hand. Then Betty advised her to change the school after telling her parents the disconcerting situation she was facing. We left the school and I don’t know what happened to her afterwards.

CONVERSATION TWO

Two friends in a conversation about their workplace friends

Two friends are engaged in a conversation about their friends at workplace. One is good at making friends and appreciates coworkers always eager to make friends. But the other one is oblivious about making friends. He even hates too sociable persons, whereas, on the other hand, there is another showing kindness and cleverness; trying to make friends and engaging in a conversation to attract more friends.

A: Where are you working these days?

B: I’m working at Serena Hotel, the most splendid hotel in our country. And you, where are you working?

A: I’m working at university, the biggest university in Africa.

B: Really? Can you tell me about friends you have there?

A: I have many friends but I’ll talk about six of them. Four are males, and two females. Simba, as tall as Sifa, loves going out with friends. He knows the most beautiful beaches in this country. He is slim mer than Sifa, who’s got a nimble mind. He is married to a good-looking wife, but not as pretty as mine. Sifa is also married to John, who is my friend too. John is as kind and sociable as me, but I’m more ambitious and optimistic than him due to the fact that self-confidence always radiates from me. He loves his wife, but not as much as I love Olive. My wife is as honest as me; you can’t imagine. She loves children more than other women of the neighborhood. Children also love her because she treats them the same as she treats hers. The manager of our department is my friend too. He isn’t as harsh and bossy as other managers. He is the kind est of all the managers, and he brims with enthusiasm at work. He is skillful in management. He helped some floundering companies extricate themselves from the depth of business uncertainty. Can you also tell me about your friends at work?

B: Actually, I don’t have many friends at work. I don’t know why.

A: Because you are selfish and unsociable; maybe.

B: I’m not as talkative as Caline, who is doted on (loved) by almost everybody. She is an able director; her skillful management and apt allegiance to customers forced her farming business income up. She has a better command of four languages than any other employee of the company. Yet I don’t like her myself. She is the strang est girl I have ever met. She is talking everywhere she is, trying to make friends and making her presence felt. I hate every minute of the conversation she holds. If it’s that way friends are made, I will sit tight in my loneliness.

A: See. That’s why you don’t have friends. You’re the shy est at work. So long as you don’t talk to others, they will not talk to you. Unless you approach others, they will not approach you. She has more friends because she is bold er and more extroverted than you; I’m sorry.

B: Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s ok with me. It’s better than having verbal diarrhea. This helps me be in full command of myself rather than getting challenged by the so called friends. They sometimes get me convulsed with anger.

A: Ok. If that’s the way you want to manage your life, who am I to deny you that? But friends are made, not born with.

Notes

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Activity three: Read this Examples Bank through and see how other scholars use comparative and superlative adjectives in their work.

Example Bank

- During slavery the breeder woman image portrayed black women as more suitable for having children than white women. (p.203)38
- This focus makes sense in that government and the corporations are the most powerful structures in our society and affect everything else, including our culture and character. (p.481) 38
- “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
- The dental needs of the patient are not as important as what the patient is willing to pay for or what gives the dentist the greatest turn on time, effort, and materials. (p.7) 67
- Utilitarianism is founded on the idea that an action should be judged on its capacity to provide that greatest good for the largest number of people. (p.24) 67
- Not inflicting harm takes precedence over preventing harm, and removing harm is a higher priority than promoting good. (p.32) 67
- Although less dramatic than a life and death decision, dental decision may involve choices that are potentially harmful to the patient.(p.38)67
- Often the best decision is not the first one that comes to mind. Also there is a tendency to think that there is only one answer to a question. (p.85)67
- ..they have given up other pleasures, there just as deserving as you are. Saying you deserve something more special puts you in the role of potential victims, so that you can later say, poor, life has failed me. (p.76) 79
- If he [Bill Gates] had not left school when he did and risked going on his own with Paul Allen, Bill Gates may have never actualized his dream and world would not have been as dramatically changed by computers as we have witnessed in recent years. Such is the power of dreams –of vision. (p.91) 79
- “Not much happen without a dream. Behind every great achievement is a dreamer of great dreams. Much more than a dream is required to bring it to reality, but the dream must there first.” — Robert Greenleaf
- They [people who have dreams] believe it’s better to risk potential chaos than to accept the status quo. In other words, they are leaders in the fullest sense of the term. (p.95) 79
- I concentrate harder on whatever interests me than do most people. (p.109) 79
- It is more important for me to do what I believe to be right than to try to win the approval of others. (p.109) 79
- I am much more interested in coming up with new ideas than I am trying to sell them to others. (p.109) 79
- The quality of connections between workers is more important than the quality of each individual. (p.359)53
- Like powerful elephant, many companies are bound by conditioned constraints. “We’ve always done it this way” is as limiting to an organization’s progress as the unattached chain around the elephant’s foot. (p.2)6
- Although we tend to think of empowerment as something someone in power does for those who are more powerless, that is far from the only means to empowerment. (p.198)79
- The most frequently used quasi-experimental design in operation research is probably the non-equivalent control group design. (p.55) 4
- The advantage of studying a sample of cases as opposed to all cases is that the research can be done more quickly, less expensively, and often more accurately than a large census. (p.63)4
- Most of us complain about our memories. We are annoyed when others’ powers of recall seem much better than our own. (p.245) 8
- Get as much information about the job and the company as you can. When you’ve got that, go and get some more. (p.23) 37
- Use the approach we took in the last exercises as a framework, and try to be as concise as possible without missing out on anything important. (p.36) 37
- The first part of the sentence uses the same language as the advertisement, and the second part goes into more detail. (p.36) 37
- It is the single most important section in many job application processes and may well influence what the recruiting panel decides to ask you about during the interview. (p.189)37
- Providing counseling or psychotherapy is not the same as giving the client a pill, though sometimes researchers talk as if it were. (p.11) 31
- Determining what makes helping effective, then, is messier than determining whether or not a pill works. (p.11) 31
- Not, can counseling and psychology and psychotherapy work, but does it work consistently? Not, can we educate people who are able to help others, but can we develop methods which will increase the likelihood that most of our graduates will become as effective mental health workers as only a rare few do? (p.44)42
- In this sense, quality of information is much more important than quantity. (p.141)
- I don’t have time for problems as simple as that. (p.249)31
- But, more important than having knowledge of these things is to believe in Jesus Christ with our hearts. (p.234) 66
- All the righteous have no choice but to pray whenever they face hardship. Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons that we have. (p.305) 66
- Of course it is probably better that physical diseases are healed than they are not, but the healed also must die in the end. (p.270)66
- You will be able to help a disabled child if you remember that she has the same needs as other children: affection, friends, play, responsibility, work, and to be valued. (p.69)61
- Do not assume that her feelings are the same as yours might be, if you were suddenly faced with the loss of an arm or with poor sight. (p.69)61
- The facilitator should always talk less than the participants. (p.90)61
- Collaborative learning, then, is just as much a part of development towards inclusive education for teachers as it is for pupils. (p.28)48
- But some countries have much greater internal variation than do others. (p.6) 50
- The successful international manager is one who sees and feels the similarity of structures of all societies. The same set of variables is seen to operate, although their relative weights may be very different. This capacity is far more important than possession of specific area expertise,.. (p.38) 50
- One of the most important categories of the balance of payments is the current account. (p.101) 50
- A country, as an individual, cannot pay more than it receives during a specified time period unless it borrows or sells assets. (p.100) 50
- According to this survey it is evident that the political parties are the ones with the highest percentage of corruption, followed by justice system: courts and the police. (p.202)50
- Many factors influence how much money people spend; by far the most important is disposable income. (p.105) 82
- A regressive tax falls more heavily on the poor than on the rich. (p.149)82
- If business cycle is defined as increases and decreases in business activity of fixed amplitude that occurs regularly at fixed intervals, then there is no business cycle. In other words, business activity does have its ups and downs, but some ups are higher than other ups and some downs are lower than others. (p.209)82
- In a workplace that increasingly demands these minimal skills, more and more of these people are finding themselves virtually shut out of labor force. (p.220) 82
- Because many of the biggest costs of delivering internet service are fixed, the average cost per subscriber declines sharply with the number of subscribers served. (p.481) 74 quoted in 82
- We consume a great deal of water, so the marginal utility of the last gallon consumed is as low as its price. But we buy very few diamonds, so the marginal utility of the last carat purchased is very high. (p.458)82
- Whenever a new production function has been set up successfully and the trade beholds the new thing done and its major problems solved, it becomes much easier for other people to do the same thing and even to improve on it. (p.75)41
- In short, then, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. (p.688) 82
- We do know college graduates earn a lot more than high school graduates….. (p.692) 82
- As more people find employment, they will consume more, raising aggregate demand. (p.259)82
- Children who are constantly criticized and given negative message, such as ‘you’re so stupid’, ‘you’ll never be able to do that’, ‘you’re not as clever as your brother’ are likely to develop low self-esteem, whereas children who receive constant encouragement, such as ‘you’re so clever’, ‘you draw so well’, ‘I’m sure you can do it’ are likely to have high self-esteem and be confident in their own ability. (p.55)21
- Many of the items are unnecessary but adverts try to persuade us that buying them will make us more acceptable, more interesting, more beautiful, more fashionable or more sexy. (p.141)21
- Sometimes the employer will “assign” you the same attorney as they have. (p.4) 36
- A jury panel is a list from which jurors for a particular trial may be chosen. They could be higher or lower concentration of individuals with an ethnic background, which could serve to favor the plaintiff or defendant. A typical federal jury pool is much less diverse, with fewer minorities, as it represents registered voters in federal districts, whereas state courts have country residents for their pool. (p.41) 36
- Be polite. Answer the questions as succinctly as possible. And never parry or be sarcastic with the plaintiff’s attorneys. Do not be funny it does not come off well on paper. Just play it straight, cool, calm, and professional. (p.50) 36
- However, they often do not have much more than a confident demeanor and an inclination towards receiving large payments for giving opinion favorable to whoever writes the checks. (p.67) 36
- Your attorney will pepper the experts with questions about their training in your specialty. It will become clear to the jury that the expert is not trained in the same specialty as the defendant… (p.67)36
- You have a defensible case that can go for more money than your policy covers you for and put your assets at risk. (p.75) 36
- Plaintiff’s attorneys often sue doctors because they want a settlement. They want the easy money. It costs a lot of money to take a case to trial. Therefore, if fewer doctors settled their cases, plaintiff’s attorneys would need much more selective in picking which patients they will take on as clients. More selectivity equals less lawsuits overall. (p.76) 36
- Your attorney will propose some post-verdict motions to the judge in an effort to get the same result as if you had an instant appeal.(p.97)
- Your goal here, unlike the deposition, is to make your language as clear and easy as possible for the jury to understand. (p.90) 36
- There is nothing worse than a patient encounter where the patient feels rushed. As mentioned earlier sit down whenever possible. (p.107)36
- When therapeutic interviewers ask questions that start with “don’t you think” or “Do you think” they tend not to really be asking the client a question. These therapist utterances are designed less to bring forth the client’s perception than to highlight the therapist’s point of view. (p.181) 54
- Culture, when more broadly defined and understood, should help to remove the ‘exotic’ nature of multiculturalism by appearing not as an obstacle but as a universal construct that helps to gain more accurate understanding of oneself and the client. (p.241) 54
- Pointing out what people are doing and its consequences helps them to see themselves more clearly and allows them to consider making changes. Telling them what to do puts their backs up. (p.286) 54
- The goal is to make as many good decisions, both personally and professionally, as possible while learning from bad decision. (p.43)54
- Because the impact of corporate strategy is so pervasive and long lasting, it has more important consequences than most other managerial decisions. (p.3)18
- Although there was value created by JC Penney offering a catalog, managing it within the corporate infrastructure created less value than operating it as a separate unit. (p.16)18
- Often answering the first of these tests is the most important and most difficult because the other two tests are typically more obvious or less controversial. (p.47)18
- Since the corporate office will have access to confidential information on employees’ performance, it can more cheaply and efficiently allocate employees than can the external labor market. (p.153)18
- Short–term financial rewards are often less important as an incentive than long-term career progression in such companies. (p.174)18
- More mundane and less catastrophic failures for corporate strategy vision bound. (p.241) 18
- Their accomplishments, in many respects, offer the purest examples of what superiors corporate strategy is all about. (p.17)18
- The leader’s role becomes more directive and less consultative. (p.27) 83
- You are less likely to misinterpret what you see and more likely to be able to be constructive in what you say and do. (p.31)83
- This sort of problem may be unique to our business, but I think the “beware the familiar face” theory applies to businesses a lot less specialized than ours. (p.113) 52
- The conference room video machine couldn’t play our videotape. Worse still, it wasn’t clear who was in charge. (p.66)52
- One of the healthiest men I know is a master at winning sales clerks over by his eagerness to negotiate. (p.260) 52
- Rudeness is a much bigger sin, and much more unusual. (p.270) 52
- Poor service is far more common than rudeness -and far more correctable if you’re willing to forgive. (p.270) 52
- Mike was one of the original Mojo employees and had come to think of himself more as a partner in the business than as an employee. However, the merger quickly disabused him of this when, the same as all other Mojo employees; he has no warning of the merger . To add insult to injury, he was now required to move to the MDA offices. (p.148) 52 quoted in 64
- The Mojo culture had been considerably less formal than that of MDA.20
- The blowup at the line manager was a far clearer message than any amount of rhetoric about delegation and the like would have been.72
- The history is by far the most factor in making the diagnosis. (p. 25)32
- We’re from Chicago, which is such a big city as you know. We’re looking forward to being in a smaller community where things are a little quieter. (p.115)46
- Not only the saddest, but perhaps the most destructive. According to recent ideas in psychology, our feelings are mainly the result of the way we think about reality, not reality itself. (p.166) 29
- Now he is unemployed, and his clients have a new social worker who is not as familiar with their problems as Mustafa was. (p.174)29
- Organizational change can occur in response to the latest management fad or fashion: in order to be seen as professional, modern or progressive, managers may change their organization in line with the latest innovation in management practices. (p.52)64
- The majority told the interviewers that people are less honest than they were ten years ago. However, in spite of our belief that things are getting worse, lying seems to be an age-old human problem. (p.270)29
- Because of the increased incidence of health care problems, the growing population of older adults is more likely to seek health care on a regular or semi-regular basis than are younger adult. (p.111)28
- Of the greatest consequence, the growth of knowledge is severely stunted through the lack of accumulated wisdom and restricted opportunities for shared criticism. (p.220) 29

Activity four : Look at your answers in activity one and check if you have made it.

Activity five: Write your own text or conversation in the space provided using comparative and superlative adjectives

Activity six: Read the following conversation for other uses of comparative adjectives.

CONVERSATION THREE: THE MORE…THE MORE/ THE TALLERTHE LESS ….

Negative thinking

From the saying “the more you eat the more you want”, A is challenging B by putting a question to him and B wants to shoot to the challenge by advancing his views and ends up falling victim to negativism, eating him up. And this gives A a golden opportunity to start helping him defeat such poor mindset in order to unleash his potentials to improve his lifestyle by chasing away negative attitudes towards the rich.

A: The more you eat, the more you want. Do you agree with that?

B: No. I don’t agree with you because the more you eat, the less you need to eat. It is like saying the more you work, the more energy you gain. Wrong, isn’t it?

A: Don’t you understand what the proverb means?

B: It means what it has to mean. The more you eat the less appetite you have to eat because you are becoming full.

A: In this case, I strongly agree with you. The fuller you are, the less you eat. That’s true. But the proverb has another meaning.

B: Which one?

A: It means if you have one thing, you’ll need more. The less you gain the less you want. Because you don’t gain much, you’ll not envy much.

B: I understand now. Many of the rich are the most to go to great lengths to gain more money. They need more than they have. The more they have a hankering for another higher lifestyle, the less kindhearted they become. That’s not good; is it?

A: Of course it’s not but you don’t need to think negatively. The less you think in that way, the more motivated to work hard you become.

B: Why do you tell me this?

A: The more negative you are, the less chance you have to grow fast economically and socially.

B: You mean it’s unwise to think of what I don’t wish to happen in my life?

A: Exactly. The better you think the better you get. The worse you think the worse you get.

B: You’re exaggerating. If I think I have a car, then I will have it. Right?

A: Of course not. Thinking like that is one thing; working to get it is another thing. The harder you work the more chance you have to get it. But the first thing is to believe you can have it. You won’t be motivated enough to become well-off if you think about rich people negatively.

B: Even about their wrongdoings?

A: Why would you bend your mind to that? Why don’t you think of their good deeds? The more a sense of negativism possesses you, the more self-confidence will desert you. You can’t improve your work standards if you speak ill of those with high profile.

B: Ok. From now on, I will be thinking positively.

A: One day you will pride yourself on positive thinking spurring more self-growth activities.

B: Thank you for your encouragements.

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Activity Eight: Write your own text or conversation in the space provided using the same structures

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UNIT FOUR: CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

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CONVERSATION ONE

ALL OF / NO ONE OF/ NEITHER OF/ BOTH OF/ EITHER OF/ ALSO/TOO/…

Activity Two: Read the following one and see how these conjunctions are used in context

Unaccomplished mission

The issue of an unaccomplished mission is evoked by the coordinator who wants to know in details the reasons. His long-serving secretary calls the concerned, and one has to come to the coordinator’s office to provide explanations. The reports are also to be submitted.

The coordinator: I’d appreciate it if we kept things short. Would you like to tell me if both Kelly and Bruno went on the mission last week?

The secretary : No. Neither of them went there. Mission orders were not signed because, despite the presence of three people to help them in Human Resource Department, no one of them accepted to bear the responsibility. Human Resource Manager was off duty and no one held down the fort. Probably he hadn’t delegated any of them.

The coordinator: What do you want to say?

The secretary: I mean neither Bruno nor Kelly went for the mission. We need to plan that again.

The coordinator: Call either Bruno or Kelly to come here. I don’t care which of them. Call one of them, not both of them. I need to put finger on the situation. This is a delicate matter.

The secretary: (Picks the phone and calls): .. Hello! The secretary speaking. Is that Bruno?

Kelly : No, it’s Kelly. Can I help you?

The secretary: The coordinator wants to meet you.

Kelly : Both Bruno and I ?

The secretary: Is Bruno around?

Kelly : Yes. Neither of us is absent from work.

The secretary: Good. The coordinator wants to talk to one of you. Either you or Bruno must come to see him. Do you have the reports with you? He wants to have a quick read of them.

Kelly: (counting them) … about five reports.

The secretary: He needs all of them. Don’t leave any of them. No one of them has been given to him so far. So, you need to come with them.

Kelly : It’s obvious you need all the reports; so no one of them will be left behind.

The secretary: Good. I hope they’ll make compelling reading. Decide on who to come and don’t be late, or the coordinator will make an issue of this.

(Kelly and Bruno)

Kelly: It sounds as though (as if) the secretary holds the reigns. I don’t like it when they ask me about the reports.

Bruno: Me either. But I like it when he calls me to enquire about the mission not carried out.

Kelly: Me too. ….uuh when we went to Human Resource Department to have our travel clearances signed, I didn’t like the way they treated us. They seemed to have no idea about how to handle their colleagues.

Bruno: Neither did I. They were talking to us so rudely; patronizing us as if we were not deserving. It’s a pity. By the way… what was the secretary talking about?

Kelly: The coordinator wants either of us to go to explain why we didn’t go on the mission.

Bruno: Either of us? Why not both of us?

Kelly: I don’t know. It’s either you or me; would you like to go?

Bruno: Yes, sure. But if I find there more than two people, I will talk to no one of them. I must talk to the coordinator only.

Kelly: It’s up to you. Manage the situation as you like. Take these reports with you and all of them must be submitted to the secretary. I think the reports read well so long as we have avoided superfluous details. Also remember to sign for the submission.

Bruno: I’ll do it. Don’t worry. I fear neither the coordinator nor the secretary. But sometimes she plagues me with questions, and I hate that.

Kelly: I fear them neither. Actually neither of them is bad; they are both well-mannered. See you.

Activity Three: Read this Examples Bank through and see how other scholars use them in their works.

Examples Bank

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CONVERSATION TWO

NEITHER …NOR/ EITHER….OR/ NOT ONLYBUT ALSO/ BOTH …..AND/

Activity Four : Read the following conversation and see how these conjunctions are used in context

The money has walked

The mother doesn’t know where her money is and she wants to find out the stealer. Two of her children are not present and they are speculating about who would have stolen it. The matter is unsolved, and she decides to wait until they have come back to know the real money stealer.

A: Come over here! My money has walked. Who has stolen it?

B: Both Betty and Mary were here two hours ago.

C: She is not telling the truth. Neither Betty nor Mary was here. So, Betty didn’t steal the money, and neither did Mary.

A: Who has stolen it then?

C: Either B or Simba knows where the money is.

B: I don’t know who has taken it. I’m innocent. I’m wronged by these groundless accusations.

A: I’m not pointing the finger at you. Call both Betty and Mary for me.

C: Neither of them is around.

A: That’s impossible. If they are both away, what does that imply?

C: I don’t know. It probably implies one of them has stolen it?

A: That’s it. Neither Betty nor Mary has come home today. Can you explain that to me?

B: However, remember that not only were Betty and Mary here, but also some of their friends. Maybe their friends stole the money. It’s premature to level accusations against them.

A: I must know who has taken it away. Let’s wait until they arrive.

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Activity Five: Read this Examples Bank through and see how other scholars use the conjunctions in their works.

Examples Bank

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