Part 1
Steve: Hello Kate.
Kate: Hi Steve.
Steve: You know, today we're going to talk a little bit about a funny subject which I will call reactive words. When you think of reactive, what do you think of?
Kate: When you say react I think that I have to respond in a certain way or act in a certain way to a situation. Is that what you mean?
Steve: That's right actually. That is a good example. The word act is of course, to do something. An actor acts on the stage. If we are active then we are involved in sports. But reactive, if I hit you, you will hit me back, right?
Kate: Of course, that is my reaction.
Steve: So, act, action, reaction, and the reason we talk about reactive words is that words interact, here's another act, interact with other words. If I say, for example, I listen. I have to listen to you, I can't listen you. It has to be I listen to you, so every time we see the word listen we have to get used to the fact that it takes the to, so there's a reaction and that's what I want to get into today, is the way different words act on other words. I would like to use an example that came from a sporting event on the weekend. Are you interested in golf?
Kate: Actually, to tell you the truth I am not terribly interested in golf buy my husband is very interested in golf so I am an innocent bystander with some knowledge of golf.
Steve: It's interesting that you said that you aren't interested in golf. On the weekend, Se Ri Pak, who is a very famous Korean lady golfer won the big tournament. I can't remember what the name of the tournament was. She speaks English very well. She has been active in the U.S. playing in golf tournaments for eight or nine years. She was interviewed and she said, "I am very exciting to win the golf tournament". Now, is that correct?
Kate: No. It would be very exciting to watch her but if I were her I would be very excited to win.
Steve: Often we hear from people who otherwise speak English well. We hear this kind of mistake. I am very confusing. I was very surprising. And, of course, that's not correct. The question is how can these people correct this mistake because, interesting, as a word, exists. The book is interesting but if you like the book, what are you?
Kate: I am interested in the book.
Steve: So, the word interested and the word interesting are two different words that act differently or react differently with other words. In the Linguist system if people have trouble with this structure we want them to save the word interested and the word interesting, or surprising or confusing or confused and this will create many examples of how that word reacts with other words in sentences. These sentences, of course, will be sentences that come from their own content.
I am very interested to see how this works.
Kate: Me as well.
Steve: In fact, I think it will be quite exciting to see how it works.
Kate: It will certainly not be boring. I don't think anyone will be bored. Steve: You know, I heard someone the other day at a party and this person didn't like the party and she said, "I am boring". What's your reaction to that? Kate: I would be very disappointed if she was at my party and she thought the party was boring.
Steve: But, would you invite someone who thought that they themselves were boring?
Kate: Certainly not. I always take a look at my guest list and I always hope that everyone will be interesting and interested in each other.
Steve: Then that will lead to an exciting party. You know, I think we have covered this subject and that should end our first discussion of active and reactive words.
Active WordsPart 2
Steve: Hi Kate.
Kate: Hi Steve.
Steve: You know we had a nice chat the other day about reactive words and I know that you have had quite a bit of experience in teaching English. Where did you teach English?
Kate: I was teaching in Japan for about six years.
Steve: Did you find that your students had a lot of trouble with verb tenses?
Kate: Tenses in some cases and with slightly complicated since, or until or not yet, things like that. Then that got very difficult.
Steve: You know I have tried to explain tenses, the continuous tense, I am going or I go or I would have been going, and it starts to get so complicated and even if people understand the explanation when they go to speak it is very difficult for them to remember which tense to use. What were you able to do when you were teaching your students?
Kate: Well, quite frankly, and even when I studied French or another language here, to be instructed, this is the past participle or the technical terms didn't work that well. Really, I had to try and explain very simply to my students and in the end try to give them some examples to base their usage on and try to get them to be used to using phrases as a chunk.
Steve: I think that is a very good comment, as a chunk, certain situation. They get used to the idea; they naturally use the correct verb. Now that is very difficult to do because typically a lot of languages don't have so many tenses. Their whole approach to the tense, which verbs to use at different time sequences is not as complicated as in English. So, again, going back to our theme which is reactive, not radioactive, but reactive words, I think there are words that give us a clue.
For example, if you say every day or every Saturday or every morning, then you are going to use the simple present. I eat breakfast every day. You don't say I am going to eat breakfast every day. I mean you could, but it's not the normal way to use it. You could say, from now on I am going to eat breakfast every day, but I think there are some good examples. From now on, could be an active phrase which triggers a certain tense so people can get used to that. From now on - I am going to, whereas if you say "every morning I eat breakfast" is more normal. So I think we can think of a lot of these special reactive words or phrases that people can get used to and then get used to the tenses that they would use. So, we want people to save in the Linguist system, from now on, or every morning, or always, so that they can see examples of what reaction those words of phrases create.
Can you think of other examples of special reactive words that indicate what the tense is?
Kate: Well, for example, since and one thing I do remember explaining to my students, is some words trigger, like "every day I eat breakfast" as the simple verb because every day means that you do something boom, one time you do it, it's over with. Whereas a word like since, "I have been living in Vancouver since 1996", this is a continuing action. It started then and it is continuing to today so the verb tense is I have been. Consider whether it's an episodic boom, happens, it's over or a long term continuing thing. But since is another one.
