Part 2
Steve: Since is a very interesting word because it reacts different in English than in German or French. So there is no logical, in French they might say "I live in Vancouver since three months ago", which we don't say in English, so that the logic of each language is different. That is why I am reluctant to use logic to explain these tenses because they are fundamentally not logical. They are fundamentally part of the habit of each language and it is different in different languages.
So, we need, in the case of English or if I were learning French, or Chinese or Japanese, I need to see how that word reacts in that language. If in the Linguist system we save, and most learners know the meaning of the word since, but I still say save the word since because you will create many examples of sentences that come from your listening and reading where the word since is used and you will see how the word is used and you will see that using the example that you gave, "I have been working here since last March" that's how that works. No rational explanation, no rules and exceptions, that's how it works. You will pick up five, six, seven, eight or probably more. If you save, if you are a typical learner with the Linguist system and you have studied 50, 60 content items, you will get 30, 40 examples if you want of the word since and how it reacts with other words. What are some of the other typical reactive words that you can think of that give us a clue to tense?
Kate: Well, for example, "yet". "Steve have you eaten lunch yet"? "Have you already eaten lunch"? Those two words, "yet and already". Steve: Those are two good examples, yet and already. Absolutely, again, if we don't try to provide any explanation but let the person see those sentences, see the word "yet", see the word "already", see how they react and they will start to get a feeling. There are others. "Ever since" which is a little different than since. We shouldn't just save a single word. We should also, if we say "ever since" we would get a smaller number of example sentences than obviously if we save the word "since". But we would see how "ever since" works a little differently from "since". "After" is another one. "After he came home, he saw that a burglar had been in his house". Or, another one is "as soon as". There is no logical reason why in English. We say "as soon as I go", "as soon as I start working I will earn money". It would be just as logical to say "as soon as I will start working I will earn money", because in other languages that's what they say but in English it just is, the habit has developed that we say "as soon a I start working I will earn money". Speakers of other languages, say German speakers, because they are influenced by the logic of their own language, they will say "as soon as I will do something" which of course, is not how we say it in English. I think we've had enough discussion here on the subject of tenses and again what we want people to do is to look for these reactive words that will help them get used to how tenses are used in English. Active WordsPart 3
Steve: Hi Kate. How are you this afternoon?
Kate: I'm well Steve. How are you?
Steve: I'm great. We are going to continue talking about reactive words. Another area I think that a lot of people have trouble with in English is expressions of quantity. For example, "how much money do you have in your pocket"? Kate: I don't have any money in my pocket. I might have a few dollars in my purse, but I'm not sure. Steve: That's very interesting because "how much money", if I had asked you "how many coins do you have in your pocket?" then the expression how many would have created a reaction or triggered a word that had an 's' on the end. In other words it would have been plural. How many cars? How many trees? Not always, how many people for example. But if I say how much, then it has to be how much bread, how much money, how much water, how much excitement, it is always what is called a non-countable noun.
In English this can be quite confusing because we can say for example, if I ask you "could you give me some advice?" and I can also say "could you give me your opinion?" right? Now which of those two takes the plural?
Kate: Opinion takes the plural but I could also give you several pieces of advice or I could just give you some advice.
Steve: So, here again, I think it would be useful for the learner to save the word advice. He can't save the word advices because the word doesn't exist. He or she can save the word some and you also earlier when I asked you how much money do you have you said, I don't have any money. So, again, the word, any is also a useful reactive word to be used with expressions of quantity.
If, for example you say, I have too much money. Now, would, and I don't think that's the case, but maybe it is, but there again, too much would, again, suggest what, that you can have a plural or you can't have a plural? Kate: That would be no plural. You can't have much something or other, you have to have much something. Steve: But any can go both ways I think.
Kate: I have any number of dollars. I have any friends.
Steve: But with the negative, if you say I don't have any friends. I don't have any friends. I don't have any money. I don't have any bread, right? So again, how about each? Each is also an expression of quantity; each and every. It might seem logical to say every with a plural. But do we do that in English?
Kate: No. You would have to say each person or each friend brought one dish. Every person sat down, those go with words that are singular.
Steve: Because it could be quite logical in some languages because every means lots really, if you think about it. Every means, and in other languages every does take the plural, but not in English.
Kate: All.
Steve: All. Very good, so give me some examples of all with a plural.
Kate: All the trees are green.
Steve: Do you have to say all? This is again, one of the difficulties in English. You can say all the trees. You can say all of the trees and you can say all trees and that means something a little different. Maybe you could tell me what is the different between all trees, all the trees and all of the trees?
Kate: If someone said all trees, I would take that to mean that every single tree in the entire known universe is green or whatever. If someone said, all the trees are green, this to me, the signifies they are thinking of a specific place of trees, a specific kind of trees. For example, if I look out the window of our office it's a beautiful spring, summer time right now. I'd say, Steve, all the trees are green. The signifying these are the trees that I am looking at. I can't say all trees are green because I don't know whether the trees are green in Alaska or Hawaii or Sweden or Africa. I can only speak of the ones I know.
Steve: And, so here again, I think, because these explanations are difficult to remember, what we would recommend to people is that they save these short expressions, all trees, all the trees, all of the trees and see what kinds of situations they create.
Another similar example would be most. So you could use the same example with most, most trees, most of the trees. But you can't say most the trees. English is very tricky and if there's any rule you come up with there will be an exception, so really, we encourage people to save these little reactive words as single words or as little short phrases and to see how they react. Another one is, a few or a little. When you say a few, can you say, a few money?
Kate: No. I'd have to say a few coins or a few eggs or a few cookies would be nice about now. Steve. All right. How about a little? How does that work?
Kate: With a few cookies I think I'd like a little milk, maybe a little tea, something to drink would be nice and you can't count, you can count drinks, but you can't count tea. Steve: So you would like to have a little money, or even a little more money, a few cookies, even a few more cookies. So, here again, rather than trying to provide explanation, again, when it comes to quantity it is useful for people to pick out some of these key reactive words and phrases, save them in their system in order to create some sentences where they can see how these words perform, how they act, how they act so that gradually they can get used to using them correctly.
I think it's important that people realize that it is not always logical. Words just react with each other at least that is my view. Maybe you, as a teacher, you have a different view. Maybe you think that everything should be logical.
Kate: Everything should be logical but you are quite correct. Language is a living process and it changes and the way we use it changes and certainly English has had so many other languages act on it that we have many illogical bits and you just have to get used to them. But I agree if people can save examples they will gradually find they have a feeling. They can just tell, they can feel when something fits and is in the right pattern.
Steve: Well thank you Kate. We are, over the next few weeks, we're going to address other issues like when we use which and what and whatever and because and even if and all of these other reactive words in the hope that people will save some of these and start to see examples from their own listening and reading and that this will encourage them to use what they have already heard and what they have already read and to go back in there and become more observant of how these reactive words react with each other and that way they will get used to English and hopefully speak more accurately. Thank you very much.
Kate: Thank you Steve, a pleasure.
