WRITING GOOD SENTENCES

Free-lance words A few words with no grammatical significance frequently turn up in sentences to affect meanings or to respond to particular situations-- Politeness signal--please, sorry Please sit down. Sit down, please. Sorry, I didn't mean to push you. Response to a question--yes, no, maybe Are you going to the party? Yes. (No. Maybe) Hesitator--well Well, I think it's time for me to leave. Interjection--Wow! Gosh! (many others) Gee whiz! That was a narrow escape. Negatives revisited In addition to adding "not" or "n't," there are several other ways of expressing negation. 1. adverbs of negation and near-negation--"never, seldom, rarely, scarcely ever, barely, hardly ever" Notice that these adverbs are placed between the subject word and the verb. I never carry an umbrella. I seldom carry an umbrella. I rarely carry an umbrella. I scarcely ever carry an umbrella. I barely caught my commuter train. 2. negative determiner (precedes the noun)--"no" No club members paid their dues on time. My brother has no money. 3. negative pronoun-- "no one, nobody, none" No one answered the doorbell. The judge said nobody was guilty. None of these candidates will be elected. 4. negative prefix on a noun--"in-, im, ir-, non-, un-" You are ineligible for the position. That custom is immoral. Your procedure is highly irregular That purchase is non-returnable. The mayor was unwilling to make a speech. 5. negative coordinators--"neither...nor..., not...neither..." Neither the king nor his council listened to my suggestion. The king did not listen to my suggestion and neither did his council. Exercise 32 Make each of the following sentences negative in as many ways as possible. 1. The basketball team will play many games this season. 2. The squad members were ready to help put out the fire. 3. Our neighbors always park their car in their driveway. 4. Every passenger on the train was reading a newspaper. 5. I know exactly what your score is. 6. With enough preparation you will be able to go to college. 7. Aunt Rosa might like maple syrup on her vanilla ice cream. 8. Either a goat or an elephant ruined our front lawn. 9. Many people enjoy a cocktail before dinner. 10. This hotel will allow pets in your room. Interrogatives summary There are several kinds of interrogative sentences in English. 1. The yes/no question 2. The information-seeking question 3. The tag question--a statement followed by an interrogative tag. It seeks approval, not information. 4. The indirect question 5. The rhetorical question 6. The false question 1. The yes/no question-- This expects a yes or no answer, although the answer may turn out to be "maybe, sometimes, seldom, never..." a) When the verb has a helper, the helper is moved to the beginning of the sentence--Has the guest of honor arrived? Can we go home now? Will the train stop at my station? Should the fish be packed in ice? b) When the verb has no helper, we add a form of "do"-- Do you have any money? Did your nephew pass his exams? Does that old car stall often? c) When the verb is "be," the subject and verb are simply reversed-- Are you hungry? Was the campaign a success? Is this your favorite color? When the main verb is "be" and it has a helper, it is the helper that reverses with the subject-- Is the teacher being unfair? Has the salesman been helpful? 2. The information-seeking question-- This begins with one of the WH- words (or How) . Who are you? Where is my driving license? When the verb has a helper, we begin with a WH- word and reverse the subject and the helper. What is he doing? How can we help you? Why is the child crying? 3. Tag question -- This looks like an interrogative since it ends with a question mark. However, it is not really a question. It is not asking for information. It is a device for making a statement without sounding too assertive. It occurs most often in spoken English, but occasionally turns up in informal writing. A tag question can be affirmative or negative. If the original statement is affirmative, the tag is negative. If the original statement is negative, the tag is affirmative. The verb forms in the tag are auxiliaries, helpers, or modals. That program was boring, wasn't it? All children like pizza, don't they? Your aunt will be glad to see us, won't she? I've made that mistake before, haven't I? That program wasn't boring, was it? All children don't like pizza, do they? Your aunt won't be glad to see us, will she? I haven't made that mistake before, have I? 4. Indirect question-- A question can sometimes be buried in a statement. This occurs when, instead of asking a question ourselves, we simply report that someone else did so. The absence of a question mark indicates that this is not an actual interrogative and no answer is expected. Who will go?—direct question (answer expected) The leader asked who would go—indirect question (no answer expected) Note that the modal has shifted into the past tense because the sentence is reporting a past event. Who broke the dish? Mother wanted to know who broke the dish. What is wrong? The nurse asked what was wrong. How can anyone answer that question? I wondered how anyone could answer that question. Note that when there is a modal plus a main verb, it is the modal that shifts into the past tense. What do the people want? The chairman asked what the people wanted. Who designed that dress? I asked who designed that dress. How does she stay so young? Everyone wondered how she stayed so young. 5. Rhetorical question— A rhetorical question is one that does not want an answer. Whether spoken or written, it is used purely for effect—sometimes to announce indirectly what the speaker or writer is going to discuss. What is the result of our national neglect of highway maintenance? (The speaker--or writer-- is going to tell us in the next sentence.) Sometimes a rhetorical question is used to revive the attention of the reader or listener, particularly when the speech or essay is long and involved. In this case, an abrupt question can be effective. It is considered extremely rude for a member of the audience to call out an answer to a speaker’s rhetorical question. 6. False question— In spoken English, a demand or wish can be put into question form for the sake of politeness. Would you mind if I sit here? (I’d like to sit here.) Can you lend me a hand with this? (Please help me.) Do you have an extra program? (I need a program.) Is anyone using this chair? (I want this chair.) Would you mind if I asked you to move over? (Please move over.) Exercise 33 Turn each of the following into a yes/no question. 1. The basketball game had ended in a tie. 2. Her husband can take time off from work. 3. The charter fishing boat crashed into the dock. 4. Raw meat should be kept in the refrigerator. 5. The elephants are waiting for their food. 6. The price of a first-night ticket is too high.