Консультации по английской грамматике В помощь учителю иностранного языка (стр. 9 из 10)
I'm making a cake. for our guests. Or: I'm making our guestsa cake;
The position of the object at the end of the sentence marks the
new and important information. Compare:
— Kate gave me this cassette for my birthday. But I have it.
— Never mind. You'll have to give it to some one else then. The duchess was rich. She gave her daughter amillionpounds. The duchess was very old. She gave her money to completestrangers.
Some verbs can have different meanings:
I'll get this to him (dative) = "deliver."
I'll get this for him (benefactor) = "take, obtain."
To develop the students' sense of when indirect object movement
is appropriate or inappropriate, group the students in pairs to
manipulate and discuss sentences consisting of words written on cards
or on strips.
Compose dialogues using the picture. Teacher: What is Jill doing? Student: She is giving Nancy flowers. T: Do you think Nancy is happy? S: Yes. T: Why? S: Because Jill gave her flowers. Or:
Nansygave flowers to her, not to Peter!
Try a drill like this:
Sl: Would you lend me your car? S2: I can't. I've already promised to lend if to Harry. Sl: Would you lend me your textbook? S2: I can't. I've already promised to lend it to Judy. Or:
T: John bought some candy. Sl: Who did he buy it for? T: Himself. Sl: Oh, he bought it for himself.
The verbs "explain" (I explained the answer to her) and "open" (Open the door for me) do not accept the movement rule.
Write the information in one sentence. Put the underlined part at the end of the sentence. Sometimes you need "to." E.g. Tim lent sth to Sarah. It was his calculator.
Tim lent Sarah his calculator.
Brian sent a message. It was to his wife.
Brian sent a message to his wife.
1. I sold my bike. My brother bought it.
I___________________________________
2. The boss promised something to the workers — a pay rise.
The boss______________________________
3. Someone passed the sugar. Dave wanted it.
Someone _____________________________
4. Sam told the joke. He told all his friends.
Sam_________________________________
5. Jeremy gave some help. He helped his flatmate.
6. I wrote to my teacher. I wrote a le.tter of apology.
7. Sarah threw the ball. Kirstv caught it.
Key: 1. I sold my bike to my brother.
2. The boss promised a pay rise to the workers.
3. Someone passed the sugar to Dave.
4. Sam told the joke to all his friends.
5. Jeremy gave his flatmate some help.
6. I wrote my teacher a letter of apology.
7. Sarah threw the ball to Kirsty.
The boss of a big company is telling people to do things. Put in "to" of "for."
E.g. Give these papers to my secretary.
Make some coffee for us, could you?
1. Book a seat on the plane ... me.
2. Can you post the key ... the hotel?
3. Don't show these plans ... anyone.
4. Leave a message ... my secretary.
5. Fetch the file ... me, please.
6. Write a memo ... all managers.
Key: 1 for; 2 to; 3 to; 4 for; 5 for; 6 to.
Of special interest are pairs of verbs antonymous in meaning taking objects with different preposition "to" or "from."
Arrange a game in which a player has to say (1) the end of a sentence, (2) the beginning of it.
One player says, "I gave Nick a pen," another player says, "Nick took the pen."
Or: One player says, "I borrowed some money from Ralph," another player says, "Since Ralph is generous and kind he lent you some money and you borrowed it from him."
Complete the conversation. Put in the two phrases on the right and decide which pattern to use. Put the new information at the end.
A: When I got some petrol at the garage, they gave me this card. You can buy things with it, it says here. this card — me
В: Yes, when you buy petrol, they give 1 ... la little sticker— you
to stick on the card. When you've filled all
the spaces on the card, you take 2 ... and 2 the card — the garage
hand 3 ... . He'll give 4 ... from the catalogue. 3 it — the cashier
The more cards you fill, the better. Twenty 4 something — you
cards will buy 5 .... 5 a sports bag — you
A: I haven't got a catalogue.
B: Well, I'll show 6 ... then. 6 mine — you
Key: 1 you a little sticker; 2 the card to the garage; 3 it to the cashier;
4 something to you; 5 a sports bag for you; 6 you mine.
The agent in sentences with a passive structure is expressed by "by" + N. The majority of passive sentences that occur in speech and writing (85%) do not have an explicit agent. The EFL teacher has to tell the students when and why to retain the agent in those 15% of passive sentences rather than trying to give them rules for omitting the agent in those 85% of passive structures. It happens in one of the following cases:
1. The agent is a proper name, a renowned artist, poet, inventor, etc. who is too important to be omitted in the context. Radio was invented by Popov.
2. The agent is an indefinite noun phrase, i.e. new information for which sake the sentence was construed.
The details were given by a secretary, not by the senior staff.
3. The agent is an inanimate noun phrase which gives unexpected information.
The effect was achieved by a change of tactics.
The agentless passive structures should be more emphasized by the EFL teacher.
In a passive sentence the point of interest can be other information such as time, place, manner or instrument. The instrument, tool with which something is done is rendered by a noun phrase with the preposition "with."
The window was broken by Jack. (agent)
The window was broken with a hammer, (instrument)
The passive structure should not be confused with "be" +A structures in which A is a participial adjective having the form of participle II.
"At" is used to indicate a reaction to someone or something after the following adjectives:
amazed disappointed
amused embarrassed
annoyed irritated
astonished pleased
surprised
E.g. They were annoyed at being disturbed. With some of these adjectives dis/pleased, disappointed, bored, dis/satisfied, annoyed, etc. the preposition "with" is quite common. "With" indicates what a state, quality or action relate to.
It is used with
acquainted infected mixed up
confronted intoxicated occupied
connected
E.g. The prisoner was confronted with accusers. He is connected with the Smiths by marriage. He is occupied with a translation of a French novel.
"With" is also used to indicate that something is filled or covered with a substance or with things after the following adjectives:
adorned embroidered inlaid packed
covered engraved littered patterned
draped filled loaded stuffed
edged furnished overgrown suffused
E.g. The walls were covered with bookshelves. A dark veil was embroidered with lace.
One other grammatical structure with a preposition that may cause a difficulty with non-native speakers is an of N phrase.
OfN is common with inanimate nouns: the topic of the lecture, the roof of a shed.
In measure, partitive and appositive expressions the ofN phrase is usual except for temporal measure (a month's rest) and in idioms such as "his money's worth," "at arm's length" (note: for the life of me/him).
The of N and N's N phrases are sometimes interchangeable, we can say: my friend's name — the name of my friend, but: your father's car and the beginning of the term.
We use an of-pattern with people when there is a long phrase or a clause. E.g. In the hall hung photos of well-known sportsmen of this area.
Both patterns are used with nouns that do not refer directly to people but suggest human activity or organization:
Scotland's rivers — the rivers of Scotland
the company's head office — the head office of the company.
Double possessives incorporating "of" and N's are common with proper nouns when the reference is definite and personal:
a novel of Conrad's
a symphony of Beethoven's
a friend of my father's
a painting of Picasso's.
Complete the conversation with the possessive 's form or "of."
Jenny: What's the name of the shop (name/shop) where you bought your new trousers?
Jane: 1 ... (Luciano/Boutique). The owner's Italian.
Jenny: Where is it?
Jane: Oh, dear. I know where it is, but I can't remember 2 ... (name/street). It isn't far from 3 ... (Charly/Cafe). You turn right and it's at the 4 ... (end/street).
Jenny: Well, I suppose I'll find it. What was the 5 ... (name/ assistant) who served you?
Jane: Angela. She lives next door to us. She usually works in the 6 ... (men/department) but when it's busy she works in the 7 ... (ladies/department) as well.
Jenny: How much were the things you bought?
Jane: I've forgotten the exact 8 ... (price/blouse), but the trousers were 12.99 pounds.
Jenny: That's cheap. I'll go there this afternoon.
Key: 1 Luciano's Boutique; 2 name of the street; 3 Charly's Cafe;4 end of the street; 5 name of the assistant; 6 men's department 7 ladies' department; 8 price of the blouse.
When you need new clothes, what helps you decide what to wear? Write full sentences with "of and say what is very/quite/not so/not at all important to you, like this:
cut
The cut of the trousers is very important.
1 price
2 colour
3 quality
4 material
5 style
6 fit
7 length
8 comfort
9 name/designer
10 size
Prepositions follow nouns, adjectives and verbs:
N + prep
a tax on tobacco, time for lunch, the price of bread
Sometimes we use the same prepositions as with a related verb or adjective.
He objected to the idea, his objection to the idea
It protects you from cold, protection from cold.
I'm interested in art, an interest in art.
Sometimes the verb takes a direct object and the noun takes the preposition.
I answered the question. My answer to the question.
They demanded more money. Their demand for more money.
Sometimes nouns can take different prepositions:
a discussion of/about/on politics today.
The use of the preposition always depends on the meaning:
his apology for being late; his apology to the teacher.
Here are more examples of N + prep:
the chance/opportunity of a quick profit
no possibility of an agreement
some effect on people's behaviour
a great influence on/over their generation
an increase/rise in crime
an increase/a rise of ten per cent
a reduction/decrease in sales
a reduction/decrease of four per cent
a delay in approving the plan
a delay of two months
a student of law
great ability in/at music
a knowledge of the rules
research into waste-recycling
her skill at handling people
an expert on/at/in work methods
some experience of/in selling.
Cf. We had some success in our attempts to raise money.
I never had any success at games.
Alan made a success of the taxi business.
A + prep
fond of, good at, late for, crowded with
Many adjectives followed by prepositions express feelings:
afraid/frightened/scared/terrified of the dark, ashamed of myself, confident of the victory, crazy about, eager for news, excited at/ about the prospect, interested in, proud of, tired of, etc.
The choice of preposition depends on the meaning.
We're pleased with our new flat.
We're pleased at/about the election result. Polly was annoyed at/about the mix-up over her ticket. She was annoyed with the travel agent. I'm sorry about the delay. I felt sorry for Daniel. I'm anxious about my health. I'm anxious for the results of the tests. good at skating, brilliant at maths, hopeless at languages; good for sth, good/kind/polite to me.
The use of prepositions after verbs may be given a detailed description in the section about phrasal verbs.
In teaching the use of prepositions after nouns and adjectives (as well as after verbs) specific attention should be paid to the problem of different use of prepositions in similar lexical Russian surrounding. E.g. Interest in art — интерес к искусству, time for lunch — время на обед, proud of— горд_чем-то, confident of victory — уверен в победе, etc.
Prepositions may be followed by nouns, pronouns, gerunds, infinitival and gerundial phrases, by noun clauses.
The woman next to the magazine counter is buying something.
There's a large dog behind you.
I feel nervous about living away from home.
We waited for them to arrive.
He had counted on our finishing this before Friday.
The woman you gave the book to is my aunt.
Prepositions occur in idiomatic phrases:
She turned this place inside out looking for her key.
He hesitated whether to stay or not; he was betwixt and between.
Are you still in bed? Up and out of bed now.
He'll come by and by; we don't have to watch for him.
We won't stay long at the party; just a quick in and out.
The dog ran to and fro across the lawn.
The reader may safely deduce his/her own rules from these examples.
Fill the gaps in this newspaper article with suitable prepositions.
Hay Fever Hits Opera
The star 1 ... the largest scale opera performance ever staged 2 ... Britain pulled out 3 ... its opening night 4 ... Sunday. Verdi's Aida is being performed 5 ... London's Earl's Court Arena 6 ... a cast of 600 singers, dancers and actors. American soprano Grace Bumbry 7 ... the title role was suffering 8 ... hay fever, but had promised tobe "all right on the night even if my nose drips like the Nile." Half-way 9 ... the performance she was unable to continue and was replaced 10 ... mid-performance 11 ... Bulgarian soprano Ghena Dimitrova who was sitting 12 ... the audience watching the show. She was taken 13 ... a dressing room where she put on Ms Bumbry's costume and was made up. She was ready to go 14 ... the stage 15 ... a longer-than-usual interval.
Tuesday's performance 16 ... the presence 17 ... the Prince and Princess of Wales will go ahead 18 ... Ms Bumbry — her role will be taken 19 ... Martina Arroyo 20 ... Italy.
Key: 1 of; 2 in; 3 on; 4 on; 5 at; 6 with; 7 in; 8 from; 9 through;10 in; 10 in; 11 by; 12 in; 13 to; 14 onto; 15 after; 16 in; 17 of;18 without: 19 hv: 20 from.
Complete these paragraphs with the correct preposition.
1. The hunter 1 ... the Eskimo story was not capable 2 ... living 3 ... peace 4 ... the community 5 ... which he belonged. He was good 6 ... hunting but bad 7 ... understanding children's fun and games. The lesson 8 ... the story is that adults should not be unkind 9 ... children just because they have power 10 ... them.
2. Alternately, the story provides a lesson 1 ... children. There is nothing wrong 2 ... noisy games provided they do not interfere 3 ... serious adult occupations. An adult will go away 4 ... children if they insist 5 ... making a nuisance 6 ... themselves. This will result 7 ... the children losing benefit 8 ... the adult's company.
3. Congratulations 1 ... your engagement 2 ... Cinderella! I feel sorry 3 ... her sisters because they will be disappointed 4 ... the news. They have always dreamt 5 ... getting married 6 ... a prince like you. They will be jealous 7 ... Cinderella and won't be keen 8 ... seeing her installed 9 ... the palace. You aren't thinking 10 ... finding room 11 ... the sisters there as well, are you? You can depend 12 ... Cinderella to be nice 13 ... everyone and I'm sure she will forgive her sisters 14 ... their past unkindness.