Which is correct?

(1) I took the ( bad, wrong ) train this morning, so I was late for work.
(2) You came at a ( bad, wrong ) time. There’s no food left.
(3) I’m afraid you have the ( bad, wrong ) number.
(4) There is something ( bad, wrong ) with this computer.
(5) I’m having a ( bad, wrong ) day. Everything seems going ( bad, wrong ).
(6) What’s ( bad, wrong) with you? It looks like you are in a ( bad, wrong ) mood.
(7) Don’t be a ( bad, wrong ) example to your son, darling.
(8) The dessert went ( bad, wrong) because we forgot to put it in the fridge.
(9) He is a ( bad, wrong ) guy. He always cheats his girlfriend.
(10) He did something ( bad, wrong ), but he’s not a ( bad, wrong) person.

Core meanings
bad: not good; not preferable.
wrong: not right; deviating from truth or fact.

~Ms. D

Ans. (1) wrong (2) bad (3) wrong (4) wrong (5) bad / wrong (6) wrong / bad (7) bad (8) bad (9) bad (10) wrong / bad

Hi, everyone. Okay, here we go:

Which is correct?

1. Maria ( speaks, talks ) three languages – English, Spanish, and Chinese.
2. I can’t ( speak, talk ) for everyone, but I think what he said was to the point.
3. I couldn’t ( speak, talk ) her into coming to the party with me.
4. (Speak, Talk) of the devil, and he will appear.
5. Mathew was so mad that he wouldn’t (speak, talk ) a word.
6. Could you (speak, talk ) up, please?
7. My friend and I ( spoke, talked ) the night away.
8. Her coworkers always ( speak, talk ) highly of her.
9. Is there somewhere we can ( speak, talk ) in private?
10. We ( spoke, talked ) about politics all morning.

speak : Core meaning of ‘speak’ is ‘to make a speech sound’, so it is often used for one-way communication. (as seen in the noun form of speak, ‘speech’: ‘speech’ is generally one-way.)
talk : Core meaning of ‘talk’ is ‘to exchange words’, so it is often used for conversational exchanges or its interactivity. ( as seen in ‘talk show’: ‘talk show’ is interactive.)

Some grammarians say that ‘speak’ is often used in more serious or formal situations, whereas ‘talk’ is often used in more informal communication.

Notice the nuance:

• Speaking of travel, have you ever been to Thailand?
• Talking of travel, have you ever been to Thailand?

~Ms. D

Ans. (1) speaks (2) speak (3) talk (4) Speak (5) speak (6) speak (7) talked (8) speak (9) talk (10) talked

First, note the following definitions:

to hear: to perceive or apprehend using one’s auditory organ
to listen: to pay attention to sound

Which is correct?

1. I ( heard, listened ) very hard, but I didn’t ( hear, listen ) anything.
2. Don’t ( hear, listen to) him. You can’t really trust him.
3. Did you ( hear, listen to ) someone screaming? I thought I did.
4. Are you ( hearing, listening to ) me?
5. Don’t say anything. Be quiet. Someone might be ( listening to, hearing ) our conversation.
6. I haven’t ( listened, heard ) from my father for ages.
7. I just wanted to be ( listened to, heard ).
8. ( Listen, hear), I have got something interesting to tell you.
9. It was so noisy that it was hard to make myself ( listened to, heard ).
10. I have never ( listened to, heard of ) such a strange story.

日本人へのお薦め

~Ms. D

Answers: (1) listened / hear (2) listen to (3) hear (4) listening (5) listening to (6) heard (7) listened to (8) Listen (9) heard (10) heard of

Which is correct?

1. Just born babies can not (look, see).
2. I’ve been (looking at, seeing ) her for about 10 years.
3. I (looked at, saw) by motorcycle again and again, but I couldn’t (looked at, see) anything strange.
4. Let’s(look and see, see and look) what’s happening outside.
5. Please (look, see) that the door is locked.
6. A: I would like to (look at, see) a doctor as soon as possible. It’s an emergency. B: The doctor will (look at, see ) you right away.
7. Oh, OK. I (look, see ) what you mean.
8. I (saw, looked) but didn’t (see, look at) anything in the bag.
9. I can’t (see, looked at ) him as a president.
10. Go and (see, look) yourself.
11. (Look, See), here comes the parade.
12. What’s the matter? You don’t (look, see) like yourself.
13. I (saw, looked) her in the face.

Core meaning

look: give/cast a look; the speaker’s judgement from his/her eyesight → seem, appear

see: take an object into one’s sight; see something physically → perceive, meet, date, experience, etc.; see something in your mind/mentally → understand, imagine, find out, etc.

~Ms. D

日本人へのお薦め

Answers: (1)see (talking about babies’ visual organ) (2)seeing (3)looked at/see (4)look and see (5)see (6) see/look at (7)see (8)looked/see (9)see (10)see (11)Look (12) look (13) look

Let’s look at “lexical” grammar today, specifically at the ubiquitous verb “HAVE”.

Before we start, it’s important to know that lexical grammar (”LG” for short) is grammar based on the core meanings of words. Simply put, every word has one meaning and the meaning determines what kind of constructions the words can have. LG has recently started to gain attention, mainly because it allows teachers to explain grammar to English learners in a very simple and clear way.

Now back to “have”. First read these sentences:

1. I have a lot of money.
2. I had a great time.
3. I had him fix the computer.
4. I had him call back his boss.
5. I had my purse stolen.
6. I had my hair cut.
7. I have to finish painting the wall today.
8. I have just finished my homework.
9. I have been to Europe before.
10. I have been living in Japan for ten years.
11. The wall will have been painted by next week.

English learners usually learn the 11 sentences above as different grammar points. For example, for sentences 1 and 2, you’ll just learn the meaning of word as a verb at the very beginning; for sentences 3 - 6, you’ll learn “have” as a causative verb; sentence 7, as an auxiliary verb; sentences 8-11, as present perfect tense.

Lexical grammar is useful because you can explain ALL of these grammar points by using the one “core” meaning of the word have, so that:

(a) you’ll have fewer grammar points to remember, and(b) you’ll have a deeper understanding of grammar, because you won’t just be memorizing rules.

In short, you’ll learn grammar by thinking about the “core” meanings of words, and how it determines their grammatical funtion. This should help you to truly understand grammar and word meaning.

For example, the core meaning of have is “to have/possess something within your own space”:

(1) I have…a lot of money. (‘have’ physical thing = possess)(2) I had…a great time. (‘had’ abstract concept = experience)

This core meaning can be expanded to create other constructions, such as sentences 3 - 11. Let’s look closer at this:

Causative(3’) I had…him fix the computer. (‘had’ the situation as ‘him fix the computer’ =request)(4’) I had…him call back his boss. (‘had’ the situation as ‘him call back his boss’ =compulsion)(5’) I had…my purse stolen. (‘had’ the situation as ‘my purse stolen’ =damage)(6’) I had…my hair cut. (‘had’ the situation as ‘my hair cut’ =causative?)

Auxiliary “have to”(7’) I have…to finish the work today. (‘have’ the situation as ‘to finish the work today’ =obligation)

Present perfect “have + p.p.(8) I have…finished my homework. (‘have’ the situation as ‘finished my homework’ = completion)(9) I have…been to Europe before. (‘have’ the situation as ‘been to Europe before’ = experience)(10) I have…been living in Japan for years. (‘have’ the situation, as ‘been living in Japan for years’ = continuation +progressive)(11) The wall…has been painted. (‘The wall’ has the situation, as ‘been painted’ =completion +passive)

It is needless to say that grammar shouldn’t be something hard to learn. Not only should grammar be learnable, it should also be usable in communication. Grammar shouldn’t be too complicated for us to learn; it should be a simple and useful tool for us to express what we want to communicate.

I hope lexical grammar will help you get a better sense of English grammar, because it will allow you to communicate better in English.

Next week we’ll be looking at look/see. See you then!

~Ms. D