A finite
verb is a verb that is inflected for person and for tense according
to the rules and categories of the languages in which it occurs. Finite verbs
can form independent clauses, which can stand by their own as complete
sentences.
Every
grammatically correct sentence or clause must contain a finite
verb; sentence fragments not containing finite verbs are described as phrases.
Some interjections can play the same role. Even in
English, a sentence like Thanks for your help! has an interjection where
it could have a subject and a
finite verb form (compare I appreciate your help!).
For example
· I walked, they walk, and she walks are finite verbs
* (to) walk is an infinitive.
· I lived in French.
* "I" is the subject. "Lived" describes what the subject
did. "Lived" is a finite verb.
"Finite verbs can be recognized by their form and
their position in the sentence. Here are some of the things to look for when
you are trying to identify the finite verbs in a sentence:
1. Most finite verbs
can take an -ed or a -d at the end of the word to indicate time
in the past: cough, coughed; celebrate, celebrated. A hundred or
so finite verbs do not have these endings.
2. Nearly all
finite verbs take an -s at the end of the word to indicate the present
when the subject of the verb is third-person singular: cough, he coughs;
celebrate, she celebrates. The exceptions are auxiliary verbs like can
and must. Remember that nouns can also end in -s. Thus the dog
races can refer to a spectator sport or to a fast-moving third-person
singular dog.
3. Finite verbs
are often groups of words that include such auxiliary verbs as can, must,
have, and be: can be suffering, must eat, will have gone.
In this pattern, it
has no meaning. It is used only to fill the subject position in the sentence.
Thus, it is called introductory “it”.
A
and B mean the same thing, but sentence B is more common and useful than A. A
was introduce mainly to make the meaning of B easier to understand.
Introductory “it” can fill
the position both of the subject and object.
Introductory “it” as a subject:
·
To watch musical programs is pleasant.
It is pleasant to watch musical program.
·
To play football must be fun.
It is fun to play football.
When the subjective is an infinitive phrase
We begin a sentence with it when the real subject is
an infinitive phrase. So instead of saying, ‘To accept your advice is
difficult’, we say, ‘It is difficult to accept your advice’.
· It is easy to learn
English. > (To learn English is easy).
· It is easy to find
fault with others. > (To find fault with others is easy).
· It is difficult to know
his motive. > (To know his motive is difficult).
· It is difficult to
find a good job during these troubled times.
· It is dangerous to
play with fire.
· It could be dangerous
to drive so fast.
Note :
When we wish to emphasize the infinitive phrase, it may be
put at the beginning, especially when it is short.
· To err is human OR It
is human to err.
· To become a well known writer
was his life-long ambition OR It was his lifelong ambition to become a
well known writer.
· To invest all your money in
shares is foolish OR It is foolish to invest all your money in shares.
When the
subject is a gerund phrase
When the real subject is a phrase that includes a gerund, it
is used as a provisional subject to begin the sentence. So instead of saying
‘Your trying to fool us is no good’, we say, ‘It is no good your trying to fool
us.’
· It won’t be any good
complaining to the manager. (Complaining to the manager won’t be any good.)
· It is silly throwing
away this opportunity. (Throwing away this opportunity is silly.)
· Will it be any good my
talking to him about it? (Will my talking to him about it be any good?)
· It is no fun having so
many children to look after. (Having so many children to look after is no fun.)
Note that it is possible to change the gerund into an
infinitive.
· It won’t be any good for
me to complain to the manager.
· It is silly (for you) to
throw away this opportunity.
· Will it be any good for me
to talk to him about it?
· Many of these sentences can
also be re-written as exclamatory sentences.
· How silly of you to throw
away this opportunity!
When the
subject is a clause
When the subject is a clause, the sentence usually begins
with it. So instead of saying ‘That he was once a communist is true’, we
say, ‘It is true that he was once a communist’.
· It does not matter whether he
comes or not. (Whether he comes or not does not matter.)
· It is required that he should
pay the fine. (That he should pay the fine is required.)
· It is clear that he overheard
our conversation. (That he overheard our conversation is clear.)
· It is clear that you are not
interested in this offer. (That you are not interested in the offer is clear.)
· It cannot be denied that they
tried their best to help him. (That they tried their best to help him cannot be
denied. )
· It doesn’t matter whether we
buy it now or later. (Whether we buy it now or later does not matter. )
Introductory it with seem, appear and look
Introductory it is also used with seem, appear and look when the
subject is an infinitive phrase, a phrase with a gerund in it or a clause.
· It looked doubtful
whether she would come
· It seemed strange that
she should behave like that.
· It seems possible that
she may quit the job.
· It appeared unwise to
offend him.
· It does not seem
much good going on with the work.
Introductory it as an object
It is sometimes used as the object of the verbs think,
feel, deem, count, consider etc.
· Don’t you think it
dangerous to drive so carelessly?
· I consider it a privilege
to have this opportunity of welcoming you.
· I
think it odd that she doesn’t write to me these days.
· I think it a pity that
she could not win.
· We think it improper
that he should be so dictatorial.
· He made it clear what
he wanted.
· I find it difficult to
talk to him.
Introductory it in questions
The introductory it is sometimes used in questions.
· Who was it that broke
the window?
It is Peter who broke the window.
· Why was it that he
stole the bread?
It was because he was poor that he stole the bread.
Direct Speechrefers to
reproducing another person’s exact words or saying exactly what someone has
said (sometimes called quoted speech). We use quotation marks
(“______________”) and it should be word for word.
For example:
He said, “She is beautiful.”
Or
“She is beautiful.” he said.
Indirect speechrefers to
reproducing the idea of another person’s words that doesn’t use quotation marks
to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word. Indirect speechis sometimes called reported
speech.
The tense usually changes
when reporting speech. This is because we are usually talking about a time in
the past and obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past. The
verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
Note:
The reporting verbs that are usually
used to report imperative sentences are: Tell, order, command, ask, warn,
remind.
Don’t
forget to mention the indirect object.
Father
warned me not to drive fast.
Here
are the backshift of tense.
From
To
Simple present
Simple past
Simple past
Present perfect
Past perfect
Past perfect
Will
Would
Am/are/is
Was/were
Was/were
Had been
Has been
Had been
Here are the shifting
of time signals.
This (evening)
That (evening)
Today/this day
That day
These (days)
Those (days)
Now
Then
Yesterday
The day before/the previous
weekend
(a week) ago
(a week) before
Last weekend
the weekend before/the
previous weekend
Here
There
Next(week)
The following (week)
Tomorrow
The next/following day
There are three kinds
of indirect speech, i.e. statements, questions, and imperative sentences.
A.Statements
Direct speech
Indirect speech
(Present
Tense): The
students go to the library once a day
(Past Tense): The students went to the library once day
(Present
Continuous Tense): The students are reading books now
(Past Continuous
Tense):The students were reading books then
(Past Tense): The students borrowed books last week
(Past Perfect Tense): The students had borrowed books the previous week
(Present
Perfect Tense): The students have returned the books
(Past Perfect Tense): The students had returned the books
(Future Tense): The students will borrow novels tomorrow
(Future Tense): The students would borrow novels the following day
The girls say, "We like reading teen
magazines."
The girls say that they like reading
teen magazines.
Woody says,
"I am on my way home."
Woody says
that he is on his way home.
Riana says, " I can do this
myself."
Riana says that she can do that
herself.
B.Questions
If you put a question into
indirect speech, there are some steps which are similar to statements: changing
of the person, backshift of tenses, and changing of expressions of time.
In indirect speech, there is
no question anymore, the sentences becomes a statement. That’s why, the word
order is: subject – verb.
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Peter asked me,
"Do you play football?"
Peter asked me whether I played football.
Peter asked me, "When do you play
football?"
Peter asked
me when I play football.
C.Command
If you put Commandinto indirect speech, you remain
changing of the person, backshift of tenses and changing of expressions of
time. The form is mostly: to ornot to + imperative.
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Mother said
to me, "Turn off the TV and prepare yourself."
Mother told
me to turn off the TV an prepare myself
Nollan said
to me, "Don't go anywhere after to have done our homework."
Nollan told
me not to go anywhere after I had done my homework
DDefinition : To amuse or entertain the readers with actual or
imaginary
experiences in difference ways. Narrative always deal with some problem which
lead to the climax and then turn in to a solution to the problem.
TText
organization :
·Orientation : (who, were, involved in the story, when and where)
·Evaluation
: is optional; it is usually used to make
the story more interesting.
·Complication : about the conflict or the big problem of the story (a
problem arises followed by other problem)
·Resolution : In Resolution, the solution or the way out of the
conflict/ the big problem must be written (solution the problem)
·Coda
: it is the change of one of the
character or two, or the meaning of the story that can be caught as a moral
value of life.
LLanguage
features :
·The use of noun phrase (a beautiful
princes, etc)
·The use of connectives (first, before,
then, finally, etc)
·The use of adverbial phrases of
time and place (at home, 2 days ago, etc)
·The use of simple past tense (he wrote a
letter yesterday)
·The use of action verb (walk, sleep, wake
up)
·The use of thinking verbs, feeling verbs,
verb of sense (she felt hungry)
