Tagged: grammar
You could use ‘can’, or not!
😦 This could be achieved using gravity to allow the water to flow from the higher to the lower level.
This is possible in some languages but not in English. In English if something happens the same way, all the time, predictably, without variation, then there isn’t really any question of probability (‘could’). For regular, predictable phenomena use good old present simple tense without modals:
- This is achieved using gravity to allow the water to flow from the higher to the lower level.
Only use modals for unpredictable or uncertain situations, and then think about the degree of predictability or certainty:
- This could be achieved using gravity to allow the water to flow from the higher to the lower level, but there are other, better methods. (Gravity perhaps not the best method)
- In most situations this can be achieved using gravity to allow the water to flow from the higher to the lower level. (Gravity usually the best method)
Notice that could implies a more negative evaluation than can. Indonesians should think carefully about this distinction as they tend to over-use could, having been taught in school that could is more formal than can. Well, yes it is, but only in offers and requests:
- Can you pass the salt? (informal)
- Could you pass the salt, please? (formal)
- Excuse me. Would you mind passing the salt? (very formal)
- etc.
‘One of’ or ‘a’?
😦 Euthanasia may be one of ways to deliver health resources fairly to people who still want to live.
This is a direct translation from Bahasa Indonesia: ‘salah satu’.
For every noun in English it is important to communicate one of three meanings:
- One of many
- All of them everywhere
- This one exactly
In the opening example the writer communicated successfully. However, the sentence is gramatically incorrect. If you really must use ‘one of’ then you need more grammar:
- Euthanasia may be one of several ways to deliver.. (‘several’ behaves like ‘many’)
- Euthanasia may be one of the best ways to deliver.. (‘one of’ + the + superlative adjective + plural count noun)
You can see how easy it can be to introduce grammatical error, or to choose the wrong word to follow ‘one of’! A much easier and far more common way to communicate ‘one of many’ is using the indefinite article ‘a’ (or ‘an’) – NOT ‘one of’.
Want to communicate one of many? Use the indefinite article:
🙂 Euthanasia may be a way to deliver health resources fairly to people who still want to live.
For more examples of article use, click the articles tag.
It is called as ‘bad grammar’
😦 People call this as the ‘big data era’.
In Bahasa Indonesia disebut (called) collocates strongly with sebagai (as). Not so in English. Indeed, sebagai is often redundant in English, except when it collocates with certain verbs.
The correct options here are:
- People call this the ‘big data era’. (active call without as)
- This era is called the ‘big data era’. (passive call without as)
- This era is known as the ‘big data era’. (passive know with as)
Most native speakers would probably use number 1, except when the term being introduced is somehow scientific:
Liquids tend to travel quickly along very narrow spaces. This phenomenon is known as capillary attraction.
Be careful. If you want to use known as then you need to begin with some of the defining characteristics of the ‘known’ phenomenon:
Recently data has become so complex that traditional data processing application software is inadequate to deal with it. This data is now known as ‘big data’.
Indonesians.. Once again, be careful with sebagai! It collocates differently in English.
Ask the menu!
Non-native speakers having dinner!
This is a common mistake made by Indonesians translating ‘tanya’ instead of ‘minta’.
The options in English are (take a deep breath!):
- I’ll ask the waiter. (ask someone)
- I’ll ask the waiter to bring us the menu. (ask someone to do something)
- I’ll ask the waiter about the menu. (ask someone about something/someone)
- I’ll ask the waiter for the menu. (ask someone for something)
- I’ll ask for the menu. (ask for something/someone)
Most native speakers would probably use Number 5.
Notice that ask something is not in this list. The picture below shows what might happen if you ask the menu!
Most menus cannot answer questions!
Possibly there are different ways to translate the correct forms into Indonesian. I know that I’m never confident when using tanya and minta in Indonesian. If you have any suggestions, please share in the comments box below!
Blah changed, resulting in blah!
😦 Sales increased dramatically reached 2,000 in July.
So, this is obviously bad grammar because there are 2 verbs in the same clause: increased and reached. There are three possible corrections:
1. Separate sentences
The easiest solution would be to put verbs increased and reached into separate sentences:
🙂 Sales increased dramatically. They reached 2,000 in July.
2. Conjunction
Another approach would be to use comma + conjunction (‘and’) to join two clauses together:
🙂 Sales increased dramatically, and reached 2,000 in July.
3. Comma + __ing
A third solution is to use comma + ___ing.
🙂 Sales increased dramatically, reaching 2,000 in July.
This last example is little used by lower level IELTS candidates but very common in native speaker speaking and writing, particularly when describing statistical changes over time. It’s especially useful when you want to include the result of a series of changes:
Sales increased dramatically but then remained steady, finishing at 10,000 at the end of the period.
Ultimately you want to aim for variety in your grammar, and so aim to use a mix of all three structures in your writing.
Fancy a challenge?
Take a look at the highlighted area of the graph below. Can you describe what’s happening using the three structures that I have demonstrated? Answers in the comments box below!
Parallel structures and IELTS
😦 Modern art and music can cause conflicts in existing cultural values and can cause misinterpretation or even losing their originality in cultural identity.
If you want to pack a list of items into one sentence, then these items need to be ‘parallel’. What do I mean by items and what do I mean by parallel?
- Items are usually noun phrases or verb phrases, although they are sometimes preposition phrases.
- Parallel means that all of the items are the same type – all nouns, all verb phrases, etc.
Parallel nouns
Our opening example could be written using noun phrases only:
🙂 Modern art and music can cause conflicts in existing cultural values, misinterpretation, or even loss of originality in cultural identity.
..in which we have one verb – cause – and three nouns separated by commas:
- conflicts in existing cultural values
- misinterpretation
- loss of originality in cultural identity
(Notice that the final noun is preceded by or even as a substitute for and.)
Parallel verbs
Alternatively the sentence could be written using verb phrases only, again separated by commas:
🙂 Modern art and music can cause conflicts in existing cultural values, lead to misinterpretation, or even result in loss of originality in cultural identity.
Parallelism and IELTS
Accurate parallel structures can help to increase your IELTS score for GRA (they’re ‘structural’), LR (noun phrases are probably the most common item), and CC (non-parallel structures are difficult to understand).
Ha! There – I just used a parallel structure built from nouns (GRA, LR, CC)!
‘One of’ or ‘a’?
When should I use ‘have to’?
😦 I’m sorry I’m late. My wife is sick and so this morning I should take my son to school. And I’m sorry but I should leave early today to take him home.
OK so this is an Indonesian student over-translating ‘harus’ as ‘should’. Actually there are situations when we have to use ‘have to’ instead of ‘should’. Take a look at the following examples and try the exercises that follow.
As a teacher I have to [1] get up early on work days because I have to [2] be in class at 8 o’clock. I drive to work, although I should [3] probably use a motorcycle, which is faster and more convenient in Bali.
When I was a musician I didn’t have to [4] get up early. On the other hand I had to [5] be on stage most evenings at 8 o’clock. I had to [6] drive to gigs because I had to [7] carry many drums. I know what you’re thinking – I should’ve [8] chosen a smaller instrument like the violin. Yes, but then I would have had to [9] play the violin!
Discussion
- In which situations do/did/would I have a choice?
- In which situations do/did/would I NOT have a choice?
Complete the rule:
In the present:
- we use ________________ to talk about situations when it is a good idea to do something, but we have a choice. (We probably don’t do it!)
- we use ________________ to talk about situations when we have NO choice. (We do it, even if we don’t want to!)
In the past:
- we use ________________ to talk about situations when it would have been a good idea to do something, but we didn’t do it, even though we had a choice.
- we use ________________ to talk about situations when we had NO choice. (We did it, even if we didn’t want to!)
(scroll down for answers!)
Discussion
- In which situations do/did/would I have a choice? [Answer: 1,2,4,5,6,7,9]
- In which situations do/did/would I NOT have a choice? [Answer: 3,8]
Complete the rule:
In the present:
- we use should to talk about situations when it is a good idea to do something, but we have a choice. (We probably don’t do it!)
- we use have to to talk about situations when we have NO choice. (We do it, even if we don’t want to!)
In the past:
- we use should have + V3 to talk about situations when it would have been a good idea to do something, but we didn’t do it, even though we had a choice.
- we use had to to talk about situations when we had NO choice. (We did it, even though we didn’t want to!)
When corrected, the opening example reads as follows:
🙂 I’m sorry I’m late. My wife is sick and so this morning I had to take my son to school. And I’m sorry but I have to leave early today to take him home.
Hope that helps!
To show purpose, that’s why!
😦 I would like to study abroad one more time, especially for achieving a doctoral degree.
This is an Indonesian translation for ‘untuk’ as a way to explain purpose.
In English the answer to this kind of ‘why’ question is nearly always ‘to + V1’:
🙂 I would like to study abroad one more time, especially to achieve a doctoral degree.
Questions that focus on purpose include:
- Why do you want to..?
- Why did you..?
- What did you (do that) for?
In these examples the answer – ‘To + v1..’ is sometimes referred to as ‘the infinitive of purpose‘.
‘For + noun’ is used to explain some kind of function:
A: What’s that machine for?
B: It’s for pounding rice. (function)
A. Oh. I see. But why use a machine?
B. Maybe to save time. (purpose)
A. Ah. Right.
Indonesians – next time you want to translate ‘untuk’, stop and think. Are you talking about function or purpose?
When is a school not a school?
😦 I have also been a teacher in one of high schools in Padang.
This is a common mistake made by Indonesians desperate to translate ‘salah satu’ or maybe ‘sebuah’.
In English, when we want to communicate ‘one of many’, we use the indefinite article ‘a/an’:
🙂 I have also been a teacher at a high school in Padang.
This is sometimes called ‘generic’ reference. The school in the example is not a particular school – we don’t yet know the name of the school, its address, etc. So far we’re just imagining a typical school. The image of the school in the writer’s mind will not be exactly the same as the image of the school in the reader’s mind, and that doesn’t matter.
I might use ‘one of’ if I’m introducing more specific information about ‘a’ school. For example:
🙂 There are many schools in Padang. One of them is close to my house.
(information about the location of the school)
🙂 Only one of the schools in Padang offers an international curriculum.
(information about the curriculum of the school)
🙂 I studied at one of the best schools in Padang.
(information about the quality of the school)
Notice also that ‘one of’ is followed by certain words, in particular:
- the / them (pronouns)
- these / those (demonstratives)
- my/his/their (possessives)
- superlative adjectives
For more examples, click here.
As a general rule – if you’re talking generally (generically!), use ‘a/an’ for countable nouns. For uncountable nouns use ‘some’.
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