ποΈ Adverbs as short responses (definitely, certainly)
Attitude and viewpoint
ποΈ All right and alright
All right is an adjective or adverb.
ποΈ Chunks
When we speak and write, we repeat a lot of phrases and clauses, such as on the other hand, a lot of, at the moment, you know, you see, I mean. Some of these phrases, or chunks of language, are very common and they have specific meanings.
ποΈ Ellipsis
Ellipsis happens when we leave out (in other words, when we donβt use) items which we would normally expect to use in a sentence if we followed the grammatical rules. The following examples show ellipsis. The items left out are in brackets \[ \]:
ποΈ Headers and tails
Headers and tails are common in speaking, but very uncommon in writing. We use headers when we place information at the front of what we say. This can help our listeners to understand more easily what we are referring to. Headers can consist of a noun phrase or noun phrases or whole clauses. The header is followed by a pronoun (underlined in the examples) which refers back to the header:
ποΈ Here and there
Here and there are adverbs.
ποΈ Hyperbole
We use hyperbole /haΙͺΛpΙ
ποΈ Interjections (ouch, hooray)
We use interjections to express emotions such as pleasure, surprise, shock and disgust. Most interjections are just sounds, rather than actual words, and come at the beginning or at the end of what we say. Interjections are more common in speaking than in writing:
ποΈ Intonation
Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. The three main patterns of intonation in English are: falling intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation.
ποΈ Just
Just is a common adverb in English, especially in speaking. It has different meanings.
ποΈ Kind of and sort of
Kind of and sort of are very common expressions in speaking. They soften other words and phrases so that they do not appear too direct or exact. Kind of is more common in American English. Sort of is more common in British English:
ποΈ Oh
Oh as an interjection
ποΈ Pronunciation
Pronunciation means how we say words. Most people speak the dialect of standard English with an accent that belongs to the part of the country they come from or live in. Learners of British English commonly hear RP (received pronunciation), which is an accent often used on the BBC and other news media and in some course materials for language learners, but it is also common to hear a variety of regional accents of English from across the world.
ποΈ Question: follow-up questions
Spoken English:
ποΈ Questions: echo and checking questions
Spoken English:
ποΈ Questions: short forms
In informal situations, especially in speaking, we can reduce questions rather than using complete clauses. Short questions can be clauses, phrases or even single words:
ποΈ So and not with expect, hope, think, etc
We can use so after some verbs instead of repeating an object clause, especially in short answers. The verbs we do this with most are
ποΈ So
So \+ adjective (so difficult), so \+ adverb (so slowly)
ποΈ Substitution
Substitution: purpose
ποΈ Tags
Tags: uses
ποΈ Vague expressions
Vague language is very common, especially in speaking. We often add words and phrases such as about, kind of, sort of, and that kind of thing to make what we say less factual and direct:
ποΈ Yes
Yes is the opposite of no. We usually use yes to show that we agree with something, accept something or are willing to do something: