Guida indispensabile alla grammatica inglese

SIMPLE PRESENT Habits, Repeated Actions - I vomit on cabinet ministers whenever I can.

Permanent States - I am Irish. / Silvius is a wanker. / Vomit smells.

Is often used with Adverbs of Frequency - I usually vomit when I hear Emile Faith’s voice. / My dog always vomits when he sees Bruno Scooter on TV:



PRESENT CONTINUOUS

At the moment - Sorry, darling, I’m vomiting on Umbert at the moment so I can’t help you wash the dishes.

In this period - I’m vomiting every day at the moment because I keep hearing such nauseating rubbish spoken on TV.

Future Arrangement - I’m vomiting in a “Puke on a Criminal” Competition tomorrow.



SIMPLE PAST

With specific past time - I vomited on Mary Star yesterday evening.

When the specific past time is implicit (i.e. both speaker and listener know when even if it is not stated - Which bits of her did you vomit on? [“yesterday evening” is implicit]

Asking when - When did you last vomit on Mary Star?



PAST CONTINUOUS

Past action in progress at a given moment - I was vomiting on the prime minister when the Angel of the Lord appeared bringing a message of personal thanks from God.



FUTURE - BE GOING TO + INFINITIVE

Future intentions - I’m going to vomit on the next person who tells me that Silvius is “in gamba”.



FUTURE - WILL/SHALL

After the verb “think” - I think I will vomit on Sarah Palin this afternoon.

Making promises – Trust me, darling, I will vomit on Mr Rent as soon as I see him.

For spontaneous (non-premeditated decisions) - I’ll vomit now, that way I can go out later.



CONDITIONALS

1st conditional (real possibility) - If I have time today, I will vomit on Mr Bonds.

2nd conditional (more remote hypothesis) - If I were invited onto his programme, I would vomit on Bruno Scooter.

3rd conditional (no longer possible) – If I had been present at Bruno's birth, I would have vomited over the midwife.



PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

Finished action, time not important - I have vomited on many Italian cabinet ministers but I have never vomited on a high-ranking German

Past action, present time - I have vomited on four cabinet ministers today / this week / this month.

Announcing news – British prime minister David Cameron has vomited over his Italian counterpart.

With “How long…?” “for” and “since” to express an unfinished action - How long have you wanted to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains? / For many years now I have wanted to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains. / I have wanted to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains since I first heard him speak.

(NB in many cases, including this one, the Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous are practically interchangeable, hence: How long have you been wanting to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains? / For many years now I have been wanting to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains. / I have been wanting to vomit on Mr Three-Mountains since I first heard him speak. )

Past action, present consequence – Someone has vomited on Silvius. [That is why he is now covered in small, evil-smelling pieces of diced carrot.]

The Present Perfect is often used with certain adverbs – I have just vomited on Silvius. / I have recently vomited on Silvius and several of his colleagues. / My grandmother has not vomited on Silvius yet. / Are you seriously telling me you still haven’t vomited on Silvius?



PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Describing recent activity where the focus is not on specific results (the action may be finished or unfinished) – I have been vomiting on a lot of Silvius's friends recently. (cf. I have vomited on 73 of Silvius's friends this week).

With “How long…?” “for” and since” to express an unfinished action – How long have you been vomiting on Silvius’s friends? / I have been vomiting on Silvius’s friends for ten years now. / I have been vomiting on Silvius’s friends since I was 3 years old.



PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

Referring to a past action that precedes the past time on which the speaker is already focusing - I had met Mrs Lendjames several times before the day I vomited that Chinese lunch over her.



PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Referring to a continual (recurrent) or continuous (uninterrupted) past action in the period that precedes the past time on which the speaker is already focusing - I had been vomiting on cabinet ministers for many years before I was first nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. / I had been vomiting for at least 30 seconds when Bruno stopped speaking.



OBLIGATION

Obligation imposed by speaker - You must finish vomiting over these photos of the cabinet before you go out to play.

Obligation not imposed by speaker - I have to finish vomiting over these photos of the cabinet before my mother will let me go out to play

Ogni riferimento a persone esistenti o a fatti realmente accaduti è puramente casuale

Inglese per viaggiatori: le domande indispensabili

1) Could you repeat that slowly, please?

2) I’m sorry, could you repeat that again, just one word at a time?

3) Look, I apologise most humbly, but could you possibly break that down into syllables for me?

4) I’m afraid I missed the lessons at school on listening comprehension. Would it be too much trouble for you write that last sentence down on my handy note pad, please?

5) I can’t quite make out this letter. Is it an “r”* or an “l”?

6) How interesting! Does everyone in this country write in this extraordinary way?

7) You’re not bilingual by any chance, are you?

8) So when you said nine o’clock, you actually meant nine o’clock?

9) What do you mean the cars won’t stop if I just step out into the road?

10) Didn’t your mother ever teach you how to make proper coffee?

11) What time does the sun come out?

12) You call that a bathroom?

13) How much??!! You realise I don’t want to buy the train, just travel on it?

14) If I lend you my sister, will you show me the way to Piccadilly Circus**?


* pronounced “aaah”!!!
** pronounced... anzi, lasciamo perdere.

Figure di straordinaria merda

Il secondo rammarico più grande della mia vita* è di non aver avuto la telecamera con me il giorno in cui un mio amico inglese ha informato la fruttivendola, nonché una signora che comprava del sedano, che “non ho trovato da nessuna parte delle fiche fresche e succose come le vostre”. La reazione che avrei voluto immortalare non era tanto quella delle due donne sessantenni – che, a dire il vero, sembravano piuttosto lusingate dall’apprezzamento – quanto quella di un vecchietto che, mentre aspettava di essere servito, tastava le banane: aveva in faccia l’espressione di un ragazzino che a 14 anni viene a sapere dell’esistenza di natale e si accorge che solo lui non ha mai avuto regali.

E’ stato un bene, invece, che nessuno dei miei studenti avesse a disposizione mezzi di registrazione quando, in occasione di una lezione Pre-Intermediate durante il mio primo anno di insegnamento all’università, ho cercato di abortire una battuta non riuscita. Vedo ancora gli occhi spalancati e sconcertati della ragazza a cui mi sono rivolto pronunciando, con tutta la disinvoltura di chi è ormai sicuro di aver imparato bene il modo di dire, le sei parole che potevano costarmi il lavoro: “Scusami se ti prendo in culo”. Dopodiché è stato impossibile riprendere a spiegare le differenze fra Present Simple e Present Continuous.

Per fortuna, capita maggiormente che è lo studente e non l’insegnante a fare la figura. Ho già parlato in un altro blog della ragazza che nel suo curriculum aveva dichiarato, con orgoglio più che giustificato, di essere “very good at hand jobs” – secondo le ultime notizie che ho, la signorina adesso ricopre un importante ruolo di sostegno presso i ministeri – ma c’è chi va oltre. In una giornata calda d’estate, una di quelle in cui quell’amico inglese si disseta con le fiche fresche e succose, arrivano nel laboratorio tre ragazze che devono fare una lezione di recupero. L’argomento è “will”, più precisamente l’uso di “will” quando uno si offre di aiutare qualcuno; l’esercitazione si svolge in questa maniera:

Io: I’m hungry
1° studentessa [fingendo di tagliare un panino]: I will make you a sandwich.
Io: I haven’t got a pen.
2° studentessa [aprendo l’astuccio]: I will lend you one.
Io: I’m hot
3° studentessa [spostandosi in avanti sulla sedia e torcendo le labbra]: I will blow you.

Sarebbe stata l’occasione perfetta per realizzare una delle mie più grandi ambizioni, ovvero rubare le parole di Bogart alla fine di Casablanca: “This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Ma avevo perso la facoltà di parlare.

* il primo è di non essere Dio