A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (21 page)

15.
The herdsmen had all collapsed on the ground, ………….. here, ………….. there.

9.4. Substitutes for structures containing a verb

Sections 383–385; 479; 482

The dummy auxiliary
do
can act as a substitute for the whole of a clause apart from the subject.

Other auxiliaries can be used in a similar way. That is, you can omit the whole or part of a sentence following an auxiliary.

Be
as a main verb cannot be omitted after an auxiliary.

The main verb
do
acts a substitute for a main verb, normally a verb denoting some action or activity.
Do
requires an object which may be
it, that
or
so
.

Task one *

Complete the short answers to the following questions.

1.
Who wants to go to the cinema? I (positive)/I (negative)

2.
Did you finish the essay last night? Yes, I …………..

3.
Will you get a ticket for Tom? I already …………..

4.
Is Joan coming to the party? I don’t know. She may …….., she …….. not

5.
Did Terry get the job? No, he …………..

6.
Will you be able to meet Fred on Friday? Of course, I …………..

7.
Have you read Amis’s new book? Yes, I …………..

8.
Do you like our new millennium bridge? No, I …………..

9.
Who was responsible for all the disturbance last night? She …………..

10.
Who can deliver this parcel for me? He …………..

Task two **

Rewrite the sentences below with an appropriate substitution for the part underlined.

1.
John will come with us to the theatre
if Susan will come with us to the theatre
.

2.
He might get the job,
but I don’t think he will get the job
.

3.
That is something I can’t tell you,
but he can tell you
.

4.
Is Harold Pinter our greatest playwright?
Yes, he is our greatest playwright
.

5.
Why didn’t you tell me? I’m sorry.
I know I should have told you
.

6.
Why don’t you sit down?
Why should I sit down
?

7.
Is it possible to buy stamps in that shop?
It might be possible to buy stamps in that shop
.

8.
She got the travel brochure for hotels in Australia,
but she didn’t get the travel brochure for the hotels in Singapore
.

9.
If you haven’t finished the work by now,
you should have finished the work by now
.

10.
Are you going to invite Michael to your party?
I could invite Michael to my party, but I don’t want to invite Michael to my party
. He always quarrels with people.

Task three **

Complete the sentences below with
do that, do it
, or
do so
, etc.

1.
A: He told them he didn’t like going there. B: Why did he ……………..?

2.
If they invite you to join them at their country house, you should …………….. It’s a wonderful place.

3.
He’ll ask you to work late, but don’t …………….. You’ll simply be seen as an easy touch and you’ll get no thanks.

4.
A: They say he turned down the job. B: Why should he ……………..? It’s stupid.

5.
He’s promised to come next week. If he …………….., it’ll be the first time he’s been here in years.

6.
Go and see your aunt while you’re in London. To …………….. will cost you nothing and give her a lot of pleasure.

7.
It won’t help if I do the work for you. In any case, why should I ……………..? You’ve never done anything for me.

8.
Give up teaching! Why ……………..? I thought you loved the job, and everyone say you’re a wonderful teacher.

9.
So you want to spend the next two years just travelling round the world. Well, in order to …………….., you’ll need to work hard now and save all your money. We can’t help you.

10.
To continue doing research, you’ll need to get a very good degree. To …………….., you’ll have to work much harder than you do now.

9.5. Substitutes for
wh
-clauses and
to
-infinitive clauses

Sections 387–389; 94; 99; 376

The whole of a
wh
-clause following the
wh
-word can be omitted.

With infinitive clauses, you can omit the whole clause following
to
.

The definite pronouns
it, that
and
this
are widely used as substitutes for noun clauses as well as for noun phrases.

Task **

Find simpler substitutes for the clauses underlined.

1.
He’s gone out, but
I don’t know where he’s gone
.

2.
A: Let’s go and see a film. B:
I’d love to go and see a film
, but I’m busy tonight.

3.
I intend to go to Brazil, but
I don’t know when I’ll go to Brazil
.

4.
You can go climbing
if you want to go climbing
. I’m staying here. I’d rather read a book.

5.
You should keep exercising.
To keep exercising
is the best way to stop your knees becoming stiff.

6.
The garden is organised into several areas.
The organisation of the garden into several areas
gives a lot of variety to the garden and makes it seem much bigger than it is.

7.
It rained every day while they were in Spain.
That it rained every day
meant that they couldn’t enjoy the beautiful countryside.

8.
You need to get a tourist ticket. I can do that for you
if you want me to get the tourist ticket
.

9.
He wants me to go and see that film about a monk’s journey to Indonesia,
but I don’t want to go and see that film about a monk’s journey to Indonesia
.

10.
A: Two hundred jobs are to go in the car factory. B:
How do you know two hundred jobs are to go in the car factory
?

11.
A: Do you ever go back to the restaurant where you and your wife met? B: No,
I can’t bear to go back there
since she left me.

12.
Many Internet companies were unable to cope with the slow business build-up.
The slow business build-up meant
that many went bankrupt.

9.6. Omission with non-finite and verbless clauses

Sections 392–394; 493–494

Non-finite and verbless clauses have no operator (the first auxiliary of a verb phrase) and often no conjunction or subject. They are more economical than finite subclauses and avoid repetition. They are more favoured in formal and written styles of English.

Task one **

Rewrite the underlined clauses using non-finite or verbless clauses.

1.
This man,
who was well-known to me
, caused all the problems in the department.

2.
I expect
that I shall see you while I’m in London
.

3.
Next month is the time
when you should visit Italy
.

4.
As he was a born leader
, James soon attracted the attention of the company management.

5.
He had retired from the army
and so gave up his title of General.

6.
He doubted that she would come
and made plans to go with another woman.

7.
I know how you have behaved in the past
; so I cannot accept you as a member of the group.

8.
Ian had thought
he would see a film that evening
.

9.
He was given so much time
; he should have completed the work.

10.
Please get me a taxi.
I’ve drunk so much
I mustn’t drive my car tonight.

Task two **

Rewrite the following sentences, using non-finite or verbless clauses but, where possible, keeping the subordinators.

1.
While Tom knew Maria had cheated in the exam, he, nonetheless, congratulated her warmly.

2.
As he was going to Sweden for his job, he decided to wait until he was there before he bought a new winter coat.

3.
Since I’ve lived here, I’ve not made any real friends.

4.
Whether he was rich or poor, Joe always organised a good party on his birthday.

5.
After Mary had read the best-seller about an old woman, she felt she was able to cope with old age.

6.
When he met her after several years, he felt very sorry they had not become close friends.

7.
After he had retired, he lived in Tasmania.

8.
Since I don’t know the way, I’d rather you drove.

9.
Since he has known the truth about them, he has become very wary of them.

10.
Though they were unsuccessful in their last business, they are determined to start again.

UNIT TEN

Conditions

10.1. Open and hypothetical conditions

Sections 207–210; 275; 366–367

Conditional sentences typically consist of a conditional (sub)clause and a main clause expressing the result which follows if the condition is satisfied. There are three basic patterns:

The two clauses often appear in reverse order.

Some of the above verb forms are replaceable by other forms, although there are a number of restrictions, especially in terms of tense.

If
is by no means the only conjunction introducing a conditional clause.

In some sentences a conditional phrase is used instead of a conditional clause.

Task one *

Study the following sentences, deciding which of the three basic patterns of conditional they can be related to. Also discuss any special features.

1.
If low wages were the chief magnet for industry, Haiti would be the manufacturing hub of the world.

2.
Our hero will sacrifice the first living being he encounters, provided that he reaches land safely.

3.
Supposing the minister concerned had decided to send a fleet of bombers to Tasmania: what would have happened?

4.
You will not get an electric shock so long as you don’t touch that live wire.

5.
Ground coffee loses its flavour within five or six days unless it is specially packaged.

6.
If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass.

(
The Highway Code
, §144)

7.
This information may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately.

8.
Unless road signs or markings indicate otherwise, you should use the left-hand lane when going left.

(
The Highway Code
, §121)

9.
France and Germany might put aside their antagonism if given economic incentives for cooperation.

10.
In case of burglary, report any loss of valuables to the local police.

11.
In the event of renewed terrorist attacks, civil liberties might have to be curbed.

12.
It is inconceivable that any scholar could have attained an important post in 1942 without the official sanction of the Nazi regime.

Task two **

Reword the following sentences, expanding them where necessary and using one of the three basic patterns.

1.
Given the opportunity, the tax office will take the easy way and grab whatever it can.

2.
Without fear, the tax office would have a difficult time maintaining our system of so-called voluntary compliance.

3.
In case of anticipated payment, please ignore this invoice.

4.
Giving people confidence that information about them on the Internet is safe will boost electronic commerce.