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VOA日常语法2023--Grammar for Giving Gifts

时间:2023-12-07 00:40来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Grammar for Giving Gifts

We are now in between two major American holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the most important time of the year for giving gifts.

So, in the holiday spirit, we will explore some common questions that connect to gift giving. Please note that what we explore in this lesson is not connected only to American holidays - it can be used more generally to describe any kind of gift-giving event.

Questions

Imagine you want to get a gift for a family member. You need some advice from another family member or friend. How would you ask for such advice?

That question leads us to the first point in today's lesson. We are asking about what others want in terms of a gift.

One way to ask this question is by using a "what" question.

This is a kind of open-ended question. In other words, you are asking a question that requires more information than a simple answer of yes or no.

You might use modals or helping1 verbs in your question. You might also want to report who is going to receive the gift and the occasion2 that the gift is for.

Let's take an example to clarify3 these points.

Imagine you are doing Christmas shopping for your brother. Let's say his name is Tom. Here is how you might ask another person – say your mother – about a gift for Tom. You could ask: "What would Tom like for Christmas?"

Here, we have the "what" question word along with the modal "would" and then the name Tom followed by the verb "like." Please note that we also generally use the structure "for + holiday" where the holiday is a noun4 or noun phrase. In this case, the holiday is Christmas.

Another way you might ask the question is with the helping verb "do." The basic structure is the same as our example containing "would" and "like." But in this question, we replace those words with "do" and "want." So, you might ask, "What does Tom want for Christmas?"

Please note that the two questions we have discussed so far have almost the same meaning:

Locations and nouns5

Now let us consider questions about places to get gifts. In such questions, we generally use the question word "where" along with the modal "can." We often use "find" as the main verb. And we often use nouns with similar meanings such as "sales," "deals," or "specials."

Let's explore three examples, all of which have a similar meaning.

Where can I find holiday sales?

Where can I find holiday deals?

Where can I find holiday specials?

Note that the question word always comes first. The modal "can" comes between the question word and the subject "I."

And then we have the main verb "find" along with the noun phrases such as holiday specials, holiday deals, and so on.

Once you find the correct location, then discussions6 about price might come. We explored that subject in an earlier lesson, which you can find in the Everyday Grammar area of our website, www.51voa.com.

Quiz

Let's take some time to work with these ideas. Imagine you are considering what gift to get for your mother for her birthday. How might you ask another family member about what to get?

Pause the audio7 to consider your answer.

Here are two possible answers:

What would Mom like for her birthday?

Or

What does Mom want for her birthday?

In our answers, we used the question word "what." Either the structure "...would Mom like..." or "...does Mom want..." will work.

What is important is that after the short word "for," we have the noun phrase "her birthday." This noun phrase provides information that makes the question clearer.

Future lessons will explore gift giving in greater detail.

Words in This Story

modal – n. a verb (such as can, could, shall, should, ought to, will, or would) that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity8, and permission

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express an idea but do not form a complete sentence


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
2 occasion DIAxo     
n.场合,时机,机会,诱因,理由;vt.惹起,引起
参考例句:
  • Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合,她的服装过分华丽了。
  • Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。
3 clarify ZVTyI     
v.澄清,阐明,使变得清晰;净化
参考例句:
  • I am happy to clarify any points that are still unclear.我愿意说明任何仍然不清楚的地方。
  • Can you clarify this long sentence?你能把这个长句子解释清楚吗?
4 noun JHux3     
n.名词
参考例句:
  • What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词?
  • This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。
5 nouns 8412c0b251e0c60f78bfaf0a44ac3206     
n.名词;名词( noun的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 discussions 48ee344d9a540894650ce4af27e169dd     
n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 );商讨;详述;论述
参考例句:
  • Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
  • Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。
7 audio 9yOziJ     
n./adj.音频(响)(的);声音(的),听觉(的)
参考例句:
  • Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来,供以后查阅。
  • You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。
8 necessity wGLxm     
n.必要性,需要;必需品
参考例句:
  • I look upon this as an absolute necessity.我认为这是绝对必要的。
  • You must understand the necessity of education.你必须懂得教育的必要性。
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TAG标签:   VOA英语  慢速英语  日常语法
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