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Ditransitive Verbs

A ditransitive verb accepts or may require an indirect object to complete its meaning—"the noun to whom something is given" or simply "the recipient". The indirect object takes form as a noun phrase—a name (Jane), an accusative pronoun (him, her, them, us, me), or a noun (the young woman). " Ditransitive Verbs (indirect object) " by Julie Sevastopoulos is licensed for use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International Double object verbs , British Council. verb + two objects , BBC Learning English. Ask the Editor: Direct and Indirect Objects , Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary. The Indirect Object , The Internet Grammar of English.

Grammar Lady: 'Will' vs. 'Shall'

INTRO: This week, Grammar Lady joins Wordmasters Avi Arditti and Rosanne Skirble, to try to settle an issue of longstanding confusion. Will they succeed? We shall see. MUSIC: "Shall We Dance?"/The King and I AA: These days, most English speakers dance around the traditional distinctions between "shall" and "will. " RS: That's because, unless you arrived here in a time machine from centuries-old southern England, chances are you wouldn't be able to master the arcane rules. AA: But that's not to say people haven't tried. TAPE: CUT ONE - BRUDER "It might have been my grandmother's generation, people made a distinction in the use in the future between `shall' and `will.'" AA: Grammar Lady Mary Bruder says the distinction is when you're talking about what's called the simple future -- "I shall go shopping tomorrow, that's just what I plan to do" -- versus the more emphatic: "I

Making and Responding to Suggestions

Imagine that you haven’t seen a good friend in a month. In a telephone call, your friend tells you she would like to get together for dinner but can’t think of a restaurant to go to. So, you offer an idea. Listen to a short conversation : I’d love to have dinner on Friday but I’m not sure where. How about we go to Chez Philip? Great idea! I haven’t been there in over a year. The phrase How about is one common way to make a friendly suggestion in English. To make a suggestion means to offer an idea or plan for someone to think about. You probably already know a few ways to make suggestions in English, using words such as could or should . But, on this Everyday Grammar program, we’ll talk about common phrases you can use for making friendly suggestions. We use many of these phrases in question form. How about…? Let’s start by talking a little more about the phrase How about. When you ask a question using How about, you are asking someone if they agree with

Would You Like to Know More About 'Would'? Part 2

In Part 1 of this program, we told you many uses of “would” in everyday speech. Today, we will talk about two more uses. We’ll also look at some important elements for understanding this modal verb . Before we continue, though, let’s do a short review exercise on what you learned in Part 1. Here’s how the review will work: I will give you example sentences and you will think about how each sentence uses “would.” The answer options are: polite request, polite offer, reported speech, imaginary situation or repeated past action. Listen carefully – I will use the shortened version of “would” in some of the sentences. It simply sounds like the letter “d.” For example, “I would” shortened is “I’d.” OK, let’s get started. Listen: Every summer, we’d drive across the country to see family. Would you like sugar and cream in your coffee? She said that she would be there at 7 p.m. If I were you, I’d bring a few bathing suits. Hello, I’d like two tickets to New York. Now that you

The Many Uses of 'Would' in Everyday Speech, Part 1

Imagine that you are visiting a friend in Washington, D.C. Your friend takes you to a popular restaurant. You look at the menu and decide what you want: crab cakes . Your friend is taking a little longer to decide. So, when the server comes to your table, your friend tells you to order first. You say: Hi, I want the crab cakes, please. Although you expressed your request clearly, it is best to avoid using “want” when making polite requests. Instead, we use “would like.” This is just one of many uses for the modal “would” in everyday speech. A modal is a helping verb that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity and permission. Today, we will tell you some of the uses of “ would .” Polite requests & offers Let’s return to polite requests . At restaurants and other places where we pay for services, a common way to make a request is using “would like.” This phrase means “to wish to have.” Listen to the polite version of