To
consolidate your ‘feel’ of sentence
structures, you must be equipped with one thing.
What is it?
Look at the picture and you'll get the answer:
You have to visualize a sentence to
locate the Big Verbs and Small Verbs.
(Want the grammar
terms?
Well, Big Verbs are finite verbs
and Small
Verbs are non-finite.)
The Technique of Visualization
What technique is it?
Read the following sentence:
Protesters urge Hong Kong to protect Snowden.
The Big Verb comes first and the Small Verb comes
next.
Now
visualize the sentence and it becomes:
Protesters urge Hong Kong to protect Snowden.
The Big Verb is urge and the Small Verb is to protect.
And there
is one more thing to help you consolidate
your ‘feel’ of sentence structures.
What is it?
Small Verbs
come in two shapes.
Which two shapes?
Read on.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shape 1: with a head
We have decided to renew our contract with Goooogle.
It is important to submit your report before the deadline.
As you can see from the above examples, ‘renew’ and ‘submit’ are Small Verbs because they come after the two Big Verbs (have decided and is).
Moreover, they have to come with a head ‘to’, so that they are in a funny
shape:
to + verb
So, when you visualize the two sentences, they become:
We have decided torenew our contract with Goooogle.
It is important tosubmit your report before the deadline.
Want examples to
be used at your office or school?
When you present your brilliant idea, you may start
with:
I am here totalk about how to change the world.
I aim totalk about how to change the world.
.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shape 2: with a tail
Other Small Verbs are lucky. They come with something
beautiful, a mermaid.
Oh
sorry, I mean, a tail.
What tail is it? Read the following
sentences:
The CEO suggested cutting the budget on advertising.
There is no reason
for giving up the plan now.
So the tail is:
verb + ing
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In a word, the two special
shapes for Small Verbs are:
Shape 1: with a head
to+verb
e.g. You are here tolearn sentence structures.
Shape 2: with a tail
Verb+ing
e.g. We suggest visualizing a
sentence.
---------------------------------------------------------------
.jpg)
However, you may ask a question, probably a bigger one:
How do you know which shape to choose?
Or some even bigger questions
may pop up in your mind:
Why are certain verbs followed by to+verb?
(i.e. agree to finish it)
Why are certain verbs followed by verb+ing?
(i.e. suggest finishing it)
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Pic Sources
http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsogoodphotography/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829510801/sizes/z/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/owally/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photowu/
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