Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Forgetting and remembering
- I don't remember dancing with him.
- I can't remember her name.
- I'm afraid I've forgotten my book somewhere.
- I've forgotten how to use it!
- Sorry, I forgot to bring my records.
- I'm so forgetful of phone numbers!
- It has slipped my mind again!
- It's very important, don't you forget it!
- It's not a big deal, let's forget it!
- I can remember you very well.
- I remember telling him.
- I still remember the moment when she took me in her arms.
- I must remember to tell him about Jeremy and his girlfriend.
- As far as I can remember, the police station is next to the pharmacy.
- If I remember rightly, you were born in October, weren't you?
- If my memory serves me right, you used to go out with her when you were in high school.
- Don't let me forget it!
- It's on the tip of my tongue!
- Make me think of changing the sheets, please!
- This sportsman reminds me of my little cousin Anna.
- You know that we have that important meeting tomorrow. May I remind you to get up earlier?
- I'll never forget the day when I went to school for my first time.
- Don't bother, I still recall you.
- I still have his last words in mind.
- We must bear in mind that religion is essential to them.
http://www.englishlearningbox.com
Using the Passive
The
passive voice is often used to explain how things are done. But that’s
not all. If you want to be more diplomatic, choose the passive, too.
The passive voice is often used when people want to describe processes and procedures at work. Here, we look at some authentic examples of the passive voice being used.
1. Procedures: the “be”-passive
In this dialogue, Ann is training a new employee, Meg, and explaining how to handle invoices and other documentation.
The “be”-passive is used in a number of cases here because it is the procedure that is important, not who does it:
Meg: I wanna ask you about things I wasn’t sure about sorting bills of lading?
Ann: That comes with every order and it can be thrown away.
Meg: OK.
Ann: I don’t know if I explained this already or not, but the stuff that’s already been paid COD, which is indicated by that little green stub, is not that high of a priority to code and enter until around the end of the month, and if something has to be put off...
Meg: ...and we leave it for last.
Ann: That’s why GM and West Farm and Tree of Life, and some other miscellaneous pay things, are always at the back of the pile.
Meg: OK.
Ann: Because they’ve already been paid.
Meg: OK.
Ann: That’s the most important thing.
Meg: Right. So, the priority is... the things that still need to be paid.
2. The “get-passive” and “have something done”
Sometimes, we form the passive with “get” instead of “be”. This is more informal and used mainly in spoken language. Ann uses this variant when Meg shows her a document:
Ann: That’s for the Save the Earth stuff. It will eventually probably get thrown away, but if you haven’t come across a packing list for Save the Earth products, hang on to it.
Another construction is “to have something done”. This is
often used to talk about getting a supplier to do a job for you:
■ I had some envelopes made by J.G. Mark’s the other day, and it took a couple of weeks.
3. Explaining your services
If we want to emphasize who is doing something, we often prefer to use the active voice. In the next example, Ian, a representative from a paper supplier, uses “we” and an active verb to describe a production procedure. He wants to emphasize the services that his company provides:
Ian: So, what we’re doing is... we run the wheels until we’ve got enough paper made for you. And then we make, you know, a few hundred sheets extra, and then we just revert to stock sizes.
4. Being diplomatic
The passive is also commonly used when people want to be diplomatic and avoid blaming someone directly:
Maria: How come that wasn’t done much sooner?
Maria uses the passive (“How come that wasn’t done...?”) because the active would have sounded more aggressive (“How come you didn’t do that much sooner?”).
http://www.falibo.com
The passive voice is often used when people want to describe processes and procedures at work. Here, we look at some authentic examples of the passive voice being used.
1. Procedures: the “be”-passive
In this dialogue, Ann is training a new employee, Meg, and explaining how to handle invoices and other documentation.
The “be”-passive is used in a number of cases here because it is the procedure that is important, not who does it:
Meg: I wanna ask you about things I wasn’t sure about sorting bills of lading?
Ann: That comes with every order and it can be thrown away.
Meg: OK.
Ann: I don’t know if I explained this already or not, but the stuff that’s already been paid COD, which is indicated by that little green stub, is not that high of a priority to code and enter until around the end of the month, and if something has to be put off...
Meg: ...and we leave it for last.
Ann: That’s why GM and West Farm and Tree of Life, and some other miscellaneous pay things, are always at the back of the pile.
Meg: OK.
Ann: Because they’ve already been paid.
Meg: OK.
Ann: That’s the most important thing.
Meg: Right. So, the priority is... the things that still need to be paid.
2. The “get-passive” and “have something done”
Sometimes, we form the passive with “get” instead of “be”. This is more informal and used mainly in spoken language. Ann uses this variant when Meg shows her a document:
Ann: That’s for the Save the Earth stuff. It will eventually probably get thrown away, but if you haven’t come across a packing list for Save the Earth products, hang on to it.
Another construction is “to have something done”. This is
often used to talk about getting a supplier to do a job for you:
■ I had some envelopes made by J.G. Mark’s the other day, and it took a couple of weeks.
3. Explaining your services
If we want to emphasize who is doing something, we often prefer to use the active voice. In the next example, Ian, a representative from a paper supplier, uses “we” and an active verb to describe a production procedure. He wants to emphasize the services that his company provides:
Ian: So, what we’re doing is... we run the wheels until we’ve got enough paper made for you. And then we make, you know, a few hundred sheets extra, and then we just revert to stock sizes.
4. Being diplomatic
The passive is also commonly used when people want to be diplomatic and avoid blaming someone directly:
Maria: How come that wasn’t done much sooner?
Maria uses the passive (“How come that wasn’t done...?”) because the active would have sounded more aggressive (“How come you didn’t do that much sooner?”).
http://www.falibo.com
Apologizing
- I'm sorry.
- So sorry.
- I'm sorry to have broken it.
- I'm sorry but I've got to go now.
- I'm awfully sorry for what happened yesterday.
- I can't tell you how sorry I am!
- I'm terribly sorry for that mistake.
- Sorry for being late.
- I'm very sorry for telling you uncle that you were here.
- How stupid of me!
- Excuse me, I didn't mean it.
- Excuse my insisting, I didn't know he was listening.
- Excuse me for being so critical, but this is who I am.
- I thought I was doing right!
- I didn't do it on purpose!
- I do apologize.
- Please accept my apologies.
- I must apologize for not returning it on time.
- Pardon me!
- Pardon me for saying so.
- It's my fault!
- I am entirely to blame!
- Do forgive me for lying.
- It's unforgivable of me!
- I can only say once again how sorry I am!
- I hope you'll understand that I'm not fully responsible!
- I didn't mean it.
- I didn't do it on purpose.
- I didn't mean to vex him.
- I had no intention of shocking her.
- I didn't realize I was distrubing you.
- I'm not entirely responsible for it.
- I'm afraid I'm a bit early.
- I shouldn't be so strict.
- I know I shouldn't have insisted but that was very important for me.
- If I had known you didn't like flowers, I wouldn't have brought them.
http://www.englishlearningbox.com
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