FRASES DE SUSTANTIVOS IMPRECISOS EN LA CONVERSACIÓN #1 Y #2

For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine that you are walking down the street in an American city. You might hear short conversations as you pass people. One such short conversation might sound like this: A: Should we try that restaurant? I hear the food is cheap! B: Their food is supposed to be bad, though.* There's a reason the food is cheap! A: Yeah but I need to save money for my Mom's Christmas gift! The point of this conversation is not to teach you that America has a lot of bad restaurants. In fact, America does have some very good restaurants! The point of this conversation is to show you how some Americans disagree with each other in everyday conversation. These friendly disagreements, for example, might be between friends who are trying to decide what they want to do. Americans often use the words, though and but, to show contrast or disagreement. They may use these words in specific ways to be more or less forceful. In today's report, we will explore how the words though and but are used in everyday conversation. Though In many grammar books, you will see that though introduces a clause that shows an unexpected result. For example, you might read a sentence such as this: "Though it was raining, we went for a walk." Though is not commonly used this way in everyday conversation. Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are English grammar experts. They say that in conversation, though is commonly used as an adverb. The adverb can show a transition between sentences. In other words, it links ideas between sentences. When though is used as a transition, it shows disagreement or contrast. It often appears at the end of a sentence. 3 Common Uses of Though in Conversation Though has three common uses in conversation, say Conrad and Biber. #1 Showing contrast with a previous statement First, a speaker can use though to express contrast with their own statement. So, for example, a speaker talking about a new pair of jeans might say the following: "These jeans are a little loose. I like the color, though." #2 Showing contrast with another speaker's statement The second common use of though is to show a contrast with another speaker's point. It does not necessarily mean that one speaker disagrees with the other, it just means that one speaker is adding a contrasting point to the statement of the other speaker. Here is an example: "A: These jeans are really nice." B: Yeah, they're expensive, though." #3 Showing disagreement with another speaker The third common use of though is to show disagreement with another speaker's previous statement. Consider this example: "A: These jeans are really nice!" "B: They're poorly made, though." Despite their disagreement, these two speakers are showing a polite way to disagree. Why? Because it is a less direct way of disagreeing. Often, Americans prefer less direct ways of speaking – particularly when disagreeing. A more direct and forceful way of disagreeing would be in the following example: "A: These jeans are really nice! B: No, they are not." Some Americans would consider this to be an impolite way to disagree – especially if the other person was not well known to them! This is because the language is much more direct and negative. What about but in conversation? The word but also shows contrast or disagreement. In everyday conversation, but is a conjunction that often appears at the beginning of a sentence. Although though and but might seem alike, you will learn that there are important differences between how they are used in conversation. Consider this example: "A: I really like those jeans! B: But you told me last week that you don't like jeans!" The second speaker is directly disagreeing with the first person's statement. Why did the speaker choose to start the sentence with but? The second speaker also could have said, "You told me last week that you don't like jeans, though!" The speaker, who disagrees by using the word but, probably has strong feelings about the jeans. Starting the sentence with a word – such as but ­- that shows disagreement is a stronger and more forceful way to speak. Other ways to use ‘but’ One way that Americans reduce the force of the word but is to put words in front of it. The most common way to do this is to use the word yeah. Here is an example of what this sounds like: A: I really like those jeans! B: Yeah but you told me last week that you don't like jeans! This way of disagreeing, even though it is informal, sounds softer and less forceful. Americans may choose to say yeah first because it sets a pleasant tone to the sentence. By beginning the sentence with the agreeable word, yeah, speakers can show that the strength of their disagreement is not very strong. Using yeah but is less polite than using though, say Conrad and Biber. In addition, it is less forceful than using but alone. What can you do? Think back to the conversation at the beginning of this story: A: Should we try that restaurant? I hear the food is cheap! B: Their food is supposed to be bad, though. There's a reason the food is cheap! A: Yeah but I need to save money for my Mom's Christmas gift! You will notice that the two speakers show contrast or disagreement with the word though. One speaker uses yeah but when disagreeing with the other. Learning these ways to disagree is not easy. It can take a long time to learn how grammar, word choice, and culture work together. However, the next time you are watching an American film or TV show, try to focus on how speakers disagree with each other. You might notice that they disagree, or show contrast, in different ways. Think about the situation to understand how and why the speakers might be disagreeing with each other. In future Everyday Grammar stories, we will explore these issues in more detail. I’m Anne Ball. And I’m John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. *There is a debate about comma placement and the word "though." We chose to use the comma for the sake of consistency. A discussion about comma placement is beyond the scope of this story. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people contrast – n. something that is different from another thing clause – n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb adverb – n. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree transition – n. grammar a word or phrase that connects ideas tone – n. a quality, feeling, or attitude expressed by the words that someone uses in speaking or writing From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine you are at a business meeting in the United States. The meeting is held one day after a major sporting event, like the Super Bowl. You might hear comments like this: A: Did you see that terrible call the referee made? B: Yes, but it didn't matter. Our team would have lost the game anyway. C: So, anyway, do you think the budget details are correct or not? Why were two of the speakers talking about a football game at a business meeting? How did they use grammar to show disagreement? In our report today, we will answer these questions by exploring the word anyway. We will tell about two ways people use anyway to show disagreement, or contrast, in American English. Anyway Today, we are not talking about the term any way, a noun phrase that has two words – any and way. We are instead talking about anyway, an adverb that is one word. Adverbs are words that change the meaning of adjectives, verbs, or sometimes whole sentences. They tell about a way of doing things, time, reason, and so on. Anyway is a common adverb that you will hear in everyday speech. Like many other adverbs, it can appear at the beginning, middle, and end of a sentence. Its meaning can change depending on where it is found in the sentence. Today, we will consider the use of anyway at the beginning and end of the sentence. Two of the most common uses of anyway in conversation Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are two experts on English grammar. They say there are two main uses of anyway in everyday conversation. #1 Show contrast with another speaker's point The first use of anyway is to show contrast with another speaker's earlier comments. This does not necessarily mean that one speaker disagrees with another. It just means that one speaker is comparing one idea or thing with another. When anyway has this meaning, it generally appears at the end of the sentence. Here is an example: Passenger: I'm not sure if I have my bus ticket. Bus Driver: That's OK. I'll let you ride anyway. #2 Show that you want to talk about a different topic The second common use of anyway is to show that a speaker wants to talk about a different subject. It could mean that the speaker wants to move back to the main point of discussion. The speaker could also use anyway to show that they think another issue is more important. When anyway has this meaning, it generally is found at the beginning of the sentence. Here is an example. Imagine a group of students are meeting after school to prepare for a biology test. A: What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to a movie. B: I'm going to play video games! C: Anyway, I think we need to go back to studying our biology notes. Think back to the conversation at the beginning of the story Think back to the comments you heard at the beginning of this story. A: Did you see that terrible call the referee made? B: Yeah, but it didn't matter. Our team would have lost the game anyway. C: So, anyway, do you think the budget details are correct or not? You might notice that there are two forms of disagreement or contrast in this example. There are also two uses of the word anyway in the conversation. One speaker uses it to provide a contrasting point about the call the referee made. Another speaker uses anyway to show that she wants to return to the main issue under consideration at a business meeting: the budget. This speaker probably does not believe that the game is an important subject. In this sense, she is showing disagreement or contrast. Anyway and politeness One important point to remember is this: Americans will often use other words in front of words that show contrast or disagreement. Speakers will use these words to soften the sudden or unexpected change in conversation. This is probably why the female speaker uses the word "so" before the word anyway. She is probably expressing annoyance at her coworkers' comments, but does not want to stop them in a very forceful or impolite way. Americans can also use the word "well" before anyway to serve this same purpose – softening a sudden change in the conversation. Using the word anyway at the beginning of the sentence can appear to be impolite at times. How polite or impolite the word sounds might depend on the speaker's voice. It also depends on the person you are speaking to. Here is an example of a softer, more polite way to use anyway when you want to go back to an important subject: "Well, anyway, I would like to go back to the topic we were previously discussing…" And here is a forceful, impolite way to show someone that you want to go back to an important subject. You will notice that the speaker uses the word anyway. "ANYWAY, I want to talk about an important topic." What can you do? These rules are not easy to learn. However, learning them will help you understand Americans when they speak. You will be able to understand disagreements about what is important to discuss, and how to change a topic in a polite way. The next time you are watching an American film or television show, try to study how Americans change subjects or express disagreement. You might notice that they use different or similar grammatical constructions. I’m Jill Robbins. And I'm Phil Dierking. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people contrast – n. something that is different from another thing phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence adverb – n. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree annoyance – n. something that causes feelings of slight anger or irritation referee – n. a sports official who has power to make judgments or rulings in a game grammar – n. the study of the classes or words and how they are used impolite – adj. demonstrating or relating to bad behavior