Copyright © 2015 by Stephen Allen Stratton

The Art of Speaking American English

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-5086-3320-4
 CONTENTS

PART I THE BASICS

THE GRAMMAR TRAP

THE SQUARE PRINCIPLE: LONG VOWELS / SHORT CONSONANTS

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMY OF BREATHING, CORRECT

INTONATION, AND PERFECT PRONUNCIATION

LINKING WORDS

THE PENCIL TECHNIQUE

WHY READIING NOVELS CAN MAKE YOU YOUR BEST TEACHER

THE LAYERING EFFECT

THE SANDWICH PRINCIPLE (ARTICLES the, an, a)

COUNTING WORDS

BREAKING THE HABIT OF REPEATING DIALOGUE VERBATIM

SIMPLE STEPS TO IMPROVING YOUR PRONUNCIATION

Part II COMMONLY MISUSED WORDS

EXPRESSING LOCATION USING PREPOSITIONS in, on, at

I Basics

II Contrasting Prepositions in And on

III Contrasting Prepositions on And at

IV Basic Contrast Of Prepositions in And at

V Detailed Contrast Of Prepositions in And at

VI Combination Patterns Of in And at

 Important Points To Remember

make; have; tell

beginning/early; middle/mid; end/late

ago; in; after that/later/following; before that/preceding

that And it

so And that

is/are; was/were

can, be able to, be capable of

come/come back; get/be; go/go back

will (eat, help, etc.) And present progressive -ing(eating, helping, etc.)

want, would like, hope, wish, if only

rent, borrow, check out

by myself; on my own, myself

while And during

because And in that

recently And lately

go home, go back home, go uptown, go downtown, come here, go there, go over there

even if / even then ; even when ; even though / even so

 PREFACE

It is well within your grasp to speak English fluently and with confidence, just what you
have always dreamed of. It all begins with simple techniques that are, unfortunately, seldom
explored in the classroom setting. You have no doubt wondered in frustration why children
master conversational English as easily as clowns do summersaults, while adults often wade
on through the linguistic swamp of classic textbook instruction that invariably fails to help
them make use of even the simplest of phrases, particularly on the spur of the moment. It is
not uncommon, for instance, to hear that ordering fast food in English requires a monumental
effort on the part of the most dedicated student, which is often characterized by
embarrassingly pointing to rather than saying what the order is. Far more daunting is the
prospect of discussing one’s profession or career in English to any reasonable depth, equally
the objective of educators, scientists, medical doctors, business people, attorneys and the
enthusiastic job hunter fresh out of college. Born of Stephen Stratton’s more than twenty five
years of teaching Japanese students of English in the United States and Japan, his unique
creative approach to education, and significant contributions to science research through
translation, proofreading, and revision of science papers for publication in internationally
recognized science journals, you will find in the pages of this timely handbook meticulously
explained but easily applied methods of language acquisition that will put you on the path to
mastering the art of speaking American English.
Part I The Basics

The Grammar Trap

To begin with, I would like to dispense with the notion that one dialect or accent of English
is in any way more attractive than another outside personal preference. The objective of this
book is to familiarize you, the earnest reader, with American English without making any
such comparison.

Moving on, when it comes to learning a new language much can be said for having a
working understanding of rudimentary grammar. However, as the old maxim goes, ‘You can
have too much of a good thing’. In the same way, the following perfectly illustrates why
strictly adhering to textbook instruction can actually hamper the student’s progress.

A. Is that Ken and Hana over there? Yes, it’s them.

B. Is that Ken and Hana over there? Yes, it’s they.

B is grammatically correct, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the general
population in the U.S. who would say they instead of them in this case. You might wonder
why intelligent people would make such a mistake. The answer is not a simple one, however
much your current English teacher might tell you it is. “Poor English” is most often the whole
explanation, given in sincerity. Far closer to the truth, society as a ultimately decides over
time which lines can be crossed in deviating from established rules of grammar. You could
say there are no concrete rules. Let us begin our learning journey with an opened mind,
tossing the years of strict guidelines hamstringing that marvelously designed depository of
learning, the brain.
The Square Principle: Long Vowels, Short Consonants

A comparison is made here between the English and Japanese language to show a general
pattern of pronunciation in conversational English.

Unlike the Japanese language where all sounds or syllables are essentially voiced in the
same length, ka ki ku ke ko and so on, to be clearly understood in English vowels a e i o u
must be stretched or sustained longer than all consonants, b c d f g and so forth. Furthermore,
all vowels require a uniformed length just as the shorter consonants do. In some cases,
vowels may be entirely omitted for ease of pronunciation, as in the following sentence.

I term this the Square Principal. The four sides of a square must be equal in length, and if
not, it cannot be considered a square. Similarly, all voiced vowels must have the same
length. Otherwise, the word being used is no longer an English word in so far as your
listeners cannot understand what is being said. Try saying the following word as you
normally would.

Refrigerator

Say the word again, taking care to stretch all the vowels.

Something More Challenging

Note: red letter vowels must be stretched (sustained longer than the consonants).

ea / o / o e / ( o ) / u / (e) / i / a / i / (e)/e i e a o / a e / ou /a( e)/i I( e)

The Relationship Between Economy Of Breathing, Correct Intonation,
And Perfect Pronunciation

For those of us who are less inclined toward the intense physical challenge of sports there
are few activities more exhilarating, in my opinion, than riding a bicycle down hill, feeling
the wind in your hair, effortlessly steering the handlebars as you seemingly glide above the
surface of the ground. “It’s a rush!”, as we Americans say. To point out the obvious, this
requires little strength to accomplish; the incline pretty much does all the work for you.

Applying the instructive dynamics of nature to the example sentence, pronounce each word
at a lower tone than the word that proceeds it (going down hill). This will allow you to
easily stretch vowels and breath smoothly, eliminating the tendency to speak haltingly or
disjointedly. The idea is to start your sentence at a reasonably high tone - without shouting -
and end in a low tone. Follow the assigned pattern.

Note: Don’t forget to stretch your vowels.

Linking Words

My beginning students, if asked, would certainly tell you if anything can be said to be truly
difficult about learning to speak American English it would undoubtedly be the process of
acquiring the necessary skill to link or string words together in such a way that makes them
all sound like one long word.

These long words fly by in rapid succession leaving students linguistically dizzy and
desperate to know what somebody has just said. Though this has likely been covered in one
text book or another, I thought it bare reviewing since it continues to be a significant obstacle
to overcome.

To take the mystery out of what really is a simple trick, look closely at how syllables and
single letters can be cut away from one word and attached to the word that directly proceeds
it. Pay particular attention to the cases in which letters are omitted or modified to make the
sentence flow smoothly. Read the following sentence slowly at first, and then gradually
increase your speed, taking extra care to stretch the vowels.

*Note: As difficult as this may seem, the more time spent reading the easier it becomes to
link words, and that is a guarantee.
The Pencil Technique

Nineteen groups consisting of roughly fifty-two individual muscles allow the human face to
stretch and contort into a wide range of expressions, that, in part, enable us to articulate
language.

Let us consider two automobile engines that have exactly the same parts and designed to
perform in the same way. Over time the two engines, due to several variables, will come to
perform differently. Similarly, when it comes to facial muscles Japanese and Americans, for
example, are for the most part physiologically the same at birth. But from the moment he or
she as a toddler begins learning how to talk, a pattern begins to form in how the facial
muscles are used to articulate sounds and then words unique to the respective language
spoken. As language skills improve, a seemingly unchangeable pattern of vocalization is
established that clearly favors certain facial muscles over others.

This difficult obstacle to learning how to speak English naturally can be overcome utilizing
the pencil technique, while at same time, may save you the expense of a vocal coach. The
technique is as simple as it is effective. It requires a pencil, as you might guess, and just a
little determination on your part.
Choose a novel to read. Find any passage in the book. Firmly place the eraser end of the
pencil between your upper and lower teeth. Lightly bite down. Hold the other end of the
pencil as still as possible and begin to read, taking care to heavily overemphasize your
syllables. Your mouth and jaw will soon get a little tired and may ache a bit.

To help you better understand how this effectively improves your English, just imagine a
rubber band that is a little too small to fit around an object, such as a rolled up newspaper.
Carefully stretching the rubber band for a few minutes will enlarge it enough to accomplish
your goal. In the same way, working your facial muscles with the pencil between your teeth
will give you the ability to stretch your face, so to speak, allowing you to pronounce words
with ease you were previously unable to. 10 minutes a day of this technique should be
sufficient.
Why Reading Novels Can Make You Your Best English Teacher

Everywhere you go these days, you see advertisements promising to teach you English, on
trains and buses, in shopping malls, airports, hotels, and even in business centers. TV
commercials depict businessman and businesswomen ready to meet the world with
confidence, equipped with their newly learned English language skills acquired at the
purported best-school in Japan. If you happen to be one of those ambitious people who
have spent a sizable amount of hard earned cash attending such a school, you might be asking
yourself if it was worth it, and why it still seems incredibly difficult to hold a simple
conversation in English. You might even be blaming yourself. Don’t do that!

The little secret that you have unlikely heard is that reaching your goal of speaking English
proficiently is far easier and less costly than you could ever imagine. The world is full of
books from manuals to academic works to inform and educate, but there is nothing quite like
novels, regardless of the genre, that present the reader with the broadest perspective
available on how English is actually spoken in everyday settings.

Nothing, to be sure, should or can replace actual conversation with native speakers of your
target language. Nevertheless, depending solely on conversation can result in a limited
vocabulary and the habit of using unacceptable poor grammar sometimes very tough to
break. Reason being, more often than not topics are superficially discussed, and Americans
will seldom mention a grammar mistake when they hear it, if they notice it at all. So, for
most people, the ability to speak a foreign language well and intelligently correlates with the
amount of time spent reading the language.

Review: A Few Important Rules Of Reading

1. Read Aloud

Listening to your own voice accomplishes a couple of very important things: the tendency to
skip over words you do not know or have trouble pronouncing is eliminated, and, you
simulate actual conversation, especially when it comes to dialogue between story
characters.

2. Forgo Using Dictionaries and Electronic Translators

Just picture yourself watching a movie and someone in the room pauses the show every few
minutes to get something to drink, eat, or search the dictionary for some word they heard
spoken in the movie they did not understand. You would find this extremely frustrating to say
the least, as it would make it practically impossible to enjoy the story. You put your brain
through the same taxing affair when you depend on a dictionary to do what your imagination
is supposed to do for you. In the words of my erstwhile and excellent Japanese professor, “If
you don’t know it, guess!”

3. Apply All Techniques Covered In Previous Sections Of This Book

Think of the gears in a wristwatch; all it takes for the sensitive mechanism to go awry is for
one single cog to break. The aforementioned techniques, for all intents and purposes, are the
gears that turn and their cogs that mesh in the process of learning to speak English like a pro.
Use them all.
The Layering Effect

The tendency to get bogged down in too many facts too fast in the processes of learning is
compounded by a number of today’s accepted methods of language acquisition that
encourage students to tackle every part of speech at the same time. Inadvertently, some parts
of speech, such as adverbs, are largely neglected.

In stark contrast, children gather information in stages, a kind of layering effect, each layer
coalescing with the one that came before, building an ever stronger foundation, which leads
to rapid improvement in listening comprehension, writing skills, and conversational skills. I
have seen this firsthand in Japanese children I teach in the U.S. and Japan.

Fortunately, it does not take much effort on the part of the adult student to obtain similar
results by applying the layering effect to their daily reading. Focus on one part of speech at
a time. Though to some degree it is a matter of preference, a good start is to pay close
attention to adverbs. Adverbs help the reader wonderfully visualize the force and nature of
verbs. Consider the following with and without adverbs; the later paints a far vivid picture
of the tense atmosphere in the meeting room.

A. He stood up in the middle of the meeting and said he did not agree with the new
company policy.

B. He abruptly stood up in the middle of the meeting, and angrily said he did not
agree with the new company policy.

Focus on adverbs, your first layer, for two to three months or until you feel confident to try
using them more often in daily conversation. By then, you will be ready to move on to
adjectives and other parts of speech, repeating the same process. Keep in mind that you are
not studying but rather absorbing the language, which will help you to relax and enjoy
literary works, a necessary factor, by the way, to mastering any language. On your mark, get
set, go!
The Sandwich Principle: Remembering Articles the, an, And a

Arguably, one of the most pesky features of English is the necessity for articles the, an and a.
If you have a favorite sandwich – hopefully you do - etch a picture of it in your mind and
keep it there at all times when speaking, reading, and writing English. The regular
homemade sandwich is made up of two slices of bread, and meat, lettuce, and cheese in
between. Let us pretend an article and the noun it ultimately modifies are two slices of
bread, and what you find in between, verbs, adverbs and adjectives, are the meat and
cheese, etc. There is hardly a paragraph in English that does not contain many of these
article/noun sandwiches. Keeping your favorite sandwich in mind at all times, you will be
less likely to drop needed articles.

How many “sandwiches” are in the example paragraph below?

I drove the boss’ car to the factory yesterday to pick up a new employee who had flown in
from the U.S. just the day before. He was a very tall fellow, wearing an expensive gray
tweed suite and the finest pair of designer shoes I had ever seen. It was a bit difficult to
understand his New York accent. Surprisingly, he began speaking Japanese in the Osaka
dialect. From that point, we had no problem communicated, since I’m from the county of
Minamikawachi deep in the countryside in west Japan.
Counting Words

As childish as it might seem, this is one of the best tricks I know to memorizing that sentence
or phrase in a speech you have practiced a hundred times but have not been able to say the
words in the correct order. Read the following sentence aloud and then cover it with a hand.
If you cannot repeat it without looking, read it again, counting the number of words in the
sentence with your fingers. It might take a few tries, but in no time at all, you will have your
once difficult sentence nicely tucked away in your memory for when you need it. Try it!
Breaking The Habit Of Repeating Dialogue Verbatim

Someone once said, “The best person for a job is a lazy man, because he is sure to find the
easiest, fasted way to get things done”. This sounds like a fair assumption, and may
actually be true in a variety of scenarios, though usually not when it comes to explaining
what someone else has previously said. Quoting someone verbatim is the lazy man in
conversational English, and should generally be avoided except in cases where it is
necessary for purposes of relating exclamatory statements, sarcasm, humor, and so forth.

Note the differences in case 1 and 2 among examples A, B and C. A and C are both
preferable to B. While A is a basic description of what Mary said, C makes use of quotation
marks punctuated by an exclamation point to make Natsuko’s statement exclamatory. The
quotation marks in B attempt to imitate C without making use of the emphasis an exclamation
point provides, but sounds much like A in tone. This combination is seldom used in
contemporary conversational English.

Example 1
 *A. Natsuko said she was unprepared to take the exam.

B. Natsuko said, “I’m unprepared to take the exam.”

*C. Natsuko said, “Oh my gosh! I forgot to study for the exam!”

Example 2

(the word me here is optional)

*A. Natsuko asked (me) why I decided to return to the United States.

B. Natsuko asked, “Why did you decide to return to the United States?”

*C. Natsuko asked/said, “Why in the world would you return to the United States!”
SIMPLE STEPS TO IMPROVING YOUR PRONUNCIATION

I. The Two r’s

There is a lot of debate over pronunciation of the letter r. To some students, it sounds like the
letter L, and to others, the letter D, and there are those who will even tell you it sounds like a
combination of L, D, and R. I am not going to try to convince you which if any of these
opinions are correct or incorrect. What I can tell you, is that the usual study approach to this
is precisely what stands in the way of properly articulating the letter r.

It is important to understand that there are, in a sense, two very different sounds assigned to
this letter. Learn them both, and you will find yourself pronouncing the letter correctly as fast
as you can bat an eye (idiom extremely fast).

1. Lets start with what I’ve termed the kissing r, for the sake of easy memorization.
Read the following words aloud. When you pronounce the letter r, purse your lips as if you
are going to kiss someone.

2. Next, we have the other r sound I call the smiling r. When you pronounce the r in
the following set of words give yourself a big smile in a mirror.

3. It is sometimes a bit difficult navigating through words that contain both the kissing
r and smiling r sounds. Even so, if you keep in mind the kiss and the smile, you are sure to
get the hang of it. Try sounding out the next set of words.
II. Double Consonants

1. The silent Consonant Pattern

Patterns are always a good thing when it comes to learning something new, which is why the
following is relatively easy to remember. Generally, when a word contains two consonants
together that are the same, the first of the two letters is silent while the second is clearly
pronounced. As previously covered, it is important that the vowel that proceeds the voiced
consonant is stretched or sustained. Take your time with this.

Example Words:
2. Exceptions To The Silent Consonant Pattern

I. Words that contain double consonants that are pronounced with different sounds,
such as the following, are the exception to the silent consonant pattern. The first c is
pronounced with a k sound, while the second c is pronounced with an s sound.

Example Words::

3. Words That Contain Double t /Double d Followed By en, an, on, in.
Luckily, we have another pattern here to facilitate memorization. Generally speaking, double
t and double d is silent when directly followed by the letters en, an, on, and in. Special
attention must be given to stretching and sharply pronouncing vowels that precede and
follow the silent double consonants.

4. Words That Contain One t Consonant But Follow The Double t Pattern

Pronounce the following example words just as if they contained double t. Make sure to
stretch the underlined vowels.

Note: A rare case of the foregoing is the noun Captain, usually pronounced with a t sound,
but in the military has sometimes been colloquially pronounced by sailors Kapen, omitting
the letter t altogether.
 5. Exceptions to the Silent Double t /Double d Consonant Pattern

I. Nouns made from verbs by adding -ing (gerunds) are also excluded from the
pattern.

II. Words that begin with accented vowels, or contain accented vowels preceding
Double t /Double d follow the pattern that applies to words that contain double consonants
ss, pp, II, and so forth (see I. pg. 21).
Part II Commonly Misused Words

Expressing Location Using Prepositions in, on, at

I. The Basics

Example Sentence:
He/she/they live in (area A) on (planer→highway B) at (specific location → 4332, etc.).

1. The preposition in is used when expressing the existence of animate and inanimate
objects (human beings, animals, plants, buildings, etc.) within a general area (United States,
New York, Japan, Tokyo, France, Paris, etc.).

He lived in San Diego in the University City area for 65 years.

2. The preposition on expresses the location of a person, place or thing on a plane

(the plains of Japan, the Colorado Plateau, a roof, a street, a table, a wall, etc.). Common
applications of on include expressing where someone or something is on the surface of an
object that is not necessarily flat [tree branch, landmass (mountain, island), etc.]

He’s lived on that mountain most of his life.

 3. The preposition at expresses the specific location (Macy’s Department Store,
Tokyo train station, one’s home, etc.) where something or someone can be found within a
general area (New York City, Desert, etc.).

He’s lived at the villa ever since he bought it in 1968.

II. Contrasting Prepositions in And on

1. When using the preposition in to indicate location (A), a general area (comprised
of more than one plane/location) is expressed, such as a mountain range (plural → more than
one mountain).

In the same respect, Tokyo is a general area made up of many locations. ‘He/she is in the
mountains.’ is an instructive example of this. Perhaps an easier to understand
alternative sentence is ‘He is somewhere among the mountains’, but not usually used in
conversational English to express location in this a case.
 2. When using the preposition on to indicate location (B), a single plane is
expressed, such as the surface of a mountain (singular).

B. He is on (plane) the mountain (land mass/

A. He is in (area) the mountains. surface of an object, Continent of Africa,
etc).

3. (C) carries a very different sense of location than sentences A and B. When using
the preposition in to indicate location, and, a single plane is expressed, the subject (person,
animal, thing) in the sentence/statement is literally inside the location (store, home, cave,
etc.).
 C. He is in the mountain (literally inside the mountain).

III. Contrasting Prepositions on And at

1. (A) The preposition on (plane), indicates that the individual (he) is located
somewhere on the surface of the mountain (landmass). (B) at (a point on a plane
→location), indicates the individual (he) is not actually on the plane of the mountain (the
mountain being expressed as one specific location), but on a different plane somewhere
around the base of the mountain. Hence, the idiomatic expression, Somebody is at the door
(= someone is knocking at the door). For further clarity on the subject, it
can also be said that the individual knocking at the door in this case is at a place where two
planes meet.

A. He is on (plane) the mountain. B. He is at (location) the mountain.

2. (A) and (B) essentially mean the same thing in conversational English, but strictly
speaking, the preposition on expresses the top of the mountain as a (flat) separate plane
than that of the entire mountain (Note: A is seldom said), while the preposition at
expresses the top of the mountain as a point/location on a plane (more exact).

B. He is at (a point on a plane) the top of the

A. He is on (plane) the top of mountain. mountain.

IV. Basic Contrast Of Prepositions in And at

1. The subjects in A and B are correctly said to be at the top of the mountain and at
the bottom of the mountain (two points on a single plane).

B. The individual is at the bottom of the

A. The individual is at the top of the mountain.
mountain.
 2. When prepositions in and at cannot be effectively used to accurately pinpoint
location.

The location of the subject (C 1,2) cannot be expressed by simply saying The individual is
in the middle of the mountain, nor He is at the middle of the mountain.

If the preposition in were used here, it would indicate the subject is literally somewhere
inside the mountain (see figure C. Pg. 28), and using the preposition at, would indicate the
subject is inside the mountain at its center (→ at the center of the mountain).

The halfway up and halfway down, up and down, being used as prepositions here,
accomplish what prepositions in and at fail to do.

C1 .The individual is half way up the C2. The individual is half way down
mountain (if the subject is headed up the mountain (if the subject is headed down the
mountain, or stationary). mountain or stationary).
V. Detailed Contrast Of Prepositions in And at

The preposition in is used in 4 distinct ways to express location, while the

preposition at is generally used in one way to express location.

*Note: in (general area←area) is covered in (Basics P. 25).

in at
1. General Area/Region (Siberia, China, 1. Specific Location (Eiffel Tower, Osaka
Amazon Jungle) University, One’s home)
2. Specific Area (a room, the corner in a
room, etc.)
3. Enclosure (cage, warehouse, etc.)
4. Receptacle (cup, bottle, etc.) Example: There’s a fly in the coffee in the cup on the table.

Example Figures and Explanations:

1. On the left the speaker and his brother are at the same specific location but in
different specific areas within the specific location. On the right the speaker and his brother
are at different specific-locations.

I’m IN the front yard and my brother in the

I’m AT work, and my is brother is at home.
house.
 2. On the left, the speaker, his brother, and cat are all at the same specific location,
but in different specific areas within the specific location. On the right, the speaker, his
brother, and sister are at different specific-locations.

I’m IN the kitchen, my brother is I’m AT the beach, my brother

in the front yard, and the cat is is at the store, and my sister is
iN the corner of the living room. aT home.
Example conversations

Scenario A

Let’s imagine that a scientist tells his wife when he gets home that he has forgotten his wallet
at work. On the telephone, using the preposition at the scientists first draws a distinction
between two specific locations, his home where he and his wife are at the moment, and his
company where he left his wallet. He then calls the company and has the following brief
conversation with a colleague. The scientist uses the preposition in to draw a distinction
between the specific areas within the company, a specific location.

I forgot my wallet there at the company, Anton. Would you mind putting it in my
Mike:
office desk drawer?”
Anton: “Yeah sure, where is it?”
Mike: “It’s in the lab B”

Scenario B

A little girl screams that she has seen a mouse running across her living room. Both the girl’s
mother and brother make use of the preposition in to draw a distinction between specific
areas at home (a specific location).

Mother: “It’s in the corner!”

The girl’s older brother disinterestedly scoops up the mouse with the morning newspaper
and quickly flings the small rodent out an open window.

Older Brother: “There, now it’s in the yard,”

Consider the following overview to aid in the memorization of the basic pattern “IN
(general area), at (specific location), In (specific area)”, preposition on (a plane).

My brother is IN New York, at Macy’s department store, on the fifth floor, in the book
store.
VI. Prepositions in and at As Complimenting/Supporting Expressions Of
Location
 1. In the following sentence, preposition at (specific location) is followed by in
(specific area).

It is the speaker’s view that Macy’s is a specific location as any other, such as the Eiffel
Tower in France or Tokyo Train Station in Japan, and that the various businesses inside
(specific areas), including the book shop, are not independently owned (owned by Macy’s
store itself).

My brother is at Macy’s Department Store in the book shop.

2. The preposition IN (enclosure) takes on an additional expression of location here,

followed by at (specific location), and is the reverse of example (1 P.36).

It is the speaker’s opinion that Macy’s store is an enclosure (warehouse-like structure),

which carries a sense similar to the concept of general area (Paris Tokyo, etc.). The various
businesses inside Macy’s, including the book store, are now viewed as independently
owned and therefore, are specific locations (at) within an enclosure (in).
 My brother is IN Macy’s at the book store.

3. The preposition IN (enclosure) is followed by in (specific area). It is the speaker’s

opinion that Macy’s store is an enclosure (warehouse-like structure), and the book store is a
specific area within that enclosure.

My brother is IN Macy’s in the book store.

4. This combination is rarely used. Specific locations (at) are not thought of as one
inside the other. Distinctions made between areas inside a specific location are expressed as
specific areas (in).

(XX) My brother is at Macy’s at the book store.

Important Points To Remember

I. The concepts of specific location (at) and enclosure (in) are interchangeable in the case
of shopping malls and all other similar locations.

My brother is in the shopping mall at Starbucks ← → My brother is at the

shopping mall in Starbucks.

II. A general location (in) can be expressed as a specific location (at) when distance,
instead of location, is the subject.

The marathon began in the countryside in a small town, and the runners are
at Yokohama City. (they have reached the edge of the city)
III. Although the preposition at expresses a specific location or point on a plane (
Discussion 3, figure 1B), at is additionally used in a figurative sense to say that
someone/something is inside a specific location.

Mary is at the supermarket buying groceries. (she is inside the store shopping)
make, have, tell

In the circle the words make, have and tell individually express essentially the same idea.
Outside the circle their very different common definitions are contrasted.
 Tell

To accurately assess a condition or situation

1. To hear: When something is evident by sound, such as sickness (a cough, etc.), or

anger, happiness, sadness, etc. (tone of voice

I can tell you have a sore throat.

2. To see: When something is evident by sight, such as anger, happiness, and sadness,
etc.(facial expressions).

I can tell you’re tired.

 3. To smell: When something is evident to the sense of smell (odor, aroma, etc.).

I can tell you’ve burnt the roast.

4. To feel: When something is evident to the sense of touch, such as an injury, the heat
of a fever, a child’s cold feet, etc.

I can tell how painful the bump on your head must be.

5. To predict: When the particulars of a situation or condition are evident based on

reliable/semi reliable information or data.

I can tell this is going to be a good year for the sales department.
beginning/early, middle/mid, end/late

(T-shape enclosure highlights cases in which preposition in is used.)

I. The time nouns + preposition in (in the beginning/in the end), at top and bottom of the
figure in parenthesis, are sometimes interchangeable with the standard phrases listed, but as
a matter of nuance normally carry a different meaning or sense of time in how they are used.
Note the subtle differences.

The use of the proposition in, in the following example (A) places emphasis on condition or
situation. In contrast, the preposition at in example (B) simply denotes time.

A. Their relationship was pretty rocky in the beginning, but in the end, the
doomed couple couldn’t have loved each other more as they went down with the Titanic.

B. The couple are going to the U.S. at the beginning of the year, and to France, at
the end of the year.

II Although the time clauses in the left column have the same meaning as their corresponding
time clauses on the right, only the column on the right can be used to approximate a person’s
age, as follows:
 A. The young man is in his early twenties.

B. The elderly man is in his mid seventies.

C. The company president is in his late forties.

D. The popular actress is in her early to mid fifties.

E. The well dressed gentleman is in his late fifties to early sixties.

ago; in; after that/later/following; before that/preceding

At first glance, the time words here might seem fairly easy to use, and they certainly are if
you happen to grow up speaking English as your primary language. For those studying
English as a second language, understanding what they mean often does not translate into
correctly making use of them in conversational English. Read the example sentences, paying
close attention to the direction in which the arrows are pointing in the accompanying
diagrams.

In (A), preposition ago is used to denote a point of time in the past. In (B), preposition in is
used to denote a point of time in the future.

A. I went to France a week ago.

B. I’m going to France in a week (from now. – optional).

Examples (C) and (D) essentially express the same idea.

Examples (E) and (F) express essentially the same idea.
that And it

Innumerable grammar textbooks cover this topic, and yet, many of my students over the years
have asked me to explain the differences between it and that. Largely putting grammar aside,
let’s take the easiest approach using example sentences.

I. Starting with the differences that are easiest to understand and remember, that (A) connects
two sentences together, and that (B) can replace the word so (=extremely/considerable) in
colloquial English, despite being “so called” grammatically incorrect.

A. We saw a lioness nursing a baby deer that everyone on the African safari
couldn’t take their eyes off.

B. I’m not that/so tired.

II. that refers to and places special emphasis on an event, in the past and future tenses.
Substituting it for that slightly diminishes the emphasis.

That was only her third time snow boarding, but she took to (=quickly became
accustomed to or skillful at) the slopes like a pro.

III. that denotes an event or idea that occurred awhile back (A), as opposed to it, which
refers to something that occurred not long ago (B), although not strictly followed as a rule.

A. That was ten months ago.

B. It was (just – optional) last month.

IV. that refers to an object or item at a distance from the speaker, while it refers to a nearby
object or item.
 “I don’t care for it,” the woman said of the party dress draped over her husband’s
arm, adding, “but I sure love that (one - optional).”

V. The four pointing words (these, that, this and those) are regularly used as stand-alone
pronouns in conversation and in casual writing, which makes that in some cases
interchangeable with it. (A) and (B) are what you hear in the real world, so to speak, but
never see in grammar textbooks. (C) follows the established rules of grammar, but is almost
never said.

A. My father is financially supporting me. I couldn’t get by without it.

B. My father is financially supporting me. I couldn’t get by without that.

C. My father is financially supporting me. I couldn’t get by without that money.

VI. it and that may be equally common in certain cases.

VII. it and that may be used alternately at the beginning of a tag question that ends with it.
Example (A) is regarded as grammatically correct, and example (B) is regarded at
grammatically incorrect, although (A) and (B) are both acceptable in conversational English.
(C) is rarely said.

A. It’s a marvelous painting, isn’t it?

B. That’s a marvelous painting, isn’t it?

C. That’s a marvelous painting, isn’t that?

VIII. that, as an idiom, can be used to place emphasis on a noun (person, place, thing) to
express approval, disapproval, respect, love, delight, surprise, annoyance, anger, disgust
and many other sentiments.

A useful example of this is the name of an old American television show That Girl, referring
to it’s fashionable, spunky star Marlo Thomas.

Actor Pierce Bronson, in expressing his disapproval of President Bush and the Iraq war,
simply said That man!

IX. that, used as an emphatic declaration (that!), expresses disappointment, disbelief,

dislike, ridicule, or all of the foregoing at one time, the object of which is usually inanimate.

Carl: I think you would really look terrific in this dress,” Carl said to his wife.

Carl’s wife: That! I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such a thing.

X. that! is sometimes directed at a particular person, and is both derogatory and cynical.

Mary: Is the new boy in the class cute or what!

Lora: That! Girl, you better get some glasses.
so And that

I. that is often substituted for so when confirming that one essentially agrees with an opinion
or statement while disagreeing about the degree to which the opinion is true or correct. that
is heavily accented to convey the desired nuance.

A Few Examples:

In Conversation:

Jack: The movie was so bad, with all that terrible violence in it.
Mary: It wasn’t that bad. At least Brad Pitt’s acting was pretty good.

II. so is used to modify or intensify adverbs and adjectives when an opposing viewpoint is
not expressed.

A. The flowers on the table are so lovely.

B. I’m so tired, I can’t think clearly.

C. China is so big and so densely populated.

III. that is used when confirming one’s previous statement.

Martha: The chocolates at the wedding reception were to die for (no one could
conceivably resist them)!
Sally: Really?

Martha: Yes, they were that delicious.

IV. this and that expresses frustration over what someone has said at an earlier time,
considered unnecessary to repeat, because the speaker assumes the listener has some idea or
knows exactly what he/she is referring to.

Example:

He’s always saying this and that about the office being a mess, but he never
cleans up his own desk.

V. this and that can also be used to express frustration with someone’s actions or behavior.
 He walks around the office doing this and that but never gets any work done.

VI. so (= so on), in the idiom so on and so on, is more or less the positive version of this
and that, and is used to indirectly refer to what someone has said when the speaker assumes
the listener has some idea or knows exactly what he/she is talking about.

The boss said it’s important that the office always be very clean: no dirty coffee
cups on desks, the floor regularly swept, and so on and so on.

VII “so?” as a slightly sarcastic reply can be used to request a clearer explanation of a
statement, opinion, accusation, etc.

Movie Director: Actor B is not happy with the scene we filmed this morning.
 Movie Producer: So?

Movie Director: He want’s to do the scene again

VIII. so! (=So what!), as a sarcastic reply can be used to express envy. jealousy, and
sometimes a competitive disposition (particularly among siblings).

Sarah: Mom got me a new bike.

Sarah’s sister Emma: So!

IX. so! (=So what! /What of it!) as an intensely sarcastic reply can be used to challenge a
statement, opinion, accusation, etc., usually with the intension of inciting an altercation.

School bully: You’re sitting in my seat.

Football Team Captain: So!

is /are And was /were

This is a needed contrast in that the common assumption incorrectly says understanding the
differences here is as simple as stating the obvious, that is, is/are express the singular and
plural in the present tense, and was/were, the singular and plural in the past tense. A more
careful study reveals something else as important in terms of nuance and a bit more complex.
Apart from the verb tense, try to guess in what way (A) and (B) are different.

A. The show was incredible, I’ve got to see it again.

B. The show is incredible, I’ve got to see it again.

(A) expresses the speaker’s own perspective and feelings, while (B), a generalization,
suggests that anyone who sees the show will find it as incredibly entertaining as the speaker
did. (A & B) are perfectly acceptable in this case, though (B) may or may not actually be
true. Children and young adults nearly always fail to make a distinction between opinion and
fact. Adults sometimes blur the two as well, intentionally and unintentionally.
can, able to, capable of

Many distinctions can be drawn here. For the sake of staying true to the objective of this
book - helping students master conversational English - the following focuses on how our
subject words are essentially used in daily conversation irrespective of the strict rules of
grammar.

I. can

1. can as a substitute for the word may is colloquially used to ask for permission as
well as to grant or deny permission. Note: can is often substituted for able to and capable
of. As such, can is universally the most useful among the three in daily conversation.

You can (= may) play with your friends after lunch.

 2. can is used to politely make a request. (would you can be substituted for can you
in this case, but is slightly more direct.

Can you (= please) stop by the store to pick up some milk?

*Would you is also used to express annoyance or disapproval in the form of a

strong request or demand. * ‘Would you stop doing that! You’re driving me crazy’.

II. able to

1. able to is used to express availability. I don’t think I can play is an acceptable

substitute here. capable of (skill, talent, competency) is not interchangeable with be able to
play in this case, in that it does not express opportunity, resources, availability.
 I don’t think I’m going to be able to play soccer today, I’ve got too much
homework.

2. able to is used to express a level of competency and skill in a literal sense. can
and capable of are acceptable substitutes here in that both express skill and competency.

Mr. Smith is (able to) lead the university back to being a respected
international institute of learning.

3. able to is used to imply authority or qualifications to take action in certain

situations. can is an acceptable substitute here. capable of making is not interchangeable
with able to make in this case, in that it does not connote right, authority, etc.)

Only the company president is (able to) make a decision on whether to drop
that product line.

III. capable of

1. capable of expresses the potential of a person/thing having a tangible or evident

influence on another. can collapse may be substituted here for is capable of collapsing.
able to is not interchangeable with capable of in this case because it applies to
characteristics such as ability, skill and competency not attributable to non-living things, as
in this case, the ideology and political system of socialism.

Abject socialism is (capable of) collapsing an entire functioning economy.

2. capable of expresses the ability to accomplish a task or meet a challenge. was no

longer able to do and could no longer do can be substituted for capable of doing as both
can be used in the literal sense, and, express ability, skill, etc.

In her late forties, the celebrated Olympic gold medalist was no longer
(capable of) doing the poll jump.

3. One way in which capable of is used, colloquially, rarely covered in textbooks,

makes an assumption about a person’s inclination or temperament. couldn’t commit is a
good substitute here, being that can is used both literally and figuratively. able to is always
used in a literal sense, and as such, substituting isn’t able to commit here changes the
meaning of the statement to ‘he isn’t literally able to commit such a terrible crime’ (due to
physical limitations, locality, etc.)

He isn’t capable of committing such a terrible crime. (has no such tendency to

... / lacks the will to ...)
come /come back, get /be, go/go back

I. come emphasizes the perspective of someone at a certain location (home, workplace,

etc.) in conversation with someone who has/is expected to arrive at that location.

A. Jack: I’m coming home from work around ten tonight. (Jack’s on the telephone
- wife is at home.)

B. Jack’s wife: What time are you coming home tonight?

II. go emphasizes the perspective of someone at a certain location (home, workplace, etc.)
who will be leaving for a different location, in conversation with someone who is not
currently at the planned destination.

Jack to a colleague: I’m going home at 7 tonight to have dinner with my wife for a
change.

III. get and be can express the action of arriving at a destination, regardless of perspective.

A. Jack to a colleague: I’ll get/be home at 9 tonight. (Jack and his colleague are
at the company).

B. Jack to his wife: I’ll get/be home at 9 tonight. (Jack’s wife is at home on the
phone / *The common alternatives to this are ‘I’ll be getting/coming home around 9
tonight?’)
 C. Jack’s wife to Jack: What time will you get/be home tonight? (Jack’s wife is
at home - on the phone)

IV. be carries the additional expression of being at a location for a duration of time.

I’ll be (at - optional here) home all day.

V. come back emphasizes the perspective of someone at a certain location (home,

workplace, etc.) in conversation with a person who was at the same location earlier,
and is expected to return to that location with the intention of staying for a relatively short
period of time before leaving again. Come back will be used regardless of who is speaking,

Scenario 1.
 A. Girl: Mom, I forgot my pajamas. (The little girl is at the next door neighbor’s
house for a sleep-over - on the phone)

Mom: I’ve got my hands in the cookie dough, honey, you’ll have to come back
home and get them yourself.

Scenario 2

B. Girl: Mom, I forgot my pajamas. (The little girl is at the next door neighbor’s
house for a sleep-over - on the phone)

Mom: I’ve got my hands in the cookie dough, honey. (Mom is at home)

Girl: I’ll come back home and get them myself.

2. come back emphasizes the perspective of someone at a certain location (home,

workplace, etc.) in conversation with another person, when referring to someone else who is
expected to return to that location after being away for a relatively short period of time.
Regardless of who is speaking, come back will be used.

A1. Mary: Hello. (answering the telephone)

Sam: This is Sam Spootal at your husband’s office. I need to speak to Jack for a
moment, please.

Mary: I’m sorry, he just went out to the store. Can I take a message?

Sam: We’re having an emergency meeting at 2 O’Clock today. Please tell him
when he comes back that we need him to be here.

Mary: I will, as soon as he comes back (home).

VII. go back home

 1. go back home is an expression that means to return to one’s home town or
mother/home country.

I’m going back home to spend New years with my parents.

2. go back emphasizes the perspective of someone at a certain location (home,

workplace, etc.) who will be temporarily returning to an earlier location, in
conversation with someone who is not currently at the other location. Regardless of who
is speaking, go back will be used.

Dan: Darn! I don’t have any cash and I forgot my credit cards at the office.

Mary: I don’t have my purse either. You’ll have to go back home and get it.

Dan: I don’t really wanna go back home, but I guess I have to.
will + basic verb (eat, help, etc.) And present progressive/ -ing verb
(eating, helping, etc.)

We will forego a review of the generally understood grammatical differences here to focus
on how nuance plays a role in whether will + basic verb or present progressive -ing verb is
to be used.

I. The following two conversations illustrate how will + basic verb connotes a promise,
agreement, etc., requiring the action to be completed. On the other hand, present
progressive/-ing verb expresses relatively the same meaning as unfixed plan and
preparation.

In conversation (A) Steve tells Natsuko he will (action is required) help her the next day,
essentially promising to do so. In contrast, Steve tells Mark in conversation (B) he is
helping (unfixed plan/preparation) Natsuko the next day, referring to this as something he
plans to do rather than something he is obligated to do. In general, it is unnecessary to use
the form will + basic verb when speaking to one person about a promise made to another
individual.
 A. Natsuko: I can’t seem to translate this paragraph from Japanese to English.

Steve: What’s the problem?

Natsuko: The idioms are giving me a hard time.”

Steve: I’ll tell you what, I gotta go now, but I’ll (I will→fixed plan) help you
with that, tomorrow. Can you be here around this time?”

Natsuko: Of course. You’re a life saver!

Steve: See you tomorrow.”

Natsuko: “Bye.”

(Steve runs into a friend ten minutes later in the school hallway.)
 B. Mark: Hey Steve, what’s going on?

Steve: How ya doing, Mark? Haven’t seen you in a month.

Mark: Oh, I’ve been around; mostly in the library.

Steve: Hitting the books (=studying), ha? I need to do the same.

Mark: Hey, what do you say we have lunch tomorrow.

Steve: Sounds good, but I’m helping (unfixed plan) Natsuko translate
something from English to Japanese.

Mark: What about next Monday?

Steve: Alright, I’ll (I will) see (action is required) you then.

Mark: “Great. See you then”

II. When a promise, agreement, or obligation is not at issue, it can be reasonably argued that
Americans have a preference for the present progressive over will + basic verb. Which of
the following do you find more natural sounding and easiest to say?

A. “We’ll (We will) go to Hawaii this weekend, and then we’ll (we will) go to
France for a three day stay.”

B. We’re (We are) going to Hawaii this weekend, and then we’re (we are) going
to France for a three day stay.
want, would like, hope, wish, if only

The degree to which it is possible to do, accomplish, or acquire something is expressed as

follows.

I. want simply expresses one’s desire to have or do something, but in no way indicates the
chances of actually being able to do so.

I want to spend summer this year in San Diego.

II. would like expresses the desire to do something but indicates it may not be possible. If I
have the chance (to ...), I’ll, carries the same nuance.

I’d (I would) like to spend summer this year in San Diego.

III. hope expresses the desire to do something, and indicates that there is less of a
possibility of doing so than if would like were used.

I hope to spend summer this year in San Diego.

IV. wish I could expresses a strong desire to do something when it is unlikely the
action/desire can be accomplished/realized.

I wish I could spend summer this year in San Diego.

V. if only I could expresses the strong desire to do something, but indicates there is virtually
no possibility of doing so.

If only I could spend summer this year in San Diego.

rent, borrow, check out

Just about all students of English are as least somewhat familiar with the words rent and
borrow. However, few students know all the particulars when it comes to using them in
everyday conversational English. Far less familiar is the use of the idiom, check out, in
certain cases to express the same meaning as borrow.

I. rent is a verb used to explain the act of borrowing anything from a bicycle to an apartment
to an entire convention center, where payment is usually required upfront before taking
possession of the item, etc., for an agreed upon period of time.

I rented four beachcombers for me, my wife and our two little girls.

II. borrow, by far the most common of the three, expresses the act of taking possession of an
item such as money or food (A), with the intention of returning that item or a substitute that
has an equivalent value, such as flour for sugar. Two exceptions to this is the borrowing of
money from a bank and organized crime (B), when interest is charged over the original
amount called a loan.

A. I borrowed a cup of sugar from my neighbor the other day; she didn’t mind that I
gave her a cup of flour in place of it the next day.

B. Would you believe it, I borrowed $400,000 from the bank, but the interest on the
30 year home loan was only 2.4%

*Of particular curiosity is the idiomatic meaning of borrow, used to indirectly ask
for an item without any intention of returning it. However commonplace it may be, for
obvious reasons I do not recommend students use borrow in this way. Note the
misunderstanding that occurs in the following scenario.

(Mary’s colleague, Gunther, has 50 pens in a brown coffee cup on his desk.)

Mary to Gunther: Can I borrow one of your pens for a moment?

Gunther: Sure, go ahead.

 (An hour passes, but Mary hasn’t returned the pen. Gunther looks over at another
of his colleagues and makes the following remark.)

Gunther: I better (I’d better) put my pens away before she steals them all.”

III. Some of the various meanings of check out include the following: concluding one’s stay
at a hotel; confirming (a story told to the police, etc.); studying (a beautiful painting, etc.),
and investigating (a crime, etc.).

One common meaning of borrow seems to have completely slipped by educators in Japan.
borrow and check out are interchangeable when borrowing an item from non-profit
organizations or city sponsored entities such as libraries, community centers, etc., where a
fee is not required to do so.

*Note: The general public has a preference for check out, whereas librarians prefer to use
borrow.

1. We need to find out how many people on an average day check out athletic
equipment from the local community center.
2. I checked out 30 children’s books from the library for my daughter today.
by myself, on my own, myself

I. By myself, simply put, means to be alone or not with anyone else, whether active or sitting
still.

I went to the store by myself.

II. on my own

1. on my own is used to connote reliance on one’s own resources to complete an

action(s) without the benefit of help from others.

In the following conversation with her husband Jack, Mary uses on his own to say that 28
year old Jack Jr. is going to be living by himself soon and taking care of his own financial
needs.
 (Mary announces to her husband Jack just as he’s getting in the door from work)

Mary: Jack Jr. is moving out. Now that he’s got a job, he feels he can make it on
his own.

Jack: Well its about time ... at 28 years old. I thought we’d be stuck with him to
the grave.

Mary: Jack! He’s in the other room, he might hear you.

Jack: What? It’s not like I said “Get out!

Mary: Jack!

Jack: Alright, alright.

Mary: Just try to be a little encouraging, will you.

 Jack: I’ll take him out for a hamburger before he hits the road. How’s that? But
make sure you lock the door behind him.

2. on my own may also carry the nuance of accomplishing a task without having been
asked or required to. In this next conversation on my own is used by Sandra to tell her
husband Mike that their 3 year old son Gill cleaned up his room without being asked or
made to (on his own initiative).

Sandra: “Mike, Gill finally did it!” Sandra excitedly tells her husband on the
phone.

Mike: Did what?

Sandra: Cleaned up all his toys on his own.

Mike: Fantastic! I’ll pick up something for him on the way home.
 Sandra: He’s been wanting a toy train.

Mike: I’ll look around.

Note: by myself is sometime colloquially substituted for on my own.

Gill cleaned up all his toys by himself.

V. myself and on my own connote doing something on one’s own without the benefit of help
from another individual. However, myself primarily places emphasis not on the person who
completes the task, but on someone else who instead was expected or promised before hand
to complete that task.

(Bill is still in his pajamas in the late morning.)

Jan: Honey, can you take out the trash?

 Bill: Yeah sure, as soon as I get dressed.

(An hour has passed, and Jan sees Bill walk through the living room on his way to
the garage wearing a shirt and jeans.)

Jan: Honey, the trash, can you take it out?” (Jan is frustrated.)

Bill: I will, just after I’m through in the garage.

Jan: What’s new?” (Jan says this under her breath)

(Thirty-five minutes later, her husband emerges from the garage, but Jan has
already taken out the trash.)
Bill: Where’s the trash?

Jan: I took out myself.

while And during

Foreign students learn the grammatical differences between our topic words in junior high
school, and review them in subsequent grades and in the first two years of college.
Unfortunately, this does little to help students use them correctly in conversational English.

I. while is best described as a word that coordinates two simultaneous actions, whether one
person is doing two actions, or two or more people are engaged in separate actions. Think
of this as the simple pattern action + action.

A. My uncle smoked(action) three cigars while he was telling(action) me about his

younger years as a sailor.

B. Me and my brothers talked(action) on the couch and watched TV while our

parents made(action) this year’s Christmas dinner.

II. during is best described as a word that coordinates one or more actions with one or more
events, situations, conditions, etc. Think of this as the pattern action + event.

I. The businessman texted (action) his wife during the conference(event).

2. One of the professors fell asleep (action) and snored very loudly during the
conference (event).”

3. During the International Conference On Orthopedic Surgery (event), three of the

guest speakers had to suddenly leave (action) to perform emergency surgery on a eighty
five year old man who had been seriously injured in a car accident.

III. Using while and during to describe the same situation

The boy texted (action) his girlfriend at the dinner table while his father and mother were
arguing (action)← →The boy texted (action) his girlfriend at the dinner table during an
argument(event) between his mother and father.

Note: while is often incorrectly substituted for the word but, but is nevertheless acceptable
in conversational English.
One of the professors fell asleep (action) and snored very loudly, but the conference
continued on (action). ← → One of the professors fell asleep (action) and snored very
loudly, while the conference continued on (action).
because And in that

It is safe to say that all students of English, from beginning to advance, are familiar with the
word because, one of many coordinating conjunctions. Consequently, it shows up in
conversation and writing even when the far lesser known idiomatic alternative in that is
preferable or required. That said, both because and in that are often dropped in
conversational English, replaced by a brief pause (A & B) before the thought or sentence is
completed; this is what likely accounts for the confusion.
I. because is used when there is a cause and effect relationship between two clauses.

A. The boy was not allowed to go on the school field trip, because his parents had
forgotten to sign his permission slip.

B. The government of that big country is going to collapse, because among other
things, it will not or cannot bring unnecessary spending under control.

C. Because my girlfriend doesn’t want to go to the party, I don’t either.

II. in that is used when a cause and effect relationship has not been established, and when
qualifying a statement about the condition of sonnething, situation, attitude, etc. The idiom in
as much as may be substituted for in that

A. The offer the company has put on the table isn’t exactly what we had expected, in
that/ in as much as there is no mention of the fair stock swap we were hoping for rapport
is silent)

B. He isn’t exactly cut out for the position of school dean, in that/in as much as he
has little rapport with the professors.
 (t in rapport is silent)

C. Carefully considering his fiancé’s opinions is an admirable trait, in that/in as

much as it shows he will probably be an attentive father.
recently And lately

I. recently is generally used when speaking about a completed action, situation or event that
has occurred at some point in the not too distant past.

A. My dog died recently.

B. The company recently moved its warehouse to Los Angeles CA, significantly
improving its financial outlook.

C. It was just recently, that the university raised the cost of tuition.

II. lately is generally used when speaking about an action, situation or event that began some
time in the not too distant past and continues to the present.

Examples:
 A. My aging father said lately he’s been feeling a bit under the weather.

B. It seems like there’s been a lot of fender benders (minor car accidents) on the
highway lately.

C. Lately, restaurants have been closing early to conserve electricity.

go home, go back home, go uptown, go downtown, come here, go there,
go over there

I. The topic words here (in color) have something in common which sets them apart from all
other nouns and pronouns that express place or location. With few exceptions, the
preposition (to) is not used in conjun-tion with any of the them as a rule when they function
as adverbs of place.

A. I’m going home now.

B. Most people go back home for the holidays. (go back home = to return to one’s
home town)

C. Celebrities who live in New York, go uptown to shop for expensive gifts. (uptown
= the fashion district)

D. If you go downtown, check out the spaghetti factory; the food’s great there.
 E. Everybody says they come here for the nightlife, but it’s really the delicious
sushi that attracts them.

F. He goes there twice a week for his knee rehabilitation.

G. “Go over there and sit down, please,” the businessman told his son. I’ll be off in
five minutes, and then we’ll go to McDonalds for dinner.”

Additional List Of Adverbs Of Place

everywhere, away, up, around, home, back home, nearby, abroad, back,
backwards/backward, down, downstairs, upstairs, east, west, north, south, elsewhere, far,
near, nearby, in, indoors, inside, off, on, out, outside, towards, under, up
even if/even then; even when; even though/even so

I. even if

1. Comes at the beginning of a sentence and a comma “is not” placed after it.
2. Is used to say that a person’s thinking or situation will remain unchanged regardless
of what might be stated or what circumstances may arise (in this case, the focus is on
something that could possibility happen).
3. Carries the same meaning as ‘even then’.
4. Is used in the past, present and future tenses.

Even if you go to New York to work with Professor Crane, you won’t have the
kind of success you crave. (PI unfairly said, angry that he was losing his best scientist.)

II. even then

 1. Comes at the beginning of a sentence and a comma “is” always placed after it.
2. Is used to say a person’s thinking or situation will remain unchanged regardless of
what might be stated or what circumstances may arise (in this case, the focus is on something
that could possibility happen).
3. Carries the same meaning as ‘even if’.
4. Is used in the past, present and future tenses.

I know that you might be going to New York to work with Professor Crane. Even
then, you won’t have the kind of success you crave.

III. even when

1. Comes at the beginning of a sentence and a comma “is not” placed after it.
2. Is used to say that a person’s thinking or situation will remain unchanged no matter
the time, regardless of what might be stated or what circumstances may arise (in this case,
the focus is on the time at which something is going to happen).
3. Is used in the past, present and future tenses.
 Even when you go to New York to work with Professor Crane, you won’t have the
kind of success you crave.

IV. even though

1. Comes at the beginning of a sentence and a comma “is not” placed after it.
2. Is used to say that a person’s thinking or situation will remain unchanged regardless
of what might be stated or what circumstances may arise (in this case, the focus is on
something that is inevitably going to happen]
3. Carries the same meaning as ‘even so’.
4. Is used in the past, present and future tenses.

Even though you are going to New York to work with Professor Crane, you won’t
have the kind of success you crave.
V. even so

1. Comes at the beginning of a sentence, and a comma “is” always placed after it.
2. is used to say a person’s thinking or situation will remain un- changed regardless of
what might be stated or what circumstances may arise (in this case, the focus is on something
that is inevitably going to happen]
3. Carries the same meaning as ‘even though’.
4. Is used in the past, present and future tenses.

I know that you are going to New York to work with Professor Crane. Even so,
you won’t have the kind of success you crave.

*Important note: With the exception of even if (I), (II - V) in the past tense can be used to
express essentially the same idea, as in the following case.
 2. Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known Western world. ‘Even
then’, he was still unsatisfied with his accomplishments.

3. ‘Even when’ Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known Western
world, he was still unsatisfied with his accomplishments.

4. Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known Western world. ‘Even so’,
he was still unsatisfied with his accomplishments.

5. ‘Even though’ Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known Western
world, he was still unsatisfied with his accomplishments.

This concludes The Art of Speaking American English. You can visit me at
https://www.facebook.com/CostaVerdeRoom3136.

I wish you all the best in your endeavor to master conversational English.
Yours truly,

Stephen Allen Stratton

Stephen Allen Strallon