321. Types of “-ing” Verb after a Verb

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There are  a variety of circumstances where a verb after another one has “-ing”

THE VARIETY OF POSSIBILITIES

A verb ending with -ing may be an adjective-like “participle” or a noun-like “gerund” (see 71. Gerund and Participle Uses of “-ing”). Either of these forms may combine closely with a verb placed just before them. They can do so in various ways, of which the main ones may be illustrated as follows:

(a) Doctors recommend taking a daily walk.

(b) Doctors foresee children becoming more obese.

(c) Children enjoy hearing (or adults telling) stories.

(d) Children like hearing (or adults telling) stories.

(e) Children can help friends struggling to learn.

(f) Parents should go walking with their children.

(g) A recommended form of exercise is walking.

In (a) here, taking directly follows the verb recommend and is understood as its grammatical object, making it noun-like and hence a gerund. In (b), becoming is separated from the verb foresee by the noun children, the gerund’s subject. Sentence (c) illustrates a verb (enjoy) that can go either directly before an -ing object (hearing) or before an intervening noun (adults telling). In the latter case, both words are the object but the primary meaning is still with the gerund (see 232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”).

Sentence (d) above is similar to (c), but it illustrates a verb (like) that allows a following -ing verb (hearing, telling) to be replaced by a to (infinitive) verb carrying a slightly different meaning (to hear, to tell).

In (e), struggling follows the verb help and its noun object friends. Unlike in (b) and (c), however, this noun is the primary word in the object – it is only friends that receive the mentioned help, not their struggles. Thus, struggling is merely a description of the type of friends involved, making it adjective-like and hence a participle.

In (f), walking cannot be the object of go before it (because GO is an intransitive verb), but is instead a participle describing the subject of go (parents). In (g), walking is a complement of the verb BE, exactly identifying a recommended form of exercise, the subject of BE (see 117. Restating Generalizations More Specifically, #1). As such, it is a gerund.

The above sentences do not illustrate every possible way in which an -ing verb can follow another verb. One major excluded type is BE + participle, as in Children are playing. It is excluded because the participle is not sufficiently separate from BE, acting instead in partnership with it to make a single verb form, the present continuous tense of WALK. The other major excluded type is what I call “add-on” participles, which are not closely linked to the main verb in the sentence, but describe its subject, like this:

(h) The research ANALYSED markets PAYING particular attention to prices.

Here, the subject of paying is not markets, the object of analysed, but the research, its subject. For discussion of sentences like this, see 101. Add-on Participles.

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VERBS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TYPE

1. Verbs like RECOMMEND

There seem to be relatively few verbs after which an -ing verb is always an object/gerund without an intervening noun, as in (a). Common ones are ADVISE, CONSIDER (= decide whether to perform the -ing action), DENY, RECOMMEND, REGRET, REJECT, RESUME and SUGGEST. Of these, ADVISE is most able to have a noun before a following verb, but the verb then needs to be changed into the to form (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1, #3).

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2. Verbs like FORESEE

Adding a noun before an -ing object, as in (b), is usually necessary after some cause-effect verbs of the prepositional kind, e.g. CONTRIBUTE TO, HOPE FOR, LEAD TO, LONG FOR, RESULT IN (see 32. Expressing Consequences) and WARN OF, plus a small number of other verbs, including DEMONSTRATE (= “present”), DISCOVER (= accidentally encounter”), FORECAST, FORESEE, PREDICT and SHOW (= “present”).

 

3. Verbs like ENJOY

Ability to be used equally with or without a noun before an -ing gerund is probably the most commonly found. Common verbs possessing it include ACCEPT, ANTICIPATE, APPRECIATE, AVOID, CATCH (= “observe … acting secretly”), ENDURE, ENJOY, ENTAIL, ENVISAGE, HINDER, IMAGINE, INSIST ON, INVOLVE, KEEP, LOOK FORWARD TO, MEAN (= entail), (NOT) MIND, MODEL, NECESSITATE, OBSERVE, PHOTOGRAPH, PREVENT, RECORD, RISK, STOP, STUDY and THINK OF (= picture).

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4. Verbs like LIKE

Verbs that can link with either -ing or to… after them, giving each a different meaning without changing themselves, are of two main types. With the more common, -ing (Children like hearing…) draws attention to its verb’s action through time, whereas an infinitive (Children like to hear…) presents the action as more instantaneous.

Verbs that can make this contrast fall into three meaning groups. LIKE is a like/dislike verb. Similar are LONG FOR, LOVE, PREFER, WANT, YEARN FOR and HATE. However, not all like/ dislike verbs allow the to/-ing choice: only -ing is possible after APPRECIATE, APPROVE OF, DISLIKE, ENJOY, WELCOME, ABHOR, DETEST, DISAGREE WITH and LOATH (see 10. Words with Unexpected Grammar 1, #b). Underlined verbs in both lists can also link with it that… (see 190. Special Uses of “it”, #4).

Next among verbs allowing the above -ing/to… choice are a few that express sensation. Examples are FEEL, HEAR, LISTEN TO, NOTICE, SEE, SENSE, SMELL and WATCH. With these, the choice is better said to involve an “infinitive” than a to verb because to must be dropped (see 148. Infinitive Verbs without “to”, #2).

The third choice-allowing group express dependency, with verbs like COUNT ON, DEPEND ON, NEED, RELY ON and REQUIRE. Outside of these three areas, HAVE meaning “cause” also allows the -ing/infinitive choice, the latter again without to (see the end of 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE).

The second broad type of verb that can link with a following verb ending in either -ing or to… also requires the choice to be made according to an aspect of the following verb’s meaning – but not the aspect outlined above.

The verbs FORGET and REMEMBER, for example, need -ing with past remembered events and to with future ones. They allow an intervening noun in the first case but not the second. BEGIN, CEASE and CONTINUE allow either –ing or to…, without any intervening noun. Often, there is no meaning difference, but sometimes there seems to be association with either a single extended action or multiple repeated ones.

TRY needs -ing to imply experimentation with a behaviour, and to… to imply that a preferred behaviour is being attempted with effort that may fail. PROPOSE means “suggest” with -ing and “intend” with to…. OMIT means “not mention” with -ing and “not do” with to…. For more on such distinctions, see 302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive, #2.

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5. Verbs with an “-ing” Participle

Any verb that can have a noun object is likely to be usable with a subsequent -ing participle, as in (e) above. Some verbs, such as HELP in (e), will not allow an -ing gerund instead, but some will. With the latter, a double meaning sometimes occurs. Consider this:

(i) Some experiments involve animals suffering pain.

If suffering here is a participle, the message is that suffering pain is not the focus of some experiments. Rather, the type of animals involved in the experiments – those already suffering pain – is being specified. By contrast, if suffering here is a gerund, the message is that animal pain is induced during the experiments (see 257. Structures with a Double Meaning 4, #2).

 

6. Verbs like GO

GO is unusual in allowing a following -ing participle without an intervening noun. The noun it describes is instead the subject of the GO verb. Its most typical meaning in such cases is “go out to enjoy…”. Commonly-used participles are driving, hiking, hunting, riding, running, shopping, swimming, visiting and walking (see 176. Ways of Using “Go”, #3).

Similar to GO -ing are COME -ing (see 290. Ways of Using COME), and TAKE someone -ing (see 264. Variations in the Use of TAKE, #17).

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7. Verbs like BE

As mentioned above, BE may combine with an -ing participle to make a standard present continuous tense form. However, if the meaning does not fit this interpretation, as in sentence (g), an -ing form is likely to be a gerund (for a particularly interesting example, see 69. How Computers Get Grammar Wrong 2, sentence #b).

The reason for the existence of two possibilities after BE is that it is a verb typically needing a “complement”, a sentence component that may be either adjective-like, opening the way for participles, or noun-like, opening the way for gerunds (see 220. Features of Complements, #2).

Different complement-taking verbs have different requirements. REMAIN is very like BE, but BECOME and SEEM are unlikely to have a following participle (preferring a noun or adjective instead). TURN is unlikely to have either a participle or gerund, normally preferring an adjective. Some complement-taking verbs, moreover, including BE and BECOME, allow a noun before a partner -ing word:

(j) The saddest sight was children begging for food.

In these cases, the distinction between a participle and gerund seems blurred.

319. Superficiality

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Superficiality can take many different forms, causing English to have numerous words for it

DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE

To say that something – beauty, for example – is superficial is to suggest that its real nature is worse than its observable one. Unsurprisingly, this is a common kind of suggestion in analytic writing, where there is usually a keen concern for truth. The result of such common use is that English has developed a wide variety of ways to express the idea of superficiality, just as it has for other common meanings like illustration, consequence, possibility and importance.

Most of the options for indicating superficiality are vocabulary rather than grammar. For this reason, the focus here is on listing and explaining the meanings of key words and phrases. However, grammatical properties and requirements will be indicated and explained where that seems necessary.

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WORD CATEGORIES

1. Verbs

SEEM, APPEAR, LOOK

The most obvious use of these verbs is to indicate uncertainty about the truth of a situation without actually establishing it as false (see 96 Making Statements More Uncertain 2, last section). However, in the right context they do often indicate falsehood:

(a) Horizons only seem to form straight lines.

If only here is understood to link with seem rather than with horizons, form or straight lines, it usually suggests falsehood. Other words that do the same include might and always.

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PRETEND

This verb, normally used with a human subject, can be followed by to, that or a noun object. It mostly implies a conscious effort by its subject to convey something different from reality:

(b) The Greeks pretended their wooden horse was a parting gift.

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FEIGN

Similar to PRETEND with a noun object, FEIGN means “suggest a non-existent characteristic of oneself (belief, weakness etc.) or a non-intended behaviour in order to deceive”:

(c) Feigned manoeuvres are often necessary in a team sport.

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SIMULATE

Again carrying the idea of “act in the manner of something that it is not”, SIMULATE does not necessarily imply an intent to deceive. Typically used, like FEIGN, with a noun object, it may indicate a legitimate purpose such as service or research:

(d) Artificial intelligence simulates real-world thinking.

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2. Adjectives

Superficiality adjectives tend to be usable with particular types of noun. For example, superficial can combine with quality-naming nouns like beauty, but not usually object-naming nouns like cup.

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SUPERFICIAL

Like SEEM and SIMULATE, this adjective often lacks the suggestion of deception. It may merely indicate that its noun is on the surface of something, as in superficial burns or patterns, or it may suggest incompetence, as in superficial thinking. Common nouns that are, like beauty, more likely to carry the deception idea include acquiescence, impression, manner, success and willingness.

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SKIN-DEEP

This mostly shares the ability of superficial to indicate position as easily as deception. In the latter case, it links with quality-naming nouns like beauty, affection and support.

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SPECIOUS

It is mainly nouns naming a type of justification that this adjective can combine with, such as argument, case, excuse, justification, rationale, reasoning, theory and thinking. The suggestion is that the justification is deliberately misleading.

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PLAUSIBLE

Justification types are common with this word, as they are with specious, but it also allows linkage with other speech and thought nouns, such as assumption, belief, explanation, idea, prediction and statement (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). Names and descriptions of people too are describable:

(e) A decision was based on the evidence of a plausible witness.

To describe someone’s name, it is necessary to place plausible after it with a link verb like BE in between:

(f) Schultz was plausible in explaining his absence.

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MISLEADING

To mislead is to cause people to think that something is different – often better – than it really is. This outcome does not have to be intended, but it often is. Typical partner nouns of the adjective might be advice, argument, evidence, publicity, representation, statement and testimony.

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SEEMING, APPARENT

These may express the same varying meanings of their related verbs (see #1 above). However, apparent is more restricted in its meaning if its noun is placed before it, separated by a link verb like BE. Compare how doing this below results in a different meaning from that of apparent success (= success that appears to have been achieved but has not really):

(g)  The success of the project was apparent.

Now, apparent means “obvious”. For a detailed explanation, see 132. Tricky Word Contrasts 4, #7.

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SUPPOSED

The meaning of this -ed adjective resembles the passive one of its related participle derived from the verb SUPPOSE (see 81. Tricky Word Contrasts 2, #3). Sometimes, it simply adds the idea of “believed” to its partner noun, but often it also implies its user’s personal scepticism about the truth of the belief. For example, a supposed success is likely to indicate a success that most people believe is real but the speaker does not.

If used without a following to verb (infinitive), supposed must normally go directly before its noun rather than after it with a link verb in between. It seems able to combine with a wide variety of positive and negative nouns. Besides outcomes like success, it may, for example, describe people (a supposed villain), human and non-human qualities (supposed enthusiasm, depth) and positions (supposed status).

For more about participle versus adjective uses of -ed, see 250. Adjectives with a Participle Ending.

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OFFICIAL

This word most commonly asserts the truth of an accompanying statement or idea by saying has been made or endorsed by an authoritative body such as a government or leading religious figure:

(h) The plans to raise taxes are official.

The suggestion of falsehood is most likely when official precedes a noun idea that most people know to be unreliable, like explanation, journey time or story:

(i) The official explanation of the move is poor weather.

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THEORETICAL

Like official, theoretical occasionally questions the truth of an authoritative idea or statement. It is especially likely to refer to something in the future. The authority may again be an expert, but it could just be experience or logic:

(j) There is a theoretical chance of bad weather tomorrow.

This would often suggest that bad weather tomorrow had been indicated but for the speaker was unlikely.

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3. Adverbs

Most of the above adjectives can be made into similar-meaning adverbs by adding -ly (apparently, misleadingly, officially, plausibly, seemingly, speciously, superficially, supposedly, theoretically). In addition, there are some colourful preposition phrases:

at first sight (= different from what later sights indicate)
on paper (= theoretically)
on the surface (= superficially)
to the untrained eye (= different from what experts see)

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4. Nouns

Again, there are some derivatives from the adjectives: plausibility, speciousness, superficiality. From the verbs there are also appearance, look, pretence and simulation.

Outside of these, there is impression, usable very like appearance, but with more suggestion of associated (dis)belief. If it is the subject of a verb, it is likely to be along with either of + noun or that + statement, each placed either directly after or with a link verb in between, e.g. The impression that/of… grew greater; The impression was that/of… (see the end of 153. Conjunction Uses of “that”). If impression is the object of a verb, the verb is likely to be GIVE (= create) or HAVE (= possess), and a following that… or of… is again common.

Appearance and look are similarly usable with of (but not that). As a verb object, appearance again allows the GIVE/HAVE choice, but look tends to allow only HAVE.

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5. “As if”

These words can sometimes question the truth of a statement by changing the tense of its verb. Consider this:

(k) Animals act as if they are machines.

The present tense of are suggests that the speaker believes in the stated idea that animals are machines. With past-tense were instead of are, by contrast, the suggestion would be of doubt.

As another example:

(l) The building looks as if an earthquake has/had hit it.

Here, has hit suggests acceptance that an earthquake may really have happened, while had hit does not.

In both of these examples, the verb before as if (act, looks) is in a present tense. If it were past instead, the acceptance distinction cannot be made. For a fuller explanation of as if, see 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #3.

317. Tricky Word Contrasts 13

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Some word pairs are easily confused because of close similarities in spelling and/or meaning

THE PROBLEM OF TRICKY WORD CONTRASTS

Most users of English have encountered vocabulary items that are easily confused because they resemble each other in spelling and/or meaning. A well-known example – often explained in English language coursebooks – is later (= happening in subsequent time) versus latter (= second of two just-mentioned ideas). The problem is that such pairs are numerous in English, and many are rarely highlighted so that they are likely to remain unrecognised, or at least not fully differentiated.

It is these rarely-considered confusion sources, especially ones likely to occur in professional writing, that are the focus of the present post, just as they are of various others with a similar title (there is a complete list on the page in this blog entitled Posts on Specific Words). Further posts about vocabulary confusions include 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words,  44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs,  94. Essay Instruction Words,  211. General Words for People and 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”.

For some grammar contrasts, see 100. What is a Grammar Error?, 133 Confusions of Similar Structures 1 and 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 1. For some pronunciation ones, see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly.

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LIST OF CONTRASTS

1. Eager(ness) – Willing(ness)

The adjective willing and related noun willingness are obviously both derived from the word will. However, their meaning differs in a subtle enough way to make them unsuitable for expressing the idea of will in adjective or noun form.

The most familiar use of will is as an auxiliary verb, as in …will happen. Its typical suggestion is, of course, the idea of “future”, but this is usually alongside a secondary meaning like “promise” or “prediction” (see 147. Types of Future Meaning). In rare cases, for example when will is spoken with emphasis or used after if, the secondary idea is of wanting something (see 316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”, #4).

This idea of wanting something becomes the main meaning of will when it is used as an ordinary rather than auxiliary verb:

(a) Everyone was willing the initiative to succeed.

The underlined words here are a past continuous form of the verb WILL, not BE before the adjective willing. This is clear from the subsequent wording: object + to verb (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #5), replacing that…should…. The idea of wanting something is also present in the noun will, whether used countably (= inheritance document) or uncountably (= wish).

The frequency of the idea of wanting in will is logical grounds for seeing the same idea in willing and willingness. However, the logic is misleading: these words both indicate agreement to do something without indicating how much it is wanted. An action that someone is willing to perform might be a totally hated one, like eating disgusting food, the agreement to perform it being based on a very different stimulus from the attraction of the food, such a desire to avoid offending someone. One close synonym is prepared(ness).

Suitable alternatives for expressing the idea of wanting are the adjective-noun pairs eager(ness) and keen(ness). Like willing(ness), both can be followed directly by a to verb.

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2.  AGREE – ACCEPT

AGREE is usable with either a that statement or a to (infinitive) verb (as well as with various prepositions – see 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs, #1). Before that, it typically means “concur”:

(b) Caesar agreed that he / the journey was taking too long.

(c) Caesar agreed that he / troops would make the journey.

These suggest Caesar, the subject of agreed, had heard the opinion of someone else about the journey, and had decided that it either matched or should match his own opinion. The focus of (b) is an existing situation, that of (c) a future action. The subject of the verb after that may be either the same as that of AGREE (he above) or different (troops/the journey).

Sometimes, an additional suggestion with an agreed future action is of steps being taken to bring it about – the idea of consent as well as of concurrence. It is only possible if the subjects of AGREE and the verb after it are different, and if the subject of AGREE is understood to have the power to arrange the relevant event. In sentence (c), Caesar and he meet these conditions.

With a directly-following infinitive, by contrast, the idea of consent is the main meaning of AGREE. The subject of the infinitive can only be the same as that of AGREE.

ACCEPT is an object-dropping verb with the fundamental meaning of “choose to keep”. With an explicit or implicit noun or pronoun object representing a gift or offer, the choosing is implied to be gracious; but with one representing something undesirable, such as poverty or discomfort, there is an implication of resignation, stoicism or heroic suffering. Neither of these implications, though, is present with other objects. All noun objects refer to a past or existing situation, not a future one.

An alternative kind of ACCEPT object is a that statement. This allows only the implication of resignation etc. Unlike noun objects, that statements can refer to a future situation (…that mistakes would be made), as well as a past or present one. However, they still indication resignation, not consent.

The most common confusion of AGREE and ACCEPT is in the giving of consent to a future action. Only AGREE can express this meaning: agree to do for one’s own future action, agree that X will for someone else’s. ACCEPT with a following infinitive (*accept to do) is ungrammatical, while ACCEPT that … will indicates resignation rather than consent.

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3. Proposal – Proposition

These two countable nouns – both derived from the verb PROPOSE – may express either the action of that verb or its outcome (see 280. Alternative Meanings of Action Nouns).

Both words reflect the fundamental “suggest” meaning of PROPOSE, but differ in the type of suggestion that they indicate. Proposals are suggested plans or actions, propositions suggested ideas:

(d) Ali’s proposal is to store all the data in one place.

(e) The project will explore the proposition that productive workers are the happiest.

Note the infinitive verb after proposal and the that statement after proposition. That… is also possible after proposal, but infinitives are unlikely after proposition. Because proposal is future-referring, it allows the option of putting the verb after that into the “subjunctive” form (see 316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”, #5).

Propositions are especially likely in Law, Mathematics and Philosophy, where they are presented as possible truths, often in preparation for their systematic analysis. Elsewhere, they may mean “challenges”. In romantic situations, a proposition is an invitation to engage in sexual activity, whereas a proposal is a request for marriage.

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4. Suspect – Suspicious

Although suspect can be a verb, noun or adjective, it is the last of these that I wish to concentrate on because of the exclusively adjective nature of suspicious. The adjective suspect is, like the noun but unlike the verb, pronounced with stress on sus-, causing the “u” vowel to be pronounced fully as /ʌ/ rather than weakly as /Ə/ (see 125. Stress and Emphasis).

Suspect usually indicates the existence of a hidden problem within what it is describing, leading to a negative impact on people’s trust in it. It mostly describes objects, substances or abstract ideas. For example, a bridge might be described as suspect if it moved unexpectedly when in use, and an argument could be called suspect if unconvincing. If a living thing is called suspect, it is similarly believed likely to possess a hidden weakness, such as an inability to cope with pressure.

Suspicious too can say its noun idea is mistrusted by its observers. However, the noun idea is more likely to be behaviour by a living being than a physical quality in an object. An example of suspicious behaviour might be somebody on a low income regularly purchasing expensive luxuries.

Suspicious can also describe an observer of suspicious behaviour, its meaning then being “having suspicion” rather than “causing suspicion”. A car owner, for example, might be suspicious after their newly-serviced car still performed poorly. The person causing the suspicion can be named in an of phrase after suspicious (e.g. suspicious of the garage).

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5. In a Position – In Position

It is surprising how often in English just including or excluding a(n) or the within a fixed phrase can make a significant meaning difference. For numerous examples with the, see 235. Special Uses of “the”, #9.

The two expressions above usually precede a to (infinitive) verb. In a position is a formal way of saying “able”:

(f) Our organization is in a (good) position to offer its help.

Without a, by contrast, the meaning is “in a/the correct place”, and the context is likely to be sporting:

(g) The goalkeeper was in position to stop the shot.

Note, though, that an adjective added before this latter use of position needs to be accompanied by a or the, e.g. …was in a suitable (or the right) position to….

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6. At/On/In the Scene

The noun the scene changes its meaning according to the preposition used before it. After on, it refers to a particular area of activity, such as politics, sport or education. For example, a politician mentioning new people appearing on the scene would probably mean people newly entering politics.

After at, the scene refers to a place where something has recently happened or is still happening. Crime and disaster locations are especially likely to be involved. Newspaper reports, for example, will often say at the scene of the theft.

After in, the scene usually refers to a shortish segment of a book, play or film, usually involving a single event or location. As an example, one might hear that a film director made a brief appearance in the fight scene.

For more about nouns after a predictable preposition, see 252. Descriptive Wording after Nouns 1, #2.

316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”

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Verbs can refer to the future in various ways without “will” or “shall”

REPLACING “WILL” OR “SHALL” IN VERBS

The “future tense” (with will or shall) is by no means the only means by which a verb can be understood as referring to the future. English has a variety of alternative verb forms that become necessary in the right circumstances. Here, I wish to clarify those circumstances and to look at the particular alternative to a future tense that is associated with each.

It should be noted that most of the will/shall alternatives to be presented are verb forms. In other words, they are grammatical possibilities, not grammar-replacing vocabulary. As I have suggested elsewhere, English tense meanings cannot normally be expressed just by a neutral verb combined with a suitable non-verbal vocabulary item (cf. 298. Grammar Meanings without Grammar, #1).

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CIRCUMSTANCES THAT RULE OUT “WILL” / “SHALL” REPLACEMENT

1. Expressing Special Types of Future Meaning

There are some types of future meaning that require a verb either to be combined with a future-suggesting other verb like going to, FACE, BE TO and BE SCHEDULED TO, or to be put into a tense other than a future one.

Going to is perhaps the most obvious alternative to will / shall. Like these words, it combines directly with the base form of a further verb. Its special meanings will not be elaborated here because they are so commonly described in mainstream grammar descriptions (though see 176. Ways of Using “Go”, #6).

Note, however, that whereas will and shall themselves carry the future meaning of a verb, going to transfers it to the verb after. Since the subsequent verb is always in the to (infinitive) form, that form can be taken as the normal grammatical alternative to will or shall in going to combinations. Going to itself can be in any tense. If it is used with will or shall (will be going to…), two separate future ideas will be involved.

Future-referring FACE is similar in meaning to going to (see 314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4, #1). Grammatically, however, it must be followed by an “action” noun object rather than an infinitive verb (e.g. …faces an uphill struggle), this still being where the future meaning is located.

Future-referring BE TO usually reports either an arrangement or a command. Consider this:

(a) All staff are to convene in the main hall at 9.00.

If an arrangement is being reported here, the occurrence of the meeting is a decision made by staff. However, if a command is being reported, the staff are not the ones who have called the meeting – they are just being told (politely) that they are required to attend (see 119. BE before a “to” Verb, #4 and #5). In both cases, it is the infinitive form of the verb after BE TO that replaces will/shall.

It would also be possible to say in (a) are scheduled to convene. This would leave it vague about who had called the meeting.

There are various types of future event or situation whose futurity is typically shown by a verb in a tense other than the future. If the event or situation is a single one and planned by someone other than the speaker, the tense is likely to be present simple or present continuous:

(b) The visitors depart (or are departing) tomorrow.

It is will in such sentences that usually suggests planning by the speaker.

By contrast, futures planned by someone other than the speaker to be repeated at predictable times are more typically indicated with the present simple:

(c) The Sociology lecture takes place this Friday.

For more about planning, see 147. Types of Future Meaning, #5.

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2. After Future-Pointing Speech/ Thought Verbs

Common speech or thought verbs that sometimes or usually accompany a verb with future reference, similarly to going to, include AIM, ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE, EXPECT, FORECAST, FORESEE, FORETELL, GUARANTEE, HOPE, IMAGINE, INTEND, PLAN, PLEDGE, PREDICT, PROMISE, PROPHESY, SEE (= predict), SUPPOSE, SWEAR, THREATEN, UNDERTAKE, VOW and WARN.

All of these except possibly AIM and UNDERTAKE can go between a speaker subject X and that…will… (e.g. X promises that s/he will…). AIM and UNDERTAKE only allow an infinitive. For more about UNDERTAKE, see 281.Verbs with Unexpected Grammar 4, #f. For a discussion of AIM versus INTEND, see 114. Tricky Word Contrasts 3, #5.

Many of the verbs that allow that…will… also allow something else. EXPECT, HOPE, PLAN, PLEDGE, PROMISE, SWEAR, THREATEN and VOW can, in the right circumstances, freely accompany either that…will… or a to (infinitive) verb:

(d) The Government hopes that it will (or to) spend more.

The condition for the choice being free is both verbs having the same subject. If they do not (imagine it above replaced by everyone), only that…will… is possible.

ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE and FORESEE can, when their subject is the same as that of the verb after them, freely accompany either that…will… or just an -ing verb. SEE is similar except that it needs a -self object before -ing, e.g. …sees itself spending more in (d).

Some of the verbs in the main list above allow an ordinary object to be placed directly after them. PROMISE with an object still offers a choice between to… and that…will…; EXPECT and INTEND with an object allow only to….

An object after ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE, FORESEE, PREDICT and SEE needs a following -ing verb (see 232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”):

(e) The Government anticipates the country spending more.

Verbs that always require any future-referring verb after them to be used with that…will… include IMAGINE (= suppose), SUPPOSE and WARN.

In all of the examples above, the future-pointing speech verb is in the active voice after its subject, the name of a speaker, and before that…will or equivalent. In an alternative usage, the speech verb is made passive and given the subject of the will verb, placed at the start of the sentence:

(f) Handwriting skills are expected to become unimportant.

As this shows, the will verb become is now in the infinitive form. A similar rearrangement is possible with all of the earlier-listed verbs except HOPE, SEE, SWEAR, UNDERTAKE, VOW and WARN. It always requires the future-referring verb to be an infinitive regardless of its time reference (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb, #2).

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3. After Likelihood Adjectives

A very similar usage to that illustrated in (f) is with a likelihood adjective instead of an -ed participle between BE and an infinitive – for example likely instead of expected. Besides likely, the possibilities include able, bound, certain, destined, due, guaranteed, poised, prepared, ready and sure. For details of certain used in this way, see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2).

Similar to these adjectives is about, an indicator that the future action expressed by a following infinitive verb is very imminent (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #6). An even more imminent occurrence can be expressed either by adding just before about, or by replacing both about and its following infinitive with on the + brink / point / verge (+ of -ing), or with close to -ing.

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4. After Certain Conjunctions

The need to put a future-referring verb after if into a present rather than future tense is routinely covered in elementary English courses and is thus unlikely to be news to readers of this blog. Most such courses also mention a similar possibility after time conjunctions (after, as, as soon as, before, once, when, until):

(g) Problems will be encountered until repairs are complete.

However, these courses do not always mention that will is usable after some of these conjunctions to express a special meaning. A common parenthetical expression in American English is if you will, meaning “If I can express it like this”. Elsewhere after if, the meaning of either “agree” or “insist” is conveyed:

(h) The research will succeed if the participants will (= agree to) cooperate.

(i) Funds will remain low if staff will use (= insist on using) taxis.

After when, a future form commonly indicates a consequence:

(j) Click on the image, when a bell will ring.

This means the bell rings after the image is highlighted – when means “and then”. Compare this with the way the present-tense rings after when (with no preceding comma) gives it its more standard meaning of “after” or “while”. The will use can only end a sentence; the standard one can start or end one (see 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #4).

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5. After Future-Referring Urging Words

To urge is to put verbal pressure on someone (without commanding them) to behave in a particular way (see 195. Tricky Word Contrasts 7, #1). Words representing some form or another of this idea can be a verb (e.g. URGE) or a noun (e.g. a request) or an adjective (e.g. insistent).

An urged future behaviour can be indicated after a word of this kind by means of that and a future-referring verb in either the present simple tense or the “subjunctive mood”. Subjunctive verbs do not show tense and have only one form – identical to infinitives without to. Their usability after urging words is because they tend to be associated with futures that may never happen:

(k) Doctors recommend that everyone be vaccinated (or is vaccinated).

Common words like recommend include:

VERBS: ADVISE, ASK, BEG, DEMAND, DESIRE, INSIST, PREFER, PROPOSE, RECOMMEND, REQUEST, REQUIRE, SUGGEST, URGE (note that some urging verbs cannot be used like RECOMMEND, especially CALL FOR, ENCOURAGE, NEED, WANT and WISH).

NOUNS: advice, demand, desire, determination, insistence, keenness, preference, proposal, recommendation, request, requirement, suggestion, willingness, wish

ADJECTIVES: adamant, advisable, anxious, crucial, desirable, determined, eager, essential, impatient, important, insistent, keen, necessary, preferable, reluctant, vital, willing.

For more about English subjunctives, see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1, #6.

314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4

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Some words are usable in multiple (and often confusing) grammatical ways

THE PROBLEM OF COMPLICATED GRAMMAR

A major concern of this blog is the kind of grammar that is found not in “grammars”, but in dictionaries. Grammars focus on wide-ranging features like verb tense usage; dictionaries on word-specific requirements like the complexities of whole. Traditionally, these respective kinds of grammatical description tended to be called “grammar” and “usage”; my preferred terms are “broad grammar” and “narrow grammar” (see the rationale for my grammar practice book).

Narrow English grammar has various features that can make it difficult to learn. One is words that behave differently from what might be expected from the behaviour of words like them (see 10. Words with Unexpected Grammar 1 and 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar). Another is words whose grammatical possibilities are so diverse as to be easily confused.

It is this second source of difficulty that the present post is concerned with. As the title indicates, other parts of this blog deal with it too (for a list, see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1). The approach is the same: in-depth consideration of the grammatical properties of a small number of problem words. This is a different kind of analysis from that in various Guinlist posts entitled Tricky Word Contrasts, where the focus is on meaning rather than grammar.

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PROBLEM WORDS

1. FACE

The verb FACE is mostly transitive (object-requiring). As such, it can express various meanings, of which the main ones might be illustrated and explained as follows:

(a) The cinema faces the hotel.

The message here is that the front of the cinema is directly opposite the nearby front of the hotel with nothing in between. FACE with this meaning is very unlikely to have the passive form: as with MARRY (see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1, #4) and ACCOMPANY, there is no problem keeping the verb active if the subject and object change places.

The expression of a permanent location is fairly typical of this use, but temporary ones are possible too, especially with a living subject, as in …turned and faced the crowd or …stand facing their headquarters.

(b) The economy faces an uphill struggle.

In this use, the object (an uphill struggle) represents a difficult future (see 316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”, #1). Faces might be paraphrased as “is going to suffer”. Surprisingly, this meaning of FACE is often able to be expressed as well with the passive form as with the active. However, the passive must be followed by with, not by: …is faced with an uphill struggle above (see 21. Active Verbs with Non-Active Meanings, #4).

(c) Unpleasant truths must be faced eventually.

Again, the object of FACE (here expressed as the subject of its passive form) refers to something unwelcome. FACE means “no longer avoid”, thereby conveying recognition and confrontation.

(d) Speakers will face detailed questioning.

The meaning here is close to “endure”. Other typical objects are severe consequences, a crisis, difficulties, opposition, problems and threats. Note also face the music, where the music metaphorically represents angry censure for having behaved in a proscribed way (see 241. Some Common Figurative Phrases).

In addition to these transitive uses, FACE has one notable intransitive one, usually in combination with towards…:

(e) The house faces towards the sea.

Towards suggests a large separating distance. Indeed, the noun after it may represent something too far away to be seen. If this noun represents a compass point, like (the) west, towards may be dropped, e.g. …faces (the) west. In this situation, including the makes FACE transitive again, but without it FACE remains intransitive: west alone is not an object but a directional adverb (see 151. Ways of Using Compass Words).

Finally, there is the phrasal-prepositional verb FACE UP TO. Its meaning is close to that of FACE in (c), but perhaps implies greater determination.

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2. FAIL

This verb sometimes means “not do”, sometimes “do unsuccessfully”. It also suggests that the doing is desired, so should not be used just as an alternative to not. It may go directly before a noun (an object), or a to verb (an infinitive), or be alone with nothing after:

(f) Failing an exam is not always a disaster.

(g) Hard work may fail to gain a reward.

(h) When persuasion failed, force was necessary.

A familiar object type after FAIL is a test of one kind or another, like an exam in (f). In such cases, FAIL means “do unsuccessfully”. In a related use, an examiner can fail someone by giving them a “fail” grade. Outside of testing contexts, however, a person who is failing someone is themself the unsuccessful one, their failure being to act at an expected level.

In one other object-requiring use, FAIL has a personal quality or ability as its subject and a human object, and it indicates non-achievement of the former by the latter. For example, Words failed X means X could not find suitable words to use. This possibility is the only object-using one that cannot be passive.

FAIL before an infinitive – to gain in (g) – normally means “not do (despite trying)”. The infinitive looks like an object of FAIL, but is arguably not one because of the tendency of FAIL with noun objects to mean “do unsuccessfully” rather than “not do” (see 302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive).

FAIL used alone, as in (h), often seems to imply either an object or an infinitive, both identifiable from the surrounding words or the speech situation. In (h), for example, an infinitive like to motivate is implied. When an object is implied, FAIL might be classified as what I have elsewhere called “object-dropping” (see 8. Object-Dropping Errors). When an infinitive is implied, FAIL might be called “infinitive-dropping”.

Infinitive-dropping verbs seem to be a subset of verbs that can combine with an infinitive, just as object-dropping ones are a subset of object-taking verbs. Consider this:

(i) Rain failed to fall in summer.

The fact that the infinitive to fall here can be dropped after failed further marks FAIL as infinitive-dropping. However, if tended replaces failed, dropping to fall would be ungrammatical, which suggests TEND is not infinitive-dropping. The same logic excludes LIKE, NEED and SEEM as infinitive-dropping and includes CEASE, CONTINUE, START, THREATEN and TRY.

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3. “Average”

This word may be a verb, noun or adjective. The verb AVERAGE is transitive (object-needing), its object often a number expression. If such an object follows a number-implying subject (figure, temperature, time etc.), as in the temperature averages 20 degrees, the verb cannot be passive, just like other measurement verbs (COST, LAST, MEASURE, WEIGH etc: see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive). However, with other subjects, as in the following, the passive becomes possible:

(j) Walkers average 6 km/hour.

A further verb meaning is “find the average of”. The subject is likely to be a human or robotic calculator, the object a number-implying word:

(k) The software averages the values found.

The noun average often has a following of phrase specifying either the average (e.g. an average of 20 km) or its possessor (the average of the distances). Alternatively, the noun may follow the preposition on within a phrase typically located at the start of a sentence as a sentence-spanning adverbial:

(l) On average, humans live for 72 years.

The adjective average often accompanies a number-implying noun (the average speed, average temperatures). Where it does not, it is likely to mean “ordinary”:

(m) The service was average.

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4. “Instruction”

This noun has three main meanings: “teaching”, “command” and “direction”. The “teaching” use is uncountable – usable without special words before it, and not normally combined with an or -s. It generally means the same as the related -ing verb instructing, so that it can be considered an “action” noun (see 14. Action Outcomes):

(n) Instruction takes place in the mornings.

As with most action nouns, the recipients of instruction in this sense can be indicated with of, e.g. instruction of the trainees… (see 31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1). The content of the instruction is typically shown with in (…in safety procedures).

By contrast, instruction meaning “command” is always countable. The recipient is usually indicated with to, e.g. instructions to visitors…, while the instructed action is likely to be expressed with a verb in the to (infinitive) form (…to register their name).

The “direction” use of instruction is also countable. Directions are information about how to do something (see 128. Imperative Verbs in Formal Writing, #1). Instructions in this sense are not obeyed like the “command” kind, but rather followed. The recipient (often not indicated) can be shown with to or for, e.g. instructions to/for applicants…, while the target of the instruction is likely to follow for (…for completing the form).

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5. ADVISE

This verb is probably most familiar as a near-synonym of RECOMMEND (see 187. Advising and Recommending). The advice itself can take various forms:

– a directly-following that statement (…that action is taken)

– a directly-following -ing verb (…doing something)

– an “action” noun (…action)

– an object (representing the advisee) + infinitive (…you to do something: see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #3).

In all of these except that statements, negative advice can be shown by adding against (the infinitive in the last example becoming an -ing verb instead: …advise you against doing anything). In that statements after ADVISE, the verb can optionally be in the “subjunctive” mood (be taken above), just as verbs can after various other future-referring speech words (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #7).

An alternative meaning of ADVISE is “inform”. This usually has the information receiver as its object, followed by either that (+ statement) or of (+ noun expression):

(o) We wish to advise passengers that service disruptions are likely next week (or of likely service disruptions next week).

312. Grammar Command Test 3 (Rewriting)

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Take a short test to measure and increase command of grammar points explained elsewhere in this blog

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST

This post offers a different kind of test from that in the two earlier Guinlist posts with a title like the above (see 138. Grammar Command Test 1). It presents isolated single or paired sentences and invites rephrasing of each using given wording. Rephrasing involves one or more grammar points from elsewhere within this blog, which are revealed and explained when answers are given.

As the other grammar-testing posts point out, the word “command” better describes the aim of grammar activities than “knowledge” because it suggests, in addition to knowledge of grammar rules, skill in their use. Knowledge alone of grammar rules in a new language is known to be insufficient for avoiding errors from the fact that most people who spend a lot of time and energy acquiring it through memorisation still often make mistakes in real communication (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English).

Tests that use “rewrite sentences” are not a perfect way of proving command of grammar, but they do seem to have some value in this respect. They also have the value of practising the right way to perform the key skill of paraphrase (see 80. How to Paraphrase).

For a test of appropriacy rather than grammar, see 193. A Test of Formal Language Use. For one of vocabulary, see 273. Verb-Object Collocations.

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THE TEST SENTENCES

How can each highlighted statement below be rephrased so as to accommodate the wording shown next to it? Answers are in the next section.

(a) Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.

Kilimanjaro is higher…

(b) Computers are located on the upper floor.

The floor…

(c) Industry pollutes in many ways.  For example, it discharges effluents.

…such as…

(d) It is not very difficult for cats to climb trees.

Cats do not…

(e) Granite outlasts most other stones.

The durability…is…

(f) Some argue that even electric vehicles cause pollution.

…are argued…

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ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

(a) Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.

⇒ Kilimanjaro is higher than any other mountain in Africa.

Use in the original sentence of a superlative adjective (highest) indicates that the noun it describes (Kilimanjaro) is being compared with more than one fellow members of its category, mountains in Africa (see the introduction to 305. Wording next to Superlatives). Higher, by contrast, indicates a comparison with just one.

The task, therefore, is to find an expression that allows a comparison with just one idea within the same category rather than a group. This is done above by adding any before mountain, but it could instead be done with all (+ plural mountains).

The word other is a further important addition: without it, there is a suggestion that African mountains exclude Kilimanjaro – that the latter might be in Asia or America, for example, or even be a high building rather than a mountain. Other is not needed in the original sentence because the status of Kilimanjaro as a mountain in Africa is more clearly shown there by is in between (see 220. Features of Complements, #1). For more about other as a category indicator, see 170. Logical Errors in Written English, #4.

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(b) Computers are located on the upper floor.

⇒ The floor where computers are located is the upper one.

In the original sentence, the adjective upper is just before its noun floor. Starting with the floor, however, requires upper to come later, with a link verb like BE in between (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives).

The link verb here, added alongside the existing one are located, is is. The result of this addition, the presence of two verbs together in the same sentence, creates a need for special verb-accommodating wording that I have elsewhere called a “joining device” (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). The joining device above is the conjunction where. One could also say The floor containing computers…, where the joining device -ing is attached to a suitable verb without BE in front.

A third possibility is to paraphrase the original verb are located with wording that includes no verb at all, so that all need for a joining device is removed. A simple way to do this is with a preposition phrase (The floor with computers is…).

A second consequence of starting with the floor is a need for the…one with upper. Although, most adjectives can be placed after BE without needing extra words, upper always needs one or ones after it (or kind if describing an uncountable noun). For more about adjectives with this need, see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility, especially #4.

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(c) Industry pollutes in many ways. For example, it discharges effluents.

⇒ Industry pollutes in many ways, such as by discharging effluents.

Here, an illustration is worded in two different ways. The idea of “illustration” is indicated first by for example and subsequently by such as. Moreover, for example is in a new sentence after its associated generalization whereas such as is not.

The reason for this latter difference is the grammatical properties of the two expressions. For example is being used as a “connector”, an expression that shows a meaning link between two verb-based statements without combining them physically into a single sentence; whereas such as is a preposition, only able to show a meaning link between nouns inside a single sentence (see 1. Simple Example-Giving).

The preposition status of such as creates a further restriction too: any verb after it needs the -ing (gerund) form rather than a tense-showing form like discharges in the original sentence (see 70. Gerunds, #2). In the above example, discharging also needs by in front. This is because such as is introducing an adverb-like phrase saying how the action of the verb in its sentence (pollutes) occurs (see 73. Prepositions for Saying How).

One other point about for for example is that it is much less restricted than such as. Although such as cannot be used like for example in the original sentence, for example could easily replace such as in the rephrasing. In other words, for example has both a connector and a preposition use (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #4).

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(d) It is not very difficult for cats to climb trees.

⇒ Cats do not find it (to be) very difficult to climb trees.
⇒ Cats do not have much difficulty (with) climbing trees.

Placing cats, the subject of the infinitive verb to climb, before the idea of “difficult” necessitates the use of a verb that can logically and typically link the two. One is find, as in the first rephrasing; the other is have, as in the second. With both, the not originally negating very difficult has to negate them instead.

Cats do not find… requires most of (d) to follow as an object. The starting it can be kept, either between that…is or without these words and optionally followed by to be. Next comes very difficult (without not because that is now at the start), followed by to climb trees (without for cats). For more on converting it sentences into the object of another verb, see 190. Special Uses of “it”, #2.

Using have, by contrast, requires the removal of it and use of the noun difficulty (as the object of have) instead of the adjective difficult. This change necessitates two others: adjective-requiring very before difficult must become noun-allowing much before difficulty; and the verb to climb must become climbing, optionally after with.

It may seem strange that a verb after difficulty should require a different form from one after difficult. There are indeed plenty of examples where a to verb is needed both times (e.g. after able/ ability, free/ freedom and willing/ willingness. However, it is surprisingly common for a noun and its related adjective to require different forms of the same dependent verb, other examples being possible (+ to) versus possibility (+ of…) and useful (+ to) versus usefulness (+ of…) (see 78. Infinitive versus Preposition after Nouns).

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(e) Granite outlasts most other stones.

⇒ The durability of granite is better than that of most other stones.

The prefix out– in verbs usually means “better than” (see 146. Some Important Prefix Types, #3). Thus, the verb outlasts means “lasts better (= longer) than”. Its subject and compulsory object name the two compared ideas.

If the idea of lasting is expressed with a starting noun (durability), that becomes the focus of the comparison, so that two types of durability are being compared rather than two stone types. Each type is indicated by words after durability: of granite in the first case, of most other stones in the second. To avoid repetitiveness, the second use of durability can be replaced by the pronoun that (see 63. Constraints on Using “the one(s)).

The idea of “better than” after durability can be expressed with either an adjective like better (+ than) or the preposition beyond (without than). Their association with durability is best shown by means of a link verb like BE (is above).

Using a verb like outlasts in (e) illustrates how ordinary vocabulary can quite often replace a grammar structure expressing a particular meaning (here -er than in comparisons: see 298. Grammar Meanings without Grammar, #8).

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(f) Some argue that even electric vehicles cause pollution.

⇒ Even electric vehicles are argued by some to cause pollution.

Sentence (f) reports a statement in the common manner by placing it after a mention of its source (some) followed by a reporting verb (argue) + that…. In the rephrasing, by contrast, the passive form of the reporting verb has as its subject the wording that was originally the subject of the verb in the reported statement (electric vehicles).

This change necessitates putting the replaced subject (some) into a by phrase after argued, and giving the verb in the reported statement the to (infinitive) form (to cause). Such rephrasing is quite commonly possible with verbs that report statements with that (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb, #2).

The meaning of by some in the rephrasing could alternatively be expressed with the adverb sometimes, positioned either in the same place or at the start of the sentence.

311. Exotic Grammar Structures 9

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Some English grammar structures are unlikely to be described in language coursebooks

THE NATURE OF “EXOTIC” STRUCTURES

English has surprisingly many grammar structures that are not commonly found in language coursebooks, so that they could be called “exotic”. Some structures are of this kind because they have not been clearly identified by grammarians. Many others, though, are ignored by course designers because they are rare. There is usually insufficient space to cover the whole of English grammar, and the more common structures are preferred in the belief that this will give learners the greatest chance of success in future communication.

However, structures that are not commonly found in language-learning coursebooks can still be useful to know, especially for English users with a more advanced competence, who are the target audience of this blog. It is in this belief that posts like the present one are offered. Five exotic structures feature below. To access the other posts, see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1.

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STRUCTURE LIST

1. Just When

EXAMPLES

(a) Just when the economy was recovering, bad weather destroyed the harvest.

(b) The survivors were rescued just when the weather deteriorated.

Just when is understandable in two very different ways, depending on what the rest of its sentence says. The more basic meaning – not present above – is just that of an ordinary when combined with just meaning “precisely”, like this:

(c) The eggs were photographed just when the chicks were hatching.

The words after just when in such sentences typically mention a rare brief occurrence located somewhere within a long time period: most people who look at eggs fail to see them hatching.

On the other hand, just when in sentences like (a) and (b) helps to make a contrast between good and bad. In (a), a good event is named after just when, with a bad one named in the rest of the sentence, while in (b) the reverse happens. The position of the part with just when is not a factor here: it could be first or second in both (a) and (b).

Indicating a contrast, however, is only part of what just when does in sentences like (a) and (b). In addition, it associates the event in the other half of its sentence with either disappointment or relief. In (a), where the event in the other half (…destroyed the harvest) is disastrous, there is a suggestion of disappointment given the good situation in the just when part; in (b), a happy event in the other half (The survivors were rescued…) is suggested to be a relief in view of the threatening just when occurrence.

I would suggest that just when in (a) and (b) is not simply just + when, but is rather a single “multi-word” conjunction (see 230.  Multi-Word Conjunctions).

 

2. Complement Starting a Relative Clause

EXAMPLE

(d) Socrates, philosopher that he was, had a keen interest in words.

The underlined words here include the relative pronoun that within a statement comprising a subject pronoun (he), verb (was) and subject-describing complement (philosopher). This latter is located at the start rather than the end – a rare but not impossible complement position (see 220. Features of Complements, #6).

Two other noticeable points are firstly the position of the relative pronoun after the complement philosopher – unusual because relative pronouns do not normally go inside the statement that they belong to – and secondly the lack before philosopher (a countable noun) of the expected article a. The relative pronoun is always that.

A more typical wording of the underlined part of (d) would be who was a philosopher. However, this would change the meaning. One difference is the degree of familiarity that the reader is implied to have with the information involved: the wording in (d) implies that the reader already knows Socrates was a philosopher, while the alternative implies the opposite and would hence be providing that information along with the main point being made.

The other meaning difference is that the underlined information in (d) is clearly marked as a hardly surprising cause of the main information. There is not much surprise because the consequence is a predictable result of the cause – having an interest in words is typical of philosophers.

How might the following sentences be made like (d)?

(e) The diesel engine, which is a polluter, will soon be phased out.

(f) Most shoppers, who are bargain-seekers, look first at commodity prices.

The respective rewordings are polluter that it is and bargain-seekers that they are.

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3. “At” + Possessive + Superlative Adjective

EXAMPLE

(g) Markets are at their busiest in summer.

Superlative adjectives (with -est or most) express a difference between the noun idea that are they are describing (markets above) and either multiple noun ideas of a similar kind (e.g. shops, websites and even other markets) or the same noun idea in multiple different situations (e.g. in spring and autumn rather than in summer).

In many cases, readers can make the right choice between these two possibilities on the basis of logic or a linguistic clue or both. A major linguistic clue to a comparison with similar noun ideas is their mention in the previous sentence(s). A fairly reliable linguistic clue to the other kind of comparison is absence of the between a link verb like BE and the superlative adjective – saying, for example, Markets are busiest… in (g) (see 305. Wording next to Superlatives, #2).

However, the use of the is a clue that can be quite easily missed, and the inability of the to be dropped when it is not after BE (as in The busiest markets are…) neutralises the clue altogether. Placing the superlative after at + possessive – at their busiest above – is a clear way of indicating that something is being compared with itself at different times, regardless of the superlative’s position. Without a separating BE, the at phrase would directly  follow its noun (markets at their busiest); otherwise, it would follow BE (…are at their busiest).

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4. “Much as”

EXAMPLES

(h) Prepositions can introduce adverbial information, much as conjunctions do.

(i) Much as the world has changed, people behave the same.

As in these sentences introduces information that the reader is assumed to know already. In (h), conjunctions after it is aimed at clarifying a statement about something similar, prepositions (see 159. Exotic Grammar Structures 2, #1). As means “in the same way as”. In (i), the state of the world is associated with an unexpected outcome: as means “although”.

These differences affect the adverb much. In (h), it relates to all of the subsequent as statement, similarly to “sentence” adverbs (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs). It could without much meaning change be replaced by exactly. In (i), however, much relates more closely to the following verb (has changed). It is not logically replaceable by exactly, but means “greatly”.

Much cannot follow as. However, sentences like (i) allow though instead of as, and then much can go either before it or with the later verb (see 228. Exotic Grammar Structures 5, #5).

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5. Separated Subject of a Cited Statement

EXAMPLE

(j) Hydrogen is held (by X) to be the likeliest future means of powering motor vehicles.

Citing a statement in this way is an alternative to doing so with that (X holds that hydrogen is….), which English coursebooks tend to present as standard. In this alternative method, the citation verb (is held) is in the passive voice, and the source of the cited statement (X) is mentioned, if necessary, after a subsequent by. The subject of the cited statement (hydrogen) then takes over as the subject of the citation verb, with its original verb put into the to (infinitive) form (to be above instead of is).

The value of this sort of structure is that it enables the subject of a cited statement to begin the sentence in situations where that is desirable. A common such situation is where the idea represented by the subject noun has been mentioned just before, so that it has become familiar to the addressee – a feature that English speakers typically feel most naturally fits the start of a sentence (see 156. Mentioning what the Reader Knows Already, #10).

English has numerous verbs that can introduce a cited statement. However, not all of them can be used as in sentence (j). Those that can tend to be also usable with that. Further examples are ARGUE, BELIEVE, CONSIDER, DENY, INDICATE, REPORT, SAY and THINK. Various other verbs, however, can make sentences very like (j), differing only in requiring as instead of to be. Examples are CATEGORISE, CRITICISE, DEFINE, DESCRIBE, HIGHLIGHT, IMAGINE, REJECT, TREAT and VIEW. For more examples in both categories, see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb.

Citation verbs that would be difficult to fit into a sentence like (j) include BLAME, COMPLAIN, PROMISE (+ action), REFUSE (+ action) and REFUTE.

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6. Adverbial Noun Phrase with Causal Meaning

EXAMPLE

(k) The people in charge, the operation was bound to fail.

The underlined noun phrase here must have an adverbial role because it is not in a normal noun position (within or forming the subject, object or complement of a verb, and with no preposition before it). Such usage is not often grammatical – only special meanings allow it. A familiar one elsewhere is time-point expressions like last week and the day after tomorrow. The special meaning here is causal. There is, indeed, the possibility of adding because of at the start.

Only special nouns can be used in a sentence like (k). They seem to mostly correspond to question words. People, for example, corresponds to who. If the underlined words above were replaced by the way it was managed, the correspondence would be to how; The time it took would correspond to how long; The money it cost implies how much. For lists of nouns corresponding to question words, see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words.

The start of a sentence seems the most typical position of such causal noun phrases, but the end is often possible too (only the people in charge seems an unlikely mover among the examples above).

310. Aspects of Negation

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The idea of “not” can take numerous forms and affect nearby wording in various ways

THE CHALLENGE OF ENGLISH NEGATION

This post examines different ways of saying “not”, plus their grammatical impacts on surrounding words. Of course, both areas are common in English language coursebooks at both elementary and higher levels, and might thus seem strange in a blog seeking to avoid mainstream topics. My interest is particularly in aspects that often seem to be ignored, under-emphasised or insufficiently explored. I cannot promise to cover all of the gaps, but hopefully some at least of the ideas will prove illuminating.

Some aspects of negation that I consider worth mentioning are actually absent here because they are examined in other posts. The variety, uses and challenges of double negatives are the topic of 9. Reading Obstacles 5. Words that express negative meaning without indicating this in their spelling feature in 13. Hidden Negatives and 298. Grammar Meanings without Grammar, #4. Word parts that mean “not” are listed in 146. Some Important Prefix Types. Correct and incorrect ways of answering negative questions appear in 297. Types of Response to a Question, #2.

Also absent here is consideration of “negative connotation” in words like questionable and interruption. It is less relevant because it involves a different meaning of “negative”: more like “bad” than “non-existent” (see 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #2).

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ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF SAYING “NOT”

1. “No”

This familiar alternative to not is used before nouns and comparative adjectives. With nouns, it is a “determiner” (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”), with adjectives an adverb (see 194. Adverbs that Say How Much). The exact uses are:

WITH VERBS: no is not possible.

BEFORE UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS (e.g. no money): no mostly replaces not any at the start of a sentence, but elsewhere is an optional alternative to it, though slightly more formal or emphatic. For example, …found no money emphasizes the absence of money more than …did not find any money. Note how any always follows not – *no any is an impossible combination.

BEFORE COUNTABLE NOUNS (e.g. no idea): at the start of a sentence, no usually replaces not any and is usually preferred to not a(n). Elsewhere, it is an optional but slightly more formal or emphatic alternative to both not any and not a(n). Before complement nouns, it sometimes suggests inadequacy (…is no hero).

BEFORE BASE-FORM AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES: no cannot replace not except (optionally) before different and good.

BEFORE COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES (e.g. no easier, no more difficult): no can optionally replace not, but implies “not to any extent” or “not in any way”.

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2.  Pronouns

Negative pronouns include few (= not sufficiently many), little (= not sufficiently much), nobody / no-one (= not anyone), none (= not one) and nothing (= not anything). As the bracketed information shows, each combines not with a particular noun idea. Few represents a plural noun, little an uncountable one. Consider this:

(a)  Problems were expected but few occurred.

The indication here is of a nearly unproblematic outcome. The message would be the same with problems replaced by uncountable delay (+ was), necessitating little instead of few.

Many readers will know that few and little sometimes have a in front to express a different meaning. What changes is in fact the negativity: quantities are still indicated to be small, but they are no longer cast as inadequate.

Few and little are the only pronouns listed above that can also link with a following noun as “determiners”, e.g. few problems. None does have a corresponding determiner, but it is the different word no – a surprising change given that no change happens with not just few and little but also every other quantity expression (all, each, enough, most, many and some: see 28. Pronoun Errors and 133. Confusions of Similar Structures 1, #1).

For an example of little misused, see the task in 6. Hidden Negatives.

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3.  Adverbs

It is hardly surprising that adverbs are among the alternatives to not, given that not is itself an adverb. Again, the alternatives add an extra idea to that of not. The main ones are little, neither, never, nowhere, rarely, scarcely, barely, seldom, hardly and no longer.

Adverb uses of little can again be made positive by adding a in front. Rarely has the positive equivalent occasionally, while the meanings of scarcely and barely can be expressed positively with very occasionally (showing frequency) or just (showing quantity, as in just enough).

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4. Verbs

Verbs with a negative prefix are an obvious kind that can express the idea of “not”. The prefix is usually dis- (disbelieve, dislike, disobey, displease, distrust etc.). There are a few verbs, however, that lack any visible indication of negativity yet are still intuitively negative. Often, it will be the kind of words that they combine with that indicate negativity.

For example, AVOID, FAIL, LACK and NEGLECT may require an object with any (e.g. lack any hope) where their opposites (ENCOUNTER, SUCCEED, POSSESS, ATTEND TO) would have one with some. DENY, DOUBT, FORBID, PROHIBIT and REFUSE TO ACCEPT report negative statements with not or similar removed from them, thus implying that the idea of “not” is already present in their own meaning:

(b) Gomez (2020, p. 78) denies that the cost is excessive.

This means Gomez  says the cost is not excessive (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs, #6).

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5. Other

The ways of recognising negativity in verbs seem equally applicable to nouns (e.g. indecision, refusal), adjectives (e.g. averse, non-conformist, uninvited) and adverbs (e.g. illegally).

Negative conjunctions tend to combine a starting adverb with a later conjunction: no sooner…than…,  not only…but also…,  hardly/ scarcely…when…,  not…any more than… (see 64. Double Conjunctions). Similarly, the conjunction neither needs a later nor, though mid-sentence nor sometimes stands alone, like let alone (see 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #2) and not that (269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #1).

A notable preposition is without. It can negate a following verb, forming an adverb-like addition to a longer sentence:

(c) Chemicals are needed that protect crops without disrupting ecosystems.

(d) Without (our) knowing all the facts, we cannot make a decision.

The without part in (c) means “but do not disrupt…”; that in (d) “if we do not know…”.

Verbs directly after without need the -ing (gerund) form, like any other verb after a preposition. Their subject can be indicated more explicitly with a preceding possessive adjective – our in (d). However, it can also be an ordinary (pro)noun, changing the verb into a participle with -ing or -ed (see 75. How to Avoid “Dangling” Participles, #4).

The without part in (c) is like a how-saying “manner” adverb, linking principally with the main verb protect. This prevents it starting the sentence. In (d), by contrast, the adverbial information relates to all of the rest of the sentence (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs), and could as a result occupy either the start or the end.

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INFLUENCES ON SURROUNDING WORDS

6. Verb before its Subject

Sentences starting with a negative adverb usually need their subject positioned after some or all of the verb, as in questions (see 307. Word Order Variations, #3). 

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7. Word Substitution

There are some words whose meaning often has to be expressed differently in negative statements (as in questions). The best-known is some (alone and within various longer words) – typically replaced by any. This pair is widely covered in mainstream grammars so needs little attention here. I wish just to emphasise that any is occasionally used without a negative and some occasionally accompanies one.

Any without a negative has a changed meaning – often implying an if statement. Some alongside a negative may be illustrated as follows:

(e) Even the most popular film will not please someone.

This indicates that many people will be pleased by popular films – someone represents a minority. Anyone, by contrast, would say nobody will be pleased. In the first case, not negates the verb please; in the second, it negates someone (making it replaceable by no-one). In a similar way, …did no go somewhere means one place was not visited, implying that others were; whereas anywhere would mean all possible places were unvisited.

Other words that are often (but not always) replaced in negative statements include also → not either, too (= also) → not either, still → no longer and already → not yet. Consider this:

(f) “Some” cannot often accompany a negative and “too” cannot either.

Either is necessary here instead of too or also.

Not either statements like the above can usually be rephrased as two sentences. There are two ways of wording the second sentence. The simplest is to replace and with a full stop. Very often, however, English speakers will change not either into a starting Neither…. This necessitates a further change: positioning the verb before its subject: Neither can “too” above (see 307. Word Order Variations, #3).

As well as words that are not very likely in negative statements, there are some that are especially likely there. Ever used with a negative verb to mean “at any time” (see 272. Uses of “Ever”, #1), is likely with positive verbs to be replaced by a time-point adverb like before, once or sometimes. Long with not + verb frequently becomes for a long time without it. Much frequently becomes often or plenty (see 98. “Very”, “Much and “Very Much”, #1). Note, though, that long and much can remain unchanged with positive LIKE (…much likes them, …has long liked it) and similar-meaning verbs (ADMIRE, APPRECIATE, ENJOY, LOVE, WANT, DISLIKE).

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8. Modified Reported Speech

Negative verbs like DENY and REFUSE (#4 above) are not the only reporting verbs that transfer negation from a reported statement to themselves. Other verbs of this kind, however, locate the negative alongside themselves rather than within their very meaning, like this:

(g) Ling (2022, p. 46) does not think that inflation will persist.

Here, not negates will persist, not think. Other verbs like THINK include BELIEVE, EXPECT, FEEL, IMAGINE and SUPPOSE. They are all “thought” verbs. However, not all thought verbs are like them. Hoped not to…, for example, introduces a hope whereas did not hope to… does not. Other verbs like HOPE include ASSUME, DOUBT, JUDGE and KNOW.

There are, in addition, some non-reporting verbs that are usable like THINK, especially APPEAR and SEEM.

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9. Added Emphasizers

Negative expressions can be made stronger with special wording before or after them:

(h) Petrov is NOT in any way criticising the theory.

Different negative types require different emphasizers. Common combinations are as follows (* = needs intervening words; + = forbids intervening words):

AT ALL: after barely, few, hardly, little, *neither, never, *no, no-, +none, *nor, not, rarely, scarcely, seldom, without

AT ANY TIME: after barely, hardly, neither, never, *no, no-, +none, nor, not, rarely, scarcely, seldom, without

BY ANY MEANS: after neither, nor, not

DEFINITELY: before no, no-, none, not, without

EVER: after barely, hardly, scarcely, *nor, not

IN ANY WAY: after neither, never, nor, not, without

UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES: after neither, never, *no, no-, +none, nor, not

VERY: before +few, +little, +rarely, +scarcely, +seldom

WHATSOEVER: after few, little, *no, no-, +none, *nor, not, *without

309. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 5

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Sometimes two grammar structures are hard to distinguish because of similar forms and/or meanings

TRICKY CONTRASTS IN ENGLISH

As in most languages, it is quite common in English to find two items, of either vocabulary or grammar, whose meanings are not easy to differentiate. Although a few pairs of this kind are covered by most English coursebooks, and are as a result well-known, many are overlooked.

In this blog, posts with the above title consider rarely-explained meaning differences between grammatical structures that seem to say the same. For a list of all the posts, see 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 1. These structures are to be distinguished from similar-seeming ones that often cause grammar errors – separately considered under the heading Confusions of Similar Structures. For differences between confusingly similar vocabulary items, there are numerous posts entitled “Tricky Word Contrasts”. For a full list, plus an alphabetical list of all of the words in them, click here.

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EXPLANATIONS OF SIMILAR STRUCTURES

1. “The Xs…” versus “Xs such as…”

One of the many combinations that can be made by placing a noun (or noun-like expression) in front of one or more others is a plural class name, such as colours, followed without a comma by one or more names of members of the class, such as brown and grey. There are associated grammatical requirements which differ according to whether the member names represent some or all of the class members.

The simplest means of indicating the idea of “some” is a suitable expression added directly after the class name, such as like, such as or including:

(a) Colours like brown and grey can be depressing.

This links can be depressing with not just brown and grey but also colours of a similar kind (a category the reader is assumed to be able to recognise). For a full list of possible linking expressions, see 1. Simple Example-Giving.

By contrast, the simplest way to show that one or more nouns after a class name are naming all of the class members that the whole statement is about (i.e. that brown and grey above are all, or the only, colours that can be depressing), is to avoid special wording after the class name, and instead add the before it:

(b) The colours brown and grey can be depressing.

For a full description of this usage, see 117. Restating Generalizations more Specifically, #3.

A complication arises when the class name refers to a specific identified group rather than a general class, a meaning that also requires the. Sentences like (a) can accommodate this just by adding the at the start, but in sentences like (b), where the is already present, there is a need to do something like naming the class member(s) before the class name:

(c) The brown and grey colours can be depressing.

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2. Text-Describing Present Perfect Tense

Both the present perfect tense (with has/have) and the past simple (with -ed) enable mention to be made of an earlier part of a text where they are used. The difference between them is similar to that in their everyday use, where the present perfect typically refers to times of a more recent and still-relevant nature. Thus, to talk correctly about an earlier part of a text, there is a need to recognise what in texts is considered “recent”.

One useful distinction in this respect involves chapters or sections. If the indicated earlier part of the text is in a chapter before the indication, the past simple is the more likely choice; otherwise, the present perfect is preferred:

(d) The last chapter presented definitions; the current one has described relevant procedures.

Obviously, the fact that the relevant procedures are earlier in the current chapter means the verb in the present perfect tense is probably at the end (at the start, it would be describes or will describe). In fact, this use of the present perfect tense is so likely to be near the end of a chapter that it can be considered a kind of end-marking signpost language (see the end of #2 in 186. Language in Oral Presentations).

Yet the present perfect tense is not always the right choice for referring back to something in the same chapter or section. There are certain past-referring adverb expressions that necessitate, or at least allow, the past simple, similarly to expressions in everyday usage like last night or ago. Examples are at the start (colouring the start as long ago), a few paragraphs back and earlier.

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3. “The” between BE and a Comparative Adjective

A familiar use of comparative adjectives is after the noun they are describing, with a link verb like BE or SEEM in between:

(e) Driving is quicker than cycling, but cycling is cheaper.

Here, the comparative adjective quicker is describing the earlier noun driving, and cheaper is describing cycling.

What is notable about this usage is that the is sometimes possible before the comparative. Sentence (e) could end …is the cheaper. Adding the requires an absent than… after the comparative. For that to be possible, the idea that would normally follow than – indicating what the comparison is with – must already be obvious from either the situation where the sentence is uttered or previous words. In (e), of course, it is the previous word driving that indicates what cycling is being compared with.

Where the is possible, it is not compulsory, and creates only a slight meaning difference. It seems just to emphasise that the meaning of the unmentioned than part is already available.

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4. “South of” versus “to the South of”

These expressions (and their equivalents with the other compass words, such as east and north-west) may each express either static location or movement. To appreciate the difference made by to the to the static meaning, consider the following:

(f) Zambia is south of Tanzania.

This indicates that Zambia is geographically beyond the southern border of Tanzania, but not how far. Adding to the, on the other hand, would say that Zambia is next to this border (see 295. Options in Saying Where, #7).

By contrast, the movement meaning without to the is illustrated in sentences with a travel verb like went:

(g) Livingstone went south of Tanganyika.

This means Livingstone made a journey across the southern border of Tanganyika. Adding to the, on the other hand, would say that Livingstone made a journey into the southern part of Tanganyika, probably from somewhere in the same country.

For more about words like south, see 151. Ways of Using Compass Words.

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5. “Cannot decide” versus “Cannot make a decision”

Various reasons for preferring MAKE A DECISION to the simpler DECIDE are identified earlier in this blog in 39. “Decide” or “Make a Decision”?. An important one is that the frequent need of DECIDE to precede an object or to verb can be a problem if there is a good reason not to have one of these, such as a wish not to state the obvious.

What happens, though, if DECIDE does not need an object, as in the following?

(h) The committee is deciding tomorrow.

Used like this, DECIDE is likely to mean not just “find a solution” but “make a selection from multiple options”. The options are likely to be equally attractive or unattractive, and to be already known, perhaps because they have just been mentioned. The usage is probably “object-dropping” rather than “intransitive” (see 8. Object-Dropping Errors). MAKE A DECISION remains an alternative, but would be vague about the number and visibility of the options.

A stronger difference arises when cannot is included. Cannot decide implies that difficulty of selection is the reason why, whereas cannot make a decision, in less strongly suggesting selection, is more likely to indicate a different reason for the absence of a decision, such as illness.

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6. “Know to” versus “Know how to”

Somebody who knows how to do something knows the way it can or should be done. How introduces an indirect question within which the relevant action is expressed with a to (infinitive) verb (see 105. Questions with a “to” Verb).

On the other hand, knowing to do something is knowing that it is the right thing to do, as in this example:

(i) Lions know to keep clear of elephants.

The meaning here is that lions know keeping clear of elephants is the way to behave. The infinitive is a kind of object of know, and hence in a closer grammatical relationship (see 302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive, #1). One other verb usable in the same two ways is LEARN.

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7. “that is to say” versus “that is”

These are both synonyms of in other words, commonly used for rephrasing a just-mentioned idea (see 286. Repeating in Different Words, #4 and #6). They are often presented as interchangeable, when in fact they sometimes have to be punctuated differently.

The rephrased wording next to each expression may be located in the same sentence as the original wording, or in a new sentence directly after it. In the first case, the usage is preposition-like; in the second, both expressions are connectors – a dual capability also possessed by for example (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #4).

With new-sentence rephrasing, the punctuation of the two expressions is also the same, namely a full stop before and a comma directly after:

(j) Heart disease is linked to a sedentary lifestyle. That is (to say), it becomes more likely if exercise is rare.

When the rephrasing is not in a new sentence, a comma is needed before both expressions and another one, or a full stop, is needed at the end of the rephrasing, thus forming a parenthesis (see 294. Parentheses):

(k) Anticyclones, that is to say high pressure areas, bring quiet weather.

A difference in this situation, however, is that that is always seems to need a further comma directly after it, whereas that is to say is only likely to have one there if the explanation is long.

One reason for the more frequent comma usage after that is may be the possibility of other meanings being understandable when a comma is absent, such as the relative pronoun use of that. A problem with this comma need, though, is that it can bring unwelcome high comma densities – three within 6 words in (k) (Anticyclones, that is, high pressure areas, …). This may be a reason why the longer that is to say is often preferred.

308. Complexities of “Whole”

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“Whole” can be confusing because of its similarity to “all” and its variable noun/adjective status

TOPIC OVERVIEW

Whole is a familiar word with surprising complexities, some of which cause error among inexperienced users of English. As it is also common in professional writing, I wish here to examine it in detail. Key points include its pronunciation, grammatical class variation, meaning subtleties, usage after a(n) and the, usage before of, and its occurrence within fixed phrases. The post finishes with a practice exercise.

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PRONUNCIATION AND BASIC MEANING

I expect most readers will know that the “w” at the start of whole is not pronounced (see 155. Silent Consonants, #8). Perhaps less well known is the closeness of the pronunciation of whole to that of all. Apart from the /h/ at the start of whole, both have a similar-sounding vowel before a final /l/. In Southern British English, the vowel in whole is variably pronounced /ɒ/ or /əυ/, while that in all is /ɔ/ – a difference mainly of length.

This pronunciation similarity can be a particular problem for speakers of languages, such as French, that do not usually allow the /h/ sound at the start of words. In listening especially, the /h/ of whole is not likely to be very noticeable, leaving similarities of pronunciation that, combined with the meaning similarity, may easily cause whole and all to be confused. One common resultant error is a belief that *the all is possible (instead of all the), this having been the way the whole was interpreted in listening (see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly).

Meaning-wise, whole carries, of course, the idea of completeness or totality. On top of that, and distinguishing it from all (see 169. “All”, “Each” and “Every”), it usually conveys one of three possible messages. One is a very strong indication that all rather than some of something is being talked about:

(a) The whole enterprise took three days.

This very clearly associates three days with all of the enterprise rather than any part of it. Quite often, there will be preceding information about some or all of the parts (for example, a description of the first day’s activity above), so that whole is making a contrast with it, and hence even more clearly indicating a change of focus.

Whole could be called “emphatic” in this use because the same meaning would actually be still understandable without it. However, in speech, whole would not normally be pronounced in an emphatic way.

The second main use of whole is to suggest in an emphatic way the idea of “more than expected”:

(b) The awful noise went on for a whole day.

This says that a day was a very long time to suffer from the awful noise. Normally in such sentences, the pronunciation of both whole and its partner noun (day above) would be emphatic (see 125. Stress and Emphasis).

Thirdly, whole can mean “over-arching” or “covering all other possibilities”. Used like this, it typically goes between the… and, most often, either idea (= proposal), plan, point, purpose or reason. There is often a suggestion that the addressee has failed to recognise the idea (etc.) as the key one (But that’s the whole idea!).

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GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

1. Word Class Variation

Whole is mostly used as a noun or adjective. It is a noun when not directly followed by a noun or noun phrase e.g.:

(c) A whole is often greater than its parts.

By far the most common noun use is before of, e.g. the whole of the world.

As an adjective, whole usually describes a directly-following noun or noun phrase (e.g. the whole world, a whole new science), or the pronoun one (a whole one), or a noun located before and separated by a link verb like BE (e.g. the fossil was whole).

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2. Combination with a Following Noun

Most noun types can follow the whole of:

*SINGULAR COUNTABLE WITH a(n): the whole of an afternoon
*SINGULAR COUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the afternoon
*PLURAL COUNTABLE: the whole of afternoons
*PLURAL COUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the afternoons
PROPER: the whole of France
*PROPER WITH the: the whole of the United States
UNCOUNTABLE TYPE A: the whole of childhood
UNCOUNTABLE TYPE B: all luggage
*UNCOUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the childhood/luggage

For information about which proper nouns usually follow the, see 47. Article Errors with Proper Nouns.

Uncountable nouns that I call “type A” seem usually to represent something with a fairly clear boundary. Childhood, for example, is bounded by a quite definite number of years. “Type B” nouns lack this feature. This difference is important above only where uncountable nouns lack the (through having “generic” meaning), since it leads to type B nouns typically following all rather than the whole of.

Other examples of type A uncountable nouns – easily usable like childhood after the whole of – are humanity and business. Other examples of type B uncountable nouns are love and air. Practice in recognising the two types of uncountable noun, and hence where the whole of is possible, is offered in an exercise below.

The combinations marked * above can alternatively drop the whole of and place just whole directly before the final noun:

the whole of an afternoon → a whole afternoon
the whole of the afternoon → the whole afternoon
the whole of afternoons → whole afternoons
the whole of the afternoons → the whole afternoons
the whole of the United States → the whole United States
the whole of the luggage → the whole luggage

Note the absence from this list of proper nouns that normally lack the, such as France.  They must keep the whole of. Usage with just the whole (e.g. *the whole France) is a common error. One other noun with this requirement is humanity – *the whole humanity should be avoided.

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FIXED EXPRESSIONS AND DERIVATIVES

Two important preposition phrases are on the whole and as a whole. Each is unusual in not allowing a choice between adverbial and adjectival use (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #2). On the whole is always adverbial. It might be expected to mean “wholly” (see 85. Preposition Phrases and Corresponding Adverbs), but it in fact means “generally”. As a whole is purely adjectival, needing a noun just before it to link with:

(d) Fuel price changes affect economies as a whole.

Elsewhere, whole has special meanings associated with one or more particular expressions. In whole milk and wholemeal, it suggests that nothing has been removed from a commodity that very often does have something removed from it: fat in the former case, wheat germ in the latter. In the whole story, where the meaning of story is “explanation” rather than “narrative”, whole suggests inclusion of everything regardless of inconvenience, so that not the whole story implies omission of information, often in order to deceive.

A whole before various singular “collective” nouns (suggesting multiplicity), such as collection, crowd, group, myriad, range, variety and informal lot, makes the multiplicity sound greater. These nouns are often followed by of – e.g. a whole range of objections – while a whole lot is also possible before comparative adjectives or adverbs, e.g. a whole lot better, a whole lot more quickly (see 194 Adverbs that Say How Much, #4).

Another common combination is the whole (of the) time used to show that an extended event or situation is happening throughout the occurrence of another one (see 225. Simultaneous Occurrence, #3). It may or may not be combined with a following subject + verb linked by a visible or understood when:

(e) Solar panels produce electricity the whole time (when) the sun is shining.

Also notable is a whole new before a noun to emphasise that the noun idea is not just a replacement of an old one but also completely different from it. Common partner nouns include approach, ball game (= situation), meaning, method, set, understanding and way.

Finally, whole occurs within a small number of compound words like wholemeal above. Food described as wholesome is health-promoting. Whole-hearted describing a person or behaviour suggests total, unreserved belief or commitment. Wholesale is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb referring to goods sold in large quantities to other sellers, usually very cheaply.

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PRACTICE USING “the whole of”

Some of the uncountable nouns in the list below can follow the whole of and some cannot (usually needing all instead). Can you separate the two groups? Answers are given after.

destruction, freedom, health, history, humanity, information, justice, life, logic, love, manufacturing, nature, paper, politics, research, science, silence, society, storage, suffering, time, truth, vegetation, water, work, yesterday.

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Answers

Nouns allowing the whole of are underlined:

destruction, freedom, health, history, humanity, information, justice, life, logic, love, manufacturing, nature, paper, politics, research, science, silence, society, storage, suffering, time, truth, vegetation, water, work, yesterday.

Note that logic after the whole of refers to the subject known as logic, not logic itself; while nature means “the natural world”, not “type”.