Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Shhh ... Secret Message

There are very few absolute rules in English. But one that you can count on is that the present participle and the gerund will always be ‘ing.’ Never irregular, there are almost two dozen different situations where you can use it, so it’s pretty handy. Now, I’m sure you know it as a verb (you’re reading this blog), as a noun (let’s go shopping) and as an adjective (that was an amazing movie!). But do you know about the secret message it conveys?

We use the ‘ing’ to convey our level of empathy towards our listener or the emotion involved in what the speaker is saying. Imagine that you have to catch a train at 5pm. On the way to the train station you stop into a shop to buy some gum. There is a huge line-up. If you wait in line you will miss your train ... but you really want that gum! You approach the first person in line. You could say:

“Would you mind if I butted in, my train leaves in 15 minutes.”

Or:

“Would you mind if I butted in, my train is leaving in 15 minutes.”

Which do you think is more appropriate? Why? What does the second sentence convey that the first sentence does not?

“My train leaves in 15 minutes” is a bland piece of information.“My train is leaving in 15 minutes” communicates a sense of urgency … that deadline is coming up fast!

Now, do you remember we talked about Distancing? We speak in the present when we are talking to close friends or equals and move the construction further into the past as the relationship becomes more formal and especially when we are speaking to a superior.

In the above example, the speaker asks ‘would you mind if I butted in’ as opposed to ‘do you mind if I but in.’ The latter option (being in the present tense) implies familiarity or friendship. Since the speaker has never met the listener before, s/he moves back to the past to express regard. The ‘ing’ expresses their feelings of apology (for causing an inconvenience) and friendliness (in the hope of it being reciprocated).

More than proper grammar and an extensive vocabulary, understanding these abstract concepts in communication in English will bring you closer to fluency. You can take a step in that direction by clicking this button:






Looking forward to next week,
Jennifer

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