F2F Class Notes (Raph)

Vocabulary

Ought (v): 1- used to say that it is necessary or desirable to perform the action expressed in the verb:
E.g.: We ought to clean up before we go home.
E.g.: She really ought to apologize.

Deny (v): 1- to say that something is not true. 2- to not allow someone to have or do something.
E.g.: He will not confirm or deny the allegations.
E.g.: Neil denies that he broke the window, but I’m sure he did.
E.g.: Her request for time off work was denied.

Hear (v): 1- to receive or become conscious of a sound using your ears.
E.g.: She heard a noise outside.
E.g.: My grandfather is getting old and can’t hear very well.

Listen (v): 1- to give attention to someone or something in order to hear him, her, or it:
E.g.: What kind of music do you listen to?
E.g.: She does all the talking – I just sit and listen.
E.g.: You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said!

Grammar

Which Vs. That

If the sentence doesn’t need the clause that the word in question is connecting, use which. If it does, use that. (Pretty easy to remember, isn’t it?) Let me explain with a couple of examples.

• Our office, which has two lunchrooms, is located in Cincinnati.
• Our office that has two lunchrooms is located in Cincinnati.

These sentences are not the same. The first sentence tells us that you have just one office, and it’s located in Cincinnati. The clause which has two lunchrooms gives us additional information, but it doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. Remove the clause and the location of our one office would still be clear: Our office is located in Cincinnati.

The second sentence suggests that we have multiple offices, but the office with two lunchrooms is located in Cincinnati. The phrase that has two lunchrooms is known as a restrictive clause because another part of the sentence (our office) depends on it. You can’t remove that clause without changing the meaning of the sentence.
End Vs. Finish

We use the verbs end and finish in similar ways, to mean ‘come to a stop’:

• I think that his contract ends this month.
• What time does the film finish?

We use finish to say that we complete something that we are doing. It emphasises that the process stops within a specific period of time. End would not normally be used in these examples:

• He finished his meal in just three minutes.
• If we had the right tools, we could finish the job by Friday this week.
• Her brother finished last in the race.

We use end to say that stopping something is significant, and has a clear conclusion or shape. Finish wouldn’t normally be used in these examples:

• The course of the river ended in a delightful harbor with small sailing boats everywhere.
• Many historians agree that the medieval period in Europe ended in the mid-sixteenth century.
• Verbs that end in -ed are usually in the past tense.

Finish can be followed by the –ing form, but not by a to-infinitive:

• They’ve finished playing those computer games.
• Not: They’ve finished to play …
• I haven’t finished drying my hair yet.
• Not: I haven’t finished to dry …

End cannot be followed by either a to-infinitive or the –ing form:

• Call me when you’ve finished writing the report.
• Not: Call me when you’ve ended writing …

“You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette