05-book05+how+to+deal+with+hesitation.unlocked

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Kev Nair

How to Deal with Hesitation Prof. Kev Nair was born in Kerala, South India, in 1949. He’s an eminent scholar of international repute. He’s a first class LL.B. and a first class LL.M. And he was ranked first in university in both the LL. B. and LL. M. exams. • “Nair was the first person in the world to give shape to the area of study now known as ‘English fluency development’ and to systematize it into a distinct teachable subject... So he is better known as the father of fluency development.” – General Knowledge Today. • “He had been researching since 1971, and the results... led him to new discoveries... ” – THE HINDU. • “Prof. Kev Nair is regarded the world over as the father of fluency lexicography... Fluency lexicography came into existence as a separate branch of dictionary writing with the publication of Prof. Nair’s Dictionary of Active Fluency Combinations in 1986.” – Competition Success Review. • “A renowned English language lexicographer” – The New Sunday Express. • “One of the world’s most respected English language scholars...Perhaps more innovative in method than Roget and more modern in approach than Fowler, Prof. Kev Nair is... one of the foremost Indian scholars who wield great influence on the thinking of the English-educated people around the world.” – General Knowledge Today. • “A towering English language expert” – Competition Success Review. • “Prof. Kev Nair... has... reached out to thousands – judicial officers, professionals, top executives, scholars – who

2 need that comfort and ease in speech with his specialized fluency techniques.” – The New Indian Express. Prof. Nair is a lawyer by profession. He lives with his wife and children in Kochi, Kerala, an enchanting place on the earth.

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Fluent English Dictionaries1 by Kev Nair • A Dictionary of Active Fluency Combinations. • A Dictionary of Fluency Word Clusters. • The Complete Fluency Words. • A Dictionary of Essential Fluency Phrases. • Core Fluency Thesaurus. • Comprehensive Adjectival Fluency Dictionary. • Narrative Fluency Dictionary. • Thesaurus of Phrasal Verbs.

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Note: The Fluent English Dictionaries do not form part of Fluentzy: The English Fluency Encyclopedia. They’re separate publications – meant for those who want to specialize in fluency-oriented vocabulary. For details, visit www. fluencybookz.com.

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Books by Kev Nair making up Fluentzy: The English Fluency Encyclopedia • B1: Idea units & Fluency. • B2: Speech Generation & Flow Production. • B3: Teaching your Tongue & Speech Rhythm. • B4: Key Speech-initiators & Speech-unit Patterns. • S1/B13 & S2/B14: Fluency in Functional English (Vols. 1 & 2). • S3/B15: Fluency in Telephone English & Sectoral English. • B5: How to Deal with Hesitation. • B6: Oral Training in Fluency Vocabulary (Vol.1). • B7: Packing of Information. • B8: Impromptu Speech-flow Techniques. • S4/B16: Fluency Building & Mouth Gymnastics. • S5/B17: Fluency in speaking about people. • B9: Fluency in Asking Questions. • B10: Oral Training in Fluency Vocabulary (Vol.2). • B11: Fluency & Moment-to-Moment Speech-production. • B12: Oral Training in Fluency Vocabulary (Vol.3). • S6/B18 & S7/B19: Fluency in Topicwise English (Vols. 1 & 2). • S8/B20: Fluency & Pronunciation.

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How to Deal with Hesitation “Deals with the techniques of mid-speech hesitation management.” – THE HINDU. Fifth Edition

Prof. Kev Nair

TM

Adult Faculties Council

TM

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For Uma how to deal with hesitation Copyright © Prof. K. E. V. Nair @ KevNair 1982, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2007. First published 1982. 4th edition 2000 (11 impressions). 5th edition 2008. Prof. K. E. V. Nair @ KevNair has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this book in accordance with the Copyright Act, 1957. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this book shall be copied or reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or manner whatever, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission, in writing, of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations or as expressly permitted by law. All quotations from this book shall credit the author, Prof. KevNair. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on any acquirer or the subsequent purchaser. Any violation of these terms and conditions will invite civil and criminal proceedings and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Published in India by Mrs. Uma V. Nair, Adult Faculties Council, DP Lane, Elamakkara PO, Kochi-682 026, Kerala. Printed in India by Ayodhya Printers Ltd., Elamakkara PO, Kochi-682 026, Kerala. Adult Faculties Council’s websites: www.fluentzy.com; www.fluencybookz.com. Phone: (91)(0484) 2538449, 2408361. Fax: (91)(0484) 2408361. E-mail: [email protected]. Price: Rs.175.00

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Contents Chapter 1: How to deal with hesitation, 11 Pauses and syllable lengthening, 11 Junction pauses, 11 Junction pauses and grammatical breaks, 13 Spontaneous speech, 13 Non-spontaneous speech, 14

Hesitation pauses, 15 Pause notation, 17

Chapter 2: Paracomplex, paraboundaries and parapauses, 19

Minor and major boundaries, 20 Syllable lengthening, 21 Public & non-public and formal & non-formal situations, 22

Chapter 3: Speech production and hesitation, 25 Problems causing hesitation, 25 Result of hesitation, 26 Native and foreign hesitation, 27 Native hesitation is a normal phenomenon, 28 A basic reason for lack of fluency, 29

Giving flow to your speech, 29 Preventing foreign hesitations, 29 Dealing with hesitations, 30

Chapter 4: Method 1: Pauses, 32 (i) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 1, 32 (ii) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 2, 33 (iii) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 3, 33 (iv) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 4, 34

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(v) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 5, 34 (vi) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 6, 36

Chapter 5: Method 2: Hesitation noises, 37 (i) Hesitation caused by Problem 1, 38 (ii) Hesitation caused by Problem 2, 38 (iii) Hesitation caused by Problem 3, 39 (iv) Hesitation caused by Problem 4, 40 (v) Hesitation caused by Problem 5, 40 (vi) Hesitation caused by Problem 6, 41

Chapter 6: Method 3: Hesitation fillers, 43 (i) Hesitation caused by Problem 1, 44 (ii) Hesitation caused by Problem 2, 45 (iii) Hesitation caused by Problem 3, 45 (iv) Hesitation caused by Problem 4, 47 (v) Hesitation caused by Problem 5, 47 (vi) Hesitation caused by Problem 6, 48

Guidelines, 48

Chapter 7: Hesitation-tackling oral practice, 57 Chapter 8: ‘have’-collocations, 61 Chapter 9: Practice with action word groups, 71 Chapter 10: Spoken texts for speech-flow practice, 78 Chapter 11: Rhythm drill, 92 Chapter 12: Questions for rhythm drill, 101 Chapter 13: Questions for oral practice, 106

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Preface to the 5th edition Here’s the latest edition of this book. I have now added a substantial amount of new material for hesitation-tackling oral practice. Do you have any comments or suggestions? Please do write to me care of the publishers. KEV Nair, Kochi, 2008.

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Abbreviations

fml

formal

infml

informal

sb

somebody

sth

something



sw

somewhere

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chapter 1

How to deal with hesitation Here’s a Book that’s going to do two things for you: It’ll keep your speech flow from breaking up. And it’ll help you keep up a regular flow of speech.

Pauses and syllable lengthening As a background to what follows, you must note one thing: In speech, pauses are as important as words themselves. A pause is a temporary stop or break in speech — a momentary silence when you stop uttering words. A momentary stopping of the speech flow. A momentary stopping of the sound stream. Pauses are important, because they help you divide up what you want to say into chunks of manageable sizes. And what’s more, they help you deal with hesitation. There are two types of pauses. They are: (i) Junction pauses; and (ii) Hesitation pauses.

Junction pauses Junction pauses are pauses made at junctions between idea units. That is, they’re made at the ends of idea units (= chunks). Why does a speaker pause at an idea unit junction? The reason is usually one of the following: • To mark the end of one idea unit and the beginning of the next; or • To take a breath; or • To give a moment or two to the listener — to digest the idea

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contained in the idea unit that the speaker has just uttered. So generally, when you pause at an idea unit junction, your aim is not to deal with hesitation. Most often, your aim (in making a junction pause) is to mark off one idea unit from the next. And you mark off one idea unit from the next one, because of two reasons: (a) Your listeners will then find it easier to understand you properly. (b) You will then find it easier to go on with your speech without faltering. So remember this: You’re free to make a junction pause, even if you have no hesitation when you’ve finished uttering an idea unit. As you know, an ideal idea unit ends at a grammatical break, and so an ideal idea unit is a whole (= unfragmented) grammatical unit. So an ideal idea unit junction would be a grammatical junction. Now go through the following examples. In these examples, the symbol ‘ + ’ indicates a grammatical junction, that is, an ideal idea unit junction. And the pauses you make at these junctions are junction pauses, and they mark off one idea unit from the next. E.g. • Mr. Gupta + please come over here. • For three hours + he waited there. • Finally + he gave it to me. • The route we took + wasn’t short. • What he told me + wasn’t the truth. • I met him there + and he came with me. • Ask her father + or one of her brothers. • He left the place + after John and others had come. • Before I came + nobody had left the place. • He’s been with that company + since last April. • I asked him to tell me + if he had seen it.

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Junction pauses and grammatical breaks

Spontaneous speech When you speak spontaneously, what’s the natural way of composing and delivering speech? You know, the natural way is to compose and deliver the things you want to say chunk by chunk — each chunk containing a few closely connected words. About 80% of all the chunks would normally contain 1 to 7 words per chunk. The most frequent number of words per chunk is about 5 words, and such a chunk would take about 2 seconds to utter. As you know, each such chunk is an idea unit. So you can see that the junctions between every two idea units are natural points for making pauses, and so natural points for your organs of speech to get momentary rest. And there’s a strong tendency for most of these idea units to be whole (unfragmented) grammatical units. (= whole clauses or whole phrases; sometimes even single words). The idea units marked off by the ‘ + ’ sign in the above examples are all whole, unfragmented idea units. Occasionally, a chunk (uttered as a single idea unit) may even consist of two (or even three) whole grammatical units (each unit being short — and made up of just 1 or 2 or 3 words). E.g. • [(breakfast) (and dinner)]. • [(dozens) (of people)]. • [(He parked) (off the main street)]. • [(a matter) (of great importance)]. • [(You know) (what he said) (surprised me)]. • [(This happened) (at about 10 O’ clock) (last night)]. So the junction between an idea unit (whether it contains only one grammatical unit or two or three) and the idea unit next to it tends to be a natural grammatical break — a grammatical junction. But remember that this is just a tendency. And so, this is just what’s likely to happen often, or what happens often — but not what actually happens all the time.

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When you speak spontaneously, (that is, without prior planning or preparation), idea unit junctions may not often coincide with grammatical junctions. You see, spontaneous speech situations are not ideal, because in those situations, you’re not delivering something planned ahead, or composed or organized in advance. Nor are you making a scripted speech. When you speak spontaneously, you find yourself having to compose your speech and speak at the same time. You have to think and plan your speech, produce it, organize it and process it as you go along. And the time you have at your disposal, in order to do all this, is limited to the duration of speech. What fluent speakers do in such a situation is to put together units of ideas or information that occur to them on the spot. They put them together by using such words and structures as occur to them on the spot. And they refine and clarify things as they speak along — by uttering other clarifying idea units. This is so, whether the spontaneous speech situation is public, non-public, formal, non-formal, informal or casual or whatever. So when fluent speakers speak spontaneously, their idea units may not often end exactly at grammatical breaks, and so their idea units may not often be whole grammatical units. Their idea units would be a word or two shorter than a whole grammatical unit, or a word or two longer than a whole grammatical unit. That is, their idea units would often be fragmented grammatical units. And so, many of the chunk junctions may not happen to be grammatical junctions. In other words, many of the junction pauses in spontaneous speech may not actually happen at grammatical junctions. (Most often, they happen at the foot-boundary next to a grammatical junction).

Non-spontaneous speech Bear in mind that we’ve been speaking about spontaneous speech — speech that’s produced without prior planning, preparation or

H ow to deal with hesitation

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rehearsal. But when you speak after preparation, or when you speak about something that you have spoken about several times before, most idea units tend to be whole grammatical units, and most idea unit junctions tend to be grammatical junctions. This is because in such cases, you don’t hesitate as much as you do when you speak about a new topic spontaneously. When you read aloud from a prepared text or when you prepare your speech thoroughly in advance and deliver it in a formal setting, almost all idea units would end at grammatical breaks. That is, almost all idea units would then be whole (= unfragmented) grammatical units. And so, in these ideal situations, almost all idea unit junctions would coincide with grammatical junctions. And in these situations, almost all junction pauses happen at grammatical junctions.

Hesitation pauses Hesitation pauses are pauses that speakers make whenever they have some kind of hesitation. You can make these pauses anywhere — at any point in the speech stream. Yes, any: You can make them not only in the middle, but also at the end or at the beginning of idea units. Normally, you make a hesitation pause under the following circumstances: • You make a hesitation pause when you’re uncertain about what to say next, or when you’re deciding what to say next. This often happens when you have something to say, but you have not planned it in detail. This is a speech-planning pause, and this usually occurs immediately after the first one or two words in an idea unit — often after the very first word. • You make a hesitation pause when you’re not sure that what you’ve said or what you’re going to say is right.

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• You make a hesitation pause when you have difficulty in finding an appropriate word. • You make a hesitation pause when you want to utter a word that’s specially significant or that’s of high lexical content or that may sound surprising in that context. • You make a hesitation pause when you have difficulty completing a particular syntactic structure. Remember that when you want to deal with hesitation, you’re free to pause anywhere in your utterance — that is, not only in the middle of an idea unit, but also at the end or even at the beginning of an idea unit. So suppose that you pause at a junction, and that your aim in pausing there is to deal with a hesitation, then that pause is actually a hesitation pause, rather than a junction pause, though you make it at a junction. You’ve already seen in this Book that you can make a junction pause even if you have no hesitation when you reach a junction. But as far as a hesitation pause is concerned, speakers normally make it only if they have some hesitation. Mind you, when you speak spontaneously even for a few seconds, there will be points of hesitation here and there in your speech. That is, whenever anybody speaks continuously, they’ll certainly hesitate every now and then. So a hesitation pause is made because of this reason: You won’t be able to go on with your speech without faltering — if you don’t pause at every point of hesitation and deal with the hesitation properly. Now go through the following examples. In these examples, the symbol ‘–’ stands for a hesitation pause, and the symbol ‘+’ stands for a junction pause. E.g. • Who planned + and directed the – campaign? • If – you have any doubts + why don’t you – express them? • Pull on the rope + and see if it’s – secure. • Fry the onions + but – don’t use too much – oil. • He shows – contempt for

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everybody. • That road +– ran by the side of a – railway. • He had a job + in the – Civil Service. In this Book, we’ll be dealing with hesitation pauses in detail. Don’t get worried over the difference between junction pauses and hesitation pauses or about any other aspect now. Once you finish going through the explanations and examples, you’ll find that this is not a complicated topic at all.

Pause notation Let’s use a short dash (‘ – ’) to indicate a standard pause. Yes, a short ‘dash’ — and not a hyphen. The duration of a standard pause is the time you take to utter a foot (See Book 3). We’ll use a double-dash (‘ – – ’) to indicate a lengthy pause, and a triple-dash (‘ – – – ’) to indicate a still lengthier pause. If the pause you make is shorter than a standard pause, let’s call it a ‘brief pause’ and let’s indicate it by a hyphen (‘ - ’) — yes, by a hyphen and not by a dash. (Note that a hyphen is shorter than a dash). So remember this: Not all pauses are of the same length or duration. Some pauses take more time or less time than other pauses. Let’s use a ‘plus’ sign (‘ + ’) to indicate a normal pause at a junction. The duration of this normal junction pause is less than or as much as that of a brief pause. Often in casual speech, the duration of most junction pauses is extremely short, and virtually, there won’t be any actual silence at the junctions where they happen. So remember this: A ‘+’ sign indicates that you’re looking at a junction between two idea units. (As I’ve already told you, an idea unit junction in spontaneous speech may not often be found located at a grammatical break, though there is a tendency for junctions to coincide with grammatical breaks).

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Mind you, what I’ve said doesn’t mean that all pauses at idea unit junctions have to be brief pauses. No. Pauses at idea unit junctions can be lengthier. A pause at a junction becomes lengthier under these circumstances: • When the speaker has some hesitation at that junction; • When the speaker spends a moment at that junction to take a breath; • When the speaker wants to draw the attention of his hearers particularly to an idea unit that he has just uttered; and • When the junction happens to be a paraboundary. If a pause at a junction is lengthier than a ‘ + ’, we’ll indicate it by a plus followed by a dash, double-dash or triple dash (‘ + – ’, ‘ + – – ’, ‘ + – – – ’). In fact, there’s one thing you should particularly note here: While most of the pauses at junctions would only be short and of the duration of a normal junction pause (‘+’), junctions are also points where lengthy pauses (‘ – – ’, ‘ – – – ’) tend to occur. That is, while speakers are free to make lengthy pauses in the middle of an idea unit (= a chunk), they tend to make lengthy pauses more often at the end or the beginning of an idea unit, rather than in the middle. As you’ll soon see, in spontaneous speech, idea unit boundaries are often marked by a device called ‘syllable lengthening’ or by intonation alone, rather than by pauses. Now whether a boundary is marked by a pause, or by syllable lengthening, or by intonation alone, we’ll use the junction pause mark (‘ + ’) to indicate a boundary.

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Paracomplex, paraboundaries & parapauses

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chapter 2

Paracomplex, paraboundaries & parapauses In written English, a topic is sometimes presented as a sentence, and often as a paragraph. When a topic is presented as a sentence, that sentence would normally be a compound sentence or a complex sentence or a combination of compound and complex sentences, and would be made up of several clauses and phrases. In spoken English, such a topic would always be presented as a chain of idea units. Such a chain is actually an idea unit complex. We call it a ‘complex’, because of this reason: You see, such a chain would often be made up of a number of idea units — more idea units than the number of clauses you’ll find in a long sentence in written English. And the idea units in such a chain would be closely related to one another in a way that’s difficult to describe. Let’s call an idea unit complex a paracomplex — to indicate that it is similar to a paragraph in written English. Now the end of the last idea unit in a paracomplex would be a very significant stop, because it marks the end of a topic. Let’s call this point a paraboundary. So the junction pause at the end of a paracomplex would be a very decisive, definite and extended pause. We’ll call this topic-final junction pause a ‘parapause’. And remember this: Parapauses are often the lengthiest of pauses a speaker makes. We’ll use a double plus (‘ ++ ’) to indicate a parapause. E.g. • Many people believe + he has powers of telepathy + and clairvoyance + – because you know + they think + he can see in the mind + – things that are happening + out of sight + – – and they say + he can communicate with dead people + whenever he wants to + – and if you want

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to speak + to your great-grandfather + who died long back + just go to this man + and pay him some money + – but you’ll have to pay through the nose + – and you know + actually + many people have great faith in him + and they believe whatever he says + – – or why do they go to him like this + and consult him + on everything + – as though he’s a doctor + or a lawyer + or something ++ • The policies of the previous government + have caused much damage + to the economy + – and you know + those policies have caused chaos + – or our trade and industry + wouldn’t have been in such a state + of decline + – – and I think + the thing we should do now + is to make the economy + undergo a revival + – because if we don’t do that + we’re going to be in trouble ++

Minor and major boundaries You see, idea unit boundaries in a stream of speech can be either a minor boundary or a major boundary. In general, a major boundary is the boundary of an idea unit that marks the end of a topic. And so normally, a major boundary is a paraboundary. And all other boundaries are minor boundaries. In the two examples given above, a single ‘+’ sign indicates a minor boundary, and a double ‘++’ sign indicates a major boundary. You’ll find the pauses at the minor boundaries indicated by +, + – and + – –. (So remember this: Just because a boundary is a minor boundary, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make a lengthy pause there). But even if a topic doesn’t end at the end of a particular idea unit, speakers may sometimes consider the boundary of that idea unit very significant. And they may want to draw the special attention of the hearers to that particular idea unit. Then they mark off that idea unit by making a lengthy pause at its end. Boundaries like these are also major boundaries.

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So major boundaries are: (i) Ends of idea units that speakers consider as very significant; and (ii) Paraboundaries. Speakers always make a pause at a major boundary. Yes, they always mark off a major boundary by a pause, and not by syllable lengthening or by intonation alone. And the pause they make at a major boundary is always a lengthy one. But if they pause at a minor boundary, and if their intention in pausing there is not to deal with hesitation, they only make a brief pause. But if their intention in pausing at a minor boundary is to deal with hesitation, then they decide on the length of the pause, depending on their speech composition needs and speech delivery needs. Obviously, when you speak even for a few seconds at a stretch, there would always be far more minor boundaries than major boundaries.

Syllable lengthening Here’s something you should note about what happens at minor boundaries in spontaneous speech: In spontaneous speech, speakers often find it easier to mark off a minor boundary (= junction) by lengthening the last syllable of the last word in the idea unit, rather than by making an actual, silent, pause. They do this as an alternative to making a pause there. Syllable lengthening happens most often in speech that’s conversational, and even casual — but not too casual or chatty. When the speech is extremely casual or chatty, syllable lengthening as well as junction pauses tend to be fewer. And then, most minor boundaries tend to be marked by intonation alone. Suppose that the last word in an idea unit is ‘name’. Then ‘name’ would be pronounced as ‘name’. (To indicate the lengthening of the syllable, the vowel has been shown in bold print and has been underlined). E.g. • Her father’s name + was not in the list + and we didn’t

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Paracomplex, paraboundaries & parapauses

know + what to do. • The weather was at its worst + and it was bitterly cold + and we decided to cancel the picnic. • You need a bit of luck + if you want to win this election. • She works very hard + but her boss doesn’t appreciate it + and he keeps criticizing her. • I don’t know why + but the computer has been very slow + for a few days now. • I don’t think they realize + this is a serious situation. Here you can note one thing: Syllable lengthening can be done, whether the syllable is an accented one or an unaccented one, and whether the vowel is a full one or a reduced one. In the above examples, the syllables that are lengthened in the words ‘name’, ‘list’, ‘know’, ‘do’, ‘worst’ and ‘cold’ are accented ones. But the syllable lengthened in the word ‘picnic’ is an unaccented one, because in ‘picnic’, the syllable that’s accented is ‘pic’, and not ‘nic’, but the syllable that’s lengthened is ‘nic’ (because it’s the last syllable). Similarly, the vowels in the lengthened syllables in ‘list’, ‘picnic’ and ‘luck’ are reduced ones, and the vowel in the lengthened syllables in ‘do’ and ‘hard’ are full ones.

Public & non-public and formal & nonformal situations You know, the frequency of junction pauses varies with the type of speech. If you’re making a speech in public or if you’re making a formal speech, your idea units tend to be shorter (That is, shorter than when your speech is non-public and non-formal). This is because, in these situations, your speech would be as tightly and explicitly structured as the spoken medium would permit. And the styles of speech in a public situation and a formal situation tend to make you pause at almost all idea unit junctions. And so in public situations and formal situations, you make frequent junction pauses. But as your speech becomes less public or less formal in nature, your idea units tend to become longer than those in a

Paracomplex, paraboundaries & parapauses

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public or formal situation. This is because, in non-public and nonformal situations, your style and tone become conversational and relaxed, and your content becomes loosely structured. And so in non-public and non-formal situations, junction pauses become fewer. (Remember that even in a non-public and non-formal situation, the average length of an idea unit would only be 5 or 6 words). Of course, as I told you just now, one reason why junction pauses become fewer in non-public and non-formal situations is this: In these situations, your idea units are comparatively longer. But there’s yet another important reason: As your style and tone become conversational and relaxed, and as your content becomes loosely structured, the thing you find easier to do (in order to mark off most junctions) is to lengthen the chunk-final syllable, rather than to make an actual pause. And in these situations, the role of junction pauses tends to be taken over by syllable lengthening in many places. When the speech becomes more and more casual, your tone becomes more and more relaxed, and your content becomes more and more loosely structured. Then, not only junction pauses, even syllable lengthening tends to disappear, and boundary marking tends to be done mainly by intonation alone — and not by pauses or by syllable lengthening. So this is what generally happens: (i) When you read aloud from a prepared text or make a scripted speech in a public or a formal situation, you mark off almost all your minor boundaries by pause (together with intonation, of course). You mark off the remaining minor boundaries by intonation alone or by intonation and syllable lengthening. (ii) When you speak spontaneously in a public situation or in a formal situation, you mark off most of your minor boundaries by pause (together with intonation, of course). You mark off the remaining minor boundaries by intonation alone or by intonation and syllable lengthening.

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(iii) When you speak in an everyday non-public or nonformal situation (for example, when you have a serious conversation), the process gets reversed. In these situations, you mark off most of your minor boundaries by syllable lengthening (together with intonation, of course) — rather than by pause. You mark off the remaining minor boundaries by intonation alone or by intonation and pause. (iv) When you have a chat or speak very casually and in a very familiar way with your family or close friends, you mark off almost all your minor boundaries by intonation alone. You mark off the remaining minor boundaries by intonation and pause or by intonation and syllable lengthening. (Note: Do not use this style when you have a serious or even casual conversation with somebody other than your family or close friends — or when you have a serious conversation with your family or close friends. That will show a lack of respect). Now don’t be under a wrong impression. All this doesn’t mean that when you speak in non-public or non-formal situations, your pauses become fewer on the whole. No. That’s not so. What I said was that junction pauses become fewer. Not hesitation pauses. Hesitation pauses don’t tend to become fewer, just because a speech-situation is non-public or non-formal. No. As you’ll soon see, you’ll have to make hesitation pauses whenever you hesitate — whether the speech situation is formal or non-formal, or public or non-public. So bear this in mind: In everyday speech, pauses have far greater importance in dealing with hesitations, than in marking off idea unit boundaries. But when you speak in a public situation or in a formal situation, pauses have as much importance in marking off idea unit boundaries as in dealing with hesitations.

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S peech production and hesitation

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chapter 3

Speech production and hesitation A basic thing you should understand now is an important difference between written language and spoken language. You see, when you write, you get as much time as you want for thinking about the subject-matter, for planning the construction of sentences, for selecting or looking up the right words and phrases, and for doing corrections and editing. But when you speak spontaneously, you don’t virtually have any time to do all these. All your time is limited to the time of your speech. And the entire planning, correction, editing, etc. have to be done in that limited time! That is, you have to do all these things as you speak — partly in your mind (silently) and partly aloud. So you see, spontaneous speech is a typical example of editing done aloud. You know, the mind of every person has a special faculty: As soon as they start speaking, their minds automatically start planning, monitoring and editing the speech. This planning, monitoring etc. happen at the same time as the delivery of the speech, and so several problems come up. And these problems make everybody hesitate — no matter how remarkably fluent they are. Let’s now examine what these problems are.

Problems causing hesitation Here are the chief problems that make everybody come up against hesitation when they’re speaking: 1) The construction or wording of an idea unit may not always come out right — or the way the speaker likes. Thus, for example, speakers (even experienced native speakers of English) often have doubts in the middle of their speech whether the words

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Speech production and hesitation

they’ve used in a phrase or a clause are the right ones or are in the proper order. Similarly, speakers often have doubts about the exact words in a collocation (= a fixed word-combination) or idioms that may occur to them. 2) The speaker may have a particular idea in his mind, and he may even know several words or phrases to express it. But he may not be sure which word or phrase to select out of them. 3) The speaker may have a particular idea in his mind, but the right word or phrase to express it may not occur to him readily, or may not be known to him, or may not be there at all in the language. 4) The speaker may find that his organs of speech, without his thinking, produce the same word or phrase more than once. E.g. I didn’t – didn’t want it. 5) The speaker may find that his organs of speech utter part of a word, stop, and then utter the word completely. E.g. I ne – never knew it. 6) When he’s uttered part of an idea unit, the speaker may get a lump formed in his throat, and he may find that he can’t complete the idea unit. This may happen because of several psychological factors like self-consciousness, shyness, tension, etc. or because of distraction. And now comes the important point: What happens when these problems come up? You see, when these problems come up, the speaker becomes uncertain what to say or how to continue — and automatically pauses in doubt. That is, the speaker hesitates. And the result is, the flow of speech gets blocked.

Result of hesitation And what is the result of hesitation? The result depends on whether the speaker knows how to deal with hesitation.

Speech production and hesitation

27

If you (the speaker) know how to deal with hesitation, this is what happens: When an instance of hesitation comes up, you would promptly deal with it and overcome it — and make the flow of speech to continue from that point. And so, the hesitation lasts only for a moment, and the flow of your speech doesn’t break up or halt. But if you don’t know how to deal with hesitation, this is what happens: When an instance of hesitation comes up, you wouldn’t be able to deal with it well enough and to make the flow of speech to continue from that point. So, the flow of your speech breaks up or halts.

Native and foreign hesitation When a non-native speaker of English speaks English, two types of hesitation are possible. We’ll call them foreign hesitation and native hesitation. Foreign hesitation normally happens only when a non-fluent non-native speaker speaks. Yes, this type of hesitation happens only when a non-native speaker speaks. And that too, only when a non-fluent non-native speaker speaks. Foreign hesitation is of two types: • The organs of speech of a non-fluent non-native speaker do not work the way the English language demands them to work. This difficulty causes hesitation and makes the speaker falter. • Non-fluent non-native speakers are in the habit of composing spoken English in the way written English is composed, and not in the way spoken English is to be composed. This difficulty causes hesitation and makes the speakers falter. Native hesitation is the type of hesitation that happens even when a fluent native speaker or a fluent non-native speaker speaks. As far as foreign hesitation is concerned, you can prevent

28

Speech production and hesitation

it happening by training yourself. On the other hand, native hesitation is an essential part of speech itself, and nobody can avoid it — neither a non-native speaker nor a native speaker. But a fluent speaker can deal with it effectively whenever it happens — and overcome it.

Native hesitation is a normal phenomenon Now the thing you should understand firmly is this: In spontaneous speech, native hesitation is something nobody can avoid. Nobody. Not even the most fluent of speakers. But the good news is, you can prevent them from halting the flow of your speech. That’s what native speakers of all languages do — all the time. Yes. They prevent hesitations from stopping their flow of speech. So understand this: Native hesitation is an integral part of every spoken language. The reason why nobody can avoid native hesitation is this: Nobody can plan a conversation in advance or decide on the structure and wording of their idea units before the conversation starts. The planning and decision making are done during the conversation — that is, after the conversation starts. And to do this planning and decision making, the speakers may have to modify the construction or wording of their idea units, think about what they‘ve already said, think about what they’re going to say, correct or even contradict themselves, select suitable words and phrases, think about alternate words or phrases (when an appropriate word or phrase doesn’t readily occur to them) and do several such things— both silently (in their mind) and aloud. And they don’t have much time to do all these, either — because their time is limited to the duration of their speech. Naturally, this planning and decision making processes would give rise to the six problems listed in chapter 3 above. And these problems interrupt the free flow of speech now and then. It is these interruptions that appear as native hesitations.

Speech production and hesitation

29

A basic reason for lack of fluency So let’s be practical and face the truth. Nobody can completely avoid all native hesitation. No. Avoiding native hesitations would mean avoiding the on-the-spot planning and decision making processes. And if you avoid the on-the-spot planning and decision making processes, you would never be able to speak beyond the first two or three words. This fact would tell us why most educated people (outside English-speaking countries) lack fluency in English. They do not know that native hesitation is a normal part of spoken English. They wrongly believe that they must not hesitate at all. So this is what happens. When they find themselves hesitating, they try to cover up and avoid the hesitation at all costs. They avoid editing aloud, because they think that corrections, additions, deletions and modifications must not be made aloud. And they think that there must be no mistakes, or imperfections or contradictions at all in what they say. The result is that the planning and decision making processes get stopped, they get confused, and their flow of speech gets halted.

Giving flow to your speech So what you should do to give flow to your speech is not to avoid hesitations, but to do these two things: • Train yourself, so that you can prevent foreign hesitations; and • Learn to deal with native hesitations properly.

Preventing foreign hesitations How to prevent foreign hesitations? There are two ways in which you can do this: • You should give your organs of speech plenty of training in uttering basic sound-groups, conversational expressions,

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Speech production and hesitation

frequently- occurring word groups and common structures in English; and • You should get out of the written English track and get into the spoken English track. The various Books in this series would give your organs of speech the training they need. And the fluency knowledge you get from the various Books in this series, and the fluency drills and exercises these Books would get you to carry out, would get you out of the written English track and get you into the spoken English track.

Dealing with hesitations The things you learn in this Book would make you good at dealing with native hesitations. Of course, if any foreign hesitation happens even after the training you’ve done, the things you learn in this Book would help you deal with it too. (From now on, I’ll be referring to native hesitation simply as ‘hesitation’, unless it’s important to refer to it specifically as ‘native hesitation’). Let’s now learn how to deal with hesitations while speaking — the way native speakers of English deal with them. Here’s an important point: Fluent speakers of all languages hesitate when they speak spontaneously. Yes, fluent speakers. And they all deal with hesitations successfully. But the thing you should note is this: There are distinct ways of hesitating in each language, and there are distinct ways of dealing with hesitations in each language. The way you hesitate in Hindi, Tamil or French is a lot different from the way native speakers of English hesitate in English. And the way you deal with hesitations in Hindi, Tamil or French is a lot different from the way native speakers of English deal with them in English. So if you want to speak English fluently, you must learn two things: You must learn how to hesitate in English (the way native

Speech production and hesitation

31

speakers of English hesitate). And you must learn how to deal with hesitations in English (the way native speakers of English do that). You can hesitate and deal with hesitations in English by one or more of the three methods that we’ll now be taking up in the next three chapters.

***

32

M ethod 1: Pauses

chapter 4

Method 1: Pauses When an instance of hesitation comes up, pause for a moment. This pause is a hesitation pause. This pause would give you a little time to get your thoughts organized. This would also give sufficient time to your organs of speech to get a momentary rest and to overcome the pressures on them. Now take a look at Problems 1 to 6 listed in chapter 3. Let’s see how we can get over these problems by this method:

(i) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 1 Suppose the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 1 (See chapter 3). Then first make a pause. And immediately after the pause, continue speaking by changing the construction or the wording. Understand that you may change the construction or wording or both. You see, what you do here is to leave the first idea unit half-finished syntactically. And then you express the meaning you have in mind by constructing another idea unit. Bear in mind that this is a normal feature of all spoken languages. Fluent speakers very often leave an utterance half-finished and start another idea unit. E.g. • It’s the first time I’ve – I’ve never enjoyed this much. • The police say they’ve – can they have checked up + on everything? • I’ve been hoping – do you think + they’ll promote me this time? • I don’t like the look of – I think there’s something fishy. • I called you as soon as – I couldn’t call you before. • We – they’re making trouble for us. • This isn’t the first time – I’ve come here once before. • We sent off – they should have got the letters – days ago. • I’d like to have a look if – do you mind + if I take a look? • I was in the middle of + – I was a little busy. • Have you – I don’t

M ethod 1: Pauses

33

think + you’ve – you’ve given enough of your attention + to this matter.

(ii) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 2 Suppose the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 2 (See chapter 3). Then first make a pause. And use the time you get out of the pause to select the word or phrase you want. Then continue speaking using that word or phrase. (After the pause, you can also repeat the connected words you uttered before the pause — if you feel like it). Here, it is important that you know one thing: In naturallyoccurring speech, nobody skilled at spoken English spends much time looking for words that are precisely or exactly right. They think about the ‘precisely right’ word only in writing. In naturally-occurring conversations, most of the time, people use vague words or simple substitutes. So, if you know several words to express an idea, you can safely use any of them or more than one of them. Don’t let the ‘right-word-mania’ affect you. It is so untypical of spoken English. And with your speech filled with words that are precisely right, you may even sound like making a ceremonial speech. E.g. • I wonder what it feels like to be – dead. • I want to clean up the – clean up the mess here. • We – fixed up an agreement. • Something – awful has happened. • Meeting him there only did – did harm. • I threw – threw dignity aside + and – accepted the invitation. • It was a – miserable journey. • You should do it – little by little. • I didn’t care for him – along at first. • We were off before – before sunrise.

(iii) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 3 Suppose the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 3 (See chapter 3). Then, first make a pause. And use the time you get out of the pause to decide on a vague word or phrase. Then continue

34

M ethod 1: Pauses

speaking using that vague word or phrase. Now if you can’t even think of a vague word or phrase, this is the thing to do: Leave the idea unit half-finished, and reconstruct your utterance in such a way that you don’t have to use any such word or phrase. In other words, instead of expressing your idea by using a particular word or phrase, try and give an explanation or description of the idea, and get round the need to use that particular word or phrase. Understand that this is the way even highly-educated native speakers of English speak 90% of the time. You see, speech filled with words that are precise, exact and accurate would sound like rehearsed speech, and not like natural speech at all. The signs of natural speech are vague words and phrases, repetitions, paraphrases, explanations, corrections, contradictions and loose constructions. Let me warn you once again: Don’t get trapped by the ‘right-word-mania’. E.g. (A) • His presence makes me – makes me uneasy. (The speaker wanted to say ‘uncomfortable’, but that word escaped him. So he used another word ‘uneasy’). • She was – trying hard for breath. (The word ‘struggling’ did not occur to the speaker. So he said ‘trying hard’). • I saw – I saw that man + with a bald head. (The speaker wanted to say, ‘I saw John’, but the name ‘John’ didn’t occur to him. So he said, ‘that man with a bald head’). (B) • She didn’t describe the + say what the – what her village was like + – – that is – about trees, fields, mountains and all. (Here, the word ‘scenery’ didn’t occur to the speaker. So he explained the idea in other words). • It is not good to – to speak too proudly of yourself + – – that is – to make others think + that you’re a big shot. (Here the speaker couldn’t get the word ‘boast’. So he explained his idea in other words). (C) • She was a – she was very nice to look at. (Here the speaker wanted to say ‘She was beautiful’, but the word

M ethod 1: Pauses

35

‘beautiful’ didn’t readily occur to him. So he changed the construction). • I didn’t – I was not against it (The speaker wanted to say ‘I didn’t object to it’, but the word ‘object’ didn’t occur to him. So he changed the construction). • He was an – he knew his job well. (The word ‘expert’ didn’t occur to the speaker. So he changed the construction). • He’s a fellow you can – he is very honest (The speaker wanted to say ‘He is a fellow you can trust’. But the word ‘trust’ didn’t occur to him. So he changed the construction).

(iv) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 4 Suppose the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 4 (See chapter 3). Then, first pause for a moment. Then immediately after the pause, continue speaking either without repeating that word any more — or by repeating it. This kind of repetition is a very common feature of spontaneous speech. E.g. • I’ll – I’ll – I’ll bet she is sore at me. • Stay just a – a little longer. • I was – I was – hurt and angry. • We had a good deal of – good deal of – difficulty over this. • It’s terrible – terrible. • I never was much on – on – on singing. • I’m getting sick of – of her love. • I was just mentioning – mentioning. • One swallow + and – and – it’s over. • She – she – she never did like me. • He – he – didn’t have the nerve to do that. • Will you nail up this – this – calendar?

(v) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 5 Suppose that the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 5 (See chapter 3). If so, after uttering part of the word, pause for a moment, then utter the word in full, and then go on with your utterance, as if nothing had happened. (You may also pause once again after uttering the word in full). The thing you should understand is this: This breaking up and uttering of part of a word is very common in spontaneous speech. Yes, very common.

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M ethod 1: Pauses

E.g. • The air was fu – full of some smell. • The damaged car was a sigh – sight to see. • The plan fe – fell through + and didn’t work. • He was a me – mechanic + in a small way. • This is only my opinion +You may th – think differently. • He had a neat gift + of ex – exaggeration. • I ate nearly a – all of it. • Anything in the w – way of news? • I took up all the day + in wa – washing. • Don’t most people like or – oranges?

(vi) Hesitation caused by Problem No. 6 Suppose the hesitation is caused by Problem No. 6 (See chapter 3). Then the pause you make would make the lump (formed in your throat) go away and give you relief from the feeling of hesitation. (In such cases of lump-formation, it would be of great help if you not only make a pause, but also take a breath). So after the pause, you can continue with the utterance, as if nothing has happened. And when you continue, you may (or may not) repeat the connected word or phrase that you uttered before the pause. E.g. • There was a cow + the size of an – elephant. • No date has been – set for the marriage. • She’s driving me – crazy. • He’s all wrapped up + in – his own thoughts. • She – slammed the door shut. • I turned over the money + to the – the Police. • What he told me + tied in with what I – I already knew. • He got back in a – hurry. • She is tied up + with some – some bad company. • She stripped him + of all his – all his money. • He hit me in the stomach + and – knocked the wind out of me. • He came in + and she – broke off speaking. • She is mixed up + with a lot of – a lot of people I don’t like. • He had a – fairly good sized amount with him. • Don’t hold out on your – lawyer + or doctor + tell them – everything. • Don’t give way to – to emotion.

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Method 2: Hesitation noises

37

chapter 5

Method 2: Hesitation noises When you feel like hesitating, pause for a moment, make a hesitation noise, and pause once again for a moment. This would give you more time than a mere pause (Method 1) to organize your thoughts — and to relieve your organs of speech of the pressures on them. There are three hesitation noises that you can use (in English) in this way. One of them is ‘ə:’. This is the sound between ‘h’ and ‘d’ in ‘heard’ or the sound between ‘b’ and ‘d’ in ‘bird’. Note this: The sound ‘ə:’ is made not through the nose, but through the mouth. This sound actually starts in the throat. Another hesitation noise is ‘əm’. This is the sound after ‘s’ in ‘tourism’, and after ‘l’ in ‘problem’. Yet another hesitation noise is ‘m...’. This is the sound of the ‘m’ in ‘əm’ — without the sound ‘ə’. That is, this is the sound of the nasal consonant ‘m’ at the end of words like tourism and problem. This sound is produced by blocking the mouth passage and by pushing all the air out through the nose. Almost always, this sound is lengthened to sound as ‘m…’. A hesitation pause that is accompanied by a hesitation noise is called a filled pause. (The hesitation pauses we saw under Method 1 were all unfilled pauses, and not filled pauses). A filled pause can occur at junctions between idea units as well as in the middle of idea units. But remember this about pauses at junctions: When speakers pause at a junction, though they have no hesitation at that point, that pause won’t normally be filled by a hesitation ‘noise’ (or by a hesitation ‘filler’ – see Method 3), but will normally be left silent or unfilled. But if they have some hesitation at that point, they may not leave it unfilled — they may fill it with a hesitation noise (Method 2) or a hesitation filler (See Method 3).

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Method 2: Hesitation noises

Now take a look at Problems 1 to 6 listed on pages 15. Let’s see how we can get over these problems by this method:

(i) Hesitation caused by Problem 1 Here read everything under sub-heading (i) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There (in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. • Most people think – ə: – I don’t agree + with what most people think. • I have felt + from the very beginning – əm – I had my own doubts + from the very beginning. • They can’t find – ə: – they seem to have lost something. • Somehow we’ll have to + ə: – is there any way we can raise a loan + at once? • Who’d ever have supposed that + ə: – I never imagined + that such a thing would happen. • They – ə: – those people + took up all my time. • I shouldn’t be able to – ə: – how can I manage without you? • That shirt would have best suited + ə: – that shirt wouldn’t have suited me anyway. • They wanted us to + ə: – we didn’t like them bossing over us. • I asked him to + ə: – he lifted up the bundle. • She – ə: – they didn’t love her. • What’s wrong with – əm – is there anything the matter with him? • There weren’t any – ə: – were there any letters?

(ii) Hesitation caused by Problem 2 Here read everything under sub-heading (ii) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There (in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. • Now don’t go telling me + you haven’t got the – ə: – money. • This is a – əm – lousy job you’ve given me. • Why

Method 2: Hesitation noises

39

is that policeman + ə: – acting like that? • I saw something a – ə: – a good way off. • There was no – no – ə: – sign of life there. • This is a – ə: – terrible emergency. • It had all the – ə: – look of a murder. • He said he was tired out + and he – əm – looked it. • Her marriage was all the – əm – talk that day. • The children came – əm – tearing out of the gate. • I controlled my anger + by an – əm – effort. • I can’t tell for the – əm – life of me + how it all – ə: – happened. • She ran a little way + and – ə: – and stopped. • He was her – əm – her worst enemy.

(iii) Hesitation caused by Problem 3 Here read everything under sub-heading (iii) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There (in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. (A) • It was a – ə: – no-good film. (The speaker wanted to say a ‘lousy film’. But the word ‘lousy’ didn’t readily occur to him. So he said, ‘a no-good film’). • The work is nearly – əm – nearly finished. (The word ‘over’ did not occur to the speaker. So he used the word ‘finished’). • There was no – ə: – alternative + but to drop the plan. (The word ‘option’ did not occur to the speaker. So he used the word ‘alternative’). (B) • That man is very – əm – he is very open-handed + and – ə: – and free with his money. (The speaker wanted to say: ‘That man is generous with his money’. But the word ‘generous’ did not occur to him. So he explained his idea in other words). • I wanted to – ə: – to run water + out of the tank + and – əm – make it empty and dry. (The speaker didn’t get the word ‘drain’. So, he explained his idea in other words). • I – ə: – I rolled up + and – əm – pressed the paper in my hand. (The word ‘crumpled’ didn’t occur to the speaker. So he explained his idea in other words).

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Method 2: Hesitation noises

(C) • He said he didn’t – əm – he refused the gift. (At first, the speaker was going to say: ‘He said he didn’t want the gift’. Then the speaker changed his mind for some reason, and changed the construction itself. Here he didn’t want to use the word ‘want’ for some reason). • The food was – ə: – I liked the food very much (The word ‘excellent’ didn’t occur to the speaker. So he changed the construction). • The service at this Bank + is – əm – you can’t get good service at this Bank. (The speaker wanted to say: ‘The service at this Bank is poor’. But the word ‘poor’ didn’t occur to the speaker. So he changed the construction).

(iv) Hesitation caused by Problem 4 Here read everything under sub-heading (iv) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There (in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. • That was the prettiest idea + I – əm – I had run across + for – ə: – for many a day. • He took one – ə: – one look + and went away. • I’m – əm – I’m looking forward to the marriage. • I wanted to see + how – ə: – how you were getting on + with the work. • We can never really be – əm – be sure of the result. • This month + the – ə: – the sales have gone down. • I’m not free + – I’m up to my eyes + in – əm – in work. • You should speed – ə: – speed up the car + or you’ll be late. • I don’t think + this – ə: – this is quite the right time + for an argument. • I tossed out all – əm – all the useless things. • Give me that file + I’ll just – ə: – just have a look through it.

(v) Hesitation caused by Problem 5 Here read everything under sub-heading (v) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There

Method 2: Hesitation noises

41

(in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. • I could see ev – ə: – everything + from across the road. • Marriage? + There’s pl – ə: – plenty of time for that. • You haven’t gi – əm – given a thought + to my problem. • We’re all quite excited + and ha – ə: – happy about it. • Now and then, I look back on my sch – ə: – school days. • We are crazy + not to ac – əm – accept this offer. • He loosened up his gr – əm – grip. • I’ve be – ə: – been looking for you + all over the place. • His pl – ə: – place + is miles from the main road. • Wh – əm – when did the light go out? • I’ve got much w – əm – worse troubles + than this. • Prices are com – ə: – coming down. • I think that was the on – ə: – only time + he was late. • Rub out the – əm – the writings.

(vi) Hesitation caused by Problem 6 Here read everything under sub-heading (vi) in chapter 4. The only difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is this: There (in Method 1), we only made a pause. Here (in Method 2), we not only make a pause, but also make a hesitation noise and one more pause. E.g. • I had to – əm – stay awake + all night. • I want enough money + to – ə:– keep me going + for a year or two. • Don’t discount his – ə:– skill + as a driver. • By now + the – əm – building would’ve gone up + in value. • My plan was to bring them together + but – ə: – things worked out + just the opposite. • I don’t want to get + ə:– get mixed up in these things. • His fees are – əm – a little too high. • I’d take a while to + əm – think it over. • I’m usually – ə:– away + quite a good part of the time. • This year + I want to – əm – build up some profits. • I’ll just step out + and get a – ə: – little breath of air. • Stop the car and + ə: – let some air out of the tyres. • I don’t want to + ə: – spoil their

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Method 2: Hesitation noises

friendship. • He came to the – əm – office + on the dot + at 10 O’ clock. • We – ə: – pried open the lid + with a – əm – screwdriver.

***

Method 3: Hesitation fi l l ers

43

chapter 6

Method 3: Hesitation fillers When you feel like hesitating, pause for a moment, utter a hesitation filler, and again pause for a moment. This would give you more time than you would get by Methods 1 or 2 to organize your thoughts and to relieve your organs of speech of the pressures on them. Now what are hesitation fillers? Hesitation fillers are certain words and word-groups. You see, they’re not part of the syntactic structure of an idea unit that the speaker is going to utter. They’re outside that structure. In fact, they don’t contribute anything or much to the content of your speech, and in that sense, they’re empty words and wordgroups — or redundant material. But they play a very important role in spontaneous speech production, because they create a lot of speech-planning time for you — at the same time as you’re speaking. You see, if you make a pause that’s too long in order to plan what to say next, that would be quite awkward. And your hearers may even think that you’ve stopped speaking. But if you fill the silence by saying something that doesn’t need any effort (and doesn’t sound out of place), these problems won’t arise. This is because what you say in order to fill the silence would give an impression to the hearers that you’re really speaking, when in fact you’re not speaking, but thinking and planning what to say next. There are several dedicated or prefabricated words and wordgroups in English that would help you fill the speech-planning silence in this way. The following are the most frequent among these ‘general service’ hesitation fillers: • Single words like ‘well’, ‘yes’ and ‘no’. • Word-groups like ‘I mean’, ‘you know’, ‘you see’, ‘mind you’, ‘oh yes’ and ‘oh no’.

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Method 3: Hesitation fi l l ers

A hesitation pause that is accompanied by a hesitation filler is called a filled pause. (As I’ve already told you, a hesitation pause that is accompanied by a hesitation ‘noise’ is also called a filled pause). Now take a look at Problems 1 to 6 listed in chapter 3. Let’s see how we can get over these problems by this method: While going through the things at (i) to (vi) below, you should also read the explanations at (i) to (vi) on pages 19 to 22 under Method 1. Those explanations are applicable here too, with just one difference: There (in Method 1), we made only a pause. Here (in Method 3), we not only make a pause, but also utter a ‘hesitation filler’ and make one more pause. Remember this: ‘You know’ is the most frequently-used hesitation filler. Now let’s look at how hesitation fillers help us deal with hesitations.

(i) Hesitation caused by Problem 1 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (i) in chapter 4. E.g. • Can’t any of you + well + nobody seems to appreciate the difficulties. • He was asking me to + well – I don’t want to tell you that. • Have you thought about + yes + do you know that he has a family to support? • We have a different way of – – yes + we don’t look at things + in the same way. • It may not be + no + we aren’t fair at all. • What’s this about – I mean - is he going to resign? • There are a lot of arguments against + I mean – you can’t say + that this scheme + has no disadvantages at all. • What I’d like to do is + you see + it won’t be right for us + to ignore the public opinion. • I’ve just had an awful + you see – I dislike getting into fights. • What do you think of + you know + I don’t think much of all these things. • I’ve got too much to – you know – I’m a little too busy today. • I think

Method 3: Hesitation fi l l ers

45

their prices are + mind you – we may lose much + by this purchase. • Wouldn’t I have to go + and – mind you – he doesn’t seem to like me at all. • It can only have been + oh yes – it must have been Ashok himself. • I don’t much like the – oh yes + you may like things as they are. • He wouldn’t – oh no + he may not agree with us.

(ii) Hesitation caused by Problem 2 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (ii) in chapter 4. E.g. • I don’t – well – feel up to – going for films +– I’m all upset. • It has been – well – an effort + to get these things packed. • She is very cunning + and has – yes – a shrewd calculating mind. • Find out + if the door is – yes – firmly bolted. • Her fever + no – her fever has not come down. • Take a look in your – I mean – in your pocket + first. • You seem to know a good deal about + I mean – about business. • She asked him to + you see + to stop drinking. • The headlights of the car were + you see – were blinking. • I remember the occasion + you know + quite distinctly. • She isn’t as she – you know - as she – appears. • That cheque has been + mind you + made out to her. • I was rushing around + and I didn’t – mind you + I didn’t notice the time. • At times she was + oh yes + she was terribly hard + to get along with. • His face was as hard as + oh yes + as hard as granite. • Prices have not – oh no + prices have not gone up + at all.

(iii) Hesitation caused by Problem 3 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (iii) in chapter 4. E.g. (A) • He was a – well – a grim-faced individual.• He is bent upon – yes + tearing down our reputation. • She was not a + no + not a glamorous girl. • By the time you get there + I shall – I mean – fix things up with them. • I just

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don’t have the + you see + the strength to struggle. • I was – you know + I was annoyed at the delay. • He is – mind you + he is a nut on films. • I’ll ring you up + oh yes + first thing in the morning. • You mustn’t – oh no + you mustn’t take more of sugar. (B) • In this place + you are absolutely + well – you are out of danger. (The word ‘safe’ didn’t readily occur to the speaker or he didn’t want to use it). • In the zoo + there was a – yes – a large man-like monkey + with hair all over. (The word ‘gorilla’ didn’t occur to him or he didn’t want to use it). • He didn’t – no – he didn’t say + that my opinion was not true. (The speaker did not say, ‘He didn’t dispute my opinion’, because the word ‘dispute’ didn’t occur to him). • My tyre has a +I mean – all the air has gone out of it +– There must be a hole in it. (The word ‘puncture’ didn’t occur to him or he didn’t want to use it). • Whenever he talks + he – you see + he makes other people’s faults seem larger. (The speaker wanted to avoid the expression “He magnifies other people’s faults”). • Once the race was over + the runners + you know + the runners couldn’t even stand up +– They fell over + because they had no strength + left in them. (The word ‘collapsed’ didn’t occur to the speaker or he wanted to avoid it). • He always comes late + and gives some – you know + and gives one reason or the other +– and tries to show - that he is free from – blame. (The word ‘excuses’ didn’t occur to the speaker or he didn’t want to use it). • He is capable of making an + oh yes + making a speech at once + without any preparation. (The expression ‘ an offhand speech’ didn’t occur to the speaker or he didn’t want to use it). • The riot didn’t cause any – oh no + it didn’t cause any sudden fear +– or anything like that. (The speaker didn’t get the word ‘panic’). (C) • He has some kind of a + well – he is a little biased against me. • I want to find out what – yes + I would like

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to know the result. • If he thinks he is going to + I mean + let him not think + that we are fools. • It is going to cost him a + you see – things are not cheap nowadays. • I certainly see no reason + why we shouldn’t – you know + I’m all for doing it. • You can imagine + what a fix he’ll be in + if – you know – if he was putting on an act. • The word has got around + that – oh yes – things will be known + by the time we get done + with this meeting. • He’s a – mind you – a dishonest person + and you have to watch out.

(iv) Hesitation caused by Problem 4 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (iv) in chapter 4. E.g. • That man has more – more – well – more money + than he knows what to do with. • That child will pick up everything + just from – yes – just from hearing it once. • They don’t – no – they don’t trust him at all. • She – she – I mean + she trusts him absolutely. • We had better start this work + and get it – you know + get it over with. • She did it – you know + she did it bit by bit. • Laws apply to him in the same way + as – as – mind you – as they apply to her. • That was just a trick + to – to – oh yes – to fool the public.

(v) Hesitation caused by Problem 5 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (v) in chapter 4. E.g. • Thank you for ca – ca – well + for calling it to my attention. • He threw back his head + and la – la – yes – laughed. • I’ve tried every way I know + and I’m – stu – I mean – I’m stumped. • That place is w – you see – is way out + on the Bombay-Pune Road. • You could have ignored the thing + just the way any other per – per – you know + any other person would have. • The way I figure it + she has – she has – mind you + she has something to hide. • I

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was a little confused for + oh yes + for a brief moment.

(vi) Hesitation caused by Problem 6 Here, see the explanation under sub-heading (i) in chapter 4. E.g. • This isn’t – well – going to do you + any good. • I had to put up with + yes + with a lot of trouble from them. • I remember everything + just as clearly as if + I mean + as if it had been yesterday. • He did it + you see – just for the fun of it. • I got to thinking things over + and finally + you know + finally + I realized how things really stood. • I know a little + mind you – a little something about business. • I have – oh yes + I have known him before.

Guidelines By now, you’ve got a fairly good idea about junction pauses and hesitation pauses, haven’t you? Whether they’re called junction pauses or hesitation pauses, both are pauses — that is, a brief stopping of the utterance. If your intention in making a pause is to deal with hesitation, you call it a hesitation pause, whether that pause is made at a junction or anywhere else. If your intention in making a pause is not to deal with hesitation, the point where that pause happens would turn out to be the end of an idea unit (that is, an idea unit junction), and then you call that pause a junction pause — that’s all. If you happen to have some hesitation at a junction, your hesitation pause at that point can be called a junction pause, too. In such a case, a hesitation pause and a junction pause are one and the same. You see, a hesitation pause and a junction pause, both, help you keep up the continuity of speech and prevent your speechflow from breaking up — because a hesitation pause and a junction pause, both, give you time to plan and organize your

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speech, and they both relieve the pressures on your organs of speech. In the same way, a junction pause and a hesitation pause, both, help your listeners understand you better, because both give the things you say time to get across or to go down into the minds of your listeners. So you can easily see that, in practice, the difference between a junction pause and a hesitation pause is not much. Therefore, you needn’t get worried over the name of a pause when you make one. All you have to do is to remember the following points: 1) Whenever you have some hesitation, pause and deal with it. Whenever you want some speech-planning time, pause. (You must pause at every point of hesitation. Don’t overlook any). You can pause in this way at the end, beginning or at any other point in an idea unit. 2) Produce your speech in idea units. Yes, divide up your speech-stream into manageable chunks — that is, into idea units. And mark off the ends of each idea unit — by a brief pause (whenever you find that convenient) or by syllable lengthening (whenever you find that convenient). 3) Don’t keep worrying whether your idea units are whole grammatical units or fragmentary ones, and whether your idea unit junctions are grammatical junctions or not. You see, an idea unit can be a whole grammatical unit or a fragmentary one. Both are all right. In fact, it’s the presence of both that would give your speech the true nativespeaker-like spoken English flavour. 4) Whenever you feel short of breath, pause and take a breath. Yes, if you feel like running out of breath, you can take a breath while making any pause — a hesitation pause or a junction pause. Forget the name of the pause. Just pause and take a breath. In practice, this is what happens: Speakers usually make a lengthy pause (– – or – – – or + – or + – – or + – – – or ++) at the ends of chunks that are very significant, and when they do that, they also take a

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breath. So the question of their running out of breath in the middle of a chunk does not arise often. 5) You’re free to use hesitation sounds and hesitation fillers at any of the pauses — if you happen to make those pauses for dealing with hesitations. Yes, this is so whether the pauses are at the ends or beginnings of idea units or in the middle. That’s all for now. The thing for you to do now is this: Go through the explanations and examples (given so far in this Book) thoroughly. Learn how hesitations are dealt with in English.

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H esitation-tackl ing Ora l Practice

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chapter 7

Hesitation-tackling Oral Practice Here’s something you should always remember: Hesitations keep happening not only when foreign (and second-language) speakers of English speak English, but also when native speakers of English speak English. Yes, even when educated and articulate native speakers of English speak English. All the time. But there is a problem with a major percentage of hesitations that foreign (and second-language) speakers of English make. It is this: A major percentage of hesitations that occur when foreign (and second-language) speakers of English speak English — that is made up of “avoidable” (often, useless) hesitations, and not unavoidable (often, useful) hestations. By the term “avoidable” hesitations, what I mean is hesitations that can easily be prevented, to a large extent, through training. And by the term “unavoidable” hesitations, what I mean is hesitations that cannot be prevented and that are often made deliberately. [Remember this: Whenever they speak in detail and at length – and most often, when they go beyond one-line speech – fluent and articulate speakers make hesitations deliberately. Yes, deliberately. Now, why do fluent and articulate speakers make hesitations deliberately? By now, you must have understood that they do this mainly: (a) to deal with hesitations that have to do with how difficult the content is for oral presentation; (b) to create speech-middle planning time; (c) to deal with hesitations that have to do with the various types of pressures under which the on-the-spot speech-composition & speech-organization effort happens; (d) to deal with such small percentage of unavoidable hesitations as is sure to occur inevitably — no matter how perfect the speaker’s command of the English language is; and (e) to get their meaning effectively across to their hearers — by bending and

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twisting the content and the languge from moment to moment, to suit the ever-changing communicative situation.] Mind you, the avoidable (useless) hesitations that non-fluent foreign (and second-language) speakers of English make — these hesitations occur because of reasons that have to do with one thing: Their lack of experience in pronouncing ready-to-assemble word groups and standardized word clusters as “wholes”. That is, (a) their lack of experience in pronouncing word groups as though they were single words; and (b) their lack of knowledge of the word groups that native speakers of English conventionally tend to speak out as “wholes”. The oral practice that you’ve been doing with the word groups given in the various books in this series would help you get over the problem of avoidable hesitations. Now here’s something I want you to pay particular attention to and to understand: As I said, to get over the problem of avoidable hesitations, oral practice with carefully selected word groups is a fundamental technique. But that is not the only use of this kind of oral practice. This kind of oral practice (that is, oral practice with carefully-selected word groups) not only tackles the problem of avoidable hesitations, but also helps you achieve a good command of the word groups you do oral practice with. And one result of this command is this: It helps you become good at dealing with unavoidable hesitations, too. So the remaining chapters in this book are devoted to hesitation-tackling oral practice — oral practice with carefullyselected word groups of different types. We’ll start off with an important collection of frequently-occurring verb groups in this chapter. Pick up each word group and say it aloud several times.

Group 1 • slip your shoes on /off. • show great ability. • scream abuse. • shout abuse (at sb). • accept (the) blame (for sth). • win acceptance. • win acclaim. • settle your account. • catch sb in

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the act (of doing sth). • take action. • gain (sb’s) admiration. • win (sb’s) admiration. • give sb an advantage. • offer sb an advantage. • follow (sb’s) advice. • take advice. • value sb’s advice. • wash your hands of the affair. • show affection. • start (sth) all over again. • start again. • start school again. • start work again. • wait ages. • show aggression. • reach (an) agreement. • show your agreement. • spot trouble ahead. • cry (sth) in alarm. • show anger. • sound angry. • cause sb anxiety. • show appreciation. • show your appreciation. • grant (your) approval. • meet (with) approval. • win approval. • hit sb on the arm. • throw your money around. • write articles (for a newspaper). • charge sb with assault. • grant sb asylum. • attract (sb’s) attention. • bring sth to sb’s attention. • demand (sb’s) attention. • get (sb’s) attention. • give sth attention. • shift attention. • find sb attractive. • call sb back. • expect sb back. • phone sb back. • send sth back. • grant sb bail. • stand bail (for sb). • catch sb off balance. • bear (the) blame (for sth). • throw yourself onto the bed. • serve beer. • display (bad) behaviour. • display (good) behaviour. • display (inappropriate) behaviour. • confirm sb in their belief. • shake sb’s belief. • suspend belief. • wear seat belts. • drive sb round the bend. • claim (a) benefit. • receive (a) benefit. • settle your bill. • wish sb a Happy Birthday. • wear black. • absolve sb of blame. • apportion (the) blame. • attach blame to sb. • pin (the) blame on sb. • clear sb of blame. • lay (the) blame. • share (in) the blame. • shift blame. • colour sth blue. • paint sth blue. • cut sth to the bone. • save sb the bother (of doing sth). • serve breakfast. • touch your breakfast. • pay (sb) a bribe. • stretch your budget. • drive sb out of business. • put sb out of business. • start your own business. • talk business. • spread butter (on toast). • pay sb a call. • strike camp. • sell your car. • send sb a card. • show sb your card. • handle sth with care. • treat sth with care. • carry (the) blame (for sth). • state your case. • pay (in) cash. • elect sb chairman. • wait your chance. • bring (about) a change. • hand sb their change. • raise sth for charity. • show

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charity (to sb). • hit sb on the cheek. • give sb a choice. • wish sb a Merry Christmas. • cut sth into chunks. • arrange sth in a circle. • bring sth to a close. • call sth to a close. • draw sb close. • draw sth to a close. • hold sb close. • wear casual clothes. • add sth to a collection. • start college. • print sth in colour. • welcome comments (from sb). • start your own company. • show compassion. • pay sb compensation. • pay sb a compliment. • voice concern. • bring sth to a conclusion. • show confidence. • share confidences. • award (sb) a contract. • join (in) a conversation. • back sb into a corner. • force sb into a corner. • visit many countries. • show (great) courage. • blow sb/sth off course. • knock sb/sth off course. • set sb on a course. • check sth for cracks. • drive sb crazy. • buy sth on credit. • get sth on credit. • stretch (sb’s) credulity. • accuse sb of a crime. • charge sb with a crime. • check sth for damage. • suffer damage. • win damages. • sense danger. • spot danger. • transfer data. • bring sth up to date. • keep sth up to date. • beat sb to death. • kick sb to death. • pay (off) a debt. • suffer defeat. • cry (sth) in delight. • visit your dentist. • deserve (the) blame (for sth). • satisfy desire. • show desire. • drive sb to despair. • drive sb to desperation. • show determination. • signal determination. • support development. • use your dictionary. • find sth difficult (to do). • serve dinner. • appoint sb director. • use discretion. • train dogs. • see double. • drive sb to drink. • supply drugs (to sb). • use drugs. • wear earrings. • find sth easy. • take effect. • increase (your) effort. • take effort. • catch sb by the elbow. • cause sb embarrassment. • declare an emergency. • show emotion. • shift emphasis. • shout encouragement. • give (sb/sth) energy. • save energy. • supply energy. • use energy. • waste energy. • study English. • test sb’s English. • understand English. • show enthusiasm. • allow (sb) entry. • deny (sb) entry. • refuse (sb) entry. • use equipment. • sense excitement. • find sth exciting. • take exercise. • take part in an exercise. • drive sb into exile. • save sb the expense (of doing sth). • owe (an) explanation.

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• owe sb an explanation. • require (an) explanation. • express (an) interest (in sth). • hit sb in the eye. • shift your eyes. • test sb’s eyesight. • face (up to) the fact (that). • hit sb in the face. • kick sb in the face. • slap sb’s face. • wash your face. • know (all) the facts. • shake sb’s faith. • win fame (as…). • check sth for faults. • ask sb a favour. • owe sb a favour. • win favour (with sb). • spark fear. • give sb the feeling that…. • share your feelings. • show (your) feelings. • watch your figure. • write data to a file. • bring sth into focus. • shift focus. • throw sth into focus. • bring sb back to the fold. • use force. • bring sth to the forefront. • cost sb a fortune. • visit France. • find sth frightening. • shift (some) furniture. • shift your gaze (from sth to sth). • shift gear. • wear glasses. • use glue. • wave goodbye (to sb). • spread gossip. • grant (sb) permission (to do sth). • owe (sb) a debt of gratitude. • show gratitude. • show your gratitude. • colour sth green. • wear green. • burn sth to the ground. • shift your ground. • throw litter on the ground. • split (sth) into groups. • show (continued/good/ strong etc) growth. • slow growth. • catch sb off (their) guard. • stand guard (over sb/sth). • take sb off (their) guard. • welcome guests. • find sb guilty/not guilty (of sth). • play (the) guitar.

Group 2 • wash your hair. • break sth in half. • cut sth in half. • split sth in half. • bite sb on the hand. • deliver sth by hand. • experience sth at first hand. • tip your hand. • shake hands. • wash your hands. • wish sb happiness. • find sth hard. • cause (sb/sth) harm. • have (the) intelligence (to do sth). • hit sb on the head. • hit sb over the head. • kick sb in the head. • shake your head. • turn your head. • test sb’s hearing. • sth touches your heart. • win sb’s heart. • seek financial help. • seek help. • seek legal help. • seek medical help. • summon help. • thank sb for their help. • want help. • speak Hindi (perfectly/fairly well). • teach history. • tighten your hold (on sth). • expect sb home. • give (sb) hope. • see hope. • sound your horn. • cry (sth) in horror.

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• train horses. • wait (for) two hours. • work long hours. • sell your house. • wake your husband. • give sb the idea (that). • show ignorance. • show imagination. • use your imagination. • grant sb immunity. • show signs of impatience. • assume (greater) importance. • show importance. • show increase. • win independence. • use influence. • use your influence (to do sth). • save information. • share information. • store information. • use your initiative. • gain (an) insight. • trust your instincts. • shout insults (at sb). • trade insults. • claim (for) sth on your insurance. • sell insurance. • make a claim for sth on your insurance. • show intelligence. • use intelligence. • show interest. • spark interest. • stimulate interest. • find sth interesting. • call sb for interview. • find sb irritating. • sense sb’s irritation. • ask sb what time it is. • catch sb at it. • wear jewellery. • appoint sb to a job. • offer sb a job. • call sb John/Sita. • trade jokes. • start your journey. • time your journey. • share joy. • trust sb’s judgment. • use your judgment. • blow sb a kiss. • reach 100 kph. • talk sb’s language. • make sth into law. • study law. • teach law. • elect sb leader. • turn left. • bite sb on the leg. • give sb a lesson. • teach sb a lesson. • send sb a letter. • write sb a letter. • tell (sb) a lie. • spread lies (about sb). • save sb’s life. • save your life. • spend your life (doing sth). • start life (at the bottom). • start married life. • threaten sb’s life. • push sb/sth to the limit. • sb/sth has a limit. • stretch sth to the limit. • test sb/sth to the limit. • drop sb a line. • cross sth off a list. • shake loose (from sb/sth). • work loose. • send your love (to sb). • show love. • win sb’s love. • win sb’s love/heart. • show trust and loyalty. • bring sb (good) luck. • try your luck. • wish sb luck (in/with sth). • cook sb lunch. • serve lunch. • drive sb mad. • use magic. • work magic. • appoint sb manager. • stick pins in a map. • save your marriage. • use local materials. • buy sb a meal. • cook (sb) a meal. • change (its) meaning. • have (little/no) meaning. • have (some) meaning. • have (special/a different) meaning. • lose (its) meaning. • win medals. • show sb mercy. • send sb a message. • show your

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mettle. • walk miles. • bear sth in mind. • bear in mind that…. • speak your mind. • wait (for) a minute. • catch sb at a bad moment. • cost (sb) money. • share your money. • spend money (on sth/on doing sth). • spend your money. • steal money. • take money. • throw money ( at sth). • use money. • waste money (on sth). • withdraw money. • save money/Rs.9000. • last sb a day/two months. • start this/that morning. • visit your mother. • suspect sb’s motive. • raise sth to your mouth. • charge sb with murder. • commit (a) murder. • show great interest in music. • study music. • write music. • ask sb their name. • call sb by their middle name. • shout sb’s name. • sign your name. • withdraw your name (from sth). • write your name. • call sb names. • trade necklaces. • test negative (for sth). • give sb the news. • tell sb the news. • welcome the news. • call sb by their nickname. • work nights. • hit sb on the nose. • write sb a note. • show sb the notes. • pay sb the compliment of. • take offence (at/to sth). • find sth offensive. • welcome sb’s offer. • catch sb off-guard. • bring pressure to bear on sb. • cut sth open. • bring sth into operation. • want sb’s opinion. • deny sb an opportunity. • deny sb the opportunity. • give (sb) an/the opportunity. • offer (sb) an/the opportunity. • present (sb) an/the opportunity. • provide (sb) an/the opportunity. • take advantage of an/the opportunity. • meet (with) opposition. • buy sth (by) mail order. • shout orders. • stick your arm out. • cause (sb) pain. • suffer pain. • pass (a) comment (on/ about). • work your passage. • stretch (sb’s) patience. • secure peace. • improve (a) performance. • grant sb permission. • request (sb’s) permission. • show (sb) a picture. • cut sth into pieces. • show (no) pity. • save sb’s place. • win first place. • visit different places. • avoid sb/sth like the plague. • spread plaster (on the walls). • bring sth to boiling point. • see sb’s point. • score points. • talk politics (with sb). • stop pollution. • shoot pool. • appoint sb to a position. • test positive (for sth). • appoint sb to a post. • send sth by post. • spot sb’s potential. • supply power. • take power. • use power. • win praise. • sense

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sb’s presence. • signal sb’s presence. • send sb a present. • elect sb president. • charge sb half price. • sth ranges in price (from… to…). • appoint sb (as) captain/chairman. • send sb to prison. • win first prize. • cause sb a problem. • face (up to) a problem. • share your problems. • satisfy demand for a product. • slow the progress (of sth). • stop the progress (of sth). • watch progress. • watch sb’s progress. • deliver (on) a promise. • give sb a promise. • show promise. • win promotion. • suit sb’s purpose. • test quality. • cut sth into quarters. • ask (sb) a question. • call sth into question.

Group 3 • face (up to) reality. • tell sb the reason. • win recognition. • colour sth red. • paint sth red. • catch sb red-handed. • find sth relaxing. • secure sb’s release. • talk religion. • show reluctance. • show remorse (for sth). • meet (with) resistance. • earn (sb’s) respect. • gain (sb’s) respect. • lose (sb’s) respect. • show respect. • win (sb’s) respect. • share responsibility. • shift responsibility. • take responsibility (for sth). • find sb responsible (for sth). • cut sth to ribbons. • tear sth to ribbons. • put sb/sth at risk. • reach Rs.1500. • charge Rs.750. • talk rubbish. • follow (the) rules. • spread rumours (about sb). • carry sb to safety. • drive sb to safety. • fly sb to safety. • lead sb to safety. • move sb to safety. • pull sb to safety. • push sb to safety. • take sb to safety. • threaten sb’s safety. • supply samples. • score points against/ off/over sb. • share your chocolate with sb. • show favour to sb. • show your work to sb. • spend much time with sb. • strike fear into sb. • strike terror into sb. • switch your shift with sb. • take care of sb. • throw insults at sb. • throw your arms around sb. • turn your anger on sb. • use your influence with sb. • show consideration for sb/sth. • throw support behind sb/sth. • wield influence on/over sb/sth. • award sb a scholarship. • start school. • study science. • teach science. • use screws. • secure a seat (in the election). • win seat (in the election). • tell sb a secret. • trade secrets. • talk sense. • use your common

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sense. • give sb a shake. • knock sb/sth into shape. • lick sb/sth into shape. • whip sb/sth into shape. • wear your best shirt. • tie the shoelaces. • hit sb on the shoulder. • shoulder (the) blame (for sth). • touch sb’s shoulder. • show (an) interest (in sth). • show every sign (of being successful etc.). • show no/little sign (of improvement etc.). • send (out) a signal. • take control of a situation. • cut sth to size. • show skill. • save your skin. • catch sb by the sleeve. • cut sth into slices. • use this/that software. • throw threats at someone. • sell advertising space. • talk sports. • train your staff. • watch your step. • arrest sb on charges of sth. • arrest sb on suspicion of sth. • bring (sb’s) attention to sth. • bring sb to the brink of sth. • buy sth at the cost of sth. • buy sth at the expense of sth. • call (sb’s) attention to sth. • claim (for) sth. • concentrate (sb’s) attention on sth. • deny (all) knowledge of sth. • draw (sb’s) attention (away) from sth. • draw (sb’s) attention to sth. • focus (sb’s) attention on sth. • give (great/special) importance to sth. • give sb a taste of/for sth. • group sb/sth according to sth. • offer (sb) odds of sth. • save your strength for sth. • see no reason for sth. • set fire to sth. • share your experiences of sth. • show great desire to do sth. • show little regard for sth. • spend all day doing sth. • spend time doing sth. • spend time on sth. • state your intention to do sth. • stick your fingers through sth. • strike your head on sth. • take advantage of sth. • take care with/over sth. • take pleasure in/ from sth. • talk your way out of sth. • tell sb about/of the danger of sth. • test sb’s knowledge of sth. • think your way out of sth. • throw stones at sth. • throw your energy/energies into sth. • turn your attention (back) to sth. • turn your back to sth. • understand sb’s wish for sth. • use money to do sth. • use your position to do sth. • value your ability to do sth. • warn sb about/of the danger of sth. • win money on sth. • wish sb/sth would do sth. • beat sth until stiff. • hit sb in the stomach. • kick sb in the stomach. • read sb a story. • tell (sb) a story. • tell its own story. • tell sb a story. • show strength. • test sb’s strength. • strike (sb) a blow (on sth). • sell cheap stuff. • taste success. •

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wish sb success. • score successes. • use sugar. • show support. • voice support. • win support. • withdraw (your) support. • stand surety (for sb). • bring sb/sth to the surface. • call sb by their surname. • catch sb by surprise. • cry (sth) in surprise. • show surprise. • spend all morning/evening sw. • start work sw. • show great talent. • schedule talks. • start talks. • have (bad/ good) taste. • satisfy sb’s taste. • suit sb’s taste. • use technology. • show your teeth. • watch the television/telly. • resist (the) temptation. • try tennis. • smile your thanks. • charge sb with theft. • cut sth into three. • ask sb the time. • catch sb at a bad time. • save time. • serve time. • spend time. • wait (for) a long time. • waste time (on sth). • tie sb’s feet together. • tie sb’s hands together. • cause (sb) trouble. • cause sb/sth trouble. • land sb in trouble. • put sb to (a lot of/some) trouble. • save sb the trouble (of doing sth). • save trouble. • spell trouble. • win trust. • face (the) truth. • speak (the) truth. • tell (sb) the truth. • tell (the) truth. • tell sb the truth. • tell truth. • wait your turn. • watch TV. • drive sb round the twist. • break (sth) in two. • break sth in two. • cut sth in two. • tell sb a thing or two. • print sth in bold type. • find sb unattractive. • beat sb unconscious. • put sb through university. • send sb down from university. • study sth at university. • speed things up. • watch videos. • confirm sb in their view. • share sb’s view. • stop violence. • threaten (sb with) violence. • use violence. • pay sb a visit. • win 50/68/70% of the vote. • fight (a) war. • ask sb the way. • show sb the way. • tell sb the way. • wind your way. • shift (your) weight. • watch your weight. • paint sth white. • print sth in black and white. • wear white. • wake your wife. • cut sb out of your will. • show willingness. • bring sb/sth into contact with. • bring sb/sth into line with. • see another woman. • send word. • seek work. • start work (at nine). • stop work. • undertake work. • cause (a) worry. • catch sb by the wrist. • spend some time by yourself.

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

61

chapter 8

‘have’-collocations Let us now go on with the hesitation-tackling oral practice using another type of extremely useful word groups. I’ve called them “have-collocations”. They’re verb groups powered by the verb have (and its related forms had and has). Get a lot of oral practice saying these word groups aloud. But first, go through what I told you about the importance of this sort of practice as a hesitation-tackling tool at the beginning of chapter 7. Now for the oral practice.

Group 1 had a (funny) feeling (that sth was going to happen). • had a bad (phone) connection. • had a bad operation. • had a big grin on her face. • had a bit of a shock (when I got back home). • had a bit of trouble/a bit of a problem. • had a clear image (of sth). • had a deep wound (on his forehead etc.). • had a dull ache (at the base of his neck etc.). • had a fight with the neighbours. • had a free and open discussion (about sth). • had a full week. • had a good cry. • had a good life. • had a good old talk. • had a great feeling of relief. • had a great time at the fair. • had a hard face. • had cold blue eyes. • had a headache (when…). • had a heavy day at the office. • had a letter from sb. • had a long conversation (with sb). • had a lot of good experiences. • had a massive argument with sb. • had a nice long letter from sb. • had a real change of heart. • had a really good idea. • had a really good view (of sth from sw). • had a really rough day. • had a reputation (for doing sth). • had a scar. • had a touch of fever. • had a very impressive school career. • had a very sweet singing voice. • had a vision (in which God appeared

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

before her). • had a visit from the police. • had all the normal childhood illnesses. • had an accident. • had an active holiday. • had an affair with a woman. • had an agreement (that…). • had an annoying way (of picking his nails etc.). • had an easy time of it (since sth happened). • had an interview (last week etc). • had an uneasy feeling that…. • had blue eyes. • had enough money (to…). • had explicit instructions (to check everyone’s identity card etc.). • had fair hair. • had fine delicate features. • had no alternative (but to fire him). • had no means of transport. • had strong and regular teeth. • had tears in her eyes. • had technical problems. • had the benefit of a first-class education. • had the power (to hire or fire people etc). • has a bad attitude (towards her schoolwork). • has a car. • has a good voice. • has a great figure. • has a lot of contacts in the media. • has a lot of power (over sb/sth). • has a mental block about speaking English. • has a nice little set-up. • has a pretty face. • has a real feeling for the violin. • has a really good figure. • has a reasonable chance of doing well in the exam. • has a serious heart condition. • has a talent for upsetting people. • has a very broad range of interests. • has absolutely no experience of marketing. • has always had a strong sense of duty. • has an amazing facility for mental arithmetic. • has an eight-month old daughter. • has an interview for a job. • has direct control over the business. • has good manners. • has his own room. • have a room of his own. • has hundreds of books. • has instinctive good taste. • has lots of friends. • has lots of happy memories (of sth). • has no dress sense at all. • has no ear for languages at all. • has no plans (to do sth). • has no principles. • has no regard for her feelings. • has no sense of his own identity. • has no sight in his left eye. • has no use for people like them. • has no/little regard for him. • has rather a high-pitched voice. • has German etc. connections. • has secret information. • has short black hair. • has strong links with the drugs trade. • has the same strong features as her mother. • has trouble with his breathing. • has two children (from a previous marriage etc).

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• hasn’t a drop of sense in his head. • (have) had difficult negotiations. • (have) had enough (of sth). • (have) had enough of (doing) sth. • (have) had too much to drink. • have (a great) pride in sth. • have (a short) memory. • have (a) breakfast. • have (a) good command of sth. • have (a) great feel for language(s). • have (an) interest in sb/sth. • have (bad/good etc.) taste. • have (enough) time to do sth. • have (every) reason to do sth. • have (extra) panels (for protection). • have (good/no) reason to believe sth/that…. • have (got) a (bad) cold. • have (got) a business. • have (got) a degree. • have (got) a few bob. • have (got) a good brain. • have (got) a job for sb. • have (got) a job in sth. • have (got) a lot (of work) to do. • have (got) a lot to answer for. • have (got) a pain in sth. • have (got) an idea. • have (got) brains/a brain. • have (got) character. • have (got) enough stuff. • have (got) every right (to do sth). • have (got) good sight. • have (got) its lights on. • have (got) more ground than sb. • have (got) much etc. desire for sth. • have (got) no/little idea. • have (got) no/very little taste. • have (got) nothing against sb. • have (got) nothing beyond sth. • have (got) nothing to lose. • have (got) plenty of brain. • have (got) some connection with sb. • have (got) terrible writing. • have (got) to admit/ must admit. • have (got) your hands full. • have (got) your/ its moments. • have (got/thought of) an idea for sth/doing sth. • have (great) difficulty doing sth. • have (great/real) class. • have it in mind to do sth. • have it in mind that…. • have (little/ no/some/special/a different etc) meaning. • have (more than) your fair share of sth. • have (no) luck. • have (no) occasion to do sth. • have (real) difficulty (in) understanding sb. • have (real) passion. • have (sb’s) permission. • have (some) lunch. • have (strong/pleasant) associations for sb (with sth). • have (the) initiative. • have (the) intelligence (to do sth). • have (the) time. • have (tools/garden equipment etc.) for hire. • Have (you got) a second?. • have (your) dinner. • have (your) doubts. • have (your) doubts (about sth). • have (your) hair cut/done. •

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

have (your) hair tinted. • have (your) misgivings (about). • have 5 miles to walk. • have a (baby) boy. • have a (bright) future. • have a (colour) TV. • have a (good) clothes sense. • have a (good) dress sense. • have a (good) cry. • have a (good) laugh. • have a (good) look (at sb/sth). • have a (good) name for sth. • have a (good) run for your money. • have a (good/wide) choice of…. • have a (great) facility for languages etc. • have a (great) fear of sth/doing sth. • have a (great) passion for gardening etc. • have a (long) tradition of doing sth. • have a (long etc.) talk (with sb). • have a (mental) block (about sth). • have a (phone) call. • have a (quick/brief) word (with sb). • have a (quiet) smoke. • have a (tetanus etc.) shot. • have a (bad/good) attitude. • have a (positive/negative) attitude. • have a (great/interesting etc) personality. • have a 25-minute journey to work. • have a 3-mile run.

Group 2 • have a baby. • have a baby on the way. • have a backache. • have a bad connection. • have a bad day. • have a bad effect on sth. • have a bad heart. • have a bad memory. • have a bad memory for sth. • have a bad/good effect (on). • have a bad/ raw deal. • have a balanced diet. • have a barbecue. • have a basic sketch of a plan. • have a bath. • have a beautiful face. • have a beer. • have a belief. • have a bet (on sb/sth). • have a big appetite. • have a big heart. • have a big mouth. • have a big smile on her face. • have a big stake in (doing) sth. • have a big/ swollen head. • have a birthday. • have a bit of bother doing sth. • have a bit of practice. • have a bite (of sth). • have a blood test. • have a bomb. • have a bow. • have a boy/girl. • have a brain for sth. • have a break (from work etc.). • have a break (from). • have a break. • have a brilliant mind. • have a brother. • have a bumpy ride. • have a bumpy/smooth flight. • have a burden on your shoulders. • have a burn/scratch mark (on your foot etc.). • have a bus to catch. • have a cake. • have a call from sb. • have

‘have’ -co l l ocations

65

a calming influence on sb. • have a care. • have a case (against sb). • have a chair. • have a chance (of sth/of doing sth). • have a chance (to do sth). • have a chance to visit the Taj Mahal. • have an opportunity to visit the zoo. • have a change of heart. • have a character all (of) its own. • have a character of its own. • have a chat (with sb). • have a check (in/through sth). • have a check on (sb/ sth). • have a child. • have a child at any price. • have a choice (of x or y). • have a cigarette. • have a claim on sb/sth. • have a claim to sth. • have a clear aim. • have a clear conscience. • have a clear policy. • have a clear etc. view. • have a close look. • have a close relationship with sb. • have a cold. • have a cold in the head. • have a collection (for charity). • have a column. • have a comfortable home. • have a comfortable lead. • have a comfortable majority. • have a complaint (about sth). • have a complex about sth. • have a conference. • have a confession to make. • have a constant stream of visitors. • have a constitutional right (to do sth). • have a convention. • have a conversation (with sb). • have a cook. • have a copy of the report. • have a course of treatment. • have a crack at (doing) sth. • have a crash. • have a crisis in/of confidence. • have a critical period. • have a crush on sb. • have a cup of tea. • have a customer. • have a dance. • have a date (with sb). • have a daughter. • have a day off. • have a day out. • have a day sw. • have a debate. • have a deep awareness about/ of sth. • have a deep cut. • have a deep voice. • have a design. • have a devastating effect on sb/sth. • have a device. • have a different answer. • have a difficult time (doing sth). • have a dinner party. • have a disadvantage. • have a disagreement with sb. • have a discussion (about sth) (with sb). • have a display. • have a disposition to do sth. • have a distinctive smell. • have a distinguished record (as a minister etc.). • have a draw (against a team). • have a dreadful row. • have a dream. • have a drink (of juice/tea etc.). • have a drink of sth. • have a drink problem.

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

• have a dry cough. • have a dump. • have a duty (to do sth). • have a duty to sb. • have an enormous impact on sth. • have a fair idea (of sth). • have a fair idea of what the job involves. • have a fair/square deal. • have a fairly good chance (of winning etc.). • have a fall. • have a familiar ring. • have a family. • have a family history of sth. • have a farm. • have a fascination for sb. • have a fault. • have a feed. • have a feel (for the violin/ tennis etc). • have a feeling (that…). • have a fever. • have a few anxious moments. • have a few criticisms. • have a few errands to run. • have a few splits in sth. • have a few words with sb. • have a field day. • have a fight (with sb). • have a fight on your hands (to get sth difficult done). • have a fighting chance. • have a file (on sb/sth). • have a fine start. • have a finish. • have a firm chin. • have a fit. • have a five-year-old boy. • have a flat. • have a flat sw. • have a flavour. • have a follow-up session. • have a foot in both camps. • have a four-game series. • have a frank exchange (of views). • have a fresh look at the problem. • have a fruit. • have a full life. • have a full range of new cars. • have a full-employment situation this year. • have a function. • have a future. • have a game (of sth). • have a gift for sth/doing sth. • have a glance at the newspaper headlines. • have a glimpse of sth. • have a go at sb (for sth). • have a go at (doing) sth. • have a go (on the violin etc). • have a good appetite. • have a good body. • have a good command of a language. • have a good day (at …). • have a good deal. • have a good education. • have a good explanation for his behaviour!. • have a good feed. • have a good friend in sb. • have a good head for figures. • have a good heart. • have a good hold of a subject etc. • have a good knowledge of sth. • have a good library. • have a good look (for sth). • have a good look at sth. • have a good memory for sth. • have a good mind to do sth. • have a good opinion. • have a good read. • have a good relationship. • have a good response. • have a good thing going.

‘have’ -co l l ocations

67

• have a good time. • have a good trade. • have a good trip. • have a good view of the sea. • have a good weekend. • have a good word (to say) for sb/sth. • have a good working relationship (with sb). • have a good year. • have a good memory for sth. • have a good look. • have a good/bad attitude. • have a good effect. • have a good/bad heart. • have a good/bad opinion of sb/ sth. • have a good/bad press. • have a good/excellent line in sth. • have a good/fine head of hair. • have a good/long run. • have a grasp of sth. • have a great body. • have a great future. • have a great impact on sth. • have a great start. • have a great time. • have a great etc. influence on sb/sth. • have a grievance. • have a guarantee. • have a guess (at sth). • have a guilty conscience. • have a habit of doing sth. • have a hacking cough. • have a hand in (doing) sth. • have a hard time (doing sth). • have a hard/ difficult/tough time. • have a head for business. • have a head for figures. • have a headache. • have a healthy appetite. • have a heart attack. • have a heart of gold. • have a heart of stone. • have a high opinion (of sb/sth). • have a high regard for sb/sth. • have a higher status. • have a history of sth/doing sth. • have a hold over/on sb. • have a hole. • have a holiday. • have a horror of death etc. • have a hot temper. • have a house of your own. • have an important influence on sth. • have a job. • have a job doing sth. • have a joke with sb.

Group 3 • have a keen eye for sth. • have a keen mind.• have a keen sense of smell. • have a kid. • have a kind/big heart. • have a knife. • have a large reserve of sth. • have a large supply (of sth). • have a lasting result. • have a late night. • have a laugh about sth. • have a lead. • have a lead (of 30 seconds etc.). • have a lead of 5 minutes. • have a length of 50 feet etc. • have a letter from sb. • have a licence. • have a loan of sth. • have a lock put on sth. • have a logical mind. • have a long day. • have a long neck. • have a long talk about sb/sth. • have a long way to go. • have a look (for sth). • have a look around. • have a look at

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

sth. • have a look at the weather. • have a look round. • have a lot in common. • have a lot of commitments. • have a lot of fight in you. • have a lot of time for sb/sth (infml). • have a lot of etc. skill at/in sth. • have a lot of etc. skill doing sth. • have a lot on your mind. • have a lot to be gained. • have a lot to contribute (to sth). • have a lot to do. • have a lot to gain. • have a lot to offer. • have a lot/much/nothing to contribute. • have a low opinion of sb/sth. • have a lucky escape. • have a machine serviced. • have a majority. • have a meal. • have a meeting. • have a memory like a sieve. • have a message. • have a mind of your own. • have a mind to do sth. • have a minor stroke. • have a minor/major operation. • have a miraculous escape. • have a miscarriage. • have a miserable existence. • have a mission. • have a moan (about sb/sth). • have a monopoly. • have a monopoly on (doing) sth. • have a moral responsibility to help people in need. • have a more positive outlook on life. • have a name for (doing) sth. • have a nap. • have a narrow escape. • have a natural wave (in the hair). • have a near miss. • have a negative view of sth. • have a new etc. aspect. • have a nice little nap in the car. • have a nice nature. • have a nice time. • have a lovely/nice smell. • have a horrible/ nasty smell. • have a peculiar/strange smell. • have a nightmare. • have a non-smoking section. • have a normal body weight. • have a notion. • have a one-track mind. • have a part in doing sth. • have a part in sth. • have a part to play in sth. • have a partner. • have a party (for sb/sth). • have a peek. • have a peep. • have a persistent cough. • have a personal trainer. • have a striking/strong personality. • have a phone call from sb. • have a picnic (in the woods etc). • have a picture of him in my mind. • have a piece (of fish). • have a place in sth. • have a plan. • have a plane to catch. • have a pleasant appearance. • have a point. • have a poor sense of direction. • have a population of 2 million etc. • have a managerial position. • have a post. • have a preference. • have a prior engagement. • have a privilege. • have a problem (with sth). • have a professional look about/to it.

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• have a profound influence on sth. • have a proper holiday this year. • have a purpose. • have a qualification. • have a quality. • have a quarrel. • have a query about sth. • have a question. • have a quick look. • have a quick mind. • have a quick temper. • have a quick wash before we go. • have a quiet laugh about sth. • have a quiet word (with sb). • have a race. • have a rail pass. • have a rally. • have a reaction (to a drug etc.). • have a reading knowledge of Hindi etc. • have a ready mind. • have a really bad pain in my foot. • have a reason. • have a record. • have a relationship (with sb). • have a reputation (for sth). • have a reputation as sth. • have a reputation for being honest etc. • have a responsibility (to do sth). • have a responsibility to/towards sb. • have a rest. • have a rest from work. • have a good/positive result. • have a ride (in sth). • have a ride (on an elephant/a horse). • have a right (to be annoyed/upset). • have a right (to do sth). • have a right to sth. • have a ring of truth. • have a rival. • have a roll. • have a room free. • have a rotten/rough deal. • have a row (with sb). • have a run of good/bad luck. • have a run of three months etc. • have a running nose. • have a rush on at the office. • have a rush on school bags. • have a rush on the application forms. • have a sad look. • have a safety feature. • have a say in doing sth. • have no/little say in sth. • have a/some say in sth. • have the final say on sth. • have a scale of 1:10. • have a schedule. • have a scowl on your face. • have a scratch. • have a seat. • have a selection. • have a senior rank. • have a sense of direction. • have a sense of duty. • have a sense of justice. • have a sense of responsibility. • have a serious effect. • have a serious talk about sth. • have a servant. • have a service. • have a set of symptoms. • have a setback. • have a sharp tongue. • have a shock. • have a short temper. • have a shot (at doing sth). • have a shot at goal. • have a shot at sth. • have a shower. • have a simple mind. • have a skill. • have a sleep. • have a small apartment in town. • have a small yard. • have a snack. • have a sneaking feeling (that). • have a sneaking suspicion

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‘have’ -co l l ocations

(that...). • have a soft skin. • have a soft/weak heart. • have a son. • have a sound mind. • have a sound night’s sleep. • have a source. • have a special arrangement. • have a special connection (with sb). • have a special interest (in sth). • have a special offer on (this week etc). • have a sporting chance. • have a spring festival. • have a spring in your step. • have a stab at sth. • have a staff of 30 etc. • have a stake in (doing) sth. • have a stand at the travel show. • have a stomach ache. • have a stroke. • have a strong constitution. • have a strong desire (to do sth). • have a strong influence on sb. • have a strong will. • have a simple/elaborate structure. • have a substantial meal. • have a suggestion. • have a sure footing/hold. • have a surprise. • have a suspicion (that …). • have a swim.

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P ractice with action word -groups

71

chapter 9

Practice with action word-groups In Book 4, we saw different patterns of action word-groups. Let me repeat one thing here: Action word-groups are the most important parts in our speech. Nothing else is as important as action word-groups. If your tongue and other organs of speech become flexible with action word-groups, part of the fluency problem will be over. Therefore, you should give intensive training to your organs of speech in uttering action word-groups. This is very important. I’m giving below a collection of certain specially selected action word-groups. Say each of them aloud several times. These are specially selected word-groups — specially selected to get your speech organs used to certain troublesome soundcombinations. And to get your speech organs to become familiar with certain extremely useful vocabulary items. Remember this: Your organs of speech do not have enough experience in producing these sound-combinations. This (lack of experience) is a major source of unwanted hesitations. Our aim is to eliminate this source. And the only way to do this is to get your organs of speech exposed to a sufficient quantity of these sound combinations — for a sufficient amount of time. So take up the oral practice with all seriousness.  • wanted to spare him all this trouble. • wanted to tell him. • attempted to steal it. • discussed it with her. • spoke about his children. • loved them to come with us. • concerned himself with their problems. • waited a minute. • asked me for money. • heard about the marriage. • giving her some advice. • can’t afford to buy it. • helped him with his homework. • strained the liquid. • paid for the tea. • got undressed. • seemed to ignore

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P ractice with action word -groups

it. • worried about him. • felt well. • waited (for) two days. • benefited from that experience. • caught her a taxi. • built houses. • can’t bear to see it. • made a fuss about it. • meant you to do it. • stared at the decoration. • trying to impress those people. • didn’t wait any longer. • locked the bag. • hoped for a promotion.  • granted him permission. • agreed to go. • said the stupidest thing you can imagine. • getting used to it. • stuck to his promise. • threatened to expose them. • wrote to him about it. • tasted very good. • lasted (for) two hours. • boasted of his wealth. • left him some money. • washed his hands. • confused him with his brother. • began to cry. • took care of the things. • needed it to clean the room. • stared at her. • heard him. • chose him captain. • imposed on him. • handed her a letter. • appeared to like it. • honoured him. • cancelled the appointment. • getting to be a good player. • played with those children. • tried to keep calm. • yielded to him. • seemed a fool. • came a very long way. • boasted about his family.  • chose him the nicest shirt. • came from London. • congratulated her on her good work. • didn’t care to read it. • made fun of him. • ordered them to remain there. • struggled with the work. • asked him a question. • made him manager. • indulged in merrymaking. • lent him some money. • staying at home. • included her in the team. • reached the top. • understood the truth. • played against the school team. • undertook to do it. • yielded to the circumstances. • looked like John. • stole twenty rupees. • called for the servant. • accounted to him for the money. • cut it with a knife. • connected his visit to their meeting. • chose to remain there. • hurt his back. • permitted us to enter. • struggled with the fellows there. • cut her finger. • recognized him as a genius. • inquired about the price.  • offered him her help. • going to the temple. • included soap also in the list. • reminded me of it. • talking about you. • prepared for the party. • wished to talk privately. • thanked them

P ractice with action word -groups

73

for the help. • looked like petrol. • lacked wisdom. • called on the doctor. • acted on instructions from him. • knew the answer. • connected the price-rise with the wage-rise. • claimed to know them. • borrowed it from there. • persuaded him to go back. • submitted to the pressure. • bought a dress. • considered him (to be) very capable. • inquired about your brother. • owed him some money. • walking into a shop. • informed him of the accident. • needed more time. • smiling at them. • profited by his mistakes. • advised me to keep mum. • accused him of theft. • seemed a nice boy. • slept all the time. • cared about her.  • added to his problems. • answered that question. • consulted his lawyer about the problem. • continued to phone her. • took care of him. • wanted them to face it. • submitted to his enemies. • fought against each other. • considered him (to be) a good officer. • invested in shares. • passed them the salt. • waiting on the platform. • informed her about the matter. • spilt the liquid. • longing to meet him. • qualified for the final test. • allowed them to go. • added water to milk. • having breakfast. • made no effort. • cared about her health. • agreed with them about the rate. • ate rice at home. • convinced her of his innocence. • decided to fight it out. • set fire to the garbagepile. • pressed us to withdraw the complaint. • succeeded in his attempt. • fought among themselves. • found him guilty.  • agreed to our proposal. • belonged to them. • converted him to their belief. • determined to solve it. • made a promise. • waited until five o’clock. • recommended you. • swore at them. • came on foot. • found it good. • joked about those children. • reading them a story. • coming out of the shop. • interested him in her. • can’t understand her behaviour. • suffering from fever. • begged him to grant it. • asked him about the film. • having fun. • remembered to bring it. • depended on that man. • allowed for the delay. • waited for him. • converted the frontroom into a shop. • stayed indoors. • broke the promise. • requested everyone to keep quiet. • sympathized with them. •

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came by train. • deserved a reward. • built the houses well. • judged her by her actions. • eliminated discrimination. • joined in the strike.  • dropped him a letter. • going away from that place. • introduced him to her. • sat there talking. • apologized for the mistake. • relied on his words. • bribed them to overlook it. • assured them of our help. • having a party. • depended on the supplies. • amounted to a total of 100 rupees. • looked at it. • cured her of headache. • expected to do it. • left by three o’clock. • required me to come to the front. • talked about you. • sent it by hand. • found the rooms occupied. • judged from his behaviour. • recommended him some medicines. • walking up the steps. • involved him in the secret talks. • reached a conclusion. • died of hunger. • relied on him. • caused it to happen. • based my conclusion on circumstances. • having a good time. • lost all hopes of escaping. • heard the dog barking.  • answered the phone. • listened to it. • cursed him for his wickedness. • failed to satisfy them. • won’t leave until dark. • sentenced him to undergo imprisonment. • talked about prices. • painted the walls. • caught them climbing the fence. • knew of it. • sold him a pen. • running down the steps. • led her to the platform. • knew the main facts. • agreed with him about that. • replied to the policeman. • challenged him to try. • blamed him for the mix-up. • drinking some water. • felt the floor shake. • died of hunger. • apologized to him for her rudeness. • heard it. • defended him from the allegations. • forgot to tell you. • stayed there till three. • taught her to swim. • talked of several things. • lived across the road. • longed for the good old days. • kept us waiting. • knew about it.  • sent her some flowers. • going upstairs. • led the procession. • remembered that rule. • spoke to him about you. • reported on the accident. • asked them to follow him. • blessed her for her help. • having a drink of water. • liked riding. • differed from the other thing. • appealed to higher authorities. •

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took them off. • delivered the parcel to him. • happened to meet him. • jumped out of his chair. • told me to shut my mouth. • tasted of garlic. • lost a lot of weight. • can’t imagine doing it. • knew about those people. • served them food. • going to bed. • limited the report to 20 pages. • saw the essential points. • pointed to that man. • reported on those hooligans. • compelled everybody to donate. • borrowed a torch from them. • having a look at it. • liked walking. • differed from him.  • approved of the arrangements. • picked it up. • demanded money for the food. • hated to hurt them. • promised them a bonus. • borrowed the typewriter. • tempted them to steal. • thought of several things. • walked round the park. • can’t imagine him doing it. • laughed at him. • showed him the picture. • running across the street. • mentioned his name to me. • found a huge meal ready. • pointed at me. • condemned him to death. • resigned from his department. • changed my watch for a radio. • did his homework. • liked to lie in the sun. • dreamt of you. • looking at a picture. • put it on. • discussed the problem with him. • hesitated to lock the door. • exceeded the speedlimit. • troubled her to get the donation. • thinking about my future. • felt angry with him. • turned on the air-conditioning. • kept the light burning. • answered the door. • laughed at the arrangements.  • taught her a lesson. • going through that hole. • mistook her for her sister. • ran out of petrol. • attended the meeting. • dared her to try it. • responded to his questions. • charged me for the things I bought. • had a haircut. • liked disturbing them. • dreamt about the picnic. • waiting for a bus. • dismissed her from the job. • intended to tell every one. • went up the stairs. • trusted him to look after her. • thought of that man. • felt anxious about it. • heard the news. • joked about his appearance. • told us a lie. • running round the field. • neglected him (for her). • forgot to fill it up. • attended to the customers. • drove them to labour hard. • resulted from the discussions. • charged him with theft. • worked in that office. • started to sing. • dreamt about

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those people.  • applied to them for a license. • looking for my pen. • distinguished that material from this. • learned to write backwards. • broke the safe open. • neglected her work. • urged us to vote for him. • thought about you. • felt sorry for him. • made an attempt. • leant on the glass window. • threw her that ball. • going over a bridge. • neglected those things (for these). • spent the night there. • thought about the problem. • enabled us to complete it. • resulted in their marriage. • played a game. • started singing. • dreamt of all those things. • argued with him about it. • saw it. • divided 325 by 5. • longed to meet you. • neglected to study. • waited our time. • wanted me to go there. • led the guests to their rooms. • tired of walking. • felt proud of them. • spoiled the picture. • leaning on him.  • wished her happiness. • going under the bridge. • pardoned him for the negligence. • resented the criticism. • thought of her. • retired from service. • encouraged him to study. • cheated him out of his share. • carried the parcels for us. • allowed him to smoke. • economized on household expenses. • arranged (for) a meeting. • wore the clothes. • divided the bread between him and her. • managed to win them over. • speaking on the telephone. • warned her not to repeat it. • traded with them in several things. • made arrangements for the journey. • listening to the speaker. • writing her a letter. • lay on the ground. • paid him for the work. • described the situation. • cared for her. • directed him to the right place. • searched for it. • telephoned the police. • remembered dropping it. • lit a cigarette.  • asked after your health. • took all that money. • divided the profit. • meant to send it by hand. • looked out for the signal. • wished you to speak to him. • united with the others. • getting fatter and fatter. • wore sun glasses. • living for money. • building her a house. • going to sleep. • paid money to him. • punished the culprits. • leant on the desk. • expected you to

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attend to it. • searched for him. • arrived at the station. • turned the handle. • engaged in some busy work. • asked for a tea. • giving it all to him. • divided the cake into small parts. • offered to help. • smoked less.

***

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chapter 10

Spoken texts for Speech-flow practice Let us now go on with the hesitation-tackling oral practice using yet another type of extremely useful word groups. These word groups are short spoken texts. And these spoken texts are: (i) stand-alone clauses, or (ii) combinations of adverbial phrases and clauses, or (iii) combinations of clauses. For example, “Add his name to the list.” and “All the chairs are in line.” are stand-alone clauses. “Above everything else, he’s very understanding.” and “According to gossip, they’re planning to get married.” are combinations of adverbial phrases and clauses. “Add this column of figures, and find the total.”, “All this happened when the coalition government was in power.” and “Ajith isn’t at work this week. He isn’t well.” are combinations of clauses. There’s something important about all these spoken texts — from the fluency-building angle: As far as the spoken clauses are concerned, they’re either (i) standardized clauses with a set wording or (ii) combinations of standardized clause fragments (= standardized language sections) of general utility. And as far as the adverbial phrases are concerned, they all standardized word clusters. Once you do a good amount of oral practice with these spoken texts, you automatically begin to achieve mastery over these standardized clauses, standardized language fragments and standardized language sections. And once that happens, your ability to produce idea units to order and to juggle around standardized clauses, fragments and sections improves — because they’re all word groups that can be combined and arranged in a

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variety of ways to produce spoken texts to order in a variety of verbal and situational contexts. So get a lot of oral practice saying these word groups aloud. But before you start the oral practice, do once again go through what I told you at the beginning of chapter 7 about the importance of this sort of practice as a hesitation-tackling training tool. Now for the oral practice. • Above everything else, he’s very understanding. • According to gossip, they’re planning to get married. • According to her, the accident was the driver’s fault. (= she says…). • According to records, they’ve paid back all the money. • Acne is common among teenagers. • Active participation of all members – that is central to the new scheme. • Actually, politics/sport is outside my area of interest. • Add his name to the list. • Add these figures/ numbers together and tell me the total. • Add these numbers together and find the total. • Add this column of figures, and find the total. • Additions are made to the list from time to time. • After 10 years on the job, he decided to resign. • After a couple of drinks, he came to life. • After a few days, they got the boat floating on water. • After a kilometre or so, I got tired and stopped running. • After a nervous start, the speaker began to pick up confidence. • After a year or so, he returned to doing research work. • After about a mile, there was a climb in the road. • After all, he’s an expert mechanic. He knows best. • After all his efforts, he couldn’t pass the exam. • After all that hard work, he earned a break. • After all these years, he’s decided to get married. • After all, they’re brothers. They’ll stand together. • After Christmas, sales won’t continue at our present rate. • After her baby was born, she hasn’t got her figure back. • After college, he’s planning to go into advertising/films/insurance. (= get a job in). • After his heart got bad, he’s only been taking vegetarian food. • After his retirement, he’s been leading an easy life in Bangalore. • After I left Bombay, we didn’t see much of each other. • After months of fighting, the rebels were brought under

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control. • After my morning’s work, I went for some shopping. • After six months, I had only covered half the course. • After some time, I heard them leaving. • After some time, the train came to a sudden stop. • After some time, we got started on the cooking/ washing-up. • After some time, we slowed to a leisurely walk. • After tea, the meeting continued. • After that, he resigned or something. • After that, he went back to his house and that’s that. • After that, I made my way home. • After that, I went for a little/short walk. • After that, I went to her house twice more. • After that, we directed all our efforts towards increasing our production. • After the accident, there was an inquiry of a kind. (= of a low or lower kind than the speaker wanted or expected; almost not worth the name). • After the film, I went home to my flat. • After the fire, they were left with nothing. • After the play, they headed for home/the swimming pool. • After the storm, the river flooded and broke its banks. • After the storm, things got back to normal little by little (= not suddenly, but slowly or over a long period of time; at the rate of a small amount at a time). • After the threat on his life, he doesn’t go out alone. • After the Town hall, the road turns sharply (to the) right. • After the trip to the mountains, I felt all in. • After you with that magazine/ pen, please. (= can I have/use it after you’re finished with it?). • Afterwards, I met him at a conference later in the year. • Ahmed is nowhere near as efficient as Peter. (= not at all). • Ajith and Raju shook hands and got on their buses. • Ajith and Rupesh changed seats. • Ajith changed seats with Rupesh. • Ajith, for one, won’t join the strike. • Ajith isn’t at work this week. He isn’t well. • Alex and company are coming for dinner tomorrow. (= Alex and his friends). • All (of) that money has been spent. • All (of) the boys enjoyed themselves. • All (of) the children are playing. • All (of) these/those are sold. • All (of) this is hers. • All at once, the lights went out. (= suddenly). • All but Peter agreed with her (= everyone except for; all except). • All he did was to nod in answer to my question. • All he ever talks about is

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cricket. • All his efforts went for nothing, and he failed the exam. • All his investments have brought in good returns. • All his life, he’s been struggling against injustice. • All his salary goes on that girl. (= is spent on). • All in all, I enjoyed the party. (= on the whole; when everything is considered). • All in all, last night’s party was a failure. • All in all, the strike achieved very little. • All in all, they treated us very well. • All managers in our firm have secretaries of their own. • All my attempts at getting the price down failed. • All my/his family are vegetarians. • All our efforts were to/of no effect. • All our players are in peak condition. • All our workers are planning to join the demonstration/strike. • All parents are concerned for their children’s future. • All right, I dare you to tell the boss. • All right, I’ll go with them, if I must. • All right, if you do that, you’ll be sorry. • All right, let’s now tighten these nuts. • All right, you win — we’ll have the party outdoors. • All she ever eats is health food. • All the accused denied charges of conspiracy. • All the arrangements are over — we’re in business now. • All the buses were crammed with people. • All the chairs are in line. (= in a straight row). • All the family died in the accident. • All the guests have gone. Let’s do the dishes now. • All the huts in the village have gone under flood water. • All the illustrations in the book are in colour. • All the loss-making branches of our bank are going to close. • All the members are together on this issue. • All the newspapers went to town on the spy scandal. • All the people he contacted were against the proposal. • All the speakers praised his role in the freedom struggle. • All the staff there seem nice people. • All their players are in pretty good physical condition (= good state of health). • All their workers/players are fit and strong. • All these are irrelevant. He’s just trying to confuse the issue. • All these clues point towards your cousin. • All these developments led them to rethink the whole plan. • All these difficulties are the result of bad planning. • All these donations will go to the flood relief

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fund. • All these dresses are/have 10%/Rs.50 off. • All these earthenware pots are made by hand. • All these goods are highly priced. • All these houses look the same (to me). • All these machines go by electricity. • All these posters carry that slogan. • All these problems are the product of bad management. (= the result). • All these speeches are pure propaganda in the name of religion. • All these things were done as part of a religious ceremony. • All things considered, the meeting went quite well (= Taking everything into consideration). • All this arguing isn’t going to help you win this election. • All this goes to a period several years ago. • All this happened because of heavy rain. • All this happened because of you/because of a misunderstanding. • All this happened in the latter half of the 19th century. • All this happened not long after that. • All this happened when the coalition government was in power. • All this has happened because of (a) shortage of staff. • All this is outside my experience. • All this/that money is yours. • All told, there were 50 people at the meeting. • All we can do now is wait. • All wood isn’t good for this sort of work. • Almost all of North India was affected by the drought. • Almost all the staff in that office are men. • Almost no one likes it. • America and Britain are close allies. • America has broken their commercial links with those two countries. • Amnesty International is a force to be reckoned with. • Among those people, this sort of behaviour is accepted as right. • An awful thought has just struck me. • An occasional dinner at a restaurant won’t break the bank. • And then a girl came into view from the shadows. • And then he appeared at his window. (= could be seem). • And then he started describing his holiday. • And then he started speaking about his cat, of all places. • And then the road turns into a courtyard. • And then, Hitler declared war on those countries. • And then, someone in the audience raised a point. • Anil and Priya sat there looking deeply into each others eyes. • Anil seems to have made a hit with Priya. • Anita’s house is quite near. • Ants live on the ground. • Any

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more delay will cost us dear. • Any of you can do it. • Anybody can trick him easily. He’s a great big fool/idiot. (= very…). • Anybody will do the same in a situation like this. • Anyone can swim — there’s nothing to it. • Anyone else (in his place) would have refused to help them. (= a different person). • Anything you say is okay with me — you’re my lawyer. • Apply the ointment to that swollen part. • Approximate figures won’t do. We need precise figures. • Are the children getting along all right in the new school? • Are these chairs for sale? • Are you feeling warm enough or do you need another blanket? • Army/College was a good time for me. • Arun and Ajay are quite different. • As a rule, we get up by 5 o’ clock. • As a writer, he was ahead of/before his time. • As a youngster, he used to kick against his father’s authority. (= resist or react strongly against...). • As always, he was the last to arrive. • As always, I did the cooking, and she did the washing-up. • As ever, her husband was in the kitchen, cooking. • As everyone knows, he died last year. • As far as I can recall, he was a physics professor. • As for the other suggestion, I think it’s ridiculous. • As from 1st April/next May, we’re going to scrap this system. • As from March 1st, the new rule will take effect. • As from today, she’s your secretary. • As from today/ tomorrow, you’re my secretary. • As head of the family, he has certain responsibilities. • As I understand it, what he did was right. • As it is, we have more than enough problems. • As it is/As it stands/As it happens/As it turns out, we’ve decided to support the Socialists. (= This is the actual situation). • As of now, the office will start working at 9 a.m. • As soon as the race was over, they announced the winner. • As soon as you get there, drop me a line. (= write a short letter to me). • As the course progressed, the topics got hard/harder. • As the evening went on, she became more and more impatient. • As the managing director, he carries a heavy load/burden. (= has a lot of work/responsibility). • As things are/stand, we can’t accept this offer. (= This is the real situation). • As things stand, he’s not likely to win this election. • As time

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goes on, things are bound to improve. • As yet, I’ve not received a reply to my letter. • As/So far as I know, he’s in Bombay. (= I think…, but I’m not sure). • Asha, you’ve been a real help. • Ask her who had phoned. • Ask him — he’ll tell you. • Ask him about it before the drink takes effect. • Ask him the time/the way to the railway station. • Ask him to be careful — or he’ll injure himself. • Ask him to open the door. • Ask him to talk/shout less. • Ask him to tell the price. • Ask him. He must have some idea where they’ve gone. • Ask if/whether they’re interested in taking this job. • Ask the students to get into a line. • Ask them to wait in line at the counter. (= in a queue). • Ask your mom — cooking is her department. • Assistant Managers don’t have the power to sign company cheques. • Asthma runs in the family. • At a push, we can finish the report by this weekend. • At all events, I don’t want to annoy my boss. (= in any case). • At Coimbatore, they changed for Madras. • At first, he was cool and slightly distant. • At first, I didn’t know the matter was so serious. (= In the beginning; Initially). • At his age, he should know better. • At home, there are hopeful signs of economic recovery. • At last he’s made peace with his business partners. • At last, I got around to painting my bedroom yesterday. • At last, the speech came to an end. • At last, he decided to take leave (of his friends here/our village) and go back to America. (= say goodbye). • At last, he has passed the driving test. (= After waiting for a long time for it to happen). • At last, he’s beginning to seem himself again. • At last, his hard work has begun to show results. • At last, the great day is at hand. • At last, the holidays are here. • At last, the police arrived — not a moment too soon. • At last, they’ve reached an agreement with him. • At last, they’ve brought the negotiations to an end/a close. (= concluded). • At last, we’ve broken the back of the problem. • At last, we’ve found a way to deal with this situation. • At long last, I’ve found the book I’ve been looking for. • At most, they’ll give you 5% discount. That’s all. (= at the outside; not more than; at the maximum). • At one time, this hotel used to

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be a castle (= in the past). • At school, we used to fight and call each other names. • At that time, the Janata Party was in office. • At that time/In those days, I was working in Bombay. • At that very moment, there was a loud crash. • At the first sign of trouble/disobedience, you’ll be punished. • At the last election, he changed over (from the Congress party) to the Communist party. • At the last election, I cast my vote for him. • At the last minute, there was a change of plan. • At the start of the campaign, we had a few problems. • At the time, I didn’t know where your place was. • At this rate, he’ll be drunk before he leaves. • At this time of night, the streets are empty of traffic. • At your age, he had a job and was earning money. • Atrocities like that can never happen during the present day. (= modern times). • Attacks on old women are on the increase in that area. • Bad boy/girl — I told you not to do it. • Ballet dancers paint their faces for effect. • Bangalore is a nice place to live. • Bangalore to Mysore is about two hours run by car/bus/ train. • Barricades were placed across the road to stop people getting past. • Be careful how you handle the vases — they cost money. • Be on the watch for pickpockets in the train. • Be patient — all in good time. • Be sure to lock the door when you go out. • Be where I can put my hand on you. • Bear in mind that he was away at that time. • Bear me in mind if you’re planning to sell your car. • Before long, he came to like us. • Being a teacher can be hard work. • Believe it or not, he didn’t intend to damage it. • Believe you me, he isn’t very dependable. • Bend down a little bit. • Between us, Raju and I loaded 30 bags into the lorry. • Beyond the factory compound, there’s a stretch of muddy ground. (= ground containing a lot of mud). • Bicycles are cheap to run. • He came running (to me/my car/help me). • She went running (to him/his car/help him). • Bombay is a great financial centre. • Book early, or you won’t get a seat. • Both (of) his parents died last year. • Both (the) girls had passed the test. (= the two girls). • Both firms decided to join forces and carry out the project. • Both her brothers are

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in business. • Both teams are now even — they’ve scored one goal each. • Both the dishes were delicious, but they were quite different (from each other). • Both the patients are coming along fine. • Both the patients are doing much better today. • Both the suggestions come to the same thing:. • Both/All these suggestions/plans/methods are the same/very much the same. • Boxes like these are manufactured by the million/thousand/ hundred. • Bribery continues down the line in that office. (= everybody in that office takes bribes). • Brown eyes run in the family. • Look at the bruised skin around the eye. • Building work began about six months ago. • Buses are not running today. The drivers are on strike. • Buses for Mysore leave (every hour) on the hour. (= at exactly one o’ clock, two o’ clock, etc.). • Business has been bad for the past year. • Business is booming and he’s doing very well for himself. • Business is too good at the moment, but it won’t last. • Business usually slows down at this time of year. • Businessmen are willing to pay big money to promote their products. • Businessmen have been demanding these tax cuts for some time. (= reduction in taxes). • By all accounts, he’s a careful driver (= everyone says…). • By and large, the conference was a success. (= All things considered; Taking everything into consideration). • By and large, the project is going well. (= this may not be completely true, but is mostly true; on the whole). • My birthday is only a week/a month/10 days away. • By far, she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. (= By a great amount). • By giving such a letter, he has, in effect, resigned. (= in fact/virtually). • By her watch, it was 10 o’ clock. • By his own account, there was little traffic at that hour. • By the look of it, it was very old (= judged by its appearance). • By the look on his face, I knew he wasn’t satisfied. • By the time I came back, the car was gone. • By the time we got there, the film had already begun. • By then, the storm had come nearer the city. • By tomorrow, I’ll have completed my contract. • By what he did, he showed himself to be very cruel/kind/generous/brave.

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• By your own account, he showed no fear (= you yourself said that…). • By your own account, you’re an emotional person. • By/From the sound of it, they’re going to split up. (= from what has been said and from the way it was said…). • Can you deliver these wine glasses there safe and sound? • Canned fish never tastes quite the same as fresh fish. • Car after car went by without stopping. • Career or no career, she’s going to get married to him. • Carrying out this project in time is our central concern. • Catch that bus. It’ll take you there. • He caused them a lot of worry/inconvenience. • Cement/Fertilizer prices have gone up/gone down considerably. • Charlie Chaplin was before my time. • Check if the post has been firmly fixed (in the ground). • Children are always hard on their shoes/clothes. (= tend to damage or wear them out quickly). • Children learn by example. • Children of six and above can join this school. • City streets are no place for children/women after dark. • Clashes like these may develop into a riot. • Classical music has never really been my line. • Classical music isn’t my cup of tea. (= is not the sort of thing I like/am interested in). • Cleanliness goes hand in hand with health. • Climbing that mountain was rough/hard going. • Clouds of smoke rose high into the air. • Coconut is sold by the kilo there. • Come (over) here — I want to show you something. • Come along, let’s go to the shops. • Come and help me with this. • Come and sit over here. • Come at once. The boss wants to see you. • Come June/Friday, I’ll be in America. (= in June/on Friday). • Come next year, he’ll be our managing director. • Come on in, Ajith, and make yourself at home. (= behave and do things freely, as though you were in your own home). • Come on out — the coast is clear. • Come on, lend me a hand with the washing up (= help me). • Come outside a minute — I want to show you something. • Come to a decision only after you consider the matter carefully. • Come to think of it, I haven’t seen today’s paper yet. • Come tomorrow, you won’t feel like sending this complaint. • Come what may, I’m not going to resign. • Competition will bring prices down. • Complaining

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won’t help in the least. • Computers have been around for quite some time now. (= existed...). • Computers have changed the face of publishing. • Computers have changed the face of the printing industry. • Computers like these are classed as Personal Computers. • Considering everything, we haven’t done badly. • Cooking is her only interest in life. • Copy this paragraph exactly as it stands. • Country people came in their traditional costumes. • Cows are common in India. (= found in large numbers). • Crime often goes with poverty. • Criminals like him are classed as terrorists. • Cross only when the road is clear. (= empty). • Current accounts here don’t pay interest. • Currents of fashion change suddenly and without a good reason. • Cut the cake fairly small, but not too small. • Cut the carrots into small cubes. • Cut the crap and just tell me what happened. (= Don’t waste time on unimportant details; deal only with important details). • Cut the pineapple/meat into small chunks. • Cut yourself/him a piece of cake. • Dad, I need a bit of money. • Dad, we’re taking a maths test today. • Dad’s come. He’s got a little something for you. (= a small present). • Dad’s word is law at home. • Daddy, I made a new friend today. • Dangerous driving could cost you your life. • Day by day, the patient got better and better. • Deep (down) in her mind, she know she shouldn’t have done it. • Delhi is a long way north of Agra. • Delhi is the farthest place I’ve ever been to. • Difficult situations like these always brings out the best in him. • Digging the garden is no light job. • Digging the garden was hard work. • Digging the ground is thirsty work. • Digging up the garden is an effort. • Dirty streets/houses/places like these are a breeding ground for disease. • Divide the line in half. • It all began last Monday. • It all comes down to one question. • It appears as if/as though they’ve given up the idea. • It appears that they don’t like us very much. • It broke her heart to see them suffering. (= made her feel very sad/unhappy). • It came on to drizzle/rain. (= started to).

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• It can’t have happened of itself. • It certainly feels good to come back home. • It comes to Rs.1250 or near enough. • It cost Rs.200 or so. • It costs a little more or less than Rs.10,000. • It costs nothing more than 125 rupees. • It costs round about Rs. 5000. • It didn’t cross my mind to give him a ring. • It does you good to let yourself go occasionally. • It feels as though I’ve climbed a steep hill. • It feels good to sit here on the beach. • It feels great to be free. • It feels hot/cold/stuffy in this room. • It fell to my lot to sign the order. • It gets very cold there at night. • It had a funny kind of taste. • It happened on a Monday/Friday. • It happened the year after their marriage. • It has become clear that we won’t get the contract. • It hasn’t rained for ages. • It is unimportant. • It isn’t always as costly as this. • It isn’t anything like as hot as last year. • It isn’t much of a car. • It just so happens that she doesn’t like you. • It looks as if he’s scoring another goal. • It looks as though we have no choice. (= It seems). • It looks like we’re going to lose the match. (= …as though/if…). • It may cost Rs. 100/200. • It never entered his head to phone the police. (= occurred to him). • It rained heavily all day yesterday, and farmers are laughing. • It really gets me when people behave rudely. • It seemed like a disaster at the time. • It seems the Delhi train is running an hour late. • It sounded like an excuse to me. • It still has something of its original shape. • It takes time to complete a survey like this. • It took (them) ages to complete that work. (= a very long time). • It took every cent he had to buy that car. • It took her months to learn to speak Hindi. • It took just about 2 hours to get there. (= approximately; roughly). • It took just ten minutes of fast driving to get there. • It took quite a while to get there. • It was (quite) an effort to convince them we were right. (= It was difficult to…). • It was a bit of a surprise. • It was a close match, but he managed to win. • It was a difficult situation, but he handled it skilfully. • It was a highly charged meeting/press conference/situation/ argument. (= everybody was very angry/anxious/excited). • It was a huge great cockroach/hole/house/dog/fish/tree. • It was

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a kind of a pen-like thing. • It was a large enough house. • It was a lively party. I enjoyed it very much. • It was a rash decision — it cost him dearly. • It was a really cold day. • It was a successful meeting. Everything went very smoothly. • It was a very hot day today. • It was all but a ridiculous suggestion. • It was an absorbing film. I liked it very much. • It was an action-packed film, and I liked it (= a film full of exciting events). • It was an ordinary sort of dress/camera/day. • It was another one of his silly ideas. • It was colder than ever last night. • It was ever such a pleasant weekend. • It was his behaviour that built my trust. • It was mean of you not to help him. • It was my turn to deal. • It was nearly night when we got there. • It was nearly tea time. • It was no easy matter to persuade him. • It was not long before they realized they were wrong. • It was not so much a discussion as a chat. • It was on the news last night. • It was our votes that put your government into power. • It was quite a party. • It was raining hard when we started out. • It was raining like anything yesterday. • It was rather a peculiar situation, taken by and large. • It was really hot and stuffy in there. • It was so funny, I couldn’t help laughing. • It was spring and the garden was bright with colour. • It was still raining hard when we left their place. • These people have come from faraway/far-off places. • These policies are aimed at the welfare of rural communities. • These policy changes took place under the last government. • These pomegranates are local/foreign produce. • These problems can’t be solved by money alone. • These problems have/are nothing to do with that quarrel. (= not connected with…). • These regulations will remain in effect for some more time. • These repairs may take a long time. • These rotten oranges give off a bad smell. • These rules will remain in force for six more months. • These seats cost Rs.1000. • These shirts are on sale with 30%/Rs.75 off. • These shoes are a good/ an excellent buy. • These shops sell fresh farm produce. • These subjects are taught to develop the mind. • These symbols mean nothing to me. • These tablets will do him good. • They agreed

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a price of Rs. 1500. • They all supported him in his election campaign/in the election. • They always cook food out of doors. • They always help one another. (= each other).

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92

Rhythm drill

chapter 11

Rhythm drill We’ve seen several techniques of fluency development by now. Among them, there’s one technique that would need extended practice. This is the technique of speaking English with its characteristic rhythm. This is a technique that would bring about a revolutionary change in the way you speak English. Once you get into the habit of speaking English with its characteristic rhythm, you’ll find that a sizeable part of your hesitation-problem (and so of your fluency-problem) is over. Understand this: A sizeable amount of “avoidable” hesitation happens because of this reason: Speakers (that is, speakers who are not fluent in English) fail to speak English with its characteristic rhythm. So you’ll find below a collection of word groups for rhythmdrill. The word groups have all been specially selected to give you training in more than one area. You see, they’re word groups of high-frequency patterns — patterns of word groups that come up very frequently during day-to-day conversations. And they contain tricky sound-junctions, too. So they train you not only in speaking English with the characteristic English rhythm, but also in handling frequently-occurring structural patterns and in speaking English without stumbling over certain tricky English sound sequences. Keep this in mind: Even a minimal amount of self-training in these areas would go a long way in helping you avoid a good amount of hesitation. Say each word group rhythmically ALOUD – several times. Here we go:

Group 1 • He’s in the |bath. • It can’t be |done. • She |didn’t |have a |meal. • |That |book would |do. • They’re |drawing.

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• I |want to |take a |week |off. • I was |there a |short time a|go. • I’m |glad. • There’s a |big |tear in his |shirt. • There’s |one on |this side of the |street. • I |quite be|lieved |what he |said. • It’s |very |far. • She’s |nearly |ten. • She |wants to |live in |comfort. • He was |running |round the |field. • I must be |going |now. • He |seems |nice. • |Don’t |make such a |noise. • You’ve |got much |fatter. • She’s |over |fifty. • It’s |under the |carpet. • You’ll |get it |soon. • It’s |on the |desk. • They’re |moving on |Tuesday. • |Read all these |books to her. • |Nobody |ever |speaks to them. • She’s in the |other |room. • He |says they are to |blame. • Your |letter disa|ppointed me. • There’s |none (at |all). • There are |none (at |all). • |Get |washed. • He’s |jealous of your po|sition. • He has |got it in his |hand. • She |hasn’t |made the |bed |yet. • I rather |liked it. • She has been |back for some |time |now. • They’re |pulling. • She |does it for a|musement. • It |tastes |good. • She |gave a |shout of |pain. • They |gave each other |presents. • It’s a |long |time she has been a|way. • |Here I |am. • He |shook his |finger at |me. • It’s |under the |bed. • It’s not |much of a |risk. • I |sometimes |go for a |run on |Sundays. • She has |tried that |trick be|fore. • She was |going into the |shop. • The |lid |doesn’t |fit. • He |slept |outdoors. • |This |cloth |tears |easily. • He’s a|fraid. • It |fell with a |loud |crash. • We’re |dancing. • |All the |others were a |long |way be |hind. • It’s |quite a |long |way. • It was |tremendous |fun. • I had a |meal. • She |doesn’t much |care for |bathing. • I was at the |doctor’s. • I |know her by |sight, but we’ve |never |met. • You’ve got |fat. • |This |shirt doesn’t |fit me. • There’s |one on the |right. • It will |soon be |Sunday. • He’s on the |platform. • The |car’s |broken |down. • Ex|plain |all these |things to him. • It’s |rather |heavy. • |Nobody was |singing. • I can’t |make this |thing |work. • There’s |hardly |any |(rice). • There are

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|hardly |any |(seats). • It was a |great disa|ppointment to her. • She |fell |ill. • He’s |jealous of his |friend. • It’s at the |side of the |big |building. • It be|came too |tiring. • I |quite en|joyed it. • He’s just |back from |seeing the |doctor. • She’s |cutting. • He was an a|musing |person. • They |seem very |nice |people. • There |wasn’t much |shouting. • I was much |younger |then. • They |both |thought of |each |other. • He has |lived there a |long |time. • The |notice is |over the |desk. • He |shook his |head. • It’s in your |pocket. • I can’t |bear that |man. • I’m not |hungry any more. • He’s an |utter |liar. • He |came out of the |shop. • I |can’t |think what to |say. • It has |stopped. • She |tore the |letter |open. • She’s a|shamed. • I |heard a |sound of |crashing. • He’s |crying. • The |bus was be|hind |time. • It’s |oval. • He’s very |hard up just now. • He |says so. • She |gave a |bath to the |baby. • He was at |work on |that |day. • It |made a |noise like a |bus. • You |used to be |quite |thin. • I’ m |doing it be|cause I |have to. • There’s |one on the |left. • I’ll be |back |sooner than you |think. • She’s on the |first |floor. • He has |grown a |beard. • It’s her |own. • I |made them. • |Everybody is |running. • |No one |seems very |keen. • There’s |very |little (|milk). • There are |very |few (|pages). • He |went there in dis|guise. • He |fell a|sleep. • She’s |feeling |jealous. • It’s at the |front of the |bank. • She |gave me |these. • I |quite be|lieved him. • It has be|come much |colder. • He’s |answering. • It was an a|musing |story. • It |looks like |Raju. • I |heard some |shouting. • I |went into the |Library. • She |saw you |talking to me. • The |light is |over the |bed. • The |wind |shook the |doors. • It’s in the |cupboard. • She re|fuses to |pay. • |Find a |seat for him. • They |formed a co|mmittee. • |Somebody is |working. • He |just won’t |make a de|cision. • He has |gone. • He has |torn his

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|shirt. • It’s not |necessary. • There |isn’t any |apple in the |fridge. • They’re all |badly-be|haved |people. • It’s |round. • I |had a very |pleasant |walk. • The |door had a |crack in it. • I be|lieve so. • The |food has all |gone |bad. • She |gave the |packet a |kick. • |That’s a |noisy |place. • She’s |rather |boring. • He may not |want to |take |part. • |This |seat is |free. • I can’t |stand the |pain. • I’m on the |roof. • They |shouted me |down. • It’s my |own. • |Things are |getting |dearer. • The |children are |playing. • I’m at the |end of my |tether. • There’s a |little (|oil). • There are |several (|chairs). • There are a |few (|cups). • His dis|guise was |not a very |good one. • It’ll |make the |nails go |rusty. • She |jumped on the |table. • There’s |one at the |back of the |bank. • He de|serves to be |thrown |out. • I can |only just |lift it. • It has be|come much |warmer. • I’m |counting. • |That a|mused them very |much. • He |seems a |fool. • He |shouted her |name. • It’s |someone|else’s. • I |simply must |buy her a |present. • They’re at the |window. • He |shook the |dust |off the cloth.

Group 2 • It’s in her |hand. • He’s a |stupid |fool. • |Keep a |seat for me. • She |wants the after|noon |off. • I’m |writing. • I |hate the |thought of |doing |that. • She has a|rrived. • He |thought of all |sorts of |terrors. • It seems |colder to|day. • I’m |coming. • You must be|have like a |man. • It’s |circular. • I’m |nearly |ready. • I |hope so. • I had an un|pleasant |time. • I |gave it a |push. • I |don’t like |noises. • You |soon get |tired of ho|tel |food. • It |says in the |paper he |died. • |This |basket is |full. • I |can’t |stand that |fellow. • I’m on the |first |floor. • They |hit him |over the |head. • It’s his |own. • I’m |off to |bed. • They’re |reading. • I |hope we |win. • There’s not |much (|soup). • There are not |many (|cakes). • He |went

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|pale. • He dis|guised him|self as a |beggar. • There’s |one bet|ween the |bus-stop and the |letter-box. • You can’t |beat him at |chess. • It’s not |quite |full. • I |live |there. • I’m |learning. • She |couldn’t |aim |straight. • It |looks like |cheese. • They |shouted their |orders. • |That’s no |good. • He |jumped |off the |wall. • The |switch is |over your |head. • He |shook the |leaves |down. • It’s in our |drawer. • They’re |bound to |lose. • |Get a |seat for him. • She |doesn’t |look |well. • She’s |watching. • |Let him |try on his |own. • He was |covered with |mud. • I |have a |terror of |fire. • It’s un|kind. • She be|haved |well. • There |isn’t any |milk in the |fridge. • It’s |square. • |Train journeys |always up|set me. • I |think so. • We |had an |anxious time. • I |heard a |cracking |noise. • I was |giving the |car a |wash. • |Nothing |pleased her. • Her |story a|mused them. • There’s |somebody’s |shirt over the |chair. • |This |bottle is |empty. • I |passed her on the |stairs. • He’s a |blithering |idiot. • |Take it |out of the |box. • Six |days out of |seven it |rained. • We’re |looking. • I |don’t |work |here. • There’s e|nough (|sugar). • There are e|nough ( |sweets). • It |had the |form of a |man. • It’ll |make the |milk |turn |sour. • She |jumped for |joy. • There’s |one on the |other |side of the |road. • My |heart was still |beating. • It’ll a|rrive |soon. • They’ve |sold |out. • She’s |cooking. • It was a |brave |act. • It |feels |warm. • He |shouted to her (but she |didn’t |hear). • He |waited all |night. • It |isn’t a |serious |error. • He’s at the |gate. • I |shook my |shirt. • We |sat down by the |roadside. • That’s a |possible |plan. • |Take it |off the |floor. • |Please |give me a |hand. • I’m |listening. • She’ll be |very up|set. • There’s |lots (of |powder). • There are |lots (of |chocolates). • The |food went |bad. • She’s |terribly |wounded. • There’s one |outside the |Library. • It’s beginning to get |dark. •

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This |letter is im|portant. • It’s |going to be |painful. • The |glass |cracked. • My |stomach is |bursting. • She was at her |lunch. • It |feels |soft. • He |spent the |night with us. • You’ll |never |guess who’s |here. • She’s at the |door. • She |started |back in |fear. • It’s in your |desk. • I’m at my |wits’ |end. • |Teach them a|gain. • You won’t |catch me |talking to |him. • He’s |working. • I |said |no such |thing. • I’ve been |there |once. • |Clouds are |forming. • The |handle came |loose. • He |jumped |over the |gate. • We have |got |new |ones. • I can’t bear |travelling by |bus. • It’s not |quite |empty. • She |just |won’t listen. • I under|stand. • It was a |wise |act. • I was |giving him some |help. • We were |shouting for you. • I |live a|cross the |road. • I |have no |news of him. • There |isn’t a |chair |left. • I |shook the |tree. • It’s in my |car. • I’m |quite |willing. • |Show me a|gain. • It’s |red. • We’re |waiting. • |Somebody’s been |telling |lies. • It |lasted |half an |hour. • A |button |came |off. • I was |having a |joke with |her. • We’ve |got |fresh |ones. • It be|gins at |ten. • He |played |badly. • They’ve |lost. • I a|gree. • He |asked me to his |house. • It de|layed me an |hour. • She was |having a |wash. • There’s a |shop |next to the |corner. • |Here it |comes. • It’ll |cost a |lot of |money. • There |isn’t a |chair. • She |started at the |sudden |noise. • I’m in the |kitchen. • She won’t |lend it to |you. • I don’t be|lieve so. • He may |spill it. • He’s |laughing. • It was |all their |fault. • There’s a |lot (of |butter). • There are a |lot (of |oranges).

Group 3 • There’s |nothing to |look |forward to. • He’s |getting to be an |expert. • |Please |lower your |voice. • There’s one in|side the |railway |station. • |I can’t |bear her to be a|way. • |This |letter is |urgent. • She’s |fed |up with them. • The |bus is |stopping. • It was an un|wise |act. •

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I |don’t |feel |well. • He’s |shouting with |joy. • |All of it is |stale. • I’ll |make you a |present of it. • It’s |under the |tree. • He’s not |easily sur|prised. • It’s on the |shelf. • We |must have a |meeting. • |Tell her a|gain. • He has |promised me |one. • They’re |talking. • That is |handy. • There has |been a |fire. • The envelope |came un|stuck. • We were |having a |joke. • |These |oranges are |very |old. • They |begged us to |stay. • He |played |well e|nough. • |Let us |not have |anything to |do with them. • I |know. • You must a|rrange about |that. • I was de|layed on the |way. • I was |having a |rest. • She |fell |over a |stone. • |Send the re|ply by |hand. • She’s |really |charming. • There |isn’t a |seat. • |That |started |all this |talk. • They’re in the |garden. • She |won’t |help. • I |don’t |think so. • I’ll |let you |have it |back to|morrow. • |Rupa is |going. • He’s |trying for a |loan. • There’s |plenty (of |milk). • There are |plenty (of |apples). • I was |very |fond of her |once. • He |looked |very un|tidy. • She |spoke in a |low |voice. • There’s one be|hind the |police |station. • I can’t |bear to |look at it. • She |put it in the |right |box. • He won’t a|llow |any such |thing. • The |phone is |ringing. • The |time for |thinking is |past. • She |seems |ill. • They’re |shouting for |joy. • None of it is |stale. • The |noise |bothers me. • It’s |under the |table. • I |want to |have a |taste of it. • It’s on my |table. • We’ve |finished our e|xams. • |Pay him a|gain. • |That |jug is |valuable. • I’m |swimming. • He’s |still very |keen on |cricket. • She |had some |money. • The |parcel |came un|done. • It was |done only in |joke. • |These |apples are |very |stale. • |Think |well be|fore you de|cide. • It’s |rather a |warm |day. • He’ll |give them |all to |her. • I re|member. • She a|rranged them in |pairs. • |People’s |tastes |differ. • I was |having a |look. • He |climbed |over the |wall. • I |bought my|self a |shirt. • |Here they |are. • That |started me |thinking. • I’m in the

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|garage. • She’s the |winner. • She |had |dinner. • There’s no e|scaping it. • The |boxes are |falling. • I |think he’s dis|honest. • It’s too |full. • |Not |once has she |done as he has |asked. • |Don’t |make such a |fuss a|bout it. • They |have a |low o|pinion of her. • There’s |one in |front of the |post office. • |This |tree |bears no |fruit. • I |put it on the |wrong |shelf. • I |hope they |won’t |blame us. • The |butter is |melting. • The |time has |come to |act. • I |fell |ill. • I |shouted with |pain. • |This |tea is |far too |sweet. • I’ve |finished |that. • It’s |under the |mat. • It has an un|pleasant |taste. • He’s in the |bathroom. • She has |just a|rrived. • I |had |breakfast. • He |gave it to me in |pieces. • I |have a |little |money. • He’ll be |back by |lunch |time. • You’re |drinking, |aren’t you? • I |trod on his |toe. • She was |here a |long |time a|go. • He |cleaned his |teeth. • He has been |using my |soap. • There’s one |opposite the |letter-box. • I |can’t |make him |work |harder. • He |always |sleeps in|doors. • She has |left her |bag be|hind. • The |wood is |burning. • He |acted as a |fool. • It |looked |beautiful from a |distance. • She |looks |nice. • He |shouted at her. • My |finger |hurts. • I’m not |sure a|bout the |details. • It’s under the |chair. • It’s |sweet to |taste. • It’s on the |chair. • He has |got |something in his |eye. • She’s |getting a |seat. • I |can’t |find a |shirt I |like. • He’s a|sleep. • He’s a |pompous |ass. • There’s |no |coffee (at |all). • There are |no |spoons (at |all). • |Get un|dressed. • I’m |tired of |all these |quarrels. • The |milk is |fresh. • It was |bed time. • I |quite under|stood it. • |That |shirt is so |shoddy. • We’re |pushing. • She has |kept it a|part for some |special |purpose. • I was |having a |meal. • He |jumped |forward with a |shout. • He |lives |all by him|self. • She has |won |first |prize. • |Here she |is. • The |windows were |shaking. • She’s in the |dining |room. • |Someone is |bound to |have it. • We |had

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|lunch. • I |can’t |carry |all of it. • It’s not |easy to |judge |distances. • She’s |eating. • She’s |back al|ready. • The |night before |last he |came |here. • He |took the |toy to |pieces. • She |lives |next |door. • It was a |low |wall. • There’s |one be|side the |bus-stop. • |Nobody is to |know. • He |came in |quietly. • He’s |looking |rather |old. • The |milk is |boiling. • He |acted as a |wise |man. • He |sounds |nice. • She |shouted. • We’ll |meet |sooner than |that. • It’s a |terrible |train. • It’s under the |desk. • It |has no |taste. • It’s on the |floor. • He |won’t even |try. • |Here’s a |seat for you. • He was in |too much of a |hurry. • You’re |smiling. • I ad|vised him to |go. • He |hadn’t any |money. • |Get |dressed. • |This will be |no |joke. • The |milk is |stale. • The |bed was very |comfortable. • It’s |quite a |cold |day. • |Please |ask him for |me. • I for|get. • He |pushed them a|part. • He was |having a |haircut. • The |outside of it |looks all |right. • |That was a |picture of him|self. • He has |asked me to |lunch. • |Here it |is. • I don’t |know what |started the |fire.

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Q uestions for rhythm dril l

101

chapter 12

Questions for rhythm drill So far, we’ve been doing the rhythm drill with word-groups that were not question word-groups. It’s now time for us to do the rhythm drill with question word-groups. Remember this: The principle of speech-rhythm governs all types of word-groups — statements, questions, commands and exclamations. And your ability to avoid as many avoidable hesitations as possible depends a lot on your ability to produce all these types of word groups with the characteristic English rhythm. Here’s a collection of questions. Do the rhythm drill with these questions exactly as in Book 4. First, go through Book 3 and refresh your understanding of the principle of speech-rhythm. Then, go through Book 4, and refresh your understanding of the principles on which the rhythm drill is based. Don’t forget to beat the rhythm. Remember this: You can see a vertical line (|) on the left-hand side of each stressed syllable — that is, immediately before each syllable that you have to stress. Yes, the vertical line marks the beginning of each foot — and so the end of the preceding foot. You’ll find junction pauses marked at various places by the ‘ + ’ sign. Here we go for the word-groups:  • |Do you con|sider |this im|portant? • |Can you |do it a bit |faster than |that? • |Is this the |right |way for the |Town|hall? • |Are you |here on |business? • |What |causes |floods? • |How many more |times do you |want |telling? • |What was the |film |like? • |Is that |possible? • |Did you |have any |luck + with |that at|tempt? • |How long does it +|take from |here to |there + by |bus? • |What do you |like

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to |do +|during |holidays? • |Can I do |anything to |help you? • |What sort of |film is it? • |When did she |start |working +|full-time? • |Has the |room got |good venti|lation? • |How much do you |weigh? • |Where did you |go to uni|versity? • |Can you |do it a |bit more |quickly + than |that? • |Could you |tell me +|how to |get to the |Lafa |hotel? • |What’s your |job? • |What do you |do? • |What’s his |house |like? • |Who else is |there to |do it? • |What do you |do + |after |loosening the |nuts? • |When did you |last |write to him? • |Have you |had a |lot of |work to|day? • |What is the |width + of |that |road? • |What do you dis|like + a|bout your |job? • |Can I do |anything for you? • |How |old were you |when you |started |school? • |How |old were you + |when you |left |school? • |Isn’t that just |what they would ex|pect us to |do? • |Is there a |swimming-pool |here? • |How could you |have been so |foolish? • |How |tall are you?  • |How im|portant do you |think these |are? • |How do you |spend your |evenings? • |Can’t you be |quiet |sometimes? • |Which part of |Bombay are you |from? • |Are you |doing |anything to|morrow? • |Is he |still |living |there? • |What sort of |car are you |going to |buy? • |Are you |tired? • |How long does it |take to |fly + from |there to |here? • |What do you |like + a|bout your |job? • |Hadn’t you |better |see the |doctor? • |Was I |right? • |Wouldn’t they |think + you’d |do |something a|bout it? • |Do you |know a |good |hotel + a|round |here? • |Will that be the |end of it? • |Is |everything |OK |otherwise? • |What’s your |attitude to |politics? • |How are you |getting on + at |school? • |Could you |pick up the |clothes + on your |way |back? • |Is |Secunderabad |near |Hyderabad? • |What |makes you |think that |waiting will |make any |difference? • |When did you |run out of |petrol? • |Does he |still |live |there? • |Do you |feel like |meeting him? • |Which of the |problems +|worries you |most? • |How many |kilometres +|is it from |here? • |What do you |feel + a|bout |being a |Minister? • |Where is the |nearest |petrol |bunk? • |How are you |getting

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|on? • |Do you |know |anyone who’s |got it? • |What is |this a |photo |of? • |Does it |matter |what they |say? • |What is the |number + for |trunk-booking? • |How do you |fill your |leisure |time?  • |When does your |office |start? • |Is |anyone in |there? • |How |far is it from the |city? • |Have they |got any |children? • |Can you |find |out +|whether he’ll |come? • |Where do they |get pro|visions |from? • |Do you re|member +|what this |place used to be |like? • |How long was he |there? • |Are you in |favour of |that? • |Is |Asha |there? • |How do you |feel + if |someone |compliments you? • |Who do you |know in |Calcutta? • |Have you |got any |eggs? • |Won’t that be a |fine |sight? • |Is |anybody |going |there? • |Would it |really be |any ad|vantage? • |Would you |lend me your |book for a |day? • |How long a|go did you |see it? • He isn’t |going to|day, I su|ppose? • |Where is he |from? • |How is he |getting on with the |work? • |Would you have |liked it? • |What are you |good at |doing? • |What does he |do for a |living? • |What is his |office |like? • |Haven’t you |sent them |yet? • |How are the |children? • |Do you |mind being |criticized? • |Where did he |die? • |Is it a |modern |house? • |Does |anyone |get through + the |first |time? • |Can you |say |when? • |Would that be |possible? • |Does his |new |car + |have |air-conditioning? • |Could I |borrow your |book for a |day?  • |When did you |go there? • |Why is the |‘Taj Mahal’ so |called? • |Which |platform does the |train go |from? • |How long have you |had this |with you? • |Could I |take |Friday |off + |next |week? • |Isn’t he the |man we |saw in the |store? • |Is there |anyone |standing |there? • |Do you |think they’re |friendly? • |What should be the |size of the |bed-room? • |Don’t you |recognize me? • |When did you |last |see him? • |Where was he |born? • |Is there |anything |else you can |tell me a|bout it? • |Can we |even |hope for |such a |thing? • |When did you |first |do |that? • |Isn’t it |absolute |nonsense

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to |do |that? • |Would you |like to |come for a |film? • |Where have you |been? • |Is it a |long |way to the |Post Office? • |Do you |know if there’s a|nother |bus? • |How are the |rest of the |family? • |When did he |first |mention |this? • |Is that |all it |was? • |What kind of |people do you |like |most? • |Are you the |youngest of the |family? • |How |large should the |hall |be? • |What is the |pin-code for |Bombay? • |How long a|go did you |join? • |Where are you |from? • |When is your |birthday? • |Are you |sure +|this is the |right |road? • |How |often do you |have your |hair |cut? • |When are you |going to |learn to be more |careful? • |D’you want to |come for a |film?  • |How long did the |lecture use to |last? • |Would you |like a |piece of |this? • |Has the |Madras |train +–|gone |yet? • |How are |Ali and |Kripa? • |How soon |can you |come |back? • |How much |longer are you |going to |be? • |How |good is she at |typing? • |Will she be |staying here |long? • |Is |football +|very |popular + in your |area? • |How |far is it to the |General |Hospital? • |How long have you |been a |member? • |What |part of |U.P. are you |from? • |Does it |have to be |him? • |How much does the |journey |cost? • |What |time do you |go to |work? • |When have you |time? • |Is it all |right + if I |come a bit |late to|morrow? • |Does she |smile when she is |speaking? • |Do you |mind if I |open the |window? • |Where is |Agra + in re|lation to |Delhi? • |What sort of |book are you |interested |in? • |What will you be |doing |this time |next |year? • |How much is a |first class |ticket to |Lucknow? • |Can you |spare +|that |much? • |Haven’t you |got them |yet? • |How |long is |that |hall? • |How long have you |known him? • |When did you |work in |London? • |How long is the |journey to |Delhi? • |What’ll you |have to |drink? • |Why do you |think there are |going to be |difficulties? • |Will |twenty be su|fficient? • |Is that |car |air-conditioned? • |Will you |tell me when the |news |comes |on?  • |How many |pages did she su|cceed in |finishing? •

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|How much have you |read so |far? • |When does the |Delhi |flight a|rrive? • |How many |months does the |course |last? • |What will you have |done + by |this |time +|next |year? • |Were they |happy + to |share your |company? • |Could you |get me a maga|zine from |there? • |Where did you |buy them? • |Do you |feel |tired? • |How |wide is |that |river? • |Do you |like |people + ad|miring your |clothes? • |How |old are your |children? • |When does the |film |start? • |When does the |film |finish? • |What |hotel are you |thinking of |staying at? • |What |other |things +|happen |there? • |Has he in|vited you for |Sunday? • |What is your |height? • |How many |pages did she |manage to |type? • |Have you |packed the |clothes? • |Has the |Delhi |flight a|rrived |yet? • |Could you |tell me |something + a|bout the |place? • |What is he |asking |for? • |When is it |due to be |finished? • |What sort of |price-range were you |thinking |of? • |What has he |got to |do with it? • |Are there any |law |books |there? • |Why did she |get so |restless? • |How |large is |Japan? • |Which do you pre|fer +–|this one or |that? • |Hadn’t you |better |get some |medicine for it? • |How long will the |meeting |go on |for? • |Aren’t |all of us +|like |that? • |Does the |room +|have good venti|lation? • |What has he |done + to de|serve |that? • |What is your |weight? • |Did they ad|vance him |some |money? • |Will they |vote for him?

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chapter 13

Questions for oral practice In Book 3, you saw why many people find it difficult to frame questions — off-hand, orally. In that Book, you also noted one thing: If you want to gain the skill of fluently producing questions orally, you have to do one thing: You have to get your ears and organs of speech to become accustomed to the way questions are asked in English. For this purpose, I gave you a collection of questions in Book 3, and I asked you to practise saying each of the questions aloud several times. I’m now going to give you another collection of questions. Say each of these questions aloud several times, too. Get a lot of practice doing this. Get your ears and organs of speech to become accustomed to the way these questions are framed. And to the types of word clusters that combine to form these questions. Keep reminding yourself of one thing: Without training yourself thoroughly in producing structural word clusters and content-word clusters of general utility, it won’t be possible for you to avoid unwanted hesitations. And as you go on doing this kind of oral training, a major source of unwanted hesitations goes on drying up — and unwanted hesitations go on becoming fewer and fewer in your speech. So here we go for the question word-groups:

Group 1 • Now what do I have to do? • Is he very bright? • Is it customary to do like that? • What do you think is most likely to happen? • Why did she lose her temper? • Will you have your bath now or later? • Who do you think he is? • Can I borrow your book? • Do many people consult him? • Whose fault was it? • Did you hear the news? • Whose pencil is this? • What does it mean if a cat crosses your path? • Have you planned anything for

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tomorrow? • Is this bag Anil’s? • Who was she talking to? • What is the price of this TV? • Have you thought about the question of repayment? • Which will you take — this one or that one? • Do you know if he is there? • Was she really so bad? • Can you see all right from that seat? • Who on earth would take such a risk? • What are you going to do when he returns? • What are your plans for the weekend? • Where do you get them from? • Have you had any training? • Have you considered what’ll happen when they come to know of this? • How much did you lend him? • Haven’t you heard the news? • Who telephoned? • Could you move your chair this way a bit? • What’s she doing these days? • Is it any good trying to explain? • Is there anything special about it? • What made you try there? • Did anyone object? • Do you honestly think he will accept it? • How long are letters to Bombay taking? • How much of this do you want? • What’ll you have to drink? • What do I owe you? • Who has been sleeping on this bench? • Is something wrong? • Are you planning to go abroad again? • Have they got all they want? • How long have you known him? • Why don’t we look at it this way? • Whose bag do you think this is? • Was there anyone around? • Do you have the courage to do it? • Would you mind moving back a bit? • Do you still require it? • Why doesn’t he do something useful? • How small is it? • Going by train? • Did it frighten you? • Don’t you think this is unnecessary? • What possessed him to behave like that? • How many of those do you want? • Do you want to bring it right away? • Could I use your phone please? • What have you been up to? • Did you hear this? • Do you intend to make any changes? • Do I have any choice in the matter? • What does that notice say? • Why don’t you stick to the subject? • How long have you been back? • How are you travelling? By bus? • How was the trip? • Did any of you go there? • Did you lock the front door? • Have you considered taking up that job? • What shape is it? • Is the meeting on the 2? • How quickly can you get here? • Would you like me to check the almirah? • What do they do for a

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living? • Are you free or busy? • What’s that place like? • When did the trunk call come through? • Does she always get angry? • Has he telephoned yet? • What type of wood is that? • Is it cheaper by bus? • How often do you go there? • Could you stick to the point please? • How about four o’clock? • How tall are you? • Could you talk a bit more quietly? • How are you all today? • Will you be ready by four? • How many brothers and sisters have you got? • What’s that parcel like? • Was the film good? • Do you know what make that car is? • What do you think I should do? • How are you feeling now? • Would he follow her wherever she went? • Is there anything else you want to know? • When can I collect the clothes? • Who gave her the box? • Where have all the books gone? • Who do you think is most likely to win? • How are you? • Surely you are not fooling me? • What’s the name of the thing you use for washing dishes? • What was the party like? • How do you know there’s going to be a strike? • How on earth did she manage to do that? • How did you spend the weekend? • Aren’t you supposed to be away? • Could you explain how it works? • Don’t they have a light in their house? • What make is your scooter? • Do you want to know about their reaction? • Would you do it, if you were me? • Where shall we go for dinner? • What difference does it make? • Is there a hotel anywhere around here? • How’s the family? • Would you like some tea? • Where did you have breakfast? • What sort of tool is that? • Should I do it or shouldn’t I? • What day is it today? • What’s the meaning of all this? • Can you stay a little longer? • Did you use to cry a lot when you were a child? • Why not try these people? • What are the prospects for a newcomer? • How much practice must he do? • Are the shops open today? • What would you do if you became the President? • Do the others like it? • Is there any chance of her marrying him? • Can you give me some advice on this? • Do you mean you actually saw her? • Has he got to work so hard? • When will he be back? • Who did they meet? • Who did he come with?

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Group 2 • How soon do you want it? • May I make a point about the new proposal? • When did you last write? • Who is he marrying? • Can you help me with this letter? • What can he do better than you? • What shall I do with these screws? • Why go by train, if you can fly? • How tall would you say that girl is? • Can she delay it a bit longer? • How wide is the room? • Do you want anything else? • Where are you off to now? • What would you do if you had a plane? • Any time to spare tomorrow? • Do you like your tea with or without sugar? • How long will it take? • What have you been doing since you resigned? • Do you want to invite everybody? • Which would be the better—this or that? • How do you like this weather? • Are there any nuts in the box? • What height is the hall? • What’s your view on his decision? • Is that thing worth paying money for? • What time is best? • Can you change me a 5-rupee note? • How long can I have it for? • Who do you plan to go with? • What are you going to tell him? • How soon do they want it? • Have you got to start today itself? • Would anybody like to comment? • Will you buy another one? • What have you got in your hand? • If you’re not too busy, could I ask you something? • Just what are you objecting to? • Where did you go to school? • Why not go there tomorrow? • What kind of person would you say he is? • How much longer is he going to be? • What length is the bench? • Can I give you a piece of advice? • Did you hear any strange noises? • Is it worth waiting for them? • Is something the matter? • Have you got anything for headaches? • When do you want it back? • What was it about? • Have you decided what to do? • Did any of them come here? • Do you have to cook yourself? • Does that mean you think differently? • Does he sell radios? • What business is it of yours? • May I make a suggestion? • What do you expect to achieve by all this? • What’s your job? • What do you do for a living? • Do you think he’s going to be elected? • Will you be away long? • What’s the point of inviting him, if he won’t come? • How can I learn to paint? • Could you describe

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that man for me? • Have you heard about him? • Did anybody telephone? • Which of these two would you choose? • Are these oranges? • Would you mind switching the light on? • How do you start this motor? • What are the office-hours? • Did you all go straight to the park afterwards? • What salary did he expect? • What size is the table? • (It’s) about that girl who came here yesterday — can she do shorthand? • ‘Beetrex’? What’s ‘Beetrex’? It doesn’t mean anything to me. (= I haven’t heard it before and I don’t know what it means). • If I turn my back, he’ll take advantage of me. How can I keep my eyes on him every minute of the day? • If it came to the point, would you make this information public? • If we need more funds, do you have any other source you could fall back on? • If you can’t find a use for these tins, why don’t you throw them away? • If you didn’t intend to help him, why did you raise his hopes? • If you don’t push your ideas, who’s going to accept them? • If you had to live your life over again, would you like to be a police officer? • If you move from job to job like this, how are you going to reach success in anything? • If you pick a quarrel with the boss, what can you expect? • If you were against this plan, why didn’t you make it known at the meeting? • If you’re planning to buy a washing machine, buy it from them. They provide very good after-sales service? • In a way, she’s right. What do I gain by staying in this job? • Is anything the matter? You look worried. • Is everything all right on the work/ domestic/publicity front? • Is everything coming along nicely/ well at work? • Is Gujarati a different form of Hindi? • Is he a friend of yours/hers/Ajith’s? • Is he experienced enough for this job? • Is he fast enough to take part in the Olympics? • Is he going to be another Hitler? • Is he going to be our new Managing Director? I don’t think he’s up to the job. (= is capable of doing …). • Is he going to run in the next election? • Is he really experienced enough for this sort of job? • Is he serious about resigning? • Is he telling the truth? • Is it all right if I leave the office a bit early today? (= okay). •

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Is it all right if I smoke? • Is it all right to break for a cup of coffee now? • Is it any use complaining to them? • Is it as late as that? Then I must be making tracks for home. • Is it at all possible for you to give me your answer today? • Is it so important? I’m in a hurry — can’t it wait till I come back? • Is it the case that you’re not getting good service from the dealers? • Is it true that banks don’t like to grant loans to students? • Is it very rough? Let me have a feel. • Is Physics difficult? • Is Sanskrit an easy language to learn? • Is that house large enough for a big family? (= as large as is necessary). • Is that really what happened? Are you on the level? (= being truthful). • Is that system still in operation? • Is that what the managing director said? It sounds as though the management is going to accept most of our demands. • Is the Government trying to do us out of our pension? • Is the same procedure in operation in that bank also? • Is there a bridge across the river? • Is there a law about choosing a name for your business? • Is there a lot to do? Do you want/need a hand? (= want/need help). • Is there a restaurant near here/there? • Is there a telephone booth here? I want to make a call. • Is there a telephone in your house? • Is there a time when the doctor/ conference hall is free during this work? • Is there any charge for having the TV installed? • Is there any doubt in your mind? What they’ve said is only too true. • Is there any fresh news of the accident? • Is there any lemonade going? I’m very thirsty. (= available for use). • Is there any money left over? • Is there any room for me (to sit down) at the back? • Is there anything else I can do for you? • Is there anything good on the TV tonight? • Is there anything in these rumours/this complaint/what he says? (= any truth in…). • Is there anything of interest in the paper today? • Is there anything we can do to prevent the bad effects of these pills and tablets? • Is there enough (of the) food to last a few days? • Is there much more of this story/film/play/show? • Is this a sort of joke? • Is this a suitable moment to break for tea/coffee? • Is this another of his tricks? I think this is another of his ideas to get us to invest in

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his project. • Is this cheque in order? • Is this deal/explanation/ opinion on the level, do you think? • Is this your first visit to Delhi? • Is trade unionism becoming a dangerous force? • Is your boss behind this proposal? (= Does he support it?). • Is your car going well? • Is your grandfather living still? • Is your son old enough for school? (= to go to school). • Is your watch working? • Isn’t he at the office? • Isn’t it a bit much asking him to come at such a late hour? • Isn’t it possible to get a permit without the need to go through all these formalities.? • Isn’t it the darndest thing you ever heard of? • Isn’t the train in yet?

Group 3 • It doesn’t matter to me if you leave a bit early. But have you asked Mr. Murthy? • It has turned fine and it may not rain again today. But (just) to be on the safe side, why don’t you take an umbrella? • It was a big mistake not to mention these things in the report. How can we put it right now? • It’ll take a little while. Can you wait for some time? • It’s about Mrudula. She seems very upset. Is anything the problem? • It’s all very well for you to say we must buy it, but where do we find the money?• It’s all very well to criticize, but what’d you have done if you had been in her position? • It’s bad enough to be short of food, but how about water? We can’t live without it. • It’s easy for you to criticize/laugh, but how would you feel if you’re blamed for something that’s not your fault? • It’s natural enough to be suspicious of strangers, isn’t it? • It’s not even two months since he joined the firm. Now he wants a pay increase. Can you beat it? • It’s only a matter of a few weeks. Can’t you wait till then? • It’s turned 4 o’ clock. When’s your train? • Just because our team has lost the match, why should we all hang our heads like this? • Just listen at the door. Is there anybody in that room? • Just out of interest, when did you get married? • Keep those books/toys in order, will you? • Let her do what she likes. Who cares? • Let me ask you something, Suresh — you look very unhappy. Is something wrong? • Let me see —

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where have we met? • Let me show you something — now then, where is it? — ah, yes here it is. • Let’s accept the offer — what do you say? • Let’s go for a walk, shall we? • Look Anand, I couldn’t make it last night. I’m sorry. Anyway, how did the party go? • Look at him. Isn’t he behaving very strangely? Do you think he’s losing his mind? (= becoming mad). • Look at that dress on display. Is it for sale? • Look at the sufferings of the flood victims. How can the government shut its eyes to them? (= deliberately ignore). • Look at the way he’s trying to please her. Can you beat that? • Look at these currency notes/stamps/books. Aren’t they in mint condition? • Look at this button on the side of the machine. Is it just/only for show or does it have any practical use? • Look over there — what’s that lying on the floor? • Look, I didn’t tell you all those things, because I didn’t want to worry you with my problems. All right? • Make that dog stand still, will you? • May I have a look at your newspaper? • May I take tomorrow off? My cousin is getting married. • Me? Support them? Not likely. (= definitely not). • Mind the baby, will you? I’ll have a bath. • Move those two chairs into line, will you? • Must you go? • Must you pay for it yourself? • My clock is broken. Can you have it working? • My pen doesn’t work — can I borrow yours? • My son is ill. Will you take a look at him, doctor? • No, I’m not going to resign. Whatever gave you that idea? • Nobody can help getting ill, can they? • Now then, is there anybody here who can speak French? • Now then, what can I do for you, Prakash? • Now then, what do you want to be when you grow up? • Now your car is as good as new. Who repaired it? • Nowadays, he’s very polite to me. What could be behind it? (= the true reason for it). • Of course, I can deposit some money with you, but will it be available on demand? • Of course, I won’t break my promise. What do you take me for? • Of course, I’ve not been eavesdropping — what do you take me for? (= What kind of person do you think I am?). • Of course, she made a show of interest, but do you think she really wanted to know what happened there? • Of course, you’ve been working

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hard all your life. But do you have anything to show for it except the small amount of money you have in the bank? • Oh by the way, when are you planning to go to Calcutta? • Oh! Was it you? You gave me the fright of my life. • Oh, don’t you start again! How many times should I tell you I can’t do it? • Oh, is that the time? I must be on my way. • Oh, less of that! Can’t you play without making so much noise? • OK, I get it — you want me to pull it, and not push it, right? (= understand). • Okay, I goofed — I know. But how was I to know who he had in mind for the job? (= I did not know this; you can’t expect me to have known this). • Only 5 miles from here? That’s no distance at all. • Open the door, and bring me back the key, will you? • Open the door/the window/the gate/the box, will you? • Please have those books sent up, will you? • Prices are rising. How can I live on this salary? • Problems like these give cause for concern, don’t they? (= are a reason for worrying). • Put yourself in his position. How would you have handled the matter? • Remember about feeding the dog, will you? • Remember to lock the door, will you? • Rice pudding? I wouldn’t say no to another helping. (= I’d like another helping). • Riots have broken out in several areas. What’s it all coming to? • Run and fetch a doctor, will you? • Run the machine/engine/motor for a moment, will you? • Shall we go for an outing to the beach tomorrow? Let’s start early in the morning and make a day of it, shall we? (= spend the whole day on the outing). • Shall we meet for lunch/dinner/ breakfast tomorrow then? • Shall we meet tomorrow then, and discuss it over lunch? • Shall we meet, let us say, next Friday? • Shall we shift these tables and chairs around? Oh, never mind. We’ll do it later. • She doesn’t like the new boss — but then, who does? • She doesn’t look anything like her sister? (= she looks different). That’s it. Bye for now.

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