Boredom and Confusion

“I am boring” and “I am confusing” are grammatically correct, but probably not what you want to say. Probably what you want to say is “I am bored” or “I am confused”. You can say that someone or something else is boring or confusing, but avoid saying that about yourself.

	Meaning
I am boring.	People think that I am not interesting.
I am bored.	My situation right now is not interesting. (Kids say this.)
I am confusing.	People think that I am not making any sense.
I am confused.	I do not understand.

.

Examples:

	Meaning
The book is boring.	The book is not interesting.
I am bored by the book.	same
The book bores me.	same
The book is bored.	Wrong—a thing can’t be bored.
Angry teacher, to sleeping student: Am I boring you?	Do you think I am not interesting?
I‘m bored, mommy!	I can’t think of anything interesting to do. (Kids say this.)
Only boring people are bored!	(Mother’s response to kid.)
The book is confusing.	I do not understand the book.
I am confused by the book.	same
The book confuses me.	same
I am confused.	I do not understand.
The book is confused.	Wrong—a thing can’t be confused.

.

Contractions

In some contractions, the letter replaced by the apostrophe can be in two different places. The meaning is the same. Use whichever one is easier for you:

The frog isn’t yellow.  = The frog’s not yellow.

They aren’t. =  They’re not.

We aren’t =  We’re not

Present Simple

Handout for October 26, 2009.   In the present simple (something happening all the time, repeatedly, in general), the auxiliary verb is to do. It is used for the negative, and to make questions:

---

I go to Boston every day.	I don’t go to Boston every day.
They visit the market on weekends.	They don’t visit the market on weekends.
Do you go to Boston every day?	Yes, I do.
Do they visit the market on weekends?	No, they don’t.
They visit the market on weekends. Do you?	No, I don’t.
Does she watch TV in the morning?	No, she doesn’t.

Present Simple with Should:

The auxiliary verb is still to do. It isn’t in the simple case:

I should study every day.	I shouldn’t eat pizza late at night.
They should pay attention.	They shouldn’t drink beer in the park.

---

To do appears in sentences containing “but”:
.

She should wear a hairnet, but she doesn’t.

She shouldn’t wear sandals at work, but she does.

I should study every day, but I don’t.

I shouldn’t eat pizza late at night, but I do.

They shouldn’t play poker in the break room, but they do.

He shouldn’t sleep in his car, but he does.

They should get to school on time, but they don’t.

Present Continuous

Describes something happening right now. The auxiliary verb is to be: I am going. I am not going. They are fishing. They are not fishing

Questions and answers in the present continuous use to be:

		Negative	Negative with Contraction
Are you going?	Yes I am.	No I am not.	No I’m not.
Are they fishing?	Yes they are.	No they are not.	No, they aren’t. (Or: No, they’re not.)
He is eating. Are you?	Yes, I am.	No, I am not.	No, I’m not

.

Present Continuous with Should:

The auxiliary verb is still to be:

---

I should be studying.	I should  not be sleeping in class..
They should be paying attention.	They shouldn’t be drinking beer in the park.

---

Questions and answers:

		Or:
Should he be wearing a hard hat?	Yes, he should be.	Yes, he should.
Should she be talking on the phone?	No, she shouldn’t be.	No, she shouldn’t.
Should I be worried?	No, you shouldn’t be.	No, you shouldn’t.

---

More Examples:

	Or:
She isn’t wearing a hairnet, but she should be.	…but she should.
He’s wearing sandals, but he shouldn’t be.	…but he shouldn’t.
I should be studying, but I’m not.
They should be paying attention, but they aren’t.	…but they’re not.
I shouldn’t be wearing sandals, but I am.
They shouldn’t be playing poker in the break room, but they are.
He shouldn’t be sleeping in his car, but he is.

.

Affirmative and Negative, More Practice

The verb in the answer is the same as verb in the question.

	Disagree!
The baby turtle’s cute!	No he _______!
Yes he was!	No he wasn’t!
Yes they were!	No they ____________________!
Yes they are.	No they ____________________.
Yes you will!	No I ____________________ !
Yes she will!	No she ____________________!
Yes I was.	No you ____________________.
No they weren’t.	Yes they ____________________.
No he wasn’t.	Yes he____________________.
I’m not sleepy.	Yes you____________________.
He didn’t go.	Yes____________________.
They didn’t see it.	Yes ____________________.
You didn’t study.	Yes I ____________________.
They worked all day.	No ____________________.
She wasn’t tired.	Yes  ____________________ .
I wasn’t late.	Yes you ____________________.
She was early.	No____________________.
I was sick last week.	No you ____________________.
He’s late.	No ____________________ .
She was late.	No ____________________ .
They were late.	No ____________________ .
Yes we were.	No ____________________ .
There are ten boxes.	No ____________________ .
There aren’t any students.	Yes ____________________ .
There isn’t enough time.	Yes ____________________.
There’s a bus on the corner.	No ____________________.
There weren’t any trees.	Yes ____________________ .

Fix the Bad English!

Correcting these common mistakes is easy, and will make your English sound much better!

Wrong!	Correct
What you do?	What are you doing? What do you do?
Where you go?	Where are you going? Where did you go?
Where Ricky works?	Where does Ricky work?
Where he from?	Where is he from? Where’s he from?
He no work.	He isn’t working. He doesn’t work.
Always I work late.
What he do?	1. 2. (could be present continuous tense, or past tense)
I no go.	1. 2. (could be present continuous tense, or past tense)
I no have.
What he did?	What did he do?
When he studies?
Anna no come tonight.	Anna isn’t coming tonight.

…

Answers and Questions

Handout for October 26, 2009. The answers are listed. What are the questions? Many have more than one possible question. The emphasis in the answer is different, depending on the question. See the first example. Questions in the past tense are usually formed like this: “did” + pronoun + verb (eat, lose, etc.) Don’t forget the did!

Question	Answer
Who went to Boston yesterday? Where did you go yesterday? When did you go to Boston?	I went to Boston yesterday. I went to Boston yesterday. I went to Boston yesterday.
When did she visit her sister in Chicago?	She visited her sister in Chicago last week.
Where did she visit her sister?
Who did she visit in Chicago?
Who saw Spiderman?	They saw “Spiderman”.
What did they see?
What are you going to cook tomorrow?	I’m going to cook chicken tomorrow.
When are you going to cook chicken?
Who’s going to cook chicken tomorrow?
Where are you going to be next week?	I’m going to be in Maine next week.
When are you going to be in Maine?
Who’s going to be in Maine next week?
What did she lose in Detroit?	She lost her cell phone in Detroit.
Where did she lose her cell phone?
Who lost her cell phone in Detroit?
Where are you going after dinner?	I’m going bowling after dinner.
When are you going bowling?
Who’s going bowling after dinner?
When will you be back?	I’ll be back at 5 o’clock.
Who will be back at 5 o’clock?
When is your meeting?	My meeting is on Tuesday.
Whose meeting is on Tuesday?
What’s on Tuesday?

Other questions:

Can I call you?	Yes, call me tomorrow.
Is this the first class?	No, this is the last class.
What happened to the restaurant?	The restaurant went out of business!
Where’s my cell phone?	It’s in your pocket!
When does the train leave?	It leaves at 6:25.

.