Grammar Note 2

1. Do:

• Works: Use "do" for tasks or activities, especially routine or responsibilities.
  • Do the dishes, homework, laundry, cleaning, exercise.
• Doesn't work: Can't be used for creation/production.
  • Do the meals → Make the meals.
  • Do a cake → Make a cake.

2. Make:

• Works: Use "make" for creating or producing something.
  • Make a meal, cake, decision, plan, money.
• Doesn't work: Can't be used for non-creative actions.
  • Make the bed (arranging, not sleeping).
  • Make exercise → Do exercise.

3. Get:

• Works: Use "get" for obtaining or becoming something.
  • Get a job, water, dressed, tired, married.
• Doesn't work: Can't replace specific actions or creation.
  • Get a meal (if preparing) → Make a meal.
  • Get a decision → Make a decision.

Other than

• Except for / Excluding: "Everyone came to the meeting other than John."
• Besides / In addition to: "She has no interests other than reading and painting."
• Different from / Unlike: "This book is nothing other than a waste of time."
• Apart from: "There was nothing to do other than wait."
• Instead of: "She decided to go hiking other than stay home."

• "His opinion is of no account to me" "is of" character
• "She told me about a book in which the main character travels the world." formal context of "that"
• "That is a strong feeling of joy." -> "That is strongly joyful feeling."
• "They offered the guests some refreshments." (indirect object)
• "I saw him run."(the whole process) -> "I saw him running." (the current happening base on was)
• "It wasn't until/when she arrived that the meeting started."
• "It wasn't until/where they found the lost keys that they could leave."
• "I felt the room grow colder."(percetive verb follwed by verb can acts as adjective) -> "I felt that the room was getting colder."
• They made/let/have/help her apologize. (alter verb)
• It is the day that we study hard. -> subjunctive(it is time + pass tense mean now) => It is time that we studied hard
• It’s much/way too cold to go outside today.
• "I forgot my phone at the office" -> informal but acceptable , formal -> "I left my phone at the office." / "I forgot that I left my keys at home."

"As the traders watched the financial reports come in, they could see the stock prices plummet and notice investors panic. Some of them looked at their screens and glanced at the charts, trying to spot new opportunities. One broker observed a sudden shift and witnessed his colleagues sell off their shares. He could gaze at the market trendlines reverse, feeling a sense of dread build within him.

Meanwhile, in the crowded room, you could hear whispers of concern as others listened to financial podcasts that overheard analysts predict a crash. The tension was palpable—you could almost smell the fear in the air. Some could scent the decline in profits, while others detected potential buy-ins that still existed.

As they watched the numbers drop, many could taste the bitter loss, while the experienced investors tried to savor the few remaining gains. Their instincts were sharp, allowing them to perceive risk and sense the end of a bull market."

"As the traders watched the financial reports coming in, they could see the stock prices plummeting and notice investors panicking. Some of them looked at their screens and glanced at the charts, trying to spot new opportunities. One broker observed a sudden shift, witnessing his colleagues selling off their shares. He could gaze at the market trendlines reversing, feeling a sense of dread building within him.

Meanwhile, in the crowded room, you could hear whispers of concern as others listened to financial podcasts that overheard analysts predicting a crash. The tension was palpable—you could almost smell the fear in the air. Some could scent the decline in profits, while others detected potential buy-ins still existing.

As they watched the numbers drop, many could taste the bitter loss, while the experienced investors tried to savor the few remaining gains. Their instincts were sharp, allowing them to perceive risk and sensing the end of a bull market."

• "He went to the store and bought some groceries." // conjunctions
• "I met a woman who lived in Paris for 10 years." // relative caluse
• "She woke up, got dressed, and left the house." // a sequence of past events

"to" is a preposition followed by a gerund

• Look forward to meeting you.
• Object to paying more taxes.
• Get used to living alone.
• Devote time to learning new things.
• Turn to asking for help.
• Adjust to working remotely.
• Confess to cheating on a test.
• React to seeing something shocking.
• Succumb to eating junk food.
• Resort to lying to cover up.
• Relate to understanding culture.
• Surrender to fighting the urge.
• Adapt to dealing with stress.
• Apply to mastering a skill.
• Devote time to practicing regularly.
• Contribute to building a better future.
• Confess to making a mistake.
• Resort to hiring outside help.
• Commit to finishing the project.
• Dedicate to honing skills.
• Accustom to following a routine.
• Move on to handling bigger tasks.
• Oppose to increasing regulations.
• Lead to reducing overall costs.
• Refer to addressing past mistakes.
• Agree to raising revenue.

• "I have never done this before": Correct.
• "I never cry, I never get disappointed": Correct.
• "I have never been having a stable life" : Technically correct, but arkward -> "I have seldom have a stable life"

1. Tense and Habitual Actions:

   • "I have always gone to school by bike." // Unsure if it still happens.
   • "I always go to school by bike." // Describes a habitual action.
   • "I always went to school by bike." // Indicates this was a past habit, not happening now.

2. Present Perfect vs. Completed Action:

   • "I have done it." // Implies it is finished up until now.
   • "I have already done it." // Suggests it was done before a deadline.

3. Gerund Usage: // you don't have to use passive usage, those verb can add gerund directly

   • Require: "The car requires washing." → The car requires to be clean.
   • Want: "The house wants painting." (More common in British English.)
   • Deserve: "This room deserves redecorating."
   • Bear: "The plant can't bear watering every day."
   • Demand: "The job demands handling with care."
   • Need: "The room needs cleaning."

4. Perception Verbs + Bare Infinitive vs. Gerund:

   • "I was heard to sing/singing just now." // When using perception verbs (e.g., hear, see), the to+verb but unusual, this have been used to distinguish the "I heard singing"; the gerund is more common in modern English.
     Example:
     • "I was seen running from the scene."
     • "She was found sleeping in the library."
     • "They were caught lying about the situation."
     • "He was heard shouting in the hallway."
     • "We were observed breaking the rules."
     • "The suspect was spotted leaving the building."
     • "The children were discovered playing in the garden."
     • "He was noticed texting during the meeting."

5. Split Infinitives and Adverb Placement:

   • Split Infinitive: "She wants to quickly finish the project."
   • Adverb Before the Infinitive: "She wants quickly to finish the project."
   • Adverb After the Verb: "She wants to finish the project quickly."

6. Split Constructions:

   • Split Verb Phrase: "She has always been a kind person." → "She always has been a kind person."
   • Split Compound Verb: "He will probably call you later." → "He probably will call you later."
   • Split Prepositional Phrase: "She sat right in the middle of the room." → "She sat in the very middle of the room."
   • Split Noun Phrase: "The girl, tired from a long day, decided to go home." → "The tired girl decided to go home."
   • Split Quotation: "I can't believe," he said, "that this is happening." → "He said, 'I can't believe that this is happening.'"

7. Time Expressions:

   • "Finish the report before 5 PM." (It must be done earlier than 5 PM.)
   • "I will leave in two hours." (Exactly two hours from now, I will leave.)
   • "We’ll meet after 5 PM." (The meeting can happen any time following 5 PM.)
   • "Finish the report by 5 PM." (You can finish it any time before or at 5 PM, but not after.)
   • "Finish this task by two hours." (Finish within two hours.)

8. Agreement with "So":

   • "This cup is beautiful." — "So it is."
   • "He plays well." — "So does she."

9. Quantifiers with or without "of":

   • With a noun (refers to part or all of the noun):
     • "You're only telling me half the story."
     • All, Both, Some, Most, None, Each, Much, Any, Half, Enough, Plenty, A lot, Several.
   • With a pronoun (requires "of"):
     • "Half of the book."
     • Add "of" when defining a noun or using a pronoun (e.g., half of it), but omitting "of" is forgivable in informal contexts when referring to a noun.