Grammar in Conversational Language

[Lazy cat]

Grammar in Conversational Language
The grammar used in written language and the grammar used in conversational language are often quite different. In fact, what's normal, common, and acceptable in spoken language is often considered wrong in written language. For that reason, we'll take a look, in the next several lessons, at what some of these differences are.

1. Yes / No Questions
Written English
In written language, Yes / No ("simple") questions have
three forms:
BE + subject + other words?
Is anyone absent?
Are you hungry?
Are Joe and Bill brothers?
Was she at work today?
Were Jun's parents born in Japan?
AUXILIARY + subject + verb + other words?
Is anyone listening?
Are you feeling hungry?
Are Susie and Jill coming to the party?
Can you understand this?
Will you help me?
Should we stay or leave?
Has Fred's wife had her baby yet?
Have you seen that movie?
Have you had lunch yet?
Had they already left when you arrived?
Do / Does / Did + subject + verb + other words?
Do you understand me?
Does your apartment have air conditioning?
Did Joe call you last night?
Do you do your laundry more than once a week?
Did your brother do well on his exam?

Conversational English
In everyday conversation, Yes / No questions are often "abbreviated" by omitting some of the words. The result is sentences that are common, normal, and acceptable for speaking, but not acceptable in writing. There are two main ways that these "abbreviated" questions are made.
Here's one of them:
Omitting BE or the Auxiliary Verb
Examples:
Is anyone absent? ===> Anyone absent?
Are you hungry? ===> You hungry?
Was she at work today? ===> She at work today?
Is anyone listening? ===> Anyone listening?
Are you feeling hungry? ===> You feeling hungry?
Are Susie and Jill coming to the party? ===> Susie and Jill coming to the party?
Has Fred's wife had her baby yet? ===? Fred's wife had her baby yet?
Have you seen that movie? ===> You seen that movie?
Have you had lunch yet? ===> You had lunch yet?
Had they already left when you arrived? ===>
They already left when you arrived?
Do you understand me? ===> You understand me?
Does your apartment have air conditioning? ===>
Your apartment have air conditioning?
Did Joe call you last night? ===> Joe call you
last night?
Do you do your laundry more than once a week? ===>
You do your laundry more than once a week?
Did your brother do well on his exam? ===>
Your brother do well on his exam?

Special Notes:
1. Notice that BE, do, and have can be both auxiliaries and main verbs.
2. Notice that modal auxiliaries are not used in the pattern noted above
3. In "abbreviated" Yes / No questions, certain auxiliaries are often contracted, but the subject is omitted and only the contracted auxiliary is heard:
Is anyone absent? ===> 's anyone absent?
Is anyone listening? ===> 's anyone listening?
Has Fred's wife had her baby yet? ===? 's Fred's wife had her baby yet?
Have you seen that movie? ===> 've you seen that movie?
Have you had lunch yet? ===> 've you had lunch yet?
Had they already left when you arrived? ===> 'd they already left when you arrived?
Does your apartment have air conditioning? ===> 's your apartment have air conditioning?
Did Joe call you last night? ===> 'd Joe call you last night?
Did your brother do well on his exam? ===> 'd your brother do well on his exam?
4. These contractions sometimes cause sound changes - particularly for / d / and / z / when they come before the / iỳ / sound:
'd your brother do well on his exam?
(/ d / + / iỳ / = / d3iỳ /) (d3 = j)
's your apartment have air conditioning?
(/ z / + / iỳ / = / 3iỳ /) (3 = zh)

Remember:
The contractions above and the questions with no
auxiliary are not acceptable in writing!

[Lazy cat]

The grammar used in written language and the grammar used in conversational language are often quite different. In fact, what's normal, common, and acceptable in spoken language is often considered wrong in written language. For that reason, we'll take a look, in the next several lessons, at what some of these differences are.

2. Yes / No Questions (more)
Written English
In written language, Yes / No ("simple") questions have the forms BE + subject + other words, auxiliary + subject + other words, and Do / Does / Did + subject + other words.

Conversational English
In everyday conversation, Yes / No questions are often "abbreviated" by omitting some of the words. In the last lessons, we saw that BE and some auxiliary verbs are often omitted:
Is anyone absent? ===> Anyone absent?
Was she at work today? ===> She at work today?
Is anyone listening? ===> Anyone listening?
Do you understand me? ===> You understand me?
Did Joe call you last night? ===> Joe call you last night?

In everday conversation, you may also hear Yes /No
questions in which both the auxiliary verb and the
subject are omitted--when the subject is you:
Are you hungry? ===> Hungry?
Are you feeling hungry? ===> Feeling hungry?
Can you understand this? ===> Understand this?
Will you help me? ===> Help me?
Have you seen that movie? ===> Seen that movie?
Have you had lunch yet? ===> Had lunch yet?
Have you got change for a dollar? ===>
Got change for a dollar??
Do you understand me? ===> Understand me?
Do you do your laundry more than once a week? ===> Do your laundry more than once a week?
Were Jun's parents born in Japan? ===>
June's parents born in Japan?
Is anyone listening? ===> Anyone listening?
Has Fred's wife had her baby yet? ===>
Fred's wife had her baby yet?
Does Mahmoud speak French? ===>
Mahmoud speak French?
Did Joe call you last night?===>
Joe call you last night?


Special Notes:

1. Because the auxiliary is omitted, some questions
can be understood in different ways:
Understand me? = Do / Can / Did you
understand me?
Help me? = Will / Can / Could you help me?

2. Notice that this "abbreviation" is used with
you. When "abbreviations have other subjects, the subject is not omitted:
Are Joe and Bill brothers? ===> Joe and
Bill brothers?

Remember:
These "abbreviated" Yes / No questions are for speaking. They're not acceptable in writing!