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James Bond Can Teach You About
English Grammar |
In the 1964 action film Goldfinger, actor Sean Connery
plays the British secret agent James Bond.
Bond, also called agent 007, is well-known for his drink
of choice -- a martini. He always wants his martinis
prepared just the right way. Let’s listen to a short
exchange from the movie:
Can I do something for you, Mr. Bond?
Just a drink. A martini. Shaken, not stirred.
Today, we will show you how this kind of exchange can
teach you something about English grammar. Specifically,
it shows you how English speakers use sentence fragments
in everyday situations.
We will also use fictional conversations to show two
common ways in which English speakers use these
fragments.
But first, let's start with some definitions.
Complete sentences and incomplete
sentences
Complete sentences are sentences that have both a
subject and a predicate. A predicate tells something
about the subject.
For example, in the sentence "James Bond likes to order
martinis," the subject is James Bond and the predicate
is "likes to order martinis." In this case, the
predicate gives us information about Bond.
In writing, you should use complete sentences. However,
in conversation, you can use partial or incomplete
sentences.
Incomplete sentences are not wrong. In other words,
English speakers are not breaking rules when they use
them. Instead, speakers leave out parts of sentences
because the sentence's full meaning is clear from the
setting or context.
Today, we will explore two kinds of incomplete
sentences: one group called "Minimal Responses," and
another called "Short Answers."
#1 Minimal responses
Minimal responses* are simple words or expressions that
speakers use to react to what somebody else has said.
These are not complete sentences - they sometimes lack a
subject, verb, or other important part of a sentence.
Americans commonly use minimal responses for two
purposes: showing approval and giving a polite or
respectful answer. We will now look at examples of both
types.
Minimal responses can show
approval
Imagine you tell your friend that you received a great
grade on a difficult test:
I got an A on my test!
Nice!
Here, your friend uses the adjective "nice" as a way to
express approval about your statement. The reason your
friend does not use a full subject and predicate is
because his or her answer is understood in the context
of a conversation.
Some other words and expressions that show approval are
"good," "good job," "great," "nice," and "nice work."
All of these terms have similar meanings. However, some
are more forceful or less official-sounding than others.
Think back to the example you just heard:
I got an A on my test!
Nice!
A speaker could replace the word "nice" with almost any
of the other terms we provided. They could say "good
job" or "great job," for example. "Great job" is a
stronger statement than "good job."
Minimal responses can give a
polite response
Americans also limit their responses to make points in a
respectful way during a conversation. Some of these are
polite, yet informal. The most common examples include
“no problem,” “no worries,” “sorry,” and “thanks.”
Imagine someone has just given you directions. You want
to thank them before going on your way. The exchange
might sound like this:
Thanks.
No problem.
The other person could respond in even more informal way
by saying "no worries" instead of "no problem."
In both cases, the speaker's response takes the place of
a much longer sentence. For example, the speaker could
have said, "I was happy to be able to help you out." "No
problem" is a short, polite way to express this same
idea.
#2 Short answers:
A second type of incomplete sentence is the short
answer. In short answers, speakers leave out subjects,
verbs, or predicates. In general, the missing words
appeared earlier in the conversation. Speakers do not
repeat these words because repetition would make the
exchanges much longer.
Let's consider an example. Imagine you are looking for
the nearest bank. The person you ask might provide a
short answer:
Where is the nearest bank?
Right over there.
In the example, the speaker omits the subject and verb
of the sentence. The speaker said, "Right over there"
instead of the full sentence, "The nearest bank is right
over there."
If the speaker says "right over there," he or she means
that the bank is very close to you – probably within
eyesight. In many situations, speakers will point with
their fingers to show the direction of the bank.
Think back to the lines you heard earlier in this
report:
Can I do something for you, Mr. Bond?
Just a drink: A martini. Shaken, not stirred.
In the example, James Bond uses the same type of short
answer: an answer that omits the subject and verb. Bond
could have said, "I would like a drink: A martini. I
want you to shake it, but please do not stir it."
This way of speaking is much more detailed, a lot
longer, and polite. It does not fit with James Bond's
personality. He is not a very polite, talkative man.
That said, you can still learn from how he uses
language!
What can you do?
The next time you are watching a film or with an
American, try listening for examples of incomplete
sentences. When the speaker uses an incomplete sentence,
ask yourself if they used it for one of the reasons we
talked about today. Does the sentence leave out
important words, such as a subject, verb, or predicate?
If it does … no worries!
I'm Jill Robbins.
And I'm John Russell.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor.
*Please see Conrad, Susan, and Biber, Douglas. Real
Grammar: A Corpus-Based Approach. Pearson-Longman. 2009
pg. 145 |
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