Grammar and Mother's Day
2021-05-07
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1Many countries around the world will celebrate Mother's Day on May 9th.
2In celebration of the holiday, we will explore what a Mother's Day poem can teach you about English grammar.
3You will learn about the imperative mood - a way that English speakers form commands or instructions.
4You will also learn about negative statements.
5Let's begin our report with a few important terms and ideas.
6In English, verbs have different moods. Mood means the speaker's purpose or reason for saying something.
7It is separate from a verb's tense or place in time - past, present, and so on.
8There is the indicative mood - when a speaker makes a statement that expresses an idea or fact. Here is an example:
9My name is John.
10Notice that the subject of the sentence is "my name."
11English has an imperative mood - when a speaker makes a statement that gives an order, command or instruction.
12Such sentences generally do not have subjects. Here is an example:
13Finish your homework before you go to bed.
14Notice that this statement suggests a subject, "you," but it is missing. Another important word, "will," is missing also.
15The imperative mood does not really have a tense.
16When you remove the word "will," you remove what marks the verb's tense.
17In the book "Doing Grammar," Max Morenberg notes that "An imperative is the only English sentence whose main verb is infinitive."
18Let's explore imperatives a bit more in a poem by Bruce Lansky. It is called On Mother's Day.
19Lansky begins his poem with the following words:
20On Mother's Day it isn't smart
21To give your mom a broken heart.
22So here are things you shouldn't say
23To dear old mom on Mother's Day
24From these lines, you can tell that Lansky is going to use the imperative mood to give a group of instructions.
25Lansky writes the following:
26Don't tell her that you'll never eat
27A carrot, celery, bean, or beet.
28Don't tell her you think smoking's cool.
29Don't tell her you've dropped out of school.
30Notice that Lansky uses the negative form of the imperative three times with the words "don't tell her."
31How did Lansky arrive at these exact words?
32Here is the process by which English speakers make the negative form of the imperative.
33You begin with a full statement, such as:
34You will not tell her you think smoking is cool.
35Then you take out the words "you will."
36Add the word "do" before "not," as in:
37Do not tell her you think smoking is cool.
38Finally, combine the words "do" and "not."
39Don't tell her you think smoking is cool.
40For those who hope to write one day, Lansky has a humorous final instruction for Mother's Day.
41Don't tell her when you're grown you'll be
42A starving poet-just like me.
43You can use what you have learned today to form instructions (or negative commands) in many kinds of situations.
44Any time you need to tell people what to do, think about the imperative mood.
45But be careful about how you use it.
46For example, you probably do not want to give too many commands or instructions to your boss - or your mother, for that matter.
47I'll end this report with a sentence that uses the imperative mood:
48Remember to be kind to your mother on Mother's Day.
49I'm John Russell.
1Many countries around the world will celebrate Mother's Day on May 9th. 2In celebration of the holiday, we will explore what a Mother's Day poem can teach you about English grammar. 3You will learn about the imperative mood - a way that English speakers form commands or instructions. You will also learn about negative statements. 4Let's begin our report with a few important terms and ideas. 5Imperative mood 6In English, verbs have different moods. Mood means the speaker's purpose or reason for saying something. It is separate from a verb's tense or place in time - past, present, and so on. 7There is the indicative mood - when a speaker makes a statement that expresses an idea or fact. Here is an example: 8My name is John. 9Notice that the subject of the sentence is "my name." English has an imperative mood - when a speaker makes a statement that gives an order, command or instruction. Such sentences generally do not have subjects. Here is an example: 10Finish your homework before you go to bed. 11Notice that this statement suggests a subject, "you," but it is missing. Another important word, "will," is missing also. 12The imperative mood does not really have a tense. When you remove the word "will," you remove what marks the verb's tense. 13In the book "Doing Grammar," Max Morenberg notes that "An imperative is the only English sentence whose main verb is infinitive." 14Let's explore imperatives a bit more in a poem by Bruce Lansky. It is called On Mother's Day. 15On Mother's Day 16Lansky begins his poem with the following words: 17On Mother's Day it isn't smart 18To give your mom a broken heart. 19So here are things you shouldn't say 20To dear old mom on Mother's Day 21From these lines, you can tell that Lansky is going to use the imperative mood to give a group of instructions. 22Lansky writes the following: 23Don't tell her that you'll never eat 24A carrot, celery, bean, or beet. 25Don't tell her you think smoking's cool. 26Don't tell her you've dropped out of school. 27Notice that Lansky uses the negative form of the imperative three times with the words "don't tell her." 28How did Lansky arrive at these exact words? Here is the process by which English speakers make the negative form of the imperative. 29You begin with a full statement, such as: 30You will not tell her you think smoking is cool. 31Then you take out the words "you will." 32Add the word "do" before "not," as in: 33Do not tell her you think smoking is cool. 34Finally, combine the words "do" and "not." 35Don't tell her you think smoking is cool. 36For those who hope to write one day, Lansky has a humorous final instruction for Mother's Day. 37Don't tell her when you're grown you'll be 38A starving poet-just like me. 39Closing thoughts 40You can use what you have learned today to form instructions (or negative commands) in many kinds of situations. 41Any time you need to tell people what to do, think about the imperative mood. But be careful about how you use it. For example, you probably do not want to give too many commands or instructions to your boss - or your mother, for that matter. 42I'll end this report with a sentence that uses the imperative mood: 43Remember to be kind to your mother on Mother's Day. 44I'm John Russell. 45John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 46_____________________________________________________________ 47Words in This Story 48negative - adj. describes a word or statement that means "no" or that expresses a denial or refusal instruction 49carrot - n. the long orange root of a plant that is eaten as a vegetable 50celery - n. a vegetable that is grown for its long light green stems 51bean - n. a seed that is eaten as a vegetable and that comes from any one of many different kinds of climbing plants 52beet - n. a garden plant with thick leaves and a rounded red root