Grammar and Pessimism
2023-11-10
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1In a recent lesson, we explored a point of connection between grammar and optimism - a good or hopeful opinion of the world and future events.
2In today's lesson, we will explore pessimism - a bad or not hopeful view of the world and future events.
3You will learn important ideas surrounding pessimism.
4You will also learn how English speakers are likely to use the term pessimism - and its related words - in everyday situations.
5When we learn and explore new words, it can sometimes be helpful to visualize them as coins. We have two sides - heads and tails.
6These are opposite sides of a coin.
7In the same way, many words have opposite meanings.
8When we learn a new word, it can be helpful to ask the following question: what would the opposite of this word be?
9In our previous lesson, we explored optimism - a hopeful view about the present and future.
10Today, we explore pessimism - not being hopeful about the present and future.
11In other words, optimism and pessimism are somewhat like opposite sides of a coin.
12Pessimism is a noun.
13The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us that the word dates to 1794.
14At the time, it meant the worst condition possible. The word came to English from French.
15By 1815, pessimism came to suggest the quality of making worse "in thought the evils of life or to look only on the dark side."
16The Online Etymology Dictionary also tells us that English speakers attempted to make a verb form from pessimism in the early 1860s.
17But the word, pessimize, did not survive.
18In modern times, we often use pessimism to talk about the general feeling or belief that bad things will happen.
19From pessimism, we get the noun pessimist - a person who expects the worst or is likely to have bad views on life.
20From the noun pessimist we add an -ic ending to get the adjective pessimistic.
21And when we add an -ally ending to the adjective pessimistic, we get the adverb pessimistically.
22We have a group of words. Two nouns, an adjective, and an adverb.
23How do English speakers use these words in everyday situations?
24Google's Ngram Viewer contains information from thousands of books.
25We can do searches in databases for American English, English Fiction, and so on.
26What we find is that in general, the most commonly used word before the noun pessimism is the short word "of."
27So, you are likely to read something like this:
28I don't think so, he said in a voice full of pessimism.
29Or this:
30There are many causes for the high levels of pessimism in our society.
31The most common word that comes before the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic" is the same: a.
32So, you are likely to hear or read something like this:
33He is a pessimist.
34Or
35He gave a pessimistic response.
36There is another important point about the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic."
37Google Ngram Viewer suggests that pessimistic is more commonly used by English speakers.
38So, if you are unsure about which version to use, remember that the adjective - the word that ends in -ic - might be a better choice.
39And the most common word after pessimistic? It is "about."
40So, you might describe yourself as follows:
41I am pessimistic about the future.
42We certainly hope that you are not too pessimistic!
43And one final word about the adverb pessimistically. It is most commonly used after the verb "said."
44So, you might hear or read this:
45I don't think so, he said pessimistically.
46Now let's take some time to work with these ideas.
47Fill in the blank with the correct word - noun, adjective, or adverb.
48They have a ___________ view of the world.
49The correct answer is this:
50They have a pessimistic view of the world.
51How do we know that the adjective "pessimistic" is needed?
52The short word "a" gives us a clue. And we know that "view" is a noun.
53In general, adjectives come before a noun and after the short word "a."
54I'm John Russell.
1In a recent lesson, we explored a point of connection between grammar and optimism - a good or hopeful opinion of the world and future events. 2In today's lesson, we will explore pessimism - a bad or not hopeful view of the world and future events. 3You will learn important ideas surrounding pessimism. You will also learn how English speakers are likely to use the term pessimism - and its related words - in everyday situations. 4Coin comparison 5When we learn and explore new words, it can sometimes be helpful to visualize them as coins. We have two sides - heads and tails. These are opposite sides of a coin. 6In the same way, many words have opposite meanings. When we learn a new word, it can be helpful to ask the following question: what would the opposite of this word be? 7In our previous lesson, we explored optimism - a hopeful view about the present and future. Today, we explore pessimism - not being hopeful about the present and future. In other words, optimism and pessimism are somewhat like opposite sides of a coin. 8Nouns, adjective, adverb 9Pessimism is a noun. The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us that the word dates to 1794. At the time, it meant the worst condition possible. The word came to English from French. 10By 1815, pessimism came to suggest the quality of making worse "in thought the evils of life or to look only on the dark side." 11The Online Etymology Dictionary also tells us that English speakers attempted to make a verb form from pessimism in the early 1860s. But the word, pessimize, did not survive. 12In modern times, we often use pessimism to talk about the general feeling or belief that bad things will happen. 13From pessimism, we get the noun pessimist - a person who expects the worst or is likely to have bad views on life. 14From the noun pessimist we add an -ic ending to get the adjective pessimistic. And when we add an -ally ending to the adjective pessimistic, we get the adverb pessimistically. 15Usage 16We have a group of words. Two nouns, an adjective, and an adverb. How do English speakers use these words in everyday situations? 17Google's Ngram Viewer contains information from thousands of books. We can do searches in databases for American English, English Fiction, and so on. 18What we find is that in general, the most commonly used word before the noun pessimism is the short word "of." 19So, you are likely to read something like this: 20I don't think so, he said in a voice full of pessimism. 21Or this: 22There are many causes for the high levels of pessimism in our society. 23The most common word that comes before the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic" is the same: a. 24So, you are likely to hear or read something like this: 25He is a pessimist. 26Or 27He gave a pessimistic response. 28There is another important point about the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic." Google Ngram Viewer suggests that pessimistic is more commonly used by English speakers. 29So, if you are unsure about which version to use, remember that the adjective - the word that ends in -ic - might be a better choice. 30And the most common word after pessimistic? It is "about." 31So, you might describe yourself as follows: 32I am pessimistic about the future. 33We certainly hope that you are not too pessimistic! 34And one final word about the adverb pessimistically. It is most commonly used after the verb "said." 35So, you might hear or read this: 36I don't think so, he said pessimistically. 37Quiz 38Now let's take some time to work with these ideas. Fill in the blank with the correct word - noun, adjective, or adverb. 39They have a ___________ view of the world. 40The correct answer is this: 41They have a pessimistic view of the world. 42How do we know that the adjective "pessimistic" is needed? The short word "a" gives us a clue. And we know that "view" is a noun. In general, adjectives come before a noun and after the short word "a." 43I'm John Russell. 44John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 45________________________________________________ 46Words in This Story 47visualize - v. to form a mental picture of something 48response - n. something that is said as a reply to something else