Grammar for Giving Gifts
2023-12-01
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1We are now in between two major American holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2This is the most important time of the year for giving gifts.
3So, in the holiday spirit, we will explore some common questions that connect to gift giving.
4Please note that what we explore in this lesson is not connected only to American holidays - it can be used more generally to describe any kind of gift-giving event.
5Imagine you want to get a gift for a family member.
6You need some advice from another family member or friend.
7How would you ask for such advice?
8That question leads us to the first point in today's lesson.
9We are asking about what others want in terms of a gift.
10One way to ask this question is by using a "what" question.
11This is a kind of open-ended question.
12In other words, you are asking a question that requires more information than a simple answer of yes or no.
13You might use modals or helping verbs in your question.
14You might also want to report who is going to receive the gift and the occasion that the gift is for.
15Let's take an example to clarify these points.
16Imagine you are doing Christmas shopping for your brother.
17Let's say his name is Tom.
18Here is how you might ask another person - say your mother - about a gift for Tom.
19You could ask: "What would Tom like for Christmas?"
20Here, we have the "what" question word along with the modal "would" and then the name Tom followed by the verb "like."
21Please note that we also generally use the structure "for + holiday" where the holiday is a noun or noun phrase. In this case, the holiday is Christmas.
22Another way you might ask the question is with the helping verb "do."
23The basic structure is the same as our example containing "would" and "like."
24But in this question, we replace those words with "do" and "want."
25So, you might ask, "What does Tom want for Christmas?"
26Please note that the two questions we have discussed so far have almost the same meaning:
27What would Tom like for Christmas?
28And
29What does Tom want for Christmas?
30Now let us consider questions about places to get gifts.
31In such questions, we generally use the question word "where" along with the modal "can."
32We often use "find" as the main verb. And we often use nouns with similar meanings such as "sales," "deals," or "specials."
33Let's explore three examples, all of which have a similar meaning.
34Where can I find holiday sales?
35Where can I find holiday deals?
36Where can I find holiday specials?
37Note that the question word always comes first. The modal "can" comes between the question word and the subject "I."
38And then we have the main verb "find" along with the noun phrases such as holiday specials, holiday deals, and so on.
39Once you find the correct location, then discussions about price might come.
40We explored that subject in an earlier lesson, which you can find in the Everyday Grammar area of our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.
41Let's take some time to work with these ideas.
42Imagine you are considering what gift to get for your mother for her birthday.
43How might you ask another family member about what to get?
44Pause the audio to consider your answer.
45Here are two possible answers:
46What would Mom like for her birthday?
47Or
48What does Mom want for her birthday?
49In our answers, we used the question word "what." Either the structure "...would Mom like..." or "...does Mom want..." will work.
50What is important is that after the short word "for," we have the noun phrase "her birthday."
51This noun phrase provides information that makes the question clearer.
52Future lessons will explore gift giving in greater detail.
53I'm John Russell.
1We are now in between two major American holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the most important time of the year for giving gifts. 2So, in the holiday spirit, we will explore some common questions that connect to gift giving. Please note that what we explore in this lesson is not connected only to American holidays - it can be used more generally to describe any kind of gift-giving event. 3Questions 4Imagine you want to get a gift for a family member. You need some advice from another family member or friend. How would you ask for such advice? 5That question leads us to the first point in today's lesson. We are asking about what others want in terms of a gift. 6One way to ask this question is by using a "what" question. 7This is a kind of open-ended question. In other words, you are asking a question that requires more information than a simple answer of yes or no. 8You might use modals or helping verbs in your question. You might also want to report who is going to receive the gift and the occasion that the gift is for. 9Let's take an example to clarify these points. 10Imagine you are doing Christmas shopping for your brother. Let's say his name is Tom. Here is how you might ask another person - say your mother - about a gift for Tom. You could ask: "What would Tom like for Christmas?" 11Here, we have the "what" question word along with the modal "would" and then the name Tom followed by the verb "like." Please note that we also generally use the structure "for + holiday" where the holiday is a noun or noun phrase. In this case, the holiday is Christmas. 12Another way you might ask the question is with the helping verb "do." The basic structure is the same as our example containing "would" and "like." But in this question, we replace those words with "do" and "want." So, you might ask, "What does Tom want for Christmas?" 13Please note that the two questions we have discussed so far have almost the same meaning: 14What would Tom like for Christmas? 15And 16What does Tom want for Christmas? 17Locations and nouns 18Now let us consider questions about places to get gifts. In such questions, we generally use the question word "where" along with the modal "can." We often use "find" as the main verb. And we often use nouns with similar meanings such as "sales," "deals," or "specials." 19Let's explore three examples, all of which have a similar meaning. 20Where can I find holiday sales? 21Where can I find holiday deals? 22Where can I find holiday specials? 23Note that the question word always comes first. The modal "can" comes between the question word and the subject "I." 24And then we have the main verb "find" along with the noun phrases such as holiday specials, holiday deals, and so on. 25Once you find the correct location, then discussions about price might come. We explored that subject in an earlier lesson, which you can find in the Everyday Grammar area of our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. 26Quiz 27Let's take some time to work with these ideas. Imagine you are considering what gift to get for your mother for her birthday. How might you ask another family member about what to get? 28Pause the audio to consider your answer. 29Here are two possible answers: 30What would Mom like for her birthday? 31Or 32What does Mom want for her birthday? 33In our answers, we used the question word "what." Either the structure "...would Mom like..." or "...does Mom want..." will work. 34What is important is that after the short word "for," we have the noun phrase "her birthday." This noun phrase provides information that makes the question clearer. 35Future lessons will explore gift giving in greater detail. 36I'm John Russell. 37John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 38__________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40modal - n. a verb (such as can, could, shall, should, ought to, will, or would) that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity, and permission 41phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express an idea but do not form a complete sentence