Grammar and the Economy: Prices
2023-06-02
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Consider a time that you discussed prices. Perhaps it was at a market, at a store, or with friends.
2How did you discuss the issue?
3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and the economy.
4You will learn how to talk about prices in everyday situations.
5We will pay careful attention to questions about prices.
6Let's start our lesson by comparing some of our important terms to a movie. We will call it Price Questions.
7The star of our film is the structure "how much."
8"How much" almost always appears in questions about prices - just as a main actor appears in almost every scene of a movie.
9If "how much" is our star, then the verb "cost" is probably the most important supporting actor.
10"Cost" appears in all kinds of questions.
11But sometimes "cost" is left out of sentences - in the same way that a director might leave out other actors from a scene in a film.
12So, we have "how much" and "cost." But our sentence or film needs a few more extras, like background performers in a scene.
13These include pronouns or demonstratives such as "it," "this," and "that," as well as the helping verb "do."
14These words are important - just as background actors are - but you may not really notice them as much.
15Now that we have introduced the crew of our film, let's see some action.
16Remember our old friend "how much," the star of the show? "How much" plays a central part in questions about prices.
17For example, you might hear a person ask:
18How much does this cost?
19"How much" sets the scene for what is to come, in the same way that a main actor might enter the scene first in a film.
20Then, of course, we have some background actors, the helping verb "do," followed by the subject "this."
21And finally, we have our supporting actor, the main verb "cost."
22The general order of appearance is this:
23How much + helping verb + subject + main verb
24In some cases, we leave out the helping verb "do."
25Instead, we simply use the verb BE. You can think of BE acting as the stunt double for "do."
26For example, you might hear a person ask:
27How much is this?
28Or
29How much is it?
30Once again, "how much" enters the scene first, and this time our main supporting actor, "cost," does not appear. But we have the background actors BE and "it."
31We have explored price discussions in their present form.
32But what happens if we want to talk about the past?
33We can still use the same structures, but there are small changes.
34So, our question "How much does this cost?" becomes this:
35How much did this cost?
36Our question "How much is it?" becomes this:
37How much was it?
38These changes are much like an actor wearing a different costume or clothing.
39The actor is the same, but his or her appearance changes.
40In the same way, we might say that verbs wear different kinds of clothing in their present or past forms.
41Let's take some time to work with these ideas.
42Ask about the price of a cell phone. Use the present form of the verb "cost."
43Pause the audio to consider your answer.
44Here is one possible answer:
45How much does this cell phone cost?
46Now imagine a friend showing you a cell phone that he or she recently purchased.
47Ask about the price by using a past form of BE.
48Pause the audio to consider your answer.
49Here is one possible answer:
50How much was this cell phone?
51Today we explored a few ways to ask questions about prices.
52We used the idea of a film to learn about our subject.
53In future lessons, we will explore the grammar behind all kinds of everyday issues - prices, the economy, friendship, technology, and more.
54I'm John Russell.
1Consider a time that you discussed prices. Perhaps it was at a market, at a store, or with friends. 2How did you discuss the issue? 3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and the economy. You will learn how to talk about prices in everyday situations. We will pay careful attention to questions about prices. 4Comparison 5Let's start our lesson by comparing some of our important terms to a movie. We will call it Price Questions. 6The star of our film is the structure "how much." "How much" almost always appears in questions about prices - just as a main actor appears in almost every scene of a movie. 7If "how much" is our star, then the verb "cost" is probably the most important supporting actor. "Cost" appears in all kinds of questions. 8But sometimes "cost" is left out of sentences - in the same way that a director might leave out other actors from a scene in a film. 9So, we have "how much" and "cost." But our sentence or film needs a few more extras, like background performers in a scene. 10These include pronouns or demonstratives such as "it," "this," and "that," as well as the helping verb "do." These words are important - just as background actors are - but you may not really notice them as much. 11Now that we have introduced the crew of our film, let's see some action. 12Present 13Remember our old friend "how much," the star of the show? "How much" plays a central part in questions about prices. 14For example, you might hear a person ask: 15How much does this cost? 16"How much" sets the scene for what is to come, in the same way that a main actor might enter the scene first in a film. Then, of course, we have some background actors, the helping verb "do," followed by the subject "this." And finally, we have our supporting actor, the main verb "cost." 17The general order of appearance is this: 18How much + helping verb + subject + main verb 19In some cases, we leave out the helping verb "do." Instead, we simply use the verb BE. You can think of BE acting as the stunt double for "do." For example, you might hear a person ask: 20How much is this? 21Or 22How much is it? 23Once again, "how much" enters the scene first, and this time our main supporting actor, "cost," does not appear. But we have the background actors BE and "it." 24Past 25We have explored price discussions in their present form. But what happens if we want to talk about the past? 26We can still use the same structures, but there are small changes. 27So, our question "How much does this cost?" becomes this: 28How much did this cost? 29Our question "How much is it?" becomes this: 30How much was it? 31These changes are much like an actor wearing a different costume or clothing. The actor is the same, but his or her appearance changes. 32In the same way, we might say that verbs wear different kinds of clothing in their present or past forms. 33Practice 34Let's take some time to work with these ideas. 35Ask about the price of a cell phone. Use the present form of the verb "cost." 36Pause the audio to consider your answer. 37Here is one possible answer: 38How much does this cell phone cost? 39Now imagine a friend showing you a cell phone that he or she recently purchased. Ask about the price by using a past form of BE. 40Pause the audio to consider your answer. 41Here is one possible answer: 42How much was this cell phone? 43Closing thoughts 44Today we explored a few ways to ask questions about prices. We used the idea of a film to learn about our subject. 45In future lessons, we will explore the grammar behind all kinds of everyday issues - prices, the economy, friendship, technology, and more. 46I'm John Russell. 47John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 48__________________________________________________________________ 49Words in This Story 50scene - n. a division of an act in a play during which the action takes place in a single place without a break in time 51background -- n. a position that attracts little attention; the part of a scene or picture that is farthest from the viewer 52stunt -- n. a difficult and often dangerous action