The adverbial of measure

§ 111. This adverbial is expressed by a noun denoting a unit of measure (length, time, weight, money, temperature).

It is used after statal verbs denoting processes, states, or characteristics allowing measurement, such as to measure, to last, to wait, to sleep, to walk, to run, to weigh, to cost. Nouns as adverbials of measure are preceded by numerals or the indefinite article in its, numerical function.

The room measures 30 feet across.

We walked (for) five miles.

The box weighs a ton.

The temperature went down ten degrees below zero.

The adverbial of exception

§ 112. This adverbial is expressed by nouns or prepositional phrases introduced by the prepositions but, except, save, but for, except for, save for, apart from, aside from, with the exclusion of.

I looked everywhere except in the bedroom.

Your English is decent apart from spelling.

The road was empty except for a few cars.

The prepositions save and save for are more formal and occur in writing, as in:

These men were in fact quite civil save during certain weeks of autumn and winter.

The sequence of tences in English.

Sequence of tenses in complex sentences

The term "sequence of tenses", i.e. the agreement of tenses, refers to the choice of the verb tense in the subordinate clause depending on the tense of the verb in the main clause. The rule of the sequence of tenses means that the tense in the subordinate clause is determined by the tense in the main clause and should agree with it both logically and grammatically. The term "sequence of tenses" is often translated into Russian as "the agreement of tenses".

Generally, in complex sentences with all types of subordinate clauses, except the object clause, the sequence of the tenses in the pair "verb in the main clause - verb in the subordinate clause" is logical and based on sense and general rules of the use of tenses. The verb in the subordinate clause may be in any tense that reflects the actual time of the action and conveys the meaning correctly in the pair with the verb in the main clause.

She goes for a walk in the park when the weather is good.

She went for a walk in the park when the weather was good.

She has been teaching since she graduated from college.

I went to bed early because I was very tired.

He didn't answer your questions because he doesn't speak English.

While I was watching TV, the telephone rang.

By the time he returned, I had typed ten pages of the report.

The books that I bought yesterday are on my desk.

The surgeon who is going to perform the operation arrived yesterday.

The surgeon who was going to perform the operation fell ill yesterday.

Yesterday the patient felt better than he feels today.

Note: According to the rules of the use of tenses, the Simple Present is used instead of the Simple Future in the adverbial clauses of time and condition referring to the future.

He will ask her about it when he sees her tomorrow.

She will visit them tomorrow if she has the time.

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 806