Culture Shock!
Hi Satya and everyone!
Hope you all had a great weekend, and thanks for all your stories of your school sports days – I really enjoyed reading them! Ana Paula, your description of the Brazilian version of the greasy pole was great; have you ever tried to do it?
I thought, since we’re on the subject of sport, I would continue talking about it today and tell you about the only time I’ve really had culture shock here in Oz. I’d only been here a few months, and Chris decided to introduce me to the wonderful world of rugby league by taking me to a live match between his team, the Cronulla Sharks, and their local rivals St George. Previous to this, I had only been to one other live sporting event before, which was a 1st division football match in England between – I can’t even remember! It must have been Sheffield United (because we saw it at their home ground) – but I can’t for the life of me think who the other team were!
Anyway, let me tell you about what happens at the football in England (maybe I should say “used to happen” because the time when I went was about 10 years ago!) and then you’ll see why the rugby here made such an impression on me. Firstly, tickets to the football in the UK are quite expensive and can be hard to come by. As football is played in the winter months, it’s absolutely freezing, usually rainy, so you have to wear several layers of warm clothing, and take a flask of tea or soup or something to keep you warm. English football fans are very vocal during the match – they sing, chant and yell at the opposing team, so the noise in the stadium is tremendous. To try and prevent violence, the stadiums are divided into areas for home team fans and areas for away team fans, and the entrances to these areas are separate. For the same reason, there is often a very large amount of police on patrol both inside and outside. You can’t buy alcohol at the stadium, and you can’t take any in with you – if you want a drink before or after the match, there are designated pubs for away fans where they can drink without any trouble from the home fans. I hope I haven't made it sound too negative, as I really enjoyed myself despite the cold – being surrounded by people who were passionate about one thing (their team winning) was really exhilarating.
So, with this as my only experience of live sport, we set off on the train down to Cronulla (it’s about an hour by train from the city centre). The train was full of fans from both sides, but they mainly kept to themselves and there was no trouble (I can’t even remember any police on the train). We had no problems getting tickets at the door, and (this was the most surprising part), supporters of both teams sat together! Next to each other, even! There was even a family area for people with children, who were sitting, watching the game and having picnics. Apart from one side of the stadium, which had designated seating, you could sit where you liked, or stand on the side. And they were selling beer! At a bar! Amazing! Oh, and the other thing – even though it was winter, it was sunny, blue skies, and lovely weather – no rain or sleet or biting wind in sight! What I really remember is how good natured it all was – some people were sledging the other team, but no-one got really wound up about it. Aussies tend not to sing and chant at sports matches, so compared to England it was very quiet.
So there you go – a Pom’s culture shock Down Under!
Right, let’s talk about gerunds and infinitives! (If anyone is really unenthusiastic about this, please feel free to stop reading now!)
As I mentioned last time, gerunds are the –ing form of the verb, and infinitives are the base form, and can be used with or without “to”.
Gerunds look like verbs, but they are actually nouns, which means they can be used:
• as the subject of a sentence:
Cooking is a really good way to relax
• as the object of a sentence:
I really like cooking
• after a preposition:
I’m good at cooking
Now, here’s the tricky bit: some verbs in English are followed by a gerund, and some by an infinitive, and, mostly, you just have to learn it. (Isn’t English horrible? Sorry!!)
If we have a look at the gerunds and infinitives I used last time and today, we might be able to sort them out a bit … I really recommend that you take some time to make a note of the headings below in your notebooks, and then every time you come across an example you can write it in.
So, let’s have a look at these examples from my last couple of posts and see which heading they fit under … I’ll do the first three with you, and then you can try the rest on your own and see how you do.
OK: number 1 - inspire me to start. Inspire is the verb, me is the object, and to start is an infinitive. So, inspire fits into pattern two: verb + object + infinitive.
Number 2 – can’t wait to hear. Can’t wait is the verb, and to hear is an infinitive. There’s no object in this example, so can’t wait fits into pattern one: verb + infinitive.
Number 3 – start writing. Start is the verb, and writing is a gerund, so start fits into pattern three – verb + gerund.
These verbs are followed by an infinitive:
Can’t wait
These verbs are followed by an object + infinitive:
Inspire
These verbs are followed by a gerund:
Start
1. inspire me to start
2. can’t wait to hear
3. start writing
4. manage to pull
5. would really love to know
6. keep stopping
7. attempt to explain
8. love playing and watching cricket
9. tend to go
10. get Chris to read
11. enjoy reading
12. continue talking
13. decide to introduce
OK so far? I hope so! Here are a couple more things that might help you:
Look at these examples.
What part of speech are the highlighted words? Can you complete the pattern?
hard to come by
interesting to walk through
proud to be a Pom
………………… are followed by an infinitive
Do the same for these examples:
felt terrible about bombarding
thanks to Chris for reading
………………… are followed by a gerund
And one other thing – verbs that talk about how we feel (love, hate, enjoy etc) are usually followed by ………………………
And now for the nasty bit – some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund, and the meaning doesn’t change (start is one of these verbs). However, in some cases (not many, fortunately!) the meaning does change depending on whether we use a gerund or an infinitive. I won’t go into that today, as I think that’s probably enough grammar for now, but let me know if you’d like to look at those as well and we can do it some other time.
Well, once again I've stayed up too late, so I'll say goodnight for now!
Catch you all soon,
Rachel
Today’s vocabulary;
to sledge (vb – slang)
to be / get wound up (expr)
good natured (adj)
designated (adj)
to come by (phr vb)
biting wind (collocation)
vocal (adj)
Down Under (n)
exhilarating (adj)
live (adj) (watch your pronunciation of this one – it rhymes with five, not with give)
Comments
Hello Rachel, To me is very difficult the use of gerunds so I loved your post. Please, keep writing about gerunds. Thank you
Hi Rachel, Your experience with a English Premier League football match is really very exciting. I wish that I could be able in Old Traford to directly watch my favorite MU playing and live in that madly violent air. I love this. English is not horrible at all although I get many difficulties in learning and using it. I like it simple grammar compared to French and I like its pronunciation, especially male voice. Noting that, however, I am truly a guy :-) THanks a lot your lesson on gerund and infinitive. I remember years ago I learned about remember to do st and remember doing st. But I forget them completely now. Your next post will remind them to me, I am sure. BTW, Have you ever been to Vietnam, my country? Best, Phu
Hi Rachel,Today only i am able to see your blog its really nice and i got some good stuff about Gerund and infinitive.first of all am very week in English and am trying to improve myself.looking forward fo your kind comments.
Hello Rachel, It was interesting to read about sports. We used to play tug of war when we were kids. At college, I used to play cricket and was good in fielding and batting. Here are my answers to the H.W: In the first example the adjectives are followed by an infinitive. In the 2nd one prepositions are followed by a gerund. And in the 3rd example the verbs of feeling are usually followed by a gerund. As for further details on the use of gerunds and infinitive, I would probably say yes. Your explanations are very helpful. I have an interesting link to share with you and all the learners http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071009-king-tut.html?email=Inside22Oct07. I hope you will find it informative as well as interesting. Naheed
Good night Rachel!!! To my mother despair Rachel, yes, I´ve tried to climb the greasy pole every year with indescribable pleasure( you can imagine how dirty my clothes were after many attempts). Unfortunetly I´ve never reach the top, once it was quite hard to reach there with all that greasy spreaded on the pole, and also because for a little troublemaker girl like I used to be, it was by far more funny sliding on the pole. Actually, sliding on it made me feel like a fireman ready for the action. Haha :-). My uncle used to do amazing 'Festas Juninas' on his house. You know Rachel, it was very simple, but for us it was absolutely fab. My dad and uncle used to call an accordionist and some of their friends who danced Catira( a beautiful folk dance, which its rhythm is marked by the hands clapping and the tapping of the feet) to cheer the party up. And then, after all the singing and dancing, we all sitting around the fire in order to hear my uncle( he´s a great storyteller) tell us 'causos', folk tales from the countryside of Sao Paulo state, in which its characters were ghosts and fantastic creatures who lived in the forests. Apart form the greasy pole and the food, this was one of my favourite moments in the party. Oh my goodness Rachel! I think I´ve fed up you too much with all this Festa Junina subject, haven´t I? Well, I can tell you that talking about this subject brought all my childhood memories flooding back. Moreover, it was so pleasant to me writing about this. Anyway, I guess is time to draw my attention to the homework: 4. manage to pull: manage is the verb and to pull the infinitive, verb + infinitive pattern one; 5. would really love to know: would love is the verb, really the adverb of degree, to know is the infinitive, verb + infinitive pattern one; 6. keep stopping: keep is the verb and stopping is the gerung, verb + gerund pattern three; 7. attempt to explain: attempt is the verb, to explain the infinitive, verb + infinitive pattern one; 8. love playing and watching cricket: love is the verb, playing and watching the gerund, verb + gerund pattern three; 9. tend to go: tend is the verb, to go is the infinitive, verb + infinitive pattern one; 10. get Chris to read: get is the verb, Chris is the object, to read the infinitive: verb + object + infinitive pattern two; 11. enjoy reading: enjoy is the verb, reading is the gerund: verb + gerund pattern three; 12. continue talking: continue is the verb, talking is the gerund: verb + gerund pattern three; 13. decide to introduce: decide is the verb, to introduce is the infinitive: verb + infnitive pattern one. The last tasks were hard to me. I couldn´t complete the pattern. Maybe I didn´t understand very well what you were asking. Anyway, here are part of my answers: 1-adjectives are followed by infinitive; 2- prepositions are followed by gerunds. 3-verbs that talk about how we feel (love, hate, enjoy etc) are usually followed by gerund. Vocab: to sledge (vb – slang): (?) I´ve found a very strange meaning for the slang, so I prefer to wait for your explanation. I´m going to kick ' provoke'; to be / get wound up (expr): to become unhappy or sad; good natured (adj): pleasant or friendly; designated (adj): a place or person choosen to do a specific job; to come by (phr vb): To get something, specially unusual; biting wind (collocation): extremelly cold and causing phisical pain; vocal (adj): to sing or to speak; Down Under (n): to or in Australia and New Zealand; exhilarating (adj): make you feel very excitide and happy; live (adj) (watch your pronunciation of this one – it rhymes with five, not with give): to see something while it´s happening. I´m looking forward to your next post. Till there take care. Ana Paula X.
hello~rachel very useful of your explanation but i'm still got a problem that gerund form as same as present participle ,so how do distinguish present particple and gerund , it's difficult to me ,and so confused thank you
Hi Rachel! I had told you that I was going to write about sports we played at school, but now I realise that nothing that I can tell would be comparable with that “greasy pole of Ana Paula”…Moreover, the way she writes and explains things puts mine to shame! But anyway I’ll try my best to make myself understood. As I told you the other day, we used to play the egg-and-spoon race, the sack race, and the three-legged race (of course with spanish names) just like you did, but we also used to play something called “pañuelito” (I warn you that I’m terrible explaining things, so this is your chance to go on with another COMMENT!! You must be a brave woman to go on reading….From now on it’s up to you! Pañuelito consists in 2 teams (with the same number of competitors) Each player in the team is given a number (from 1 to the number of players in each group). The players are in line waiting to be called by their numbers in opposite sides (also behind a line).One person who doesn’t take part in any group and holds a handkerchif up in his hand, calls a number. The players that were given that number (one of each team) run towards the handkerchief. At this point many things can happen (here comes the difficult part to explain!) If one of the players grabs at the hankie and runs to his place in the line without being touch by his opponent “wins” and the other player is out of the game. But it can happen that while the player is running with the hankie the other one reaches him and touches him, leaving the player who was carring the hankie out of the game and becoming the winner. Another thing that can happen is that one participant pretends to hold the handkerchief in order to be touched, because when you touch a player who hasn’t got the hankie you are out of the game. The game finishes when one team has lost all the players! I hope I haven’t bored you to death!. And now the vocabulary for today: -to sledge (vb – slang) to provoke so?? -to be / get wound up (expr)to get anxious, worried or excited -good natured (adj) someone with good qualities -designated (adj) something chosen for a particular purpose?? -to come by (phr vb) to obtain something that is rare or difficult to find -biting wind (collocation) an unpleasantly cold wind -vocal (adj) protesting and complaining strongly and loudly about something -Down Under (n) in or to Australia and New Zealand -exhilarating (adj) making you feel very happy and excited -live (adj) a perform in front of people who have come to watch them Have a good day! Bye!
Hi Rachel, Why there was much unrest in foot mall matches alone. You very much praised the Australian spectators’ behavior at the stadium. That’s good. I have read in the news paper that Andrew Simond has written in his column in the Australian new paper about the crowd behavior in India in the last three ODI. And he asked the cricket lovers in Australia not to retaliate when the Indian team is visiting Australia in the next summer. Do you think the Australian supporters show their protest in any form? It said that Simond praised some of the Indian people who spoke to him on this matter. This one is for Chris, did you watch Saturday twenty 20, Australia was beaten. It was great. Some commentators said that this version of cricket may be called Chaddi Cricket. I don’t know the meaning of that. Even though Australians are top in the test and ODIs, they could not adopt the new form cricket. Indian young players did well. It was nice to watch in the festive season here.
Hi Rachel. What're interesting recollections! I think each country have an individual culture with its own national character, so there will culture shocks like you. I'm always willing to discover more many areas, many culture. Reading and commenting in this page are also one of my ways to perform this aim (of course, it is not only very cheap but also useful for learning E (^_^) ). I like watching football but not playing, maybe because I play very bad. I often watch the live football match on TV on the weekends, sometimes in middle of weeks. I love the noisy atmosphere in the stadiums in England, Spain, Italy, and I hope there will a day I watch the live matches at Old Trafford, San Siro......( Can you check grammar this sentence for me, ok). Although I only watch the matches at that on TV but I also find some differences from my country. Vietnamese extremely love football, but the stadiums rarely full of fans. There're only the matches which have national team or important usually packed with fans...The stadiums are smaller and not more modern than in England. However, I think the matches are not noisy like in Eng, not quite like Aus, people sing, and bravo, play a wind instrument... In Vietnam there're not Rugby, Cricket..., maybe we will play them in the very near future. Well, it’s high time to say goodbye. Thanks and see you soon.
Sorry Rachel, I remember doing the homework and answering your questions, but I must remember to save my file before hitting the control+w keys (usually when I use these keys combination is because what I have written is temporary (scratch)). There is in fact a good list of verb + infinitive or gerund combinations list to be learned something like the irregulars verbs. Little by little. The most difficult are those who play in both sides. I couldn’t stand writing applying one of combinations you kept for later. Read you. Antonio
Hi Rachel. I guess your story is narated on the account of your first experience at the live match that you've ever participated. I've never joined in any live sport activities, but I have a feel about your vivid naration sounding I watch this game on my own. Anna Paula! The memoir in your childhood certainly floods you so overhelmingly that you hardly put it into words. Your summary of gerund and infinitive is really well done. I like it! However, I sometimes get confused on using them (is gerund correct here?) when verbs are seldom used. Is there only way to learn them by heart? To answer your quiz, no. 1 and 10 fit to pattern 1 ; no. 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13 fit to pattern 2; no. 3,6,11, 12 fit to pattern 3. The subsequent part is adjective + infinitive; preposition + gerund; verb (feeling such as like, dislike, hate, love etc.) + gerund. I look forward to explanation on verb + either infinitive or gerund which the meaning changes significantly in your next post. Bye.
Hi Rachel! I've done all the grammar exercises you've gave us and I'm wating for the examples of verbs that can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund with a difference in meaning! As regards your story of the football match you attended in England, let me tell you that it was as if it has been told by an argentinian after attending any Argentinian football match!! With the exception that Buenos Aires is not as frezzing as that place that you mentioned in your story is! Here in Argentina, almost every match is as you described in your post! I don't know if you have ever heard of a Boca Juniors -River Plate match! (Maybe Chris has heard of it!) Before the match, you find policemen almost everywhere around the stadium, to avoid the confrontation between the local and the away fans which is a very common situation lately. The areas to get the tickets and the entrances of the fans of both teams are of course separate. During the match, the noise is increadible because both fans' teams are screaming and singuing with drums and cornets without stop all the time! Pieces of paper are thrown to the air and some people set off flares as well! After the match the away fans have to leave the stadium first, while the local fans remain in thir places to avoid violence outside. Moreover, the day after a Boca - River match, Buenos Aires appears with the streets full of signboards with imaginative slogans making fun of the loser team! In the last "Super clásico", as we call the match between Boca -River, River won Boca 2-0 in the "Monumental" as we call the Stadium of River Plate. And do you know what? I'm a River Plate fun and I love going to live matches!!! Bye Rachel, Good night!
Hi Rachel! My comment on thuesday didn´t apear for the tremendous wind in this region kept down to work computers properly. I followed your advice and sorted those examples in to my notebook. Then I´ve read Ana Paula´s ansver to you and after that it became clear to me the second part of the task, too. Ana Paula they were wrong with your exams results! Thanks and see you all soon!
hi rachel, your post was interesting, but i want to know morw about the double use of some verbs followed both by an infinitive and by a gerund, for example we can say STOP TO SMOKE, but also STOP SMOKING, and TRY DOING TRY TO DO, i know there are some others, can you explain me what's the difference??
Could you tell me if this sentence is correct? A dozen eggs costs Rs. 50/. Is the verb in agreement with the subject?
I read last week some answer you sended.It's about the Sheakspere sentence:'To be or not to be'Could you repeat for me,please?It was about gerund and infinitive.Thanks
I had read a message about gerund and infinitive where some person ask you about 'to be or not to be' or ' being or not being'.Now I cant find it.Could you help me?
YEAH! it's really cool for us to read this kind of information, you know! it's about different cultures and that. my english teacher here in peru, is ireland and he has friends aussies, and he said that their "speaking" is really difficult to understand sometimes, and diferent too. Soo, I'm thanks to you for this kind of information! thanks a lot!
what difference of meaning between gerund and infinitive?
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