Ibland spelar det inte så stor roll om du väljer ”has” istället för ”have”, ”was” istället för ”were” eller ”do” istället för ”does”. Men det finns tillfällen där det är synnerligen viktigt att det blir rätt – som till exempel när du presenterar dig i affärssammanhang. Vill du ge ett professionellt intryck av dig själv har du stor hjälp av att välja rätt form och att prata korrekt engelska.
When accuracy matters
Chapter 17
Intro
Here we talk about giving a professional impression when the occasion demands it. Many of us find “grammar” boring and tiresome. However, most things in life need structure and that is essentially what grammar is. Many Swedish speakers assume they already know when to use “was” or “were” – but when they are expressing themselves, they often make mistakes. This is one of the areas where Swedes could do with a bit more training.
Outro.
Some useful words to know from this chapter:
Accurate – exakt, precis, noggrann
Pronoun – pronomen (personliga pronomen är ord som används istället för namn på en person, sak, djur eller liknande; han, hon, det osv.)
Noun – substantiv (ord du kan sätta ”en” eller ”ett” framför)
Complacent – självbelåten, egenkär
A useful hint from Mike:
There are a lot of irregular verbs in the English language and the more you know of these, the better. They are packaged in threes. You also need to learn, drill and practice these.
‘Here is an example of what I prefer to call structure but others refer to as grammar.
The verb ”to be” is one of the most used and irregular verbs in the language. This is an elementary issue, but I am sorry to say it isn’t properly learned,’ Mike says.
Verb form 1 (base) be - är;
- I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, you are, they are. (Infinitive/Present simple – infinitiv/presens)
Verb form 2: was/were - var;
- I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, you were, they were. (Past simple – imperfekt)
Verb form 3: been – varit, har varit.
- been, has/have been, had been. (Past participle – perfekt particip)
The key is to practice, practice and practice.
Best of luck,
Mike Ward, English coach