l.

"t

native speakers of English don't have the opportunity of learning English in that way. So you see, as a non-native speaker of English, you've been learning English in the 'non-natural' way - in a way that's opposite to the natural way of language acquisition. You'vebeen learning to write English first, rather than to speak it. That's what you've been doing at school and college. You've been learning to produce written English. And the methods you had to follow never fully made you understand this: The 'spoken' style is quite different from the 'written' style. You see, the spoken word is the basis for the written word, and not the other way round. And so spoken English is more fundamental than written English. But the non-natural way in which you had to learn English planted the wrong notion in your mind: A wrong notion that things are the other way round - that written English is more fundamental than spoken English. So the result is this: You're now steeped in written English. And your written English orientation has been preventing you all along from understanding one thing. It has been preventing you from understanding that spontaneous speech has to be composed differently that is, in a way quite different from the way writing is produced. Result? You always try to speak the way you write. And you do this by trying hard to follow principles of grammar and usage as applied to writing, and not as applied to speech itself. Is there any wonder fluency has eluded you so far? So I want you to understand one thing here and now: When they speak spontaneously, fluent speakers apply principles of grammar and usage in a way that is different from the way they apply those principles when they write. And the spoken style has a number of devices and conventions of its own, and these devices and conventions are not derived from the written style.

school able to speak fluent English? The truth is, even most postgraduates aren't able to speak English fluently

even though they

know all the English words commonly used in speech! Why is this so? Here's a chief reason: People who aren't fluent try to speak in 'words', by trying to put individual words together. They're not aware that this is not the right way of speaking English. The right. way to speak English is to speak it in "word groups", by putting word groups together - and to use individual words only when an individual word can do the work of a word group. This is because the real units of speech are 'ideas' (or 'information'). And ideas normally get expressed in groups of words, rather than in individual words. Bite-sized pieces of ideas So the point you should understand is this: Natural speech comes out in units or very short pieces of ideas. Andmost often, these units of ideas are said and heard in groups of words. Sometimesthey're said and heard in individual words, too. Let's take a look at a few spoken texts, so that you can get a clear idea of all this. Here we go: He unlockedthe front door + and we went in + and he said + I'llbe back in a minute + and he went upstairs + so I remained in the hall + and then the phone started ringing + and he shouted to me to answerit + and I pickedup the receiver+ and I said 'hello' + but the person at the other end suddenlyhung up + so I replaced the receiver.

He passed the exam + with a very high score + and he was thrilled + very pleased + and happy + and he treated us to ice-cream + the very next day. They were close friends + and they had similar opinions + and similar ideas + attitudes + and they've worked together + on several projects.

.
.

Learning words alone won't help

Now just think about this: Suppose you learn a number of English words very well - say, a nice big stock of them. Then, will you be able to speak English fluently? I'm sure you know the answer. The answer is, you won't. You won't be able to speak English fluently just because you've mastered all the common words there are. If this hadn't been so, would speaking have been a problem? In fact, you may yourself have an excellent vocabulary. Why, even a student who has completed high school knows all the common words we use in everyday spoken English! But, is every student who completes high

She gave him something to eat + something soft and thick + sticky + a toffee-like thing. . It's a bit heavy + and so you can't move it easily + from place to place + but it doesn't take up much space + so you can put it in your bedroom + or in the hall. Actually + I don't like that idea + though I can't say anything against it + because I can't give any reasons + and I don't know why I have this feeling + but something in me tells me + that this idea may not work + and it may even achieve the opposite result + from the one we want to achieve + and that is not going to be a good thing. Go through these five examples. Three of them contain one one-word idea unit each. Did you spot them the first time you went through the examples. If you didn't, why don't you try and spot them now?

How does natural speech

come out?

When a child wants something, what does it say? It says: "Give it to me". Do you think the child first learns the words 'Give', 'it', 'to', and 'me' separately, and, then connects them together? When a child doesn't want a thing, it says: "I don't want it". When a child gets tired of walking, and wants to be carried, it says: "Pick me up". Do you think the child first learns the words'!', 'don't', 'want', 'it', 'pick', 'me', and 'up' separately, and, then, connects them also together? For the child, "Give it to me" is the same as a single word 'givitumee', and not four separate words. "I don't want it" is the same as a single word 'Aidonwantit', and not four separate words. "Pick me up" is the same thing as a single word 'Pickmeeyup', and not three separate words. The child says each of these word groups as a single utterance without any gap between any two words. It doesn't make separate utterances for each of the words in a word group. The child says each word group as a single unit - as though it were a single word. This is what normally happens when a fluent native speaker of English speaks English. And this is what normally happens when a fluent native speaker of any other language speaks that language. Think about what happens in your own mother-tongue. Notice how you yourself speak in your own mother-tongue. What does natural speech come out in? From what I've said so far, don't you see one thing? Normally, natural speech doesn't come out in 'words'. It comes out in word groups. Strictly speaking, natural speech comes out neither in single words nor even in word-groups. Actually, it comes out in units of ideas. Of course, most often, these units of ideas get expressed through multiword units (=' word-groups) - and sometimes in single words. Now listen: What was the child doing when it had said "Give it to me"? Wasn't the child just giving expression to a unit of "idea" or a "thought" or a piece of "information"? The idea (or thought or information) came up in its mind, and it just made an utterance - an utterance that the child thought would express that idea (or thought or information). This was so when it had said "I don't want it" and "Pick me up", too. Actually, this is always so. Children always speak in their mother tongue by uttering idea by idea, and not word by word. So do adults, and everyone who speaks their mother-tongue fluently. When they speak spontaneously, do fluent speakers consciously search through their brain for word after word? No, normally, they don't. Do they 1

consciously stop to think about how to string the words together? No, normally they don't. They just say what they have in mind by using such vocabulary items as occur readily to them - spontaneously and without any conscious effort. And normally, the stretches of speech that come out happen to be in groups of words. But how do they get this skill? This course will tell you how. And this course will help YOU get this skill, too. Just read on, and don't worry. So, don't you see what the natural way of speaking is? It's to make "utterances", each carrying one component of an idea or thoughtthat is, one strand of information. Let's call such an utterance an "idea unit".

Let ready-to-assemble

units do your work for you

Now listen. Take the case of someone who has had considerable exposure to everyday English - for example, through deliberate practice of the type you do through this course or through reading a number of novels, plays and story books. Suppose that an idea occurs to them and that they're trying to express it. The moment they form the intention to speak, this is what normally happens: Several ready-to-assemble word groups come rushing into their minds - automatically, without any effort on their part. These are word groups like speech initiators, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and phrases, collocations, everyday idioms, etc. Here's a list of some of the very useful ready-to-assemble units: by accident, achieve your aim, in action, out of action, take advantage of somebody/something, break the agreement, go .it alone, reach an agreement, as always, answer the door/the phone, within arm's reach. go bad, have/take a bath, to the best of my knowledge/ability, you bet, better off, that's better, a bit of a problem, bit by bit, for a bit, you'll only have yourself to blame, at full blast, break a promise, out of breath, by air, by bus, by car, by force, by himself/herself, etc., by plane, by train. in that case, certainly not, in charge, take charge, under the circumstances, under no circumstances, come true, come to a conclusion, as far as I am concerned, take a chance, by chance, how come?, out of control, cover the cost, at all cost(s), a course of action, go to court. keep a dairy; out of date, these days, in dead trouble, make no difference, get into difficulties, down the road, get dressed, on duty, off duty. from beginning to end, in the end, excellent value (for money). fair enough, in fashion, out of fashion, fast asleep, on fire, open fire (on the crowd, etc.), put a fire out, set fire to something, at first, go up in flames, in a flash, fall flat, on foot, for free, free of charge, free time, fresh air, have fun, make fun of somebody, that's funny, make a fuss.

18
have a hair-cut, by hand, these things happen, hard at work, come to no harm, there is no harm in..., with all your heart, a heavy sleeper, a heavy smoker, here and there, here it is, think highly of somebody, hold your breath, go on holiday, on holiday, hope for the best, I hope (that)..., lose hope, have high hopes, for hours, in an hour, how about...?, in a hurry. have no idea, Do you mind if... ?, if I were you..., was taken ill, make an impression on somebody, on the increase, in ink, take out insurance. just a minute, just a moment, keep quiet, keep a secret, as far as I know. at last, laugh at somebody/something, against the law, at least, least of all, not in the least, less and less, let's see, as long as, looks as if. go mad, like mad, make sure, no easy matter, what's the matter?, a mildmannered person, change your mind, I don't mind, in a minute, too good to miss, by mistake, at any moment, make a living, make money, more and more, more or less, at (the) most, move house, remain a mystery. never mind, no doubt, no wonder, for nothing, at short notice, right now. how often?, in the old days, on the left/right; at once, once more, once or twice, keep things in order, the other day, out of order, over there. I beg your pardon, pay attention to somebody/something, pick a quarrel, I can't see any point in..., point of view, in practice, in the presence of. on the radio, pouring with rain, raise your voice, out of reach, within reach, break a record, as a last resort, right away, right now, quite right. for goodness sake, I must say, make sense, set an example, settle a bill, shake hands with somebody, What a shame!, go into shock, have/take a shower, feel sick, sleep soundly, go to sleep, so far, or so, soaking wet, something like that, soon after, that sort of thing, without a sound, spare time, in spite of, staY~ind, in stock, out of stock, straight away, call a strike off, go on strike, on strike, all of a sudden, moral support. What are you talking about ?, take a seat, in theory, tell tales, have a temperature, that's it, all the time, at a time, at times, from time to time, in a month's time, just in time, I told you so, I think, I thought, top of the class, get in touch, keep in touch, by public transport, get into trouble, in trouble, no trouble, tell the truth, take it in turns, turn a comer. get undressed, up and down, up the road, a stomach upset, as usual. wait your turn, at war, declare war, go to war, keep a close watch on somebody, by the way, find your way, lose your way, on the way, out of the way, weather permitting, lose weight, put on weight, in other words, a long/way, wear well, what about, What's wrong with...?, the whole of, on the whole, have a word with somebody, send word, worse off. Use your dictionary. Make these ready-to-assemble units part of your everyday speech. (You'll be getting more ready-to-assemble units in other Lessons). Of course, many of the ready-to-assemble units may only be capable of expressing your ideas in a very vague way - or of just helping them start off by saying something connected to that idea. But re-

lY

member this: In spontaneous speech, things are made clear not through tight structures and precise vocabulary, but through a number of speech-specific techniques. Haven't you wondered how fluent speakers produce newer and newer speech units effortlessly? They do this by combining these ready-toassemble parts among themselves and with other vocabulary items. So when you're speaking spontaneously, don't ignore the ready-toassemble units that occur readily. And don't spend time trying to find the most suitable word or expression (in place of those ready-toassemble units). Don't.

Idea units - Your key to speech and fluency

From what I've said so far, one thing must be clear to you: Most often, an idea unit contains more than one word, and so, most often, an idea unit occurs in groups of words. But sometimes an idea unit may happen to contain only one 'Nord. These are situations when a single word would do the work of a word group. In those situations, idea units come out as one-word units. Thus, suppose somebody asks you, "When do you want me to come?", and suppose you reply, "Tomorrow". In that context, doesn't this single word 'Tomorrow' do the work of a word group and convey an idea? Yes, it does. So here, 'Tomorrow' is an idea unit, even though it's a single word. In this context, you don't always need to reply: "I want you to come tomorrow". All you need to do is to say "Tomorrow", and the idea would be clear. Here the single word "Tomorrow" does the work of the word group "I want you to come tomorrow". A few pages back, we looked at a few spoken texts. Here are three one-word idea units that three of those spoken texts contained:

I
1

+ attitudes

+ sticky +

+ Actually +

Go back to those spoken 1eXts and spot these one-word idea units. ( 'Idea units' of speech, and "sentences" of writing Here's an important fact;and you may have noticed it by now from what I've said so far: An idea unit isn't always the same thing as a sentence that we use in written English. No. Often, an idea unit has a form that is quite different from that of a sentence. Of course, this doesn't mean that short sentences cannot occur as idea units. Especially, simple sentences that are short. In fact, simple sentences thQt are short can occur as idea units and they often do. But first let's look at word groups that can only function as idea units in spoken English, but not as sentences in written English.

J'

20

21 Suppose you ask a person, "When did you come?", and suppose he replies: ':Just now". Then in that context, doesn't this group ':Just now" make sense? And isn't this word group ':Just now" a grammatically acceptable combination of words? And so, in that context, isn't this word group an idea unit? Just see! In the context we've just now seen, the addressee doesn't need to reply: "I came just now". The addressee need only reply, ':Just now", and the idea would be clear. This is because the words 'I' and 'came' are understood from the context. But is the word group ':Just now" a 'sentence' - as a sentence is usually understood in written English? It isn't hard to tell. No. This group is not a sentence. You see, as it is generally understood in written English, a sentence is a group of words that contains a verb or a subject and a verb. But the word group ':Just now" doesn't contain a verb. And it doesn't contain a subject, either. So it isn't a sentence. But haven't we seen just now that this group is an idea unit, when the context is clear? But let me ask you: Even if the context is clear, is this word group a sentence? No, it's not. You can tell this even if you know nothing about the grammatical definition of a sentence. Yet haven't we seen that you can use it in speech- to do the work of a 'sentence'? Now let's take the word "Tomorrow". Is this word a sentence? No. Of course, not. It's only a word, and not a sentence. But haven't we already seen that a single word like this can be used as an idea unit? Haven't we seen that it can be used in conversations to do the work of a full 'sentence'? come?", then it'd have made sense, because then this question would have provided enough context for it to be understood. So the word group '~ust now" and the word "Tomorrow" are idea units in spoken English, but they cannot function as sentences in written English. Now let's take a word group that is not only an 'idea unit' in speech, but also a 'sentence' in written English.
~

For example, take this word group: "Can I have a look at it?". Suppose a stranger comes to you and says all of a sudden: "Can I have a look at it?". Would it make any sense? No, it wouldn't - because he hasn't given you any idea about what he means by !he word 'it'. But suppose he points towards a book lying on your table and says, "Can I have a look at it?". Then, wouldn't this word group make sense? Of course, it would - because the context then makes the meaning of the word 'it' clear and shows that the word 'it' refers to the book.

Importance of context /
I t So don't you see? There's a great advantage on the conversational side of a language. You can make the context to help you speak. You see, in speech, your hearers understand several things even if you don't use words to say those things. The factor that makes your hearers understand these 'unsaid' things is the context. By 'context', I mean everything that helps you make the meaning of an idea unit to be clearly understood: The verbal or linguistic context (= the things you say before and after that idea unit), the situational context (= the place, time, attending circumstances, etc.), the shared knowledge (= the things that both you and your addressee know about each other, about the world in general, about the topic of the conversation, etc.) and the body language. As there's always the context to help you in speech, you don't have to make up and say full sentences on many occasions. And even if you do make up a full sentence, you don't have to express everything fully and clearly in that sentence. And you don't have to hunt up and use 'right' words in order to make your meaning graphically clear and detailed through words alone. And often, you don't have to complete ot er one. And you don't even have to start your utterance in a senten e-form. All that you need to do is to just utter what stands out in ur sentences at all, but can leave them half-finished startoccur anyo I r mind - just utter the bite-sizedword groups thatand readily to you through association of ideas. If what you utter doesn't make the idea complete, the context would. For example, take a look at the following strings of idea units:

How fontext helps the speaker Now "that helped the word group '~ust now" and the single word "Tomorrow" to make sense and do the work of sentences? The contexts in which they were uttered, of course. Contexts. Suppose that a stranger comes to you now and says all of a sudden: '~ust now". Will it make any sense to you? No, it won't. It won't convey any meaning. But suppose you had first asked a question, "When did you come?", and suppose he had then said '~ust now" in reply to that question. Then this word group would certainly have made sense, because then the question would have provided enough context for the reply to be understood. So a context is a thing of great to make up full sentences all the time.
help in speech. it'd save you from a burden

the burden of having

Suppose that somebody comes to you now and says: "Tomorrow". Will it make any sense to you? No, it won't. But suppose he'd said this word in reply to a question from you, "When do you want me to

22

23 1. I like him + Hard-working+ Polite + Alwayscheerful(Youdon't alwayshave to say like this: I likehim, becausehe is hard-working, polite and alwayscheerful). 2. He is a familyman + Sevenchildren (Youdon't alwayshave to say like this: He is a familyman and has seven children). 3. Wherehave you been? + Flu or something? (Youdon't alwayshave to say: Wherehave you been? Wereyou in bed with flu or something?). 4. Nicedress.Paris? (Youdon't alwayshave to say: That'sa nice dress you have on. Didyou buy it in Paris?). S. Flip the switch + before you do that- (Thespeaker as well as the addresseeknowwhat the word 'that' stands for in this context,and so the speakerdoesn't have to use more words to describethe thing that the word 'that' refers to). Keep this in mind: Whenever you speak. a number of contextual elements would normally be there to help you. You won't have to find out and add more words to what you utter just for the sake of making up a perfectly-formed sentence. In fact, if you find that your meaning has become clear to your hearer (even before you've completed saying what you started saying), you can even leave unfinished the word group you're uttering. Eg: . There's no truth in his story + I don't believe a word of what... + You know + Thisisn't the first time... + He always tells lies. Twothousand rupees? + Daylightrobbery or what? + I never thought the bill wouldcome to... + Thismust be the most expensiverestaurant + in town.
f

Types of idea units

From what we've seen so far, one thing must be clear to you: There are four types of word groups that can Occur as idea units:
Phrases (including single words). Clauses. Incomplete clauses and incomplete phrases. . 'Wholeplus' clausesand phrases.

1. Phrases
You see, there are 5 types of phrases in English: Adverb Phrase (Adv.P). Prepositional Phrase (Prep. P). You'll be learning about the various types of phrases from the fluency development angle later. But for the time being, let's take a general look at what phrases are like. In general, we can say that a phrase is (a) a single content word, or (b) a small group of words that stand together as a unit of meaning - with a content word as the main word in the group. Generally speaking, a content word is a verb, noun, adjective or adverb. A phrase normally occurs in speech in two ways: Either it occurs as an idea unit by itself or it occurs as part of an idea unit (that is, as a
P). constituent element in a short independent clause

..

Verb Phrase

(VP).

Noun Phrase (NP).

Adjective Phrase (Adj.

,
J

a clausal idea

I think + I'll have to refuse + Youknow + I've thought about it + carefully+ And for a long... + Well,I don't want to acceptthat offer. In the 1st example, the speaker has left the word group "I don't believe a word of what..." unfinished. But it's clear from the context that what the s!,>eaker wanted to say was something like this: "I don't believe a word of what he's said". In the 2nd example, the speaker has left the word group "I never thought the bill would come to..." unfinished. But it's clear from the context that what the speaker wanted to say was something like this: "I never thought the bill would come to sb much". In the 3rd example, the speaker has left the word grollp '~d for a long..." unfinished. But it's clear from the context that what the speaker wanted to say was something like this: '~d for a long time". So when the speaker's meaning is clear to the hearers from the context, the speaker can leave a word group unfinished and start the next one. Actually, a speaker can do this under other circumstances, too. We'll take up this topic for detailed study later.

unit). And mind you, in modem grammar, even a single content word is treated as a phrase. (i) Verb phrase (VP) VP = (helping verbs) + full verb. 'Helping verbs' are words like am, is, are, have, etc. and words like can, may, will, etc. The term 'helping verbs' have been given in brackets, because words that are helping verbs mayor may not occur in a VP.In the following examples, you'll find verb phrases given in italics.

having a meeting. He was doing something. We were trying to help them. This sort of life doesn't suit me.. I don't know. . He didn't answer the question. French.

. .

She laughed.

They disappeared suddenly.

He made a suggestion.

. .

I am working.

plan. We have been waiting for the result.

She can speak German and He couldn't do it. . They will come tomorrow. If I may interrupt for a moment, .here's an urgent message you should see now.

..

. She has a headache.

. . . .

This belongs to me.

She is crying.

. They are

. They have changed their

to apologize to her.

. . . I must exercise more. .You ought .You should decide what to do now.
They would have left by now.

They might have been expecting all that.

(ii) Noun phrase (NP) NP = determiners + (pre-modifiers)+ noun + (post-modifiers)

Eg: Ajith, Jai Shankar, India, Great Britain, the US, science, authorities, a pair of gloves, my family, Dr. John, the top of the stairs, the water level, tWo cats, that book, her son, some experience, some oranges, a big car, a pleasant evening, a disappointed man, the ruling party, all those people there, the civil service, the shop across the street, the girl who went in just now, a feeling of satisfaction, the width of the road, her uncle's house, the man you were speaking to, the boy in blue shirt.

doesn't contain more than 5 or 6 words on an average. For example, we've already seen that words and word groups such as the following can occur as idea units: 'just now", "Tomorrow", 'with a very high score", "on several projects", "a toffee-like thing", "from place to place", "Hard-working", "Polite", "Always cheerful", "Seven children".

(iii) Adjective phrase (Adj. P) Adj. P = (pre-modifiers) + adjective + (post-modifiers) Eg:very tall, very happy, rather dull, quite comfortable, actually hot, comparativelycheap,dreadfullyill, equally correct, extremelybusy, relatively mild, reallyamazing,terriblysorry,largeenough. (iv) Adverb phrase (Adv. P)

These are all phrases. In fact, just as single phrases, combinations of phrases also often occur in speech - short combinations. For example, we've already seen that the word group "Flu or something?" is an idea unit: See example 3 under the sub-heading "Importance of context" above. This is a combination of tWo noun phrases 'Flu' and 'something', and the combining has been done by using the connector 'or'. Here are a few more examples of combinations:

't

Eg:

ached. He deals with thingsfirmly+ Youknow + Decisively andfirmly.

I was very tired + Tired and hungry.

. . .

Priya and herfather + were here.

. My whole body + shivered and

Adv. P = (pre-modifiers) + adverb + (post-modifiers) Eg:verycarefully,rather too quickly,very seriouslyindeed, a little more clearly,as quietlyas he could,prettyfaithfully, extremelywell, quite foolishly, most cunningly,more sincerely than I expected,more and more effectively, fairlyeasily, somewhatquietly, reallyprofessionally. (v) Prepositional phrase (PP)

1. ...

PP = preposition + a complement (= a noun phrase, generally) Eg: about that topic, abovemy head, alongthe road, amongthe trees. around/roundour house, at the shop, beforethe next junction, belowthe knee, besidethe bed, betweenthem, beyondcontrol, by cheque,from London,in his pocket, insidethe house, into his mouth, near the door,off duty, on the ground, oppositethe Library,outsidethat building,over the table, past bedtime, through the front door, towardsthe gate, underthe bed, up the stairs, within earshot. Phrases as idea units

This is what we've seen so far: In general, a phrase is . a single lexical word. Or, . a group of grammatically related words. The importance of a phrase in speech is this: On the one hand, it can function as an idea unit by itself. On the other hand, it can act as part of other types of idea units (= 'clauses').

Don't let a few grammatical terms scare you Go through the examples carefully. They'll give you a clear idea of what a phrase is like. Now let me tell you something important: Don't let what I've said so far (about phrases) give you a wrong idea. You see, in order to speak English fluently, it's not necessary that you should learn to define a verb, noun, etc. No. And it's not necessary that you should be able to look at a word group and say that it's a noun phrase, verb phrase, etc. No. You don't have to learn to label phrases by their names. All that is needed is this: You should have a feel for what a phrase is - no matter what its name. You should have a clear understanding of what a close group of words is: A close group of words that go together and form a unit. The easi~st and quickest way of developing this feel is to train yourself with the word groups you'll be getting in the various Lessons in this course. Go through them silently several times. And utter them aloud several times. So don't let the names of different types of phrases scare you. Word knowledge and word mastery An important part of your fluency training is to get to know the various types of word-clusters called 'phrases' and to train your organs of speech in uttering them.

So by itself,a phrase can occur as an idea unit - if it is short enough for you to utter it as a single unit. And a phrase is short enough, if it

26 You should do this training seriously and in earnest. You shouldn't let up, even if you're very highly educated in English and even if you're extremely good at written English. You see, phrase training is one of the most effective techniques for mastering English vocabulary. Mind you, one reason why many educated people can't speak fluent English is this: They haven't mastered essential English vocabulary. They think they have, but they haven't, actually. Of course, they know a very large number of words. But their knowledge of most of these words is superficial and is limited to recognizing these words in reading - or to understanding them when somebody else uses them in speech. Their knowledge of these words
doesn't extend to a mastery of the full details of how to use them

27 ment. And this other element is usually an element caUed the Object element (= 0). This is the SVO-pattern. This is the most common clause pattern you'll find in spoken English.
Eg:

She heated some milk. The news upset her. He threatened revenge. She praised him. The cat climbed a tree. Her behaviour pleased those people. That man grabbed her handbag. He lit a cigarette. She wrote a cheque. Most of them break traffic rules.

. .

She picked a red rose.

. ..

..

They welcomed him.

.. ..

I enjoyed that book.

how to use them along with other words. They have no clear idea of the other words that occur regularly whenever that word is used, or about the tYpicalsyntactic patterns in which that word tends to occur normally. No, they haven't achieved a real mastery of these words. A real mastery - the skill of using them easily in order to express what they see, hear, feel. And the phrase training in this course will help you achieve a real mastery over the essential words. Yes, essential words - because a serious problem with educated learners is this: A lot of the words they've spent time in learning are not essential words. This is because those are not 'production' words, 'speech-production' words. No. They're just recognition vocabulary or reception vocabulary. If you want to produce English on your own, you should have a mastery not of just a set of random words (or of words belonging to the reception or recognition vocabulary), but of speech-production words. That's why phrase-training is going to be extremely important.

There are, of course, other patterns that are not as common as the SVO pattern. In fact, we'll be taking a detailed look at all the clause patterns (common as well as less common) later in other Lessons. Now, if an independent clause is short enough (for you to utter it as a single unit), it can occur as an idea unit in speech. For example, we've already seen that word groups such as the following can occur as idea units:
friends.

. . It's a bit heavy.. I don't like that idea. . Giveit to me. . Pickme up. . I don't want it. . Can I have a
She gave him something to eat.

He unlocked the front door.

He passed the exam.

They were close

look at it? . I like him. . He is a familyman. . Wherehave you been? These are all single independent clauses. You know, a single independent clause is also known as a simple sentence. (ii) Non-independent clauses We saw that the word group "before you do that" can occur as an idea unit. (See example 4 under the sub-heading "Importance of the context" above). Grammatically speaking, this is a non-independent clause - more commonly known as a 'dependent clause' or a 'subordinate clause'. . So you see, like an independent clause, a non-independent clause can
also occur as an idea unit

2. Clauses
In general, a clause is a combination of different tYpes of phrases in a certain order. So it is a grammatical unit that is one rank higher than a phrase. Broadly speaking, there are two tYpes of clauses:

if it is short enough for you to utter it as

a single unit. Here are the various tYpes of non-independent clauses you'll come across in speech: (a) Subordinate clauses Subordinate clauses starting with a 'subordinator' like after, as if, because, before, if, so and though. Eg: . They arrived + after you had left. He spoke to me + as if I had done

Independent

clauses.

Non-independent

clauses.

. .

(i) Independent

clauses

At the minimum, an independent clause consists of a Subject element (= S) and a Verb element (= V). This is the SV-pattern.
Eg:

The door opened.

crashed.

. . Somebody.screamed. .The jewels . sparkled. . She coughed.

They laughed. My stomach hurts. A car

He bought it + because it's so cheap. . They'll come + if you invite them. Discuss it with him + so he can give you some tips. He hadn't left the office + though it was past 7.
something wrong.

..

But most often, there will be one more element after the Verb ele-

Subordinate clauses starting with a wh-word like when, whenever, wherever, etc.

29
28 Eg:

disappointed + whichever you choose.

. She was out + when you phoned. . I always visit them + whenever I'm in Bombay. . The police will find him + wherever he is. .
You won't be

various types of clauses that are usual in spoken English. Train yourself with them as the Lessons tell you. And you'll soon develop the kind of feel that's needed.

(b) to-infinitive

Eg: . They're planning to do everything possible + to cut costs.

. you ask him + to come tomorrow? . He took it home + to show it to his wife. . You should tell him + to stop doing that.
Why don't

clauses

3. Incomplete clauses and incomplete phrases

Under the sub-heads 'Phrases' and 'Clauses' above, we saw clausal

(e) -ing participle

Eg:

. I waved to that man + thinking that he was Hamid. . We sat there for some more time + talking about this and that. . I don't want to go to
them + asking for help.

clauses

idea units and phrasal idea units that are whole ones

clauses and

(d) -en participle clauses Eg: Takenby surprise + he couldn't answertheir questions. NOTE:Clauseslike these are rare in speech. (e) Verbless clauses Eg:Whilein Bombay+ he used to take someinterest in socialactivities. Now remember this: Among clausal idea units (= idea units that are clauses), independent clauses occur far more frequently as idea units than non-independent clauses. Yes, far more frequently. And among non-independent clauses, those introduced by subordinators [(a) above] are more common than the other types. In fact, the last two categories of non-independent clauses (-en participle clauses, and Verbless clauses) are not common at all. We'll be learning about all the types of non-independent clauses later. No complicated grammatical stuff Before we go ahead, let me ask you something: Do these grammatical terms scare you? Don't start thinking that fluency work requires you to learn a lot of complicated grammatical stuff by heart. It doesn't. And so don't worry. (Just treat these grammatical terms as names names/for things). Just as I told you while we were dealing with phrases, understand this: In order to speak English fluently, you don't have to learn to describe the various types of clauses to anyone. No. And you don't have to be able to look at a word group and say that it's such and such a type of clause. No. You don't have to learn to label clauses by their names. All that is needed is this: You should
have a feel for what a clause is - whatever its name.

phrases that are complete in themselves. But in spontaneous speech, you'll find one more class of idea units. They're incomplete clauses and phrases: Clauses and phrases that are partly uttered and then discarded, left unfinished. Yes, fragmentary clauses and fragmentary phrases. They're as important for spontaneous speech composition as whole clauses and whole phrases. We've already looked at a few unfinished word groups that can occur as idea units. Here they are:
I don't believe a word of what... to... And for a long...

. .

. I never thought the bill would come

Now here are a few spoken texts. They contain other examples of incomplete word groups occurring as idea units:
Eg:

. He's avery... + You know

trying to do it.

+ He's always annoyed about something + haveto... + You or other + And so he's very difficult to be with. . You'll He came and told me all about it + And he was very... + And he showed how much he enjoyed it + And he was very excited + I could tell that + by the way he... + you know + he described it to me in great detail + and with a lot of enthusiasm.

shouldn't giveup + though it's a bit difficult+ And you should keep

4. 'Whole plus' clauses and phrases

A 'whole plus' clause = A 'whole' clause + one or two extra words (The extra words are not grammatically part of the whole clause). A 'whole plus' phrase = A 'whole' phrase + one or two extra words (The extra words are not grammatically part of the whole phrase). So you see, a 'whole plus' clause is a 11/4clause, and a 'whole plus' phrase is a 1V4phrase. A few examples would make the nature of 'whole plus' clauses and phrases clear:

'Whole plus' clauses

(i)ulndependent clause and Extra word(s) +" In the examples that follow, you'll find the extra words (that converts 'whole' clauses into 'whole plus' clauses) given in italics.

In the various Lessons in this course, you'll be getting collections of

30

31

(He handled the situation + with a great deal of courage)

handled the situation with + a great deal of courage.

chance + of getting that job) --+ He has a good chance of + getting that job. (I can do it + with the help of those people) --+ 1can do it with the + help of those people. (I didn't want him + to do all those things) -+ 1didn't want him to + do all those things. (He smiled at me + and said something) --+ He smiled at me and + said something. (Handle it properly + or it can be dangerous) --+ Handle it properly or + it can be dangerous. (I like him + but 1 don't want to work with him) --+1 like him but + 1don't want to work with him.

--+ He

(He has a good

. He had for twenty years + worked for that company. She hadn't before her marriage + seen him at all. She had by then + left the building. He could with the help of those people + complete the work in time. He occasionally + goes and meets them. He doesn't usually + criticize anybody's work. I was frankly + a bit worried. obviously + in love with her. The whole campaign was in shon + a

. . . He'safter all + their boss. . comparison+ quite small. ..

disaster. speaking

.. .

. He's

They were of course + a bit disappointed. He wasn't strictly Their loss was in + guilty.

In these examples, the 'whole plus clauses' are the following: 'He handled the situation with', 'He has a good chance of', 'I can do it with the', 'I didn't want him to', 'He smiled at me and', 'Handle it properly or', 'I like him but'.

Here are some examples containing vocatives used medially. (A vocative is a word like 'madam' that you use when you're speaking to someone or when you want to attract their attention). standing again in the next election? Youmustn't Dad + be so nastyto

(ii) UExtra word(s)

and Comment

clause

+"

. That is madam + a very good idea... Willyou Mr. Saxena + be them. . That wasn't professor + what 1meant. .Let's Grandma + sit here and talk. . That you stupid idiot + isn't what you should do.

Comment clauses are pre-fabricated or ready-to-use expressions like 'I believe', 'you know', etc. They're often used as fillers in spontaneous speech. Comment clauses become 'whole plus' clauses when they're used medially (= in the middle of an independent clause, rather than at the beginning or the end). In the examples that follow, the extra words occur immediately before comment clauses. The part that are not in italics before the' +' sign is a comment clause. The words in italics are the extra words.
That man 1 believe + is a doctor. This 1think + is that girl's idea. . This plan I'm afraid + isn't going to work. . That wasn't you know + what they had expected. They were you see + trying to help us. He is

Why can't we speak in 'sentences'?

What we've seen so far can be summed up like this: If your speech is to be fluent, you'll have to learn to speak by stringing 'idea units' together. Very roughly, about 50% of these idea units would grammatically be the same as written English sentences. And most of these are simple sentences (= independent clauses). The remaining 50% of idea units won't be sentences. They'd only be phrases, non-independent clauses and incomplete clauses and phrases - that is, units that are lower in rank than a sentence, and the fragments of those units. Now why aren't we able to speak spontaneously by stringing sentences of the written English kind alone? Why do we have to use a lot of 'non-sentence' idea units, too? Why? The chief reason is this: Spontaneous speech is produced under conditions that are quite different from conditions in which a piece of writing is planned and produced. And speech is generally processed by hearers who hear it under conditions that are quite different from conditions in which a piece of writing is read and understood. When we speak spontaneously, we compose our speech as we go on speaking. That is, we give shape to our speech at the same time as we speak. So when we speak spontaneously, we only have a very limited time to construct what we say. And that limited amount of time we have is not sufficient to plan and construct sentences of the written English type, and to put them together into a 'text'. We need much more time to do a thing like that. And so, when we speak spontaneously, we won't be able to speak by constructing and stringing sen-

if you ask me + very rude. He isn't if I may be frank + experienced

enough to get that job. That was if I may be blunt + a very foolish thing to do. They have since you want to know + decided to cancel your contract. Youshouldn't have if I may say so + refused that offer.

..

..

You'll be learning more about comment clauses later in this course. Let me point out one thing here: 'Whole plus clauses' occur quite frequently as idea units in spontaneous speech. So whenever they occur to you naturally, don't try to avoid them.

'Whole plus' phrases

You see, idea units happen to take the shape of 'whole plus' phrases when the speaker adds an optional phrase in the middle of an independent clause - rather than at the beginning or at the end. The following examples would make this point clear. In these examples, you'll find the extra words added at the beginning of the optional phrases given in italics.

33 32 friends say + that's not so + and they want her to join the second company + though she'll have to be miles away + from home + if she joins the second company + but her mother wants her + to reject both the offers + because... So an idea unit is nothing but a bite-sized speech-segment: A short group of words that is uttered as a single unit. And each unit usually carries one strand or unit of information.

tences of the written English kind. While speaking spontaneously, we'll only be able to say what we want to say chunk by chunk - bitesized chunks, each chunk containing a few closely related words and carrying one unit of information. These chunks mayor may not happen to be sentences. In fact, many won't be sentences at all, but just sentence-fragments and phrases.

Just a little at a time, and not a mouthful

Remember this: Unlike writing, speech is produced orally. This means that each group of words that you utter at a time will have to be short enough, so that it's length is manageable for you to utter as a single unit. That is, it should not be a mouthful - or so complicated or long that it is difficult to say as a single unit. You see, normally, our organs of speech will have no difficulty in uttering chunks containing 5 or 6 words on an average - if these words are short and simple, and are closely related grammatically and lexically. But if the chunks contain more than 9 words each, the organs of speech will find it difficult to produce them without faltering - even if the words are short and simple. But listen: This does not mean that all your chunks must contain as many as 5 or 6 words. No. The length of the chunks keeps varying from 1 to 9 words. Of course, chunks with a single word are not very frequent. And chunks with as many as 9 words or more are not frequent, either. In fact, on an average, a native English speaker's chunks tend to contain only 5 or 6 words, and not more. Yes, on an average. Most of the chunks contain around 5 words. Many chunks contain less than 5 words. And some chunks contain more than 5 short words (but less than 10 words). Normally, only about 20% of the chunks would contain more than 7 words. And here's something you should note: For uttering a standard chunk with 5 to 6 words, a fluent English speaker takes about 2 seconds. Fluent speakers produce a series of these chunks or segments continuously, one after another. Connectors like and, but, or, then and so help them move smoothly from one segment to the next or from a group of segments to the next. In this way, fluent speakers produce a series of speech-segments as a stream. Here's an example of a series of speech-segments lined up end to end: She'shad twojob offers + and she can't decide + whichone to accept + becauseboth the companies+ you know + both offera generoussalary + and the workingconditionsare good + at both places + and she'll have to givea reply + by this Saturday + and her father says + her career prospectswould be better + in the first company + but her

Strands of information
Now, what exactly is a strand of information? This is something that is difficult to define or state in precise terms. But I can give you a general idea. You see, a strand of information is a one-component thought, a one-component idea that the speaker has in mind - a thought or idea that only has a single component or a single ingredient. Thus, if a thought or idea has more than one component part, each component part can be treated as a separate unit of information. In practical terms, a strand of information is nothing but what the speaker himself chooses to present as one thin piece of information to his addressee. That is, the speaker has the freedom to decide how much of a thought or idea he must present as a single unit of information. Of course, he'll have to limit the content of the information to
5 or 6 words on an average

or he'll find it difficult to utter the unit

as a single chunk. For example, take this word group:

They had a
country

home in that village.

You can see that the information contained in this word group has two informative components: (i) 'They had a country home'; and (ii) 'The country home was in that village'. If the speaker chooses to treat the whole information as a thought with two component parts, he'll utter it as two idea units: They had a countryhome + and it was in that village But if the speaker chooses to treat the whole information as a thought with only one component, he'll utter it as a single idea unit: They had a countryhome in that village. Here are a few more examples:
The explanation he gave was not satisfactory. (= He gave an explanation + and it was not satisfactory). A man carrying a brief case left that house. (= A man left that house + and he was carrying a brief

case).

her some flowers + and it had been done up in tissue paper). He criticized her harshly and upset her. (= He criticized her harshly +

He gave her some flowers done up in tissue paper. (= He gave

34 and he upset her). He opened the door and went out. (= He opened the door + and he went out). You can show it to her or her husband. (= You can show it to her + or you can show it to her husband). He was very happy and in high spirits. (= He was very happy + and he was in high spirits). I like him though he's a bit rude. (= I like him + though he's a bit rude). . I'll speak to you after I get back. (= I'll speak to you + after I get back). I gave it to her because I like her. (= I gave it to her + because I like her). He spoke to me before he left. (= He spoke to me + before he left). Youcan have it if you want it. (= You can have it + if you want it). I saw him when he came in. (= I saw him + when he carne in). I'll ask him after the meeting. (= I'll ask him + after the meeting).

35

Boundary of a 'whole' grammatical unit

In connected speech, the boundary of a 'whole' clause and the boundary of a 'whole' phrase are grammatical junctions. A grammatical junction marks the end of one clause or phrase and the beginning of the next clause or phrase. This means that grammatical junctions are ideal points for splitting up a stream of speech into idea units. This is the general principle you should follow for splitting up a long utterance into idea units. In fact, idea units that native speakers of English produce do generally tend to form their boundaries at grammatical junctions. Here are the grammatical junctions of various types. The examples would give you a clear idea. In these examples, you'll find the idea unit marker '+' at grammatical junctions.

. . .
.

Both of them had corne from far away. (= Both of them had corne + from far away). He showed it to us during the interval. (= He showed it to us + during the interval).

(a) The junction

Length and shape of idea units

By now, you must have noticed that the length of an idea unit is an important factor. You see, if you speak continuously for a long time. (say, for an hour), almost 80% of the idea units that you utter is likely to be 1 to 7 words long - and the most common lengths would tend to be 5 or 6 words. As I've already told you, idea units of more than 9 words are not very common. Obviously, by their very nature, the lengths of idea units tend to vary considerably within these ranges. This is because the speaker has to adjust their lengths depending on the communicative convenience and needs of himself and his hearers. So this is what you must understand from all this: The speaker only says at a time what is possible for him to say as a single unit, and he says it in a shape that is possible for him to give at that moment. That is, the speaker has the freedom to decide what information, and how much of it, is to be presented to the addressee through an idea unit.

Eg: They were very tired + and he asked them to rest for a while.

. .He must be very busy + or he would have come. . Youcan tell him + but I don't know how he's going to react. . If you don't work harder + you won't be able to go to university. . He decided to resign + though everybody was against it. . He always says exactly what he thinks + even if
that may offend other people.

between

two clauses

veryhappy + that they carne. She asked me + to go and meet Sekhar.

I had an awful job + persuading him to corne.

. .

He said + he was leaving.

She was

(b) The junction between a clause and a phrase Eg: There was a bit of a confusion+ over their hotel reservations. He

took a firm grasp + on the rope. I found the suggestions + very helpful. Could you get me + a glass of water? I know both of them + perfectly well. . That's the way he behaves + all the time. The can. tractors completed the work + last month.

Point~ for dividing speech

By now, we've learnt one thing: English speech does not come out of the speaker's mouth word by word or as a continuous stream or at a non-stop or uniform rate. It comes out as short chunks or short stretches of language. Each chunk or stretch is what we call an idea unit. And each idea unit highlights one piece of information. Now a question naturally arises in your mind. What are the points at which a stream of speech can be split up into idea units?

(c) The junction between the Subject and the Predicate (within a clause) Yousee, the Predicateis the part of a clause that followsthe Subject element. (Anindependent clause = Subject + Predicate). Eg: Peoplelikehim+ can'tbe trusted. . Thefinancecommittee + has
made some recommendations. Her father + is a doctor.

She and her sister + hate housework.

(d) The junction between two phrases

Eg: An old building + in a bad state of repair.
clock + next Mon.day + at the Chairman's office.

. .A lively little girl + very cheerful + and pleasant. . Very friendly + and easy to talk to. .

At 4 0'

36

37

(e) The junction

Eg: After the meeting + they went out for lunch.

For a few days + I'll be out of town. The whole day + they were here. Next month + our sales will be going up. GeorgeThomas+ That's his name. . Obviously + he doesn't want to be interrupted. Curiously enough + he wasn't at the party.

between

a 'phrase'

..

and a clause

at virtually any point. Yes, even at points that are not boundaries of 'whole' clauses and phrases or of 'incomplete' or 'non-whole' clauses and phrases. Your idea units can form their boundaries at virtually any other point - at any other point you choose according to your communicative convenience.

Boundary of an 'incomplete' grammatical unit

The point at which speakers give up a fragmentary grammatical unit and start uttering another idea unit - that point is a suitable point for splitting up a stream of speech. Here are some examples: I don't know what your... + If you want to tell me something + stop beating about the bush. I think he wants to... + Is he planning to join the army? Ask them if... + Do they have enough supplies of food + for a week? They all thought she... + I knew she would get the job.

Guidelines for dividing speech into idea units

By now, we've seen a few general principles of speech composition. Based on those general principles, here's a set of guidelines. These guidelines will help you split up a stream of speech into idea units. Guideline 1: Short clauses: Undivided

..

Boundary of a 'whole plus' grammatical unit

We've already looked at 'whole plus' clauses and 'whole plus' phrases in some detail. Here are some examples that'll show you the boundaries of idea units belonging to this category: He handled the situation with + a great deal of courage. That man I believe + is a doctor. He had for twenty years + worked for that company. Will you Mr. Saxena + be standing again in the next election?

Utter a short independent clause (= simple sentence) as a single idea unit. A short idea unit is one that contains not more than 9 simple and short words. Usually, a short independent clause contains 5 to 6 words on an average. IMPORTANT: Here's a tip: You'll find it easy to utter a short clause as a single idea unit if you use as the Subject element a
pronoun
Eg:

(1, He, She, It, You, We or They) or a simple noun

rather than a noun phrase containing 2 or more words. . They'vegone. . Everybodyhas come. . He'llhelp you. . The meeting
began at 11.

For more examples, go back to the discussion under the heading "4. 'Whole plus' clauses and phrases" a few pages back.

a cake. . He'swon the election. . He lovesclassicalmusic. I admire her courage. Nothing satisfies our boss. She can't keep a secret. . He's applied for several jobs. . He'saimingat a promotion. She called

. We've metbefore.. Hisworkhasimproved. . Shemade

him a liar.
President.

. .

They've chosen him captain. We elected him (as) our She served our food hot. He dyed his hair brown.

. ..

. .

Other spots
Here's an important thing you should note: There are no rigid rules that ~ay that you can only split up a stream of speech at grammatical
junct<ions or at boundaries of 'whole' clauses and 'whole' phrases

Guideline 2: Short clauses: Divided Evenif a clause is short, you are free to split it into more than one idea unit, if you want to highlighta particularelement.
Eg:

or

at the boundaries of fragmentary grammatical units. No. There are no suc~ rigid rules. Thislis an important thing to understand. And once you're clear about it in;your mind, you'll realize that you have a lot of freedom in marking off one idea unit from the next. And once you understand this clearly, your speech-production-stress would instantly get relieved to a great extent. In fact, when you speak spontaneously (that is, without any prior planning or preparation), your idea units can form their boundaries

. He used a box + as a stool. . He was lying + on his bed. . That book + is mine. . My back + is aching. . The lights + have become dim. . The surface + felt smooth. .Your coffee + has turned cold. . The fire +
was burning low.

Guideline 3: Long clauses: Subject Split up a long independent clause (or one with a complex Subject element), into its Subject and Predicate, and utter the two as separate idea units. As I've already told you, the Predicate is the part of a clause that follows the Subject element.

38 39 (a) Eg: Subject element: A short noun phrase

. America + will have a new government soon. .Arrogance + will get you nowhere. . Corruption + seems to be on the increase. . The weekly meeting + willbe when the boss gets back. . That blue bag + is 1000 . All children + like funny stories. . The girl who just left + is his secretary. . Some powerful and influential people + have agreed to back the scheme. . People like him + are impossible to deal with.
rupees.

. . Complicated methods + Let's avoid. . Traffic regulations + Manypeople occasionallybreak. . The way mothers take care of their . A doll + He gave her for her birthday. . One more question + I would like to ask you.
and dry now. babies + You should watch.

passed. A firecracker or something + He exploded during the meeting. Her hair + She tied with a ribbon. The dishes + We'll have to wash

(b) Subject element: A long noun phrase If the Subject element itself is long, divide it up into two (or more) idea units. (See the tip given under Guideline 1). Eg: Cheap + and inferiorproducts + won't give you value for money. Her elder brother + and my next-doorneighbour + were standing outside the gate. Peoplehe was livingwith + in Delhi + were from England. The thing I like + about his style + is its simplicity.

. .

How much they had to pay + They haven't told me yet. . Which of the two offers is better + You have to decide. What they want + I don't know. . Whether they'll agree + I doubt. . Sitting at home doing nothing + I can't imagine. . Working with those people + I enjoyed very much. Waiting for half an hour or so + I don't mind. . Gossiping + She hates. . Being criticized + She can't stand.

(b) Fronted Eg:

Guideline

4: Long clauses:

Predicate

As I've already told you, the Predicate is the part of the clause that follows the Subject element. You know, sometimes, the Predicate may happen to be long or its elements may happen to be complex. When that happens, divide up the Predicate into more than one idea unit. [He] [takes a lot of interest + in everything we do]. [She] [did the job + with a great deal of enthusiasm]. [All this] [shows + a lack of experience of life]. [He] [tries to impress + people who are listening + by exaggerating things]. [He] [thought + that it was an easy job]. [The spot over there] + [is where the new building is going to come up]. [The tourist season] + [is when their sales usually go up]. NOTE 1: In each example, the first pair of brackets encloses the Subject element. The following pair of brackets encloses the Predicate. Eg:

About five feet tall + She was. Sweet + Those flowers smelt. Very heavy + That box felt. Guilty + The judge found him. Very calm + She was. Very strange + Her voice sounded. Rather bitter + That tea tasted. Very odd + Everybody found what happened. Her cousins + They are. An expert + He's become.. A nice girl + She found him. A good idea + It sounded. Chairman + They elected him. Clean and tidy + You should keep the room. That man + I can't trust. . Veryserious + The whole situation was.

Complement

. .

Guideline 6: Co-ordination: Clauses If you use the link-words'and','or', or 'but' and connecttwo (or more) independent clauses,you can treat the word group up to 'and','or', or 'but' as one chunk, and the remainingportion (including 'and~'or' or 'but') as another chunk.
Eg: . I met him there + and he came with me. I like novels + but he likes
plays.

NOTE 2: For the time being, if you feel like pausing before a full stop, pause only where you see the '+' sign (= the grammatical junction marker). We'll be learning in detail about 'pauses' later.

. He may not be there + or she would. have seen him.

'and'

He saw smoke + and he raised an alarm.

Guideline

5: 'Fronted'

elements

interview + and she got the job.

Sometimes you'll find it easier to speak if you can arrange the elements in a clause in a different order than usual. You can do this, by placing a later-occurring element before all other elements - even before the Subject. This process is known as 'fronting'. If you front an element in this way, you can utter the fronted element as a separate idea unit. (a) Fronted
Eg:

able to make some profit this year. He opened the door + and (then) he flicked a light-switch on. Life is splendid + and we're quite happy

here. . He's a bit reserved + and she's very outgoing. . He works hard + and (yet) they're not satisfied. . Give him some money + and (then) he'll do it for you. . Let him apologize to her + and she'll forgive him.

..

She did well at the

Sales have improved + and we'll be

'or' . Wecan go for a film + or we can go to the museum.

Object

(Direct

Object)

Some of the branches + She had to cut off.

Both the exams + He's

a lot of learning yourself + or you can't be a good teacher. . He must .have killed her + or he knows who killed her. That must be an old car

You have to do

41 40 + or that's not in good condition. You can call him back + or you can leave a message. You must be very careful + or you'll make mistakes. . He doesn't like this job + or that's what he said.

main clause and the subordinate clause as separate idea units. Normally, in speech, the main clause comes first, and the subordinate clause comes next. Here you can make the division immediately before the subordinator.
Eg:

'but'

remained calm. Our incomehasn't increasedmuch + but our expenses

have gone up considerably. I am all for this campaign + but I'm against the way it's being planned. . I'll wait for you + but you should hurry up. I can explain it to them + but I don't know if they'll understand me correctly.

She saw him + but she didn't smile at him. . He panicked + but she

Guideline

7: Co-ordination:

Predicates

If you use 'and', 'or', or 'but' and connect two (or more) Predicates together, you can treat the word group up to 'and', 'or', or 'but' as one chunk, and the remaining portion (including 'and', 'or' or 'but') as another chunk. Eg: . [He] [pickedup a novel] + [and started reading].
friends] .

. [He] [wams it] + [but hasn't told me yet]. . [We] [can go for a film] + [or visit some
8: Subordination: Clauses

. He left the place + after John and the others had come. . Their house is quite large and has plenty of space + although it's a bit old. . They looked surprised + as she started speaking in fluent French. . He behaved in a strange way + as if he didn't trust us. . They came all the way from there + because you wanted to see them. . Youcan do it + however you want. . He wanted to ask her + if she saw him anywhere there. . Take a copy of that report with you + in case he asks for it. . His attitUde towards work changed + once he got his promotion. . They never made decided to go by car + rather than taking a train. . They've a loss + sincethey started that business. . It is not seen here + so it must be with my wife. . You must start early + so that you can avoid traffic jams. . He was not very sure + that your brother would come. . He'sveryhard-working . to wait + till he cameout of his office. . Wewon't be able to do much in this matter + unless you co-operate with us. . I hate it + when people speak to me like that. . I didn't know + where he had gone. . back and watch + while they suffer like this. . He'sstill with that com+ though he isn't as competent as others. 1had I can't sit

pany + as far as I know. There won't be any disputes + as long as you keep to the agreement. I fell asleep + as soon as I went to bed.

..

Guideline

Suppose that you use a subordinator and connect two independent clauses together. Then one independent clause becomes the main clause and the other independent clause becomes a subordinate clause. Here are the simple subordinators that speakers normally use in spontaneous speech for making this sort of connection: after, although,as, because,before, however,if,once, since,that, though, till/until, unless,when, where, while, as far as, as/so long as, as soon as, as if/as though, Gust)in case,rather than, so, so that. You can utter the combination of the two clauses as a single idea unit - if the combination is short enough (that is, if it doesn't contain more than 9 simple and short words).
Eg:

But sometimes you may choose to speak by reversing the order of binding the two clauses. You may then utter the subordinate clause first, and the main clause next. Even here, you can treat the clauses as separate idea units. Here the point of division is at the boundary of the subordinate clause:
Eg:

After I had come + nobody left the place. Because you called them + they came. If you want it + you can have it.

. He left after I had come. . They came because you called them. . Ask her if she saw him. . He was sure (that) you would.
He left + after I had come.

Guideline 9: Scene-setting adverbials You can utter scene-setting adverbials as separate idea units. NOTE:Adverbialsare vocabularyitemsthat expresscircumstamialinformation such as the positionof someoneor something,the directionof their movement,the manner in whichsomethinghappened or was done, etc. Single-wordadverbialsare often adverbs,and sometimesnouns. Multiword adverbialsare usuallyprepositionalphrases. Eg: Forseveralyears + she's been sufferingfrom a diseaseof the liver. On Monday+ there'll be another meeting. Foran hour + he stUdied
hard. From 4 to 6 + we waited for them. For tWo months + he'll be away. . Twice a day + you must take these tablets. Once a month + he goes there. That evening + they had a quarrel. The whole day + he lay on the sofa. Till 10 + the rain has been pouring down. During the meeting + he remained silent. Last week + several workers re-

Of course; even if the combination of the two clauses is not long, you're free to utter the two clauses separately as two idea units, if you want to highlight a particular element in each of the clauses - or if that is what you find convenient to do.
Eg:

..

Askher + if she saw him. He was sure + (that) you would. But suppose that the combination of the two clauses contains more than 9 words. Then you must divide up the combination and treat the

..

They came + because you called them.

. .

. .

42 On Friday next + she's getting married. . A week ago + they cut off our electricity supply. All the year round + they get plenty of water for their crops. Every day + they start work at 9. Generally + he doesn't,make mistakes like this. Originally + this was not what we had planned to do. Daily + he leaves at dawn. Suddenly + her face became very sad. All of a sudden + she got up and left the room. This past year + their company didn't make much profit.
ported sick.

43

. ..

he'll be back in an hour. . Most unexpectedly + certain problems came up. Quite likely + she was trying to avoid him. Very likely + he was afraid to tell him about it.

Guideline

10: Attitude-disclosing

adverbials

You can treat attitude-disclosing adverbials, and field-marking adverbials placed initially (or finally) as separate idea units, especially when the adverbials are polysyllabic adverbs.
Polysyllabic adverbs Eg: Actually + I've just had my lunch. . Admittedly + they were against the proposal. Apparently+ he didn't like the idea. . Basically+ he's against political ideologies like these. Briefly + that's all I'll be able to do. . Certainly + this is a very important event in his life. Clearly + his work isn't good. . Cleverly + she avoided all those difficulties. Confidentially + they're not satisfied with her work. Definitely + he deserves some reward. Essentially + you should have a clear idea of the procedure you should follow. Evidently + he isn't interested. . Foolishly + we decided to change the plans. Frankly + I didn't like it. . Fundamentally + our legal system is quite sound. Honestly + that music affected me deeply. Ideally + we should ask the opinion of each one of them. Maybe + he doesn't want to do the job you've given him. Naturally + they couldn't believe what they heard. Obviously + she's having a fine time. . Officially + the news hasn't been confirmed. . Plainly + they don't want to give you a friendly welcome. Perhaps + this is the best time to sort out the dispute. Personally + I like it very much. Possibly + many of the passengers are badly hurt. Privately + I didn't like it. Probably + her feet were wet. Really + you should consider yourself lucky. Rightly + they decided to call off the strike. Seriously + this job needs a lot of skill and knowledge. Curiously (enough) + he wasn't disappointed at all. . Funnily (enough) + I ran into that man again in the street. Oddly (enough) + the bag was empty. Strangely (enough) + they haven't ev.en sent a reply yet. Fortunately (for me) + I am on good terms with them. Hopefully + they'll come to an agreement soon. Luckily (for her father) + that bus was going to Pune. Mercifully + it was not a serious accident. Thankfully + it didn't rain that day. . Unfortunately (for them) + there was a long period of dry weather that year. Even more important + we should prevent the situation becoming worse. Most decidedly + there's something wrong. . Most likely +

phrases Prepositional As a rough estimate + it may cost a million. From what I know about him + he won't hesitate to betray his friends. In all fairness + they tried their best tCthelp us. In all frankness+ I won't trust him for a moment. In short + that portrait was a fraud. In practice + rules like these are more often broken than obeyed. In theory + these things may appear possible. On paper + that's our onlytask. . He failedthe driving test once again + to his great disappointment. To my knowledge + he's a very courteous man. . To my misfortune + that was a holiday. To my regret + they refused my offer. To everybody's surprise + he got promotedwithin a year. With assistants like them + you'llbe able to get anyjob done easily. Without some help from them + we won't be able to complete the project in time. Without a bank loan + we won't be able to buy a car.

. . ..

. . . .

. .

to-infinitive clauses To be fair + he must get all the credit. To be frank + I don't think this dress suits you at all. To be honest + we don't have enough money for all this. To judge from what he said + he seems to be an authority on this subject. To be precise + this happened on the 15thof July (+ last year). . To put it frankly + I didn't expect him to behave like that.

. .

. .

-ing

. .

. .

. Frankly speaking + I don't like people playing jokes on others. . Generally speaking + jobs like these take a long time to complete. . Putting it bluntly + you take yourself too seriously. . crudely + they don't care two hoots about all this. . Putting it frankly + we don't want to charge them for the damage. . Putting it mildly + your criticism was a bit too much. . Roughly speaking + he draws about Rs. 75,000.00 a month. . Speaking frankly + neither of them is correct. . Speaking generally + we're not conscious of our shortcomings. . Speaking personally + I feel some hesitation. . Speaking (purely) for myself + I liked that film very much. . Strictly speaking + he's a Lt.
Putting it

participle

clauses

Colonel (+ and not a Colonel).

Guideline 11: Clause-relating adverbials Youcan treat clause-relatingadverbials(multiwordphrases as well as polysyllabicadverbs) as separate idea units.
Eg:

. .

. You can raise prices + (Or) Alternatively + you can cut costs. . Their food is superb + And you get excellent service + Altogether +

That's a very good restaurant.. That house is too big for us + Anyhow + we can't afford it. . We won't be able to complete it today + Anyway

-----

-44 45 advance + Otherwise + they may sell it to somebody else. . He's very generous in giving help + And he has done a lot for us + Above all + he has a kind heart. You should treat them well + After all + they're here to help you. (All) in all + it was an excellent idea. Sometimes he behavesveryrudely + All the same + I like him. He doesn't want to get married + At any rate + not right now. I don't think they expected to win + At the same time + this defeat must be disappointing. They didn't ask you to do it + By the way + why did you do it? There are several reasons + First of all + he's new to this job. . I don't think we should accept this offer + For one thing + the price they've quoted is too high + (And) for another (thing) + their service is very poor. They haven't done a good job + For example/ instance + look at those tiles + They're out of alignment. You must get as much information on this as possible + For a start + why don't you make a few phone calls? . He's an experiencedengineer + and an expert in this field + For all that + he couldn't find out what caused the explosion + at the plant. . They'vealready hired two buses + In addition + they've asked us to provide two or three cars. We haven't received a reply yet + In any case + the worst they can do is say 'no'. . In the first place + he didn't have the necessary qualifications + In the second place + he was over-aged. . They're planning to simplify the procedure + In the meantime + we'll have to follow the present system. . He'sa DistrictCollector+ In other words + he's a civil servant. All these flowers smell sweet + In particular + this flower has a very pleasant smell. Youearn your living as a photographer + In the same way + I earn my living as a journalist. We did everything we could to persuade him to stay on + In spite of it all + he resigned and left. He trained hard for several months + In spite of that + he couldn't reach his best form. Youthink he's for this proposal + In that case + why did he speak against it at the meeting? There are a number of mistakes in that report + But of course + she had to type it in a hurry. He didn't like the film + On the contrary + I found it quite enjoyable. On the one hand + he wants to continue as a doctor + But on the other hand + he wants to practice as a lawyer. Their attitude towards all this has changed + Similarly + they have softened their position on several other government policies. His car broke down on the way + Therefore + he couldn't get there on time. . To begin/start with + this idea may not work in practice + And secondly +. how are you going to find the funds?

+ there are two more days left. . He'svery good at this sort of work + Besides + his chargesare veryreasonable. Youmust pay a small

word

with

you?

..

You fool + that's not the way to do it. . That's all + ladies and gendemen. Doctor + is it anything serious? . Don'tdothat + darling.

. What'sfor dinner + mum? . Listento this + kids. .

. . .

Embedding and lining up

There are tWOtechniques that help you combine several strands of ideas: 'Embedding' and 'Lining up'. But if you want to achieve fluency in speech, 'embedding' is something you should avoid as much as possible. And 'lining up' is what you should go after. 'Embedding' happens (i) when you work one clause or phrase into another phrase as an element within this phrase (the way an egg is placed inside a ball of dough); or (ii) when you work one clause into another clause as an element within the second clause (the way one tube is forced inside another tube). 'Lining up' happens when you place one phrase or clause next to
another phrase or clause another tube

..

end to end (the way an egg is placed side

by side with a ball of dough or the way one tube is placed next to

end to end).

Here's an example of embedding: A tall girl{froman office[in that building (acrossthe street)]} gave that
to him. And here's an example of lining up: A tall girl gave that to him. She's from an office + in that building + the building across the street. Here's another example of embedding: Somebody who had come from the US where he was a computer engineer told our boss something. And here's an example of lining up: Somebody told our boss something + That person had come from the US +and he was a computer engineer there. Here's another example of embedding: When we had a huge mass of data to analyze, somebody told our boss something. And here's an example of lining up: We had a huge mass of data to analyze + and somebody told Our boss something. You see, lining up is the natural way in which strands of information come out of their minds when fluent speakers speak spontaneously. But writing depends on embedding to a great extent, because it serves a useful purpose in writing. Within limits, embedding helps the

. .

Guideline 12: Vocatives Vocatives are attention-drawingwords and word groups.Youcan

treat them as separate chunks
Eg:

. Sheela + give it to me. .Mr. Gupta + please come here. . Excuse me + are these yours? . Look at that one + madam. . Sir + can I have a

if they are uttered at the beginning.

_.-~

41

./
writer to save words and space, and to save his reader from having to spend much time and energy trying to separate essential points from what is strictly unnecessary. Take a look at this group of clauses: "Whenwe had a huge mass of data to analyze,somebodywho had come from the US,where he was a computerengineer,told our bossthat we needed a computerto do the job, as it was impossibleto analyzeall that data by hand". This is a written English sentence. Now, how many strands of information are there in this sentence? At least six, and not just one: (i) Wehad a huge massof data to analyze;(ii) It was impossibleto analyze all that data by hand; (Hi)Weneeded a computerto do the job; (iv) Somebodytold this to our boss; (v) That person was somebodywho had comefrom the US;(vi) He was a computerengineer in the US. Actually, you can see that some of the strands can still be split up and separated into thinner strands of information (as you'll see below), depending on the speaker's communicative convenience. Straight connectivity In natural speech, the things that come straight out of your mind
(and your mouth) would be simple idea units

each containing

one

Roundabout connectivity You see, what the writer of the sentence has done is this: He has connected together the individual strands of information in a roundabout way - through the process of embedding. This is what he has done: He has worked the 3rd strand into the 4th, then he has worked the 1st strand into this combination of the 3rd and 4th strands, then he has worked the 6th strand into the 5th strand, then he has worked this combination of the 5th and 6th strands into the 4th, then he has worked the 2nd strand into the 3rd, then he has worked this combination of 2nd and 3rd strands into the combination of 3rd and 4th.
So you can see that he has passed the connecting threads across each other in a criss-cross fashion, and has made up a single sentence. A complex one. In natural speech, embedding and roundaboUt connectivity do not normally happen - to this extent. No. Instead, fluent speakers line up strands of information end to end, and connect one to the next, that to the next and so on, and move straight from one strand to the next, and keep the strands separate, yet connected. They don't bind the strands together, the way several strands of cord are twisted together into a rope or the way several cards are bound together by putting a rubber band around them.

strand of information, and each said as one utterance. And they would appear as a chain of railway coaches that are all connected together end to end. So in natural speech, you'd say something like this: "Wehad a huge mass of data to analyze + And it was impossibleto analyzeall that data by hand + And somebodytold our boss + we needed a computerto do the job + That was somebodywho had come from the US + where he was a computerengineer". Or something like this - by dividing up some of the longer idea units into shorter ones: "Wehad a huge mass of data to analyze + And it was impossible+ to analyzeall that data by hand + Andsomebodytold our boss + we needed a computerto do the job + Somebodywho had comefrom the US + and he was a computerengineer there". Or something like this - by dividing up some of the longer idea units into still shorter ones and by adding a few 'fillers' like you see, you know, I mean, and yes: "Wehad a lot of data + to analyze + Ahuge mass, actually+ Andyou see + it was impossible+ quite impossibleyou know + to analyzeall that data + I mean + by hand + Andsomebodytold our boss + we needed a computer + yes + a computer + to do the job + Andthat man
+ you know + he had come from the US + and he was

engineer there". The point of all this is this: When you speak spontaneously, don't try to do what you do when you write: Don't try and fuse two or more strands of information together into a single unit. Let the strands remain separate, but connected - end to end. \

acomputer

Speak in idea units, and not in sentences

By now, you must be convinced about one thing: "Sentences" are not part of natural spoken English. They're part of written English. Spoken English is made up of idea units, instead. So don't even think of speaking in sentences. Speak in idea units, instead.
And we saw one thing: You started learning English the wrong way that is, not in the natural way. You started learning to WRITEfirst, and not to speak. And perhaps, for several years since you started learning English, you haven't been living in a place where you could regularly listen to a lot of conversational English.

48

So, don't you see? Because of these reasons, your mind is immersed in written English. And so, which way does your mind work? The written-English-way, of course. And what's your automatic instinct, when you want to speak English? It's to speak in the way you write. To follow the written English style. So whenever you want to speak in English, what do you do? You try to express your ideas and feelings - not by speaking out idea units, but by making up 'sentences'. By using the wrong thing, written English, as your model. When your mind is so set on making up written English sentences, what happens? Your mind turns away from what you say... to how you say it. You stop paying attention to the substance of your speech and start concentrating on the form. Result? You lose track of what to say, you get lost and confused, and you find yourself at a loss for speech.

I
'\

The thing to do
The thing for you to do now is to read what I've said so far - not once, but several times. The aim should not be to learn anything by heart. No. The aim should be to understand the principles. Yes, to understand them. Get to know the "why"s - get to know the reasons behind the principles. Then your progress would be faster. But don't get too worried over the principles. You'll get to know them gradually - as you go through the course. What is more important now is to read everything the Lesson says. And to let your mind remain with those things. Your mind will then start wQrking, consciously and unconsciously, and ultimately everything will sink in, and you'll understand them fully. Actually, there's only one major point you should understand from all that I've said so far. Only one major point: You should produce speech, idea unit by idea unit - and not word by word or Sentence by sentence. All else are matters of detail, and they're only meant to make you understand this one major point. Have you ~nderstood this one point thoroughly? Not just verbally, bUt deeply - in your blood? If you have, you've crossed a major barrier that stands between you and the fluency skill. And from now on, this understanding itself will {:heckyour tendency to construct complicated sentences orally. So pay all your attention to this one major point. That's all for this week. 'Bye for now. _t~_'~ " " _t~ ,...

, ~I