Very Vs. Too

Very vs. Too

 Look at the two sentences. How are they different?

A: It is very hot.
B: It is too hot.

A is a simple statement- It's HOT!
But B shows some difficulty, like maybe because it is so hot, I feel terrible. Or because it is so hot, no one is happy.


Here are some more...

C: Lisa is very tall.
D: Lisa is too tall.

C is a simple statement. Wow! Lisa is a tall girl.
But D has a negative feeling. Perhaps because Lisa is tall, she hits her head on the ceiling. Or maybe she is so tall, she can't get a date or has no friends.


So remember, using too shows that there is a problem with the situation.

Check Your Understanding

Choose very or too.  1. I think James is nice. Karen thinks James is nice, too. James is ___ nice.  very  too 2. It's cold outside. I hate it. I might become sick if I go out. It's ___ cold outside.  very  too 3. That box is so big. I can't pick it up. That box is ___ big.  very  too 4. Tony's cat is fat. It weighs 8 kg. Tony's cat is ___ fat.  very  too 5. Tony's cat is fat. It can't run. It may not live a long time. Tony's cat is ___ fat.  very  too Have a good time!

Question Tags

Use

Frequently used in spoken English when you want to agree or disagree.

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Form

positive statement ->question tag negative - You are Tom, aren't you?
negative statement->question tag positive - He isn't Joe, is he?

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Examples

with auxiliaries

You've got a car, haven't you?

without auxiliaries (use: don't, doesn't, didn't)

They play football on Sundays, don't they?
She plays football on Sundays, doesn't she?
They played football on Sundays, didn't they?

Questions tags are used to keep a conversation going. 

You can agree or refuse to a sentence with a question tag.

You go to school, don't you?
You agree.	You refuse.
Yes, I do.	No, I don't.

You aren't from Germany, are you?
You agree.	You refuse.
No, I'm not.	Yes, I am.

Now that you know, try the following exercises:

Question Tags

Put in the correct question tags for each sentence.

1. John smokes a lot, _____________ ?

2. My mother has lovely hair, _____________ ?

3. You do like this film we're watching, _____________ ?

4. He can't speak very good English, _____________ ?

5. Your brother isn't married, _____________ ?

Have a good week!

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Voice is the form of a verb that shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action (= the active voice)or is affected by it (= the passive voice).

Examples:

"James hit the ball."

The verb "hit" is in the active voice.In other words, the form "hit" shows that the subject (James) did the action. The sentence "James hit the ball" is an active sentence.


"The ball was hit by James."

The verb "was hit" is in the passive voice.In other words, the form "was hit" shows that the subject (The ball) was affected by the action. The sentence "The ball was hit by James" is a passive sentence.

Here are some more examples:

Active: The ball hit Janet.

Passive: Janet was hit by the ball.

Active: He wrote a letter.

Passive: The letter was written by him.

Now, can you try to identify the voice in the following sentences?

(A)= Active and (P)= Passive

( ) The mailman carried the mail.

( ) The mail was carried by the mailman.

( ) A picture was taken by Kevin.

( ) They took the kids for a walk.

( ) Kevin took apicture.

( ) They took the kids for a walk.

( ) The kids were taken for a walk.

( ) The kids were taken for a walk by their moms.