TEACHING 7 Meanings

MEANINGS

Boys will be boys * Faith will move mountains * If anything can go wrong it will; Anything that can go wrong will go wrong (Murphy's law) *

uses of "Would"

"would" for the future in past: 1. In London she met the man that she would one day marry; 2. He left 5 minutes late, unaware that the delay would save his life

 you wouldn't (ya lo decía yo, típico de ti)

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GERUND VS PARTICIPLE
Not knowing what to do next in your life can be confusing and a painful experience. (gerund) VS Not knowing what to do, I asked my counselor (-at-law) for advice about my vocation / calling (present participle) * My family didn't like me going on the stage, and they didn't much like my being a writer, either vs Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full bloom * My family didn't like me going on the stage, and they didn't much like my being a writer, either vs Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full Bloom (complete, well-developed *

UNABLE TO VS INCAPABLE OF
I'm unable to play tennis this weekend as I'll be on holiday vs I'm incapable of playing tennis because I have no co-ordination! * She seemed incapable of coming in time, ("Incapable" suggests a general, complete inability on the part of the person to ever manage to arrive somewhere in time) vs He was unable to come, as he was too busy ("unable" is used to explain just one instance when the person couldn't come, as he had other obligations). * Sorry – I'm incapable of looking at you in that hat without laughing * Boys will be boys

THIS IS (THE REASON) / THAT'S (THE REASON) / WHICH IS WHY

That: A: "Why do British cars have the steering-wheel on the right?"
B: "The British drive on the left side of the road, that is why their cars have steering-wheels on the right."

The reason 'that' is used here is because what follows 'that' is old information, a rephrasing of the original question.
This:
A: "Which side of the road do the British drive on?"
B: "The British drive on the left side of the road, this is why their cars have steering-wheels on the right."

The reason 'this' is used here is because what follows 'this' is new information; there's been no previous mention of steering-wheels.

AS IF / LIKE

He looks as if he knew the answer; He spends money as if he owned a bank VS She walks as if she were a supermodel * He speaks like a native speaker; She looks like a supermodel (VERB + LIKE + NOUN / PRONOUN) VS Nobody sings as she does (AS + SUBJECT + VERB) * It is very common in American English to use LIKE instead of AS. However, it is generally considered informal to use it in this way: We play football like champions do * Talking to him is like talking to a Wall vs Talking to him is as if talking to a wall. (as if/though) * He looks as if he knew the answer. (he gives the impression that he knows the answer, but he (probably) doesn't know or we don't know whether he knows or not) He looks as if he knows the answer. (he knows the answer). The past subjunctive after as if / as though indicates an unreal situation in the present.



TO BE + infinitive (future) / gerund (past) / bare verb (habit)




All you need to remember is watching over her (means you did it in the past); All you need to remember is to watch over her (means you'll do it in future)
What we hope to accomplish is to point out / pointing out the abuse.
All I do is drink..

figure / think / ponder / guess / suppose
When I say "I figure" I am being more definite than when I say "I think." Yes, I also use "figure" when I've more or less considered what seem to be the reasonable alternatives (those I'm aware of at least) and made a decision to choose one over the others. This makes sense, I reckon, because it's a sort of calculation, like mathematical figuring. Think" is a very general term. It can be used to describe a variety of mental activities/processes, obviously. "Reckon" is less formal. Like "think" it can have two related meaning, "to believe something" or "to deduce something." To ponder means to think about a topic or question, to meditate on something. Ponder is, depending on the specific sentence, more formal, even more "literary.", also "guess" (suppose, estimate without knowledge, find by guessing)