5 Phrasal Verbs: BREAK (down/in/into...)

Phrasal verbs (verbs + preposition/s) are commonly used in colloquial English and are usually difficult for students because their roots are not Latin-based.  Sometimes the meaning is literal, and other times it is figurative as seen here:

        Ex. to get down

• During earthquake drills, everybody must get down beneath their desks and cover their heads.  (literal meaning)
• In the 1970s everybody would get down to some James Brown at disco clubs!  (figurative meaning, to dance)

Here are 5 phrasal verbs with BREAK:

1.  to break into: to forcibly enter a building

• Ex.  Somebody broke into the FBI and stole the names of American spies.

2.  to break out of: to escape from somewhere (usually prison)

• Ex. News quickly spread that the former Taliban leader had broken out of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

3.  to break down: a) car stops running (Note: Computers, cell phones or other small devices, objects DO NOT break down...they just break.  b) to have an emotional crisis

• Ex. a)  My car broke down in the middle of rush hour traffic, so everybody started honking at me!
• Ex. b)  After failing the entrance exam for the fifth time, she broke down and started crying.

4.  to break (something) down: to clarify a complicated issue, to divide

• Ex.  The best teachers are able to break down a complicated concept and explain it in simplified pieces.

5.  to break (something) in: to begin to wear clothing or shoes to fit better or make more comfortable

• Ex.  The dancer likes to break in her new ballet shoes for two weeks before beginning to dance in them.  

 

5 Main Ideas of English's Most Difficult Tense: Present Perfect

Of all the tenses in English, the present perfect tense presents the most challenges for students.

The present perfect is used differently in every language and does not follow the same logic or pattern.  For example, in French, it is used to describe actions that are finished, while in Portuguese, it is usually used to describe actions that continue into the future.

English is different from both of these languages, and the following list will give you a broad sense of how the present perfect is used in English.

Here are the 5 major ideas behind the present perfect in English:

1.  recent event

• The Pope has resigned.
• There has been a tsunami in Japan.
• The city of Lisbon has established a new traffic pattern in Marquês de Pombal.

2.   continues into the future

• They have lived in San Diego for 19 years.  ( They continue to live in San Diego.)
• I have known Julia since I was a little girl.  (I will always know Julia.)
• She has been suffering from the flu for more than a week!  (Poor thing is still sick.)

Note:  This is the present perfect progressive (has/have + been + gerund (ing)

3.  NOT finished...still on the to-do list...

• We still haven't seen the new Tarantino movie. 
• They haven't registered their new car with the DMV yet .
• I still haven't spoken to my boss about the report.

4.  unspecified past (relevant to the present moment)

• I think I have been here before.
• You have met each other before, haven't you?
• I have worked with the office from New York, so I am familiar with the procedures.
• Have you ever been to California?
• Have you ever tried octopus salad?

Note: These statements/questions are relevant to the present moment.

5.  describing frequency 

• She and her husband have traveled to Africa five times.
• I've only visited Asia once.
• The children loved the movie so much that they have already watched it twice.

Note: With these sentences, use once, twice, three times, four times, etc., as underlined here.

I wish I WAS...or WERE? Using the Subjunctive in English

In short, the answer is I wish I WERE, but most people say was these days, which is grammatically incorrect, and serves as yet another example of English losing its grammatical nuances that make it an expressive, complex and interesting language.  Another example of the weakening and watering down of the English language is evident in the quickly disappearing use of whom in speech. 

Grammatically speaking, were is correct because it defines the subjunctive mood, a tense once used in Old English that is still actually used today although unknown and not even taught to most English speakers. The concept of the subjunctive has remained the same (expressing a wish, suggestion, requirement or demand), but the grammar does not require an entirely different conjugation, as it did in Old English. Most likely English speakers have more experience with this grammatical tense through learning Spanish, Portuguese, French or other Romance, Slavic, Germanic or Celtic languages.

The Subjunctive in English:

Note that the subjunctive mood in the verb to be only changes in the first person and third person singular as seen in bold below:

Wishes:

I wish I were...
You wish you were...
She wishes she were...
We wish we were...
They wish they were...

If I were a painter...
If you were a painter...
If she were a painter...
If we were painters...
If they were painters...

Using the were instead of was sends the message that it whatever we are expressing is not a reality, that it is contrary to fact.

Overview: Conditionals 1, 2, 3

In English, there are many ways to express situations according to a certain condition in the present and the past, as well as a varying degree of possibility.  Basically, we have the following framework to express different situations:

Conditional 1:

a) possible event that depends on a condition

b) refers to the future

c) grammar tenses=present, future

If I get into a car accident, my auto insurance will cover the hospital bills.
 (present)                                                                   (future)

He will call you if his plane lands early.
      (future)                         (present)

If the citizens elect a new president, then I will find a new job.
                    (present)                                    (future)

I will inform you if I get the job.
     (future)             (present)

Conditional 2:
a) possible OR impossible situation
b) the possible situations refer to the future, the impossible is hypothetical (use your imagination!)
c) grammar tenses=past, "would" (a modal verb)

d) *Even though we use the past tense, it DOES NOT refer to the actual past

If I won a million dollars, I would donate to SOS charities. (possible in the future)
     (past)                                 (modal verb)

If I were you, I would see a doctor as soon as possible. (impossible, hypothetical)
      (past)          (modal verb)

I would renovate the house if I had more money. (possible in the future)
   (modal verb)                          (past)

I would be King John III if I could be anybody for one day.  (impossible, hypothetical)
 (modal verb)                         (past)

Conditional 3:

a) impossible situations

b) impossible situations that refer to a finished, unreachable past

c) grammar: past perfect (had+past participle), modal perfect verb (would have+past participle)

If my mother had spoken German with me as a little girl, I would have been a fluent German speaker!        (past perfect)                                                      (modal perfect verb)

She would not have failed the exam if she had studied more. 
        (modal perfect verb)                            (past perfect)

If I had gone to the doctor a month ago, I would have recovered by now.
 (past perfect)                                                 ( modal perfect verb)

They would not have broken up if he had treated her better.
            (modal verb)                              (past perfect)