Class #25: The Big Bang Theory - The Adhesive Duck Deficiency

Vocabulary

CACTUS

CAMPSITE

PERSEUS AND MEDUSA

EARTH

METEOR

VW MICROBUS

TIE-DYED SHIRT

RIDGE

Leonard: I wish Penny didn’t have to work, she loves camping.

Raj: Yeah, that would have been great. You and Penny having sex in the tent while I sit out here and watch Howard hump a cactus.

Howard: Okay, the best I can tell, there are eight other campsites nearby. Mostly science nerds like us, but just over yon ridge are two not unattractive middle school teachers who reek of desperation.

Raj: Wow. Wonderful. How old are they?

Howard: Oh I don’t know, 50, 55.

Raj: Oh, menopause, nature’s birth control.

Leonard: Come on, you guys can’t be that hard up.

Howard: I am.

Raj: Yeah, me too.

Howard: Look, they gave me homemade cookies.

Leonard: Of course, they did. That’s what grandmothers do.

Raj: So, what are we waiting for?

Howard: Relax, I said we’d stop by a little later after they have their nap.

Raj: Good idea. They’ll be refreshed.

Howard: Cookie?

Raj: Yeah, thank you. Mmmm.

Leonard: Mmmm, not bad.

Raj: Yeah, very tasty. Well, so tell me more about these teachers.

Howard: Not much to tell. They had a VW Microbus and were wearing tie-dyed Grateful Dead shirts.

Raj: Huh. Mmm. Good cookies.

Sheldon: I see no organizational system in here whatsoever. Which panties do you wear on Mondays?

Penny: I don’t need panties, I just need shorts and a shirt.

Sheldon: My mother always told me one should wear clean underpants in case one is in an accident.

Penny: One was already in an accident.

Sheldon: That doesn’t mean one won’t be in another, especially if I’m driving.

Penny: Clothes, Sheldon. I need clothes!

Sheldon: Okay, here.

Penny: Seriously? Those shorts with that top?

Sheldon: All right.

Penny: No… No… Oh, that’s cute.

Sheldon: We should have you checked for a concussion.

Penny: Okay, now, you got to help me put these on.

Sheldon: All right.

Penny: But don’t look.

Sheldon: Don’t look?

Penny: I don’t want you to see me naked.

Sheldon: Oh. Well, that’s understandable. You may be interested to know that a prohibition against looking is well established in heroic mythology. Uh, Lot and his wife, Perseus and Medusa, Orpheus and Eurydice.

Penny: Yeah, great.

Sheldon: They always look. It never ends well.

Penny: Ok, now you gotta help me get my arm into the sleeve.

Sheldon: Ok.

Penny: Is that my arm?

Sheldon: It doesn’t feel like an arm.

Penny: Then, maybe you should let it go.

Sheldon: All righty.

Leonard: Stars are pretty, aren’t they?

Howard: Up above the world so high, like little diamonds in the sky.

Raj: That’s beautiful, dude. You should… You should write that down before someone steals it.

Howard: So, when do the meteors get here?

Raj: The meteors don’t get here, the earth is moving into their path.

Leonard: I can feel it. I can feel the earth moving. It’s moving too fast. Raj, slow it down.

Raj: Okay, how’s that?

Leonard: Better. Thanks.

Howard: Stars are pretty, aren’t they?

Leonard: What’s so funny?

Raj: It’s your American accent. Everything you say sounds stupid. (With an American accent) Stars are pretty, aren’t they?

Mary Alice: (Narrating.) Exactly one year had passed since the night Mike Delfino and Susan Mayer were supposed to become engaged. So when Mike took Susan to her favorite restaurant, she just knew he was going to pop the question.

Mike: (To Susan) What are you gonna have?

Mary Alice: And when he did...

Susan: The chicken.

Mary Alice: ... she'd be ready with her answer. But as the evening wore on, the moment Susan had been waiting for failed to materialize. And though many opportunities presented themselves, the question was never asked. Until the thought began to dawn on Susan that perhaps it never would.

Grammar 

Verbs of perception

Hear, see, watch, notice and similar verbs of perception can be followed by object + infinitive without to or object + -ing form.

There is usually a difference of meaning between the two structures.

The infinitive is used after these verbs when we want to say that we hear or see the whole of an action or event. The –ing form is used to suggest that we hear an action or event in progress.

Compare:

I heard her sing a lovely song. (As I sat listening, she started singing a song and I listened to her until she finished it.)

I heard her singing a song as I walked past her room. (When I heard her she was singing a song – she was probably in the middle of her singing. Anyway, I didn’t hear the entire song.)

The –ing form can suggest repetition.

I saw him throwing stones at the dogs. (= He kept throwing stones.)

After these verbs possessive forms cannot be used with an –ing form.

I saw Peter getting out of the train. (NOT I saw Peter’s getting out of the train.)

Object + past participle

The verbs see, hear, watch, notice etc., can also be followed by anobject + past participle.

In this structure, the past participle has a passive meaning.

I heard my name repeated several times. (= My name was repeated several times.)

Look at

Look at can be followed by object + -ing form. In American English, object + infinitive is also possible.

Look at him dancing!

Look at him dance! (US)

To sum up:

The verbs of perception can be followed either by the infinitive without to or the –ing form. As a general rule when we want to demonstrate admiration we choose the infinitive. The verbs smell and feel are normally followed by the –ing form; the verbs watch and listen are normally followed by the infinitive without to. After the verb listen, we use the –ing form to show we listen to one part of something and the infinitive to convey “from the beginning to the end”.

                                     

Look at that girl rollerblading.

Look at that girl rollerblade backwards! (we demonstrate admiration because the girl’s rollerblading backwards)

I listened to Jim play. (from the beginning to the end)

I listened to Jim playing. (I started listened when the action was in progress, or I listened to a part of it)

I watched Melanie dance. (since the verb watch implies “in progress” it’s not necessary to use the –ing form)

Past Perfect Tense

Form

[had + past participle]

Examples:

• You had studied English before you moved to New York.
• Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
• You had not studied English before you moved to New York.

USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
• I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
• Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
• She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
• Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
• A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
  B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

Examples:

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect

Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.

Example:

• She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

MOREOVER

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.

Examples:

• She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
• She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

HOWEVER

If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.

Examples:

• She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
• She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
• Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
• Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. Passive

Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect is formed using would have together with the past participle of the main verb. The auxiliary would marks the conditional mood (it is occasionally replaced by should in the first person; see shall and will), while the auxiliary have (used in combination with the past participle) marks the perfect aspect (prior occurrence of the event in question). The conditional perfect is used chiefly in the main clause (apodosis) of "third conditional" (or sometimes "mixed conditional") sentences, as described under English conditional sentences. 

Examples:

• You would have gotten more money if you had worked harder.
• If we had run faster, we would have arrived earlier.
• If I were a woman, I would have entered the contest.

It is also possible for the auxiliary would to be replaced by the modals should, could or might to express appropriate modality in addition to conditionality.

Sometimes, in informal speech, the would have construction appears in the if-clause as well ("If we would have run faster, we would have arrived earlier"), but this is considered incorrect in formal speech and writing.

Expressing A Wish About The Present

The phrase I wish I had… is the most common structure used to talk about our wishes. Here are some common wishes people have.

• I wish I had more money.
• I wish I had more friends.
• I wish I had a bigger house.
• I wish I were taller.
• I wish I were more beautiful.
• I wish I had curly hair.
• I wish I had blue eyes.
• I wish I had a caring husband.
• I wish I had a cute daughter.
• I wish I had a better memory.

Note the use of past tense verbs in this structure.

In the phrase I wish I had… ‘had’ is the simple past form of the verb ‘have’. Instead of had, you can use the simple past form of other verbs as well.

• I wish I spoke French.
• I wish I knew Italian.
• I wish I looked smarter.
• I wish I drove a Ferrari.
• I wish I lived in Shanghai.
• I wish I had a golden voice.
• I wish I knew more people.
• I wish I played the piano.

Although we use past tense forms in this structure, we are not referring to the past in these sentences. Instead, we are merely expressing our wishes in the present.