Directed Pronunciation - A New English Grammar

Introdução The modal auxiliary of the Past – DID The emphatic form: Pronoun + modal + action He did play Negative phrases are essentially emphatic: Pronoun + modal + negative + action He did not play The separation of the modal and negative elements produces a stronger hammered negative. When the two are contracted, the negative form becomes less marked, making the sound and our expression smoother: Pronoun + modal /negative + action He didn’t play The modal DID is thrown behind the verb to reduce the emphatic weight in the affirmative: Pronoun + action/ modal He play (did) The standard written form results in the -ed ending: He play -ed

Introdução The Grammar Mechanic of the PAST FACTUAL The modal of past pacts is DID 1 DID = fact in the past – a deed – meaning it happened! Placed before the verb, the modal is emphatic and strong sounding. When we wish to reduce the emphatic force, the auxiliary inverts with the verb, bringing more stress onto the verb word. The modal is contracted as an ending and is softer when spoken. The modal did converts into the -ed ending of the so-called regular past verbs. As we can see from the mechanics of the grammar, the modal of fact in the past did, just as we saw with do , can be manipulated, depending on the emphasis we require. With the modal placed behind the verb, we get the sensation that there is a conjugation of the verb; nevertheless, even though the leading sound of each of our so-called regular verbs does not change, there is an ending added to this pure sounding verb. Having said this, we mustn’t forget ...

THE PAST The typical vision which students learn about the Past Tense in English is that there are some regular verbs that form the past with the ending -ed, others with various irregular changes and yet others that strangely never change at all. Even without conjugational differences in the first, second and third person forms, whether singular or plural, the mere idea that there are regular verbs and irregular verbs casts uncertainty onto the issue and many students even embark on that terrible list-learning, in an attempt to memorize every last verb in the English language. And all this trouble and strife, without mentioning the pronunciation, even with just the so-called “regular” verbs! Nevertheless, if we perceive the past through our new vision of Directed Pronunciation, we can skip around this problem, without the slightest of difficulty. The idea is simple and the best part about it is that there are just two aspects to observe. 1.Shift the verb in the mouth by directing the p...