STEP  20   A Talk about the Weather

	VOCABULARY
Nouns		Adjectives	Structure Words
air	slope	gray, grey	so
bulb	sneeze	healthy	east -- west
cough	snow	violent	north -- south
heat	star	wet -- dry	such
ice	summer
mist	sun
month	thunder
moon	umbrella
noise	weather
rain	wind
ray	winter
ring	year

STRUCTURE 1 . Adjectives
    Such is a pointing adjective having the sense 'like that' or 'of that sort'.
    There are two things to note about it. It must always be followed by a(n) before the name of a countable in the singular. On the other hand, when used with an adjective of quantity, it must always follow it.
    It may be used :
    (a) To refer back to something named before.
They went across the great stretch of sand in the heat of the summer.
    Men who made such journeys in such weather are foolish.
"Have you been married before ?" "What put such an idea into your head ?"
Please give money and food. There is need for such help.
The weather this summer is wet and cold. Such summers are frequent in England.
Some boys have more money than is food for them. Such young persons frequently get into trouble.
I said no such thing   (== nothing like that previously stated).
All such houses are very cold in the winter.

    (b) To refer forward to something named in a statement introduced by as coming after the noun preceded by such. In the such . . as construction, as in the as . . as one., the following clause is generally represented merely by the relevant portion of it, frequently no more than its subject.
He gave such answersas 'Yes' and 'No.' (that is, 'answers of the sort of which 'Yes' and 'No' are examples.')
Do you have such weather as this every year ?
Such talk as (that (which)) we have been hearing makes me angry.

    Alternatively, the phrase such as may be put after the noun.
A Noise such as a cough or a sneeze keeps me awake.
Pictures such as (those) you have here are of no interest to me.
I have never before seen rain such as (that) we have had today.,

.    Such is used adverbially before a descriptive adjective qualifying a noun (not otherwise), or before a(n) preceding such as adjective. In this case it means 'to that degree' and may, as before, refer back or be completed by an as-statement following the noun.
The stars are bright tonight. One only sees such bright stars (== stars as bright as these) when the sky is clear.
He is not such a healthy boy as his brother ( == He is not as healthy as his brother).
    A statement with such used adverbially may be followed by a statement introduced by the conjunction that. In sentences of this sort, such indicates that the thing in question possesses a quality to a degree which produces the effect described in the second half of the sentence.
The made such a loud noise that I put my hands over my ears. (The noise was loud to a degree which caused me to put my hands over my ears.)
The women gave the boy such a violent blow that he gave a cry of pain.
    Such followed by a that-statement is used to give a similar sense of high degree before a noun not preceded by an adjective, or after be to qualify its subject
They made such a noise that I put may hands over my ears.
The weather was such that the ships went back to the harbour.

    The points of the compass are covered by the two pairs of opposites : north and south , east and west.
The town was on the north side of the island.
The ship is waiting for a south wind   ( == a wind from the south).
This is the east wall of the church.
I have a west window in my room.
    These four adjectives may be used as adverbs.
The ship was going north   ( == towards the north).
He took the family south for the summer.
    They may also be used as nouns..
The wind is coming from the east.
The weather is less cold in the west.

2 . Pronouns
    When to followed by an operator or a dependent statement introduced by that is the subject of a statement, it is frequently put after the operator, with the pronoun it in the position of the subject.
It is my opinion that the air is colder tonight.
It is true that I have no respect for him.
It is clear that there has been some rain.
It is not strange that the wind is violent at this time of the year.
It isn't good for him to get his feet wet.
It is wise to take an umbrella when one goes out.
It will be a change to see the sun.
It will be best for someone to go on the ice with the boy.
It give me a pain in my back to do this work.

3 . Adverbs
    So has several uses. First, as an adverb of degree, it is used only to qualify adjectives and adverbs, which it precedes. Like such, it means 'to that degree' and, in this use, it is followed by a that-statement.
The wind was so violent that it took away my umbrella.
The thunder was so loud that no other sound came to our ears.
the end will come so suddenly that it will be a surprise.
She gave him a blow (which was) so violent that it sent him against the wall.

   So is also used after the operators do and say as a pronoun meaning that and referring back to a previous statement or an act previously named. It is similarly used after be or seem to represent an adjective previously used.
May I take the boys on the ice ? Please do not do so ( == take the boys on the ice.).
You gave him a violent blow and he said so ( == that you gave him a violent blow.).
Is the weather warmer today ? It seems so ( == warmer).
My dress is not very wet but my stockings are more so ( == wet).

    When so is used in the above way in a statement echoing a preceding one in all but the subject, it changes place with the subject. In this case, have may be used in addition to do and be, but say and seem, like all other operators, must be represented in a simple tense by do, or in a complex tense by the auxiliary alone.
Your hat seems dry and so does your coat.
He says it is false and so do I.
You have an umbrella and so has she.
The girls got wet and so did the boys.
The letters have come. So has the wine.
His mother will be angry and so will his father.

    Note that so cannot be used in this construction in or following a negative statement :
The girls didn't get wet, and the boys didn't.

    A development from this is the use of so as a conjunction, with the sense 'for that reason, for the reason give'.
The weather is cold, so the flowers will be late this year.
The rain came, so I put up my umbrella.

A TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER
[ Two women are having a talk outside a store.]

First Woman :   It's not a bad day, is it ?
Second Woman : No. there was some mist earlier this morning when I took the boys to school, but the sky is getting clear now and we will see the sun in a short time.
First Woman :   There's a bit of blue sky now.
Second Woman : Good. We may get a change of weather at last.
First Woman :   We may do so, but I have an idea that there will be some rain before the end of the day. There was a ring round the moon last night, which is frequently a sign of wet weather, and the stars were not very clear.
Second Woman : Isn't this east wind sending the rain clouds away ?
First Woman :   There has been a change in the direction. It is almost a south wind now. And when the wind goes to the south or the west, rain is on the way.
Second Woman : The wind was so violent in the night that the noise of it kept me awake.
First Woman :   Such winds are a sign of the coming spring.
Second Woman : That's true. Before the end of this month the spring flowers will have come out. If we have wind then, the flowers may come off the fruit-trees.
First Woman :   How are the bulbs in your garden doing this year ?
Second Woman : Very well. This hasn't been such a cold winter as we had last year and the bulbs have come up earlier. At this time last year, not one bulb was up. Our garden is more beautiful in the spring and early summer than at any other time, because our trees give so much shade later int he year that the flowers don't do well.
First Woman :   Our garden is so high that it gets more wind than your garden does. For this reason we have our best flowers in the summer and the fall.
Second Woman : The trees round our garden keep out the wind. Our trouble is the river. It makes our land very wet. After a winter such as we have had this year some of the garden is like a sponge.
First Woman :   The slope of our land keeps it from every being very wet.
Second Woman : It is best to be high in a place as wet as this.
First Woman :   That's what I said to Fred when I first saw the house. So we went there. And it was a wise decision. My dear, have you ever been anywhere as wet as this ? I haven't. I take my umbrella with me everywhere, don't you ?
Second Woman : It's wise to do so because the rain comes so suddenly. I foolishly didn't take my umbrella or my raincoat when I went to the market one day. Not a cloud in the sky when I went out. Then, when I was on the way back, some dark grey clouds come from nowhere and there was suddenly a complete change in the weather. I got under a tree to keep dry, but the rain came through the branches and when I got back I hadn't a dry thing on.
First Woman :   It is said that the quick changes in the English weather make us healthy.
Second Woman : But are we in England any healthier than the men and women of other countries ? Sudden changes in the weather don't seem to make my family healthy. In our house, we're tired of hearing coughs and sneezes. Tom had such a bad cough that we have sent him south to get well.
First Woman :   We will all be better when the summer comes. But are you able to do as much in the summer as in the colder months ?
Second Woman : Yes, aren't you ?
First Woman :   No. The heat in the summer makes me so tired that I'm, not able to do anything. When the warm ray of the sun come in at the window I go to sleep. But when there is snow and ice outside, I am ready for work and long walks are a pleasure.
Second Woman : It's true that when the weather is dry and the cold air gives one a desire to do things. Last winter I went on the ice with the boys and we made snowmen and sent snowballs at one another. I go as much pleasure from it as they did. But the dark, cold, wet days this year were bad for everyone, weren't they ?
First Woman :   Yes, it hasn't been a healthy winter, and we have had such cold winds. My bedroom has a north window, and one some days the room was like an ice-box.
Second Woman : What was that noise ?
First Woman :   It was thunder, wasn't it ?
Second Woman : Yes, there it is again, and the sky is getting quite dark. We will have more rain in a minute. I will get back quickly because I have been foolish again and I have no umbrella with me. I have no desire to get his new dress wet.
First Woman :   I will not keep you, dear. Go quickly before you get wet.

NOTES

It's not a bad day, is it? We often talk of the day or the season as good, wet, warm, etc.., when we are describing the weather, -- In conversational English, a negative statement is frequently followed, as here, by a positive question reversing it, or a positive statement by a negative question, to invite the agreement of the person addressed.
to school : Compare with go back to bed (Step 12). School is another word which is used without a or the in front of it when it stands not simply for a place but also for the activity normally associated with the place -- in this case, the process of education. The woman said when I took the boys to school, meaning "when I took the boys to do their day's work at the school ." Similarly, we might say School will be good for him ; She is doing well at school. --. Other words that are used in the same way are church, hospital, market, and prison. The words are most commonly used in this sense in phrases, such as They are at church (== They are attending a church service) ;Take him to hospital (==Take him to a hospital for treatment) ; She has gone to market (== She has gone to buy or sell in the market) ; He was put in prison (== He was imprisoned).
at last == after a long time, after much waiting or trouble.
a sign of wet weather : A sign may be something, such as a gesture or sign-post, designed for the purpose of communicating, or it may, as here, merely be something that points to a fact, an indication. -- Wet is used of weather in the sense of 'rainy.'
on the way == coming.
the coming spring : The spring is the season between winter and summer, which is the time when the plants come up like a released spring. -- Note that coming can be used before a noun, but only in the sense of 'approaching in time.'
flowers will have come out : The flowers of a plant are said to come out when it comes into bloom, and when it is in full bloom, the flowers are out. -- Note the complex tense will have come, referring tot an act as completed by some indicated time in the future.
come off the fruit-trees == become detached from them. Come out may have a similar sense in relation to things fixed in something : so teeth, hair, screws, and so on are said to come out.
how are the bulbs . . . coming ? : That is, Are they blooming well or badly ?
the bulbs have come up : Bulbs here mean bulbous plants : Plants come up when they appear above the ground.
not one bulb was up : The position of not when a word qualified by a or one is the subject depends, as in the case of all and every, one the sense. Not a and not one are used for emphasis in place of no.
the early summer== the early part of the summer. Early and late are used in this way only with the names of the seasons and months and with the word morning.
the fall == the autumn, which is the time of the fall of the leaves.
keeps it from . . . being . . .wet : Note this use of keep . . . from before an -ing form in the sense of 'prevent.'
anywhere ==in, at, or to any place. Compare with everywhere, etc.
so suddenly : So is sometimes used before an adjective or adverb without any following that-statement. In such sentences the effect is implied and could be expressed in some such way as 'that it produces a great impression,' 'that it causes great surprise,' so here being the equivalent of 'to a surprisingly or impressively great degree.' Compare with th similar use of such in the phrase such cold winds later in the Step.
raincoat == a coat to protect one from the rain.
one day == on a certain day. In referring to an unspecified day, we use one, not a, and the preposition is always omitted.
it is said == people say
other countries : Country is the opposite of urban districts, but a country is a division of the earth, or more particularly, a nation.
tired of hearing : Tired of == sick of, no longer interested in.
a bad cough : When one coughs, one gives a cough (and similarly one gives a sneeze), but one is said to have a cough 2hen one's throat or chest is in a condition which gives one a tendency to cough. -- Bad may be used, as here, in the sense of 'serious, severe,' and the adverb badly may have a corresponding sense.
able to do : Note this special use of able followed byto and an operator. An able person is one who is generally capable, who has good mental powers, but a person who isable to do something is one who is capable of doing, is in a position to do, that particular thing.
snowmen : A snowman is a man built out of snow.
sent snowballs at one another : Snowball == ball of snow thrown in sport. -- Note the use of at after send. When that to which an action is directed is thought of as a target or is commonly used where to might be expected. -- One another is the phrase commonly used as the object of an operator or a preposition to indicated mutual action. feeling, etc.
a healthy winter : an adjective describing a condition is frequently used of the thing that causes the condition. A healthy winter is a winter that make or keeps people healthy, a warm coat is a coat that makes or keep one warm, and so on.
ice-box == refrigerator.
we will have more rain == we will have rain again. More has a special use as an adjective in the sense of 'additional', in this sense it may be used before a noun, sometimes following an adjective of quantity (not more rain), or after a pronoun or noun such as some or something (Give me some more.).

EXERCISES


1 . What is the time of year?
    Make four statements in Basic about what you see in the picture opposite, bringing in the four points of the compass.
    Fill in the blanks in the following, describing what you see in the picture :
(a) There is still _____ on the high land.
(b) The _____ is broken.
(c) A _____ of boys and girls is on the _____.
(d) The _____ is keeping the man _____.
(e) The _____ has made the umbrella _____.
(f) The _____ of the sun are coming through the _____.
(g) The _____ will send the _____ away.
(h) Some early ___ are out.

2 . Fill in the blanks with so and such and complete the sentences :
(a) The heat of the sun was _____ great . . .
(b) . . . , but we do not get _____ weather every summer.
(c) . . . if your father says _____.
(d) The moon gave _____ a bright light . . .
(e) . . . because the air is _____ cold and I have _____ a bad cough.

3. Fill in the blanks with an adjective of quantity or an adverb of degree :
(a) Be quick because we have not _____ time.
(b) Rain makes _____ noise than thunder.
(c) There is _____ _____ mist that I am able to see clearly.
(d) We get _____ rain in the spring than in the summer.
(e) I do not see _____ stars tonight.
(f) When the sky is clear I see _____ stars.
(g) If the coat is dry _____ you may put it on.
(h) The heat in the sun is _____ great.
(i) _____ ice is cold.
(j) The moon makes ____.
(k) One does not see _____ star.
(l) The older boy is _____ a man now.
(m) The moon is not _____ round.

4 . Write two sentences with each of these words, using them in two different ways : spring , country , fall , sign .

5 . Alter the wording of the parts of these sentences that are in black print, without altering the sense.
(a) The most beautiful part of the year is the time between the summer and the winter.
(b) After waiting for a long time, we were able to go on the ice.
(c) The parcel is coming.
(d) I do not see your umbrella in any place.
(e) There will be mist again tomorrow.

6 . Translate into Basic :  Teacher Link

7 . Answer in Basic :
(a) What is a ring round the moon frequently a sign of ?
(b) What was there when the second woman took her sons to school ?
(c) What kept the second woman awake ?
(d) Why are the spring flowers in the first woman's garden not as good as those in the second woman's garden ?
(e) What keeps the first woman's garden from being wet ?
(f) Why did the second woman get wet when she went to the market ?
(g) When did she see dark grey clouds ?
(h) Why was Tom sent south ?
(i) What makes the first woman go to sleep ?
(j) Why does she say she will get back quickly ?

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