VOA慢速英语2021--Grammar and Scary Movies

 

Halloween is this weekend. A holiday with ancient beginnings, the yearly celebration now looks much different than it did in the distant past. For example, many Americans now celebrate the holiday by watching scary movies or scary shows at home.

In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore some famous words from Scream, a scary movie. You will learn about questions, auxiliary¹ verbs and pronunciation.

Questions

In the 1996 film, a killer² calls a woman who is alone in her house. The killer wants to scare her.

He asks the following question:

Do you like scary movies?

This is what you might call a yes or no question. It is asking for either a yes or a no answer.

Note that the general structure is this:

Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + rest of the sentence.

In our example, do is the auxiliary verb, you is the subject, like is the main verb and the words scary movies make up the rest of the sentence.

Do you like scary movies?

Note that the main verb is in the simple present. The simple present does not necessarily express present time. It also expresses what is generally true.

Grammar and pronunciation

We have explored the line from the movie at the level of grammar. But we can also explore the line as a meeting point between grammar and pronunciation.

Let's listen again:

Do you like scary movies?

Did you notice that the word do is difficult to hear? That is because Americans often reduce – meaning to say in a softer and shorter way – function words. Function words are words that have a grammatical³ purpose. These can include pronouns and auxiliary verbs and other words such as articles and prepositions.

On the other hand, Americans often stress content words – words that include verbs, nouns, adjectives and so on. In our example, the words like scary movies are content words.

So, if all of the words were spoken clearly, our question would sound like this:

Do you like scary movies?

But it sounds like this with the reduced function words:

D'you like scary movies?

Some Americans might even reduce the word you even further, and say something like this:

D'ya like scary movies?

Closing thoughts

Today's report explored one line from a scary movie.

But you can take what you have learned to study any kind of movie or speaking situation. Pay careful attention to yes or no questions. Note the auxiliary verb and the main verb. And then ask yourself which words were stressed or reduced.

With time and careful study, you will master not only English grammar, but also develop a strong understanding of how native speakers produce all kinds of words, statements and questions.

Words in This Story

scary – adj. causing fear

auxiliary verb – n. grammar : a verb (such as have, be, may, do, shall, will, can, or must) that is used with another verb to show the verb's tense, to form a question, etc.

pronunciation – n. the way in which a word or name is pronounced; a particular person's way of pronouncing a word or the words of a language

stress – v. to pronounce (a syllable⁴ or word) in a louder or more forceful way than other syllables⁵ or words

master – v. to get the knowledge and skill that permits you to do, use, or understand (something) very well

1 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 grammatical   

adj.语法的，符合语法规则的

参考例句：

• His composition is excellent except for some grammatical mistakes.他的作文写得很好，只有几处语法错误。
• He can barely form a grammatical sentence.他几乎造不出合乎语法的句子。

4 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

5 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记