Hi everyone, today I Will explain something quite common in spoken English which you may have seen in movies or sitcons.
Ley`s do a warm up before the video begins, how would you translate these sentences bellow? You have 4 minutes for it!
a)Onde está a Rachel?
b) Você sabia que o Chandler beijou a Rachel?
c) Você também a beijou naquela noite?
d) Onde isso aconteceu?
e) Em qual cama você disse que ela estava?
f) Você estava debaixo do monte de casacos?
g) Você "foi" meu 'beijador' misterioso da meia-noite?
h) Você "foi" meu primeiro beijo com a Rachel?
i) Você "foi" meu primeiro beijo na vida"?
Now, try to link what you wrote with the sentences they used during this scene
MOVIE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gPXsacUPlQ
Probably you are surprised with the questions c), f), g), h) e i). It happened because in English, in most of the cases, we use the reverse order when making a question (verb + subject). This is what happens with the other questions of your list, maybe everything you wrote... This is what we learn since the beginning of our English studies.
Do you know why the questions they make during the video, and also the ones in our examples are different from what you are used to write (subject + verb)? Were they grammar mistakes?
Of course not! Pay attention at the questions intonation... analyze the context in which they are used...did you notice these questions are used to express a surprise? Yeah, this surprise or `shock` from who have just heard something he has never imagined, or from someone who can`t believe something is true or a person who needs to to confirm a fact.This is quite common in spoken English... let`s watch the movie again and focus these points mentioned above!
MOVIE AGAIN! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gPXsacUPlQ
Chandler: You kissed her that night too? ("Eu pensei que só eu a tinha beijado...")
Ross: You were under the pile of coats? ("Era você e não a Rachel?")
Monica: You were my Midnight Mystery Kisser? ("Eu achava que tinha sido outro rapaz...")
Ross: You were my first kiss with Rachel? ("Aquele beijo que eu imaginava ter sido com a Rachel foi com você?")
Monica: You were my first kiss ever? ("Nunca pensei que meu primeiro beijo tivesse sido com meu irmão!")
The real name for these constructions is declarative question and it`s use (Spoken English) is pretty frequent in informal situations.
We notice that in these cases the accent is strong at the end of the sentence and that people who are asking already know that the answer is. They just don`t believe in what they are listening and their reaction is to ask confirming (or would it be confirm asking? LOL).
The funny thing about this scene is the gradual way in which they discover that a fact from the past wasn`t exactly how they imagined and the declarative questions in a quick sequence are simply perfect for these amusing moments.
Now you know that not always we need to invert the order of a sentence to make a question!!!
We also use declarative questions to: (i) Express surprise/admiration; (ii) confirm a fact we have just heard; and (iii) repeat what was said before to confirm if we understood what they said. We use the same structure of an affirmative sentence, however, we change the accent. Here we have some examples:
1. A: Have you heard? Melissa got a new job yesterday.
B: Melissa was hired? Finally!
2. A: I was in Rio during the floods last week.
B: You were there? Oh, my God! How did you get to come home?
3. A: Jane spent 10 years in Europe when she was young.
B: She did? That's why she can speak so many languages!
4. A: Chris does not like going out on Saturdays.
B: She doesn't? No wonder she hasn't found a boyfriend yet...
It`s common to use the auxiliary verb in these sentences (3, 4) and when the first sentence is negative the declarative questions is also negative.
Maybe you have heard something like this before, but never paid attention, right?! Well, here is a great tip to improve your English : from now on listen carefully the movies or sitcons you watch and try to identify and use this sentence construction on your daily!
Thanks guys!
Video transcript
Ross: Hey, where's Rachel?
Monica: She and Phoebe took the stripper to the hospital.
Ross: Did you know Chandler kissed Rachel?
Monica: What? When was this?
Ross: Nineteen Eighty Seven. The weekend you guys visited me at school.
Monica: Oh my God! That's wild!
Chandler: Yeah, but it was like a million years ago, so it doesn't matter.
Ross: Well, it matters to me.
Chandler: Why?
Ross: Because... the night you kissed Rachel was the night I kissed Rachel for the very first time.
Chandler: You kissed her that night too?
Monica: Two guys in one night? Wow, I thought she became a slut after she got her nose fixed.
Chandler: Seriously, where did this happen?
Ross: Okay, after you told me she was passed out in our room, I went in there to make sure she was all right. She was lying on my bed, all buried in peoples coats. Well, I went to kiss her on the forehead, you know. But it was so dark, I accidentally got her lips. I started to pull away, but then I felt her start to kiss me back. It was only for a second, but... it was amazing. And now, now I find out that you kissed her first.
Chandler: Oh wait... What bed did you say she was on?
Ross: Mine.
Chandler: I'm pretty sure I put her on my bed.
Ross: No, she was definitely on my bed.
Chandler: Why would I kiss a girl, and then put her on your bed?
Ross: Well, then who was on my bed?
Monica: (screeching) OH! Oh, oh! (holding her hand in front of her mouth)
Ross: (realizing) NO! No, no!
Monica: YES! (Chandler gets an "oh no!" look on his face)
Ross: You were under the pile of coats?
Monica: I was the pile of coats!
Ross: OH MY GOD!
Monica: You were my Midnight Mystery Kisser?
Ross: You were my first kiss with Rachel?
Monica: You were my first kiss ever?
Chandler: What did I marry into?
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