- tend to change their expressions depending on the degree of their intimacy with the listeners
- use polite forms of making a request when the listeners are not intimate.
- if those who do them a favour are close friends, they will ask them in a more casual way, even bluntly without showing any politeness.
- generally use more polite expressions when they speak to female friends than to males
- choose from different expressions, depending on whom they are talking to
Ant.: <gender markers of female language>
See: <gender markers>
Gender markers of female language
- are found not to change their expressions as much depending on the sex of the persons they speak to
- generally use more polite expressions both to the male and female listeners alike.
- tend not to change their way of speaking, depending on whom they are talking to.
1. The use of hedges of <parenthesis>.
e.g. sort of, I guess, kind of, you know, well, you See, just
e.g. [u]Well[/u], we were, [u]uh[/u], very close friends. [u]Uh[/u], she was even [u]sort of like[/u] a mother to me. (Lady Diana Spencer)
2. Excessive use of super-polite forms of expression.
e.g. would you please; Id really appreciate it if you would do smth; would you be so kind and do something, I awfully ask you to do smth
3. The use of tag questions.
e.g. The crisis in Kosovo is terrible, isnt it? But you can switch on the light, can you?
4. Speaking in italics, i.e. the use of emphatic so and very which is equivalent to [u]underlining[/u] words in written language, often followed by the sudden rise in intonation pitch:
e.g. This is a very important subject. This problem is of so much importance. It is a very very serious.
e.g. It took a long time to understand why people were so interested in me.(Lady Diana Spencer)
5. The use of the empty adjectives or adverbs.
e.g. divine, daunting, charming, sweet, adorable, tremendous, significant, phenomenal, desperate, desperately
6. Hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation.
7. Lack of sense of humour which means that women are usually poor at telling jokes comparing to men.
8. Direct quotations.
e.g. I asked him: Why did you come home so late? and he said: I was in the pub having some beer with my friends
e.g. It was a long way off, I thought.... I said to my husband: What do I do now? and he said: Go to the other side and speak to them. (Lady Diana Spencer)
9. Special vocabulary, e.g. the use of diminutive forms of specialise colour terms.
e.g. piglet, kitty, chubby, sweetheart, honey
e.g. The Queen wore a yellow dress and a green hat. He was in a dark blue suit.
10. Question intonation in declarative contexts, which may cause a problem for interpreters desperately trying to figure out whether may cause what was said should be regarded as a statement or as a question.
Source: (Coats 1986, OBarr 1982, Lakoff 1975) cit. by .., .. . .: , 2001. 105 .
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Ant.: <gender markers of male language>
See: <gender markers>
Mixed metaphor
two or more metaphors that sound strange or funny when you use them together
e.g. This is a great headache lifted off my shoulders. .
Source: <MacMillan>, 895
e.g. , .
e.g. , .
See: <metaphor>, <convergence>
Double predicate
, -
a special type of predicate which presents a crossing of two predicates a verbal predicate and a nominal predicate
e.g. The moon rose red. (= The moon was red when it rose)
e.g. She went away quite a child; she returned a grown-up woman.
e.g. In that part of Africa the natives go naked all the year round.
e.g. At this idea he went mad.
Source: .. .. . . . . ., 1964. C. 350
combines the features of two different types of predicate: the simple verbal predicate, expressed by a notional verb denoting an action or process performed by the person/non-person expressed by the subject, and the compound nominal predicate, expressed by a noun or an adjective which denotes the properties of the subject in the same way as the predicative of the compound nominal predicate proper does.
e.g. The moon was shining cold and bright.
e.g. My daughter sat silent.
e.g. He died a hero.
e.g. She married young.
e.g. The light came grey and pale.
e.g. The men stood silent and motionless.
e.g. They met friends and parted enemies.
e.g. The moon rose round and yellow.
There are a number of verbs that often occur in this type of predicate, performing the double function of denoting a process and serving as link verbs at the same time. They are: to die, to leave, to lie, to marry, to return, to rise, to sit, to stand, to shine, etc.. As in Modern English is a growing tendency to use this type of predicate, the verbs occuring in it are not limited by any particular lexical class.
Source: .. . . . . ., 2001. C. 342
, : (to go, to come, to run, to fly, to ride, to rise, to fall, to return, etc.), (to stand, to lie, to sit, to hang, etc.), (to live, to die, etc.), , (to feel, to look, to ring, to smell, to taste, etc.), , (to See m, to appear), , (to prove, to turn out)
Source: .., .. . ., 1965. . 305
e.g. This will taste bad. (J. Steinbeck)
e.g. The sky shone pale... (Mansfield)
e.g. The sun rose brightly. (London)
e.g. The sun was shining bright and cold. (London)
e.g. The snow fell soft on his face and hair. (A. Maltz)
e.g. The moon shone peacefully. (Brontë).
e.g. She flushed crimson... (Galsworthy)
e.g. He looked stained and worried. (Galsworthy)
e.g. Dusk had gathered thick. (Galsworthy)
e.g....Soames stood invisible at the top of the stairs... (Galsworthy)
e.g.... the poplar tops showed sharp and dense against the sky. (Galsworthy)
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e.g. The sun shone out bright and warm... (Dickens)
e.g. Around and around the house the leaves fall thick. (Dickens)
e.g. He resigned his office and died an old man. (Daily Worker)
e.g. They \[carnations\] arrived perfectly fresh. (Mazo de la Roche)
e.g. Catherine's blood ran cold with the horrid suggestions which naturally sprang from these words. (J. Austen)
e.g. You've come home such a beautiful lady. (Taylor)
e.g. I sat down hungry, I was hungry while I ate, and I got up from the table hungry. (Saroyan)
e.g. She had set her feet upon that road a spoiled, selfish and untried girl, full of youth, warm of emotion, easily bewildered by life. (Dreiser)
See: <double passive>, <secondary predication constructions>
Double passive
the construction whereby a passive infinitive directly follows a passive verb
Double passives are more acceptable when used in a reporting context. It is better to avoid the passive form of the verb as much as possible as it tends to convey a weak approach by the individual writing it.
e.g. The building is scheduled to be demolished next week.
e.g. 
The contract is proposed to be withdrawn.
e.g. Their budget was expected to be reduced.
e.g. The mountain was attempted to be climbed.
e.g. A cheerful atmosphere was endeavoured to be created.
e.g. The piece was originally intended to be played on the harpsichord.
e.g. This topic was claimed to have been studied to death.
e.g. Three people are reported to have been drowned.
e.g. The building was expected to have been completed by then.
e.g. The manufacture of your goods is hoped to be resumed shortly.
Sources:
[url]http://www.oltuk.com/courses/communication/w-communication15.htm[/url]
The American Heritage Book of English Usage. A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
[m4][url]http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/024.html[/url]
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English by Kenneth G. Wilson.
[m4][url]http://www.bartleby.com/68/5/2005.html[/url]
The Oxford Guide to English Usage.
[m4][url]http://koapp.narod.ru/english/diction/book6.htm[/url]
[m4][url]http://www.englspace.com/dl/files/oxfrd_gu.zip[/url]
See: <complex subject>, <secondary predication constructions>, <double predicate>
Double possessive
Double genitive
the s construction after the of-construction
e.g. a friend of my fathers (= one of my fathers friends)
e.g. a play of Shakespeares (= one of Shakespeares plays)
This can happen because we usually put only one determiner in front of a noun.
e.g. this son of mine, a friend of yours, a cousin of hers,
e.g. Isnt Frank Byers a friend of yours?
e.g. Hes no friend of mine. (= I dont know him.) or (= Hes my enemy.)
The use of demonstratives often suggests criticism:
e.g. That silly uncle of yours has told me the same joke five times.
Source: Longman English Grammar by L.G.Alexander. L., 1988. P. 54
See: <morphological level>
Double negative
two negative words in a sentence
- can be used to express an affirmative, but this is rare or sometimes heard in joking;
e.g. Nobody did nothing. (=Everybody did something)
- is acceptable when there is co-ordination;
e.g. Ive never had and never wanted a television set.
- is also possible in different clauses:
e.g. I can never get in touch with Thomas, as he has no telephone.
[m3]Note: the not in the if-clause does not make a true negative:
e.g. I wouldnt be surprised if he didnt try to blackmail you. (i.e. if he tried to blackmail you.)
Source: Longman English Grammar by L.G.Alexander. L., 1988. P. 254, 277
- is possible in standard English, but then both words normally have their full <meaning>
e.g. Compare:
e.g. Say nothing. (=Be silent.)
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e.g. Dont just say nothing. Tell us what the problem is. (=Dont be silent...)
- is sometimes used instead of simple positive structures for special stylistic effects
- is rather literary
- can See m unnatural or old-fashioned in spoken English
e.g. Not a day passes when I dont regret not having studied music in my youth. (More natural: Every day I regret not having studied music when I was younger. OR: I wish I had studied music when I was younger.)
Source: Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. L., 1996. P. 357
e.g. Nobody never went and hinted no such thing, said Peggotty; I cant do nothing without my staff. (Hardy)
See: <negation>, <morphological level>
Continuous infinitive
in
e.g. I can recollect yet how I loved him; and can dimly imagine I could still [u]be loving[/u] him if - No, no! (E.Bronte)
gives more prominence to the idea of the continuity of her love, and this is obviously much stronger than the mere statement that love might still be there now. The stylistic difference is thus unquestionable, but there would See m to be also a grammatical difference. The <meaning> of the continuous aspect is well brought out here, though the lexical meaning of the verb love would See m to go against it.
Source: .. . 2- . ., 1971. . 130
See: <morphological level>
Continuous participle
is occasionally found, but this use appears to be obsolete:
e.g. The younger Miss Thorpes [u]being[/u] also [u]dancing[/u], Catherine was left to the mercy of Mrs Thorpe and Mrs Allen, between whom she now remained. (J.Austin)
e.g. Catherine had no leisure for speech, [u]being[/u] at once [u]blushing[/u], [u]tying[/u] her gown, and [u]forming[/u] wise resolutions with the most violent dispatch. (J.Austin)
The use of the continuous participles See ms to be a means of giving prominence to the fact that the actions indicated were actually happening at that very moment.
Source: .. . 2- . ., 1971. . 131
See: <morphological level>
