Tom: John Blake was trying to find out more about a pendant. The pendant had been stolen from a museum. At 7 o’clock at night he and his friend, Mary Green, went to the shop of Mr. Egg, the bookseller. They had an appointment with him, but when they knocked at the door, there was no answer. The door wasn’t locked. They went in. The shop was dark and empty, but there was a light upstairs. They heard a noise from above, and went up the stairs. At first, they couldn’t see anybody. But the safe was open. A safe is an iron box, where people keep their money and important documents. Suddenly Mary said: “Look, John! Behind the table. Isn’t there something on the floor?”
Cathy: Oh, that sounds exciting! What is that “something”?
Tom: Cathy, you are an impatient person, aren’t you?
Cathy: Do you mean to say after all these months you’ve only just discovered that?
Tom: Oh, no, but it never fails to surprise me.
Cathy: Well, let’s go on. Mary said, “Isn’t there something on the…” – that’s funny. “Something” in a question?
Tom: I’ve wondered if you’d notice.
Cathy: I’ll stop being impatient if you explain to me, why “something” can be used in questions.
Tom: All right, give me a positive sentence.
Cathy: “There’s something on the floor.”
Tom: Negative: “There isn’t anything on the floor.” And the question?
Cathy: “Is there anything on the floor?”
Tom: In positive sentences we use “some”.
Cathy: “There’s some water in the glass. There’re some books on the floor.”
Tom: In negative sentences we use “any”.
Cathy: “There isn’t any water in the glass. There aren’t any books on the floor.”
Tom: In question form we use “any”.
Cathy: “Is there any water in the glass? Are there any books on the floor?”
Tom: That’s right.
Cathy: But Mary asked, “Isn’t there something on the floor?” She used “some” in question form.
Tom: Well, yes, because she was sure there was something on the floor. She expected the answer “yes”.
Woman1: I saw the exhibition at the Art Gallery. It’s magnificent.
Woman2: Did you see some old Roman coins?
Woman1: Yes, I did.
Woman2: My uncle gave them to the museum.
Woman1: Oh, really?
Tom: “Some” can also be used in questions that are really invitations or requests.
Woman1: Will you have some tea? I know you like tea.
Woman2: Yes, please.
Man1: Could you give me some help?
Man2: Of course I could.
Tom: Cathy, would you do some English exercises?
Cathy: Certainly, I will. With the greatest pleasure. But first tell me something, please. I now know when I can use “some” in questions, so I’d like to know if I can use “any” in positive sentences.
Tom: Yes, you can. In any sentence, where the meaning is: almost every, or no one or nothing special.
Cathy: In any sentence… oh, I see, in any sentence.
Woman: Do you know how to make ice cream?
Man: No, but any cookery book will tell you.
Woman1: Good afternoon. I want to buy some handkerchiefs.
Woman2: What sort of handkerchiefs would you like?
Woman1: Oh, give me any handkerchiefs you have, nothing special. They’re only for my husband.
Cathy: Tom, that’s enough grammar. Can you do something else instead, please?
Tom: Of course. We can listen to the story. Well, Mary and John went upstairs to Mr. Egg’s private rooms. At first, they couldn’t see anyone, but then Mary said, “Look, John! Behind the table. Isn’t there something on the floor?”
John: Mr. Egg!
Mary: Hurry, John, hurry!
John: Which room? But there is nobody here!
Mary: The safe’s open.
John: The safe?
Mary: Yes, the safe.
John: So Mr. Egg is here somewhere.
Mary: Look, John, behind the table. Isn’t there something on the floor?
John: It’s a man. It’s Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg, are you all right? Mr. Egg!
Mary: John! The knife! There’s a knife sticking in him.
John: Mr. Egg.
Mary: Is he alive?
John: He’s warm.
Mary: He’s very pale.
John: He’s opening his eyes. He’s trying to talk.
Mr. Egg: (weak moaning sounds) boo… boo…
John: I can’t understand. Mary, can you hear?
Mary: Let’s send for an ambulance. Don’t worry, Mr. Egg, we’ll send for a doctor.
Mr. Egg: boo… boo…
Mary: Don’t struggle. You’re hurt.
Tom: The safe in Mr. Egg’s room was open. They saw something on the floor. It was Mr. Egg, and there was a knife sticking in him. It was in his back. Someone had tried to kill him. Someone had tried to murder him. The safe was open. Perhaps he had been robbed. Perhaps his money had been stolen. At first, John didn’t see the knife. “Are you all right, Mr. Egg?” he asked.
Man: (singing) Daisy,
Daisy, give me your answer, do,
I’m half crazy all for the love of you.
Woman: Jack! Are you all right?
Man: All right? I couldn’t feel better. (sings) Daisy, Daisy…
Woman: But I’m not Daisy. My name is Elisabeth.
Man: Hey, honey, what about going to the cinema?
Woman: All right, that’s a good idea.
Woman1: And do you know what he said to me? He said, “You’re a fool.”
Woman2: All right, all right, don’t be so upset about it.
Tom: When John and Mary found Mr. Egg, he was still alive. He tried to talk, but John and Mary couldn’t understand him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Egg, we’ll send for a doctor,” Mary said.
Mary: Let’s send for an ambulance. Don’t worry, Mr. Egg. We’ll send for a doctor.
Mr. Egg: boo… boo…
Mary: Don’t struggle. You’re hurt.
Mr. Egg: boooo…
Mary: Mr. Egg! (pause) John, is he?
John: Yes. He’s dead.
Mary: Dead?
John: That’s his own knife. I remember it. He threatened me with it.
Mary: Don’t touch it. If you touch it, you’ll leave fingerprints.
John: He was killed with his own knife.
Mary: The safe is open. Perhaps he was robbed, too.
John: We must call the police.
Mary: D’you think we should?
John: We found Mr. Egg.
Mary: But he was murdered. And there’s nobody else here. We are alone here. If we call the police, they’ll ask questions.
John: If they ask questions, we’ll tell the truth. We ran upstairs and then we found the body. We must call the police now.
Mary: Wait a minute!
John: Now, Mary!
Mary: But there’s something on the floor. There’s something under that chair. It’s a book.
John: There’re books everywhere.
Mary: But that book is near Mr. Egg. John, he was trying to say something. He was trying to say “book”.
John: boo… boo… book. You’re right, Mary.
Mary: Pick it up.
John: Pick it up? Oh, all right. It’s an old book.
Tom: Mr. Egg was dead. He had been murdered with a knife. Mary noticed something on the floor. “It’s a book,” she said. Mr. Egg had been trying to say something before he died. He had been trying to say “book”. John picked the book up. It was a diary, a book someone writes about his own life. He writes the date and then describes what happened that day. It was a diary written by hand.
Cathy: A knife, sticking in him. A diary, written by hand. And here comes Tom, talking about these forms.
Tom: And there’s Cathy, asking me again about grammar.
Cathy: Well, will you answer a question asked by Cathy?
Tom: Certainly, I will. Has there ever been a question asked by Cathy that I haven’t answered?
Cathy: No, there hasn’t. You’re the best teacher working in the radio.
Tom: And you are the best pupil ever taught by the radio.
Cathy: Oh, Tom! You, and your compliments. You are flattering.
Tom: But that’s the truth.
That’s the truth. Now, let’s get down to work.
“There’s a knife sticking in him.” Sticking is the Present Participle. Listen.
“There’s a knife. It’s sticking in him.” Or “There is a knife sticking in him.”
The Present Participle is the “-ing” form of the verb, and it has an active
meaning.
Woman1: Hey, look at the boys. They’re playing ping-pong.
Woman2: Haven’t you ever seen boys playing ping-pong?
Cathy: I see. “There’s Tom. He is explaining grammar. There’s Tom explaining grammar.” And what about the book? Surely, I can’t say “There was a book writing by hand”?
Tom: Oh, no, no. “There was a girl. She was writing. There was a girl writing.” But books can’t write. Books are written. People write books. Books are written by people.
Cathy: “Written” is the third form of the verb, it’s the Past Participle.
Tom: And it has a passive meaning. Well, let’s take an example from the story. “Mary finds a book. Someone wrote the book by hand.”
Cathy: “Mary finds a book written by hand.”
Tom: Excellent. You see, I was right. You’re the best pupil ever taught by the radio.
Woman: Here is your dinner, darling.
Man: My dinner? It looks awful and smells terrible.
Woman: Oh, yes. The cook has burnt it a little.
Man: Then why don’t you say, “Here is your dinner, burnt by the cook”?
(piano recital)
(applause)
Man: That was the Moonlight Sonata.
Woman: Who played it?
Man: They’ll say in a minute.
Radio announcer: The Moonlight Sonata, played by Richter, brings us to the end of tonight’s programme from the Albert Hall.
Tom: Well, Mary found a book in Mr. Egg’s room. It’d been dropped under a chair.
Cathy: Mary found a book, dropped under a chair. What did they do with?
Tom: What? They picked it up. Then they looked at it.
Mary: It’s a book.
John: There’re books everywhere.
Mary: But that book is near Mr. Egg. John, he was trying to say something. He was trying to say “book”.
John: boo… boo… book. You’re right, Mary.
Mary: Pick it up.
John: Pick it up? Oh, all right. (pause) It’s an old book, written by hand.
Mary: By hand?
John: It was written by hand.
Mary: Let me see. It isn’t written in English.
John: No, I think it’s written in Italian.
Mary: I think it’s a diary. Look, there’s a date and some writing, there’s another date and then more writing.
John: Yes, it’s a diary. But look inside the cover. There is a name inside the cover. Mary, look at this name!
Cathy: Let’s finish the story. Whose name was it? Whose name did they see written inside the cover?
Tom: Well, you’ll hear the name later. But there’re some exercises waiting for you. Do them first, and then you’ll discover the name. So now,
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Listen to the example:
A: I am not going to open the safe.
B: But you must open it.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: I am not going to open the safe.
[Your response]
B: But you must open it.
A: I am not going to wait for them.
[Your response]
B: But you must wait for them.
A: I am not going to send this letter.
[Your response]
B: But you must send it.
A: I am not going to call the police.
[Your response]
B: But you must call them.
A: I am not going to ask that question.
[Your response]
B: But you must ask it.
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: Is there somebody upstairs?
B: I’m sure there is. There must be somebody upstairs.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Is there somebody upstairs?
[Your response]
B: I’m sure there is. There must be somebody upstairs.
A: Isn’t something the matter with him?
[Your response]
B: I’m sure there is. There must be something the matter with him.
A: Isn’t there some news of them?
[Your response]
B: I’m sure there is. There must be some news of them.
A: Isn’t there some coffee left?
[Your response]
B: I’m sure there is. There must be some coffee left.
Tom: And now, listen to the story again. John and Mary were going upstairs to Mr. Egg’s rooms, above the shop.
John: Mr. Egg!
Mary: Hurry, John, hurry!
John: Which room? But there’s nobody here!
Mary: The safe’s open.
John: The safe?
Mary: Yes, the safe.
John: So Mr. Egg is here somewhere.
Mary: Look, John, behind the table. Isn’t there something on the floor?
John: It’s a man. It’s Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg, are you all right? Mr. Egg!
Mary: John! The knife! There’s a knife sticking in him.
John: Mr. Egg.
Mary: Is he alive?
John: He’s warm.
Mary: He’s very pale.
John: He’s opening his eyes. He’s trying to talk.
Mr. Egg: boo… boo…
John: I can’t understand. Mary, can you hear?
Mary: Let’s send for an ambulance. Don’t worry, Mr. Egg, we’ll send for a doctor.
Mr. Egg: boo… boo…
Mary: Don’t struggle. You’re hurt.
Mr. Egg: boooo…
Mary: Mr. Egg! (pause) John, is he—
John: Yes. He’s dead.
Mary: Dead?
John: That’s his own knife. I remember it. He threatened me with it.
Mary: Don’t touch it. If you touch it, you’ll leave fingerprints.
John: He was killed with his own knife.
Mary: The safe is open. Perhaps he was robbed, too.
John: We must call the police.
Mary: D’you think we should?
John: We found Mr. Egg.
Mary: But he was murdered. And there’s nobody else here. We are alone here. If we call the police, they’ll ask questions.
John: If they ask questions, we’ll tell the truth. We ran upstairs and then we found the body. We must call the police now.
Mary: Wait a minute!
John: Now, Mary!
Mary: But there’s something on the floor. There’s something under that chair. It’s a book.
John: There’re books everywhere.
Mary: But that book is near Mr. Egg. John, he was trying to say something. He was trying to say “book”.
John: boo… boo… book. You’re right, Mary.
Mary: Pick it up.
John: Pick it up? Oh, all right. It’s an old book, written by hand.
Mary: By hand?
John: It was written by hand.
Mary: Let me see. It isn’t written in English.
John: No, I think it’s written in Italian.
Mary: I think it’s a diary. Look, there’s a date and some writing, there’s another date and then more writing.
John: Yes, it’s a diary. But look inside the cover. There is a name inside the cover. Mary, look at this name!
Mary: It says E. L. Haverel.
John: This diary belonged to Miss Haverel!