Know your English

"HI, COME on in. Nice pair of jeans. Where did you buy them?"

"At Jeansworld. And they cost me only Rs. 150."

"That's pretty cheap. Is there a sale going on?"

"No, no sale. I exchanged my old pair of jeans with this new pair."

"For a new pair."

"What?"

"You don't exchange something `with' something. You usually exchange something `for' something. For example, Saritha exchanged her old VCR for a new one."

"My father is planning to exchange his old scooter for a new one. How does that sound?"

"The example is an excellent one. But do you seriously think someone will actually pay money for that rusty old thing?"

"Well, I'm not really sure."

"I have a feeling that your father will have to pay money to get rid of it! Ha! Ha!"

"You have a point there. My mother would agree with you completely. She's been asking him to get rid of the old scooter for about ten years now. But he keeps telling her that he can't. Apparently it was a gift from his father. Anyway, how about this example? The old farmer exchanged his wheat for oil."

"Good example again! Now then, how about...."

".... listen, does this mean it's wrong to say `exchange with'?"

"Of course not. You can use both `exchange with' and `exchange for'. What you have to remember is you `exchange something for something' and you `exchange something with someone'."

"In other words, you use `exchange with' to indicate trading between people, not between things."

"I guess you could say that. Here's an example. The two students exchanged coats with each other."

"Sujatha exchanges books with many of her friends. How does that sound?"

"Fine. Here's another example. I exchange greetings with Ajit on 1st January. That's the only time I ring him up."

"That's understandable. I mean who would want to talk to that creep?"

"There are lots of people who want to talk to him. Many people think he's very intelligent.''

"Those people must be crazy. You know, sometimes I think people are not really interested.... That reminds me, what is the difference between `some time' and `sometime'?"

"Well, `some time' is normally used to indicate some amount of time. The duration could be very short or long. It could be five minutes or ten years. For example, I need some time to finish writing this letter."

"Karthick always makes it a point to spend some time with his grandparents during the summer. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great. As a child, Padma spent quite some time in Gwalior. Her Hindi is excellent.''

"In all these examples, would it be wrong to use `sometime'?"

"Yes, it would. `Sometime' is normally used to refer to indefinite time in the future or the past. For example, 'Pramod will be arriving sometime next month'."

"So, what you are saying is that Pramod will be arriving next month, but you don't know when. That is, you don't know the date and the time."

``That's right. The sentence gives you a general idea as to when Promod is arriving, but it does not specify when exactly. Here is another example. Would it be possible for me to come and see you sometime tomorrow?"

"The Vice Chancellor told us that the results would be announced sometime next month."

"That's a good example."

``The Guptas have been married for 25 years. They have been married for quite some time."

"I hope to get married sometime next year."

"No girl in her right mind would marry you."

"You may be right. But you never know. You know sometimes I wish, I could just..."

"....ah, the word `sometimes'. This is a word I know."

"Really? What do you think it means?"

" `Sometimes' means occasionally, once in a while...that's what it means, doesn't it?"

"You're right. That's exactly what it means."

"I am glad that I was able to answer at least one question correctly today. You know, sometimes I wish I were smarter."

"Sometimes my boss gets really angry with me."

"That's not surprising! Most of the time I am happy being who I am, but sometimes I wish I had been born in America."

"With your kind of luck you would have ended up working on the 90th floor of the World Trade Centre."

"You know sometimes you say the strangest things."

"That's because spending time with you drives me crazy. Shall we continue our conversation sometime tomorrow?"

"No, thank you. I have to spend some time cleaning up my room."

"You! Cleaning up your room? You know you still manage to surprise me sometimes."

* * * * *

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!'' — Brian O'Rourke

S.UPENDRAN

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