As Soon As You Have Read This, You Will Understand - But No Sooner Than That!

Today we will have a look at “no sooner......than” and “as soon as”. Do these both mean the same? Are they interchangeable? Come on guys this is English so we know there is not going to be a simple yes/no answer don’t we!

However if we break it down and look at both phrases individually I hope that it will all become clearer. Let’s start by looking at examples of when to use “no sooner... than”.

Example 1.

No sooner had I found my umbrella than the rain stopped.

Example 2.

No sooner had I closed my eyes than the phone rang.

Example 3.

No sooner had I arrived at the bus station than the bus arrived.

You will notice that all these statements are describing something that has already happened, “no sooner... than”, tends to be used to describe the past tense. You may also notice that the actions are listed in chronological order, the first action or event that is described is the one that happened first. In example 1, I had found my umbrella just before the rain stopped.

A common mistake is for people to use “when” instead of “than”. For example you may see written “No sooner had I closed my eyes when I fell asleep.” This is wrong....”no sooner” always, always is followed in a sentence with “than”, never “when”.

   

In the examples we have given it would be equally correct to use “as soon as.” We could just as easily state:

Example 4.

As soon as I found my umbrella the rain stopped.

Example 5.

As soon as I closed my eyes the phone rang.

Example 6.       

As soon as I arrived at the bus station the bus arrived.

However, “no sooner than” tends to emphasise the very small amount of time between the two events occurring. The two things happen almost immediately.

Just to confuse things a little, when talking in the past tense we can often substitute “hardly”, “scarcely” or “barely” with the same effect.

Example 7.

I had scarcely found my umbrella when the rain stopped.

Example 8.

I had hardly closed my eyes when the phone rang.

Example 9.

I had barely arrived at the bus station when the bus arrived.

All nine statement examples show the correct use of the English language.

However “as soon as” can be seen as more flexible than “no sooner.. than” as it can  also be used to describe something in the present or future tense.

Example 10.

As soon as I have finished this telephone call I will email you the report.

Example 11.

As soon as he has received your cheque he will post out your order.      

Example 12.

Today, as soon as I get home from work, I will eat a huge slice of cake!

I hope this has helped clarify the use of “no sooner...than” and “as soon as”, but if you have any questions please get in touch.

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How To Do "To Do"

One of our friends asked us to explain a little about the verb “to do”, as this can be sometimes a little confusing when you are learning English. So here we go!

“Do” may be a very small word but it is very important in the English language- and used all the time! As I’m sure you know “to do” is a verb (a doing word if you like!) but what it is you may be doing depends on the sentence that you use. For example if someone asks you to do the dishes they are asking you to wash the dishes, usually after eating. If you are doing your nails, then it is likely you are applying coats of nail varnish, whereas if you are going to do the lottery you are intending to purchase the magic ticket and hope for a win. So as you can see the word “do” means there is an action involved but what that action is only becomes obvious when you have the whole sentence at your disposal.    

The verb changes depending on the subject of the sentence. If you are using “I “, “you”, “they” or “we” then “do” is the correct form. For example I may ask “Do you like going to the cinema”?    Or “Do they all like coffee?”

If you are using him or her (or a person’s name) as the subject in your sentence, then “do” becomes “does”.   I may ask “Does Karen like ice-cream”? The reply could be “Yes she does!”

The negative of do is “do not” (in spoke English this is usually shortened to “don’t”). So again when you using “I”, “you”, “they” or “we” we would use don’t.  Here’s an example. “Do you like carrots? No, I don’t like many vegetables”.

However when using he/she or a person’s name the negative of “do” becomes does not (doesn’t).   “Kylie doesn’t like dogs, since she was bitten by a puppy”.

One easy thing to remember is the past tense of “do” is “did”, and this applies to everyone.  “I did it, they did it, she did it, Luke did it” etc etc.

On the same note the negative past tense is did not (didn’t) and this again applies to everyone.  “Mat didn’t do his homework”, “They didn’t win their football game”, “I didn’t like it!”

Another little quirk is that British people often use the word “do” to emphasise a point. It often appears in sentences when to an onlooker it may not appear necessary. For example if someone’s boss was to say “I thought I asked you to write a report on that” the reply could be “I did write the report” rather than “I wrote the report”.

Just one last reason why this little word is so important could be its use in the marriage vows. Do you take this woman to be your loving wife, to have and to hold from this day onwards.....the answer my friends is “I do”. 

We hope this helps clarify when and how to use this useful verb. Let us know if there are other areas of spoken English that you would like explained.

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Good Luck Scotland - Whatever You Decide

Next week there is a referendum in Scotland for the Scottish people to decide upon independence from the UK.  For those who are not aware of the history of Great Britain, Scotland was an independent country until 1603, when the then King of Scotland also inherited the monarchy of England. The two countries became linked under one monarchy, and the union of Scotland and England was sealed by the Act of Union in 1707. Now there is a growing movement within Scotland to return to being an independent country.

It appears to have been assumed by the British Government that the “Better Together” campaign for a vote against independence would be successful. However, as polling day draws ever nearer the two campaigns are very close, with the pro independence campaign just creeping ahead. No-one can be sure what the outcome will be, but one thing that can be left in no doubt is that the Scottish people do not like the harsh politics of recent UK governments. The Scottish people have repeatedly shown that they care about public services, the National Health Service and living in a fair society.    

However as this is not a political blog, I just thought it would be a nice gesture to give Scotland some recognition, and take a look at what makes this country a magical place to visit. Although I am Welsh I have been lucky enough to spend over one year living in Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, and so have firsthand experience of what it is like living on a Scottish Island.

Okay so I will give you the good and the bad! The scenery is amazing, the people are some of the friendliest and welcoming you will find anywhere, but the weather can be grey and dreary! Scotland has its own language (Gaelic), although the official language is English. Saying that, the English that is spoken in Scotland is very different to the English spoken in England; both in the words used and the regional accents. To give you an example, the most common word for small is Scotland would be “wee”, however where I was staying in the Islands it was “peedie”, a word I love and still use today. To be honest the first couple of months of living there I had to concentrate really hard to understand everything that was said to me – but it was fun and I soon got to grips with it!

When you think of Scotland is the first thing that comes to mind a kilted bagpipe player, or is it maybe the beautiful Lochs (lakes), or the fantastic Scottish scenery and castles?  Well all these are correct!  The Scotland you read about and imagine is the Scotland you will find. However, there are also major cities with the shops, restaurants and nightlife you would expect to find in modern European cities. Edinburgh, the capital, is full of life and perfect for a long weekend away. The imposing Castle looks over the fantastic city. One thing is for sure, you will get to meet the Scots, who embrace visitors and are always happy to help you enjoy yourself.

Scotland has the vote for independence on the 18^th September 2014. It is up to the Scottish people to determine their future. If you are Scottish, however you choose to vote please know that you will have friendly neighbours who love your beautiful country. Whatever you decide, we wish you all the luck in the world!     

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If you want to find out more about the upcoming referendum in Scotland, visit the BBC News explanation page here.

Cadbury and Rowntree - More Than Just Chocolate

Philanthropy is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “The desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by generous donation to good causes.”  Etymologically it means “love of humanity”. To put it simply it can be seen as the act of a wealthy person who gives their time and money to make life a little better for others.  It is a private individual’s donation for public good. A person who behaves in this way is known as a philanthropist.  

Early Victorian Britain was a time of dramatic social change. The emergence of large factories led to the growth of new cities where people flocked in search of work. To give you an example Liverpool grew from a large village of 4,240 inhabitants in 1701 to a huge city, home to 222,954 by 1841. The infrastructure of these new cities could not cope with the influx of people and death and disease were rampant. It has been argued that the 1830’s and 1840’s were the worst decades for life expectancy in Britain since the Black Death. Of course the insanitary conditions of the homes of the working class allowed disease to spread quickly and their life expectancy was less than half of wealthy landowners.        

By the late 19^th Century we see a growth in rich industrialist philanthropists who can be seen to improve the living conditions of their workers. One of the pioneers was Sir Titus Salt (1803 – 1876). He took over his fathers’ textile mill in Bradford and expanded the business, making it the largest employer in the area. He then set about building a model village for his workers to live in called Saltaire, which is just outside Bradford. The new houses all had their own toilets and were connected to mains drainage. It was a wonderful place to live with bath houses, a hospital, a church and an institute for recreation. Life here was so much better than in the Bradford slums.

Similar model villages were constructed by the Quaker confectionary dynasties the Cadburys and the Rowntrees.  The Cadbury brothers, George and Richard, had a vision of a garden village when creating Bournville, which is just outside Birmingham. As well as providing decent affordable housing they were concerned for the fitness of their workers and included parks and encouraged walking, swimming and all outdoor pursuits.

Joseph Rowntree built a similar village called New Earswick in 1901, but is perhaps best well known for forming and funding the Joseph Rowntree foundation which is still working to reduce child poverty in Britain today.

And it wasn’t just the chocolatiers who got involved. Another well known model village is Port Sunlight, built by the Lever brothers to be the home of their soap empire. They named the village after their most popular brand of cleaner.

Port Sunlight

It was the philanthropy of the new rich that helped shape the lives of the British people. It can be argued that the good works carried out by these philanthropists hastened a greater concern for the conditions endured by the working classes in the UK, resulting in the creation of the welfare state, which provided free education and healthcare for all, and affordable housing for workers.

Even though these companies are no longer family run concerns, but are now part of huge multi-national organisations, their products are still very popular today. Who doesn’t enjoy a bar of Cadburys’ fruit and nut?     

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