Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009
Imprecise Noun Phrases
Unit 20 I love fitness and stuff like that
What have you learned from your grammar textbook?
Nouns and pronouns are parts of speech that refer to people, places, and things. (1) Personal pronouns can be used in place of a noun. (2) Indefinite pronouns are used when the speaker does not want to specify an exact reference.
1. I’m going to Virginia to see my sister. She's been in the hospital.
2. He said something about her father.
What does the corpus show?
A
In conversation, speakers commonly use imprecise noun phrases, because they don’t have time to be exact. The listeners usually have no trouble understanding the meaning. Three grammatical devices are especially important: (1) indefinite pronouns, (2) the nouns things and stuff, and (3) coordination tags.
B
Indefinite pronouns that correspond to people and thing (see Unit 19) are often used for imprecise reference in conversation. The pronoun something is especially common.
C
The plural noun things and the noncount noun stuff are also commonly used for imprecise reference in conversation:
• And there are other things that it can do.
• I might leave some of this stuff at my mom’s house.
This use of things is different from the use of singular thing (see Unit 19).
D
In conversation, speakers often use coordination tags to show that they have not exactly identified the noun that they are thinking of:
• You don’t need to use the computer or anything.
• He had been in the war and all that.
Frequency information. Here is a list of the most common coordination tags in conversation:
Activities
1 Notice in context: Read the conversation. Circle the indefinite pronouns, underline the imprecise nouns, and double underline the coordination tags.
At the end of a semester.
Nikki: Did you ask our professor when we’re getting our grades for sure?
Dana: I’ve been trying every day. I’ll ask again tomorrow. 1 have to go in the morning and finish some things on campus. I don’t even know if anyone will be there tomorrow.
Nikki: I’d come with you, but, I have to run some errands and stuff like that, and I also have to take that job application downtown. Then I’m pretty much free.
2 Analyze discourse: Read these excerpts from different conversations. Match each boldfaced word or phrase with the appropriate meaning from the box. Discuss with a partner why the speaker used an imprecise noun phrase in each example.
c 1. We bought a hiking book about New Mexico and Arizona, and they’ve got so much stuff in those states. There’s just a lot to do.
2. Well, my mom knows I act differently around different people. Like, I’ve probably never gotten in trouble with Katy, because Katy doesn’t do anything, but, yeah, I’ve come home late and stuff like that, but nothing really bad.
3. The last time they brought the snacks for the meeting they had cookies and vegetables and stuff like that. I mean, it was a lot nicer than chips and crackers.
4. Jane: I mean, it’s an old house. Well, we worked on it, cleaned it up, and now we’re trying to sell the house and then look for something nice.
Linda: Where?
Jane: I don’t know. Just around here.
5. Danny: So many things can happen with this microphone, you know. It’s pretty old.
John: So is it working now?
Danny: Yeah, but the batteries died, so now I have to switch the batteries.
6. Molly: How long did that drought last? A year or something like that?
Laura: Ten years, actually.
3 Practice conversation: imagine that you have just returned home from a weekend at the beach with some friends. Your roommate asks you about your trip, but you are too tired to give long or detailed answers. Answer the questions using imprecise noun phrases in each response. Write at least two responses for each question, when you are finished, practice the questions and answers with a partner.
1. What kinds of things did you do at the beach?
You know, we went swimming and stuff like that.
2. What souvenirs did you bring home?
3. I heard it was crowded at the beach this weekend. Who else was there?