Katjastrophe

Position

„Also“, „as well“ and „too“ have similar meanings, but they do not go in the same position in clauses. „Also“ usually goes with the verb, in mid-position; as well and too usually go at the end of a clause. „As well“ and „also“ are less common in American English. „Also“ is more commonly used in written language than „as well“. „Too“ is more emphatic than „also“ or „as well“.

Examples

• She not only sings; she also plays the piano.

• She not only sings; she plays the piano as well.

• She doesn’t just sing; she plays the piano too.

„As well“ and „too“ do not go at the beginning of a clause. „Also“ can go at the beginning of a clause to give more importance to a new piece of information.

Example

• It’s a nice house, but it’s very small. Also, it needs a lot of repairs.

References

These words can refer to different parts of a clause, depending on the meaning.

Consider the sentence: We work on Saturdays as well. This can mean three different things:

• a. (Other people work on Saturdays, and) we work on Saturdays as well.

• b. (We do other things on Saturdays, and) we work on Saturdays as well.

• c. (We work on other days, and) we work on Saturdays as well.

When we speak, we show the exact meaning by stressing the word or expression that also / as well / too refers to.

Imperatives and short answers

„As well“, „too“ and „also“ are used in imperatives and short answers.

Examples

• Give me some bread as well, please. (More natural than „Also give me . . .“ This is used colloquially, but don’t try it!)

• ‘She’s nice.’ ‘Her sister is as well.’ („Her sister is also.“ is used colloquially in speech and tends to be used in British English.)

• „I’ve got a headache.“ „I have too.“ is more common in American English. „I have also.“ or „I have as well.“ is more usual in British English.

(„I also have.“ is highly colloquial British English.)

In informal speech, we often use „Me too“ and „Me also“ as a short answer.

Example

• „I ’m going home.“ „Me too.“
• „I ’m going home.“ „Me also.“

„Me also“ is almost exclusively British English and is more colloquial. It is possible to hear „Me as well“. However, this is highly colloquial. Don’t try it!

More formal equivalents are „So am I“, „I am too“, „I am as well“ or „I am also“ (but not „I also“, „I too“ or „I as well“). „I am also“ is the most formal form here, The inverted form „So am I“ would be the least.

 Note that we do not contract „I“ + „am“ in these formal short answers. „I’m also“ or „I’m too.“ are both incorrect in formal speech.

Too in a formal style

In a formal or literary style, „too“ can be placed directly after the subject.

Example

• I, too, have experienced despair.

Also between the subject and the verb

„also“ can be placed directly after the subject within a clause. It can be used quite informally in this manner and emphasises the relationship between the main part of the sentence and the clause. It is commonly seen in British English.

Example

• We work hard but we also enjoy what we are doing.

However, when „also“ is not within a clause – but a stand-alone sentence when there is *not* an auxilliary or modal verb – such usage is usually very formal.

Example

• One also understands the implications of these spoken threats.

We tend to observe this usage in very highly formal language such as legal discourse. It often appears in older classical literature. Don’t use „also“ in this manner, unless you really know what you are doing with formal forms!

When there is an auxilliary or modal verb, then „also“ can be placed between the modal/auxilliary verb and the main verb but generally not between the subject and the auxilliary.

Examples

• I’m also going to the beach this summer.
• Students should also be working, not just the teacher.

are correct expressions used in normal language, particularly British English.

But

• I also am going to the beach this summer.

is wrong and

• Students also should be working, not just the teacher.

would be extremely formal usage.

In this lesson we are going to learn some vocabulary and expressions related to „Home“.

Vocabulary

If you’re looking for a new home, you need to know what type of home you’re looking for:

Word	Meaning	Translation
landlord, landlady	A person who leases or rents their property to a tenant	Vermieter(in)
tenant	A person who pays rent to the landlord	Mieter
apartment, flat	A unit in a residential building	Wohnung
bedsit	A one-room unit, often without a bathroom	Zimmer mit Kochgelegenheit
house	An individual building	Haus
multi-storey	A building with more than one floor	mehrstöckig
detached	A free standing house	Einfamilienhaus
semi-detached	A house connected to the neighbouring building	Doppelhaushälfte
terrace	A unit in a row of attached houses	Reihenhaus

You will also need to know how many and which type of rooms it has:

Word	Meaning	Translation
Bathroom	Any room with a toilet and sink	Bad, Toilette
Bedroom	A room in which one sleeps (where a bed is found)	Schlafzimmer
Garage	An attached or detached section of the house in which you keep vehicles	Garage
Basement	The (under-)ground level of the house	Keller
Dining room	Where the meals are eaten	Esszimmer
Living room	A common area for entertainment, sitting area for guests	Wohnzimmer
Box room	A small room that can be used as a single bedroom or study	halbes Zimmer
Study	A room to study or work from home	Arbeitszimmer

A home can be many things, and you should know some adjectives that apply to it:

Word	Meaning	Translation
cozy	Warm and comfortable	gemütlich
cramped	Not having enough space	beengt
dingy	Dirty and dark	trüb, armselig
bright	Having a lot of light	hell
spacious, roomy	Large and having a lot of space	geräumig
convenient	Easy to get	gelegen, günstig, praktisch
private	Belonging to one person	privat
shabby	To be in a poor condition	schäbig
noisy	Being loud	laut, geräuschvoll
safe	Free from danger	sicher

Expressions

Here are some useful expressions using „Home“.

A man’s home is his castle

• Meaning: a sentiment that a man should have freedom to do what he wants in his home
  (originally “An Englishman’s home is his castle”)

Bring home the bacon

• Meaning: earn a wage, or be successful

Charity begins at home

• Meaning: a sentiment that one should take care of family and friends before offering aid to others

Chickens will/have come home to roost

• Meaning: said as an admonition that actions have consequences

Come home to roost

• Meaning: return to cause trouble, in an analogy to chickens returning to their coop at the end of the day

Go home and get (one’s) beauty sleep

• Meaning: said jocularly of or by one who must depart early, facetiously because of the necessity of getting enough rest to avoid being considered unattractive because of sleep deprivation

Halfway house

• Meaning: Something that combines the qualities of two different things
• Example: This band is a halfway house between rock and pop.

A house of cards

• Meaning: An organization or plan that is weak and can easily be destroyed
• Example: Their plan turned out to be a house of cards.

As safe as houses

• Meaning: Be very safe
• Example: I’ve locked the door. They’re as safe as houses.