Past Unreal Conditional, Contractions in 'Citizen Kane'
2022-01-28
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, is widely considered to be one of the best American films of all time.
2For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, created a list of the best American films. It placed Citizen Kane at the top.
3In today's program, we will explore the grammar behind one of the most famous lines from Citizen Kane.
4"You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man."
5In this report, you will learn about the important expression, "you know."
6You will also learn about past conditional usage and shortened forms of words in everyday speaking.
7The famous line starts with the words "you know."
8"You know, Mr. Bernstein..."
9"You know" is a common expression that is used in everyday speaking.
10But it does not necessarily mean what you might think it does.
11For example, you might hear a person ask: "Do you know my name?" Or they might say: "You know my name."
12This is the literal meaning.
13However, the line from Citizen Kane uses "you know" in a different way.
14In this case, it is used to show that you have some kind of connection or shared knowledge with another person.
15Bernstein is Kane's friend and employee. They know each other well.
16In this statement, Kane is thinking about his life.
17He has a sense of loss or sadness in his voice.
18He is admitting something that he has been thinking about to a person who is close to him.
19That is why Kane begins his statement with "you know."
20This expression has other uses, which you can read about in an earlier Everyday Grammar story called What do you know about 'you know?'
21Now let's explore the second part of the line:
22"...If I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man."
23This line uses what you might call the past unreal conditional.
24It involves an if-clause (if I hadn't been very rich) and a result clause (I might have been a really great man)
25The if-clause is in the past perfect, and the result clause uses the structure helping verb + have + past participle.
26The helping verb used in the result clause has several possibilities: would, could and might.
27The helping verb "would" expresses a desirable result.
28The verbs "could" and "might" express a possibility.
29Kane is suggesting that if something had been different in the past, then it might have been possible for him to be different.
30The past unreal conditional is one of the more complex areas of English grammar because it involves different clauses and uncommon verb structures.
31But it is interesting for another reason: pronunciation.
32Did you notice that not all of the words were spoken in the line? Listen again:
33"...If I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man."
34Notice that this past unreal statement involves contractions - shortened versions of words.
35The full version of the statement is this:
36"If I had not been very rich, I might have been a really great man."
37While this line would be clearly understood, it does not sound natural to an American.
38Americans often reduce or contract words. Had not becomes hadn't.
39Also, if you listen closely to Kane, he faintly says "have," but he could have also said:
40"I might've been."
41Or even something like this:
42"I mighta* been."
43Please note that this last version is used in speaking only, not in writing.
44The reason Americans reduce helping verbs is because they are function words.
45Function words have a grammatical purpose but do not carry much specific meaning.
46In our example, the reason "have" is shortened is because native speakers understand which word is being suggested.
47It is verbs such as "might" or "would" that are more important for suggesting additional meaning.
48That is why you might hear statements such as, "I would've called you" or "I might've been famous."
49In today's report, we explored the grammar behind a famous line in American film.
50You learned about an expression, a conditional statement, and how words are shortened in everyday speaking.
51The next time you watch American films, pay attention to these structures.
52Then use them as much as you can.
53One day, you might tell a close friend:
54You know, I'm glad that I followed Everyday Grammar.
55 If I hadn't listened to it regularly, I wouldn't have developed such a deep love for English grammar.
56I'm John Russell.
1Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, is widely considered to be one of the best American films of all time. 2For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, created a list of the best American films. It placed Citizen Kane at the top. 3In today's program, we will explore the grammar behind one of the most famous lines from Citizen Kane. 4"You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." 5In this report, you will learn about the important expression, "you know." You will also learn about past conditional usage and shortened forms of words in everyday speaking. 6You know 7The famous line starts with the words "you know." 8"You know, Mr. Bernstein..." 9"You know" is a common expression that is used in everyday speaking. But it does not necessarily mean what you might think it does. 10For example, you might hear a person ask: "Do you know my name?" Or they might say: "You know my name." 11This is the literal meaning. 12However, the line from Citizen Kane uses "you know" in a different way. 13In this case, it is used to show that you have some kind of connection or shared knowledge with another person. Bernstein is Kane's friend and employee. They know each other well. 14In this statement, Kane is thinking about his life. He has a sense of loss or sadness in his voice. He is admitting something that he has been thinking about to a person who is close to him. 15That is why Kane begins his statement with "you know." 16This expression has other uses, which you can read about in an earlier Everyday Grammar story called What do you know about 'you know?' 17Past conditional 18Now let's explore the second part of the line: 19"...If I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." 20This line uses what you might call the past unreal conditional. 21It involves an if-clause (if I hadn't been very rich) and a result clause (I might have been a really great man) 22The if-clause is in the past perfect, and the result clause uses the structure helping verb + have + past participle. 23The helping verb used in the result clause has several possibilities: would, could and might. 24The helping verb "would" expresses a desirable result. 25The verbs "could" and "might" express a possibility. 26Kane is suggesting that if something had been different in the past, then it might have been possible for him to be different. 27Pronunciation 28The past unreal conditional is one of the more complex areas of English grammar because it involves different clauses and uncommon verb structures. 29But it is interesting for another reason: pronunciation. 30Did you notice that not all of the words were spoken in the line? Listen again: 31"...If I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." 32Notice that this past unreal statement involves contractions - shortened versions of words. 33The full version of the statement is this: 34"If I had not been very rich, I might have been a really great man." 35While this line would be clearly understood, it does not sound natural to an American. 36Americans often reduce or contract words. Had not becomes hadn't. 37Also, if you listen closely to Kane, he faintly says "have," but he could have also said: 38"I might've been." 39Or even something like this: 40"I mighta* been." 41Please note that this last version is used in speaking only, not in writing. 42The reason Americans reduce helping verbs is because they are function words. Function words have a grammatical purpose but do not carry much specific meaning. 43In our example, the reason "have" is shortened is because native speakers understand which word is being suggested. It is verbs such as "might" or "would" that are more important for suggesting additional meaning. That is why you might hear statements such as, "I would've called you" or "I might've been famous." 44Closing thoughts 45In today's report, we explored the grammar behind a famous line in American film. You learned about an expression, a conditional statement, and how words are shortened in everyday speaking. 46The next time you watch American films, pay attention to these structures. Then use them as much as you can. 47One day, you might tell a close friend: 48You know, I'm glad that I followed Everyday Grammar. If I hadn't listened to it regularly, I wouldn't have developed such a deep love for English grammar. 49I'm John Russell. 50John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 51________________________________________ 52Words in This Story 53literal - adj. involving the ordinary or usual meaning of a word 54past perfect - n. the form of the verb that is used in referring to an action that was completed by a particular time in the past. It is formed by using had and the past participle of a verb. 55pronunciation - n. the way in which a word or name is pronounced