Grammar and Pessimism

2023-11-10

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1
  • In a recent lesson, we explored a point of connection between grammar and optimism - a good or hopeful opinion of the world and future events.
  • 2
  • In today's lesson, we will explore pessimism - a bad or not hopeful view of the world and future events.
  • 3
  • You will learn important ideas surrounding pessimism.
  • 4
  • You will also learn how English speakers are likely to use the term pessimism - and its related words - in everyday situations.
  • 5
  • When we learn and explore new words, it can sometimes be helpful to visualize them as coins. We have two sides - heads and tails.
  • 6
  • These are opposite sides of a coin.
  • 7
  • In the same way, many words have opposite meanings.
  • 8
  • When we learn a new word, it can be helpful to ask the following question: what would the opposite of this word be?
  • 9
  • In our previous lesson, we explored optimism - a hopeful view about the present and future.
  • 10
  • Today, we explore pessimism - not being hopeful about the present and future.
  • 11
  • In other words, optimism and pessimism are somewhat like opposite sides of a coin.
  • 12
  • Pessimism is a noun.
  • 13
  • The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us that the word dates to 1794.
  • 14
  • At the time, it meant the worst condition possible. The word came to English from French.
  • 15
  • By 1815, pessimism came to suggest the quality of making worse "in thought the evils of life or to look only on the dark side."
  • 16
  • The Online Etymology Dictionary also tells us that English speakers attempted to make a verb form from pessimism in the early 1860s.
  • 17
  • But the word, pessimize, did not survive.
  • 18
  • In modern times, we often use pessimism to talk about the general feeling or belief that bad things will happen.
  • 19
  • From pessimism, we get the noun pessimist - a person who expects the worst or is likely to have bad views on life.
  • 20
  • From the noun pessimist we add an -ic ending to get the adjective pessimistic.
  • 21
  • And when we add an -ally ending to the adjective pessimistic, we get the adverb pessimistically.
  • 22
  • We have a group of words. Two nouns, an adjective, and an adverb.
  • 23
  • How do English speakers use these words in everyday situations?
  • 24
  • Google's Ngram Viewer contains information from thousands of books.
  • 25
  • We can do searches in databases for American English, English Fiction, and so on.
  • 26
  • What we find is that in general, the most commonly used word before the noun pessimism is the short word "of."
  • 27
  • So, you are likely to read something like this:
  • 28
  • I don't think so, he said in a voice full of pessimism.
  • 29
  • Or this:
  • 30
  • There are many causes for the high levels of pessimism in our society.
  • 31
  • The most common word that comes before the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic" is the same: a.
  • 32
  • So, you are likely to hear or read something like this:
  • 33
  • He is a pessimist.
  • 34
  • Or
  • 35
  • He gave a pessimistic response.
  • 36
  • There is another important point about the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic."
  • 37
  • Google Ngram Viewer suggests that pessimistic is more commonly used by English speakers.
  • 38
  • So, if you are unsure about which version to use, remember that the adjective - the word that ends in -ic - might be a better choice.
  • 39
  • And the most common word after pessimistic? It is "about."
  • 40
  • So, you might describe yourself as follows:
  • 41
  • I am pessimistic about the future.
  • 42
  • We certainly hope that you are not too pessimistic!
  • 43
  • And one final word about the adverb pessimistically. It is most commonly used after the verb "said."
  • 44
  • So, you might hear or read this:
  • 45
  • I don't think so, he said pessimistically.
  • 46
  • Now let's take some time to work with these ideas.
  • 47
  • Fill in the blank with the correct word - noun, adjective, or adverb.
  • 48
  • They have a ___________ view of the world.
  • 49
  • The correct answer is this:
  • 50
  • They have a pessimistic view of the world.
  • 51
  • How do we know that the adjective "pessimistic" is needed?
  • 52
  • The short word "a" gives us a clue. And we know that "view" is a noun.
  • 53
  • In general, adjectives come before a noun and after the short word "a."
  • 54
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 1
  • In a recent lesson, we explored a point of connection between grammar and optimism - a good or hopeful opinion of the world and future events.
  • 2
  • In today's lesson, we will explore pessimism - a bad or not hopeful view of the world and future events.
  • 3
  • You will learn important ideas surrounding pessimism. You will also learn how English speakers are likely to use the term pessimism - and its related words - in everyday situations.
  • 4
  • Coin comparison
  • 5
  • When we learn and explore new words, it can sometimes be helpful to visualize them as coins. We have two sides - heads and tails. These are opposite sides of a coin.
  • 6
  • In the same way, many words have opposite meanings. When we learn a new word, it can be helpful to ask the following question: what would the opposite of this word be?
  • 7
  • In our previous lesson, we explored optimism - a hopeful view about the present and future. Today, we explore pessimism - not being hopeful about the present and future. In other words, optimism and pessimism are somewhat like opposite sides of a coin.
  • 8
  • Nouns, adjective, adverb
  • 9
  • Pessimism is a noun. The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us that the word dates to 1794. At the time, it meant the worst condition possible. The word came to English from French.
  • 10
  • By 1815, pessimism came to suggest the quality of making worse "in thought the evils of life or to look only on the dark side."
  • 11
  • The Online Etymology Dictionary also tells us that English speakers attempted to make a verb form from pessimism in the early 1860s. But the word, pessimize, did not survive.
  • 12
  • In modern times, we often use pessimism to talk about the general feeling or belief that bad things will happen.
  • 13
  • From pessimism, we get the noun pessimist - a person who expects the worst or is likely to have bad views on life.
  • 14
  • From the noun pessimist we add an -ic ending to get the adjective pessimistic. And when we add an -ally ending to the adjective pessimistic, we get the adverb pessimistically.
  • 15
  • Usage
  • 16
  • We have a group of words. Two nouns, an adjective, and an adverb. How do English speakers use these words in everyday situations?
  • 17
  • Google's Ngram Viewer contains information from thousands of books. We can do searches in databases for American English, English Fiction, and so on.
  • 18
  • What we find is that in general, the most commonly used word before the noun pessimism is the short word "of."
  • 19
  • So, you are likely to read something like this:
  • 20
  • I don't think so, he said in a voice full of pessimism.
  • 21
  • Or this:
  • 22
  • There are many causes for the high levels of pessimism in our society.
  • 23
  • The most common word that comes before the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic" is the same: a.
  • 24
  • So, you are likely to hear or read something like this:
  • 25
  • He is a pessimist.
  • 26
  • Or
  • 27
  • He gave a pessimistic response.
  • 28
  • There is another important point about the noun "pessimist" and the adjective "pessimistic." Google Ngram Viewer suggests that pessimistic is more commonly used by English speakers.
  • 29
  • So, if you are unsure about which version to use, remember that the adjective - the word that ends in -ic - might be a better choice.
  • 30
  • And the most common word after pessimistic? It is "about."
  • 31
  • So, you might describe yourself as follows:
  • 32
  • I am pessimistic about the future.
  • 33
  • We certainly hope that you are not too pessimistic!
  • 34
  • And one final word about the adverb pessimistically. It is most commonly used after the verb "said."
  • 35
  • So, you might hear or read this:
  • 36
  • I don't think so, he said pessimistically.
  • 37
  • Quiz
  • 38
  • Now let's take some time to work with these ideas. Fill in the blank with the correct word - noun, adjective, or adverb.
  • 39
  • They have a ___________ view of the world.
  • 40
  • The correct answer is this:
  • 41
  • They have a pessimistic view of the world.
  • 42
  • How do we know that the adjective "pessimistic" is needed? The short word "a" gives us a clue. And we know that "view" is a noun. In general, adjectives come before a noun and after the short word "a."
  • 43
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 44
  • John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 45
  • ________________________________________________
  • 46
  • Words in This Story
  • 47
  • visualize - v. to form a mental picture of something
  • 48
  • response - n. something that is said as a reply to something else