Recipes, by the question

Every other part of this book is organized by the grammar: one verb, one chapter. This part is organized the way work arrives, by the question. How much of something is there? Which rows do you actually want? Nobody sits down holding a verb.

Each recipe is one question, answered in one sentence, in both languages, with the same sentence in the grammar’s own words underneath. The recipes use only the cast from the preface, so nothing on these pages needs introducing, and each one links back to the chapter that owns its verb, for the day you want the argument and not just the answer.

The device that makes this part work is at the end of every recipe: one verb away. The neighboring questions are usually one word’s difference, and the point of a grammar is that the recipes were never separate things to memorize. A cookbook of endpoints teaches recipes; this one tries to teach you that you already know the dish.

If a question of yours is not here, the part has not failed you yet. Write the smallest sentence that names the table, and grow it one verb at a time, which is what the writing practice rehearses.