UNIT 109. Even

Canada-11 grammar

A

Study this example situation:
-—————————–
Tina loves watching television.

She has a TV set in every room of the house – even the bathroom.

We use even to say that something is unusual or surprising.
It is unusual to have a TV set in the bathroom
-—————————–

Some more examples:
– These pictures are really awful. Even I could take better pictures than these.
(and I’m certainly not a good photographer)
– He always wears a coat – even in hot weather.
– Nobody would help her – not even her best friend.
or Not even her best friend would help her.

B

Very often we use even with the verb in the middle of a sentence:
– Sue has traveled all over the world. She has even been to the Antarctic.
(It’s especially unusual to go to the Antarctic, so the must have traveled a lot)
– They are very rich. They even have their own private jet.

Study these examples with not even”
– I can’t cook. I can’t even boil an egg. (and boiling an egg is very easy)
– They weren’t very friendly to us. They didn’t even say hello.
– Jenny is in great shape. She’s just run five miles, and she’s not even our of breath.

C

You can use even + comparative (cheaper / more expensive, etc.):
– I got up very earl, but Jack got up even earlier.
– I knew I didn’t have much money, but I have even less than I thought.
– We were surprised to get a letter from her. We were even more surprised when she came to see us a few days later.

D

Even though / even when / even if

You can use even though / even when / even if + subject + verb:

  • Even though she can’t drive, she bought a car.
  • I’ll probably see you tomorrow. But even if I don;t see you tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll see each other before the weekend.

You cannot use even in this way (+ subject + verb). We say:
– Even though she can’t drive, she bought a car. (not Even she can’t drive)
– I can’t reach the shelf even if I stand on a chair. (not even I stand)

Compare even if and if:
– We’re going to the beach tomorrow. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like.
We’re going even if it’s raining.
– We want to go to the beach tomorrow, but we won’t go if its’ raining.

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