Emphasis & advanced · CEFR C2 · Mastery
Given before new — English emphasis and inversion
English puts what the listener already knows first and the new part at the end. Most choices between active and passive are really this choice.
The shape
known information first · new information last
Order a sentence so it lands.
In Hindi
अंग्रेज़ी पहले जानी हुई बात रखती है और नई बात आख़िर में। active या passive का चुनाव अक्सर यही होता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
A man I did not know wrote the report that we discussed yesterday. | The report we discussed yesterday was written by a man I did not know. The report is already known, so it belongs first and the new fact belongs last. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- Active vs PassiveB2Talk about what was done without saying who did it
- It was John who…C1Point at exactly which part of a sentence matters
Questions people ask
- What is the given before new used for?
- English puts what the listener already knows first and the new part at the end. Most choices between active and passive are really this choice. In practice: order a sentence so it lands.
- How do you form the given before new?
- known information first · new information last.
- What is the most common mistake with the given before new?
- Saying “A man I did not know wrote the report that we discussed yesterday.” instead of “The report we discussed yesterday was written by a man I did not know.”. The report is already known, so it belongs first and the new fact belongs last.
Where given before new fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Given before new is a CEFR C2 structure — the mastery band — and it belongs to emphasis & advanced. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the given before new →