Universitatea Andrei aguna Facultatea de tiine Economice Semestrul II Anul 2011

CURS PRACTIC DE LIMBA ENGLEZ

Titular disciplin: asist.univ. Bdic Magdalena

CONTENTS:

VERB TENSES: PAST PERFECT SIMPLE.3 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS 3

CONDITIONAL AND WISHES: If clauses type 2.5 If clauses type 3.5 Mixed conditionals .6 Expressing wishes ...8

RELATIVE CLAUSES: Relative pronouns ..11 Relative adverbs .12

THE PASSIVE: Active and passive voice..14 MODALS IN ENGLISH: Logical assumptions ....17 Possibility ....17 Obligation/Duty/Necessity ..18
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Absence of necessity ..18 Prohibition ..19

REPORTED SPEECH: Direct speech/Indirect speech 20

1. PAST PERFECT SIMPLE:

It is used for:

-an action happened before another past action or before a stated time in the past: Ex. Judy had finished her homework by seven oclock.

S + HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE of the VB

-an action which finished in the past and whose result was visible at a later point in the past: Ex: He had heard the news a few days earlier and he was still in shock.

-for a general situation in the past: Ex: Everyone had been pleasant in the beginning.

TIME EXPRESSIONS used with this tense: before, after, already, just, for, since, till/until, when, by the time, never

2. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:

S + HAD BEEN + VB+ -ING -to emphasize the duration of an action started and finished in the past,
before another action or stated time in the past, usually with FOR and SINCE

Ex: The cake had been baking in the cooker for about an hour when I realized that I hadnt even turned it on.

-an action which lasted for some time in the past and whose result was visible in the past: Ex: He had been travelling all night and he was exhausted.

TIME EXPRESSIONS used with this tense: for, since, how long, before, until

EXERCISES:
Put the verbs in the brackets below into either the past simple, the past perfect or the past perfect continuous:

1. By the time the police (arrive)., the two men who (commit). the murder .. (flee). 2. He realized that the man, who..(be) a foreigner, completely (misunderstand) what he . (say). 3. It was late when I (hear) the news. I .(work) and only just (turn off) my word processor. 4. Why the football team manager still not ..(decide)who the new team member should be, two weeks before the game? 5. After the match .(finish), the fans, delirious with happiness, (scramble)on the pitch.
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6. .(be) he exhausted because he ..( train ) all day? 7. When the match finally (begin), the fans .(chant) football anthems for over an hour. 8. Three minutes into the match, the home-based team already (score) a goal. 9. There..(be) only ten minutes to go and our team still not (succeed) in getting a ball into the net. 10.I ..(be) bored because my husband and his friends .(talk) about football all day.

3.

CONDITIONALS:

TYPE 2 (UNREAL PRESENT)

Conditionals type 2 are used to express imaginary situations which are contrary to facts in the present and therefore, are unlikely to happen in the present or future. We can use either WERE or WAS for all persons in the if-clause. We can also use the structure IF I WERE YOU to give advice.

IF+ PAST SIMPLE/ PAST CONTINUOUS WOULD/ COULD/MIGHT+ PRESENT BARE INFINITIVE

Ex: If she knew the answer, she would tell me. If I was travelling around Europe, I would travel by train. If I had a better agent, I would get better acting offers.

4. CONDITIONALS

TYPE 3 (UNREAL PAST)

Conditionals type 3 are used to express imaginary situations which are contrary to facts in the past. They are also used to express regrets or criticism.

IF + PAST PERFECT SIMPLE/PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS WOULD/COULD/MIGHT + PERFECT BARE INFINITIVE

Ex: If he had told me about his problems, I would have helped him. If I hadnt been working yesterday, I would have gone shopping.

5.

MIXED CONDITIONALS:
We can form mixed conditionals , if the context permits it, by combining an if-clause from one type with a main clause from another.

TYPE 2

TYPE 1

If the plane landed late last night, he wont be on time for work today.

TYPE 2

TYPE 3

If you were less impulsive , you wouldnt have spoken to your supervisor like that.

TYPE 3

TYPE 2

If I hadnt drunk the bad milk, I would be fine now.

EXERCISES:
1. Finish the sentences below using an appropriate conditional:

Your friend keeps arriving late at work after staying up all night at parties. If you dont stop turning up late, . If I were you, . If the boss asks you where you were,

Water seems to be becoming more and more scarce every year. When you wash your car, .. If we didnt leave the taps running all the time, . If you have a garden,

Your friend has acquired a lot of money. If you tell all your friends, .. If I were you, If you get lots of begging letters, ..

A friend is not sure how to spend the summer holidays. If you go to Rome, . If you went to Paris, If you go to Athens, ..

2. Rephrase: I would welcome a change of job. (COULD) If .change my job.

All you have to do to switch the light on is press this button. (COMES) If you press on.

Unless I recover from my injury, I cant play on Saturday. (GET) If my injury I wont be able to play on Saturday.

Dont break that vase because youll have to pay for it. (WOULD) If you .have to pay for it.

My sister is not old enough to ride a bicycle. (TOO) My sister is .. ride a bicycle.

You should not answer any of the polices questions. (REFUSE) If the police ask you questions, them.

I wont buy a new suit unless I get a pay rise.(IF) I will only ..I get a pay rise.

6. WISHES:

We can use WISH/IF ONLY to express a wish.

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-to say that we would like something to be different about a present situation (WISH+PAST SIMPLE/PAST CONTINUOUS)

I wish I was/were 10 years old. If only I were travelling with you and not alone! It would be much more fun (but Im not).

-to express regret about something which happened or didnt happen in the past(WISH + PAST PERFECT) I wish I had saved more money during my twenties (but I didnt). If only I hadnt been so harsh to her! We could still be friends. (but I was).
-

to express a polite imperative, a desire for a situation or persons behavior to change (WISH+ S+ WOULD+BARE INF.)

I wish you would stop spreading rumours. If only it would be sunny on my birthday.

IF ONLY is used in exactly the same way as WISH but it is more emphatic or more dramatic. We can use WERE instead of WAS after WISH and IF ONLY:

I wish I were/was a famous writer!

After the subject pronouns I and WE, we can use COULD instead of WOULD:

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I wish I could study art history.

1. Rewrite these sentences, beginning with the words given: Mario would like a new bicycle. Mario wishes ..

John is not looking forward to sitting the exam on Friday. John wishes .

Im really sorry I cant come to your dinner party this evening. I wish ..

Mr. Brown was very angry about the mess the builders made in his house. Mr. Brown wished

What a pity you missed the show. I wish ..

It would be nice if you were here now. I wish

2. Rewrite these sentences, beginning with the underlined word or words:

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I hardly ever drink whisky.

I have never been arrested by the police.

I would not only like to go to Peru, I would also like to visit China. .

I will never give up trying to get the Proficiency. .

What a shame we didnt go to Paris instead. (GONE) If . Paris instead.

You didnt choose the right resort. (CHOSEN) You ..another resort.

I regret not going to Mykonos when I was younger. (WISH) I .Mykonos when I was younger.

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It was a mistake to come to Madrid in July. (SHOULD) We to Madrid in July.

My English could be improved. (KNEW) I better.

We arrived late and missed the last bus. (ONLY) If ..earlier; we would have caught the last bus.

I would love to visit Seville in the spring.(COULD) If .Seville in the spring.

7. RELATIVE CLAUSES:
Relative clauses are introduced with either a relative pronoun or a relative adverb:

RELATIVE PRONOUNS:

We use:
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-who(m)/that to refer to people -which/that to refer to things -whose with people , animals and objects to show possession (instead of a possessive adjective)

WHO, WHICH, THAT can be omitted when they are the object of the relative clause. Ex. That is the film (that) I was telling you about.

WHOM can be used instead of WHO when it is the object of the relative clause. WHOM is always used instead of WHO or THAT after a preposition .

Ex. Shes someone with whom I used to work.

-WHO, WHICH or THAT is not omitted when it is the subject of a relative clause Ex. The play which won the Tony award was a musical. -WHOSE is never omitted Ex. This is Bruce Weber whose photographs you must have seen.

RELATIVE ADVERBS

-WHEN/THAT to refer to a time (and can be omitted) Ex. That was the year (when/that) my son was born.
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-WHERE to refer to a place The flat where I live is on the top floor. -WHY to give a reason, usually after the word reason (why can be omitted) The reason (why) she quit her job is only to be guessed.

EXERCISES:

1.

Combine the information to make new items. Make the sentence in brackets into a relative clause with WHO or WHICH:

A man has gone to prison. ( He shot two policemen). ..

A bomb cause a lot of damage. (It went off this morning).

A scientist has won the Nobel Prize. (He discovered a new planet).

A little girl has been found safe and well. (She had been missing since Tuesday). ..

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A company has laid off thousands of workers. (It owns Greenway Supermarkets).

An old lady now wants to swim the English Channel. (She did a parachute jump). ..

2. Complete the script for these TV advertisements. Use a relative clause without a pronoun:

Fresh soap. Beautiful people use it. .

An Everyman car. You can afford it. Hijack. People want to see this film. .

Greenway Supermarket. You can trust it. ......

Cool magazine. Young people read it. .

Jupiter chocolates. Youll love them. .

3. Its election time. All the politicians are arguing. Rewrite the first sentence using a proposition at the beginning of a relative clause: I cannot agree with that statement. I hope Ive made that clear.
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. Our party believes in that idea. I say this from the bottom of my heart. . I am strongly opposed to that policy. And I am not afraid to say so. .. Your party should be ashamed of those mistakes. And everyone knows that. .. The government is now dealing with that problem. How many times do I have to tell you? ..

8. THE PASSIVE
The passive is formed using the verb TO BE in the appropriate tense and the PAST PARTICIPLE of the main verb. Only transitive verbs can be used in the passive.

We use: -when the person or people who do the action are unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context. Ex. A parcel was left on my doorstep. The film was made in 1903. Passports must be presented at the border crossing.

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-when the action itself is more important than the person/people who do it, as in news headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, advertisements, instructions, processes Ex. Violators will be heavily fined.

-when we want to avoid taking responsibility for an action or when we refer to an unpleasant event and we do not want to say who or what is to blame. Ex. Mistakes were made in the final copy. The original documents have been misplaced.

CHANGING FROM THE ACTIVE INTO THE PASSIVE:

-the object of the active sentence becomes the SUBJECT in the passive sentence -the active verb remains in the same tense but changes into a passive form -the subject of the active sentence becomes THE AGENT and is either introduced with the preposition BY or is omitted

The gardener was watering the plants. The plants were being watered by the gardener.

Only transitive verbs can be changed into the passive. Ex. I slept well last night.

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We can use the verb TO GET instead of the verb TO BE in everyday speech when we talk about things that happen by accident or unexpectedly: Ex. He gets paid on a monthly basis.

The agent can be omitted when the subject is they, he, someone, somebody, people, one Ex. Nobody found the answer.

With verbs which can take two objects such as bring, tell, send, show, teach, promise, buy, read, offer, give, lend, we can form two different passive sentences Ex. My employer promised me a pay rise. I was promised a pay rise by my employer. A pay rise was promised to me by my employer.

EXERCISES:
1. Put in GET or GOT and the passive participle of these verbs: break, change, divorce, hurt, lose:

If were going out to the theatre, Id better . . Daniel when he tried to break up a fight. I know the way. We wont . Youd better wrap up the glasses, so they dont . They were only married a year before they ..
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2. Choose the correct verb forms in this news report about a storm:

Millions of pounds worth of damage has cause/has been caused by a storm which swept/was swept across the north of England last night. The River Ribble burst/ was burst its banks after heavy rain. Many people rescued/were rescued from the floods by fire-fighters, who received/were received hundreds of calls for help. Wind speeds reached/were reached ninety miles an hour in some places. Roads blocked/were blocked by fallen trees, and electricity lines brought/ were brought down, leaving thousands of homes without electricity. Everything possible is doing/is being done to get things back to normal a spokesman said/ was said.

3. In each of these sentences underline who or what is doing the action (the agent):

The traffic was all heading out of town.

The photo was taken by my brother.

The water was pouring out of the hole.

A policeman has been murdered by terrorists.

We were woken by the alarm.

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The guide led a group of tourists around the castles.

The dog has bitten several people.

9. MODAL VERBS

LOGICAL AASUMPTIONS/DEDUCTIONS

MUST: sure/certain that something is true

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This is used in affirmative sentences and expresses positive logical beliefs

Ex. You have been practicing all day, you must be exhausted.

CANT/COULDNT: certain that something is not true or real They are used in negations and express negative logical assumptions

Ex. That cant be my husband, hes in London.

POSSIBILITY

CAN+PRESENT INFINITIVE: general possibility, something that could theoretically be possible; not used for a specific situation.

Ex. You can have milk or juice.

COULD/MAY/MIGHT + PRESENT INFINITIVE: it is possible/likely, perhaps; used to show something is possible in a specific situation.

Ex. You should keep that phone number, it may be useful one day.

COULD/MIGHT/WOULD+PERFECT INFINITIVE: refers to the past, something that was possible but didnt happen

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Ex. You might have changed jobs.

OBLIGATION/DUTY/ NECESSITY

MUST: expresses duty, strong obligation to do something; something is essential. We generally use MUST when the speaker has decided that sth is necessary

Ex. I must explain what happened.

HAVE TO: expresses strong necessity/obligation; we usually use HAVE TO when somebody other than the speaker has decided that sth is necessary

Ex. The landlord said we have to pay the rent tomorrow.

SHOULD/ OUGHT TO: express duty, weak obligation; these are less emphatic than MUST/HAVE TO

Ex. You should think about it before you make a final decision.

NEED: it is necessary to.

Ex. You need to work until late tonight.

ABSENCE OF NECESSITY:
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NEEDNT/ DONT HAVE/ DONT NEED TO+PRESENT INFINITIVE: it isnt necessary to do sth (in the present/future)

Ex. You dont need to drive me home, I will take a cab.

DIDNT NEED TO/DIDNT HAVE TO: it wasnt necessary to do sth

Ex. He didnt need to/have to buy the newspaper.

NEEDNT +BARE PERFECT INFINITIVE: it was not necessary to do sth but it was done

Ex. You neednt have bought bread.

PROHIBITION:

MUSTNT/CANT: it is forbidden to do sth; it is against the rules/law; you are not allowed to do sth

Ex. You mustnt /cant use a dictionary during the exam.

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EXERCISES:

1.

Put in MUST/HAVE TO/HAS TO. Choose which is best for the situation:

I .to go to the airport. Im meeting someone. You lock the door when you go out. Thereve been a lot of break-ins recently.

Daniel .go to the bank. He hasnt any money. You really .make less noise. Im trying to concentrate.

2.

Write a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first. Use the word in brackets.

Perhaps Susan knows the address. (MAY)

We should be careful. (OUGHT)

I managed to finish all my work. (ABLE) .

I realize that it was a terrible experience for you. (MUST)

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..

Its impossible for Martin to be jogging in this weather. (CAN)

10.

REPORTED SPEECH

REPORTED SPEECH: refers to what someone said, but not with his exact words. We do not use quotation marks; the word that can be used or omitted after the introductory verb like SAY, TELL, SUGGEST Ex. Rachel said (that) she would bake a cake for the party.

SAY-TELL -SAY+NO PERSONAL OBJECT: Joe said he was an actor. -SAY+TO+PERSONAL OBJECT: Joey said to us he was an actor. -TELL+PERSONAL OBJECT: Joey told us he was an actor.

WXPRESSIONS USED WITH SAY, TELL and ASK:

SAY: hello, good morning/afternoon, something/nothing, a prayer, a few words, no more, for certain/sure TELL: the truth, a lie, a story, a secret, a joke, the time, the difference, someones fortune ASK: a question, a favour, the price, after somebody, the time, around, for something/somebody

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In reported speech, personal/possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the meaning of the sentence.

Ex. Phoebe said Im going to sing my latest hit song. Phoebe said (that) she was going to sing her latest hit song.

We can report someones words either a long time after they were said or a short time after they were said.

Up-to-Date reporting

The tenses can either change or remain the same in reported speech

DIRECT SPEECH: Monica said I still havent seen your new house. REPORTED SPEECH: Monica said (that) she still hasnt/hadnt seen our new house.

Certain words and time expressions change according to the meaning as follows: now-then, immediately today-that day yesterday-the day before, the previous day tomorrow-the next/following day this week-that week last week-the week before, the previous week
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next week-the week after, the following week ago-before here-there come-go bring-take

The verb tenses remain the same in reported speech when the introductory verb is the present, future or present perfect. Ex. Ross says Im handsome. Ross says (that) he is handsome. The verb tenses can either change or remain the same in reported speech when reporting a general truth or law of nature. Ex. The teacher said, The tiger belongs to the cat family. The teacher said (that) the tiger belongs to the cat family.

The introductory verb is in the past simple and the tenses change as follows: DIRECT SPEECH PRESENT SIMPLE I know the secret. PRESENT CONTINUOUS I am rehearsing my speech now. REPORTED SPEECH PAST SIMPLE He said (that) he knew the secret. PAST CONTINUOUS He said (that) he was rehearsing his speech at that moment. PRESENT PERFECT I have given up biting my nails. PAST PERFECT He said (that) they had given him promotion at work. PAST CONTINUOUS I was trying to open a jar.
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PAST CONT/PAST PERF. CONT He said that he was trying/had

been trying to open a jar. FUTURE (WILL) I will hang the picture tomorrow. CONDITIONAL (WOULD) He said that he would hand the picture the next/following day.

EXERCISES:
1.

Some of these sentences are correct and some have a word which should not be there:

You promised you wouldnt be late. Susan thought That I cant understand whats happening!. Do you know me what time the coach leaves? Robert wanted to know if did the price included breakfast. Anna insisted on showing us her photos. Someone asked us whether that we had eaten lunch. Nancy told me she had started the job the week before. Nigel said me he wanted to come with us. My friend said she did liked her new flat. Martin asked us for not to wake the baby.

2.

A comedy show called Dont look now! has just closed after five years in Londons West End. Heres what the critics said when it opened five years ago.

Its a marvellous show. The Daily Mail

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Youll love it! The Guardian

You must see it! The Evening Star

It will be a great success! The Telegraph

You might die laughing. The Express

Now report what the critics said. E.g. The Daily Mail said it was a marvellous show.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Eastwood, John, Oxford Practice Grammar, Oxford University Press, London, 2007

Vasiliu, Anamaria, Vasiliu, Porfira, Gramatica lb. engleze- teorie, exercitii,rezolvari-Carminis, Pitesti,2009

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