Chapter 1 - Nouns | Possible Answers

Exploring English

The precise answers to these questions will depend on the languages (and texts) you choose.
However:

a. depending on the language, it may be primarily the context that makes nouns identifiable,
but they may also be identifiable due to:

o articles and the words that precede them;

o inflection, for example, endings that show that words are nouns, or which classify
them for example as plural, as a direct object or as feminine;

o the use of capital letters.

b. Many languages make no distinction between singular and plural forms in the word. Other
languages have a more complex form of marking number in the word. (As well as singular
forms there may be dual forms, and forms for plurals below or above a certain number.)

c. Not all languages make a grammatical distinction between what is countable and
uncountable, and those that do may well make distinctions which are different from English
(in many languages, for example, soap is countable).

d. Answers to these questions will depend on the language you have chosen

e. In many European languages collective nouns are always considered to be singular.

f. Answers to these questions will depend on the language you have chosen

g. Answers to these questions will depend on the language you have chosen

Exploring how learners use English

Answers to this question will depend on the proficiency of the learners and, possibly, on their first
languages.
The more closely related the language is to English, the more similarities there are likely to be -
even to the point of some words being spelt in exactly the same way. The fact that so much else is
similar may lead learners who know a closely related language to be distracted by what differences
there are. For example, speakers of Latin-based languages may expect information to be countable
since the same word may exist and be countable in their language.

Course materials

Materials vary greatly in how much attention they pay to the grammatical features of nouns.

They sometimes focus on grammatical features of nouns in sections on 'word-building' (for

example, adding suffixes such as -ion, -ness, -ence, or -ance to verbs or adjectives to make them
into nouns).

Ways of making plural forms of nouns usually receive some attention in the early stages of an
elementary course, and countability and uncountability are often taught later at this level, at the
same time as there is and there are. When the material deals explicitly with further aspects of
grammar which are affected by the countable/uncountable distinction (for example, much/many; a
few/a little, fewer/less), this may then be revised.

Course materials

Choose a coursebook for each of two different levels or for different age groups. Consider how
much attention is paid to adjectives in each. You may find the following checklist of points useful.

a. Are words taught in groups according to meaning? (For example, the book might teach
adjectives to describe aspects of personality such as cheerful, sentimental, strong-willed or
food such as tasty, delicious, salty, spicy.)

b. Are adjectives taught with their opposites (for example, hot/cold)?

c. Are distinctions made between words with similar meaning (for example, classic/classical)?

d. Is attention paid systematically to suffixes and prefixes?

e. Is attention paid to comparative and superlative forms?

f. Is attention paid to word order in groups of adjectives?

g. Is attention paid to whether adjectives are gradable or ungradeable?

h. Is attention paid to ways of intensifying adjectives?

Chapter 2 - Adjectives | Possible Answers

Course materials

Coursebooks vary very much in the way they approach the teaching of vocabulary and this exercise
aims to help you identify the amount and type of attention your books pay to adjectives.

Some books deal explicitly only with the formal characteristics of adjectives (for example, the
'adjective endings' we can use to make adjectives from nouns; comparative and superlative
forms). Others introduce only words that happen to occur in texts which are used. Other books
have a more systematic approach to vocabulary - words may be introduced according to how
commonly they are used in the language, or according to particular topics.

At early levels, adjectives may be introduced in the context of describing, for example , people,
shapes, and colours. At higher levels, there may be more analysis of how adjectives are used in
descriptive writing to achieve particular effects, and there may be opportunities for learners to use
adjectives in this way. More attention is usually paid to subtle distinctions in meaning at the higher
levels. Whereas at lower levels, attention to opposites may be confined to one word (for example,
happy/unhappy), at higher levels the material is more likely to explore how the context of use
affects our choice. For example, the following may all be the 'opposite' of happy: unhappy; upset;
depressed; miserable; wretched; sad.

| Chapter 3 - Adverbs | Possible Answers

Exploring English

The aim of this exercise is to raise awareness, so that you notice how adverbs are used in different
styles of English more, and your response to these questions will depend on the texts you choose.

In general, the more formal the language and the more carefully language is used to express
complex ideas:

 the greater the use of adverbs in structuring the text and marking logical relationships
between ideas;

 the less use is made of adverbs of manner as a means of adding descriptive detail.

Obviously, the topic also affects the frequency and choice of adverbs.
Course materials

Responses to these questions will also vary according to the materials chosen. Generally, attention
is paid to adverbs less systematically and comprehensively than to many other aspects of grammar
(for example, tenses, passive forms and conditional sentences).

Some courses pay explicit attention to adverbs only in certain functional and grammatical contexts
(for example, adverbs of frequency may be taught only in the context of the present simple tense;
adverbs of manner may be taught primarily in order to practise comparative and superlative
constructions).

Focusing adverbs and attitude markers may be taught on something of an ad hoc basis in relation
to aspects of complex sentence construction and writing skills.

Different courses sometimes emphasise very different aspects of adverbs. For example, one course
may focus on sentence positions while another may focus more on how adverbs are formed.

Chapter 4 - Articles | Possible Answers

Exploring English and Exploring how learners use English

The aim of these exercises is not to make specific points about how we use articles but to
encourage you to notice more how we use them and to become more sensitive to the problems
your learners have.

Answers to the precise questions will depend on the material you choose.

Course materials

Answers to this exercise will also depend on the material you choose.

a. You may find that the use of articles is dealt with piecemeal and far >from
comprehensively. At low levels, attention is often focused mainly on choosing between a
and an. Subsequently, attention is often paid to articles only in the context of fixed
expressions (watch [] TV, play [] football, play the piano etc.).

b. Coursebooks generally present a selection of 'rules of thumb'. These are chosen according
to the level of the intended users and the problems they are expected to have. We
sometimes need to be careful that these rules of thumb don't mislead learners. (For
example, 'Use the if there is only one of something.') Some rules of thumb may specifically
target European learners - for example non-European learners may wonder why a/an
before occupations receives explicit attention.
 c. Not many coursebooks pay attention to this.

d. Gap-filling exercises are very popular. These help learners to memorise rules and allow the
teacher to see how well they have been understood. Sometimes lack of context makes
these exercises artificial and difficult to do.

Chapter 5 - Quantifiers | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Your answers to this question will depend on the materials you choose. This exercise will probably
serve to clarify and add more context to your understanding of the way quantifiers are used, but
you may also encounter idiosyncratic or non-standard uses.

Course materials

Answers to this question will depend upon the materials you choose.

Simplified rules of thumb for using some and any and much, many and a lot of are often taught at
an elementary level. (For example, that some is used in affirmative sentences and any is used in
negative statements and questions.) These enable learners to use them without making mistakes,
but also ignore alternative correct uses.

Other quantifiers may be introduced at intermediate levels.

At higher levels, quantifiers often receive little or no attention, and often don't feature in Contents
sections and Indexes, although they may be found in vocabulary lists.

In general, the use of quantifiers doesn't receive a lot of attention, perhaps because although it is
'difficult' in terms of effective communication, it is less important than many other aspects of
grammar.

Chapter 5 - Quantifiers | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Your answers to this question will depend on the materials you choose. This exercise will probably
serve to clarify and add more context to your understanding of the way quantifiers are used, but
you may also encounter idiosyncratic or non-standard uses.

Course materials
Answers to this question will depend upon the materials you choose.

Simplified rules of thumb for using some and any and much, many and a lot of are often taught at
an elementary level. (For example, that some is used in affirmative sentences and any is used in
negative statements and questions.) These enable learners to use them without making mistakes,
but also ignore alternative correct uses.

Other quantifiers may be introduced at intermediate levels.

At higher levels, quantifiers often receive little or no attention, and often don't feature in Contents
sections and Indexes, although they may be found in vocabulary lists.

In general, the use of quantifiers doesn't receive a lot of attention, perhaps because although it is
'difficult' in terms of effective communication, it is less important than many other aspects of
grammar.

Chapter 6 - Comparatives and superlatives | Possible Answers

How learners use English

People are often surprised to discover how much disagreement there can be on some of these
points.

In a study of 30 people, everyone considered the following to be completely incorrect:

I. In this superlative statement most has to be used instead of more

In the same study, the following were also considered dubious or incorrect:

II. quicker is an adjective form. Some people prefer more quickly (or faster).

III. People usually try to avoid using the subject pronoun in this position. They prefer faster
than me or faster than I do. Some people consider this 'incorrect'.

IV. People usually prefer older to more old.

V. People usually prefer more pleasant to pleasanter.

VI. People usually prefer quickest to most quick.

VII. People usually prefer in to of.

Some people feel that j is dubious (the use of more rather than most). However, this is quite
normal where of the two of them is implied.

Exploring English

a. It is quite difficult to find natural contexts in which a lot of comparative and superlative
forms are used together, and you may find that many comparisons are made without the
use of these forms.

b. Many of the comparative forms are likely to be followed by than ...., although this is also
often only implied.

c. Comparative forms often are followed by in ..... or by a relative clause, but it is difficult to
predict what you will find in the text you choose.

d. It is difficult to predict the answer to this question.

e. Most native speakers of English generally weaken er, est and than. The /t/ in est often
disappears, particularly before consonants.

Course materials

a. The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are often introduced at an elementary
level. The comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are often introduced at a pre-
intermediate level. The use of more and most with nouns and noun phrases is often
'slipped in' together with their use with long adjectives.

b. Many courses choose to give clear, concrete rules of thumb (for example, use er and est
with all one syllable adjectives), at least at the lower levels. These can't be entirely
accurate in interpreting all the ways we use the forms. Most courses wouldn't aim to be
comprehensive. They prefer to present the relevant information a little at a time. In some
courses the choices we make with two syllable adjectives are glossed over.

c. This is often taken for granted and receives little or no attention.

d. At lower levels, examples are often chosen that provide a very narrow view of how we use
these forms.

e. This varies greatly from course to course.

 f. This varies greatly from course to course.

g. Attention is often paid to a useful selection of ways of intensifying and qualifying these
forms at intermediate-upper intermediate level.

h. Few materials provide much opportunity of this kind.

i. Most materials provide opportunities for practising these forms. This practice is sometimes
rather contrived (it may involve 'transforming' sentences, or writing short texts with an
unnaturally very high concentration of comparative and/or superlative forms).

Chapter 7 - Prepositions | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Listen to a few minutes of someone speaking naturally (for example, not reading aloud or reciting a
poem), and if possible record them so that you can repeat the listening. How clearly do they
pronounce the prepositions? How easy or possible is it to recognise them on the basis of sound
alone?

Researching how people use English

Devise a brief questionnaire to find out people's reactions to variant and/or non standard use of
prepositions. Make a list of short phrases and read these aloud to four or five other proficient users
of English. Ask them to respond immediately by saying 'normal', 'acceptable' or 'unacceptable'. The
following is an example for you to use or adapt.

It's different to mine.

We discussed about it a lot.
It's similar with mine.
We got off of the bus at the traffic lights.
I looked up the street.
Who did you come with?

a. To what extent do the different people agree with each other?

b. Do they agree with you?

c. Do their opinions in any way conflict with what you teach?

If you have access to a corpus of English and a concordancing programme, you can also compare
these responses to the data available in the corpus.

Course materials
Examine two or more coursebooks from the same series:

a. At what stage in the course do prepositions first appear? Is attention paid to them explicitly
at this stage?

b. At what stage in the course are learners first required or asked to produce prepositions?
Are the prepositions simply contained in larger units of language (for example, I come from
....... . might be taught as a functional expression) or are they explained in their own right?

c. When verbs, adjectives or nouns are taught, is attention paid to prepositions which
normally accompany them?

Chapter 8 - Verbs | Possible Answers

Comparing dictionaries

Learners' dictionaries usually provide a lot of information about the grammar of words, although
learners often don't know this or they may find the process of tracking it down too complicated to
be worthwhile. Information usually given includes what kind of verb it is, for example, transitive
(object verb) or intransitive (no object verb); what kind of construction follows the verb (for
example which preposition); the spelling of -ing forms and past tense/past participle forms.
Learners' dictionaries use different ways of presenting this information. Dictionaries that are not
intended especially for learners who are speakers of other languages usually contain far less
grammatical information.

Exploring English

Answers to this question will depend on the texts you choose. However, you are likely to find that
what determines the kinds of verbs used is the topic more than the kind of text (newspaper; novel
etc.). Discussion of past or future events, for example, normally involves extensive use of auxiliary
verbs (to form the tenses), and description of feelings will usually involve more state verbs and
more no object verbs than description of action.

Exploring how learners use English

Learners at this level usually have a good awareness of these factors, although for some of them
this may be instinctive rather than conscious. Analytically-minded learners may welcome raising
their awareness of these factors, and may use this awareness consciously in understanding and
expressing themselves in English. Other learners, equally effective but less analytical, may find this
kind of categorisation activity unhelpful or even confusing.

Chapter 9 - Multiword verbs and multiword verb expressions | Possible Answers

Dictionaries
This exercise aims to familiarise you with the help that different dictionaries can provide both
learners and teachers, and also to recognise their limitations.

Responses to these questions will depend very much on which materials you look at and which
multiword verbs and verbal expressions you choose to research.

Exploring English

Your responses to these questions will depend on the materials you choose - coursebooks vary
considerably. Some deal with these forms very thoroughly and systematically, looking at all
aspects of form and use and providing varied opportunities for practice. Others largely ignore them
except as rather odd items of vocabulary to be glossed only as they crop up in texts.

Course materials

Responses to these questions will also depend on the choice of texts. However, unless very obscure
kinds of text are used, you are likely to find examples of multiword verbs and verbal expression in
all the texts, and some of these will probably not be directly replaceable by single-word verbs.

Chapter 10 - Extension Exercises | Possible Answers

Researching how people use English

Construct a brief questionnaire to use with a few native speakers or other proficient users of
English in order to find out how they use or perceive that they use modal verbs. You could use or
adapt the following, or could explore other aspects of modal verbs.

Example questionnaire

What differences, if any, are there between the meaning or use of the sentences in the following
groups?

i. He may come here tomorrow.

He might come here tomorrow.
He could come here tomorrow.

ii. He has to be here early.

He must be here early.
He ought to be here early.
He should be here early.
He needs to be here early.
 iii. We ought to be leaving, oughtn't we?
We ought to be leaving, didn't we?
We ought to be leaving, shouldn't we?

Comparing dictionaries

Choose one 'pure' modal verb and one semi-modal verb.

Look each of these up in at least two learners' dictionaries. The aim of this exercise is for you to
decide which of these two dictionaries you would most recommend to learners at different levels.

a. How clearly, accurately and fully do the dictionaries define and illustrate the different
meanings of the different verbs?

b. How clearly, accurately and fully do the dictionaries describe and illustrate the formal and
syntactic characteristics of the verbs?

Course materials

Choose a coursebook intended for learners in a particular year of studying English or of a particular
level of English (for example, pre-intermediate).

Before looking at it closely, consider:

 which uses of which modal verbs might you expect to be taught at this level?

 how detailed and comprehensive would you expect the material to be in terms of subtleties
of form and meaning (including analysis of differences between different modal verbs)?

Look carefully at the material and answer the following questions.

a. How clearly does the contents page or the index enable you to find the relevant pages in
the book?

b. Are:

o different meanings and functions of each verb considered together?

o different verbs with similar meanings and functions considered together?

 o the different meanings and functions of the different verbs all considered
separately?

How much contrasting of different uses and different verbs is there (if at all)?

c. How clearly, accurately and fully does the material define and illustrate the different
meanings and functions of the different verbs? How appropriate is this?

d. What sorts of opportunities does the material provide for the students to practise using the
verbs? Is there a main focus on choosing correct forms? Are there opportunities for the
students to use the verbs in order to understand or express ideas and opinions, or to
obtain or communicate information?

Chapter 11 - Infinitive and -ing forms of words | Possible Answers

Course materials

Some materials pay little or no explicit attention to the use of infinitive and -ing forms. Sometimes
the attention is haphazard and occurs in the context of other topics (for example, the use of
infinitives and -ing forms as the subjects of sentences and clauses may be taught within exercises
on writing skills). At the opposite extreme, some materials may attempt to teach a full list of the
reasons for using infinitives or -ing forms in one block.

What is appropriate will depend on the learners and the extent to which this area of grammar
causes them difficulty. While the topic should probably never be completely ignored, it may well be
the case that for many learners the most useful strategy is to integrate the teaching of these forms
into other parts of the syllabus so that as they learn certain verbs, for example, they also learn
which verbs are followed by infinitives and which are followed by -ing forms.

Some learners may internalise the rule through exposure to examples that, for example,
prepositions need to be followed by -ing forms rather than infinitives. Perhaps it is not necessary or
helpful for these learners to pay attention explicitly to this. Equally, more analytically-minded
learners may find the distinction between gerunds and present participles useful, but others may
find it confusing.

Exploring how learners use English

The result of this experiment will depend on the learners. Learners who are more aware of the
need to choose between infinitives and -ing forms may find it easier to learn the rules, but other
learners may find they instinctively know what is right without consciously applying rules they have
learned.

There may be a lot of individual variation in how the students respond to the teaching.

Chapter 12 - The present | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Responses to this question will probably depend on who you speak to and what they talk about.
You may find that it is not always immediately clear why the speaker chooses one tense rather
than another. You may also find that the explanations you arrive at may challenge some of the
'simpler' rules of thumb we teach in the initial stages of learning. Depending on who you speak to,
you might also come across non-standard forms (for example, * I speaks; * He don't like ...; * We
ain't going ...).

Course materials

Responses to this question will depend on the materials you choose and will probably be affected
by: · the quality of the materials; · the levels they are intended for and the assumptions that they
make about what the learners already know; · the first language background of the learners they
are intended for (for example materials produced for Brazil might be influenced by the fact that
Brazilian Portuguese has a form like the present continuous, which is also quite similar to it in
meaning).

At lower levels, it is probably inappropriate for materials to teach more than one use of a particular
form at a time. At higher levels the material may present useful exercises in which learners identify
and account for the uses of different forms in context.

The rules of thumb given to learners (for example, the present perfect is sometimes treated in
materials as though it is an intermediate tense between present and past, with only one use) vary
both in terms of how accurate they are, and how much they have been simplified. In some cases
you may feel you would want to be more (or less) precise than the material is.

Materials vary considerably in terms of the texts and examples which are used and the
opportunities they provide for practice. These differences often reflect different cultural values (for
example, whether or not 'discovery learning' is considered useful and appropriate), as well as the
reasons people are learning English (for example, if it is primarily to pass an examination which
doesn't require speaking or writing, practice may be restricted to very controlled exercises).

Chapter 13 - The future | Possible Answers

Exploring English

How you respond to this question will depend on the samples of language use you choose.
However, you will almost certainly find tense choices that wouldn't be predicted by the standard
rules of thumb.

Course materials

How you respond to this question will depend on which courses you choose. The meanings of
different forms are often introduced and taught very separately and clearly, and practice exercises
often reinforce the distinctions the book makes. Books sometimes lead us to paint a very black and
white picture of how we use future tenses.

Comparing reference grammars

How you respond to this question will depend on which reference grammars you choose and also
on which ways of expressing future time you consider.

Grammars sometimes consider the meanings of the different forms as being completely separate.
They don't always acknowledge how our choices can be affected by stylistic or other factors.

Chapter 14 - The past | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Responses to these questions will depend on what the person you interview says. The person is
likely to use a mixture of present perfect and past simple forms, as well others (for example, past
perfect, used to or would). It should be possible to work out why the speaker has chosen the
different tenses in most instances, even where these appear to contradict the 'rules old thumb' we
sometimes teach. Probably, there will also be instances where alternative choices could be made
without making much change to meaning or emphasis.

Course materials

Precise responses to these questions will depend on the materials you choose.

Materials vary quite a lot in how they explain tenses. Some try to provide an overall general rule
(for example, 'the present perfect is used for a completed event within an unfinished period of
time') while others divide the uses up more into separate 'sub-rules' (for example, 'the present
perfect is used in cases where there is 'present evidence' of the action as in She has broken her
leg'). Some materials give potentially misleading explanations (such as 'the present perfect is used
to describe recent events'). Materials do not always distinguish between when we use the present
perfect to describe past events, and when we use it to describe events that continue until or into
the present.

Materials vary in the kinds of texts and practice activities they provide. At lower levels, texts are
usually specially written or are very much adapted. This is because, in reality, we are often very
subjective about time when we choose between tenses, and so it is difficult to find real texts and
conversations where the way we use tenses consistently follows the rules of thumb we want our
learners to grasp and use.

In general, materials produced in Britain pay a great deal of attention to differences between the
past simple and present perfect. People sometimes argue that far too much attention is paid to this
distinction. They argue that mistakes rarely lead to a breakdown in communication - the context
usually makes it clear what feature of past time is under consideration.
Chapter 15 - The past: past perfect, past continuous and past perfect continuous | Possible
Answers

Exploring English

Answers to these questions will depend on the precise nature of the language used, but will
probably confirm:

 the element of free choice sometimes present in choosing between past continuous and
past perfect continuous;

 the importance of contextual clues in determining whether we use past simple or past
perfect simple.

Course materials

Precise answers to these questions will depend on the materials you choose.

If there are significant differences between the two books, these may be due to the 'level' of the
material, but they may also be due to differences in the intended audience (for example, speakers
of a language which is closely related to English as opposed to speakers of a very different
language) or to differences in what the authors or publishers believe about language and about
learning.

a. Coursebooks usually provide clear rules of thumb. Some books can give the impression
that:

o an action in the past continuous is always interrupted by another action;

o we use the past perfect for the earlier of any past events (whether or not this is
already clear).

b. Particularly at lower levels, these are often constructed specifically to illustrate the
simplified rules that are taught.

c. This generally true of more modern publications, especially those intended for adult
learners.

d. Materials usually suggest that there is only one possibility in any instance.

e. This is standard practice.

 f. This varies considerably.

g. These tenses (especially past continuous and past perfect simple) often receive a lot of
attention.

h. This depends on the precise needs and difficulties of particular groups of learners

Chapter 16 - The past: used to and would | Possible Answers

Comparing languages

Although answers to these questions will depend on the language you choose, few languages make
the same distinctions as English.

Many European languages have an imperfect tense which is used to describe events, activities and
states which take place over a period of time. Depending on the context, this can often be used to
translate used to and would (and also the simple past and past continuous when they are used to
describe extended actions).

Some languages use expressions involving nouns (similar to had the habit of ......) or adjectives
(similar to was accustomed to ....) in contexts where it is really important to stress the habitual
nature of something. Some learners often avoid using either used to or would, and they may over-
use expressions like was accustomed to .....

Exploring English

Answers to these questions will depend on the texts you choose. Most writing reveals a large
degree of personal stylistic choice on the part of the writer. In careful and well-crafted writing,
there is usually some variety of forms. Repetition of one form or the other may be in order to
create a particular effect.

Course materials

Precise answers to these questions will depend on the materials you choose.

a. At higher levels materials often compare and contrast uses of used to and would, usually in
revision exercises which assume that the two forms have been studied independently at
earlier stages of learning.

b. Used to is often taught at an early intermediate level, and this use of would is often taught
at a much higher level, when it is assumed that the learners are already confident with
other uses of would.
 c. This varies considerably.

d. Materials sometimes fail to make this clear, giving learners the impression that they must
use one of these forms to talk, for example, about past habits.

e. This varies considerably, but often includes very controlled 'gap-filling' exercises and freer,
extended narratives.

Chapter 17 - Reported and direct speech | Possible Answers

Exploring language

Answers to these questions will depend on your choice of text or speaker, but it is likely that the
more the user wishes to dramatise the event, the more direct speech will be used. The use of
reporting verbs is likely to be greater where there is a concern to summarise or to interpret, and
there is likely to be a greater variety of reporting verbs used in the description of an interaction
where feelings and attitudes change and shift.

Course materials

Answers to these questions will depend on the coursebook you choose.

a. Books often provide very little in terms of natural models for reporting speech.

b. Books tend to be very strict about these 'rules'.

c. Students are often required to transform sentences (usually from direct to reported
speech), and this kind of exercise is generally more common than more open-ended
activities.

d. The effectiveness of any material may also depend on examinations the students are
preparing for (if the examination requires them to transform isolated sentences, then they
will need practice in this) and on the first language background of the students (for
example, whether or not reporting speech in their own language requires the use of special
forms of the verb).

Chapter 17 - Reported and direct speech | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Responses to these questions will vary according to the data you choose. It is likely that a high
proportion of the sentences you record will include variants on the basic four conditional types, and
that you find plenty of examples of conditional clauses occurring without corresponding if clauses.
Certain 'variants' (for example mixed Type 1 and Type 2 conditionals) are more likely in spoken
and informal contexts, while other variants (for example, had + subject + past participle; were +
subject + infinitive) are more common in written and more formal contexts.

Course materials

At elementary and intermediate levels, materials tend to teach each of the four basic types as
independent entities. Variants are often introduced, if at all, together and at higher levels.

Some materials introduce the past tense to refer to an 'unreal present' after wish (for example, I
wish I were more intelligent) together with its use after if. The Type 2 conditional is usually
introduced idiomatically at a low level in expressions with like (for example, I'd like a coffee,
please).

Most books devote quite a lot of space to mechanical exercises in which learners can practise using
the correct forms. These exercises are often primarily written.

Index | Chapter 17 - Reported and direct speech | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Responses to these questions will vary according to the data you choose. It is likely that a high
proportion of the sentences you record will include variants on the basic four conditional types, and
that you find plenty of examples of conditional clauses occurring without corresponding if clauses.
Certain 'variants' (for example mixed Type 1 and Type 2 conditionals) are more likely in spoken
and informal contexts, while other variants (for example, had + subject + past participle; were +
subject + infinitive) are more common in written and more formal contexts.

Course materials

At elementary and intermediate levels, materials tend to teach each of the four basic types as
independent entities. Variants are often introduced, if at all, together and at higher levels.

Some materials introduce the past tense to refer to an 'unreal present' after wish (for example, I
wish I were more intelligent) together with its use after if. The Type 2 conditional is usually
introduced idiomatically at a low level in expressions with like (for example, I'd like a coffee,
please).

Most books devote quite a lot of space to mechanical exercises in which learners can practise using
the correct forms. These exercises are often primarily written.

Chapter 19 - Basic principles and patterns | Possible Answers

Exploring English

The aim of this exercise is not to lead to particular conclusions about the grammar we use in
particular kinds of text, but to raise general awareness of some of the ways we construct
sentences. Your precise answers to this question will depend on the texts or extracts from texts
you choose.

It is likely that this exercise will reveal how rarely, on the whole, we use simple clauses - most
sentences or spoken utterances are complex sentences, which involve some form of subordination
(for example, I think that you should stop now) or embedding (for example, Give the prize to the
first person to finish), or some changes to the 'basic' order of clause constituents. It is also likely to
reveal how often we place adverbials in positions other than at the end of the clause.

Comparing grammars

The aim of this exercise is for you to become (more) aware that there many different ways of
describing sentence constituents and word order. Your precise answers to this question will depend
on the reference grammars you choose.

Although they may still differ in important points of detail (some grammars, for example, include a
variety of kinds of subordinate clauses as objects), and although they may use terminology in
different ways (for example, some grammars refer to and classify adverbials as adjuncts, conjuncts
and disjuncts, and some refer to everything that can follow different kinds of transitive and linking
verbs as complements), there is generally rough agreement about what constitutes the basic
constituents of sentences in grammars written for learners and teachers of English. In general, the
more academic the grammar, the more likely it is to use terms that are not used here, and the
more likely it is to make distinctions that aren't made here.

Learners' and teachers' grammars published in Europe generally pay relatively little attention to
sentence structure and word order. Perhaps they assume that the target users will be speakers of
European languages in which sentence structure is relatively similar to that of English. Books
produced outside Western Europe may pay more detailed and systematic attention to this aspect of
grammar. They may make detailed comparisons between the structure of English and another
language (for example, English and Chinese).

Course materials

A quick glance at the Contents page of coursebooks produced in Western Europe usually reveals a
preoccupation with aspects of the verb phrase (especially tenses). Although some attention is
usually paid to the order of words within this and also within the noun phrase or in question forms,
there is often no systematic treatment of sentence constituents and word order.

Coursebooks produced for specific regional markets (for example, China or Japan) may pay more
attention to this aspect of grammar, particularly if they use the learners' first language and are
written by or in collaboration with teachers from the learners' language community. These
materials sometimes include very perceptive analyses of differences between the constituent
structures of the two languages.
Exploring English

Chapter 20 - Major variants | Possible Answers

Responses to these questions will depend on the texts chosen. The aim of the exercise is to raise
awareness of how, how often and why we vary the order of sentence constituents rather than to
make particular points about different kinds of text. The exercise is likely to show up how flexibly
we choose the place of adverbials in clauses.

Course materials

1. Responses to this question will depend on the materials chosen.

Materials often concentrate on the forms of there as a dummy subject (for example, There is a ....
There aren't any ..... etc.) at beginners and elementary levels. However, if they pay any attention
to meaning at all, they tend to focus on the existential use of this form (See Chapter 19.2.4 .)

On the whole, little attention is paid to the choices we can make. These 'variants' are often
particularly neglected in the context of spoken English. Some people see this neglect as a
'problem'. Other people argue that if we teach the basic principles and patterns, learners will
choose to make changes to these automatically when they become sufficiently confident.

Devices for spotlighting information are sometimes taught at upper intermediate and advanced
levels, particularly in materials which aim to prepare learners for written examinations. They tend
to focus on the form of the constructions rather than on reasons for choosing them.

2. Most materials introduce question forms tense by tense, and often they pay no attention to
underlying patterns or principles.

Chapter 21 - Passive constructions | Possible Answers

Exploring English

How you answer this question will depend on which language you choose. In many languages a
number of different ways will be used to translate these different sentences. In some languages
there is no distinction between active and passive forms of the verb, while in others, for example, a
special particle or word may be used to indicate 'acted upon-ness', a reflexive form of the verb may
be used or there may be changes to the order of words.

The passive constructions in these sentences are:

i. Is ..... spoken?
 ii. .... have .... cut.

iii. .... get caught.

iv. ..... were .... born?

To be born is now a fossilized expression. The original meaning of bear (bear a child) is
largely obsolete in other contexts.

v. was .... made?

vi. is believed; worn

We understand hair [which was] worn.

Course materials

How you answer this question will naturally depend on the materials you choose.

Very often courses introduce passive constructions with present, simple past and, perhaps, present
perfect tenses at a low intermediate level. They then introduce them with other tenses at higher
intermediate levels and also teach the causative at this level. They sometimes don't consider the
use of get at all - or only in passing or as an 'add on' at an advanced level. They often pay a lot of
attention to the form of passive constructions and relatively little to their use. Practice may, in
some cases, consist primarily of transforming active sentences into passive ones.

Exploring how learners use English

The results of this task will naturally depend on the experience and preferences of the learners,
and perhaps also on what their first language is. The task is intended to help you to develop a
greater awareness of your students' needs in relation to passive constructions.

Chapter 22 - Discourse markers | Possible Answers

Exploring English

The aim of this exercise is to sensitise you to the use of discourse markers in English, and the
answers to these questions will depend on the material you choose to analyse.

Course materials

Answers to these questions will depend on the materials you choose. The amount of space that
books devote to discourse markers varies considerably, as does the amount of detail about
meaning and sentence position, and the opportunities for analysis and practice.
ex | Chapter 23 - Ellipsis and substitution | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Responses to questions a - b will naturally depend on your choice of materials and, in d, on your
choice of language.

There are striking similarities between ellipsis and substitution in English and in closely related
languages such as French. However, even in French there are also differences in which words can
be left out and which are used as substitutes.

In languages which are less closely related, where for example clause structure and pronoun
systems are radically different, there are very significant differences and very few similarities.

Course materials

Again, precise responses to these questions will naturally depend on your choice of materials.

a. It is often not easy - sometimes simply because it is not there.

b. It would be logical to deal with aspects of the topic under all or any of these categories. In
fact, if attention is paid at all, it tends to be in the context of writing or intensive reading.

c. This tends to be dealt with explicitly at advanced levels, although we can (and often,
perhaps, should) use materials to draw the attention of learners to this at much lower
levels.

d. This varies not only according to the course, but also to the level. A range of aspects of this
topic tends to be treated together only at advanced levels.

e. This varies considerably but learners are sometimes required to use, for example, ellipsis in
sentence combining exercises (for example, to practice reduced relative clauses) before
much attention has been paid to recognising and understanding these features.

f. This varies considerably.

g. On the whole, little attention is paid to this. For learners whose first language is similar to
English in this respect, this may, however, be appropriate (particularly in the case of
ellipsis)

Chapter 24 - Finite and adverbial clauses | Possible Answers

Exploring English

The answers to these questions will depend on your choice of texts. The aim of the exercise is to
sensitise you to how (often) we use conjunctions rather than to make a particular point about our
reasons for choosing one (type of) conjunction rather than another.

Course materials

The answers to these questions will depend on your choice of materials. In general, not a lot of
attention is paid to this aspect of grammar at lower levels. At higher levels, particularly if the
material prioritises writing skills, opportunities are often provided for using subordinating
conjunctions in controlled exercises. However, attention is not always paid to precise differences of
meaning or to the effect of changing the order of clauses.

If your students want or need to develop their skill in this aspect of constructing sentences, you
may need to focus their attention on how sentences are constructed in the texts they read rather
than relying only on explicit presentations of this aspect of grammar and exercises in your teaching
materials. You may also need to reformulate and discuss alternatives to the way your students
construct sentences in written compositions.

Chapter 25 - Noun classes | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Precise answers to these questions will depend on the text you choose. Noun clauses occur
frequently in most examples of language use, and the examples you find are likely to confirm that
we tend to leave that out, particularly in informal conversation and when we are using short and
relatively simple sentences.

Course materials

Many coursebooks teach noun clauses only in the context of reported speech. Others confine the
attention they pay to noun clauses to a separate grammar section (and may include non-finite
infinitive and -ing clauses under the heading 'noun clauses').

Isolated sentences are often used to provide examples of noun clauses, and practice often consists
of re-writing what someone has said, converting it into reported speech. It is in the context of
reported speech that materials also often provide guidance on choosing whether or not to use that.

Chapter 26 - Relative clauses | Possible Answers

Exploring English

Choose five or six pages of any written text. Skim through these pages and identify all the
examples of relative clauses.

a. How often are relative pronouns used in contexts where they could be left out?

b. How often is that used in contexts where another relative pronoun (for example, who,
whom, which) could be used?

c. Would any of these relative clauses pose particular problems of comprehension for your
students?

Exploring how learners use English

Investigate the difficulties your students have with relative clauses by carrying out one or more of
the following tasks. (You may also want to devise and use additional or alternative tasks.) These
tasks all presuppose that your students have a reasonable level of English already.

a. Ask a class to carry out an exercise in constructing relative clauses. Use materials from the
students' coursebooks if they have these. Alternatively, you could ask them to:

o combine sentences to make single sentences containing main and relative clauses
(for example, combine the following using a relative clause: I saw a child. The child
was crying);

o complete sentences with gaps (for example, fill the gap with a relative pronoun if
one is necessary: I saw a child ______ was crying).
Ask them to indicate which answers (if any) they are:

o sure are correct;

o particularly unsure about.

Analyse their work to identify any common problems. Interview students to discover how
aware they are of their difficulties. Consider to what extent their difficulties are related to
the difference between their own language and English. (You can carry out this exercise
before a lesson or lessons focusing on relative clauses, and can then repeat it
subsequently.)

b. Over a period of time analyse the compositions that students in one of your classes write.
 o How much do they use relative clauses?

o How correctly do they use them?

o Do they avoid using them?

Teach a lesson which aims to help them with problems you have identified. Use the
term relative clause.

o What changes in their output do you notice subsequently?

c. Arrange to interview a small group of students. Ask them:

o to write down examples of different kinds of relative clause;

o to tell you when we use relative clauses and how we construct them;

o what problems they are aware of in understanding sentences which include relative
clauses;

o what problems they have in using relative clauses.

Course materials

Choose materials which aim to teach or practise relative clauses. You may need to look through a
coursebook or a series of coursebooks in order to identify those parts which deal with this aspect of
grammar.

a. What attention does the material pay to the reasons for using relative clauses?

b. What help and guidance is provided in understanding relative clauses?

c. Are relative clauses introduced bit by bit over a period of time or are they considered as a
single, major, topic?

d. Does the material make it clear that we use relative clauses in spoken as well as written
English? Are there spoken as well as written practice activities?

e. How clear are the explanations?

 f. How comprehensively are features of relative clauses explored?

g. How much of the material concentrates on aspects of form?

h. Does the material deal with defining and non-defining clauses separately from relative
clauses?

i. Does the material encourage learners to use relative clauses other than in controlled
practice activities?

Chapter 27 - Non-finite clauses | Possible Answers

Exploring how learners use English

Answers to these questions will depend very much on the learners concerned, on the text chosen,
and on the particular features of non-finite clauses present in that text.

Learners whose first language resembles English in clause structure most closely, and those
learners who read extensively in English, are likely to have an advantage.

Many learners, nonetheless, have some difficulty in understanding non-finite clauses (if only
initially), and feel insecure about using them

Again, answers to this will depend on the learners, and partly also on the nature of the task you
set.

Generally, unless the learners are extremely proficient and have had specific practice in this aspect
of grammar, they are likely to avoid using non-finite clauses - at least to some extent.
Alternatively, you may find that they try to use them but do so awkwardly or inappropriately.

Learners who are aware of their difficulties are not necessarily those who have the greatest
difficulties.

Course materials

Books produced in English-speaking countries for a local (for example, European in the case of the
UK) or international market, often pay little attention to this aspect of clause structure.

Materials produced 'in country', which make specific contrasts between English and the first
language of the students (for example, bilingual materials produced in China) sometimes pay more
attention to this and other features of clause construction. Sometimes these concentrate on
aspects of structure rather more than on considerations of meaning and function.
| Chapter 28 - Defining and non-defining phrases and clauses | Possible Answers

Exploring English

How often we use defining and non-defining clauses and phrases partly depends on our personal
style, and also on how conversational the writing is - the more conversational the style, the less we
probably use non-defining relative clauses.

It will probably be clear in most cases whether phrases in apposition, and participle and relative
clauses are defining or not. In the case of other kinds of phrase and clause, you are likely to find
that this often isn't clear, or that it isn't even a relevant issue.

If there are several non-defining clauses, it is probable that commas will not be used in some of
these. This is particularly likely where it is clear from the context that the clause doesn't have a
defining function.

Course materials

Many materials introduce and consider defining and non-defining groups of words only in the
context of relative clauses. They tend to concentrate on the difference in function between defining
and non-defining clauses, on the use of commas and on the non-use of that in non-defining
clauses.

Specially devised pairs of contrasting sentences are often used to illustrate the punctuation and the
meaning. Practice is often confined to joining sentences together to make one sentence containing
a main clause and a relative clause.

Perhaps to avoid complicating the topic, materials often choose to ignore that relative clauses are
not necessarily either defining or non-defining.

Chapter 29 - Integrating the elements | Possible Answers

Exploring learners' problems with comprehension

Precise responses to this question will depend on the students involved and on the materials
chosen. By carrying out experiments like this, however, we often learn to anticipate problems
better, and learners sometimes learn to recognise problems (for example, they may think they
have understood, but their 'understanding' may be wrong).

Exploring how learners use English

Again, precise responses to this question will depend on the students involved and the task which
is set. The following, however, are some of the points teachers often discover through carrying out
experiments like this:

 students don't use constructions in particular contexts that we would expect - although
they may be able to manipulate the form correctly in guided exercises, they lack the
confidence to use them more freely;

 there are great differences in awareness among students. The students who are more
aware of their own strengths and weaknesses tend to be more competent, although there
are sometimes quite dramatic exceptions to this general rule;

 personality is often a key factor - some people really prefer to 'play safe', and others, for
example, will go all out to get across their point despite lacking the appropriate ways to
express themselves;

 in multilingual classes, students with different first language backgrounds will have
different kinds of advantages (students who speak a language which is closely related to
English may be able to assume a great deal more about the formation of complex
sentences, but they are also more likely to be 'tricked' by differences that they don't
expect).

Course materials

Precise responses to this question will depend on the materials you choose. Materials produced for
European or international distribution often pay attention primarily only to general reading skills,
and unravelling meaning in complex sentences is neglected (perhaps because complex sentence
construction is not such a significant problem for learners who already speak a European
language).

Learners are often given practice (frequently of a fairly mechanical kind) in forming subordinate
(adverbial) clauses using conjunctions, and in forming relative clauses. However, less attention is
sometimes paid to other kinds of clause (for example, non-finite clauses and noun clauses), and
often the topic of when and why we use complex sentences is neglected.