Unit 2: Visiting a Company

Grammar Past simple: regular forms

Past simple of be
Vocabulary Time expressions
Communication skills Welcoming visitors
Pronunciation Weak forms
Final - ed

Speaking

A. Put these time expressions in chronological order.

Yesterday morning last week at 9 o´clock last night

On Tuesday in 1984 at 6 o´clock this morning

B. Ask a partner questions using Where …? And the time expressions in A above.
e.g. Where were you last night? I was at the cinema.
Where were you in 2000? I was at university in Seattle.

Simple past of be and regular verbs

1 Be
Where were you last week? I was in Paris, and Jan and Bob were on holiday.
Where was Maria? She was in New York.
Was he here yesterday? No, he wasn´t (was not)
Were you at the meeting? No, we weren´t (were not).

2 Regular verbs
To form the simple past of a regular verb, add ed.
To make a question, use the auxiliary did + infinitive.

What did you do? I visited Milan last week, but Nick stayed here.
When did she phone? She phoned me last Monday.
Where did you live before? We lived in Beirut for a few years.
Where did they move to? They moved to Rio de Janeiro.
Work in pairs. Student A, you work at the head office of a large company in Philadelphia.
Student B is one of your salesmen. You are checking the expenses for last week. Look at the
notes below and ask questions to find out more information.

Peter Smith visits Iñaki Linares in Madrid. Iñaki meets him at his hotel. Put the conversation in
the right order, as in the example.

a. Yes, that´s right. You must be Iñaki Linares. Thanks for coming …..
b. By car. I parked outside the hotel. This way ….
c. Yes it is ….
d. Oh I´m sorry to hear that. Did you sleep well? …
e. About 11:30. My plane was late …
f. Yes, thanks, I did. What time is our meeting? ….
g. That would be nice. Do we get to the centre by car or on foot? ….
h. What time did you arrive? …
i. Excuse me. Are you Peter Smith?....
j. At 10.00. Shall we go? We can have a coffee in the city centre …
k. No problem. Is this your first visit here? …..
Work in pairs. Student A, you are meeting a visitor at your office. Student B, you are the visitor.
Have a conversation using the prompts below.

Now change roles and repeat. This time try and continue the conversation.

Reporting on a trip.

Grammar Past simple: Irregular forms

Questions and answers
Vocabulary Verb and noun collocations
Communication skills Writing an e-mail of thanks

Work in pairs. Take it in turns to ask and answer these questions.

1. What day is today? 6. What time was it?

2. What time is it? 7. Were you busy last week?
3. What was the day before yesterday? 8. Every day?
4. What day is tomorrow? 9. What did you do?
5. When was your last lesson? 10. What did you do at the weekend?
Lisa Petachi works for CreditoRosso, an Italian bank. Below is her diary for one week last year.
Use the information in the documents to help you fill in the blanks in the diary.
Answer the questions below using the verbs indicated.

Regular verbs Irregular verbs

The Past simple ends in- ed

1 What did she do on Wednesday morning? Fly

She flow to Washington
2 What time did she leave London? Leave ………………………………………….
3 How did she get to her hotel? Take ……………………………………………
4 Where did she stay? Stay ……………………………………………
5 What did she visit on Thursday? Visit ……………………………………………
6 Where did she have lunch on Thursday? Have ………………………………………….
7 Where did she go on Friday morning? Go ……………………………………………..
8 How did she get to Baltimore? Fly ……………………………………………..
9 What did she do on Sunday morning? Return ……………………………………….
10 When did she write her report? Write …………………………………………

Now make questions for the answers 1-8 below, as in the example. Use the words in the box to
help you. Use each word or phrase at least once.

Where Have dinner with?

Who Meet on Wednesday evening?
Why Visit on Wednesday morning?
What Go with Sally and Harry?
Which airline did she Fly to Baltimore?
When Do with Priscilla Weiner?
What time Have lunch the White House?

She flew to Washington

What did she do on Wednesday morning?
British Airways
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Isaac Cady.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
At 12.30 on Thursday.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
On Friday morning.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
For a sales conference.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
At Kinkheads.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Yes, she did – on Saturday morning.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
On Sunday, Piera writes an e-mail to Isaac Cady. Put the sentences in the correct order, as in the
example.

Now write a similar e-mail. Use the information below.

You went to the USA for a conference. It took place in Los Angeles. You had a daytrip to San
Francisco. Your host was Loreta Fox. On the last night she invited you to a diner at her house. Her
next trip to your country is in August.

The two list below contain words that are often used together. Match a verb from column A
with a noun from column B to make seven common expressions, as in the example.

Make one sentence for each collocation using the simple past tense.
e.g. This morning I sent an e-mail to my boss in London.
Work in pairs. You are going to compare what you did last week. Ask your partner questions to
complete the diary below with his / her information.
e.g. Where did you go on Monday? Where did you travel from? How did you travel?

You can ask up to ten questions.

Describing company structure.

Work in pairs; introduce yourself to the person sitting on your right. Then, together, introduce
yourselves to other pairs.

Match the jobs in the box with the descriptions below.

Managing director personal assistant sales representative training officer

Purchasing manager laboratory technician quality control manager

1. I organize training courses for members of staff – languages, computers, ect.

2. I set up the equipment and to experiments and tests.
3. I am the senior executive.
4. I check that products are made to the right standards.
5. I visit customers and try and increase business.
6. I work with the Managing Director. I am responsible for his diary, organize his travel, and
take calls for him.
7. I buy everything the company needs, from raw material to stationery.
Look at this organization chart.

Try and draw a similar chart for your Company or a Company you Know.
Describe it to a partner.
Most large companies have different departments. Look at the extracts from the documents
above and match them with the appropriate department. There is one for each department.

1. Research and Development ……. 4. Legal …………..

2. Sales and Marketing ……… 5. Human Resources …………
3. Financial …………….. 6. Communications ………….
Can you think of any other departments?
Where do these people usually work?
1. Accountants work in the …………………………… department.
2. Scientists often work ………………………………………….
3. Sales people ……………………………………………
4. Lawyers ……………………………………………………..
5. Training Managers ……………………………………………
Describing your department.

1 Describing the activity of a department.

My department deals with / is responsible for marketing / administration, etc.
We organize tests / studies / research.
We work with customers / suppliers / subsidiaries / other companies in the group.

2 Describing the staffing of a department.

There are … people in the department.
Pierre Ducros is in charge of the department.
I am one of the managers / technicians / secretaries / engineers.

3 Describing the equipment / premises of a department.

We have a large office / three laboratories / a small building.
We use computers / fax / e-mail a lot.
We have a well-equipped laboratory / a lot of technical equipment.