INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL I

Remedial del Diagnóstico

 Introducción

Nowadays, English language has become one of the most preferred languages to be learnt. This is because
every time, more and more enterprises and companies are seeking for employees that can talk in English, so
they can expand their business with other countries. More and more job interviews are being managed to
be in English, as most of the population lie about their abilities with the language. But, knowing how to read
English is not enough for getting a better job (where English is required), but also you have to know how to
communicate orally, and some important aspects of speaking English are knowing how to create sentences
and some grammar aspects.
In this document, you are going to review how to create sentences and some of the most used tenses used
in a job interview, so you are going to be able to focus more in your pronunciation rather than struggling
with grammar aspects and how to create sentences (as those points are already cover in this document).

I. STRUCTURE

1. SENTENCE ORDER

1.1 S + V + C + (O):

Subjects, Verbs and Complements or Objects

The basic parts of a sentence are the subject, the verb, and (often, but not always) the object. The subject is
usually a noun—a word that names a person, place, or thing.

a. Subject: It is usually a noun—a word (or phrase) that names a person, place, or thing.

b. Verb: It usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being.

See if you can identify the subject and the verb in each of the following short sentences:

The hawk soars.

The boys laugh.

My daughter is a wrestler.

The children are tired.

In each of these sentences, the subject is a noun: hawk, boys, daughter, and children. The verbs in the first
two sentences—soars, laugh—show action and answer the question, "What does the subject do?" The verbs
in the last two sentences—is, are—are called linking verbs because they link or connect the subject with a
word that renames it (wrestler) or describes it (tired).

c. Pronouns: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns in a sentence. In the second sentence below,
the pronoun she stands for Molly:

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1. Molly danced on the roof of the barn during the thunderstorm.

2. She was waving an American flag.

As the second sentence shows, a pronoun (like a noun) may serve as the subject of a sentence.

The common subject pronouns are I (yo), you (tú), he (él), she (ella), it (esto /a), we (nosotros /as), and
they (ellos / ellas).

d. Objects: In addition to serving as subjects, nouns may also function as objects in sentences. Instead of
performing the action, as subjects usually do, objects receive the action and usually follow the verb. See if
you can identify the objects in the short sentences below:

The girls hurled stones.

The professor swigged coffee.

Gus dropped the iPad.

he objects—stones, coffee, iPad—all answer the question what: What was hurled? What was swigged?
What was dropped?

As the following sentences demonstrate, pronouns may also serve as objects:

1. Before eating the brownie, Nancy sniffed it.

2. When I finally found my brother, I kissed him.

The common object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.

e. Complement: In grammar, a complement is a word or word group that completes the predicate in a
sentence.

In contrast to modifiers, which are optional, complements are required to complete the meaning of a
sentence or a part of a sentence.

Below you'll find examples of two common types of complements: subject complements (which follow the
verb be and other linking verbs) and object complements (which follow a direct object).

Subject complements:

- My uniform is torn and dirty.

- My uniform is a T-shirt and jeans.

- "Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."(Jules de Gaultier)

- "Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke."(Lynda Barry)

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Object complements:

- Jimmy's teacher called him a troublemaker.

- The teacher's remark made me angry.

- "The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names,
too."

(Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1885)

Remember that you can always, create a sentence using a Subject + Verb + Object or Complement.

2. GRAMMAR TENSES

2.1 PRESENT SIMPLE:

Grammar Spot:

For creating a sentence in Present Simple, we use the following structure:

( + ) Subject + verb + complement.

( - ) Subject + do / does + not (don’t / doesn’t)+ verb in infinitive + complement.
( ?1 ) Do /Does + subject + verb ininfinitive + complement + ?
( ?2 ) Wh- + do / does + sujeto + verb in infinitive + complement + ?

Have you noticed that sometimes you can use do or does? Maybe you are wondering: When can I use do or
does? Here is the explanation for that question:

S (+) (-) (?)

Verb ending in:
He does not (doesn’t) Does
“-s”
She + +
“- es”
It verb in infinitive verb in infinitive
“-ies”

S (+) (-) (?)

I
do not (don’t) Do
You
Verb in infinitive + +
We
verb in infinitive verb in infintive
They

You have to use do when using the following pronouns: I, you, we and they.

You have to use does when using the following pronouns: he, she and it.

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Uses of the Present Simple:

We use the Present Simple tense:

a. We use the present simple when something is generally or always true.

 People need food.
 It snows in winter here.
 Two and two make four.

b. Similarly, we need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent. (See the
present continuous for temporary situations.)

 Where do you live?

 She works in a bank.
 I don't like mushrooms.

c. The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly. We often use adverbs of frequency (such as
“often”, “always” and “sometimes') in this case, as well as expressions like 'every Sunday' or 'twice a
month”.

 Do you smoke?
 I play tennis every Tuesday.
 I don't travel very often.

d. We can also use the present simple for short actions that are happening now. The actions are so short
that they are finished almost as soon as you've said the sentence. This is often used with sports
commentary, or in demonstrations.

 He takes the ball, he runs down the wing, and he scores!

 First I put some butter in the pan and turn on the cooker.

2.2. Past Simple:

Grammar Spot:

For creating a sentence in Past Simple we have to use the following sentence:
( + ) Subject + verb in past simple + complement.
( - ) Subject + did + not + verb in infinitive + complement.
( ?1 ) Did + subject + verb in infinitive + complement + ?
( ?2 ) Wh- + did + subject + verb in infinitive + complement + ?

Important: When using the verb in Past Simple, we have to know that there are two types of verb in English:

Regular Verbs: To conjugate these verbs into Past Simple, you have to add an “-ed” at the end of the verb:
For instance: work: worked – need: need – travel: travelled.

Irregular Verbs: This kind of verbs have different forms when you need to conjugate them into Past Simple.
For example: know: knew – cut: cut – buy: bought.

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The only way of differentiate the regular and irregular verbs are learning by heart the irregular verbs, as they
a less than the regular verbs.

Uses of the Past Simple:

We use it whenever we want to talk about the past and we do not have any special situation that means we
should use the past perfect, present perfect or past continuous.

Finished actions, states or habits in the past.

 We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we have a finished time word
(yesterday, last week, at 2 o'clock, in 2003).

- I went to the cinema yesterday.

- We spent a lot of time Japan in 2007.

We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we know from general knowledge that the
time period has finished. This includes when the person we are talking about is dead.
- Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.

- The Vikings invaded Britain.

 We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past that we have introduced with the present
perfect or another tense. This is sometimes called 'details of news'.

- I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.

- I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

 For stories or lists of events, we often use the past simple for the actions in the story and the past
continuous for the background.

- He went to a café. People were chatting and music was playing. He sat down and ordered a coffee.

2.3. Present Perfect:

Grammar Spot:

For creating a sentence in Present Simple, we use the following structure:

( + ) Subject + verb + complement.

( - ) Subject + have / has + not (haven’t / hasn’t)+ verb in p.p. + complement.
( ?1 ) Have / Has + sujeto + verb in p.p. + complement.
( ?2 ) Wh- + have / has + sujeto + verb in p.p. + complement.

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Have you noticed that sometimes you can use have or has? Maybe you are wondering: When can I use have
or has? Here is the explanation for that question:

He has verb in p.p.

She has verb in p.p.

It has verb in p.p.

I have verb in p.p.

You have verb in p.p.

We have verb in p.p.

They have verb in p.p.

You have to use have when using the following pronouns: I, you, we and they.

You have to use has when using the following pronouns: he, she and it.

Important: For regular verbs, you only need to add an –ed at the end of the verb. If it is an irregular verb,
you have to use the list of irregular verbs to know their past participle form.

Uses of the Present Perfect:

We use the present perfect tense:

 For something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.

She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

 For something we have done several times in the past and continue to do:

I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.

He has written three books and he is working on another one.

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We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

I have worked here since I left school.

 When we are talking about our experience up to the present:

Note: We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:

My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.

Note: and we use never for the negative form:

Have you ever met George?

Yes, but I’ve never met his wife.

 For something that happened in the past but is important at the time of speaking:

I can’t get in the house. I’ve lost my keys.

Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has gone shopping.

I’m tired out. I’ve worked all day.

We use the present perfect of be when someone has gone to a place and returned:

A: Where have you been?

B: I’ve just been out to the supermarket.

A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?

B: No, but I’ve been to Los Angeles.

But when someone has not returned we use have/has gone:

A: Where is Maria? I haven’t seen her for weeks.

B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She’ll be back tomorrow.

We often use the present perfect with time adverbials which refer to the recent past:

just; only just; recently;

Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.

We have just got back from our holidays.

or adverbials which include the present:

ever (in questions); so far; until now; up to now; yet (in questions and negatives)

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 Have you ever seen a ghost?

Where have you been up to now?

Have you finished your homework yet?

No, so far I’ve only done my history.

WARNING:

We do not use the present perfect with an adverbial which refers to past time which is finished:

I have seen that film yesterday.

We have just bought a new car last week.

When we were children we have been to California.

But we can use it to refer to a time which is not yet finished:

Have you seen Helen today?

We have bought a new car this week.

Conclusión

For speaking, it’s really important to know very well the basic grammar aspects of English, specially how to
create sentences and the most used grammar tenses. If you don’ manage them, you’re not going to be able
to produce sentences correctly, or even worst, you’re not going to be able to produce sentences at all.
For speaking, you first need to learn word structure, grammar aspects and then pronunciation. Speaking is a
process that involves a lot from your brain, and dominating the basic aspects would help you a lot when
learning to pronounce English.

Bibliografía

Beckwith, S. (s.f.). Perfect English Grammar. Obtenido de http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

Council, B. (s.f.). LearnEnglish. Obtenido de https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en
Kellogg, M. (1999). WordReference. Obtenido de http://www.wordreference.com
Beckwith, S. (s.f.). Perfect English Grammar. Obtenido de http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/

Referencia del presente documento:

Instituto de Ciencias Tecnológicas CIISA, Departamento Online (2019).INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL I.
Remedial del Diagnóstico. Santiago.

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