Unit 7: What date is it today?

115

Exercise 6 (CD1; 72)

Change these phrasal verb sentences by replacing the noun with a
pronoun, as in the first example.
1 I’m going to pay in this cheque.
I’m going to pay it in.
2 Henry’s going to do up the house.
_______________________________________ .
3 Could you turn off the radio?
_______________________________________ ?
4 I need to look up these words.
_______________________________________ .
5 Could you write down the address?
_______________________________________ ?
6 Will you fill in these forms?
_______________________________________ ?
7 We’re going to send back the letters.
_______________________________________ .
8 They’re going to *knock down this building.
_______________________________________ .
9 Tom’s trying to start up the engine.
_______________________________________ .
10 Switch off the lights, please.
_______________________________________ .

Dialogue 5
(CD1; 73)
Su asks Neil if he’s coming to a concert.

SU: Are you going to come with us to see the Stones?

NEIL: Well, I was going to, but it looks like I can’t make it.
SU: Oh dear – why not?
NEIL: It’s on the twenty-fifth, isn’t it?
SU: Yes. Is that a problem?
NEIL: Don’t you remember? It’s our wedding anniversary, and
I’m going to take Fiona out somewhere to celebrate.
116 Unit 7: What date is it today?

SU: Where are you going to take her?

NEIL: I don’t know yet. I want to surprise her.
SU: Well, why don’t you bring her to see the Stones?
NEIL: Fiona hates the Stones.
SU: Then it’ll be a real surprise for her, won’t it?

Idioms
• it looks like means ‘it seems that . . .’ or ‘it’s probable that . . .’

It looks like it’ll rain later

It looks like we’re going to miss the bus
• I can’t make it means ‘I won’t be able to keep the appointment’
or ‘I won’t be able to do what we planned’.

• We use Oh dear to show that we are disappointed about something,

or unhappy about something:
James has broken his leg.
– Oh dear, has he?
Oh dear, we’re going to be late for the concert.
The coffee machine’s broken today, I’m afraid.
– Oh dear.

Dialogue 6
(CD1; 74)
Kelly’s not happy about the milk she’s just bought, so she asks Di
what she thinks.

KELLY: This milk doesn’t seem very fresh, does it?

DI: What do you mean?
KELLY: [Offers Di the bottle] Have a smell. [Di has a smell] What
do you think?
DI: Hmm – you’re right, it smells off. Take it back, I expect
they’ll give you your money back.
KELLY: I hope so!
Unit 7: What date is it today? 117

Language point 45
State verbs
Most verbs in English are ACTION VERBS – they describe an action that
lasts a short period of time and has a beginning and an end. Here are
some examples of action verbs:

say write switch on

eat run go out
read phone look for

But some verbs are not action but STATE VERBS – they describe:

• feelings
• states of mind
• situations that continue over a period of time

Here are some examples of state verbs:

know remember prefer hope

see feel contain taste
have forget mean expect
belong love want smell
think hate seem like

State verbs work differently from action verbs in English – in particular,

they do not normally have a present continuous. Compare these two
sentences:

action Harry’s looking for a newspaper

state Harry wants a newspaper

not ‘Harry’s wanting a newspaper’

In the first sentence, look for describes an action, and we use the
PRESENT CONTINUOUS to show that the action is happening now – go
back and review Language point 21 if you need to remind yourself
about this. In the second sentence, want is a state of mind not an
action, and so we use the PRESENT SIMPLE.
118 Unit 7: What date is it today?

In the same way, present tense questions and negatives are different
for actions and states:

action Is Harry looking for a newspaper?

state Does Harry want a newspaper?
action Harry isn’t looking for a newspaper.
state Harry doesn’t want a newspaper.

because the present continuous uses be as its AUXILIARY, while the

present simple uses do. It is wrong to say:

‘Is Harry wanting a newspaper?’

‘Harry isn’t wanting a newspaper.’

Be careful! Some state verbs have secondary meanings that

! are actions – for example, expect means ‘think (something
will happen)’ (state), but it also means ‘wait for’ (action):

I expect Suzie’ll be late (state)

I’m expecting a parcel today (action)

Another example – see (state) means ‘understand’, but see (action)

means ‘visit’:

I see why you’re upset (state)

I’m seeing my family at the weekend (action)

Exercise 7
Make the correct choice from the brackets to complete the sentences
– you will need to think about whether the verbs are state or action.

1 I (want/’m wanting) to see the new film.

2 James (goes/is going) to the cinema this evening.
3 Brian (isn’t liking/doesn’t like) vegetables.
4 (Is this book belonging/Does this book belong) to you?
5 My diary (contains/is containing) important information.
6 Adrian (doesn’t read/isn’t reading) the paper at the moment.
Unit 7: What date is it today? 119

7 (Do you know/Are you knowing) John Smith?

8 Shamira (sees/’s seeing) her family this evening.
9 I (don’t expect/’m not expecting) any post today.
10 (Do you see/Are you seeing) what I’m saying?

Language point 46
‘bring’ and ‘take’
Bring and take are DIRECTION VERBS, like come and go:

come means: move towards the speaker

bring means: carry (a thing) or lead (a person) towards the

speaker

go means: move away from the speaker

take means: carry (a thing) or lead (a person) away from the

speaker

In Dialogue 5, Su says to Neil:

Why don’t you bring her to see the Stones?

This shows that Su will be at the Stones concert herself, and she is
imagining Neil and Fiona coming to join her there – otherwise she
would have said:

Why don’t you take her to see the Stones?

Then Neil says to Su:

I’m going to take Fiona out somewhere

because he is imagining himself going with Fiona somewhere.

The important thing with bring and take is the attitude or viewpoint
of the person speaking. In the following examples, Fiona is the person
speaking, so it is her position relative to the kitchen (where the plates
are going) that decides whether she uses bring or take:

(Fiona is in the kitchen, Neil is in the living room)

Neil, could you bring the plates into the kitchen?