Name: Date: Mark:

LEXICO – GRAMMAR IN FOCUS – 4

EMPHASIS
I. Rewrite the sentences to focus attention on the underlined information. Start with it + be and use an
appropriate wh- word or that.
1 Mark's known for ages that his parent s are coming to stay with us this weekend, but he only told me
yesterday.
 Mark 's known for ages that his parents are coming to stay with us this weekend, but it was only
yesterday that/when he told me.
2 Caroline has been feeling a bit depressed for some time, so I booked a holiday in Amsterdam to cheer her
up.
 Caroline has been feeling a bit depressed for some time, so ...
3 It's not that I don 't want to have dinner with you tonight; I can't come because I've got so much work to
do.
 It’s not that I don't want to have dinner with you tonight; ...
4 I had my wallet when I went into the sports hall, so I lost it somewhere in there.
 I had my wallet when I went into the sports hall, so ...
5 She doesn't find learning languages very easy, and she improved her Spanish only by studying very hard.
 She doesn't find learning languages very easy, and ...
6 I have had great help from my parents and two brothers in doing my research, and I dedicate this thesis
to my family.
 I have had great help from my parents and two brothers in doing my research, and ...

II. Complete the sentences with an appropriate adverb and a form of either come or go.
1 We'd just got to the top of the hill when down came the rain and we got thoroughly soaked.
2 Just when you've bought a computer that you think will last a lifetime, …………… some new software that
needs an even bigger hard disk.
3 Whenever I ask the class a question, …………….their hands and they sir patiently until I choose one of
them to answer .
4 I asked Dave to get three kilos of potatoes from the supermarket and he only bought one, so …………… he
…………… to get some more .
5 After I'd been waiting for an hour, the door opened and …………… the nurse, who said the dentist would
be able to see me now.
6 We'd given up hope of getting the cat out of the tree, when …………… a man with a ladder.
7 As soon as I'd given Jo some pocket money, …………… she …………… to buy sweets from the shop.

III. Read the review and complete the article with phrases from A-L below (not all the phrases are
needed). There is one place where two phrases can be used.
HOLIDAY READS
If you’re looking for some good books to take on holiday and you like a good detective thriller, you can't do
better than the Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy. The three books centre around an unlikely heroine - an
anti-social egotistic young woman called Lisbeth Salander. (1) ..... is make this anti-hero a vulnerable and
therefore not entirely unlikeable character, which is no mean feat. While the writing (or at least the
translation ) is fairly mediocre, (2) ..... hooks the reader - these books are fast-moving, sometimes shocking
journeys into the criminal underworld in the company of Salander and investigative journalist Mikael
Blomqvist. It is through the Blomqvist character (3) ..... with one of the protagonists - he is a hard-bitten
journalist but remains sympathetic and keeps his integrity through a series of misadventures.
The characters and general feel of the novels are introduced in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and
developed through the series. (4) ..... is the graphic violence, although this is kept to a minimum and is
never gratuitous.
This trilogy has enjoyed enormous success, and the one thing (5) ..... , one has to conclude, is the untimely
death of its author, himself an investigative journalist who delved into organised crime and neo-Nazism in
Sweden. This, of course, led to endless conspiracy theories - was Larsson murdered? Had he uncovered
some awful criminal organisation at the heart of Swedish political life? (6) ..... is the entirely natural , albeit
tragic, cause of death – a massive heart attack.

A the thing that some readers might find off-putting

B it is the pace that
C it makes these theories unlikely that
D that has helped fuel its success
E it is the pace what
F that the reader can identify
G why it has been so popular
H what makes these theories highly unlikely
I how the reader can identify
J what some readers might find offputting
K it is what Larsson manages to do
L what Larsson manages to do

IV. In ten of the following sentences there are mistakes with word order and missing auxiliaries. Find and
correct the mistakes, changing the verb form if necessary. Tick(✓) the correct sentences.
1 The team is going to complain about this and so is the referee.
2 Little we knew the full extent of his involvement in the fraud.
3 The sales director is resigning, as most of the marketing team.
4 Over in the corner stood the three-metre tall statue of Lenin.
5 The embassy refuses to intervene. Well, so it be.
6 The council promised to put on a great display. And put they on a great display.
7 Under no circumstances will latecomers be admitted to the auditorium.
8 Now the time is for wise investors to think seriously about buying Treasury Bonds.
9 Rarely the early explorers had encountered such friendly and positive attitudes.
10 Not since Kubrick's 2001 has a director made such an intellectually challenging sci-fi movie.
11 The government's proposals are unrealistic, as those are of the opposition.
12 Opposite this house did the old city walls run.
13 Only after climbing onto the roof he managed to escape from the rising flood waters.
14 No doubt didn't he realise the consequences of his actions.

V. Write new sentences with a similar meaning beginning with one of these words and phrases.
only if barely only with rarely at no time little
only once only in on no account hardly not only not for one moment

1 A new film has not often before produced such positive reviews.
 Rarely has a new film produced such positive reviews.
2 The public was never in any danger.

3 He only felt entirely relaxed with close friends and family.

4 The match won't be cancelled unless the pitch is frozen.

5 I didn't know then that Carmen and I would be married one day.

6 He had only just entered the water when it became clear he couldn't swim.

7 You must not light the fire if you are alone in the house.

8 There was never any competitiveness between the three brothers.

9 I wasn't only wet through, I was freezing cold.

10 I had only ever climbed this high once before.

11 The audience had only just taken their seats when the conductor stepped on to the stage.

12 He has only been acknowledged to be a great author in the last few years.


VI. Correct any mistakes you find in this newspaper item.

TOWN EVACUATED AS FOREST FIRES APPROACH
The people of Sawston were evacuated yesterday as forest fires headed towards the town. Such the heat
was of the oncoming inferno that trees more than 100 metres ahead began to smoulder. Only once in
recent years, during 1994, a town of this size has had to be evacuated because of forest fires. A fleet of
coaches and lorries arrived in the town in the early morning. Into these vehicles the sick and elderly
climbed, before they beaded off to safety across the river. Residents with cars left by mid-morning , as all
non-essential police officers did.
Hardly the evacuation had been completed when the wind changed direction and it became clear that the
fire would leave Sawston untouched. Soon after that were heard complaints from some residents. "At no
time the fires posed a real threat,” said one local man. '1 didn't want to leave my home, and nor most of
my neighbours did." So upset some elderly residents are that they are threatening to complain to their MP.
But Chief Fire Officer Jones replied, "Hadn't we taken this action, lives would have been put at risk. Only
when the fires have moved well away from the town residents will be allowed to return to their homes."

Write the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first. Use the word in brackets, as in the
example.
1 The union representative called the strike. (person)

2 Political analysts do not question his dedication. (isn't)

3 These criminals are totally ruthless. (what)

4 Dickens used to live around the corner. (place)

5 It was the next-door neighbour who complained. (one)

6 The children inherited everything except the house. (only)

7 The climbers reached the peak at six o'clock. (was)

8 They engaged two au pairs to look after the children. (did)

9 Before leaving we switched off the power supply. (last)

10 The company has imposed a ban on private emails. (done)

11 The only thing the customers wanted was to get their money back. (all)

12 The managing director informed the staff of the news. (it)

13 Our mechanics just need five minutes to change the tyres. (all)

14 The introduction of stamp duties led to the loss of the American colonies. (that)
