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BUSINESS ENGLISH

Unit 2: ENGLISH GRAMMER (INTERMEDIATE LEVEL)

2.1 Overview of the Basics English Grammar


2.2 Adjectives – gradable and non-gradable
2.3 Phrasal Verb
2.4 Perfect and continuous Tenses
2.5 Narrative tenses
2.6 Quantifiers
2.7 Intensifiers
2.8 Clauses : Participle and Relative
2.9 Cause and effect
2.10 Modals of deductions and speculations
2.11 Summary

Unit Objectives:

In the previous unit, you studied about the concept of Business English. In addition, the previous unit
briefed about the identification of the language of Business English. At last, the unit also discussed
the learners of Business English.

English is the language of commerce and business .It is the bridge language (lingua franca) that
unites diverse people, companies, and countries, and enables them to communicate in a clear and
effective manner. Business English is an evolved branch of the English language, which enables non-
native English speakers to understand English business terms. This enables them to find working
their desired professions and does their jobs effectively.

The main difference between General English and Business English is that the former teaches daily
conversational English; whereas, the latter teaches the corporate language. This corporate language
is made up of common business terms. It also teaches learners how to perform business-related
tasks in their jobs, such as writing emails, delivering a presentation, talking on telephone to a client,
writing a report, presenting a viewpoint to colleagues and seniors, and conducting meetings.

One need not be a Shakespeare to learn Business English. However, one must have a clear grasp of
the basic concepts of English grammar to quickly understand and master Business English. In this
unit, you will learn about these foundational concepts of English grammar.

2.1 Overview of the Basics English Grammar

The English language is made up of words which are used in speaking and writing the language. A
collection of words that expresses a meaningful thought is called a sentence. For example:

 Walter speaks.
 John is reading.
 He went to the market.

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There are four types of sentences:


1. Assertive sentence: This type of sentence is used to express a statement. For example:
 John is reading.
 Walter is not going.

If the statement is positive, then it is called an affirmative sentence. For example, John is reading.

If the sentence is negative, then it is called a negative sentence. For example, Walter is not going.

2. Interrogative sentence: This type of sentence is used for asking a question. For example:
 Is John reading?
 Is Walter not going?

3. Imperative sentence: This type of sentence is used to give a command. Here, the subject you is
hidden. For example:

 Read that, John.


 Do not go there, Walter.
3. Exclamatory sentence: This type of sentence is used to express a feeling. For example:
 What a fine idea!
 What a bad presentation

Each sentence is made up of two parts:


 Subject: This tells whom or what the sentence is about.
 Predicate: This tells what the subject is or does.

Table 1 shows some examples of subject and predicate:

Table 1: Subject and Predicate

Subject Predicate
John is reading
Walter is not going

There are eight parts of speech. So far, you have learned that words are used to construct a
sentence. Depending on how they are used, the words can be divided into important parts of
speech, which have been discussed as follows:

 Noun: It refers to the naming word.


 Pronoun: It refers to the substituting word.
 Adjective: It refers to the qualifying word.
 Verb: It refers to the saying or action word.
 Adverb: It refers to the modifying word.
 Preposition: It refers to the governing word.
 Conjunction: It refers to the connecting word.
 Interjection: It refers to the exclamatory word.

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2.2 Adjectives – gradable and non-gradable

Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words, making your writing and speaking much
more specific, and a whole lot more interesting. Words like small, blue, and sharp are descriptive,
and they are all examples of adjectives. Because adjectives are used to identify or quantify individual
people and unique things, they are usually positioned before the noun or pronoun that they modify.
Some sentences contain multiple adjectives.

Look at these examples to see how gradable and non-gradable adjectives are used.

It's really cold.


It's absolutely freezing.
This exercise is really difficult.
This exercise is completely impossible.

Try this exercise to test your grammar

Activity 1:

Adjectives: gradable and non-gradable

Choose the correct word from the bracket

1. These shoes are ___ small. ( a bit/ absolutely)

2. The pasta was ___ tasty. (completely/very)

3. The dessert was ___ delicious! (absolutely/very)

Gradable adjectives

Most adjectives are gradable. This means we can have different levels of that quality. For example,
you can be a bit cold, very cold or extremely cold. We can make them weaker or stronger with
modifiers:

She was quite angry when she found out.


The film we saw last night was really funny!
It can be extremely cold in Russia in the winter.

Here is a list of some common gradable adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers a little/a bit → pretty/quite → really/very → extremely

angry, big, boring, cheap, cold, expensive, frightening,


Adjectives
funny, hot, interesting, old, pretty, small, tasty, tired, etc.

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Non-gradable: absolute adjectives

Some adjectives are non-gradable. For example, something can't be a bit finished or very finished.
You can't be a bit dead or very dead. These adjectives describe absolute qualities. To make
them stronger we have to use modifiers like absolutely, totally or completely:

Thank you, I love it! It's absolutely perfect!


Their farm was totally destroyed by a tornado.
My work is completely finished. Now I can relax.

Here is a list of some common absolute adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers absolutely/totally/completely

acceptable, dead, destroyed, finished, free, impossible, necessary, perfect, ruined, unacceptable,
Adjectives
etc.

Non-gradable: extreme adjectives

Adjectives like amazing, awful and boiling are also non-gradable. They already contain the idea of
'very' in their definitions. If we want to make extreme adjectives stronger, we have to
use absolutely or really:

Did you see the final match? It was absolutely amazing!


After 32 hours of travelling, they were absolutely exhausted.
My trip home was really awful. First, traffic was really bad, then the car broke down and we had to
walk home in the rain.

Here is a list of some common extreme adjectives and some modifiers that we can use with them.

Modifiers absolutely/really

amazing, ancient, awful, boiling, delicious, enormous,


Adjectives
excellent, exhausted, fascinating, freezing, gorgeous, terrible, terrifying, tiny, etc.

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2.3 Phrasal Verb

A phrasal verb is a phrase or expression that consists of a verb plus another word or two, like this:

[verb + adverb] e.g: look up

[verb + preposition] e.g: look after

[verb + adverb + preposition] e.g: look forward to

The whole phrase acts as a verb, and has a different meaning to the original verb. For example, look
up, look after and look forward to do NOT mean the same as look.

Because we cannot always work out the meaning of a phrasal verb from its individual words, phrasal
verbs are usually "idiomatic". They are very common in spoken English, and less common in formal
written English.

Look at these examples to see how phrasal verbs are used.

This is the form. Please can you fill it in?


Why are you bringing that argument up now?
Police are looking into connections between the two crimes.
We need to come up with a solution.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Activity 2:

Grammar: Phrasal verbs


Put the words in the correct order.

in it fill Give me the form For you

Phrasal verbs are very common in English, especially in more informal contexts. They are made up of a
verb and a particle or, sometimes, two particles. The particle often changes the meaning of the verb.

I called Jen to see how she was. (call = to telephone)


They've called off the meeting. (call off = to cancel)

In terms of word order, there are two main types of phrasal verb: separable and inseparable.

Separable

With separable phrasal verbs, the verb and particle can be apart or together.

They've called the meeting off.


OR
They've called off the meeting.

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However, separable phrasal verbs must be separated when you use a pronoun.

The meeting? They've called it off.

Here are some common separable phrasal verbs:

 I didn't want to bring the situation up at the meeting.


(bring up = start talking about a particular subject)

 Please can you fill this form in?


(fill in = write information in a form or document)

 I'll pick you up from the station at 8 p.m.


(pick up = collect someone in a car or other vehicle to take them somewhere)

 She turned the job down because she didn't want to move to Glasgow.
(turn down = to not accept an offer)

Non-separable

Some phrasal verbs cannot be separated.

Who looks after the baby when you're at work?

Even when there is a pronoun, the verb and particle remain together.

Who looks after her when you're at work?

Here are some common non-separable phrasal verbs:

 I came across your email when I was clearing my inbox.


(come across = to find something by chance)

 The caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly.


(turn into = become)

 It was quite a major operation. It took months to get over it and feel normal again.
(get over = recover from something)

 We are aware of the problem and we are looking into it.


(look into = investigate)

Some multi-word verbs are inseparable simply because they don't take an object.

I get up at 7 a.m.

With two particles

Phrasal verbs with two particles are also inseparable. Even if you use a pronoun, you put it after the
particles.

Who came up with that idea?


(come up with = think of an idea or plan)

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Let's get rid of these old magazines to make more space.


(get rid of = remove or become free of something that you don't want)

2.4 Perfect and continuous Tenses

Perfect Aspect
We use perfect aspect to look back from a specific time and talk about things up to that time or
about things that are important at that time.

We use the present perfect to look back from the present:

I have always enjoyed working in Italy. [and I still do]


She has left home, so she cannot answer the phone.

We use the past perfect to look back from a time in the past:

It was 2006. I had enjoyed working in Italy for the past five years.
She had left home, so she could not answer the phone.

We use will with the perfect to look back from a time in the future:

By next year I will have worked in Italy for 15 years.


She will have left home by 8.30, so she will not be able to answer the phone.

Present perfect

We use the present perfect:

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

They've been married for nearly 50 years.


She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

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

I've seen that film before.


I've played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.
He has written three books and he is working on another one.

 for something that happened in the past but is important in the present:

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


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

We normally use the present perfect continuous to emphasise that something is still continuing in
the present:

It's been raining for hours.


I'm tired out. I've been working all day.

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Past perfect

We use the past perfect:

 for something that started in the past and continued up to a later time in the past:

When George died, he and Anne had been married for nearly 50 years.
She didn't want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

 when we are reporting our experience up to a point in the past:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.


I was pleased to meet George. I hadn't met him before, even though I had met his wife several
times.

 for something that happened in the past and is important at a later time in the past:

I couldn't get into the house. I had lost my keys.


Teresa wasn't at home. She had gone shopping.

We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up to
a time in the past or was important at that time in the past:

Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.


He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.

Activity 3:

Choose the correct perfect form (present perfect, past perfect or 'will have' + past participle) to
complete each sentence.

1. I was furious when my new computer stopped working. I ___ it for just two weeks! (have
had/had had/will have had)
2. Paul's one of my closest friends. I ___ him since we were at school together. (have known/had
known/will have known)

Continuous aspect

We use continuous aspect:

 for something happening before and after a specific time:

He's getting on the train. (before and after the moment of speaking)
It was a quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.

 for something happening before and after another action:

Mother will be cooking the dinner when we get home.


We were waiting for the bus when it started to rain.

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 for something continuing for some time:

Everybody will be waiting for us.


They had been working hard all day.

 for something happening again and again:

They've been doing that every day this week.


The children were always shouting.
He will be practising the piano every night.

 for something temporary:

We are renting an apartment until our house is ready.


He was working in a garage during the vacation.

 for something new:

We have moved from Birmingham. We're living in Manchester now.


He had left university and was working in his father's business.

 to describe something changing or developing:

Everything has been getting more difficult.


He was growing more bad-tempered every day.

Activity 4:

Continuous aspect
Why do we use the continuous aspect in the sentences? Match the reasons with the sentences.

Something changing or developing Something happening again and again

Something temporary Something new

Something happening before and after another action

1. At three o'clock this morning I was sitting in a taxi on the way to the airport.

2. The number of the world's people living in cities is getting bigger and bigger all the time.

3. Where on earth are my glasses? I'm always losing them!

4. More than 100 people were working in the building when the earthquake struck.

5. We're staying at the Hotel Clementine, near the town square.

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2.5 Narrative tenses

Narrative tenses are verb tenses that are used to talk about the past. They are often found in stories
and descriptions of past events, such as personal anecdotes.

Example
The following are examples of narrative tenses:
Past simple - 'We left on a rainy day'

Past continuous - 'It was pouring down even at midday'

Past perfect - 'It had rained off and on for ten days'

Past perfect continuous - 'We had been waiting to escape for what seemed ages'

In the classroom
Activities used to practise narrative tenses include gap fills, dictations, story writing and reading,
ordering jumbled text, and re-writing events starting at the end.

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BUSINESS ENGLISH

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BUSINESS ENGLISH

2.6 Quantifiers

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of
something: how much or how many.

Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:

Most children start school at the age of five.


We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.

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Quantifiers with count and uncount nouns

We can use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all some more a lot of Enough

no any most lots of Less

We have lots of time.


Joe has lots of friends.
I can't go out. I've got no money.
There was a lot of food but no drinks.

These more colloquial forms are also used with both count and uncount nouns:

plenty of heaps of a load of loads of tons of

We have loads of time.


Joe has plenty of friends.
There was heaps of food.

some and any

We do not normally use the quantifier some in negative and interrogative sentences. We normally
use any:

Do you have any children?


Did you see any friends?
We don't have any children.
I didn't see any friends.
We saw some lions at the zoo, but we didn't see any tigers.

but we can use some for offers and requests:

Would you like some tea?


I want some apples, please.

Quantifiers with count nouns

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

(not) many each either (a) few

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Several both neither fewer

These more colloquial forms are used only with count nouns:

a couple of hundreds of thousands of

I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.


There were hundreds of people at the meeting.

Quantifiers with uncount nouns

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

(not) much a bit of a little

Would you like a little wine?


Could I have a bit of butter, please?

These quantifiers are used particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money and trouble:

a great deal of a good deal of

It will probably cost a great deal of money.


He spent a good deal of time watching television.

Members of groups

We put a noun directly after a quantifier when we are talking about members of a group in general:

Few snakes are dangerous.


Most children like chocolate.
I never have enough money.

but if we are talking about members of a specific group, we use of the as well:

Few of the snakes in this zoo are dangerous.


Most of the boys at my school play football.
He’s spent all (of) the money that we gave him.
Both (of) the chairs in my office are broken.

Note: with all and both, we don’t need to use of. We can say all the … and both the … .

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both, either and neither

If we are talking about two people or things, we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket Two supermarkets More than two supermarkets

The supermarket Both the supermarkets All the supermarkets


was closed. were closed. were closed.

Neither of the supermarkets


The supermarket None of the supermarkets
wasn’t open. was open. were open.

I don’t think the I don’t think either of the I don’t think any of the
supermarket supermarkets supermarkets
was open. was open. were open.

Note that nouns with both have a plural verb but nouns with either and neither have a singular
verb.

every and each

We use the quantifiers every and each with singular nouns to mean all:

There was a party in every street. (= There were parties in all the streets.)
Every shop was decorated with flowers. (= All the shops were decorated with flowers.)
Each child was given a prize. (= All the children were given a prize.)
There was a prize in each competition. (= There were prizes in all the competitions.)

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:

When we were children, we had holidays at our grandmother's every year.


When we stayed at my grandmother's house, we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.

We do not use a determiner with every and each:

Every shop was decorated with flowers. (NOT The every shop)
Each child was given a prize. (NOT The each child)

2.7 Intensifiers

We use words like very, really and extremely to make adjectives stronger:

It's a very interesting story.


Everyone was very excited.
It's a really interesting story.
Everyone was extremely excited.

We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are:

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amazingly particularly
exceptionally remarkably
incredibly unusually

We also use enough to say more about an adjective, but enough comes after its adjective:

If you are seventeen, you are old enough to drive a car.


I can't wear those shoes. They're not big enough.

Intensifiers with strong adjectives

Strong adjectives are words like:

very big enormous, huge

very small Tiny

very clever Brilliant

very bad awful, terrible, disgusting, dreadful

very sure Certain

very good excellent, perfect, ideal, wonderful, splendid

very tasty Delicious

We do not normally use very with these adjectives. We do not say something is very enormous or
someone is very brilliant.

With strong adjectives, we normally use intensifiers like:

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absolutely really
completely quite
exceptionally totally
particularly utterly

The film was absolutely awful.


He was an exceptionally brilliant child.
The food smelled really disgusting.

Activity 5:

Choose the correct intensifier.

1. How was your exam? B: Not good. It was ___ difficult. (absolutely/really)
2. Are you hungry? B: Hungry? I'm ___ starving! (absolutely/extremely)

2.8 Clauses: Participle and Relative

Participle Clauses

Participle clauses enable us to say information in a more economical way. They are formed using
present participles (going, reading, seeing, walking, etc.), past participles (gone, read, seen, walked,
etc.) or perfect participles (having gone, having read, having seen, having walked, etc.).

We can use participle clauses when the participle and the verb in the main clause have the same
subject. For example,

Waiting for Ellie, I made some tea. (While I was waiting for Ellie, I made some tea.)

Participle clauses do not have a specific tense. The tense is indicated by the verb in the main clause.

Participle clauses are mainly used in written texts, particularly in a literary, academic or journalistic
style.

Present participle clauses

Here are some common ways we use present participle clauses. Note that present participles have a
similar meaning to active verbs.

 To give the result of an action


The bomb exploded, destroying the building.
 To give the reason for an action
Knowing she loved reading, Richard bought her a book.
 To talk about an action that happened at the same time as another action
Standing in the queue, I realised I didn't have any money.

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 To add information about the subject of the main clause


Starting in the new year, the new policy bans cars in the city centre.

Past participle clauses

Here are some common ways that we use past participle clauses. Note that past participles normally
have a passive meaning.

 With a similar meaning to an if condition


Used in this way, participles can make your writing more concise. (If you use participles in this way,
…)
 To give the reason for an action
Worried by the news, she called the hospital.
 To add information about the subject of the main clause
Filled with pride, he walked towards the stage.

Perfect participle clauses

Perfect participle clauses show that the action they describe was finished before the action in the
main clause. Perfect participles can be structured to make an active or passive meaning.

Having got dressed, he slowly went downstairs.


Having finished their training, they will be fully qualified doctors.
Having been made redundant, she started looking for a new job.

Participle clauses after conjunctions and prepositions

It is also common for participle clauses, especially with -ing, to follow conjunctions and prepositions
such as before, after, instead of, on, since, when, while and in spite of.

Before cooking, you should wash your hands.


Instead of complaining about it, they should try doing something positive.
On arriving at the hotel, he went to get changed.
While packing her things, she thought about the last two years.
In spite of having read the instructions twice, I still couldn’t understand how to use it.

Activity 6:

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1.______ lunch, I sat in the garden with a drink. (Making/Made/Having made)


2. ______for the bus, she slipped on some ice and fell over. (Running/Run/Having run)
3. On ___ her former owner, the dog ran across the room to greet him. (Seeing /seen/
having seen)

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Relative clauses

Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned.

Defining relative clauses give us essential information – information that tells us who or what we are
talking about.

The woman who lives next door works in a bank.


These are the flights that have been cancelled.

We usually use a relative pronoun or adverb to start a defining relative


clause: who, which, that, when, where or whose.

who/that

We can use who or that to talk about people. that is more common and a bit more informal.

She's the woman who cuts my hair.


He's the man that I met at the conference.

which/that

We can use which or that to talk about things. that is more common and a bit more informal.

There was a one-year guarantee which came with the TV.


The laptop that I bought last week has started making a strange noise!

Other pronouns

when can refer to a time.

Summer is the season when I'm happiest.

where can refer to a place.

That's the stadium where Real Madrid play.

whose refers to the person that something belongs to.

He's a musician whose albums have sold millions.

Omitting the relative pronoun

Sometimes we can leave out the relative pronoun. For example, we can usually leave
out who, which or that if it is followed by a subject.

The assistant [that] we met was really kind.


(we = subject, can omit that)

We can't usually leave it out if it is followed by a verb.

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BUSINESS ENGLISH

The assistant that helped us was really kind.


(helped = verb, can't omit that)

Activity 7:

Choose all the correct options.

1. The woman ___ called said she'd ring again later.(who/which/that)

2. One of the people ___ I admire the most is Nelson Mandela.(who/that/whose)

3. That's the man ___ daughter is a professional footballer.(who/which/that/whose)

2.9 Cause and effect


(source:- https://englishgrammarhere.com/)

Sentence connectors improve your writing. They add variety and sophistication to your style of
writing, we use several different words to show cause and effect. Connectors are words or groups of
words that help us connect words, phrases or sentences. Cause and effect is a relationship between
events or things, where one is the result of the others. They are a combination of action and
reaction. When we talk about an effect resulting from a certain cause,

We use expressions such as: because, since, as, owing to, due to… In addition, while an effect is
produced by a cause, cause is the producer of an effect. The cause can be a person, object, situation,
or event that can result in something, while an effect is the result of the actions of the person or the
outcome of some chain of events that have happened. The cause will in a way explain the reason
why the effect happened in the first place. The cause naturally precedes an effect, while the effect
will always follow it.

Cause and Effect Linking Words

There are three main types of linking words: transitions, conjunctions, and prepositions.

Conjunctions; The most common conjunctions are because, as, since, and so. Words of “because”,
“since” introduce a cause; “so” introduces an effect.

 I stayed at my office because it was raining.

Transitions; The most common transitions are therefore, consequently, and as a result.

It was raining, therefore I stayed my office.

Prepositions; The most common prepositions are due to and because of.

I stayed at my office due to the rain.

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CAUSE Linking Words

Conjunctions followed by a complete sentence:

‘Because’ usually follows the main clause. As and since are very similar. As is less formal than since.
They are used when the reason is known.

Connectors followed by a noun, a pronoun or a gerund:

Due to and owing to are similar but there is a different. Due to is adjectival (it follows a noun or
pronoun), whereas owing to is adverbial (it complements a verb). Owing to is interchangeable with
because of. ‘As a result of’ and ‘because of ’can be used.

Sam could not attend us owing to his illness.

EFFECT, RESULT or CONSEQUENCE Linking Words

“Therefore” used mainly in formal situation. When you start a sentence with these (as a result,
therefore) words, you need to put a comma after them. “So” used less formal situation. That’s why,
for this reason, consequently are other examples.

Example Sentences about Cause and Effect Connectors;

 What would you like to buy for your birthday?


 I want to be a teacher so that I can teach child.
 I spent all of my money in the first week and consequently I had no money to buy a new
book.
 There was a problem in the office, therefore assistant went home late.
 Sally is pregnant with their son, her husband contributes of her.
 They sacked the doctor in order to bring about some new changes.
 For this reason, no one can blame president of country.
 This plant comes from a tropical land.
 They are very hungry, due to the strike.

Activity 8:
Complete the sentences using the phrases.

As well as At the same time The absence of In case of In the form of

Explanations: Describing location, structure, procedure

1. Better quality products________ higher yields characterise crops grown hydroponically.

2. In either case ______ water in the base of the retort can be detected by a free flow of steam.

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3. The farm is characterised as sustainable as it employs techniques that increase biodiversity

and _________ minimise the environmental impact.

4. Standards can be particularly beneficial __________ software for Safety-Critical Systems

5. A molecule of carbon is lost, ____ carbon dioxide.

2.10 Modals of deductions and speculations

We can use modal verbs for deduction – guessing if something is true using the available
information. The modal verb we choose shows how certain we are about the possibility. This page
focuses on making deductions about the present or future.

must

We use must when we feel sure that something is true or it's the only realistic possibility.

This must be her house. I can see her car in the garage.
He must live near here because he always walks to work.
Come inside and get warm. You must be freezing out there!

might, may, could

We use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible but we're not sure.

She's not here yet. She might be stuck in traffic.


He's not answering. He could be in class.
We regret to inform you that some services may be delayed due to the bad weather.

They all have the same meaning, but may is more formal than might and could.

can't

We use can't when we feel sure that something is not possible.

It can't be far now. We've been driving for hours.


She can't know about the complaint. She's promoted him to team leader.
It can't be easy for him, looking after three kids on his own.

Note that these verbs, like all modal verbs, are followed by an infinitive without to.

Activity 9:

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

1. The house isn't hard to find. It's the red one at the end. You _____ miss it!(Must/might/can’t)
2. What an amazing trip! You _____ have some incredible photos.(Must/might/can’t)

Prof. Vishakha Kuwar 22


BUSINESS ENGLISH

3. That _____ be the vegetarian option. It's got chicken in it.(Must/may not/can't)
4. Have you got your passport? I'm not sure if you'll need it but they _____ ask you for ID.
(Can’t/might/must)
5. Who left their laptop on my desk? It _____ be Mel's – she's working at home
today.(Must/could/can’t)

2.11 Summary

In this unit, we learned about the basics of the English language grammar, the English
language is made up of eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb,
preposition, conjunction, and interjection. At the intermediate level English language
grammar ,the phrasal verbs means in English traditional grammar, a phrasal verb is the
combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories — a verb and a
particle, such as an adverb or a preposition — to form a single semantic unit on a lexical or
syntactic level. Examples: turn down, run into, sit up. The most important tenses is perfect
and continuous aspects of the past and present tense. The quantifiers and Intensifiers is like
Expressions of quantity. Intensifiers and qualifiers are words that can be used with adverbs
or adjectives to add extra meaning. The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must,
ought to, shall, should, will, and would. Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals only exist in
their helping form; they cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence.

Self-Assessment Questions:

Modal Signs

For each sign, complete the sentence using a phrase from the box. Each sentence includes examples
of modal verbs for obligation, permission and possibility.

No Smoking

1. You in here.

Admission Free

2. You don't have .

Prof. Vishakha Kuwar 23


BUSINESS ENGLISH

Keep In Cool Place

3. You this cool.

Keep Off The Grass

4. You on the grass.

Fresh Fruit For Sale

5. You fresh fruit here.

Private Property

6. You without permission.

Cheaters Will Be Expelled

7. You from other students.

New Course Begins Tonight

8. You new course tonight.

Don't Iron

9. You this shirt.

Donations Welcome

10. You to pay.

Relative Clause Gap Fill


Choose from the relative pronouns listed below:
which - whose - who - when - where

1. Dallas is the city Kennedy was shot.

2. Bill Clinton was the president wife was called Hillary.

Prof. Vishakha Kuwar 24


BUSINESS ENGLISH

3. Sunday is the day most countries respect a day of rest in the week.

4. Rotterdam is the port is the busiest in Europe.

5. Yasser Arafat is the person is the Palestinian leader.

6. Robinson Crusoe is the fictional character companion was Man Friday.

7. Smog is the thing is a combination of fog and smoke, or pollution.

8. Rum is the strong drink is associated with the Caribbean.

9. The Euro is the currency is used in most of Europe.

10. Napoleon is the man wife was called Josephine.

11. A metallurgist is a person studies metals.

12. Hiroshima is the place the first atomic bomb was dropped.

13. 1914 is the year the First World War started.

14. Your mother-in-law is the person son or daughter is married to you.

15. A stapler is a thing you use to attach papers together.

Courtesy:

1. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/business-english
2. https://www.esl-lounge.com/
3. https://www.englishclub.com/
4. https://englishgrammarhere.com/
5. https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/
6. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

Prof. Vishakha Kuwar 25

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