curs practic lb engleza vlad l
TRANSCRIPT
CONTENTS
UNIT 1............................................................................................................4
Reading.......................................................................................................4
Ways with words........................................................................................5
Grammar Reference....................................................................................6
Present Simple........................................................................................6
Present Continuous.................................................................................7
Verbs which Do not Take a Continuous Aspect in English...................8
Controlled Practice.....................................................................................9
UNIT 2..........................................................................................................12
Reading.....................................................................................................12
Ways with Words.....................................................................................13
Grammar Reference 1...............................................................................16
Past Simple...........................................................................................16
Past Continuous....................................................................................17
Past Simple and Past Continuous.........................................................18
Controlled Practice 1................................................................................18
Grammar reference 2................................................................................22
The Ordinal Numeral............................................................................22
The Fractional Numeral........................................................................23
The Multiplicative Numeral.................................................................23
Controlled Practice 2................................................................................23
UNIT 3..........................................................................................................24
Reading.....................................................................................................24
Ways with Words.....................................................................................24
Grammar Reference 1...............................................................................27
Present Perfect Simple..........................................................................27
Present Perfect Simple and Past Simple...............................................28
Controlled Practice 1................................................................................29
Grammar Reference 2...............................................................................32
Present Perfect Continuous...................................................................32
Controlled Practice 2................................................................................33
PROGRESS TEST.......................................................................................36
UNIT 4..........................................................................................................39
Reading.....................................................................................................39
Ways with Words.....................................................................................40
Grammar Reference..................................................................................42
Indefinite Pronouns...............................................................................42
The Personal Pronoun...........................................................................43
Controlled Practice...................................................................................43
UNIT 5..........................................................................................................45
Reading.....................................................................................................45
Ways with Words.....................................................................................45
Past Perfect Simple...............................................................................47
Past Perfect Continuous........................................................................47
Controlled Practice 1................................................................................48
Grammar Reference 2...............................................................................50
The Imperative......................................................................................50
Controlled Practice 2................................................................................50
UNIT 6..........................................................................................................52
Reading.....................................................................................................52
Ways with Words.....................................................................................52
Grammar Reference..................................................................................53
Future Simple.......................................................................................53
Future Continuous................................................................................54
Be Going to Future...............................................................................54
Future Simple or Be Going to?.............................................................55
Other Ways of Referring to the Future................................................55
Future Perfect.......................................................................................56
Future Perfect Progressive....................................................................56
Other future references.........................................................................56
Controlled Practice:..................................................................................56
UNIT 7..........................................................................................................59
Reading.....................................................................................................59
Ways with Words.....................................................................................59
Grammar Reference..................................................................................59
The Passive Voice................................................................................59
Further Points on the Passive Voice.....................................................60
Causative Forms...................................................................................61
Controlled Practice...................................................................................62
PROGRESS TEST 2....................................................................................71
UNIT 8..........................................................................................................76
Reading.....................................................................................................76
Ways with Words.....................................................................................76
Grammar Reference 1...............................................................................77
The Conjunction...................................................................................77
Coordinate Conjunctions......................................................................77
Subordinate Conjunctions.....................................................................78
Controlled Practice 1................................................................................78
Grammar Reference 2...............................................................................79
Number of nouns..................................................................................79
Controlled Practice 2................................................................................80
UNIT 9..........................................................................................................83
Reading.....................................................................................................83
Ways with Words.....................................................................................83
Grammar Reference..................................................................................85
The Noun..............................................................................................85
Gender..................................................................................................85
Countable/uncountable nouns...............................................................85
Nouns which may be uncountable or countable...................................86
The Genitive/Possessive Case..............................................................86
Controlled Practice...................................................................................88
UNIT 10........................................................................................................94
Reading.....................................................................................................94
Ways with Words.....................................................................................94
Grammar Reference..................................................................................95
Prepositions..........................................................................................95
Compound Prepositions........................................................................97
Prepositions in Phrasal Verbs...............................................................97
Place of Prepositions in the Sentence...................................................97
Prepositions of Time.............................................................................97
Problematic Prepositions of Movement and Place...............................97
Controlled Practice...................................................................................98
UNIT 11......................................................................................................101
Reading...................................................................................................101
Ways with Words...................................................................................101
Grammar Reference................................................................................102
Position of adjectives..........................................................................102
The Order of Adjectives in a Series....................................................102
Capitalising proper adjectives............................................................103
Collective adjectives...........................................................................103
Adjectival opposites...........................................................................103
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives...........................................103
Comparative Sentences.......................................................................105
Controlled Practice.................................................................................106
UNIT 12......................................................................................................108
Reading...................................................................................................108
Grammar Reference................................................................................108
The Article..........................................................................................108
The Indefinite Article.........................................................................108
The Definite Article............................................................................109
Zero Article.........................................................................................110
Controlled Practice.................................................................................111
UNIT 12......................................................................................................114
Reading...................................................................................................114
Grammar Reference 1.............................................................................114
The Adverb.........................................................................................114
Controlled Practice 1..............................................................................115
Grammar Reference 2.............................................................................116
Punctuation.........................................................................................116
UNIT 13......................................................................................................120
Reading...................................................................................................120
Ways with Words...................................................................................121
Grammar Reference................................................................................121
First Conditional.................................................................................121
Second Conditional.............................................................................122
Third Conditional...............................................................................123
Mixed Conditionals............................................................................123
Controlled Practice.................................................................................124
Unit 14........................................................................................................130
Reading...................................................................................................130
Ways with Words...................................................................................130
Grammar Reference................................................................................131
Modal Auxiliaries...............................................................................131
Controlled Practice.................................................................................134
APPENDIX 1.............................................................................................139
APPENDIX 2.............................................................................................146
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................150
UNIT 1
In this unit you will learn:
Present Simple
Present Continuous
Verbs which do not take a continuous aspect
Reading
Read the following fragment on advertising. Pay
attention to the use of tenses. Underline the verbs which are in present tense simple and present
continuous:
Advertising is capitalism’s soft sell. An anonymous mass of people called consumers have each to
be persuaded to need whatever a product can give them, to buy it and to keep on buying. It is really
interesting to notice that girls growing up, and women housewives worried about fulfilling and
achieving their roles, are the foremost consumers. They see in advertising imagery reflections of
society’s attitudes and ideals often taken to extremes. They do not realise that this is in fact a fake
image. They may not be persuaded to buy products, but they absorb the images. They do not learn
their roles from this source, but it is a strong reinforcer. Advertising sets out to make people
identify with characters in advertisements, with their situation and needs, to make them jealous of
the person they would become if they bought the product. On the one side, they believe that if they
buy Diavolo they will look like Antonio Banderas, if they buy BU, they will be a second Eva
Herzigova, and so on. They do not realize the difference between fancy and reality. On the other
side, advertising also captures girls’ fluttering images of themselves. This is why they become that
anonymous mass of people which we called consumers in the beginning.
Ways with words
1. Which of these would be the best title for the passage? More than one possible answer is
possible.
a. women as consumers
b. the persuasive power of advertising
c. how advertising influences women.
d. the image of women in advertisements
2. Which if the following points are made in the passage?
a. advertisements persuade potential consumers that they need a product.
b. Girls and housewives are the main consumers.
c. Middle-aged women are particularly susceptible to advertisements.
d. Advertisements reinforce a woman’s view of herself.
e. Advertisements project an image of the ideal housewives.
3. You will play a word game. Follow the directions and check your answers with the answer key:
I. Start with the word on. Follow directions:
a. Add a letter at the beginning and you have a great weight.
b. Add a vowel at the end of the weight and you have a musical sound.
c. Add a letter to the beginning of the musical sound and you have a small piece of rock.
II. Try again. Start with in:
a. Add a letter at the beginning and you have something used to fasten things together.
b. Add a vowel at the end of the fastener and you have a kind of tree.
c. Add a letter at the beginning of the tree and you have another word for backbone.
III. Try again. Start with an.
a. Add a letter at the end and you have a very little animal that lives in a hill.
b. Add a letter at the beginning of the little animal and you have the opposite of can.
c. Add a letter at the beginning of the opposite of can and you have a word that means not enough.
IV. Find the words described below:
a. A word that sounds like meat but means getting together.
b. Another word for too that ends with -so.
c. A word that rhymes with hair but means right and just.
d. Another word for sufficient that rhymes with tough.
e. A word with two meanings: it may mean portion and it may also mean to leave.
4. Read the sentence: They do not realise that this is in fact a fake image again. Have you ever
encountered the word organise spelled as organize? This is not a mistake. It’s just the difference
between British English and American English. There are several differences in spelling words
between British English and American English.
Here are some of them:
British English American English
theatre theater
centre center
neighbour neighbor
colour color
travelling traveling
organise organize
analyse analyze
5. Classified advertisements
You are touring Britain on holiday with friends. Someone you meet recommends a weekly
newspaper which contains advertisements for holiday accommodation.
Yet opening the newspaper, you find it full of small advertisements containing abbreviations. Can
you decipher them?
Bourbemouth – Warm welcome awaits you at Pinewood Guest House. Ctly. sit. H. & c. Tv. in
bdrms. Access at all time. B. & b. £31.50/£42 p.w. Reduced rates for chldn. 197
Holdenhurst Rd. Phone 292684
[1977-08S
Bourbemouth – Linga-Longa Hotel. Westbourne. Spac. hotel, residential lic. Games rm. Large car
park and gdns. Excel. food. B & B., e.m. Special Spring terms from £45 plus V.A.T. Phone 761001
Torquay. – Quiet det. Bungalow for 7/8. Top class accom. 2 w.c.’s, bathrm. and shower, lounge,
dining rm., big. kit., sunny gdn. Phone (06267)4590, after 6 p.m.
[x21-0H
Totnes. – Holiday COTTAGES in medieval courtyard of Queen Anne Mansion. S. –c. wing in
House. Mews Apartments. 2 bedrms., sitt, rm., kit., bathrm. Totnes 1 ¼ miles. Torbay 6 miles. Vac.
Spring, June, Sept. Special Offer Spring Holiday and Oct.. 11 th onwards: £40/ £50 incl. Night
storage heating. Phone: (0803) 863664, after 7 p.m. Mrs. Petersen, Bowden House, Totnes, Devon.
Grammar Reference
Present Simple
It is used to express:
a repeated action or habit (it is often used with adverbs of frequency such as: always,
constantly, continually, ever, frequently, forever, hardly, never, normally, occasionally,
often, rarely, regularly, seldom, sometimes, usually, etc.):
I usually get up at 8.30.
Romanian people like to travel.
Most evenings we go out.
states
I don’t like gangster film.
a fact which is always true (general truths and states):
Wood floats on water.
The Earth moves round the Sun.
The Danube floats into the Black Sea.
a fact which is true for a long time
I live in Ploiesti.
She works in a very famous company.
momentary actions, completed almost at the same time they are performed (in ceremonial
utterances( exprimare), explanations, cooking demonstrations, radio and TV commentaries,
announcements, headlines and stage directions):
Her letter shows how painful the divorce was for her.
I add flour to the egg yolks and place the basin into the oven.
The door bell rings. She listens quietly. A window opens and a masked man enters the room.
Note that historic present in narrative of funny stories appears in informal speech to describe past
events, especially to make the narration seem more immediate and dramatic
So when he enters the room he realises that his parents are there and…
planned future actions, when the future action is considered part of an already fixed
programme (with verbs of motion: come, go, leave or verbs expressing planned activity:
begin, start, end, finish)
The plane lands at 6:34 p.m.
Our summer holiday starts on July 1st.
Form
Affirmative and negative
I work
do not (don’t) work
in a university.
You
We
They
work
do not (don’t) work
He
She
works
does not (doesn’t)
work
Interrogative
Where do I work?
do you
we
they
does he
she
it
Short answer
Do you like summer?
Yes, I do.
Does she speak Italian?
No, she doesn’t.
Present Continuous
It is used to express:
an activity happening now or around now (in this case the action extends over a slightly
longer period of time, including the moment of speaking)
They are playing in their bedroom now.
I am filling in a cloze test now.
I’m writing an essay on Victorianism this week.
a temporary, limited action/ behaviour (+an adverbial indicating present time):
I live in Romania, but I’m living in England these six months.
One’s immediate plans for the near future:
I’m meeting you at 10 o’clock tomorrow.
a repeated action or habit which annoys the speaker
You are always calling me at midnight.
Form
Present Continuous is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be followed by the
indefinite participle of the main verb (verb+ -ing).
Affirmative and negative
I am (‘m)
am not (‘m)
not
working.
You
We
They
are (‘re)
are not
(aren‘t)
He
She
It
is (‘s)
is not (isn’t)
Interrogative
What am I doing?
are you
we
they
is he
she
it
Short answer
Are you coming?
Yes, I am. No, I’m not.
Is she watching TV?
Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.
Verbs which Do not Take a Continuous Aspect in English
There are verbs in English which generally are not used in the continuous aspect:
verbs of the senses (verbs of perception): see, hear, smell, taste, notice, recognize, etc.
I smell gas. But: I am smelling the flower. ( I want to).
The meat doesn’t taste good at all. In fact, I think it’s a bit off. But: I’m tasting the meat to see if it’s
done.
verbs of cognition and achievement verbs: think, consider, expect, realize, know,
understand, suppose, remember, forget, mind, etc.
I don’t remember your name.
I’ll think over this. But: I’m thinking about you.
verbs of having and being: have, own, owe, belong to, possess, be, contain, matter, hold, etc.
The house belongs to my mother.
I have a very good car. But: She’s having a shower now. She can’t answer the phone at the
moment.; I’m having dinner with my boyfriend at a fancy restaurant tonight.
He is a teacher of Italian. But: You are being stupid now. (You generally are very smart, but you
behave rather stupidly now).
verbs of feeling (attitudinal verbs): care, love, hate, like, dislike, refuse, want, wish, forgive,
feel, etc.
I hate people calling me late at night.
He wants to buy a new tool.
I feel I need to tell you that you let me down. But: “How are you feeling today?”, the doctor asked.;
I’m feeling the material to see if it’s soft or not.
I don’t mind his smoking. But: Who is minding the baby?
Controlled Practice
1. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Simple or Present Continuous:
a. He usually (drink) coffee but today he (drink) tea.;
b. The Rotring (belong) to Mary;
c. He (come) to see me tonight; we (go) on a trip to Sinaia next week and we (want) to make plans
for it.;
d. I (live) in Ploiesti, but this week, as I (attend) a course in Bucharest, I (stay) with my uncle in
Calea Floreasca.;
e. This course (contain) 14 chapters.
f. Maria (come) from Spain this week.;
g. She (speak) French, English and Italian.;
h. What you (do) here? I (look) for my glasses.;
i. Where you (live)? I (live) in Scotland.
j. This week we (study) Middle Ages in English Culture and Civilisation.
k. This bottle (hold) boric acid. Don’t touch it!;
l. Ann (resemble) her mother more and more.;
m. It (rain) now. It often (rain) in summer.;
n. Pardon me, sir, but I (think) you (stand) on my feet.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Decide which is the most appropriate form of the verb in the following sentences:
a. I’m thinking/ I think of you.;
b. She smells/ is smelling gas.;
c. Mother is tasting/ tastes the soup to see if it needs more salt.;
d. We have/ are having dinner now.;
e. Could you call him back in twenty minutes as he has/ is having a bath right now.
f. What’s wrong with you? Why are you looking/ do you look at me like this?
g. The film is extremely long and boring. It lasts/ is lasting four hours.
h. I think/ am thinking that something is wrong with the radiator in this room. It gets/ is getting
colder and colder.
i. What exactly does you job involve/ is your job involving?
3. Complete this postcard using the correct form of the verbs on the right:
Greetings from Scotland! John and I …..... our
summer in Edinburgh, at
spend
Edinburgh University, where we …….. a good
time and at the same time we …….. things about
Scottish and Irish writers. People…….. here
every summer to learn more about contemporary
literature.
have
learn
come
I …….. a paper on Samuel Beckett this week write
and John …….. a short story written by Angela read
Carter. We …….. up at half past eight every
morning get
and …….. courses from ten to half past twelve.
We …….. at one, yet today, as we ….. a
literature museum, we …… earlier.
have
eat visit finish
So it’s hard work. But I …….. it here. We ….....
a post-office in front of the Centre, so I …. here
in order to mail your postcard.
Love, Kate
like, have
stop
4. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals and so that the meaning stays the
same:
a. The cost of the bus ticket is part of the transport fee.
INCLUDES
b. What is the weight of that bag you have as hand luggage?
MUCH
c. John has the bad habit of eavesdropping to other people’s conversation.
ALWAYS
d. Sunset is at 9.30 tonight.
THE SUN
e. What is inside this book?
CONTAIN
f. I’m positive that you have no idea which the answer is.
BET
g. She works hard, so she doesn’t have too much spare time.
MEANS
h. The war in Irak is over.
COMES
i. The number of people who own houses on the outskirts of the city is increasing.
BUYING
j. They are decorating my room now.
HAVING
5. Choose the correct sentence:
a. She has a car. /She is having a car.
b. We think she is tall./ We are thinking she is tall.
c. I am seeing a horse. / I see a horse.
d. The sweater feels soft. / The sweater is feeling soft.
e. She is looking angry. / She looks angry.
f. I feel the sweater. / I am feeling the sweater.
g. The dentist is seeing a patient. / The dentist sees a patient.
h. The grocer is weighing sugar. / The grocer weighs sugar.
i. I am looking at the picture. / I look at the picture.
j. We think about her. / We are thinking about her.
k. She is having dinner. / She has dinner .
l. Ann is foolish today. / Ann is being foolish today.
m. She is tasting the soup. / She tastes the soup.
n. The actor is appearing on TV. / The actor appears on T
6. Put the verbs in brackets into the simple present or the present continuous tense.
a. You cannot see Mary now: she (see) her boyfriend.
b. They won’t go out as it (snow) and they (not have) thick clothes.
c. Hardly anyone (wear) tight pants nowadays.
d. George can’t watch his favourite TV program now because his father (watch) a movie.
e. She’s busy at the moment. She (put) the baby to sleep.
f. This novel is about a boy who (desert) his friends and (go) to enrol in the army.
g. The train that we (look) at right now just (leave) for Arad.
h. What George (do) to his computer now? ~ I (think) he (format) it.
i. Why you (listen) to this song, Mary? You (not listen) to this type of music as a rule.
j. That play (come) to our theatre next week. You (want) to see it?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Ask questions about the underlined parts of the following sentences.
a. The two friends are listening to a rock concert.
b. The milkman comes to our house twice a week.
c. The children are playing at hide-and-seek.
d. I usually read two books a week when I have time.
e. Our guests are talking to us in Russian.
f. It takes five hours to reach the top of the mountain.
g. She is wearing a strange, yellow dress.
h. My father usually comes home from work by car.
i. The family are celebrating the birth of their newest member.
j. Tom never washes his trousers until somebody tells him to.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Translate into English using the Present Simple or Continuous.
a. Vacanţa de vară ţine două luni. În fiecare vară mergem cinci zile la munte.
b. E sâmbătă şi facem curat în casă. Eu fac paturile iar sora mea şterge praful din cameră.
c. Bunica uită întotdeauna unde-şi pune pantofii şi de fiecare dată când are nevoie de ei îi caută
prin toată casa.
d. Luăm micul dejun. Mama bea cafea, iar tata mănâncă omletă.
e. Nu spune niciodată nimic interesant.
f. În mod obişnuit ne petrecem sfârşitul de săptămână într-un sat din apropierea Clujului. De
data asta însă rămânem acasă pentru că aşteptăm nişte musafiri.
g. Prietenii tăi te aşteaptă în faţa cinematografului dar tu întotdeauna citeşti la ora aceasta.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9. Add tag questions
a. You look nice in this T-shirt, ………….. ?
b. She knows where he was last night, …………..?
c. Tom is having some whisky, …………..?
d. He plays volleyball quite well, …………..?
e. They are meeting him at one o’clock today, …………..?
f. My boss doesn’t employ teenagers, …………..?
g. I don’t think I’m the right person to teach him English, …………..?
h. This car belongs to Jack, …………..?
i. The pubs close at half past three, …………..?
j. It seems to me he is wasting his time, …………..?
k. I’m sure you know who stole that purse, …………..?
l. You’re not a doctor, …………..?
m. They hardly ever buy bread form this shop, …………..?
n. She thinks we are running away from her, …………..?
o. The police never catch any thieves, …………..?
p. They say she works as an air-hostess, …………..?UNIT 2
In this unit you will learn:
Past Simple
Past Continuous
The Ordinal Numeral
The Multiplicative
The Fractional Numeral
Reading
Read the following text about English as a world language. Pay attention to the use of past tense.
Underline the verbs which are in the past tense:
Today, when English is one of the major languages in the
world, it doesn’t require too much effort of our imagination to
realize that this is a relatively recent thing - that in
Shakespeare’s time, for example, only a few million people
spoke English, and this was not thought to be very important
by the other nations of Europe, and it was unknown to the rest
of the world.
English has become a world language because of its establishment as a mother tongue outside
England, in all the continents of the world. People started to import English in the seventeenth
century, with the first settlements in North America. Above all, it is the great growth of population
in the United States, assisted by massive immigration in the nineteenth and twentieth century, that
has given the English language its present status in the world. As I could read in an article, one
person in seven of the world’s entire population speaks English nowadays and most of them are
quite fluent in it. Incredibly enough, due to the extension of computerised systems and softs which
are mostly in English, 75% of the world’s mail and 60% of the world’s telephone calls are in
English. Again incredible, yet true is the fact that 200 million people speak English and every year
there are twenty million beginners. International literary or scientific publications are generally
printed in English and other languages such as German, Spanish or French, yet again English is
the predominant language. So, the quicker you learn it, the more opportunities you may have to
read interesting materials connected to your field.
Ways with Words
1. We often say what we have done so far as a way of explaining our achievements and successes.
Work in pairs and ask your partner questions about English:
Model: Have you improved your accent?
Yes, I think I have.
Have you:
a. been to an English-speaking country?
b. passed any exams in English?
c. managed to translate anything into English?
d. had any conversations with English native speakers?
e. written any e-mails in English which you have sent to people?
f. used English in your studies or work?
g. read a scientific article in English?
h. managed to understand any English-speaking tourists?
i. learned any songs in English?
j. discovered any differences between English and your own language?
2. Comment on the personal qualities you need to succeed in learning a foreign language.
Example:
You don’t have to be serious to learn English, you have to be co-operative.
confident energetic
determined well-organised
independent patient
courageous enthusiastic
serious charming
handsome steady
ambitious intelligent
3. Choose the word which best completes each sentence:
a. If you want to become ... when you speak, you should forget about making mistakes and try to
speak as much as possible.
A. practical; B. fluent; C. handy; D. skilful.
b. If you don’t understand everything you hear, then listening to a tape is a ... of time.
A. matter; B. problem; C. waste; D. loss.
c. If you’re not ... certain what someone has said, you should pretend that you have understood.
A. very; B. fairly; C. surely; D. quite.
d. If you want to practice speaking a good idea is to tell a story or a ... to someone.
A. joke; B. tale; C. laughter; D. fool.
e. When you ... an oral exam, it is best to speak loudly and not to stop after each word.
A. make; B. take; C. speak; D. go.
5. What do you think a good language learner can do? Choose beginnings from A and suitable
endings from B. There are many possible answers:
A good language learner:
A B
borrows books without a teacher.
writes things down in every way possible.
guesses words without being told to.
tries to study in real situations.
tries to learn every day possible.
practises speaking from films, TV and records.
6. What do you say to someone who does the things in column A. Choose from the phrases in
column B:
A B
answers the phone? “Get well soon!”
knocks on the door? “Cheers!”
says you are late? ”Excuse me!”
is in danger? “Don’t mention it!”
gets married? “Well done!”
passes an exam? “Congratulations!
drinks with you? “Sorry!”
is in your way? “Bless you!”
says “Good morning!’ “Thanks.”
says “How do you do!” “Look out!”
thanks you? “How do you do!”
is ill? “Hello?”
sneezes? “Sleep well!”
says “Good night.” “Good morning.”
says “Make yourself at home.” “Come in!”
says “Have a good weekend.” “Thanks. Same to you.”
7. Read and translate the following poems on the English language and pronunciation
A. Some words have different meanings
And yet they’re spelled the same.
A cricket is an insect,
To play it – it’s a game.
On every hand, in every land,
It’s thoroughly agreed,
The English language to explain,
Is very hard indeed.
Some people say that you’re a dear
Yet dear is far from cheap.
A jumper is a thing you wear,
Yet a jumper has to leap.
It’s very clear, it’s very queer,
And, pray, who is to blame
For different meanings to some words
Pronounced and spelled the same?
A little journey is a trip,
A trip is when you fall.
It doesn’t mean you have to dance
When’er you hold a ball.
Now here’s thing that puzzle me:
Musicians of good taste
Will very often form a band –
I’ve one around my waist!
You spin a top, go for a spin,
Or spin a yarn( a spune povesti) maybe-
Yet every spin’s a different spin,
As you can plainly see.
Now here’s a most peculiar thing,
‘twas told me as a joke-
A dumb man wouldn’t speak a word,
Yet seized a wheel and spoke!
A door may often be ajar(intredeschis),
But give the door a slam, a tranti
And then your nerves receive a jar-
And then there’s jars of jam.borcan , a irita
You’ve heard, of course, of traffic jams,
And jams you give your thumbs.
And adders, too, one is a snake,
The other adds up sums.
A policeman is a copper,
It’s a nickname (impolite!)
Yet a copper in the kitchen
Is an article you light.
On every hand, in every land,
It’s thoroughly agreed,
The English language to explain
Is very hard indeed!
(Harry Hemsley, The English language, in Verse That Is Fun, ed. Ireson, Faber, 1962)
B. I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through,
Well done, and now you wish perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: t’s said like bed, not bead-
And only Scotsmen call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth molie is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth supa de carne in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there’s dose and rose and lose-
Just look them up – and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go, and thwart and cart-
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive-
I’d mastered it when I was five.
( Herbert Farjeon, Hints on Pronunciation for
Foreigners)
8. Read the sentence: As I could read in an article, one person in seven of the world’s entire population speak
English nowadays and most of them are quite fluent in it. Again. How do you translate as I could read. Let’s learn
some expressions containing the word as:
as compared with = în comparaţie cu;
as a consequence of = ca o consecinţã a;
as if/ as though = ca şi cum;
as far as = întrucât, pe cât, în mãsura în care;
as far as it goes = în ceea ce priveşte;
as follows = precum/ dupã cum urmeazã;
as long as = atât timp cât;
as regards = în ceea ce priveşte;
as a rule = de regulã, în principiu;
as seen = dupã cum se vede;
as shown in Fig. 2 = cum s-a arãtat în Fig. 2;
as such = ca atare;
as well = deopotrivã, de asemenea;
as well as = cât şi, tot aşa ca;
as when = ca atunci când, ca în cazul în care;
as yet/ so far/ up to now. up to the present = pânã în prezent;
such as = astfel ca, ca de exemplu.
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
Grammar Reference 1
Past Simple
It is used to express
a finished action in the past (it is often used with past time expressions: last year/ month/ week/, five years/
two days/ four weeks ago, yesterday, yesterday morning/ evening, in 1985, etc):
They discovered this machine in the late eighteenth century.
The English literature teacher gave us a copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight yesterday.
The industrialisation in England led to the change of people’s mentalities.
habitual, repeated actions in the past (with verbs denoting a permanent characteristic) or completed states:
She always wore red.
I met him every day on my way to the office.
In those years, I didn’t like reading.
a series of actions which follow one another in a story (narrative past)
Tom came into the room. He took off his shirt, put on a T-shirt and sat down in the armchair. Suddenly he
remembered something. He stood up and went out of the room.
Form
-the form of the Past Tense Simple is the same for all persons.
Affirmative
The positive of regular verbs ends in -ed.
There are many common irregular verbs. In order to create this tense you need the second form of the verb (see
the list on page @)
I
You
We
They
He/She
arrived
went to Sinaia
yesterday.
Negative
-the negative of the Past Tense Simple is formed with the auxiliary did+not (didn’t).
I
You
We
They
He/She
did not (didn’t) arrive
did not (didn’t) go to Sinaia
yesterday.
Interrogative
-the question in the Past Tense Simple is formed with the auxiliary did.
When did
Where did
I
you
we
they
he
she
arrive?
go?
Short answer
Did you go to work yesterday?
Yes, I did. No, I didn’t.
Did she report the results obtained?
Yes, she did. No, she didn’t.
Past Continuous
It is used to express:
an action in progress at some time in the past
What were you doing at 10 o’clock yesterday?
I was lecturing my students on linguistics.
When she arrived, they were waiting for her in the corridor.
A past activity happening over a period of time
I was reading from 4 to 6.30 yesterday.
-refers to:
background description in narrative
I entered the room and looked around. My sister was playing with her dolls, Father was of course reading some
news in the newspaper, and little John was trying to draw something on my favourite poster.
changing states:
The car was getting worse all the time. One of the headlights was continually falling off, and the engine was
making a huge noise.
repeated actions (with a frequency adverb, it means criticism and is similar to the use of present
continuous when expressing annoyance)
When she came to me, she was always looking through my diary.
Note that past continuous is not used to describe general habitual actions, without the sense of criticism
mentioned above. Past simple is used for this meaning.
When I lived in Paris, I crossed the bridge over Seine all the time.
Form
was/ were (past tense of to be)+ verb+-ing (present participle)
Affirmative and negative
I
He
She
was
was not (wasn’t)
working.
You
We
They
were
were not
(weren’t)
Interrogative
What was I
he
she
doing?
were you
we
they
Short answer
Were you working at this time yesterday?
Yes, I was. No, I wasn’t.
Was she studying when you entered the room?
Yes, she was. No, she wasn’t.
Past Simple and Past Continuous
I was doing my homework at 7 o’clock last night. (I was in the middle of the activity.)
I did my homework yesterday. (I started and finished.)
They were producing such machines when those people started to buy shares in their company.
She was looking at the pictures when her husband came into the room.
(producing and looking are long activities. Something happened in the middle to interrupt them).
Controlled Practice 1
1. Decide which is the correct verb form:
a. I saw/was seeing a very good programme on TV last night.
b. While I was learning/ learnt for my French exam, somebody was knocking/ knocked at the door.
c. How did you cut/ were you cutting your finger? While I was fixing/ fixed the wire, I was dropping/ dropped the
knife.
d. I was listening/ listened to the news on the radio when the phone was starting/ started to ring.
e. An American jet pilot was taking off/ took off from Washington, but the jet’s engines went/ were going wrong.
f. We made / were making about 50 text analyses last year.
g. Latin played/ was playing an essential part in the development of languages such as Romanian, Spanish,
Italian, or French.
h. Our crew included/ was including a linguist, a writer and an English interpreter.
i. When the house was decorated, the entire family moved/ was moving in.
j. The first important breakthrough was replacing/ replaced radios with television sets in the 50’s.
2. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word or words in capitals. Do not alter the form of the words in
any way and do not change the meaning of the sentence:
a. To get to the office on time I had to wake up at 5:30 every morning.
MEANT
b. I didn’t exactly like swimming in those days.
WAS
c. There was someone to meet him on arrival.
WHEN
d. I didn’t know about your departure.
THAT
e. I intended to invite you at my party, but I’m afraid that I completely forgot it.
GOING
f. When you passed the town hall clock, did you notice the time?
WHAT
g. I had to go past your house so I decided to drop in.
PASSING
h. Someone was painting our house at that moment.
HAVING
i. Someone stole Diana’s bag yesterday.
HAD
j. The smell of the cheese stopped my eating the breakfast.
PUT
3. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or continuous:
It (happen) in June 1985. It (be) summer and we (all / lie out)in the garden. My mother (read) and my uncle (just /
doze) in the sun. We children (look for) worms and insects. And then he (arrive). He (be) a tall, handsome man
with piercing blue eyes and he (look) straight at my mother. Her face (go) pale and her eyes (open) wide with
shock. “Arthur, I (think) you (be) dead, “ she (say) in a kind of whisper.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or continuous:
1. She lit the fire at 8.00 and it (burn) brightly when Mike came home at 9.00.
2. Mother (make) a cake when the light (go) out.
3. He (watch) the movie when the phone (ring). He (turn) down the sound and (go) to answer it.
4. The admiral (study) the battle plans when he (receive) news of the invasion. He (insist) on finishing his
task.
5. They suddenly (realize) that they (fly) with the wrong plane.
6. I just (open) the door when the wind (blow) and (break) all the windows in the room.
7. He (dig) his garden when he accidentally (cut) three of his toes.
8. This (annoy) the bull, who immediately (begin) to chase Mr. Smith.
9. As they (walk) along the road they (hear) a car coming from behind them. Tom (turn) round and (hold) up
his hand. The car (stop).
10. I (find) this ring as I (dig) in the garden. It looks very old. I wonder who it (belong) to?
11. A little later the teacher (notice) that smoke (rise) from this desk. ‘You (smoke) when I (come) in?’ he
(ask).
12. He (say) that he (build) himself a house and that he (think) it would be ready in two years.
13. ‘Why you (lend) him that book? I still (read) it.’ ‘I’m sorry. I (not know) that you still (read) it.’
14. At 3 a.m. Mrs. Pitt (wake) her husband and (say) that she (think) that someone (try) to get into the house.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Translate into English using the simple and continuous past tense whenever necessary:
a. Mă uitam la televizor când a sosit poştaşul.
b. În timp ce Diana asculta un concert la radio, cineva a bătut la uşă.
c. Anul trecut pe vremea asta eram la Predeal; acolo îmi petreceam vacanţa de iarnă şi schiam în fiecare zi.
d. Cum s-a întâmplat exact accidentul? Mergeam de la Bucureşti la Ploieşti şi tata tocmai ne povestea despre
accidentul unor prieteni de-ai lui când deodată în faţa maşinii a sărit un câine.
e. Încercau să găsească drumul către centru când au dat peste un tânăr care s-a oferit să îi însoţească şi care i-a
condus la obiectivele turistice cele mai importante ale oraşului.
f. Dan se gândi că trebuia să se apuce de lucru, era cu mult în urmă, dar tocmai în momentul când lua această
hotărâre veni un prieten şi-l invită la un meci de fotbal.
g. Te-am zărit alaltăieri în mulţimea de oameni care aştepta să se deschidă sala de spectacol, dar deşi am încercat
să-mi croiesc drum până la tine, a fost de-a dreptul imposibil.
h. De ce boli ai suferit când erai mic şi când ai fost ultima oară la medic?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__
6. Fill in the gaps with suitable verbs in the Simple Past or Past Continuous:
a. She (…heard) the voice that (was…) louder than the others as that of her father.
b. They (…) dinner when the girl next door (…) and (…) for a loaf of bread.
c. While the old lady (…) those scrambled eggs, she suddenly (…) they (…) off.
d. He not (…) the explosion because at that moment he (…).
e. What she (…) last night between 10 o’clock and 4?
f. I (…) when I (…) the road.
g. I (…) my bag when I (…) the plane.
h. My sister (…) wet while she (…) in the rain.
i. Whenever the politician (…) his mouth to speak the crowd (…) insults.
j. While the maid (…) the room a skeleton (…) out of the cupboard.
k. As soon as he (…) under the shower, the doorbell (…).
l. They (…) and (…) while they (…) the mountain.
m. While I (…) in London I (…) my money in my socks.
n. As they (…) from Stockholm to Paris, the starboard engine (…) into flames.
o. When she (…) lunch a waiter (…) a plate of soup in her lap.
p. As it (…) their mother (…) the picnic.
q. When he (…) downhill, the brakes (…) and he only (…) a serious accident by steering into a bush.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Translate the following texts into Romanian:
A. The winter term at Rummidge was of ten weeks’ duration, like the autumn and summer terms, but seemed
longer than the other two because of the cheerless season. The mornings were dark, dusk came early, and the sun
seldom broke through the cloud cover in the brief interval of daylight. Electric lights burned all day in offices and
lecture rooms. Outside, the air was cold and clammy, thick with moisture and pollution. It drained a goli every
colour and blurred every outline of the urban landscape. You could hardly see the face of the clock at the top of
the University’s tower, and the very chimes clopot sounded muffled diminuat and despondent descurajat. The
atmosphere chilled the bones and congested the lungs. Some people attributed the characteristic adenoidal whine
scancet of the local dialect to the winter climate, which gave everybody runny noses and blocked sinuses for
months open like fish gasping for air. At this time of the year it was certainly hard to understand why human
beings had ever settled and multiplied in such a cold, damp, grey place. Only work seemed to provide an answer.
No other reason would make anyone come here, or having come, stay. All the more grim, therefore, was the fate
of the unemployed of Rummidge and environs, condemned to be idle in a place where there was nothing much to
do, except work.
(David Lodge, Nice Work)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B. Quayle knew then that here was a brick wall. It had all happened too quickly. He should have expected this. He
should have got Helen out long ago. But it was not hopeless even if he did not know that she was all right. He
didn’t know whether or not she had been sent back with the other women. He was not sure of anything anymore.
He was not certain about what he was to do… Perhaps H.Q. has some information. They may have telephone
communication with the sector down the coast.
“Where is H.Q?” he asked the Australian.
“Down the coast. It’s cut off, too.”, the Australian said.
“Jesus Christ.”
“That’s right, too.”, the Autralian said. “Your wife’s probably all right.”
“Yes. Maybe.” Quayle did not feel himself completely conscious.
“We’ll probably clear it up tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
Quayle was standing there uncertainly. He turned around and started walking back. He thanked the guard as he
walked away, and he felt the vibration of his feet against the hard road. He had never felt so completely unsure of
himself and what he was doing.
He was picturing Helen somewhere and he did not know where. But he could see her with sandals sometimes, and
sometimes with two fibre suitcases walking with other women, and sometimes begin surprised by German
parachutists and shot. He was not certain of anything, and he had vagueness about coming back or waiting to get
down he coast and whether this invasion would fail. He caught a truck going through Suda Bay and then walked
back to the airdrome. It was almost morning when he got there, and he could hear the bombing him as he walked
into the timber cherestea.
(James Aldridge, Signed with their Honour)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C. An old man with steel-rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a bridge
across the river and cars, trucks and men, women and children were crossing it. But the old man sat there without
moving. He was too tired to go any farther.
“Where do you come from?” I asked him.
“From San-Carlos,” he said and smiled. “I was taking care of the animals”, he explained.
“Oh,” I said, not quite understanding.
“Yes,” he said. “I stayed, you see, taking care of the animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San-Carlos. I
had to leave them.”
“What animals were they?” I asked.
“There were two goats and cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons.”
“And you have no family?” I asked watching the far end of the bridge.
“No,” he said, “only the animals I stated. I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometres now and I
think I can go no further.”
“This is not a good place to stop,” I said.
“I will wait a little while,” he said, “and then I will go.”
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share this worry with someone. “The cat will be all
right. I am sure. But the others. Now what do you think about the others? What will they do under the artillery?”
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked”? I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said.
“If you are rested, I would go,: I urged. “Get up and try to walk now.”
“Thank you,” he said and got to his feet, swayed balans from side to side and then sat down backwards in the
dust.
“I was taking care of the animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only taking care of the animals.”
There was nothing to do about him. It was Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a grey
overcast intunecata day with a low ceiling, so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to
look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.
(Ernest Hemingway, Old Man at the Bridge)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grammar reference 2
The Ordinal Numeral
The form of the ordinal numeral
1st the first 11th the eleventh 21st the twenty-first
2nd the second 12th the twelfth 22nd the twenty-second
3rd the third 13th the thirteenth 23rd the twenty-third
4th the fourth 14th the fourteenth 30th the thirtieth
5th the fifth 15th the fifteenth 40th the fortieth
6th the sixth 16th the sixteenth 50th the fiftieth
7th the seventh 17th the seventeenth 60th the sixtieth
8th the eighth 18th the eighteenth 70th the seventieth
9th the ninth 19th the nineteenth 80th the eightieth
10th the tenth 20th the twentieth 90th the ninetieth
100th the (one) hundredth 1,000th the (one) thousandth
622nd the (six) hundredth
and twenty-second
1,000,000 the (one) millionth
The Fractional Numeral
The forms of the fractional numeral
Common fractions Decimal fractions
1/2 a (one) half 34.77 thirty-four point seventy-seven
3/6 three sixths 56.98 fifty-six point ninety-eight
2/3 two thirds 0.04 (nought) point nought four
8 6/5 eight six fifths 1.06 one point nought six
The Multiplicative Numeral
The forms of the multiplicative numeral
1x single, once
2 double/ twice/ twofold
3x triple/ threefold, three times
4x fourfold, four times
10x tenfold, ten times
100x a hundredfold, a hundred times
Controlled Practice 2
1. Read the following numerals:
3 2/4; 5.879; 2 9/7; 11x; 43/42.
2. Read the following dates:
July, 12, 1987; January, 2, 2001; August, 8, 2002; May, 4, 1980; April, 27, 1974; March, 11, 1958.
3. Translate into English:
a. Cât e ceasul, te rog? Douăsprezece şi un sfert.
b. La 1 iunie sărbătorim ziua copilului.
c. El s-a născut la 23 octombrie 1974.
d. Între 13:20 şi 13:30 avem o pauză în care nimeni nu are timp să mănânce.
e. Al cincilea modul este deja obositor pentru studenţi.
f. La ora două şi un sfert iau autobuzul 85 şi merg în Piaţa Universităţii.
g. Cât faci de la facultate până la cămin? Căminul este lângă facultate, aşa că nu fac mai mult de cinci minute.
h. „A douăsprezecea noapte” este o comedie scrisă de Shakespeare.
i. Câţi cenţi are un dolar?
j. Deschideţi cartea la pagina 43 şi faceţi exerciţiul unu.
k. Toate lunile au treizeci sau treizeci şi una de zile cu excepţia lunii februarie care are douăzeci şi opt de zile.
l. Camera are 5 metri în lungime şi 4 şi jumătate în lăţime breadth.
m. O pătrime din avere îi aparţine lui Smith.
n. Cât ai obţinut? 0,78.
o. Mă duc la bunica aproximativ de trei ori pe săptămână.
p. El a scris o lucrare de trei ori mai bună decât a ta.
UNIT 3
In this unit you will learn:
Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Continuous
Differences between Present Perfect and Past Tense
Reading
1. Read the following dialogues. Pay attention to the use of homographs.
Dialogue 1: The Race
Jim has just come in last in a road race. He feels that the race was unfair, so he goes to talk to one of the judges
about it.
Jim: I would like to contest the outcome of this contest. I would have won, but my shoelace was undone, and I had
to bow down to fix it. That is why I did not get to start at the same time as the other runners.
Judge: I do not think that you can use that as an excuse. At the close of the race, you were not even close to the
winning runner.
Jim: But the race was not fair. All of the other runners deserted me at the starting line. Can't we do it again?
Judge: I cannot discuss this with you any longer. If you will excuse me, I am late to meet some friends for a
camping trip in the desert. Case closed!
Dialogue 2: The Singer
Charlie and Margaret are a married couple who own a video store. They are discussing the latest news they
received from their daughter, Joan.
Margaret: Joan told me this morning that she wants a career in the music business. She is packing to go to
Nashville to record her first record right now.
Charlie: What? She is going to subject the world to her singing voice? She is tone deaf!
Margaret: Don't let her hear you say that. It will bring her to tears. We will have to find a gentle way to separate
her from the idea. We need to put our heads together to find a solution.
Charlie: Maybe we could show her that she could be of more use here. She could work at the store.
Margaret: That's a great idea. I know she would like that. We could use another sales clerk. On a separate
subject, what should I do with Joan 's train tickets to Nashville?
Charlie: If she decides to stay, you can tear them up. It says on them that they are non-refundable.
Margaret: Okay. I will check with Joan first.
Practice these dialogues.
Ways with Words
1. The English language has a very complex spelling system.
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently (such as \PRES' ent\ and \pre
SENT'\). Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently (such as "hare" and "hair").
The meanings of the following homographs change depending on the way they are pronounced.
BOW and BOW:
A bow (n.) is "a tied ribbon," or also "a device used to shoot an arrow." To bow (v.) is "the action of bending
forward at the waist and stooping low, demonstrating gratitude or respect."
CLOSE and CLOSE:
Close (adj.) describes "something very near, not far away." To close (v.) refers to "the act of shutting something."
CONTEST and CONTEST:
A contest (n.) is "a competition that determines a winner." To contest (v.) refers to "the act of disputing or
objecting to something."
DESERT and DESERT:
A desert (n.) is "an arid, sandy region." To desert (v.) something means "to leave it behind."
EXCUSE and EXCUSE:
An excuse (n.) is "a reason or explanation for one's actions." To excuse (v.) means "to forgive."
RECORD and RECORD:
A record (n.) is "written documentation of a past event," or it can also refer to "a phonograph album." To record
(v.) is "the act of writing information down," or "documenting data (such as music) electronically."
SEPARATE and SEPARATE:
To separate (v.) means "to divide or segregate." Separate (adj.) describes "things that are isolated or
unconnected."
SUBJECT and SUBJECT:
A subject (n.) is "the topic of a book, conversation, or experiment." To subject (v.) means "to expose someone to
something."
TEAR and TEAR:
Tears (n.) are "drops that fall from the eyes of someone who is crying." Tear (v.) means "to rip something into
pieces."
USE and USE:
Use (n.) is "the event of employing something to serve a purpose." Use (v.) is "the action of employing for some
purpose."
Now practice these homographs in sentences of your own. Can you add other homophones to the ones listed
above?
2. In the second dialogue, the wife tells her husband: We need to put our heads together to find a solution. To put
somebody’s heads together is an idiom. It means to discuss a difficult problem together.
Let’s learn some idioms containing the word head.
from head to foot/toe – over your whole body
have a good/fine head of hair – to have a lot of hair on your head
do something in your head – calculate something in your mind
go over your head – to be too difficult for you to understand
a clear/cool head – the ability to think clearly or calmly in a difficult or dangerous situation
need your head examined – be crazy
use your head – to think about something sensibly
keep your head above water – to manage to continue to live on your income or keep your business working in
spite of money problems
be hanging your head against a brick wall – to keep trying to do something which seems impassible
have a head for figures/facts/ business – to be good at doing calculations, remembering facts
head over heels in love – loving somebody very much
heads with roll – used to say that some people will be punished severely for something that has happened
Now practice these idioms in sentences of your own.
3. Let’s learn more idioms containing words which refer to parts of the body:
Foot
On foot – if you go somewhere on foot, you walk there
Get/jump/ rise to your feet etc –to stand up after you have been sitting
Be on you feet – to be standing for a long time without having time to sit down; to stand up; to feel better again
after being ill and in bed
Be rushed off your feet/ be run off your feet – to be very busy
Put your foot in it - to say something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone
Have two left feet – to be very clumsy
Get off on the wrong foot – to start a relationship badly, usually by having an argument
Have/keep both feet on the ground – to think in a sensible and practical way and not have ideas or aims that will
be impossible to achieve
Have one foot in the grave – to be very old or very ill
Leave feet first – to die before you leave a place or job
Feet of clay -someone that you admire who has feet of clay has faults that you did not realize they had
Hair
Get in somebody’s hair – to annoy someone, especially by always being near them
Keep your hair on – (Spoken) to tell someone to keep calm and not get annoyed
Let your hair down – informal to enjoy yourself and start to relax, especially after working very hard
Make somebody’s hair stand on end – to make someone very frightened
Not turn a hair – to remain completely calm when something bad or surprising suddenly happens
Not harm/ touch a hair of somebody’s head – no to harm somebody in any way
Hand
Take somebody by the hand – hold somebody’s hand in order to take them somewhere
Hand in hand - holding each other’s hand, especially to show love
Right-handed/ left-handed – using the right hand for most actions rather than the left, or the left hand rather than
the right
Right/left hander – a player who uses mainly the right hand or mainly the left hand
Not do a hand’s turn - to do no work at all
a dab hand – someone who is very good at doing something\good with your hands – skillful at making things
turn your hand to - to start doing something new or practicing a new skill
keep your hand in – to keep practicing something so you do not lose your skill
a form hand – strict control of someone
get out of hand – to become impossible to control
take something/somebody in hand – to bring someone or something under control
in hand – being dealt with
have a hand in - to influence or to be involved in something
in good/safe/capable hands – being dealt with or looked after by someone who can be trusted
off your hands – if something or somebody is off your hands, you are not responsible for them anymore
at hand –near in time or space
on hand – close by and ready when needed
first hand/ at first hand – by direct personal experience
at second/third/fourth hand passed from the first person who actually saw or heard something to a second, third,
or fourth person
by hand delivered from one person to another, and sent through the post
go hand in hand – to be closely connected
get your hands on to obtain something; to catch somebody you are angry with
lay your hands on – to find or obtain something
have time on your hands – to have a lot of time because you have no work to do
have your hands full –to be very busy or too busy
out of hand – if you refuse something out of hand, you refuse immediately and completely
hand in glove – closely connected with somebody, especially in a bad or illegal activity
on the one hand… on the other – used when comparing different or opposite facts or ideas
give somebody a (big) hand – to clap loudly in order to show your approval of a performer or speaker
Mouth
keep your mouth shut – not to tell other people e about a secret; not to say anything because you might make a
mistake
big mouth – someone who is a big mouth or has a big mouth is annoying because they cannot keep secrets or they
often say things they should not say
make your mouth water – if food makes your mouth water, it looks so good you want to eat it immediately
Nose
red-nosed/ long-nosed – having a nose that is red, long
right under somebody’s nose - so close to somebody that they ought to notice, but they do not
stick/ poke your nose into – to show to much interest in private matters that do not concern you
turn your nose up (at) - to refuse to accept something because you do nothing it is good enough for you
look down your nose at – to behave as if you think somebody or something is not good enough for you
with your nose in the air – behaving as you are more important than other people and not talking to them
on the nose – exactly
keep your nose to the grindstone piatra de moara – to work very hard, without stopping to rest
Grammar Reference 1
Present Perfect Simple
It relates past actions and states to the present.
It is used to express:
a past action when its result can be seen at the present time and is still having an effect (Present Perfect of
Result):
I have already seen that movie. (i.e. I can tell you the story).
He has fixed his car. (i.e. He can drive it now).
activities completed in the immediate past (these events are recent, without a definite time given. The
recentness may be indicated by just. Sometimes these events happened at an unknown time in the past):
She has just met him in the computer science laboratory. (But: She met him there a few minutes ago.)
Has English been used by people at this office in the last ten years? (But: Why was English used on such a large
scale in 1999?)
She has had four car accidents. (up to the present)
activities at any time in a period up to now (Present Perfect of Experience):
I have been to Scotland once.
He has never used an English-English dictionary before.
an action or state which began in the past and continues to the present
I’ve known you for five years/ since 1996. (Since means from a definite point in the past till now, and for
expresses a duration).
How long have you worked as a translator?
How long has it taken the English language to be used by so many people?
Form
have/has+verb+(past participle)
The past participle of regular verbs ends in -ed. There are many common irregular verbs (see the list on page @).
Affirmative and negative
I
We
You
They
have (‘ve)
have not (haven’t)
worked in a petroleum factory.
He
She
has (‘s)
has not (hasn’t)
Interrogative
Have I
we
you
they
been to the United Kingdom?
Has he
she
Short answer
Have you ever been to France?
Yes, I have. No, I haven’t.
Has she ever worked as a petroleum engineer?
Yes, she has. No, she hasn’t.
Present Perfect Simple and Past Simple
Look at the use of the Present Perfect and the Past Simple in the following sentences:
I’ve lived in this flat for six months (I still do.)
I lived in this flat for two years. (Now I live somewhere else.)
John Fowles has written very good short stories. (He is still alive.)
Shakespeare wrote very good plays. (He is dead.)
He has worked in this university for four years. (But: He started working in this university in 1997)
Have you found your books? (uncertainty)
Yes, I have.
Where did you find them? (certainty).
I found them behind a couple of other books, on the top shelf.
I’ve bought a house. (indefinite)
I bought a house last month. (definite)
I bought the house after all. (implies definite: the house we talked about).
Choice between past simple and present perfect for recent events may depend on the mental attitude of the
speaker. This in turn may depend on whether the speaker feels distant in time or place from the event.
I’ve left the red bag in my room. I’m going back to take it.
Here the speaker may be about to return, and feels that the event is connected with the present.
I left the red bag in my room. I’m going back to take it.
Here the speaker may feel separated in time from the event, or be further away.
Controlled Practice 1
1. Complete this conversation by putting the verbs in brackets into the present perfect or simple past:
Maria: Hello, Dan.
Dan: Hello. I (not hear) from you for a long time.
Maria: I (see) you in town two or three weeks ago, but you (not see) me. I (be) on a tram.
Dan: Well, how are you? I remember that you were learning for your English Phonetics test. …. you (pass) it yet?
Maria: Yes, I have. I (pass) in December. I (not pass) my Lexicology exam yet. But what about you, Dan?
Anything exciting (happen) to you lately?
Dan: No, not really. My brother is still out of work.
Maria: He (graduate) from school in autumn?
Dan: Yes. He (not do) very well in his exams and he (not find) a job yet.
Maria: Are you still working at Scott’s?
Dan: Yes. They just (give) me a pay rise.
Maria: Well, that’s one piece of good news.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Insert the Present Perfect or Past Indefinite:
a. Thomas (to meet) her for the first time the day he turned 20.
b. I (to see) my friend’s name in the papers quite often lately.
c. As far as I know, Mr Black (not to return) from the dentist; he (to leave) quite a long time ago.
d. They (to stand) in silence for a few minutes; she (to speak) at last.
e. Mike, here is your cake; you (not to eat) it.
f. I don’t know why but I have the feeling that something (to happen).
g. She (to begin) reading at 8 this morning and (to go) on reading until 11 o’clock when she (to stop) and (to
have) something to eat. She (to read) about nine hours today, and (to translate) more than 25 pages.
h. When I (to buy) my car I (to ask) the company to confirm my insurance by telephone. The company (to
tell) me to wait for the response, but I (to wait) a month now and the confirmation still (not come).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Circle the correct answer:
1. When ________________ the company?
a) have you joined
b) Had you joined
c) did you join
d) have you ever joined
2. ___________________ in Pakistan?
a) Did you ever worked
b) Have you ever worked
c) Had you ever worked
d) Didn't you work
3. That's the best presentation ______________
a) I never heard
b) I didn't hear
c) I used to hear
d) I've ever heard
4. He's the most difficult customer _____________________
a) I never dealt with.
b) I never had to deal with.
c) I've ever had to deal with.
d) I've never had to deal with.
5. ___________________ to him last week.
a) I spoke
b) I've already spoken
c) I hadn’t spoken
d) I will have spoken
6. ______________ a binding contract last year and it is still valid.
a) We have signed
b) We signed
c) We haven't signed
d) We had signed
7. The reason I look so brown is that _______________ from a business trip to
Barbados
a) I come back
b) I came back
c) I never came back
d) I've just come back
8. Sales ________ in 1995 but then _____ in 1996.
a) didn’t rise have fallen
b) rose fell
c) have risen have fallen
d) rose have fallen
9. You ____________ to a word ____________
a) listened I haven't said
b) didn't listen I say
c) listened saying
d) haven't listened I've said
10. It's obvious that ________________ this report.
a) you haven't read
b) you didn't read
c) you don't read
d) you had read
4. Fill in with a suitable verb either in Past Tense or Present Perfect:
a. You (…) all your life in this luxurious mansion?
b. When I (…) school I (…) my hair and (…) it short ever since.
c. My sister (…) several poems. She just (…) her second ode.
d. For your information I (…) home at 8 in the morning and (…) just before noon.
e. John cannot send the letter since he (…) it. He (…) writing it at 5 and it’s 8 already.
f. As a child, I (…) catch a cold every month. Now I (...) a cold for more than two years.
g. It (…) very hot this summer, I wonder when it’s going to get colder.
h. The movie (…) at 12 and (…) for two hours. Everybody enjoyed it.
i. What are we going to do? We (…) the train and the next one leaves in the morning.
j. You (…) her e-mail yet? Yes, I (…) it when you (…) at school.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Rephrase the sentences below using the word in brackets:
a. It’s been years since I last met Jim. (contact)
b. When did you leave the country? (ago)
c. Mike has tried to give up smoking before. (first)
d. He was going to leave for London when he heard his flight has been cancelled. (point)
e. It was proposed that a new church should be built. (forward)
f. It is Sunday. The last time I saw Jane was on Monday. (for)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Translate into English:
a. Te-am căutat ieri vreo două ore şi te-am căutat şi astăzi. Pe unde ai umblat?
b. Cu ani în urmă creştea porumbei şi lilieci dar acum s-a apucat să planteze ananas.
c. Vecinul meu a scris şi câteva poveşti de adormit copiii; evident, le-a scris când era foarte tânăr.
d. Am băut şi am dansat până acum, că de mâncat – am mâncat dimineaţă.
e. Nu am văzut în viaţa mea atâta suferinţă cât am văzut azi la acest azil de bătrâni.
f. S-a purtat foarte frumos cu mine de când i-am spus că îi vând lui maşina mea.
g. Cumnatul meu a spart ieri casa fostului său director; după aceea s-a făcut nevăzut şi de atunci poliţia îl
caută fără încetare.
h. Tocmai am aflat vestea conform căreia preşedintele acelei ţări a căzut victimă unui atac terorist.
i. Vi se pare curios că tocmai şi-a luat lucrurile şi a plecat, după ce l-aţi înjurat că nu a avut bani să plătească
chiria?
j. Sigur, domnule, John şi-a plătit datoria. Şi-a plătit-o încă de când a luat salariul.
Grammar Reference 2
Present Perfect Continuous
It is used to express:
an activity begun in the past and still in progress at the moment of speaking:
They have been creating new products for several years.
I’ve been waiting for an hour and he still hasn’t turned up.
an activity begun in the past which has only just finished and is relevant to the current situation:
Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long?
Note: In both these uses a present perfect simple can be also used, especially with those verbs which are not
normally in the continuous aspect, in negative sentences, and when reference is made to the number of things that
have been done: They have created/ have been creating new products for several years.
There may be little contrast when some state verbs are used.
How long have you lived here?
How long have you been living here?
Some verbs (especially sit, lie, stay and wait) prefer the continuous form.
There may be a contrast between completion and incompletion, especially if the number of items completed is
mentioned.
Completed: emphasis on achievement
I’ve washed four skirts this morning.
Incomplete, or recently completed: emphasis on duration.
I’ve been washing my skirts this morning.
a repeated activity, in which case a nuance of reproach, irritation, etc. can be present.
I’ve been calling you for the past twenty minutes. Why don’t you answer the phone?
Form
-it consists of the present perfect of the auxiliary be and the indefinite participle of the main verb (verb+-ing).
Affirmative and negative
I
You
We
have been
have not been (haven’t been)
working.
They
He
She
has been
has not been (hasn’t been)
Interrogative
What have I
have you
have we
have they
been doing?
has he
has she
Controlled Practice 2
1. Translate the following sentences into English. Use Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous:
a. Te caut de o orã. Pe unde ai umblat?; b. De atunci n-am mai primit nici o veste de la el. ; c. Câte cuvinte ai
căutat în dicţionar pânã acum?; d. Locuim în România de trei ani. ; e. N-am mai vãzut-o de când a terminat
facultatea.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Supply the simple present perfect or the continuous present perfect of the verbs in brackets:
a. I’m tired. I (work) hard all day.; b. Up to now I (visit) twenty countries.; c. I saw her in August, but (not see)
her ever since.; d. How long you (learn) Chinese?; e. You’re out of breath. You (run)?; f. She (not write) the essay
on Renaissance yet.; g. What she (do) all afternoon?; h. They already (speak) to me about that experiment.; i.
Your eyes are red. You (cry).
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Choose the correct verb form:
a. How long have you been living/ have you lived in this house?
b. Angela worked/ has been working in this petroleum company for ten years and a half.
c. Alan has been/ has gone to South America.
d. He’s tired because he has worked/ has been working on the oil field all day.
e. How long have you been learning/ have you learned English?
4. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same:
a. It’s a long time since I last saw such a good movie.
I haven’t seen ………………………………………..
b. We haven’t seen each other for ages.
It’s ages ………………………………………………
c. I bought my car in 1992 and I’m still driving it.
I’ve been ………………………………………………
d. I haven’t been to Barcelona before.
It’s the first …………………………………………….
e. There is definite improvement in your spelling recently.
Lately your spelling …………………………………….
f. No wonder you are overweight. You ate chocolates in the morning, you have eaten chocolates in the afternoon
and you are still eating chocolates now and it’s 7 o’ clock.
No wonder you are overweight. You …………………….
g. I don’t know where my glasses are.
I have …………………………………………………….
h. I don’t have the textbook with me. It is at home.
I have …………………………………………………….
i. The last time I spoke to Jane was in 2001.
I haven’t …………………………………………………..
j. Eating this spicy Indian food is totally new to me.
I haven’t ……………………………………………………
4. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense: present perfect simple or continuous:
a. Peter: You (telephone) for ages. You not nearly (finish)? Jack: I (not get) through yet. I (try) to get our
Paris office but the line (be) engaged all morning.
b. Ann (fail) her driving test three times because she's so bad at reversing. But she (practise) reversing for
the last week and I think she (get) a bit better at it.
c. Tom: I often (wonder) why Bill left the country so suddenly. Peter: Actually, I just (find) out.
d. He (play) the bagpipes since six o'clock this morning. He only just (stop).
e. Why you (not bring) me the letters for signature? You (not type) them yet?
f. Tom (looking up absent-mindedly as Mary comes in): You (sunbathe)? Mary (crossly): Don't be
ridiculous! It (rain) all day!
g. A pair of robins (build) a nest in the porch since last week. I (watch) them from my window since they
began.
h. The police (not find) the murderer yet, but the dead man's brother (be) in the station all day. The police
say that he (help) them with their enquiries.
i. They (pull) down most of the houses in this street, but they (not touch) the old shop at the corner yet.
j. Tom is convinced that there is gold in these hills but we (search) for six months and (not see) any sign of
it.
k. I (wait) for the prices of the houses to come down before buying a house, but I think I (wait) too long
and the prices are beginning to go up again.
l. Peter (be) a junior clerk for three years. Lately he (look) for a better post but so far he (not find)
anything.
m. I (do) housework all morning and I (not finish) yet. I (do) mine already. I always start at 6 a.m.
n. I just (pick) ten pounds of strawberries! I (grow) strawberries for years but I never (have) such a good
crop before.
o. What you (do) with the corkscrew? The point is broken off. I'm afraid I (use) it to make holes in this tin.
p. She just (sell) two of her own paintings. She's lucky. I (paint) for five years and I (not sell) a single
picture yet.
q. They are throwing crockery at each other in the next flat. This (happen) before? Well, they (have) a
good many rows but this is the fifth time they (threw) crockery.
r. What you (do) with my typewriter? I can't find it anywhere. Tom just (go) off with it. He says he'll bring
it back when he (finish).
s. He (work) for Crow Brothers for forty years and never once (be) late. The firm just (present) him with a
gold watch as a sign of their appreciation.
t. We (mend) sheets all morning but we only (do) three, and now the sewing machine (break) down so
we'll be even slower with the next one.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Put the verbs in brackets into Present Perfect Simple or Continuous:
a. George (collect) matchboxes ever since he left school. Now he (collect) so many that he doesn't know
where to put them.
b. I (look) through my old photograph album. It's full of photographs of people whose names I completely
(forget). I wonder what (happen) to them all.
c. It was lovely at eleven o'clock, but since then the sky (get) steadily darker and the wind (rise).
d. I'm afraid the fine spell (come) to an end.
e. Since he became Mayor, my brother reckons that he (eat) 30 official lunches and 22 official dinner, and he
(lose) count of the number of receptions and parties that he (attend). He (put) on a lot of weight?
f. Secretary: Customers (ring) up all morning complaining about getting incorrect bills. Manager: I know:
something (go) wrong with our computer. The mechanic (work) on it, I hope he (find) out what's wrong.
g. Someone (use) my umbrella! It's all wet! And it was wet yesterday and the day before! Well, it wasn't me.
I (not be) out of the house for a week!
h. I (stand) in this queue for ages. It (not move) at all in the last five minutes. I think the man in the ticket
office just (shut) his window and (go) off for lunch.
i. The Town Council (consider) my application for permission to build a garage for three months. They just
(give) my neighbour permission to build one, so I hope they (decide) to let me have one too.
j. You look exhausted! Yes, I (play) tennis and I (not play) for years, so I'm not used to it.
k. They began widening this road three weeks ago; but the workmen (be) on strike for the last fortnight so
they (not get) very far with it.
l. That man (stand) at the bus stop for the last half hour. Shall I tell him that the last bus already (go)?
m. I wonder if anything (happen) to Tom. I (wait) an hour now. He often (keep) me waiting but he never (be)
quite so late as this.
n. Mrs Brown (live) next door for quite a long time now but she never (say) more than 'Good morning' to
me.
o. I just (remember) that I (not pay) the rent yet, I am surprised that the landlord (not ring) me up to remind
me. It is the first time you (be) late with the rent in 25 years. He probably thinks that you (pay) and he
(lose) the cheque.
p. Shop assistant: Could you give me some proof of your identity, madam? Customer: But I (shop) here for
fifteen years! Shop assistant: I know, madam, but apparently the company (lose) a tot of money lately
through dud cheques and they (make) new regulations which we (be told) to apply to all customers no
matter how long we (know) them.
q. What you (do)? I (look) for you for ages. I (build) a barbecue in the garden.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Translate into English:
a. Mihai e chiar culmea! Spală rufe de când am venit eu de la bâlci şi n-a terminat nici măcar pantalonii.
b. Miroase a ars în bucătărie. Iar a gătit soţul meu!
c. Tocmai am terminat de săpat grădina. Vecinul meu, săracul, sapă de azi dimineaţă dar nu a terminat decât
un sfert din teren.
d. N-ai adus încă maşina de la reparat? – Da’ de unde, caut piese de schimb de mai bine de o lună şi n-am
găsit nici una până acum.
e. Tony şi Nikki nu-şi mai vorbesc de o lună; de luna trecută îşi tot trimit mesaje de ameninţare prin poştă.
De 13 ani se chinuie românii să redreseze economia şi nici acum nu au reuşit să stabilizeze moneda naţională. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PROGRESS TEST
1. Put the verbs between brackets in the right tense:
In the past thirty years many social changes ……………… (take) place in Britain. The greatest of these
………..probably………….(be) in the economic and domestic lives of women. Almost all theoretical sex
discrimination in political and legal rights has been removed.
The changes …………(be) significant, but, because tradition and prejudice can still …………..(handicap) women
in their working careers and personal lives, major legislation to help promote equality of opportunity and pay
………(appear) during the 70s.
Since 1951 the proportion of married women who work …….. (grow) from just over a fifth to a half.
Compared with their counterparts elsewhere in the European Community, British women comprise a relatively
high proportion of the work-force, about two-fifths, but on average they …………(work) fewer hours, about 31 a
week. There is still a significant difference between women’s average earnings and men’s, but the equal pay
legislation which ………(come) into force at the end of 1975 seems to have helped to narrow the gap between
women’s and men’s basic rates. During the 1970s women’s wages ……….(rise) proportionately more than men’s
but …………..(remain) relatively low because women ……….(tend) to work in lowly-paid sectors of the
economy, they often …….(work) in predominantly female work-forces, and they work less overtime than men.
As more and more women joined the work-force in the 1960s and early 1970s there ……(be) an increase in the
collective incomes of women as a whole and a major change in the economic role of large numbers of
housewives. Families …… (come) to rely on married women’s earnings as an essential part of their income rather
than as “pocket money:, or a means of buying :extras”. At the same time social roles within the family …….(be)
more likely to be shared, exchanged or altered.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same:
a. I’ve had to wait all morning.
I have been …………………..
b. I didn’t have any idea of my next move.
I didn’t know …………………
c. The last time I was to Paris was in 1998.
I haven’t ……………………….
d. Go to the registration desk immediately on arrival.
As ……………………………….
e. Mary and John’s wedding is next weekend.
Mary and John will ………………
f. I intended to tell you about it earlier, but I simply forgot.
I was ……………………………..
g. I wasn’t very keen on tennis in those days.
I didn’t use ……………………….
h. Whose car is that?
Whom does …………………..
i. Your brother will get over his illness. Then his work will get better.
Once …………………………….
3. Choose the most suitable continuation for each sentence:
a. You can borrow this book,
A. I am not going to need it; B. won’t have been needing it; C. am not needing it.
b. It’s no use calling Barbra at home. She
A. will have left; B. is leaving; C. will leave
c. When you passed the town hall clock,
A. were you noticing what time it was?; B. have you noticed what time it was?; C. did you notice what time it
was?
d. I must apologise, I
A. hadn’t realised that this seat was yours.; B. wasn’t realising that this seat was yours.; C. didn’t realise that this
seat was yours.
e. I realised that someone had stolen one of my bags when I
A. was getting to the taxi.; B. got to the taxi.; C. have got to the taxi.
f. Can you remember what
A. you were doing five years ago today?; B. you did five years ago today?; C. you have been doing five years ago
today?
g. This is my new suit. Do you think it
A. suited me? B. suits me? C. has suited me?
h. Cleo! I didn’t expect to see you here. What
A. are you doing in London? B. were you doing in London? C. have you done in London?
i. I simply can’t understand what
A. you are waiting for; B. you wait for; C. you will wait for.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Translate the following sentences into English, using the appropriate tense:
a. Nu ştiu bine timpurile.
b. Am încercat să-ţi telefonez toată ziua. Unde ai fost?
c. Sunt căsătoriţi de zece ani.
d. Era o femeie atât de bună încât toată lumea o iubea.
e. Uite! Ţi-ai rupt tricoul.
f. Am petrecut revelionul la ţară acum doi ani.
g. Nimeni nu are voie să plece acasă până nu terminăm proiectul.
h. De multă vreme nu mai ninge mult iarna.
i. În ziua următoare şi-au continuat călătoria.
j. Ai recunoscut-o pe fata care stătea lângă tine la cinema?
k. Are maşina de două luni. Soţul ei i-a dăruit-o de în martie.
l. L-ai văzut pe John? Da, ieri a trecut pe la noi.
m. George locuia cu mama lui când aceasta a murit.
n. Ploua cu găleata de trei ore când ne-am întors acasă.
o. Ce făceai când a venit Maria la tine?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Key:
1. took; have been; have been; handicap; appeared; grew; work; came; rose; remained; tend; work; was; came;
were
2. a. I have been waiting all morning. ; b. I didn’t know what I would do next.; c. I haven’t been to Paris since
1998. ; d. As you arrive, go to the registration desk. ; e. Mary and John will get married next weekend.; f. I was
going to tell you about it earlier.; g. I didn’t use to play tennis in those days.; h. Whom does the car belong to?; i.
Once your brother has got over his illness, his work will get better.
3. a. A; b. A; c. C; d. C; e. B; f. A; g. B.; h. A; i. A
4. a. I don’t know tenses well. b. I have been trying to call you all day. Where have you been? c. They have been
married for ten years. d. She was such a kind woman that everybody loved her. e. Look here! You’ve torn your T-
shirt. f. We spent New Year’s Eve in the countryside last year. g. Nobody is allowed to go home until we have
finished the project. h. It hasn’t snowed anymore in winter for a long time. i. The next day he went on his trip. j.
Have you recognised the girl sitting next to you at the cinema? k. She has had this car for two months. Her
husband gave it to her in March. l. Have you seen John? Yes, he called on us yesterday. m. George was living
with his mother when this one died. n. It had been raining cats and dogs for three hours when we came back
home. o. What were you doing when Mary came to you?
Score:
1. 1 point + 0,60 points each x15 =10 points
2. 1 point + 1 point each x9 = 10 points
3. 1 point + 1 point each x9 = 10 points
4. 1 point + 0,60 points each x15 =10 points
Divided by 4 = 10 points
UNIT 4
In this unit you will learn:
Indefinite Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Reading
1. Read the following dialogues. Pay attention to the use of homophones.
Dialogue 1: The Portrait
In honour of John and Mary's wedding anniversary, Fred agrees to pose for his wife, who wants to paint his
portrait.
John: It feels like I have been sitting here for hours. When can I take a peek?
Mary: Sit still. I don't want you to see the painting until the whole thing is done. I am still working on your face. It
is coming out great! I think I am at my artistic peak.
John: Are we still going to that inn in Vermont this weekend to celebrate our anniversary?
Mary: Certainly! I bought a pair of tickets for a dinner show there on Saturday night.
John: That sounds nice.
Mary: What are you doing with that pear?
John: I am going to pare it, and then I am going to eat it.
Mary: Well, put it down. I don't want it in the picture.
John: Can't you just leave a hole where the pear is and fill it in later? I am hungry.
Mary: Okay, we'll take a break. Oh, no! Where is my wedding ring? I hope it didn't go down the drain when I was
wringing out those rags!
John: No, it's on the table. You took it off to paint.
Mary: Oh, good. I would hate to have lost that right before our anniversary!
Dialogue 2: The Carnival
Tammy and Bruce are spending the afternoon at a carnival.
Tammy: I am so glad we came today. I am having so much fun! This is ideal weather for a carnival.
Bruce: I agree. Where do you want to go next?
Tammy: Look! That guy over there will guess your weight. The sign says he can even guess what size you wear.
Bruce: There's no wait to see him, either. Let's go to his booth.
Carnival worker: Hey, you two! Do you want me to guess your weight? Whether you are fat or thin, I can guess
just by looking at you.
Tammy: Okay. Guess.
Carnival worker: You weigh one hundred and thirty-seven pounds, and he weighs one-seventy.
Bruce: That's correct! Hey, look! There are Stan and Judy. They're good sports. Let's see if he can guess their
weights, too!
Tammy: I'll go get them.
Practice these dialogues.
Ways with Words
1. The following are examples of easily confused homophones. These words are pronounced identically, yet they
have different spellings and meanings:
HOLE and WHOLE:
A hole (n.) is "an empty space." Whole (adj.) means "entire, total."
IN and INN:
In (prep.) means "the opposite of 'out.'" An inn (n.) is "a small hotel."
PAIR, PARE, and PEAR:
A pair (n.) means "two matched or corresponding things." To pare (v.) means "
to peel." A pear (n.) is "a fruit."
PEEK and PEAK:
Peek (v.) means "to sneak a quick look at something." A peak (n.) is "a summit or climax."
RING and WRING:
A ring (n.) is "a circular object with a hole in the middle." Ring (v.) means "to strike something for the purpose of
creating a sound, such as a bell." To wring (v.) means "to twist something."
THEIR, THERE, and THEY'RE:
Their (pron.) is "the possessive form of 'they.'" There (adv.) means "at a certain place." They're is "a contraction
of 'they are.'"
TO, TOO, and TWO:
To (prep.) is "the opposite of 'from.'" Too (adv.) means "also." Two (n.) is "a cardinal number."
WAIT and WEIGHT:
To wait (v.) means "to pause or linger." Weight (n.) is "the measurement of heaviness."
WEAR and WHERE:
Wear (v.) means "to have an item of clothing or an object on one's body." Where (adv.) refers to "the location of
something."
WEATHER and WHETHER:
Weather (n.) refers to "the climate conditions." Whether (conj.) is used "to introduce two or more alternatives."
Now practise these homographs in sentences of your own. Can you add other homophones to the ones listed
above?
2. A lot of jokes are made with homonyms and homophones, because there is a play on words. Read the following
children’s jokes.
Customer: Waiter! What sort of soup is this?
Waiter: It’s bean soup, sir.
Customer: I don’t care what it was. I want to know what it is now.
A Panda bear goes to a restaurant, he orders Coke and salad and wants to leave. The waiter asks him to pay. They
have an argument and they decide to look up the word restaurant. The definition of the word restaurant is: a
place where you eat, you drink, you have a good time and you pay money when you leave . The Panda bear insists
on checking the word Panda bear. The definition is: a Panda bear is a very nice black and white bear who eats
vegetables and leaves.
Teacher: You missed school yesterday, Johnny, didn’t you?
Johnny: No, not at all.
Mechanic: Your battery’s flat.
Driver: Oh dear. What shape should it be?
What colour would you paint the sun and the wind?
The sun rose and the wind blue.
What did the salad say to the tomato?
Lettuce get married.
Why was the doctor angry?
Because he had no patients.
What’s the difference between a ball and a prince?
One is thrown in the air, and the other is heir to the throne.
3. In the first dialogue, the wife tells her husband not to be hurried, as she still needs to work on his portrait. She
says: I am still working on your face.
Let’s learn some idioms containing the word face.
Face
Pale-faced/ round-faced etc – having a face that has a particular shape or colour
Serious-faced/ grim-faced etc – showing a particular expression on you face
Face to face – if two people are face to face, they are very close and in front of each other
Put a brave face (on) – to make an effort to behave in a happy cheerful way when you are upset or disappointed
Now practice these idioms in sentences of your own.
3. Let’s learn more idioms containing words which refer to parts of the body:
Arm
Arm in arm – if you walk arm in arm with somebody, you are walking next to them with your arm in theirs
Welcome somebody/something with open arms – to show that you are happy to see somebody or eager to accept
an idea, plan, etc.
Give your right arm – to be willing to do anything to get or do something
At arm’s length – if you hold something at arm’s length, you hold it away from your body
as long as your arm – informal a list or written document that is as long as your arm is very long
Ear
long-eared/ short-eared etc. – having long etc ears
Be a;; ears – informal to be very keen to hear someone is going to tell you
Smile/grin etc from ear to ear – to show that you are very happy or pleased by smiling so much
Give somebody a thick ear – British English informal to hit someone
Go in (at) one ear and out (at) the other – informal if information goes in one ear and out the other, you forget it
as soon as you have heard it
Keep your/an ear to the ground – to make sure that you always know what is happening in a situation
Eye
Blue eyed/ one-eyed/bright-eye/ wide eyed etc – having blue eyes, one eye, bright eyes, eyes that are wide open
etc
Have/keep an eye on somebody – to be carefully watching everything that someone does, especially because you
do not trust them to do things properly
Clap/lay/set eyes on somebody/something – to see somebody or something, used especially when you are
surprised or shocked
The naked eye – if you can see something with the naked eye, you can see it without using any artificial help such
as telescope or microscope
Be all eyes – to watch carefully what is happening or what someone is doing
Eye contact – if you have eye contact with someone, you look directly at them and they look directly at you
Run/cast eye over something – to look at something quickly without reading it in detail
Keep your eye on something/somebody – to look after someone or something and make sure they are safe
Keep you eyes open/peeled – (spoken) to carefully watch for anything
Have eyes in the back of your head – to know what is happening all around you, even when this might seem
impossible
Have a (good) eye for something – to be good at noticing and recognizing what is attractive, valuable, of good
quality
In the eyes of the law/ the world/ the police etc – in the opinion or judgment of the law, the world, the police
One in the eye for – British English a defeat or disappointment for someone else, usually used when you are
pleased about it.
Finger
Not lift/ raise a finger – not to make any effort to help someone with their work
Keep your fingers crossed – to hope that something will happen the way you want
Be all fingers and thumbs – British English to use your hands in an awkard or careless way, so that you drop or
break things
Be caught with your fingers in the till – to be found stealing money from the place where you
Have a finger in every pie – an expression meaning to be involved in many activities and have influence over
them, used especially when you think someone has too much influence
Twist/wrap somebody around your little finger – to be able to persuade someone to do anything that you want
Long-fingered/delicate-fingered etc –having long, delicate fingers
Practise them in sentences of your own.
Grammar Reference
Indefinite Pronouns
some/any; much/many, a lot of/ lots of, few (a few)/ little (a little)
1. Countable nouns are used with some+ a plural noun in affirmative sentences, and any+ a plural noun in
negative and interrogative sentences:
I’ve got some tools.
Are there any books of Physics in the house?
We don’t need any apples for this pie.
Uncountable nouns are used with some in affirmative sentences and any in interrogative and negative sentences,
but only with a singular noun:
There is some chocolate in this cake.
Is there any water in this well?
We haven’t got any butter in the house.
2. Countable nouns are used with many in interrogative and negative sentences:
How many geologists work for this petroleum company?
We haven’t discovered many new oil fields.
Uncountable nouns are used with much in interrogative and negative sentences:
How much money have you got?
There wasn’t much disappointment that awaited the drillers at the bottom of that dry hole.
3. Both countable and uncountable nouns are used with a lot of and lots of:
We’ve got a lot of uniforms.
There are lots of books in this library.
There’s a lot of mineral water in my fridge.
He’s got a lot of money.
4. Countable nouns are used with few/ a few, while uncountable nouns are used with little/ a little:
I’ve got a few problems at the moment.
We only need a little money to buy this.
The Personal Pronoun
The nominative. Form
Person Singular Plural
First person I we
Second person you you
Third person he
she
it
they
The accusative/The dative. Form
Person Sin
gula
r
Plural
First person (to) me (to) us
Second person (to) you (to) you
Third person (to) him
(to) her
(to) it
(to) them
Controlled Practice
1. Fill in the personal pronoun in the accusative or dative (required by prepositions):
a. The old man asked (he) what the time was.
b. Will you give (I) permission to go home earlier?
c. Listen to (she).
d. Will you let (they) to come to your anniversary?
e. I’ll call for (they) when I think they forgot our little misunderstanding.
f. The doctor! Send for (he) at once.
g. Please, look for it while I am away.
h. He takes much interest in (you).
2. Fill in the indefinite pronouns: somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody:
a. …..knows that the semester will finish in June.; b. ….. is knocking at the door. There must be the cleaning
woman you sent for.; c. Ask …... if they have come back from Italy. ; d. ….. came an hour ago and left this parcel
for Mary.; e. I have never seen ….. like him.; f. We haven’t heard of …. who didn’t pass the English exam.; g.
….. can tell you how mistaken you are.; h. ….. has to open the door for him!; i. She was talking and …… was
listening to what she was saying.; j. During a good performance of the actors ….. speaks.; k. I’m sorry. My
knowledge in this field is very poor. Ask ….. from the French department.; l. Can …… help me with this?; m.
….. should know these rules. They are not difficult at all.
3. Fill in the indefinite pronouns: much, many, little, a little, few, a few:
a. …… were there but listened to what she had to say.
b. Do you have any questions? Just ……
c. He didn’t give me too …… trouble, just ……..
d. There wasn’t …… sugar left, so I couldn’t make a coffee.
e. Are there many mistakes in her test paper? No, just …..
f. The problem was …….. difficult, but we finally managed.
g. There is plenty of information here but …… has been read.
h. Despite the unfavourable weather …… did come to the meeting.
i. I’ve got ….. problems to solve.
j. We only need ….. money to buy this.
UNIT 5
In this unit you will learn:
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Continuous
The Imperative
Reading
Read the following fragment from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Underline the verbs which are used in Past
Perfect:
All this while the storm increased, and the sea, which I had never been upon before, went very high, though
nothing like what I have seen many times since; no, nor like what I saw a few days after. But it was enough to
affect me then, who was but a young sailor, and had never known anything of the matter. I expected every wave
would have swallowed us up, and that every time the ship fell down, as I thought, in the trough or hollow of the
sea, we should never rise more; and in this agony of mind I made many vows of resolutions, that if it would please
God here to spare my life this one voyage, if ever I got once my foot upon dry land again, I would go directly
home to my father, and never set it into a ship again while I lived; that I would take his advice, and never run
myself into such miseries as these any more. Now I saw plainly the goodness of his observations about the middle
station of life, how easy, how comfortably he had lived all his days,
And never had I been exposed to tempests at sea, or troubles on shore; and I resolved that I would, like a true
repenting prodigal, go home to my father.
These wise and sober thoughts continued all the while the storm continued, and indeed some time after; but the
next day the wind was abated and the sea calmer, and I began to be a little inured to it. However, I was very
grave for all that day, being also a little sea-sick still; but towards night the weather cleared up, the wind was
quite over, and a charming fine evening followed; the sun went down perfectly clear, and rose so the next
morning; and having little or no wind, and a smooth sea, the sun shining upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the
most delightful that ever I saw.
I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-sick but very cheerful, looking with wonder upon the sea
that was so wrought and terrible the day before, and could be so calm and so pleasant in so little time after. And
now lest my good resolutions should continue, my companion, who had indeed enticed me away, comes to me:
“Well, Bob,” says he, clapping me on the shoulder, “how do you do after it? I warrant you were frighted, wa’n’t
you, last night, when it blew but a capful of wind?” “A capful, d’you call it?” said I; It was a terrible storm." “A
storm, you fool you,” replied he; “do you call that a storm? Why, it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship
and sea-room, and we think nothing at all; give us but a good ship and sea-room, and we think nothing of such a
squall of wind as that; but you’re but a fresh-water sailor, Bob. Come, let us make a bowl of punch, and we’ll
forget all that; d’ye see what charming weather ‘tis now?”
Ways with Words
1. Look at the following sentence belonging to this unit:. I expected every wave would have swallowed us up…
Here are some expressions containing the word that:
that far = atât de departe;
that is the point = aceasta-i problema;
that much = cam atât;
that’s how it happened = aşa s-a întâmplat;
that is why (that’s why) = de aceea, din aceastã cauzã;
that is to say = adicã;
but for that = dacã nu ar fi fost asta;
for all that = cu toate acestea;
in order that = pentru ca, sã;
like that (just like that) = aşa;
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
2. Read this sentence again: Come, let us make a bowl of punch, and we’ll forget all that; d’ye see what charming
weather ‘tis now?” In this sentence to make means to produce. Among other meanings of the verb to make, we
may mention: to create, to construct, to establish, to cause to do or be; to bring about or produce; to perform (an
action); to serve as or become; to amount to; to earn Try to make up sentences in which to express each of its
meanings. Let’s learn some expressions in which the verb to make occurs.
to make an attempt = a face o încercare;
to make the best of = a trage cât mai mult profit de pe urma, a profita la maximum de;
to make believe = a face sã creadã;
to make do = a se descurca cu o soluţie alternativă inferioară;
to make it clear = a clarifica;
to make it possible = a face posibil;
to make for = a contribui;
to make out = a înţelege, a demonstra, a redacta;
to make over = a transfera, a ceda;
to make ready = a fi gata, a (se) pregãti;
to make a stand = a se opune;
to make sure of = a se asigura de;
to make short work of/ sth = a scurta, a face ceva repede, a termina, a finaliza;
to make tight = a ermetiza, a etanşeiza, a închide etanş;
to make up one’s mind = a se hotãrî;
to make up for one’s losses = a-şi recupera pierderile;
to make up for lost time = a recâştiga timpul pierdut;
to make as if/ though = a pãrea ca şi cum, a pretinde ca şi cum, a face ca şi cum;
to make use of = a întrebuinţa;
to make way for/ to make room for = a face loc pentru.
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
3. Even if to do and to make are generally translated in the same way, there are several expressions in which you
cannot use the verb to make. Generally speaking make is used with the meaning of create or produce and do with
the meaning of carry out an action, but there are lots of exceptions:
e.g. to do an experiment
to do one’s best
to do a course
to do the donkey work
to do sbd. a good turn/ a favour
to do sth. with your eyes closed
to do harm
to do the shopping
to do wonders
to do the washing-up
to have sth. to do with
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
4. Put make or do before the following nouns:
…….. a wish; .…….fun of; .……. a fuss; …….. my homework; …….. a mistake; ...…..a noise; .……. trouble; .
……. the shopping; …….. your best; …….. a cup of tea; .……. your bed; .……. someone a favour; …..... an
excuse; …..... sense; ….....up your mind; .……. an appointment; .…….sure; .…….a difference; .……. a phone
call; .……. a mess; .……. an effort.
Past Perfect Simple
It is used to express:
an action completed before another action or moment in the past:
What happened to the students who had failed this exam four times?
He had read his lecture before he went to university.
an action which began before another moment in the past and continued up to that time or into it:
In 1999 he had written books for five years.
He had lived in this flat since he was born.
Form
-it consists of had followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Affirmative and negative
I
You
He/ She
We
They
had
had not (hadn’t)
left.
Interrogative
What had I
you
he/she
we
they
done?
Short answer
Had you read the novel before we saw the film?
Yes, I had. No, I hadn’t.
Had he spoken English before he started the Engineering English course?
Yes, he had. No, he hadn’t.
Past Perfect Continuous
It is used to express:
an action in the past begun before the time of speaking in the past and still going on that time or possibly
after:
By that time we had been working on the project for two years.
They had been living for generations in that house.
Form
-it consists of the past perfect of the auxiliary be and the present participle of the main perfect.
Affirmative and negative
By that time I
you
he/she
we
they
had been
had not (hadn’t)
been
working for a year.
Interrogative
What had I
you
he/she
we
they
been working on by that time,
last year?
Short answer
Had you been working on that project by that time for a year?
Yes, I had. No, I hadn’t.
Note that certain adverbs and adverb phrases (e.g. hardly, scarcely, no sooner, not only) are followed by inversion
of subject and verb when they are used at the beginning of the sentence. They can also be used in other parts of
the sentence without inversion.
Hardly had I entered the room when the phone started to ring. (emphatic, rhetorical construction) / I had hardly
entered the room when the phone started to ring. (ordinary, conversational English)
In contexts containing hardly/ scarcely/ barely, the connector between the two clauses is when:
Hardly/ Scarcely/ Barely had they got out of the house when it started to rain.
In contexts containing no sooner, the connector between the two clauses is than:
No sooner had the band begun to play when the electricity was cut off.
Controlled Practice 1
1. Decide the order in which these things happened. Then write two sentences using after and the past perfect.
Example:
The bank clerk gave it to me./ She looked at my cheque./ She counted out the money.
After the bank clerk had looked at my cheque, she counted the money.
After she had counted the money, she gave it to me.
a. The tourists got out of the coach./ They got back in the coach./ They took photos.
b. The prisoner ran across the yard./ He jumped out of the window./ He climbed over the wall.
c. The reporter wrote a report on the accident./ She interviewed the people there./ She went to the scene of the
accident.
d. The mechanic put a new tyre on./ He put the wheel back on./ He took the wheel off the car.
e. The shop-assistant asked me which my size was./ She wrapped it./ She showed it to me.
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2. Translate into English:
a. Se cunoşteau de trei ani. ; b. Pânã atunci lucrasem la proiectul acela de douã luni. ; c. Ce s-a întâmplat dupã ce
am plecat?; d. Îl aşteptam de o orã, când am aflat cã avusese un accident de maşină. ; e. Despre ce vorbeaţi când
ne-am întâlnit?
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3. Use the simple past, or simple/ continuous past perfect form of the verbs in brackets to complete the sentences
below:
a. Yesterday afternoon John (go) to school and (hand in) the paper she (write).
b. As soon as the (have) lunch they (leave) the restaurant.
c. It was getting late, so we (decide) to go to bed.
d. She (say) that she (study) for two hours.
e. The man (sell) fifty newspapers for five minutes, as everybody (be) interested in the story of the prime
minister.
f. She (change) from Channel 1 to Channel 3 as she (already see) the movie on Channel 1.
g. How long Monica (watch) TV by 12 o’ clock?
She (watch) TV for an hour.
h. We (sit down) to dinner when the doorbell (start) to ring.
i. How long you (work) outside when it (start) to rain?
j. It (be midnight). I (write) for five hours. No wonder I (be) so tired.
4. Connect the following sentences using until, after, before, hardly, no sooner, etc. Use the simple past and the
past perfect as appropriate:
a. The phone started to ring. Then Susan answered it.
b. Alice said “Enter”. Then he opened the door.
c. The bell rang. Then the pupils entered the classroom.
d. The teacher corrected all the compositions. Then he went home.
e. Tom went out. Then his colleague looked for him.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense and aspect (Past Perfect Simple or Continuous) :
1. She told me his name after he (leave).
2. She didn’t even say thank you after all I (do) for her.
3. After I (hear) the news, I congratulated him.
4. When I arrived, the concert already (begin).
5. When it started to rain, we (dig) in the garden for an hour.
6. He didn’t admit that he (steal) the book.
7. He just (leave) home when he came across John.
8. Yesterday I bought a new umbrella because I (lose) my old one.
9. When he finally reached London, he was tired because he (travel) for three days.
10. I didn’t think that book to be a nice birthday present for you because I (read) it and I (not enjoy) it.
Grammar Reference 2
The Imperative
It is a mood which expresses an order, a command, a wish, a greeting, a piece of advice, a threat, a request, or an
instruction:
Come here!
Leave me alone!
Watch your step!
Form
-the imperative has forms only for the second person singular and plural.
Affirmative Negative
Get ready!
Start working!
Don’t get ready!
Don’t start working!
For the first and second person together, use let's (let us):
Let's open the door.
Let's not open the door. (Negative command)
Only a few groups of words may precede the imperative verb:
adverbs of frequency:
Always open the door slowly.
Don't ever open the door to strangers.
nouns of address:
Jane, open the door.
subject pronouns
Don't you open the door.
Will and would are used for polite requests:
Would (will) you open the door, please?
Controlled Practice 2
1. Translate the following into English:
a. Serveşte-te şi serveşte-i şi pe ceilalţi!; b. Vino, te rog, la noi sã ne ajuţi sã rezolvãm o problemã de chimie
organicã. ; c. Îi dai un deget şi îţi ia toatã mâna!; d. Scrie tu proiectul la calculator, pentru cã dupã aceea trebuie
sã-l folosesc şi eu.; e. Luaţi loc, vã rog, doamnã!; f. Nu pleca, pentru că nu am terminat ce am de spus! Haide cu
mine să-ţi arăt ce ai putut să faci!; g. Nu te apropia de firele acelea pentru că sunt sub tensiune.; h. Nu încerca să
mă faci să mă răzgândesc, pentru că o să-ţi pară rău.; i. Du-te şi vezi dacă au terminat cursul.; j. Grăbeşte-te, mai
ai doar cinci minute!
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2. Make the following sentences negative:
a. Come here!; b. Get ready as we are in a hurry!; c. Be on time, because English people are never late.; d. Go
home and we’ll finish this tomorrow.; e. Work faster as we need to finish this until two o’clock. f. Show me the
letter. g. Lend Ann your skates. h. Give the waiter your order. i. Pass me the salt, please. j. Throw the ball to John.
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UNIT 6
In this unit you will learn:
Future Simple
Future Continuous
Be going to Future
Other Ways of Expressing Future
Reading
Read the following fragment from Alice’s Adventures in the Wonderland by Louis Carroll. Underline the future
tenses of the verbs:
Luckily for Alice, the little magic bottle had now had its full effect, and she grew no larger: still it was very
uncomfortable, and, as there seemed to be no sort of chance of her ever getting out of the room again, no wonder
she felt unhappy.
“It was much pleasanter at home,” thought poor Alice, “when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller,
and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole- and yet- and
yet- it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what can have happened to me! When I used to
read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought
to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I’ll write one- but I’m grown up now,” she
added in a sorrowful tone: “at least there’s no room to grow up any more here.”
“But then,” thought Alice, “shall I never get any older than I am now? That’ll be a comfort, one way- never to be
an old woman- but then- always to have lessons to learn! Oh, I shouldn’t like that!” “Oh, you foolish Alice” she
answered herself. “How can you learn lessons in here? Why, there’s hardly room for you, and no room at all for
any lesson-books!” And so she went on, taking first one side and then the other, and making quite a conversation
of it altogether; but after a few minutes she heard a voice outside, and stopped to listen.
Ways with Words
1. Read the sentence: And so she went on, taking first one side and then the other, and making quite a
conversation of it altogether. So is a word which is generally used in conversations instead of therefore which is
used in written English. Now let’s learn some expressions containing the word so:
so as/ that = aşa încât, astfel încât;
so far = pânã acum, pânã în prezent;
so far as = întrucât, în mãsura în care;
so it seems = aşa se pare;
so much = atât de mult;
so to say/ so to speak = aşa zicând, ca sã zicem aşa;
in a week or so = cam într-o sãptãmânã;
so on and so forth = şi aşa mai departe;
in so doing = procedând astfel/ aşa;
in so far as.. is concerned = întrucât priveşte.
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
2. In the sentence: That’ll be a comfort, one way- never to be an old woman- but then- always to have lessons to
learn!, the expression one way as is translated by pe de o parte. Now learn more expressions containing the word
way:
by way of = prin mijlocirea, în calitate de, cu ajutorul;
by the way = apropo;
in this way= în acest mod;
in every way = în toate privinţele;
in a general way = în genere/ în general;
in one way = într-un fel;
one way or another = într-un fel sau altul;
out of the way = afarã din cale/ drum;
under way = în curs de;
way above = mult deasupra;
way ahead = mult înainte;
way below = mai jos;
way off = la o bunã distanţã;
to give way to = a ceda la;
to make one’s way = a-şi croi drum, a face carierã.
Now practise these expressions in sentences of your own.
Grammar Reference
Future Simple
It is used to express:
actions to be performed in the future.
I shall be thirty next year.
When will you graduate from university?
She will work for our company if we give her a good salary.
Note that:
Will is normally known as the predictive future, and describes known facts, or what we suppose is true.
I’ll be late at school this morning.
The company will make a profit next year.
This can also take the form of an assumption:
That’ll be John coming so early at the party.
This means that I suppose that it is John.
Will is also used to express an immediate decision:
I’ll take this one.
Decisions expressed with going to refer to a more distant point in the future.
We use will and shall in many other ways, apart from predicting the future (in this case they are modal verbs, not
forms of Future simple): e.g.:
-intentions/ promises (I’ll buy you a bike for your birthday.)
-request/ invitations (Will you hold the door open for me, please?)
-offers (Shall I help you solve this problem?)
-suggestions (Shall we go to see that movie tomorrow?)
-threats (Just wait and see! You’ll regret this!)
-decisions (I’ll stop and ask the way.)
2. Future is not allowed in conditional and temporal clause:
If you help me, I’ll be grateful to you.
When it rains, we stay inside.
Form
Affirmative and negative
I
We
shall (‘ll)
shall not (shan’t)
come.
You
He/ She
They
will (‘ll)
will not (won’t)
Interrogative
When shall I
we
help him?
will you
he/she
they
Short answer
Will you help me finish my drilling project?
Yes, I shall.
Note: No, I won’t is not common because it is impolite, it may mean I don’t want to help you. That is why a polite
answer would be: I’m afraid I can’t.
Future Continuous
describes an event which will be happening at a future point
Come round in the morning. I’ll be working on my project.
refers to events which are going to happen anyway, rather than events which we choose to make happen:
I won’t bother to look for you in advance, because I’ll be calling into the office anyway to see if you are there.
refers to fixed arrangements and plans
The singers will be performing live in Washington Square this month.
Note that in some contexts it sounds more polite than will
Will you be going to the shops later? If you do, could you get some bananas?
Be Going to Future
It is used
to express a future decision, intention, or plan made before the moment of speaking
We’re going to move to Bucharest.
How long are they going to stay here?
She isn’t going to attend this Grammar course.
Note:
The Present Continuous can be used in a similar way for a plan or arrangement, particularly with the verbs go and
come.
She’s coming on Monday.
I’m going home.
when we can see or feel now that something is certain to happen in the future
Look at those grey clouds! It’s going to rain.
Watch out! The box is going to fall.
Form
-the verb to be in Present +to +infinitive
Affirmative and negative
I am (‘m)
am (‘m) not
going to work.
He
She
It
is (’s)
is not (isn’t)
We
You
They
are (‘re)
are not (aren’t)
Interrogative
When am I going to arrive?
is he/ she/ it
are we/you/ they
Short answer
Are you going to attend his lecture?
Yes, I am. No, I’m not.
Future Simple or Be Going to?
Look at the use of Future Simple and to be going to in the following sentences:
I’m going to improve my English. ( I decided that and I may have bought books to improve my knowledge).
What language shall I learn? Er... I know. I’ll learn some English! That’s a good idea. (I decided to learn English
at the moment of speaking.)
Other Ways of Referring to the Future
be about to, be on the point to, be due to
Be about to and be on the point of both refer to the next moment
I think it is about to rain.
I am on the point of moving to another company.
Be due to refers to scheduled times
The flight is due at 5:54 p.m.
The cocktail party is due to start at 7.
present simple and present perfect
Present simple is used to refer to future time in future time clauses
When we get there, we’ll have dinner.
Present perfect can also be used instead of present simple when the completion of the event is emphasised
When we’ve finished the work, we’ll be leaving.
present simple is used to describe fixed events which are not simply the wishes of the speaker
I retire next year.
Similarly, calendar references use the present simple.
Christmas is on Wednesday next year.
Future Perfect
has both simple and continuous forms, and refers to time which we look back at from a future point:
In two years’ time I’ll have finished my PhD thesis.
By the end of the month, I’ll have been working for him for fifteen years.
can also be used to express an assumption on the part of the speaker.
You won’t have heard the rumours about their engagement, of course.
This means I assume you haven’t heard the rumours.
Future Perfect Progressive
Future perfect progressive tense is formed by the future perfect of the verb to be and the present active participle
of the main verb:
It emphasizes the duration of one event taking place before another event in the future:
In May 2000, our family will have been living here for 30 years.
Other future references
other verbs followed by will.
Most verbs of thinking can be followed by will if there is future reference (believe, doubt, expect, think)
I think the plane will be late.
I doubt that you will have the time to see all these places in a single day.
just/ just about to
Just can be used to describe something which is on the point of happening
The train is just leaving/ is just about to leave, so I’m afraid you should leave the compartment.
hope followed by either present or future tense
I hope you’ll come and see me when you are in London.
Controlled Practice:
1. Translate into English:
a. Te voi chema când voi ajunge acasã. ;
b. Îl voi vedea sãptãmâna viitoare.
c. Azi avem repetiţie la ora douã. ;
d. Va deveni necesar sã citim mai mult de acum încolo. ;
e. Crezi cã veţi gãsi petrol aici?
f. Îţi voi telefona imediat ce ajung la hotel.;
g. Spectacolul nu va începe până la ora 5.
h. Ei nu ştiu când vor pleca.
i. Dacă va întreba cineva de mine, te rog să-i rogi să mă sune după ora 6.
j. Sper că ne veţi ajuta să reparăm calculatorul.
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2. Decide which is the correct verb form:
a. “My suitcase is so heavy!”
“Give it to me. I’ll/I’m going to carry it for you.”
b. I bought some warm boots because I’ll go/I’m going on an trip to the mountains.
c. Maria is going to be/ will be thirty-three next month so she will organise/ is going to organise a party.
d. I hear you and Mike will get/ are going to get married! Congratulations!
e. Where will you go/ are you going on holiday this year?”
“France. What about you?”
“We don’t know yet. Maybe we will go/ we are going to Spain.”
f. We’ll go/ We’re going to a conference next week.
g. Come on, hurry up or we’ll miss/ we will have missed the train.
h. Will you be going/ will you go to the market later? If you go, please buy some potatoes for lunch.
i. That will be/ is Jim at the door. He is always late.
j. In twenty four hours’ time I’ll relax/ I’ll be relaxing on the beach.
3. Put the verbs in brackets into a suitable tense:
a. It’s only an hour’s travel. I (come back) very soon.
b. What (you do) on Monday? I (have) tickets to a violin concert. Would you like to come?
c. By the end of the month I (decide) what to do.
d. I (hope) it (not rain).
e. When we (get) there, we (call) you.
f. Hurry up! The play (start).
g. It’s my twenty-ninth birthday next month so I (have) a party.
h. Maria is pregnant again. She (have) twins.
i. We’re sure everything (be) all right in the end.
j. I (be) long. I (go) out for half an hour.
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4. Decide whether the pairs of sentences A and B could be equally acceptable in the context given, or whether one
is more appropriate.
a. Why don’t you come with us?
A. The trip will be great. B. The trip is going to be great.
b. Stop that, will you!
A. I’m going to get angry in a minute. B. I’m getting angry in a minute.
c. I’d like to pay you a short visit.
A. What’ll you be doing in the evening? B. What are you doing in the evening?
d. I’ve got no homework for tomorrow so
A. I’ll watch TV. B. I’m going to watch TV.
e. We’re run out of petrol.
A. What are we doing now? B. What are we going to do now?
5. Translate into English:
a. Cred sincer că pe vremea asta săptămâna viitoare mă voi uita în sfârşit la HBO.
b. Mâine la ora 5.30 ne vom îmbarca în autocarul spre Grecia.
c. Are de gând să îl facă de râs în faţa clasei dacă nu va spune adevărul.
d. Sper că până se va întoarce fratele tău de la cules de căpşuni tu vei fi spălat toate rufele murdare.
e. Să nu uiţi de aniversarea prietenilor tăi: pe 24 ale lunii următoare ei vor fi locuit în această casă de 10 ani.
f. Când tu îţi vei face de cap în barul acela infect mâine, toţi prietenii tăi îţi vor pregăti o pedeapsă proporţională
cu vina.
g. John ştie sigur că săptămâna viitoare când va începe şcoala, vărul său va studia un manual de biologie umană.
h. Suntem înspăimântaţi de faptul că furtuna nu se va opri până diseară pe la şase.
i. Ambasada va primi oaspeţii numai după ce aceştia vor fi percheziţionaţi.
j. Vor fi trecut şase ore de la ultimul atac dar apărătorii castelului tot nu se vor preda dacă nu li se vor împlini
condiţiile.
k. Când mama se va întoarce de la ţară, micuţul John va fi cântat la vioară de cel puţin 3 ore.
l. În timp ce preşedintele va ţine un discurs despre legea dreptului de autor, jurnaliştii vor inventa tot felul de
întrebări care l-ar putea pune pe acesta în dificultate.
m. Suntem prieteni de o viaţă şi ne-am hotărât: o să cumpărăm împreună casa aceea de la munte şi o s-o
transformăm în azil pentru bătrâni.
UNIT 7
In this unit you will learn:
Passive Voice
Reading
Read the following fragment belonging to James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Look for those
verbs which are used in the passive voice. Translate the text into Romanian.
Why did he not tell it? His father, who kept the racehorses, must be a magistrate too like Saurin’s father and
Nasty Roche’s father. He thought of his own father, of how he sang songs while his mother played and of how he
always gave him a shilling when he asked for sixpence and he felt sorry for him that he was not a magistrate like
the other boys’ fathers. Then why was he sent to that place with them? But his father had told him that he would
be no stranger there because his granduncle had presented in address to the liberator there fifty years before.
You could know the people of that time by their old dress. It seemed to him a solemn time: and he wondered if
that was the time when the fellows in Clongowes wore blue coats with brass buttons and yellow waistcoats and
caps of rabbitskin and drank beer like grownup people and kept greyhounds of their own to course the hares with.
Ways with Words
1. Word sets. Try to think of the sentence […] he always gave him a shilling when he asked for sixpence […].
Now think of words connected to money. In this way you may create a word set. For example a word set of the
word time may include among other words: day, month, year, century, year, etc. Now complete the following
sentences with one appropriate word connected with the subject of money:
a. They refused to accept a cheque so I had to pay in ………....
b. When she started with the company her …………. was only $000 a year. Now it’s at least four times that.
c. When Mr Michael retired he received a .………… of $00 a month.
d. Pierre is very worried because he is in ……….... nobody will lend him any money.
e. If you want a new car why not go and see your bank manager about a ………....
2. Here is a list of words and expressions to do with money. Use your dictionary and divide them into the
following categories:
-borrowing money; saving and investing money; having a personal bank account.
Sometimes the same word will fit different categories:
-to withdraw money; a building society; a current account; a cheque card; a mortgage; to cash a cheque; to buy
shares in a company; the Stock Market; to put money in; a monthly statement; a deposit account; to earn 15%
interest.
Grammar Reference
The Passive Voice
This is the passive voice. Translate it into Romanian. Now learn about the passive voice in English.
The verbs which can accept the passive voice are transitive verbs and some prepositional verbs such as: to
account for, to attend to, to look at, to look after, to send for, to speak to, etc.
There are some transitive verbs which cannot accept the passive voice such as: to have, to hold, to possess, to
resemble, etc.
Form:
the auxiliary verb to be in the same tense as the active verb + the past participle of the lexical verb.
TENSES ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
Simple Present He paints houses. Houses are painted (by him).
Simple Past He painted his house. His house was painted.
Present Continuous He is painting his house. His house is being painted.
Past Continuous He was painting his house. His house was being painted.
Present Perfect He has painted his house. His house has been painted.
Past Perfect He had painted his house. His house had been painted.
Simple Future He will paint his house. His house will be painted.
Future Perfect He will have painted it. It will have been painted.
Present Conditional He would paint his house. His house would be painted.
Perfect Conditional He would have painted it. It would have been painted.
Present Infinitive He should paint his house. His house should be painted.
Perfect Infinitive He should have painted it. It should have been painted.
Gerund He enjoys people asking
him to paint their houses.
He enjoys being asked to paint
houses.
Perfect Gerund He remembers Jane having
asked him to paint her
house.
He remembers having been asked to
paint Jane’s house.
Use:
When the person who performs the action (agent) can easily be understood or is unknown: He has been
arrested (by the police). My bag has been stolen.
When it is necessary to express something more formally: People think that the factory went bankrupt. ~
It is thought that the factory went bankrupt/ The factory is thought to have gone bankrupt.
When we are interested in the action itself rather than the person who performs it: I was advised to save
the files once in a while (by my friend).
When we avoid the naming of a specific person who is responsible for the action: All the cakes have been
eaten (instead of: You have eaten all the cakes).
Further Points on the Passive Voice
Make, hear, see, help are followed by to+infinitive in the passive.
Let becomes was/were allowed to in the passive or is followed by a reflexive pronoun+bare/short passive
infinitive.
She let me go. / I was allowed to go.
Don’t let him trick you. / Don’t let yourself be tricked.
The passive voice with verbs of reporting such as assume, believe, consider, feel, know, report, say, think,
understand etc is formed in two ways:
It + passive verb + that-clause
Subject +passive verb + to-infinitive
They believe she is a spy. / It is believed that she is a spy. / She is believed to be a spy.
Verbs which take two objects such as allow, ask, give, lend, tell, write, pay, bring, buy, teach, etc have
two passive forms.
He gave me some money. / I was given some money. / Some money was given to me.
Verbs followed by a certain preposition take the preposition immediately after them when put into the
passive voice.
She accused me of lying / I was accused of lying.
Prepositional verbs of movement when turned into the passive voice change to other synonymous verbs
which take no preposition.
Columbus arrived in America in 1492. / America was reached (NOT arrived in) by Columbus in 1492.
The Royal couple went into the room arm in arm. / The room was entered (NOT gone into) by the Royal
couple.
Modals do not change in the passive voice. We change the active infinitive into passive infinitive.
They can’t repair the building. / The building can’t be repaired.
Many passive voice sentences do not have an active voice counterpart:
Shakespeare was born at Stratford.
This notion is based on a misconception.
It is alleged that the thief was caught.
Some sentences cannot be passivized. These are sentences where the object is:
(a) a reflexive pronoun: John has been washing himself for hours.
(b) a reciprocal pronoun: We can hardly see each other in the dark room.
I a possessive pronoun: The teacher shook his head and sighed.
Causative Forms
Have +object +past participle is used to suggest that we are instructing someone to do something for us.
I’ll have my car repaired. (I’ll arrange for it to be done)
Don’t have the files printed, please.
Have/get + object +past participle can also be used to replace a passive verb usually describing an accident
or a misfortune.
He had/got his car stolen.
Have + object + bare infinitive is used for giving instructions and orders.
The manager had the secretary type 20 letters.
Get +object + to infinitive means make or persuade somebody to do something.
See if you can get Mary to help us with our homework.
The teacher got the students to write the sentence five times.
Get + object + present participle (-ing) is used informally to mean make somebody / something start doing
something.
Once you get her talking about her children, she never stops.
Also: get moving, get going (without an object)
Want and need + object + past participle indicate that you would like or need something to be done
I want the room cleaned.
I need the reports checked.
Compare:
The Active Voice: I’m decorating the room. (I am doing it myself)
The Passive Voice: The room is being decorated. (Someone else is doing it but the agent is not important;
what interests us is the room)
Causative: I am having the room decorated.
Controlled Practice
1. Translate the following sentences into English:
a. Tu vei fi chematã de director mâine sã explici decizia ta. ;
b. El este întrebat dacã este vegetarian. ;
c. Soluţia a fost gãsitã de fratele meu. ;
d. Mi s-au furat banii. ;
e. Problema a fost rezolvatã recent prin introducerea internetului. ;
f. Doctorul a fost chemat. ;
g. El a fost ales preşedintele companiei în 1997. ;
h. Copiii sunt întrebaţi dacã ştiu în ce constã structura acestei lucrări.;
i. Se construiesc foarte multe case zilele acestea.
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. Put the following sentences into the Passive:
a. Who drew this picture?; b. People in my town built this hospital last year.; c. John can’t have done this.; d. The
soldiers shall hand in all their weapons.; e. Children had cast stones.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. Transfer these passive sentences into active ones. When no agent is given supply one:
a. My drawings were shown at the art exhibition in 2000.; b. When was your car stolen?; c. AIDS is thought to be
curable.; d. The girl has been made to recite the poem and everybody has given her a big hand.; e. The prisoners
were forbidden to smoke when they were transferred into the new building.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Rewrite each sentence beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same:
a. It is believed that the child was punished by his parents.
The child ………………………………………………….
b. When we have finished decorating the bedroom, we’ll paint the dining room.
After the bedroom…………………………………………..
c. Please turn off the lights.
I’d rather you ……………………………………………….
d. It is thought that the coins date from Middle Ages.
The coins …………………………………………………….
e. Somebody punched John in the face at a volley match.
John is thought ……………………………………………….
f. They say that Mary is difficult to work with.
Mary is said ……………………………………………………..
g. They have no idea what caused this error.
What caused this error……………………………………………
h. Ticket collectors work on the train on this line.
Tickets …………………………………………………………….
i. Somebody directed me at the wrong address.
I …………………………………………………………………….
j. The discovery of this new medicine is helping the fight against cancer.
The fight …………………………………………………………….
5. Complete the sentences using the verbs given in brackets in the passive tense suggested at the end of the
sentence:
a. Many of Bucharest’s important buildings (destroy) by the earthquake in 1977.(past)
b. My neighbour’s leg (not broken) if he hadn’t walked on ice. (perfect conditional)
c. The girl who (bite) by a dog was given a serum. (past perfect)
d. A great deal of effort (make) lately to avoid a war with that country. (present perfect)
e. Would she go to the cinema if she was to (invite)?
f. The army (instruct) to shoot if the enemy crosses the line. (future)
g. Many block-of-flats (build) in the neighbourhood. (present continuous)
h. He strongly objected to (ask) about the accident. (gerund)
i. Mary (take) to the hospital by the end of the day, I’m sure. (future perfect)
j. Something (do) if we want to rescue the rest of the crew. (modal verb)
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6. Put the verbs in brackets into a correct Passive Voice form:
a. The escaped man (arrest) a week later.
b. That person in the dock (let off) as it’s his first offence.
c. The police (instruct) to take firm action against beggars on the street.
d. I was surprised to find out that you (get paid) twice in the same week.
e. Has the search for the stolen car (give up) yet?
f. Very few criminals (catch) if the population didn’t offer information.
g. Foreign coins (not put) in parking meters in this part of the country.
h. John (think) to have broken that precious vase in the living room.
i. Could violence (control) less effectively if the police didn’t carry guns?
j. The red car (rev up) ready for the policemen to start chasing the thieves.
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7. Use one of the Passive forms of a suitable verb in each of the following sentences:
a. A lot of money (…) from a German bank two years ago.
b. Windows (…) on the inside to prevent the wind breaking them.
c. The police (…) in hearing from anyone who saw a 10-year-old child in front of the shop yesterday.
d. The lock (…) and the window (…) by the police.
e. All the persons in the room (…) for drugs.
f. Money (…) always in the bank for interest.
g. (…) the reward to those who saved Jane?
h. She doesn’t remember her purse (…) by the thief.
i. Who (…) you by at the hospital?
j. Safes (…) not often by amateurs.
k. They (…) a five year sentence by the High Court Judge.
l. A sharp instrument (…) the old man.
m. The giraffe (…) to the zoo when it escaped.
n. It was the first time, my sister never (…) by the customs before.
o. The carpet in your room (…) with orange juice.
p. When capital punishment (…) in Romania?
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8. Complete the sentences using a suitable Passive Voice verb and any necessary phrases:
a. It’s very foggy tonight; the cars … …
b. George’s watch has disappeared from the table where he left it; it … …
c. Shoplifting is on the increase; £ 20,000 worth of merchandise … …
d. There’ll be a big check at the customs tomorrow; all the people from the Middle East … …
e. He insisted that our neighbour … …
f. The evidence that one of the accused gave … …
g. My window is open instead of closed; the lock ……
h. The house was found in a terrible condition; all the rooms … …
i. Will the new laws … …
j. There was a dreadful accident and all the cars … …
9. Use the Passive form with the verb to have in the following sentences:
a. The room looks different. They (repaint it).
b. The customs officers (arrest him) if he tries to leave the country.
c. Father (fit the burglar alarm) because his house had been broken into.
d. I (vaccinate my child) against all the possible diseases when he was one year old.
e. They (check the documents) before the case comes up next month.
f. Look at that man’s green hair! He (dye it).
g. The car is covered in mud, so he (clean it) as soon as possible.
h. Someone (clean the kitchen) when mother arrived.
i. She is not quite sure but she thinks she (steal the money) in the train.
j. You shouldn’t (repair the sink) before the plumber had examined it.
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10. Complete the following sentences, using the Passive form with either have or need:
a. The roof is unsafe. It … …
b. Your back window squeaks. It … …
c. You can’t take your luggage into the shop unless you … …
d. This is quite bizarre! There are many questions that … …
e. Your hair seems shorter. Have you … …?
f. The so-called poet did not write the poem himself, he … …
g. Before we buy the mansion, we should make sure that we … …
h. There are many errors in your paper, don’t you think they … …?
i. I don’t think these translations are accurate. You … …
j. Their washing-machine is working again. They … …
11. Complete the following passage with the correct Passive forms:
When John Miller killed his uncle, he was convinced that his crime wouldn’t ever (detect). His plans were (lay)
with extreme precision. He had not (employ) as an accountant for the past ten years without acquiring a passion
for minute details. He was known as being a methodical man. His bills (pay) regularly, he had his hair (cut) once
a month, his car (service) every three months, everything that in his ordinary life needed (do), John saw to it that
it was (do). It was entirely in his character that he had made up his mind to get rid of his uncle. He was old, he
needed (care for), his desires had (consider), his wants (gratify). He had become a nuisance who should (remove)
as quickly as possible. Besides he was rich, and John was aware that his fortune ( leave) to him. ‘It is sad’, he told
to himself, ‘that he has (kill) rather than die a natural death, but the important thing is to make it look as if it (do)
while I was away.
Indeed, John’s crime would probably never (discover) if it had not stopped raining just before he came home and
if his uncle’s window had not (break) with a flower pot. He didn’t even suppose inspector Thomson would guess
that the ladder (put) outside the bedroom window after his uncle (murder). But then, as John himself said to the
inspector, the criminal always gets (catch) after all.
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12. Change the following sentences into the Active Voice:
a. The library is well provided with books.
b. The problem will be dealt with I detail next week.
c. My neighbour’s dog was run over by a truck.
d. The pen has been lost in the fire.
e. The basement was flooded with water.
f. As you see, his remarks are being received with enthusiasm.
g. Tons of uranium have been stolen from this mine this year.
h. No explanation had been given for his behaviour.
i. It is reported that there has been an earthquake in the area.
j. All TV programs were suspended for nearly 6 hours.
k. They are forbidden to enter this room.
l. The students in this University are always recommended to apply for these jobs.
m. You hate to be interrupted from your research.
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13. Change the following sentences into the Passive Voice, knowing that transitive verbs admit two passive
constructions:
a. I told my parents the truth.
b. George gave him a beautiful present.
c. My friends promised me immediate assistance.
d. I give my child two bars of chocolate a day.
e. The doorman showed us the way to the bathroom.
f. The physician prescribed a bad medicine for the sick old man.
g. You paid him that huge sum of money two days ago.
h. The teacher may give us the results tonight.
i. They awarded the Best Actor Prize to George Clooney.
j. We showed them our newly- born child.
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14. Change the following intransitive verbs into the Passive Voice, paying attention to the prepositions following
the verbs:
a. They have called for the mechanic to repair their car.
b. The pupils will have to comment upon that poem.
c. The former enemies have arrived at an agreement after many years of discussion.
d. Nobody objected to their suggestions.
e. These spoiled children do not listen to their parents.
f. The employer insists upon a strict discipline in all our work.
g. Our parents often refer to him as being a wrong model for us.
h. You spoke much about that young lady you had met a week before.
i. Nobody has lived in this haunted house for more than 50 years.
j. You must look after your kid sister; otherwise your mother will scold you.
k. Don’t put on that pink shirt, your friends will laugh at you.
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15. Translate into English:
a. Se recomandă o mai atentă cercetare a acestui proiect.
b. În acest local se vorbeşte numai limba spaniolă.
c. Se construiesc din ce în ce mai multe şcoli în acest orăşel.
d. Orice defecţiune a maşinii se repare pe loc în acest atelier.
e. S-a anunţat o reducere semnificativă la articolele de îmbrăcăminte de iarnă.
f. Se bea mult vin roşu la acest tip de petrecere.
g. Gunoiul se încarcă numai marţea şi joia.
h. S-a ridicat nivelul apelor Dunării cu 3 cm.
i. Din păcate nu s-a ajuns la nici un acord final.
j. Se vor înfiinţa centre de ocrotire a minorilor.
k. Dacă fratele tău nu se va simţi mai bine, în această seară se va trimite după doctor.
l. Mi s-a dat ocazia să-mi arăt talentul de compozitor.
m. Turiştilor li s-a arătat un magazin cu lucruri foarte scumpe după ce acestora li se furaseră deja
portofelele.
n. Se vor reface unele străzi di acest oraş după ce se va topi zăpada.
o. Ni s-a spus că pantalonii vor fi cusuţi în fabrica noastră.
p. I s-a oferit un post de director economic la cea mai puternică corporaţie din ţară.
q. Problema câinilor fără stăpân a fost dezbătută de mai multe ori săptămâna aceasta.
r. Li se comunicase că dărâmarea prin implozie a acestei clădiri va fi făcută la mijlocul săptămânii
următoare.
s. S-a ajuns la bătaie după ce s-au certat toată ziua.
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16. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible to the sentence before it:a. My cousin’s child completely destroyed my paper. My paper … …
b. First prize was awarded to a freshman in our school. A freshman … …
c. The referee refused him permission to enter the game. He … …
d. Tom has earned several thousand dollars from his new book. Tom’s new book… …
e. She suggested we eat Mike’s new favourite meal. We … …
f. Leaving this shirt in the rain has made it shrink. This shirt … …
g. We watched my brother drive the car into the garage. We watched the car … …
h. I dropped the china cup and cracked it. The china cup … …
i. Mother added flour to the sauce and thickened it. The sauce … …
j. They’re buying a lot of copies of that volume of poetry. That volume of poetry … …
17. Fill in each of the blanks with a suitable word or phrase:
a. Your decisions were rejected and you were (…) back down.
b. I suppose she needs (…) told to be careful with that acid solution.
c. The issue was (…) been told where his wife disappeared.
d. The package is believed (…) delivered by some strange people.
e. They were (…) been given 15 more minutes to complete the test.
f. The coffee maker is out of order but I’m (…) fixed tomorrow.
g. The lights in my room have been flickering for a while; I must (…) to look at the wiring for
me.
h. Jack is quite a difficult person; that’s something his friends will have (…) to.
i. We (…) house broken into yesterday.
j. Children can get (…) in by burglars going from house to house.
18. Write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original one, but using the word given.
a. Some of his neighbours are saying that he is selling marijuana. (rumoured)
b. He wants it to be clear to his friends that he’s honest. (seen)
c. George often tells his parents how much of his ill-luck is down to you. (heard)
d. They believe that the captain fell overboard and died. (fallen)
e. Our teachers don’t want any repetition of such a ridiculous behaviour again. (repeated)
f. The plan was originally to complete the task by 3 o’clock. (due)
g. As a kid, Mary was not allowed to play with matches. (let)
h. Subtracting is something one takes for granted after a while. (get)
i. All of his friends spent last month repairing his boat. (had)
j. She couldn’t find her way out of the labyrinth. (got)
k. I don’t like very much my mother scolding me in front of my friends. (having)
l. It’s not difficult at all for Ben to copy the paper from his colleague. (copied)
m. Since we won the prize, we’ve had more telephone calls than we can deal with. (swamped)
n. Janine’s answer took the audience by surprise. (aback)
o. The rain forced our weekend trip to be cancelled. (rained)
p. The House of Parliament is the tallest building in the area. (dwarfed)
q. His latest article about unemployment came in for sharp criticism in this newspaper. (pilloried)
r. There were thousands of strikers in the yard of the factory. (packed)
s. Our new manager wants us to call him “Sir”. (addressed)
t. Never forget that friends will be friends. (borne)
u. I became very emotional when I found out my wife had given birth to a daughter. (overcome)
v. His grandmother underwent a three-hour operation to remove the brain tumour that had been
diagnosed. (operated)
w. Our professor of History was given the Academy Award by Oxford University. (conferred)
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________19. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible to the sentence before it.
a. She didn’t remember that she had been called home by her mother. She has no recollection of … …
b. You vaguely remember that you drank five bottles of wine last night. You have vague memories of
… …
c. Sometimes it is quite embarrassing when people laugh at you. Being … …
d. George was severely criticized for his bad jokes and was more attentive after that. Having … …
e. They really wish they hadn’t been pushed to eat that horrible soup. They really regret … …
f. I can’t explain what it feels like for nobody’s ever given me the chance to fly a plane. Never … …
g. The group of people moved towards the Town Hall from all sides. The Town Hall … …
h. Peter poured wine into the glass until it was full. The glass … …
i. Mice came into the room through a sort of hole in the wall. The room … …
j. Do not put the card in until the screen shows ‘Insert your card’. The card is only … …
k. It’s over twenty years since anyone saw that valuable painting. That valuable ……
l. People crave for justice and they need to see it done. Justice must not … …
m. They’ve had to call the office five times to find out the result of the race. The office … …
n. The dentist is supposed to be filling one of my teeth this afternoon. I’m … …
PROGRESS TEST 2
1. Match the sentences on the left with the functions on the right:
A B
1. We’ll have a thunderstorm tonight,
I’m sure. - b.
a. stating a planned arrangement
2. Will there be a general strike? b. making a prediction
3. I’ll send you a card from Paris c. making a request
4. Will you send me an e-mail? d. expressing future hope
5. Shall I go to the library for you? e. expressing future uncertainty
6. Shall we take a drive into the
country later?
f. offering
7. I’ll report you to the police next
time.
g. promising/ stating an intention
8. The wedding will take place next
Friday.
h. making an invitation
9. I hope you’ll come and see us on
Saturday.
i. asking for a prediction
10. Explain it to them again. Perhaps
they’ll understand.
j. threatening
11. Will you have dinner with us on
Sunday?
i. making a suggestion
2. Change the following sentences into the Passive Voice:
a. A child asked me a question on my way home; he wanted to know the time.
b. The gust of wind blew the woman’s hat off.
c. What will you call your new cat?
d. She has burned the chicken in the oven.
e. He wrote the paper in time.
f. They consulted the doctor when they were ill.
g. They are shutting the bank for the winter holydays.
h. She soon lost sight of her friend.
i. My brother has been looking after the dog for the last two years.
j. We could read the note by the light of the candle.
k. Children ask a lot of questions.
l. The bodyguards requested us to show our tickets.
m. I must pay the telephone bill at the end of the month.
n. Father made her cry hard.
o. We didn’t fix the roof yesterday.
p. Nobody asked Mike to come.
q. People mustn’t walk on the grass in this park.
r. They are going to write a song tonight.
s. The children have made him captain of their team.
t. We haven’t invited our friends to the party yet.
u. Someone is going to beat him soon!
v. I found your bike I front of the cinema.
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3. Fill each of the gaps in the following sentences with an appropriate verb from the list. The verbs should be used
in the passive.
strewn, deemed, scheduled, inundated, overcome, baffled, dubbed, shrouded, short-listed. dwarfed
a. The secretary (…) by exhaustion after 12-hour typing and had to go home.
b. How he managed to obtain such a large sum of money (…) in mystery.
c. Since her book on cooking came out, she (…) with requests for some more recipes.
d. My brother, who is rather short, (…) by almost all of his colleagues.
e. Richard’s new album (…) for release next year.
f. All the neighbours I asked (…) by the reason of her disease.
g. Unfortunately, your language in this newspaper article (…) inadequate for the public taste.
h. Impossible as it may seem, Christine (…) the most beautiful girl in Europe.
i. Having read the manuscript, we all agreed: his paper should (…) for last year’s Literature prize.
j. When we came back from the mountains, our clothes (…) all over the house.
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Translate into English:
a. Când voi pleca la munte, o să-mi iau şi haine subţiri şi haine groase.
b. Dacă voi avea timp, o să-ţi telefonez.
c. El intenţionează să se înscrie la acest curs săptămâna viitoare.
d. Noi vrem să ştim dacă ne puteţi ajuta sau nu.
e. Am ajuns cam târziu acasă, aşa că spectacolul se terminase deja la televizor.
f. El fusese chemat de director de mai multe ori înainte de a veni la serviciu.
g. O să-mi dau maşina la reparat, pentru că i s-au defectat frânele.
h. Ei au de gând să-şi amenajeze vila anul viitor.
i. De îndată ce voi termina raportul o să te informez în legătură cu rezultatele cercetării mele.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Key:
1. 1. b; 2. i; 3.g; 4. c; 5. f; 6. k; 7. j; 8. a; 9. d; 10. e; 11.h
2. a. I was asked question on my way home; he wanted to know the time; b. The woman’s hat was blown off (by a
gust of wind); c. What will your new cat be called?; d. The chicken has been burnt in the oven; e. The paper was
written on time; f. The doctor was consulted when they were ill; g. The bank is being shut for the winter holidays;
h. Her friend was soon lost sight of; i. The dog has been looked after(by my brother) for the last two years; j. The
note could be read by the light of the candle; k. A lot of questions are asked by children; l. We were requested to
show our tickets (by the bodyguards); m. The telephone bill must be paid…; n. She was made to cry hard (by
Father); o. The roof wasn’t fixed yesterday; p. Mike wasn’t asked to come; q. The grass mustn’t be walked on in
this park; r. A song is going to be written tonight; s. He has been made captain of the children’s team; t. Our
friends haven’t been invited to the party yet; u. He is going to be beaten soon! v. Your bike was found in front of
the cinema.
3. a. was overcome; b. is shrouded; c. has been inundated; d. is dwarfed; e. is scheduled; f. were baffled; g. has
been deemed; h. has been dubbed; i. should be short listed; j. were strewn.
Score:
1.1point each x 10 = 10 points
2.1 point + 0.40 points each x 22 = 10 points
3.1 point + 0.90 points each x 10 = 10 points
4. 1 point + 1.00 point each x 9 = 10 points
Divided by 4 = 10 points
2.
3.
4. a. When I go to the mountains I’ll take both thick and warm clothes.
b. If I have time I’ll call you.
c. He is going to take up this course next week.
d. We want to know if you can help us or not.
e. We arrived home later, so the TV show had already been over.
f. He had been called by the director several times before coming to work.
g. I’ll have my car repaired, for his brakes were broken.
h. They are going to have they villa decorated next year.
i. As soon as I finish the report I’ll inform you on the results of my research.