Carte Gramatica Arleen Ionescu

English Practical Course 1

CONTENTS

Unit 1___________________________________________________________________________7

Reading_______________________________________________________________________7

Ways with words_______________________________________________________________8

Grammar Reference____________________________________________________________11Present Simple______________________________________________________________11Present Continuous__________________________________________________________13Verbs which do not take the Continuous Aspect in English____________________________14

Controlled Practice____________________________________________________________15

Unit 2__________________________________________________________________________23

Reading______________________________________________________________________23Ways with Words______________________________________________________________24

Grammar Reference 1__________________________________________________________30Past Simple_________________________________________________________________30Past Continuous_____________________________________________________________32Past Simple and Past Continuous_______________________________________________34

Controlled Practice 1___________________________________________________________34Grammar reference 2___________________________________________________________46

The Ordinal Numeral_________________________________________________________46The Fractional Numeral_______________________________________________________47The Multiplicative Numeral_____________________________________________________47

Controlled Practice 2___________________________________________________________47Unit 3__________________________________________________________________________49

Reading______________________________________________________________________49

Ways with Words______________________________________________________________50Grammar Reference 1__________________________________________________________56

Present Perfect Simple________________________________________________________56Present Perfect Simple and Past Simple__________________________________________58

Controlled Practice 1___________________________________________________________59

Grammar Reference 2__________________________________________________________65Present Perfect Continuous____________________________________________________65

Controlled Practice 2___________________________________________________________67Progress Test 1_________________________________________________________________75

Unit 4__________________________________________________________________________81


Grammar Reference____________________________________________________________87Indefinite Pronouns___________________________________________________________87The Personal Pronoun________________________________________________________89

Controlled Practice____________________________________________________________89

2 English Practical Course

Unit 5__________________________________________________________________________93


Past Perfect Simple__________________________________________________________97Past Perfect Continuous_______________________________________________________98

Controlled Practice 1___________________________________________________________99

Grammar Reference 2_________________________________________________________102The Imperative_____________________________________________________________102

Controlled Practice 2__________________________________________________________103

Unit 6_________________________________________________________________________105

Reading_____________________________________________________________________105

Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________106Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________107

Future Simple______________________________________________________________107Future Continuous__________________________________________________________109Be Going to Future__________________________________________________________109Future Simple or Be Going to?_________________________________________________111Other Ways of Referring to the Future__________________________________________111Future Perfect______________________________________________________________112Future Perfect Progressive____________________________________________________112Other future references______________________________________________________112

Controlled Practice:___________________________________________________________113

Unit 7_________________________________________________________________________117

Reading_____________________________________________________________________117

Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________118

Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________119The Passive Voice__________________________________________________________119Further Points on the Passive Voice____________________________________________121Causative Forms___________________________________________________________122

Controlled Practice___________________________________________________________123

Progress Test 2_________________________________________________________________141

Unit 8_________________________________________________________________________147

Reading_____________________________________________________________________147Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________148

Grammar Reference 1_________________________________________________________149The Conjunction____________________________________________________________149Coordinating Conjunctions____________________________________________________149Subordinating Conjunctions___________________________________________________150


Grammar Reference 2_________________________________________________________153Number of nouns___________________________________________________________153



Unit 9_________________________________________________________________________159

Reading_____________________________________________________________________159

Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________160

Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________162The Noun_________________________________________________________________162Gender___________________________________________________________________163Countable/uncountable nouns_________________________________________________164Nouns which may be uncountable or countable____________________________________164The Genitive/Possessive Case_________________________________________________165


Unit 10________________________________________________________________________181

Reading_____________________________________________________________________181

Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________182

Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________184Prepositions_______________________________________________________________184Prepositions in Phrasal Verbs_________________________________________________185Place of Prepositions in the Sentence___________________________________________185Prepositions of Time_________________________________________________________186Problematic Prepositions of Movement and Place__________________________________186

Controlled Practice___________________________________________________________190Progress Test 3_________________________________________________________________203

Unit 11________________________________________________________________________207

Reading_____________________________________________________________________207

Ways with Words_____________________________________________________________208

Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________209Position of adjectives________________________________________________________209The Order of Adjectives in a Series_____________________________________________209Capitalising proper adjectives__________________________________________________210Collective adjectives_________________________________________________________211Adjectival opposites_________________________________________________________211Comparative and Superlative Adjectives_________________________________________212Comparative Sentences______________________________________________________215


UNIT 12________________________________________________________________________233

Reading_____________________________________________________________________233Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________234

The Article________________________________________________________________234The Indefinite Article_________________________________________________________234The Definite Article__________________________________________________________235Zero Article________________________________________________________________238


Unit 13________________________________________________________________________245

Reading_____________________________________________________________________245


Grammar Reference 1_________________________________________________________246The Adverb________________________________________________________________246


Grammar Reference 2_________________________________________________________249Punctuation________________________________________________________________249

Unit 14________________________________________________________________________255


Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________258First Conditional____________________________________________________________258Second Conditional_________________________________________________________259Third Conditional___________________________________________________________260Mixed Conditionals__________________________________________________________261


Unit 15________________________________________________________________________275


Grammar Reference___________________________________________________________278Modal Auxiliaries___________________________________________________________278


Progress Test 4_________________________________________________________________293

Appendix 1_____________________________________________________________________299

Appendix 2_____________________________________________________________________309

Bibliography___________________________________________________________________315

Bibliography___________________________________________________________________315


Unit 1

In this unit you will learn:

Present Simple

Present Continuous

Verbs which do not take a continuous aspect

ReadingRead 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 words1. 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.. 11th 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 flows 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, 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 the 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


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 present participle of the main verb (verb+ -ing).


I am (‘m)

am not (‘m)

not

working.

You

We

are (‘re)

are not


They (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 the Continuous Aspect in English

There are verbs in English which are not generally 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 think you are right. (This is my opinion). 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? (Who is taking

care of the baby?)

Controlled Practice1. 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) the Middle Ages in the 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.

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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 your 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

Carter. We …….. up at half past eight every

morning

read

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 what 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 TV.

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) warm 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.

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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.

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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


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 the 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 Words1. 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. skillful.

b. If you don’t understand anything 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 of what someone has said, you should pretend that

you have understood.

A. very; B. fairly; C. surely; D. quite.

d. If you want to practise 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.”

6. 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 spelt 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 a thing that puzzles 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 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,

But give the door a slam

And then your nerves receive a jar-

And then there’s jars of jam.

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 is not a moth in mother,

Nor both in bother, broth 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)


7. Read the sentence: 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. 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



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 299)

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


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 descriptions in narrative

I entered the room and looked around. My sister was playing with her dolls,

Father was reading some news in the newspaper, of course, 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)


I

He

She

was

was not (wasn’t)

working.

You

We

They

were

were not

(weren’t)

Interrogative

What was I

he

doing?


she

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 it.)

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

meantime to interrupt them).

Controlled Practice 11. 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 by 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.

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4. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or continuous:

a. She lit the fire at 8.00 and it (burn) brightly when Mike came home at

9.00.

b. Mother (make) a cake when the light (go) out.

c. He (watch) the movie when the phone (ring). He (turn) down the sound

and (go) to answer it.

d. The admiral (study) the battle plans when he (receive) news of the

invasion. He (insist) on finishing his task.


e. They suddenly (realize) that they (fly) with the wrong plane.

f. I just (open) the door when the wind (blow) and (break) all the windows

in the room.

g. He (dig) his garden when he accidentally (cut) three of his toes.

h. This (annoy) the bull, which immediately (begin) to chase Mr. Smith.

i. As they (walk) along the road they (hear) a car coming from behind them.

j. Tom (turn) round and (hold) up his hand. The car (stop).

k. I (find) this ring as I (dig) in the garden. It looks very old. I wonder who

it (belong) to?

l. A little later the teacher (notice) that smoke (rise) from this desk. ‘You

(smoke) when I (come) in?’ he (ask).

m. He (say) that he (build) himself a house and that he (think) it would be

ready in two years.

n. ‘Why you (lend) him that book? I still (read) it.’ ‘I’m sorry. I (not know)

that you still (read) it.’

o. At 3 a.m. Mrs. Pitt (wake) her husband and (say) that she (think) that

someone (try) to get into the house.

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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?

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6. Fill in the gaps with suitable verbs in the Simple Past or Past Continuous:

a. She (…) the voice that (…) 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.


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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 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 sounded muffled and despondent. The atmosphere chilled the bones

and congested the lungs. Some people attributed the characteristic adenoidal

whine 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 environments, condemned to

be idle in a place where there was nothing much to do, except work.

(David Lodge, Nice Work)

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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 Australian 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 being surprised by

German parachutists and shot. He was not certain of anything, and he had

vagueness about coming back or waiting to get down the 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.

(James Aldridge, Signed with their Honour)

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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 a 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 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 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)

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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 fourtieth

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 21. 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.

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.

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Unit 3


Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect Continuous

Differences between the Present Perfect and thePast Tense

Reading1. 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 have received from their daughter, Joan.

Margaret: Joan has 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: OK. I will check with Joan first.

Practise these dialogues.

Ways with Words1. The English language has a very complex spelling system.

Homographs are words that are spelled the same but pronounced

differently (such as \'PREsent\ 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 impossible

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 practise 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 your 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 practising a new skill

keep your hand in – to keep practising something so you do not lose your

skill

a firm 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 hand – used when comparing different or

opposite facts or ideas

give somebody a (big) hand (of applause) – to clap loudly in order to show

your approval of a performer or speaker

Mouth

keep your mouth shut – not to tell other people 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 too much interest in private matters that

do not concern 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 if you are more important than other

people and not talking to them

on the nose – exactly

keep your nose to the grindstone – to work very hard, without stopping to

rest

Grammar Reference 1

Present Perfect Simple

It relates past actions and states to the present.


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 299).


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 four years ago)

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 reference: 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 11. 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’s; 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 the 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 an 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)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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


an activity which began in the past and is 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 which began in the past, 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 the 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./ They have created 2000 new products so far.

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 present participle

of the main verb (verb+-ing).


I

You

We

They

have been

have not been (haven’t been)

working.

He

She

has been

has not been (hasn’t been)

Interrogative

What have I been doing?


have you

have we

have they

has he

has she

Controlled Practice 21. 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 going/ 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 5 pm.

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 ……………………………………………………

5. 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

(throw) 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.


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. 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)

out 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 lot 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 grid in the

garden.


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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.

f. De 13 ani se chinuie românii să redreseze economia şi nici acum nu au

reuşit să stabilizeze moneda naţională.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Progress Test 11. 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 as 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.

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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 întâi 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?

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Key:

1. have taken; have been; have been; handicap; appeared; has grown; 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 the 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


Indefinite Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Reading1. 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 Words1. 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 your 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 practise 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

Ear


long-eared/ short-eared etc. – having long ears

be all 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

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 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 him when she deserted him

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 Singular Plural

First person (to) me (to) us

Second person (to) you (to)

you

Third person (to) him

(to) her

(to) it

(to)

them

Controlled Practice1. 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).

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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.

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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.

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a. I-am dat cuiva cartea, darn nu-mi amintesc cu siguranţă când.

b. Mi-a fost decernat premiul Uniunii Scriitorilor acum trei ani.

c. Aş vrea puţin zahăr în cafea, te rog. Este prea amară.

d. Cu puţină răbdare, totul se va rezolva.

e. Lui i s-a părut că ceva nu este în regulă, aşa că s-a retras din cursă.


f. Toată lumea o iubeşte. Se pare că i-a cucerit pe toţi.

g. Nu este nevoie de foarte mult vin la friptură.

h. Mulţi elevi aşteaptă vacanţa cu nerăbdare.

i. Aş vrea să ştiu câţi studenţi au picat la acest examen.

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Unit 5


Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Continuous

The Imperative

ReadingRead 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 that 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 Words1. Look at the following sentence belonging to this unit: I expected that

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;


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.


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



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


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.


I

You

He/ She

We

They

had

had not (hadn’t)

left.

Interrogative

What had I

you

done?


he/she

we

they

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


an action which started in the past before the time of speaking in the

past and still going on at 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 verb (v +-ing).


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

been working on by that time,

last year?


they

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 auxiliary 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 11. 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.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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 the simple/ continuous past perfect form of the

verbs in brackets to complete the sentences below:

a. Yesterday afternoon Joan (go) to school and (hand in) the paper she

(write).

b. As soon as they (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) :

a. She told me his name after he (leave).

b. She didn’t even say “thank you” after all I (do) for her.

c. After I (hear) the news, I congratulated him.

d. When I arrived, the concert already (begin).

e. When it started to rain, we (dig) in the garden for an hour.

f. He didn’t admit that he (steal) the book.

g. He just (leave) home when he came across John.

h. Yesterday I bought a new umbrella because I (lose) my old one.

i. When he finally reached London, he was tired because he (travel) for

three days.

j. 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! Don’t get ready!


Start working! 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 21. 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 folosesc şi

eu computerul pentru a formata niste dischete.

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


Future Simple

Future Continuous

Be going to Future

Other Ways of Expressing Future

ReadingRead 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 Words1. 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.


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.


Grammar Reference

Future Simple


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


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


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 the 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 ajunge la spectacol în timp util?

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 a 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.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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?


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.

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Unit 7


Passive Voice

ReadingRead 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 Words1. 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 $ 1000 a

year. Now it’s at least four times that.

c. When Mr Michael retired he received a .………… of $ 100 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

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.

(c) 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 Practice1. 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.

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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.


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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 the 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 from 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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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 repară 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 din 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.

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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 21. 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?

k. 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 on time.

f. They consulted the doctor when they were ill.

g. They are shutting the bank for the winter holidays.

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 in 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 participles should be used with the verb to be in the

appropriate tense:

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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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 sunat 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 renoveze vila anul viitor.


i. De îndată ce voi termina raportul o să te informez în legătură cu

rezultatele cercetării mele.

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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 a 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.

was short listed; j. were strewn.

4. a. When I go to the mountains I’ll take both light 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 rather late, 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 the brakes broke down.

h. They are going to have they villa redecorated next year.

i. As soon as I finish the report I’ll inform you on the results of my research.

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



Unit 8


Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

Number of Nouns

ReadingRead the following fragment from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Pay

attention to the conjunctions. Underline the coordinate conjunctions with

one line and the subordinate ones with two lines:

Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.

“While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr.

Bingley.” “I am sick of Mr. Bingley,” cried his wife.

“I am sorry to hear that; but why did not you tell me so before? If I had

known as much this morning I certainly would not have called on him. It is

very unlucky; but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the

acquaintance now.” The astonishment of the ladies was just what he

wished; that of Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when the

first tumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it was what she had

expected all the while.

“How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet! But I knew I should

persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to neglect such

an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a good joke, too,

that you should have gone this morning and never said a word about it till

now.” “Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose,” said Mr.


Bennet; and, as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the raptures of his

wife.

Ways with Words1. In the last sentence from the text, the preposition with appears. Now learn

some expressions containing the preposition with:

with due regard for/ with all due deference to = cu tot respectul cuvenit;

with an eye to = urmãrind, fãrã a pierde din vedere;

with the exception of = cu excepţia cã;

with full steam on = cu toatã viteza înainte;

with reason = pe drept, pe bunã dreptate;

with reference/ respect to = în privinţa, referitor, cu privire la;

with a view of = în scopul de a;

as with = la fel ca şi;

together with = împreunã cu;

to do away with = a înlãtura, a termina cu.


2. Read the following sentence taken from the same text: she began to

declare that it was what she had expected all the while.

How do you translate in all the while? Now learn some expressions with the

adjective all.

beyond all doubt = în afarã de orice îndoialã;

all at once = dintr-o datã;

all the better = cu atât mai bine;

all in all = în întregime, cu totul;

all in good time = toate la timpul lor;

all the more as = cu atât mai mult cu cât;

all over = peste tot;

all worn out = complet uzat;


first of all = înainte de toate;

of all kinds = de toate felurile;

that is about all = ca, asta-i tot;

it is all one to them = le este tot una;

once for all = o datã pentru totdeauna.


Grammar Reference 1

The Conjunction

Conjunctions join words, phrases and clauses:

He slipped and fell on the floor.

He moved quickly but quietly.

Please watch my baggage while I buy my train ticket.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join units that are equal grammatically

( have the same function in the sentence):

He slipped and fell on the floor. (And joins two verbs)

He moved quickly but quietly. (But joins two adverbs)

Conjunctions both...and, not only... (but also), either...or,

neither...nor make the connection more intense. They are also called

correlative conjunctions:

Both Lisa and I will go to the party.

Not only did she have two helpings, she also had dessert!

Either my husband or I can drive you home.

Neither money nor power can make him happy.

The second noun determines the number of the verb with neither...

nor and either...or:


Neither the teacher nor THE STUDENTS are allowed to wear jeans.

Neither the students nor THE TEACHER is allowed to wear jeans.

Punctuation with Coordinate Conjunctions

A comma is not necessary when only two elements (two words, two

phrases, two clauses) are joined by a coordinate conjunction.

The doctor told him not to smoke or drink.

However, if three or more units are joined, use commas after the first

and second units. This is called a serial comma.

Men, women, and children are welcome.

It is not compulsory to use a comma before the last unit: Men, women and

children are welcome.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join elements of unequal rank. Here are

some common subordinating conjunctions: after, although, as, as

much as, because, before, how, if, since, that, unless, what, when,

where, who, whom

She never saw him after he left town.

He got a ticket because he was speeding.

She has been very ill since her operation.

Controlled Practice 11. Complete each sentence with an appropriate coordinate or subordinate

conjunction:

A journey to the National Parks of the United States is a rare and

unforgettable walk on the wild side. It is to feel once more the power of the

old myths, to once again know that the land is the cradle of life, a. ……….

nature is the hand setting b. ……… craddle endlessly rocking.


To the west, on the Olympic Peninsula, is the brooding, primordial coastline

of Olympic National Park. The great rocks rising from the sea were once a

part of the landmass. c. …….. the relentless sea chiseled away the softer

stone, creating the haunting monoliths rising from the tides. Along this

coast, and beyond, into the Olympic Mountains, is one of the most diverse

wilderness areas in North America. Within the park are alpine meadows,

majestic white-robed peaks, d. …….. some sixty active glaciers slow-

sliding their relentless way down from the heights. On the western slopes of

the mountains, there is a remarkable rainforest.

In Wyoming are the rugged, majestic battlements and spires of the Teton

Mountains. e. …….. most mountain ranges, the Tetons have no foothills.

They rise dramatically to a height of almost 14,000 feet. Although relatively

small, the Colorado River must surely be the most powerful river of them

all. For the Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon. To travel from one

end of the canyon to the other would be a journey of 277 serpentine miles.

Sometimes the walls of the canyon are less than a half mile wide.

Far to the south and the east of the Colorado are the gentle waters of f.

…….. may be the most unusual river in the world. The Seminoles called it

"Pa-hay-okee," g. …….. "Grassy Water." Here is the central feature of

Everglades National Park. A river that is 100 miles long, 50 miles wide, and

averages only 6 inches deep. Slowly flowing through the entire southern

reaches of the Florida Peninsula, the Everglades teems with an extraordinary

variety of life. Within its labyrinth of cypress swamps, hammocks, islands

and hyacinth pools, live more than 350 species of birds.

Sea. Mountain. River. Each has had a powerful impact on human

experience. h. …….. perhaps the most ancient influence has been the forest.

Within the National Parks of North America there are vast reaches of forest.

On the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the giant sequoias are the survivors of a

forest realm that has endured for millennia. Some of these patriarchs have


stood for more than 2000 years. They are the largest living things on earth.

Far to the east, there is a more gentle forest. In the ancient mountains of

southern Appalachia, in Shenandoah National Park i. …….. in Great Smoky

Mountains National Park, are seemingly endless groves of oak, hickory,

maple and other hardwoods. To walk these cool, serene, vaulted byways is

to feel an intimacy with nature rarely found in this modern world where man

and nature are too often strangers. These are softer mountains, laying

comfortably on the earth as if sleeping within their counterpanes of mist.

The Cherokee called these woodlands "The Place of Blue Smoke."

Bryce Canyon seems like an enchanted city built by mythical giants long

departed. There are castles and whimsical skylines, arches, minarets, towers,

all cut from stone by the delicate, j. …….. powerful hand of water, time and

wind. Some of the walls are 600 feet long and 200 feet high. Within the

avenues of the city are magnificent silent shapes k. ……… seem to have

once been alive.

Eighty miles west of Bryce Canyon are the massive walls and towers of

Zion National Park. l. …….. the formations of Bryce are delicately carved,

the temples of Zion seem to have been hacked from the earth with bold,

powerful strokes. Vertical canyon walls rise thousands of feet from the

valley floor.

m. …….1794, n. ……..Captain George Vancouver first explored these

shores, the glacier has receded more than 75 miles. No longer shrouded in

ice, the bay is a theater where one of nature's most spectacular dramas is

performed. Here is where glaciers come to die.

The lands and landscapes of Yosemite are a banquet for the eye o. ……..for

the soul. Here within the valley and in the high country are stone cliffs

towering taller than anything man has made. Waterfalls dance in the heights

like angels in lace and then fall thundering through the sunlight into the lap

of the valley. Here are glacial lakes and alpine meadows and streams of


liquid crystal. Among the marvels of Yosemite are two so powerful they

will dwell in the eye of the mind forever.

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Grammar Reference 2

Number of nouns

Nouns are made plural by adding:

-s: book-books, tool-tools

-es to singular nouns ending in -s, -z, -x, -ch, -sh, -ss, -o: bus-buses, box-

boxes, match-matches, brush-brushes, potato- potatoes (But: photo-photos)

-ves to nouns ending in -f(e): knife-knives, leaf-leaves, shelf-shelves (But:

roof-roofs, proof-proofs, cliff-cliffs, handkerchief-handkerchiefs)

-ies to nouns ending in consonant + y: lady-ladies

-s to nouns ending in vowel + y: toy-toys

Note: dwarf-dwarfs/dwarves; hoof-hooves/hoofs; scarf-scarfs/scarves

Some nouns form their plural irregularly

man-men, woman-women, foot-feet, tooth-teeth, goose-geese, louse-lice,

mouse-mice, child-children, ox-oxen, person-people/ persons

Foreign plurals

- datum-data, medium-media (but: museums, asylums)

- nucleus-nuclei, stimulus-stimuli, genius-genii (spirits)/geniuses (men of

genius) (but: bonuses, geniuses, viruses)

- alga-algae, larva-larvae, formula-formulae/formulas (but: dilemmas, villas,

diplomas)


- index-indices (algebraic signs) /indexes (tables of contents), appendix-

appendices (in books)/appendixes (anatomical)

- analysis-analyses, axis-axes, basis-bases, crisis-crises, diagnosis-

diagnoses, hypothesis-hypotheses, thesis-theses

- phenomenon-phenomena, criterion-criteria (but: demons, neurones,

protons, ganglions)

Some nouns remain unchanged in the plural:

Craft, cod, deer, fish, Japanese, means, plaice, salmon, sheep, squid, species,

series, spacecraft, trout

Some nouns are only plural:

a. arms (weapons), belongings, cattle, clothes, congratulations,

earnings, goods, groceries, greens (vegetables), lodgings, oats, odds

(chances), outskirts, people, police, premises (building), regards,

remains, riches, savings, surroundings, thanks, etc.

b. garments, tools and instruments consisting of two parts: binoculars,

compasses, glasses, jeans, pants, pliers, pyjamas, scales, scissors,

spectacles, trousers, etc.

collective nouns can take either a singular or a plural verb, according

top the meaning.

The staff were not in agreement with the new rules. (We refer to the

individual members)

The staff of the school consists of fifty people. (We refer to the group as

a unit)

Some collective nouns are:

audience, choir, class, clergy, club, committee, company, crew, crowd,

family, firm, government, jury, orchestra, public, team, union, youth,

etc.

Some nouns have different meanings when turned into plural:

Air (atmosphere)-airs (behaviour)


Cloth (a piece of material)-clothes (garments)

Compass (a magnetic compass)-compasses (an instrument for drawing

circles)

Content (what is written or spoken about in a piece of writing, speech)-

contents (the things contained in a box, place, etc.)

Custom (a traditional event)-customs (the government department which

collects taxes on imported goods)

Damage(harm done to something)-damages (monetary compensation)

Experience (gaining knowledge or skill over a period)-experiences

(activities/events one has done/lived through)

Fund (a sum of money saved for a purpose)-funds (money)

Glass (a drinking receptacle)-glasses (spectacles)

Hair (the hairy part of the head)-hairs (fine strands growing from the

skin)

Look (a style, an expression)-looks (a person’s appearance)

Manner (a way in which something is done)-manners (social behaviour;

customs)

Minute (sixty seconds)-minutes (notes taken as a record of a meeting)

Relation (a connection)-relations (members of the same family)

Scale (the relative size of something)-scales (an instrument for

weighing)

Spectacle (an object of attention)-spectacles (glasses; also specs)

Spirit (a person’s soul or mind; a magical creature)-spirits (a person’s

feelings; a strong alcoholic drink)

Wood (the hard material trees are made of)-woods (small forests)

Work (employment)-works (the moving parts of a machine; a place of

manufacturing processes)

Note:

Some of the above nouns have their own regular plurals: minute/minutes


Compound nouns form their plural by adding –s/-es:

a. to the noun if the compound has only one noun: passer-by – passers-

by

b. to the second noun if the compound consists of two nouns: cupboard

– cupboards

c. to the first noun if the compound consists of two nouns connected

with a preposition: mother-in-law – mothers-in-law

d. at the end of the compound if it does not contain any nouns:

breakdown – breakdowns

Controlled Practice 21. Complete this newspaper article. Choose the correct singular or plural

form in the brackets:

Clayton Factory for Milchester

The Clayton Clothing Company is going to build a new factory in

Milchester. (This/These) (new/news) (was/were) announced by company

chairman Mr David Clayton yesterday. Mr Clayton spent the morning in

Milchester before returning to the Clayton headquarters at Granby.

The Clayton company (has/have) been in existence for 130 years and

(is/are) famous for its “Polymode” (good/goods) The slogans “You’re never

alone with a pair of Polymode (trouser/trousers)” and “Polymode

(jean/jeans) (is/are) the (one/ones) for you” are well known. The company’s

profit last year of two million pounds (was/were) the highest in the clothing

business.

Mr Clayton will not say how (much/many) new (job/jobs) there will be, but

the (information/informations) that there will be (work/works) (is/are) hard

to find at the moment, and 2,000 unemployed people (is/are) a high figure

for a small town.


2. Make the nouns in these sentences plural. Make all other changes which

are necessary:

a. This child is a naughty one.

b. That phenomenon was interpreted by the geologists.

c. I need to buy some kerosene for my stove.

d. When I entered the room, he was taking a book from the shelf.

e. Where have you put that box?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Select the form you consider appropriate in each of the following

sentences:

a. His (brother-in-laws /brothers-in-law) have committed several crimes.

b. Three (basketful /basketfuls) of oranges have been gathered so far.

c. (Ninety-year-olds /ninety-years-old) don’t need to use

(toothbrushes /teethbrushes).

d. They keep talking about the legend of (men-eaters /man-eaters).

e. The (women doctors /woman doctors) I met there are professionals.

f. Milk has lots of (by-products /bys-products).

g. George didn’t count his (footsteps /feetsteps) from the station to the

library because he considered it useless.

h. I don’t like (two-hour-walks /two-hours-walks).

i. (Mothers-in-laws /mothers-in-law) are considered by some men real

shrews.

j. The (commander-in-chiefs /commanders-in chief) decided to surrender.


4. Fill in the correct plural for the words in brackets:

a. Mars and Venus revolve on their (axis) like the Earth.

b. It can be hilarious if translators make mistakes in their (analysis).

c. (Oasis) save sometimes Bedouins’ lives.

d. A great deal of (datum) was stolen from our computers.

e. All grammar books contain (index).

f. Jack will send some (memorandum) to the President.

g. He doesn’t like spending his time playing with mathematical (formula).

h. Ten (addendum) had been proposed before they arrived.

i. He knows almost all (genus) of animals.

j. You have to finish your (thesis) before the first of July.

k. As a President, he had to face many international (crisis).

l. The (criterion) of success must be found through experience.

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Unit 9


Gender of Nouns

Countable/Uncountable Nouns

Synthetical/ Analytical/ Double Genitive

ReadingRead the following fragment from Chapter 2 (The Glorious Whitewasher) of

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Underline the nouns and divide them into

concrete, abstract, proper and common nouns:

SATURDAY MORNING was come, and all the summer world was bright

and fresh, and brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if

the heart was young the music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every

face and a spring in every step. The locust trees were in bloom and the

fragrance of the blossoms filled the air. Cardiff Hill, beyond the village and

above it, was green with vegetation, and it lay just far enough away to seem

a Delectable Land, dreamy, reposeful, and inviting.

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-

handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep

melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence, nine

feet high.

Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing, he dipped

his brush and passed it along the topmost plank; repeated the operation; did

it again; compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with the far-

reaching continent of unwhite washed fence, and sat down on a tree-box

discouraged. Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing


“Buffalo Gals.” Bringing water from the town pump had always been

hateful work in Tom’s eyes, before, but now it did not strike him so. He

remembered that there was company at the pump.

White, mulatto, and negro boys and girls were always there waiting their

turns, resting, trading playthings, quarreling, fighting, skylarking. And he

remembered that although the pump was only a hundred and fifty yards off,

Jim never got back with a bucket of water under an hour- and even then

somebody generally had to go after him. Tom said:

“Say, Jim, I’ll fetch the water if you’ll whitewash some.” Jim shook his

head and said:

“Can’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis, she tole me I got to go an’ git dis water an’

not stop foolin’ roun’ wid anybody. She say she spec’ Mars Tom gwine to ax

me to whitewash, an’ she tole me go ‘long an’ ‘tend to my own business- she

‘lowed she’d ‘tend to de whitewashin’.” “O, never you mind what she said,

Jim. That’s the way she always talks.

Gimme the bucket- I won’t be gone only a minute. She won’t ever know.”

Ways with Words1. Try to translate Jim’s speech. It is very hard to understand what he is

saying due to the fact that first of all he speaks American English, and he is

highly uneducated, so he can’t speak grammatically correct

Learn some Americanisms which you might need when you hear spoken

American English.

The following are expressions typical of North American English. They are

used only in informal speech:

He's gonna wait here. = He is going to wait here.

They wanna come at five. = They want to come at five.

I gotta go now. = I have got to go now.

I otta be there at noon. = I ought to be there at noon.


He ain't * at home. = He is not at home.

* Ain't means am not, isn't, aren't. It is less frequently used than the other

Americanisms.

2. In the sentence: There was a song in every heart, the preposition in

introduces an Adverbial of place. Now let’s learn some expressions

containing the preposition in:

in all probability = dupã toate probabilitãţile;

in all together = în total;

in the beginning = la început;

in contrast to/with = în contrast cu;

in common with = în comun cu;

in itself = în sine;

in order to/ that = ca sã, pentru ca;

in particular = în special;

in the place of/ in lieu of = în loc de;

in practice = în principiu;

in progress = în curs de;

in print = tipãrit;

in return for = în schimbul a;

in quantity = în cantitate;

in search of = în cãutare de;

in spite of = în ciuda faptului cã;

in such a manner = în aşa mod;

in sum = pe scurt, în douã vorbe;

in that = în aceea cã;

in token of = în semn de, ca dovadã;

in turn = cu rândul;

to be interested in = a fi interesat de;

to result in = a avea ca rezultat;


to succeed in (+doing sth.) = a avea succes în; a reuşi în.(e.g. She succeeded

in passing the exam).

Now practice these expressions in sentences of your own.

3. Look for the preposition at in the text. Now learn some expressions

containing the preposition at:

at best = în cel mai bun caz;

at a disadvantage = în dezavantaj;

at ease = liniştit, pe îndelete;

at full load = cu sarcinã plinã/ totalã;

at intervals = la intervale, intermitent;

at liberty = fãrã restricţii, liber;

at most = cel mult;

at once = imediat;

at request = la cerere;

at right angle = la unghi drept;

at stake = în joc;


Grammar Reference

The Noun

There are four kinds of nouns in English:

abstract nouns (love, freedom thought);

common/concrete nouns (book, table);

collective nouns (family, herd);

proper nouns (Greg, London).

Gender

Masculine: men and boys (he)


Feminine: women, girls, cars, ships, countries (she)

Neuter: babies, animals, things (it)

Notes:

- Babies and animals are referred to as male or female when we know

their sex.

- Cars, ships and countries are sometimes referred to as female but the

neuter is more common in modern English.

Most common nouns referring to people have the same form

whether male or female: teacher (man or woman), doctor, etc.

Some common nouns referring to people have different forms for

male and female:

Actor – actress gentleman – lady policeman – policewoman

Barman – barmaid heir – heiress steward – stewardess

Bachelor – spinster husband – wife son – daughter

Boy – girl hero – heroine uncle – aunt

Bridegroom – bride host – hostess widower – widow

Duke – duchess monk – nun waiter – waitress

Emperor – empress nephew – niece

Father – mother prince – princess

Some common nouns referring to animals have different forms for

male and female:

Bull – cow cock – hen tiger – tigress

Drake – duck gander – goose stag – doe

Dog – bitch lion – lioness stallion – mare

Countable/uncountable nouns

Countable nouns are those which can be counted: one book, two books,

three books. Countable nouns can be singular or plural: This cup is empty.

These cups are full.


Uncountable nouns are those which cannot be counted. Uncountable nouns

can only be singular: The water is cold. The weather is fine. The coal has a

good quality.

They take a singular verb and are not used with a/an. The words some, any,

no, (a) little, much, plenty of etc can be used with uncountable nouns.

Uncountable nouns are:

Names of substances (materials, liquids, gases. etc): leather, paper, wood,

metal, silver, water, coffee, bread, meat, butter, wine, flour

Activities and sports: running, swimming, shopping, gardening, football,

tennis

Games ending in –s: billiards, darts, bowls, dominos etc

Diseases ending in –s: mumps, rickets

Names of subjects: history, mathematics, music, physics

Languages: Russian, Greek, German, English

Abstract nouns: love, hope, advice, information, intelligence, beauty,

hunger, poverty

Collective nouns: furniture, luggage, equipment, accommodation, traffic

Nouns which may be uncountable or countable

Some nouns are uncountable when we talk about the substance, material or

abstract concept but countable when we talk about one specific item.

Chicken/a chicken, stone/a stone, hope/ a hope, education/an education

Some nouns which are usually uncountable can be countable when we refer

to a particular variety.

Wine/an excellent wine, fruit/ a very sweet fruit

In informal English, drinks and some types of food which are normally

uncountable can be counted, particularly when we are making an order in a

restaurant

Many uncountable nouns can be made countable by means of partitives:


a piece of cake/information/baggage/advice/furniture/work/equipment;

a glass of water/beer/wine; a slice of bread a tube of toothpaste

a jar of jam; a loaf of bread a bar of soap/chocolate

a sheet of paper; a pot of tea a blade of grass

an item of news; a cup of tea a flash of lightning

a drop of water/oil; a lump of sugar a clap of thunder

a box of chocolates; a game of chess a cube of ice

a metre of cloth; a kilo of meat a roast of meat

a packet of biscuits; a bottle of wine a pint of beer

a pound of flour; a whiff of garlic a gust of wind

a puff of smoke a beam of light a breath of fresh air

a strip/acre of land a pile of rubbish an article of clothing

a grain of sand a stack of hay a ball of string

a set of cutlery a word of advice a roar of laughter

an attack of fever a state of emergency a stroke of luck

a piece of music a wink of sleep a feat of passion

The Genitive/Possessive Case

Form:

o The ‘S Genitive/the Synthetical Genitive: the boy’s hat, the

boys’ hat

o The OF Genitive/the Analytical Genitive: the director of the

museum

o Double Genitive: a work of Milton’s

1. The Inflected/Synthetical Genitive (the ‘S Genitive)

Form:

‘s is used with singular and plural nouns not ending in –s: a man’s

job, men’s work, the butcher’s (shop), a child’s voice, the children’s

room


A simple apostrophe (‘) is used with plural nouns ending in –s: the

girls’ school, the Smiths’ car

Other names ending in –s can take ‘s or the apostrophe alone: Mr

Jones’s/ Mr Jones’ house

With compounds, the last word takes the ‘s: my brother-in-law’s

guitar

‘s can only be used after initials: the MP’s briefcase, the VIP’s escort

‘s is omitted in the phrase for … sake: for goodness sake

‘s is often added to a noun phrase (the group genitive): the Duke of

York’s eldest son

If joint possession is intended, the apostrophe is placed on the last

element: Tom and Mary’s baby

Individual possession requires an apostrophe with each element of the

series: America’s and England’s problems.

The local genitive is used to denote institutions of various kinds

(restaurants, churches, theatres, etc), a home, a shop: at Joe’s, at the

chemist’s, at my parents’ (home)

The synthetical genitive (‘s genitive) is used after:

nouns denoting people or other beings (animate nouns): John’s

lecture, my parents’ advice, the horse’s neck, the dog’s bark

nouns denoting measurement, time, space, quantity, size, distance,

weight: a two months’ practice, yesterday’s newspaper

in expressions of money + worth: ten dollars’ worth of sugar

collective nouns: the government’s decisions, the Parliament’s laws

geographical names, vehicles, natural phenomena, etc.: England’s

mountains, the spaceship’s crew, the afternoon’s heat.

names of seasons, months, days: a winter’s day/a winter day

some expressions (these have an alternative with of): the water’s

edge, at his journey’s end, the water’s surface, for charity’s sake


some other expressions (they do not have an alternative with of): at

arm’s length, within arm’s reach, at a stone’s throw, their money’s

worth

some idiomatic expressions: to one’s heart’s content, to my mind’s

eye, to a hair’s breadth, at one’s wit’s end, a bird’s eye view

2. The OF Genitive

Form:

It is formed by means of a noun which is preceded by the preposition of: the

cover of the book. It is mainly used with inanimate nouns

Usage:

In titles and formal speech or written text: the Poetical Works of

Alfred Tennyson, the welfare of the people

If a genitive governs another genitive, the former is expressed by the

of- phrase: the house of my sister’s neighbour

With nouns coming from adjectives: the contempt of the rich

When the governing noun is modified by a long phrase or clause: the

intelligence of the woman across the street

3. The Double Genitive

Form:

It is made up of the inflected genitive (‘s) and the of genitive: a nephew of

Queen Mary’s, lyrics of Hugo’s, two friends of Jack’s

Compare:

A portrait of Dali (one portraying him) – a portrait of Dali’s (one painted by

or belonging to him)

Controlled Practice1. Translate into English:

a. Inventatorul telefonului este Graham Bell


b. S-au fãcut progrese semnificative în medicină şi s-au descoperit

medicamente împotriva cancerului .

c. El foloseşte multe maşini-unelte produse in Franta

d. Doi prieteni de-ai lui John i-au făcut o surpriză de ziua lui.

e. Tatãl studentului a venit la universitate sã vorbeascã cu profesorul de

chimie.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Translate into English, taking into account the form of uncountable

nouns:

a. Aceasta este o mobilă prea veche pentru gustul nostru.

b. Orice informaţie despre jaful de la bancă este vitală.

c. Nu mai am strop de energie ca să urc şi panta aceasta.

d. Un fulger urmat de un tunet asurzitor i-au speriat pe copii.

e. Alaltăieri am cumpărat cinci săpunuri şi astăzi nu găsesc nici unul.

f. Bagajul meu se află între cele două doamne grase.

g. Mi-a dat un sfat foarte important: să nu mănânc pâine după miezul nopţii.

h. I-am rugat să ne cumpere patru pâini de Extrapan.

i. A băut trei cafele şi l-a apucat ameţeala.

j. Povestea din război cu o pasiune extraordinară.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Match:

a bunch of beads

a bundle of stars

a fleet of beer

a cluster of rags

a clump of grapes

a flight of trees

a string of taxis

a crate of flowers

a pack of stairs

a bouquet of cards

a burst of energy

an attack of laughter

a hint of abuse

an ounce of trouble

a stroke of fever

a wink of luck

a feat of sleep

a term of endurance

a word of imprisonment

a state of emergency


4. Use the correct form of the verb:

a. The audience (is, are) asked to pay attention to the speech.

b. My family (has, have) been living in that chalet for years.

c. The majority (was, were) against the war.

d. That team (is, are) all children.

e. Mathematics (was, were) my favourite subject.

f. Politics (is, are) a matter of no interest to me.

g. The police (has, have) been chasing the thieves for weeks.

h. The audience (has, have) just come back and (is, are) taking (its, their)

seats.

i. Your heroics (was, were) useless in that situation.

5. Put into the possessive and carry out any necessary changes in the

wordings of the sentences:

a. Mary, the daughter of the baker, is my best friend.

b. I have done that for the sake of my cousin George.

c. During the holiday of three weeks of their friends, the children had to go

to the mountains.

d. The novels of Dickens and Hardy are very often read nowadays.

e. The nephew of Chris and Liz is very smart.

f. She took the coat of somebody else.

g. There is a magazine belonging to Mr. Smith in almost every country.

h. There was a great variety of cars for the disabled in the fair.

i. The speech of the President was received with applause.

j. Cotroceni Palace is the residence of the President of Romania.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Rewrite the following sentences using the underlined words in the

possessive case. Make any other necessary changes in the wordings of the

sentences:

a. The jam I bought weighed half a kilogram.

b. Mike bought some flowers costing a dollar.

c. The highway to the next city was ninety kilometres.

d. The movie lasted three hours.

e. They granted them an interview lasting half an hour.

f. His mother bought some books which cost ten pounds.

g. I have seen a building of 450 metres in the city of Atlanta.

h. The man on the street weighs 250 kilograms.

i. It was a journey of ten days.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


7. Supply the correct collective nouns. Choose from the following: bevy,

bunch, swarm, row, fleet, pack, colony, clump, board:

a. My cousin was bitten by a ……… of bees.

b. She ate a ……… of grapes in two minutes.

c. Although the forest caught fire, some ………… of trees were still

untouched.

d. A ……….. of buildings was destroyed by the earthquake.

e. The teacher told them that wolves attack in ……… .

f. George bought Mary a box of chocolates and a ……… of flowers on her

birthday.

g. The …………. of managers decided to buy the product.

h. A ………… of ships had been sent to rescue the survivors.

i. A ………… of termites was eating my furniture.

j. A …………. of boys was laughing at the clown.

8. Put in the missing partitive:

stretch, acre, sip, spell, scrap, pinch, bowl, drop(2), litre, lock, hint,

metre, beam, gust.

a. You should add a ……… of salt and mix the ingredients.

b. A ……… of cloth is not enough to make the dress you have dreamt of.

c. She wrote the address on a ………… of paper.

d. This morning a ………. of wind broke two windows of my house.

e. My neighbours send for the police at the slightest ……….. of trouble.

f. They would like a ………… of pineapple juice.

g. George has never drunk beer so he tried a ………. of mine.

h. They will open a new ……….. of road between Tokyo and Osaka.

i. A ……… of light from your candle was enough to find the lost ring.

j. A ………. of soup will help you get rid of your nausea.

k. They went inside as they had felt a ………. of rain.


l. That ………. of land is very rich in oil.

m. The painting needs a ………. of green here and it will be perfect.

n. The killer cut a …….. of hair of the victim to have a souvenir.

o. They’ve had ………… of good weather so far.


a. Divorţul copiilor vecinilor noştri va avea loc luna viitoare.

b. Spune-i domnului Cole, amantul prietenei vărului meu, că dacă îl prind îi

rup oasele!

c. Casa cea nouă a administratorului parcului naţional al oraşului nostru are

cel puţin treizeci de camere.

d. Am putea să ne întâlnim la şcoală, nu avem de mers mai mult de 15

minute până la aeroport.

e. Are 93 de ani şi la vârsta ei o călătorie de 12 ore cu trenul este sinucidere

curată.

f. O turmă de oi mi-a invadat curtea; fii atent, turma ta se împrăştie în toate

direcţiile!

g. Face bagajele de cel puţin patru ore; dacă ea avea un singur bagaj nu dura

atât de mult.

h. Trebuie să aflăm toate informaţiile necesare; fiecare informaţie este

vitală.

i. Piesa noastră de mobilier este foarte modernă, dar mobila de dinainte de

război era de mare clasă.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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10. Write a before the nouns which are used as countable nouns:

a. I am lucky to have had … very good education. … Education does not

just take place at school.

b. … Beauty is my favourite concern. Mary is … real beauty.

c. His eyes are not very sensitive to … light. Is there … light in Mike’s

room?

d. Tom has proved of … great help to me. I have to call my family because I

desperately need … help.

e. I don’t usually drink … tea. I’ll have two cappuccinos and … whisky,

please.

f. He has … great love of art. Sometimes … love can solve all the problems.

g. You can’t get a job without … experience. I’m so glad I read it: it was …

wonderful experience.

h. The statue is built of … marble. That is … beautiful stone.

i. … Fear is a protective, natural human feeling. He has … terrible fear of

snakes.

j. You were so hungry that you ate … whole turkey. I like red meat but I

don’t eat … pork.

k. John thinks that’s … really beautiful painting. … Painting can be a really

relaxing activity.

l. I usually eat … fruit for dinner. That’s … very unusual fruit. What is it?

m. This meal has … potato in it. Would you like … baked potato?


11. Choose the right word from the brackets:

a. The scissors (was/were) on the table a few minutes ago.

b. His luggage (was/were) found without much effort.

c. A (little/few) knowledge (is/are) as dangerous as having none.

d. (much./many) women on the boat (was/were) getting seasick from the

waves.

e. There (is/are) several means of reaching the chalet on daylight.

f. Billiards (is/are) a very interesting game.

g. The news printed in that magazine (is/are) always accurate.

h. We should buy (much/many) furniture; there (isn’t/aren’t) (much/many)

chairs and tables here.

i. How (much/many) information do you need to get it done?

j. You gave me (much/many) ideas about the job but very (little/few)

advice.

12. Fill in the blanks with one of the following words: bar, bit, item, piece,

slice:

a. He wanted to buy a … of chocolate but the shop was closed.

b. There are three outrageous … of news in today’s paper.

c. I cut several … of bread for my kid sister.

d. They will buy a new … of furniture for their bedroom.

e. We are allowed to take four … of luggage in our trip.

f. With a … of luck you can still catch the train.

g. You can’t eat that … of cold beef left because it is off.

h. This is a … of good advice, you should take it into consideration.

13. Use either the analytical or the synthetical genitive with the nouns in

brackets:

a. They painted only one (wall, their room).


b. The (neighbours, friends) were invited to the party.

c. Do you know the (Moon, distance) from the Sun?

d. We are amazed by (that girl, lies).

e. The Amazonian jungle is one of the (world, natural wonders).

f. Your business depends on his (country, future).

g. When they got to the (bottom, the stairs) they realized that was not their

house.

h. I’ll never forget (Helen, words).

i. Have you read (today, newspaper)?

j. Father is trying to fix the (leg, chair).

14. Fill in the blanks with nouns derived from the words in brackets:

a. He is a fantastic (basketball), but also a good volley (play).

b. We were able to give a satisfactory (explain) for our (behave).

c. Children have a great deal of (curios).

d. The (begin) of the book was boring, but the (end) was more exciting.

e. There is a great (differ) between to remind and to remember.

f. She will give the detective a detailed (describe) of the thief.

g. (Visit) are requested to sign their names in the book.

h. The (advertise) will have to be published in the morning paper.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


15. In the following fragment, articles are missing. Put in a/ an / the as

appropriate:

I remember in dim and distant past my children being obsessed by man

called Bob Dylan. I have no idea if he’s still alive, but impact he had in

sixties and seventies was huge. I remember one song called ‘Blowing in

Wind’; my son – he’s in his fifties now – sang it all day and all night, month

in and month out, for several years. And it was so silly: ‘How many times

must man look up before he can see sky?’ I mean, question like that can’t be

taken seriously, can it? And, ‘How many times must white dove fly before it

sleeps in sand?’ And then answer to profound questions: ‘Answer, my

friend, is blowing in wind.’ Generation after mine didn’t know what life was

all about, did they? We did, of course. ‘Very thought of you.’ ‘Just way you

look tonight.’ ‘Night they invented champagne.’ They were real songs. But

what came next? ‘How many years can mountain exist before it is washed to

sea?’ And there was whole generation singing alone to song. Funny world

we live in, I say it’s funny world we live in.

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16. Put one of the nouns in each of the sentences.

dislikes, travels, authorities, matters, heavens, hopes, expenses, means,

sights, terms, sands, feelings, odds, interests, talks, basics, arms, movements

a. The Blue Killer was never arrested and was never handed over to the

(…).

b. The (…) opened and, we didn’t have any umbrellas, so we got soaked.

c. The actor thinks he can win the award but we suspect the (…) are against

him.

d. What is the purpose of your going to Hawaii? Well, just to see the (…).

e. There’s no need for us to discuss the (…) of this marriage, I suppose.

f. Don’t be rude! What about her (…), can’t you imagine you hurt her?

g. Civilians are forbidden to carry (…) during peacetime.

h. Peace (…) in Palestine are meant to put an end to the guerrilla fights.

i. I suppose they won’t claim travel (…) for their voyage to the island of

Crete!

j. My boss’s likes and (…) shouldn’t be of any interest to the employees.

k. I’m warning you, if you keep teasing my daughter, start considering

yourself on shifting (…).

l. Jack trusts his aunt, he tells her all his (…) and fears.

m. He’s up and about, isn’t he? I hear that he is off on his (…) again.

n. Have you found out what our enemies (…) are over the following days?

o. I’m sure the gangsters discussed a range of important (…) since the

Godfather was present.

p. We’ll have to get back to (…) to understand the grammar of the English

language.

q. Try as I might, I won’t find any (…) of transport at this hour of the night.

r. In the (…) of the citizens, could you answer these questions, Mr. Mayor?


17. Write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original

sentence, using the word given. This word must not be altered in any way.

a. All the money they managed to earn was spent on clothes. (proceeds)

b. She wasn’t as innocent as it seemed to be. (means)

c. George got on very well with his father-in-law. (terms)

d. There’s little chance of raining this week. (odds)

e. Parents don’t agree with their children’s liberal ideas. (eye)

f. They play football, even if it’s snowing, raining or extreme cold.

(weathers)

g. I don’t think John is planning to buy that expensive house. (designs)

h. It will be best for her to help them right now. (interests)

i. Once the causes of Mike’s death are made public, the policemen will

arrest the suspects. (open)

j. She is convinced her daughter is going to be as successful as herself.

(high)

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Unit 10


Prepositions

Compound Prepositions

Place of Prepositions in the Sentence

Problematic Prepositions of Time and Space

ReadingRead the following fragment from Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. Pay

attention to the use of preposition in English. In what way are prepositions

different in Romanian? Try to see when the use of the English prepositions

is different from the use in Romanian:

She hurried out of the side garden to the front, where she could stand as if

in an immense gulf of white light, the moon streaming high in face of her,

the moonlight standing up from the hills in front, and filling the valley

where the Bottoms crouched, almost blindingly. There, panting and half

weeping in reaction from the stress, she murmured to herself over and over

again: “The nuisance! the nuisance!” She became aware of something

about her. With an effort she roused herself to see what it was that

penetrated her consciousness. The tall white lilies were reeling in the

moonlight, and the air was charged with their perfume, as with a presence.

Mrs. Morel gasped slightly in fear. She touched the big, pallid flowers on

their petals, then shivered. They seemed to be stretching in the moonlight.

She put her hand into one white bin: the gold scarcely showed on her

fingers by moonlight. She bent down to look at the binful of yellow pollen;


but it only appeared dusky. Then she drank a deep draught of the scent. It

almost made her dizzy.

Mrs. Morel leaned on the garden gate, looking out, and she lost herself

awhile. She did not know what she thought. Except for a slight feeling of

sickness, and her consciousness in the child, herself melted out like scent

into the shiny, pale air. After a time the child, too, melted with her in the

mixing-pot of moonlight, and she rested with the hills and lilies and houses,

all swum together in a kind of swoon.

Ways with Words1. How many times does the preposition on appear in the text? Learn some

expressions containing this preposition.

to be on duty = a fi de serviciu;

on account of = pe baza, din cauzã cã, luând în consideraţie cã;

on and on = fãrã întrerupere, la nesfârşit;

and so on = şi aşa mai departe;

on this ground = din acest motiv;

to turn on/ to switch on (the light, the radio, etc.) = a deschide/ a aprinde

(lumina, radioul,etc.);

on this assumption = pe baza acestei presupuneri;

on the basis of = pe baza;

on behalf of sb. = în numele cuiva, din partea cuiva;

on the contrary = din contrã;

on a large/small scale = pe scarã mare/micã;

on record = cunoscut;

on the score of = ca rezultat;

on the verge of = pe punctul de, pe cale, în pragul;

on the whole = în general, în întregime;

on demand = la cerere;


on condition that = cu condiţia;

on purpose = dinadins, intenţionat;

on principle = din principiu;

on the first attempt = la prima încercare;

on a sudden = brusc, deodatã, pe neaşteptate;

on trial = de probã.


2. How do you translate: She hurried out of the side garden to the front

[…]? Now learn some expressions containing the preposition to.

to advantage = cu profit/ folos;

to the best of one’s power/ ability = dupã puterea/ capacitatea cuiva;

to cut the matter short = pe scurt;

to date = la zi;

to the dot (of an i) = pânã în cele mai mici amãnunte;

to this effect = în acest scop;

to a fraction = pânã la milimetru;

to and fro = înainte şi înapoi, ici şi colo;

to hand = la îndemânã;

to little purpose = cu puţin efect, mai degeaba;

to my knowledge = dupã câte ştiu;

to one’s mind = dupã pãrerea cuiva;

to the letter = întocmai, ad litteram;

to the utmost = (pânã) la maximum, în cea mai mare mãsurã;

to the very moment = chiar pânã în clipa;

short and to the point = scurt şi la obiect



Grammar Reference

Prepositions

Prepositions are connecting words that show relationships between words in

a sentence. A preposition followed by a complement (object) forms a

prepositional phrase. Nouns, pronouns, noun phrases, gerunds or noun

clauses can be complements (objects) of prepositions.

Note that in English, prepositions usually precede their objects:

Put it on the chair and leave!

Look at him.

Because of you, I can't get any work done.

After telling the whole story, he disappeared.

Types of prepositions, according to form:

a. Simple:

about, above across, after, against, along, amid, among, anent, around, at,

athwart; before, behind, below, beneath, besides, between, betwixt, beyond,

but, by; concerning, considering; down, during; except, excepting; failing,

for, from; in; near, notwithstanding; of, off, on, over; past, pending, per;

regarding, respecting, round; save, saving, since; through, till, to, touching,

towards; under, until, up; via; with

b. Compound:

alongside, into, inside, onto, outside, throughout, upon, underneath,

within, without.

c. Complex:

according to, along with, as far as, as for, as to, because of, down to, except

for, from among, from inside, from under, in between, instead of, out of,

over against, round about, up against, up to.


d. Prepositional Phrases:

ahead of, apart from, as a result of, at the back of, by dint of, by means of,

by reason of, by the side of, by way of, caused by, due to, for fear of, for the

sake of, in aid of, in behalf of, in case of, in consequence of, in default of, in

front of, in honour of, in lieu of, in place of, in praise of, in prospect of, in

reward of, in spite of, in view of, in want of, in the event of, in the middle

of, in the name of, in the place of, in addition to, in answer to, in obedience

to, in opposition to, in order to, in regard to, in accordance with, in common

with, in comparison with, in company with, in connection with, in keeping

with, next to, on account of, owing to, prior to, thanks to, with reference to,

with regard to, with relation to, with respect to, with a view to. (see also

Appendix 2, page 309)

Prepositions in Phrasal Verbs

When certain verbs and prepositions are combined, the unit acquires a new

meaning. These verb-preposition combinations have several names: two-

part verbs, phrasal verbs, and verb idioms. The verb-preposition phrase is

listed together in the dictionary with its own meaning.

She was brought up in the suburbs. (was raised)

Place of Prepositions in the Sentence

A preposition usually precedes its object:

I am voting for him.

We are talking about this novel.

In interrogative sentences and subordinate clauses, the preposition may be

at the end of the sentence, separated from its object. Compare the following

sentences:

Whom are you voting for?

For whom are you voting?


This is a book (which) we were talking about.

This is a book about which we were talking.

The first sentence in each pair is common in informal speech. In formal

writing and business communications, keep the preposition and object

together.

Prepositions of Time

In the morning/ afternoon/ evening; January, February, etc.; summer,

winter, etc.; 1988; the 1930s; two weeks; two weeks’ time; your free (spare)

time; good/ bad weather

At six o ‘clock, etc.; midnight; Easter/ Christmas; the weekend; the moment

On Saturday, Monday, etc.; Tuesday morning, etc.; 11-th January, etc.

For seven minutes, etc.; a long time; ages

Since June, 25-th, etc.; my last birthday; I came here

During* the film; the class; the war; my holidays; summer

_____________________________________________________________

* In a sentence containing a subject and a verb, during is replaced by while:

While I was coming to you...

Problematic Prepositions of Movement and Place

Movement Place

to at

used with verbs of movement: go,

come, etc., even when the

meaning is different: She goes to

university.

not used with verbs of

movement: I arrived at the

house.

into/out of in (=contained by/ inside)

used with changes of place: She used with towns: I arrived in


walked out of the shop. London. But: I arrived at

London Airport. (=place)

across (=from one side to the

other: She went across the

promenade.)

by (=at the side of)

towards (=in the direction of: I’m

going towards Cluj.)

Verbs with Obligatory Preposition:

ABOUT:

argue, complain, doubt, fret, grieve, know, say, see, set, speak, talk, tell,

think, worry, write.

AFTER:

aspire, crave, hanker, hunger, hunt, look, take, yearn.

AGAINST:

clamour, defend, exclaim, fight, guard, indemnify, insure, murmur, mutter,

protect, revolt, thunder, warn.

AT:

aim, assess, buy/sell (sth) at a price, call, drive, fire a shot, gaze, glance,

knock, laugh, mock, point, puff, rage, rejoice, repine, rush, shoot, smile,

sneer, stay, strike, throw, work.

BY:

begin, buy / sell (sth) by the pound etc, divide, finish, pass, profit, pull,

swear, walk.

FOR:

account, answer, ask, atone, bargain, call, care, cry, die, do, fall, fish, hope,

lament, languish, leave, long, look, last, pay, pine, prepare, reach, sail,

search, send, sigh, stand, start, strive, take, wait, wish.

FROM:


absolve, banish, borrow, cry, derive, descent, differ, differentiate,

distinguish, ensue, exact, excerpt, expect, extricate, flee, learn, manufacture,

obtain, purchase, purge, receive, recover, refrain, select, spring, suffer,

withdraw.

IN:

abound, believe, confide, consist, deal, employ (sb), entangle, hammer,

insert, interfere, paint, succeed, write.

INTO:

alter, break, change, divide, look, merge, pitch, put, thrust, turn.

OF:

accuse, acquit, allow, approve, avail (oneself), become, beware, complain,

consist, cure, deprive, die, disapprove, dispose, doubt, dream, hear, learn,

relieve, remind, speak, suspect, talk, think.

ON:

act, agree, bet, comment, concentrate, congratulate, count, depend, embark,

gloat, inculcate, insist, jar, operate, rely, stumble, tattle, tell.

OVER:

brood, cry, exult, muse, quarrel, rule, ruminate.

TO:

adapt, adhere, adjust, agree, allude, amount, announce, apologise, appeal,

aspire, attach, attend, attest, belong, cling, come, compare, complain,

consent, correspond, drink, entitle, explain, give, go, help (oneself), lead,

listen, nod, object, oppose, point, prove, refer, reply, resort, respond, return,

seem, set (to work), speak, stick, subscribe, succeed, take, tend.

WITH:

agree, combine, compare, comply, connect, contend, contrast, correspond,

deal, differ, disagree, do, fight, interfere, intermeddle, join, meet

(~hardships), mingle, quarrel, quiver, reconcile, rhyme, shiver, side,

sympathize, talk, tremble, trifle, vie.


UPON:

act, bear, call, chance, depend, enter, fall, fix, force, frown, impose, insist,

look, play (~one’s feelings), rest, smile (about fate), trample.

Adjectives with Obligatory Preposition:

Addicted to, adequate for (smth.), adequate to (smb.), adverse to, affected

by, amazed at, ambitious after, annoyed at, anxious about (smth.), anxious

for (smb.), appalled by, apprehensive of (i.e. worried about), apt for,

ashamed of, astonished at, averse to, bad at, beneficial to, bent on, busy

with, capabale of, certain of, charmed at (smth.), charmed with (smb.),

clever at (mathematics), compatible with, concerned about /with, concerned

for (smb), connected with, consistent with, contended with, convenient for

(smth.) convenient to (smb.), crazy about, cruel to, deficient in (smth.),

delighted at, derogatory to, devoid of, dexterous at, diffident in,

disappointed at, disgusted by (smth.), disgusted with (smb.), displeased at,

dissatisfied with, doubtful of (smb.), dying for, eager for/about, earnest

about, enraged by, essential for, excited at/over, fit for, frightened at, full of,

good at, greedy of, hostile to (smb.), hungry for, identical to/with, ignorant

of, immersed in (debts), immune against, immune from, impolite to,

inadequate for smth/to smb, incensed at/with, inclined to /for, inconceivable

to, independent of smb, indignant at/with, infatuate with, intent on, irritated

at, offended at, opposite from, parallel to, paralyzed with, partial to,

particular about, pleased at smth, prepared for, proficient in, prone to,

resolved on, rude to, secure of, skillful at/in, slow at, solicitous about, sorry

about smth, sorry for smb, subject to, suffering from, sufficient for, suited

to, sure about smth, sure of smb, sympathetic to, tired with, true to, unfit for,

unjust to, vexed at smth, vexed with smb


Controlled Practice1. Supply the right preposition:

a. She is very fond ... children.

b. The new teacher is very patient... us.

c. We are leaving to Sinaia ... July, 3-rd.

d. I was interested ... nuclear Physics.

e. What are you afraid ...?

f. I’m proud ... your success.

g. She has never been successful ... anything she has done so far.

h. We are going there early ... the morning, yet don’t expect us until late ...

night.

i. The results depended ... the recent discovery.

j. A paleontologist is a person who has specialized ... paleontology.

2. Complete each sentence with the appropriate preposition:

a. I shut the door but left my key …..... it.

b. He strolled carelessly .……. the road.

c. They arrived late .……. the station.

d. She ran all the way …….. the shop.

e. I went …….. Paris last year.

f. I met her …….. the rock concert.

g. The baby crawled …….. the kitchen.

h. There’s a strike …….. our factory.

i. She has left. She must be …….. work.

j. The money fell ... my pocket.

3. Put in the missing prepositions:


…….. a Monday evening …..... September 1931, …….. about eight o’clock,

the ship “Voyager” sank. The ship had been sailing …….. the end of

September, when she left London, and was on her way …….. England .

……. Australia. The only survivor was an Englishman called William Batty,

who saved himself …….. swimming two miles. He spent three years ……..

an island ……. the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The island was quite small, and he could walk …..... the whole of it ……..

an hour. He climbed …….. the one hill and put a flag ….... it …….. a

signal. ……. night Batty slept .……. a cave, where he felt quite ……..

home …….. the day, he often fished …..... a home-made net. He cooked the

fish …….. a wood fire.

Batty stayed …….. the island ……... almost three years. …….. August

1934, a ship was sailing ……. the island, and the captain saw Batty’s signal.

The sailors found a man .……. a long blue coat …….. dark hair and a

beard, looking rather …..... a gorilla. Batty was soon home, and a few years

later he finally arrived in Australia …….. air .

4. Choose the nouns in column B which require the prepositions in column

A and then translate into Romanian:

A B

in work

on suspicion

under question

at joy

with love

above fire

out of one’s breath

by fail

without heart


off duty

A B

interest for

lack in

ambition in

delight for

advantage between

influence at

witness over

arrangement of

agreement of

declaration upon

protection against

difference to

damage on

impatience to

A B

busy to

inferior of

satisfied at

advantageous to

superior at

mad with

new to

afraid to

excited in


interested about

A B

run in

deal with

talk after

take about

divide on

think about; of

climb by

pass up

rely into

believe for

5. Read through the following and fill in the numbered blanks with a

suitable preposition of time. Be careful, however, because in one or two

cases no preposition is needed.

My parents met (1)… the war: (2)… August 1943 to be precise. My father

was home (3)… leave (4)… the front, and he decided to spend the first week

with his aunt in Liverpool. He hadn’t seen her (5)… several years, even

though she had brought him up (6)… his mother’s death. Liverpool is not

the most beautiful city in the world, but it can be very pleasant (7)…

summertime, especially early (8)… the morning. (9)… this particular

morning, however, my father was in no mood to enjoy the sunrise over the

Mersey. His train left Euston Station (10)… time, at midnight, but (11)…

the time it got to Crewe, it was already three and a half hours (12)…

schedule. So he was in a bad mood and very tired (13)… arrival at Lime


Street Station. But something happened (14)… minutes of his arrival that

changed not only his mood but also his whole life. Feeling thirsty (15)… his

long journey, he decided to go and have a cup of tea in the station buffet.

Typically, it was shut (16)… that early hour. A notice on the door read

“Opening hours (17)… 7 a.m. (18)… 5.30 p.m.” He looked at the station

clock: ten (19)… seven. The buffet should be open (20)… now, he thought.

But, knowing station buffets, he realized that he could wait (21)… 8 or even

9 o’clock before it opened. Suddenly he noticed a pretty girl sitting on a

bench. She was pouring some hot liquid from a thermos flask into a cup.

Being something of a lady’s man, my father (at least this is what my mother

told me (22)… some years later) sat down and said “I’ve never seen such a

pretty girl (23)… all my life as you. And I haven’t had a hot drink (24)…

last night. If you give me a drink of your tea, I’ll marry you and look after

you (25)… the rest of my life!” Believe it or not, she smiled at him, gave

him the tea, and … well, I wouldn’t be here (26)… now if the buffet hadn’t

been shut (27)… that fateful day (28)… August 1943.

6. Complete the following sentences. Choose a suitable ending from those

marked a – p.

1. My brother is very conscious… a. from taking

the exam

2. He was arrested… b. on her work

3. In Britain, having more than c. for his bad

behavior

4. The police charged the man d. for robbing a

bank

5. Most children are fond e. against going

to the beach

6. The three men were found guilty f. for her today


7. Since the weather was so bad, we decided g. into going to

the party

8. He apologised h. of his big

nose

9. Since Mrs Smith is ill, Mr Bond is deputizing i. of going to the

circus

10. He didn’t want her to go, so he tried to prevent her j. from leaving

11. As he’d missed so many lessons, he was discouraged k. about going

to the dentist

12. She takes great pride l. with murder

13. He tried to coax her m. of fraud

14. He complimented her n. in her work

15. He was always very nervous o. on going out

tonight

16. To tell you the truth, I’m not very keen p. against the

law

7. Each of the words and phrases on the left can be associated with one of

the prepositional phrases on the right. Try to match them up correctly.

1. recite a poem a. against the law

2. We’re late! b. at daybreak

3. What a mess! c. at the same time

4. very fashionable d. behind schedule

5. I can’t pay! e. behind the times

6. You’re too young! f. by degrees

7. illegal g. from memory

8. simultaneous h. in agony

9. no clothes i. in arrears

10.I haven’t eaten j. behind bars


11. old-fashioned k. in disorder

12. It really hurts! l. in flames

13. very early m. in the nude

14. a prisoner n. in vogue

15. It’s burning! o. on an empty stomach

16. gradually p. under age

8. Complete the sentences below with one of the following adjectives plus a

preposition.

addicted, adequate, angry, aware, bad, capable, disqualified, distracted,

eligible, expert, full, inspired, involved, jealous, notorious, sympathetic

a. Do you think politicians are … … telling lies?

b. Don’t ask me to add up the bill. I’m really … … mathematics.

c. This piece of music was … … by Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

d. The flat wasn’t very big, but it was perfectly … … our needs.

e. Never become … … cigarettes!

f. Although he wouldn’t admit it, everyone could see that he was … … his

wife’s success.

g. He was … … the race for taking drugs.

h. My neighbour is … … pruning fruit trees.

i. ”Who else was … … the crime?” the policeman asked the suspect.

j. He was nearly 16 before he first became … … the opposite sex.

k. He tried to work but was … … the noise from the traffic.

l. Life is … … surprises, isn’t it?

m. Pop groups are … … smashing up hotel rooms.

n. The teacher was … … her students for not doing their homework.

o. Although they said they were … … our case, they were not prepared to

support us officially.


p. Only unmarried women are … … membership.

9. The underlined expressions can be replaced by a time expression based

on the word given in CAPITAL LETTERS. Supply the missing

prepositions.

a. Most of her clothes are no longer fashionable. DATE

b. You really make me angry sometimes. TIMES

c. I hope to see you all again soon. LONG

d. You’ll have to make your own bed in future. ON

e. Now and then we like to spend a weekend in the mountains. TIME

f. Autumn is the time when fruit like apples and pears are available.

SEASON

g. The demonstration occupied the square for several hours until they were

eventually driven away by the police. LENGTH

h. Wendy said that she would like to dance, and immediately there were

twenty young men offering to dance with her. TIME

i. We’ll be in UK, but only briefly. LONG

j. Nobody wanted to buy his car, so finally he had to give it away. END

k. Our daughter left home three years ago, and we don’t know even now

what happened to her. DAY

l. Please complete the rest of your assignments right away. DELAY

m. Your Aunt Kate is using the spare bedroom now. MOMENT

n. …so you’ll have to sleep in the garden temporarily. BEING

o. I hope to see you next month. Until then, best of luck with your driving

test. MEANTIME

p. Please be very quiet. There is an examination going on. PROGRESS.


10. For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as similar as

possible in meaning to the original sentence using the word in CAPITAL

LETTERS. We have given you the first word(s) of the new sentence.

a. Everyone has heard about the leaning tower of Pisa. FAMOUS

Pisa … …

b. This passport can be used inmost countries. VALID

This … …

c. They didn’t tell anyone they were getting married. SECRET

They … …

d. Are you and Jennifer related? RELATIVE

Is … …

e. Do you want a drink? CARE

Would … …

f. I lent my cousin $5. BORROWED

My cousin … …

g. A car crashed into a bus this morning. COLLIDED

A car … …

h. We didn’t think she would pass the exam. DOUBTFUL

We … …

i. He found it hard to open the window. DIFFICULTY

He … ….

j. Pay no attention to what she says. NOTICE

Take … …

h. The painting is worth$30,000. VALUED

The … …

i. She doesn’t find her present job very interesting. BORED

She … …

j. Your car is just like one I used to own. SIMILAR


I … …

k. He would never tell you a lie. INCAPABLE

He … …

l. When Mary was pregnant, all she wanted to eat was jelly. CRAVING

Mary … …

m. My boss seems to enjoy humiliating people. PLEASURE

My boss … …

n. I don’t usually speak to strange men. HABIT

I … …

o. The interview panel thought that Sarah had a very good manner.

IMPRESSION

Sarah … …

p. If you want to understand Yeats’ s poetry, you need to study Irish history.

KEY

Irish history … …

q. My best friend is someone I can really trust. CONFIDENCE

I … …

r. Henry really knew how to make people laugh. TALENT

Henry ……

s. My father says that the moon is made of green cheese. ACCORDING

The moon …….

t. I can recite Wordsworth’s Prelude without looking at the book.

MEMORY

I ……

u. We have run out of the items you want. STOCK

The items ……

v. The way to get the best out of me is to make me work very hard.

PRESSURE

I ……


7. Complete the prepositional phrases below by choosing a word from the

following list. Try to make up a sentence using each of the phrases.

A.

account, addition, common, exchange, favour, odds, regard, respect, the

exception, the expense, the sake, virtue

a. in … for g. with … to

b. in … with h. with … of

c. in … to i. for … of

d. in … of j. out of … for

e. at … with j. on … of

f. at … of k. by … of

B.

a cost, agreement, aid, answer, behalf, compensation, good terms, means,

peace, pity, reference, the accompaniment, the benefit, the compliments, the

influence, work

a. at … on i. in … for

b. at … of j. on … of

c. at … with k. on … with

d. by … of l. out of … for

e. for … of m. to … of

f. in … of n. under … of

g. in … with o. with … to

h. in … to p. with … of


8. Complete the sentences below with one of the following nouns plus a

preposition.

basis, campaign, choice, control, cruelty, excuse, fall, freedom, genius,

grudge, knowledge, news, objection, opposite, strain, trouble

a. If you had a … … marrying for love or marrying for money, which would

you do?

b. What is the … … “timid”? Is it “bold” or “brave”?

c. The African elephant will be extinct within 20 years if an international …

… the ivory trade is not started immediately.

d. Do you have any … … my parking my car in front of your house?

e. The … … chewing gum is that it loses its flavour too quickly.

f. I know you have a cold, but that’s no … … not doing your homework.

g. If you have to deal with overseas clients, a … … foreign languages is

very useful.

h. Perhaps the three most important human rights are … … hunger, fear and

persecution.

i. In our class, we can do as we like: our teacher has no … … us at all.

j. The RSPCA is concerned with prevention of … … animals.

k. Overweight people should not jog, because it puts a great … … their

hearts.

l. Since the salmonella scare, there has been a considerable … … the

consumption of eggs.


Progress Test 31. Which words in column A can combine with words in column B?

a gaggle of puppies

a school of geese

a pride of locusts

a swarm of fish

a colony of hounds

a flock of birds

a pack of bees

a litter of lions

A B

on top

with the left

beyond a light heart

to praise

in land

by the mark

off war

at doubt

under earnest

without such circumstances

A B A B A B

tall person heavy music Happy New Year!

high tree strong noise Merry Anniversary!


mountain loud traffic Christmas!

wall smoker Birthday!

building wind

price


a. Aş vrea să călătoresc cu Orient- Express-ul.

b. Englezii sunt foarte politicoşi.

c. El a devenit preşedintele Franţei în 1998.

d. Acesta este cea mai bună piesă de teatru pe care am văzut-o.

e. Tamisa este un râu care trece prin Londra.

f. El a ajuns aseară şi este cazat la Hotelul Hilton.

g. Francezii mănâncă mai multă pizza decât englezii.

h. El merge la şcoală dimineaţa.

i. Statele Unite cooperează cu Marea Britanie.

j. Ei au pornit să escaladeze Alpii.

k. Pe de o parte nu-mi place grosolănia ta şi pe de altă parte mi-am terminat

programul.

l. Ei s-au simţit foarte bine la mare anul trecut.

m. El este profesor la universitate.

n. Ei şi-au dat mâna în final şi au plecat.

o. Unde a avut loc accidentul?

Key:

a gaggle of geese, a pride of lions, a swarm of bees, a colony of locusts, a

flock of birds , a pack of hounds, a litter of puppies, a school of fish.

on top, by land, with a light heart, beyond praise, to the left, in earnest, at

war, off the mark, under such circumstances, without doubt,


a tall person, a tall tree, a high mountain, a high wall, a high building, a high

price, loud music, heavy noise, heavy traffic, heavy smoker, strong wind,

Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday.

2.

a. I wish I travelled by the Orient Express.

b. The English are very polite.

c. He became (the) President of France in 2000.

d. This is the best play I have ever seen.

e. The Thames is a river which crosses London.

f. He arrived last night and is accommodated at the Hilton.

g. The French eat more pizza than the English.

h. He goes to school in the morning.

i. The United States and The United Kingdom co-operate.

j. They set off to climb the Alps.

k. On the one hand I don’t like your rudeness and on the other my shift is

over.

l. They had a very good time at the seaside last year.

m. He is a teacher at the university.

n. They shook hands and left.

o. Where did the accident happen?

Score:

1. a. 1 point + 1 point each x9 = 10 points

b. 1 point + 1 point each x9 = 10 points

c. 1 point + 0,60 point each x15 = 10 points

2. 1 point + 0,60 point each x15 = 10 points


Unit 11


Adjectives

The Order of Adjectives in a Series

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative Sentences

Reading Consider the uses of modifiers in this paragraph rich in adjectives from

Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel. Adjectives are bold; participles,

verb forms acting as adjectives, are underlined. Some people would argue

that words that are part of a name – like East India Tea house – are not

really adjectival and that possessive nouns – father’s, farmer’s – are not

technically adjectives, but we’ve included them in our analysis of Wolve’s

text. Note that such an abundance of adjectives would be uncommon in

contemporary prose.

He remembered yet the East India Tea house at the Fair, the sandalwood,

the turbans, and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and

he had felt now the nostalgic thrill of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the

cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the wet loaniness of the garden, the

pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of blossoms. He knew the

inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of

watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer’s covered wagon; of

cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet,

before a fire of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father’s sitting-

room; if the smooth worn leather sofa, with the gaping horse-hair rent; of


the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-skin

bindings, of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of

wood-smoke and burnt leaves in October, of the brown tired autumn earth;

of honey-suckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who

comes weekly with printed butter eggs, and milk; of fat limp underdone

bacon and of coffee; of a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-hued

stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned well with salt and butter; of a room

of old pine boards in which books and carpets have been stored, long

closed; of Concord grapes in their long white baskets.

Ways with Words1. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another. For example,

the opposite of short is long, the opposite of old is young. Try to find the

antonyms of the adjectives in the text.

2. Now complete the following sentences with one suitable word meaning

the opposite of the word in capital letters:

a. Jack much prefers being EMPLOYED to being .……..….

b. Alex did a number of TEMPORARY jobs before he managed to find a

……..….. position.

c. The first shop he opened was a BIG SUCCESS but the second was a total

……..…..

d. Many people would rather work ………….than FULL-TIME.

e. The management said salaries had INCREASED, but official reports

showed that as a matter of fact they had .………….


Grammar Reference

Position of adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun/ nouns in the sentence:

the tall man, the fat lady, a serious commitment, a month’s pay, a five-

month-old child, the unhappiest, richest man.

Unlike adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere

in a sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun

or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of

adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to

category.

The Order of Adjectives in a Series

It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say little yellow

house and not yellow little house or why we say blue Italian sports car and

not Italian blue sports car. The order in which adjectives in a series sort

themselves out is perplexing for people learning English as a second

language. It takes a lot of practice with a language before this order becomes

instinctive, because the order seems quite arbitrary. There is however a

pattern.

The categories in the following table can be described as follows:

Word

order

Types of adjectives Examples

I. Determiners articles and other limiters

(numerals, possessive

adjectives, demonstrative

adjectives, etc.)

four people, the sixth

chapter, her story,

this tool

II. Observation postdeterminers and

limiter adjectives

real, perfect


adjectives subject to

subjective measure interesting, beautiful,

gorgeous

III. Size and shape adjectives subject to

objective measure

large, small, short,

round, square

IV. Age adjectives denoting age young, old, new,

ancient

V. Colour adjectives denoting

colour

red, black, yellow,

blue, green, brown,

orange, violet

VI. Origin denominal adjectives

denoting source of noun

French, English,

American, Spanish,

Polish, Romanian

VII. Material denominal adjectives

denoting what something

is made of

wooden, metallic,

woolen

VIII. Qualifier final limiter, often

regarded as part of the

noun

hunting cabin,

passenger car, book

cover

Capitalising proper adjectives

When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it should probably be

capitalised. Thus we write (about) Christian music, French fries, the English

Parliaments, a Shakespearian play, a Faulknerian style, the Nixon era, a

Renaissance/ Romantic/ Victorian poet.


Collective adjectives

When the definite article, the, is combined with an adjective describing a

class or group of people, the resulting phrase can act as a noun: the poor, the

rich, the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely. The difference between a

collective noun (which is usually regarded as singular but which can be

plural in certain contexts) and a collective adjective is that the latter is

always plural and requires a plural verb:

The rural poor have been ignored by the media.

The rich are not supposed to help the poor.

The young at heart are always a joy to be around.

Adjectival opposites

The opposite or the negative aspect of an adjective can be formed in a

number of ways. One way, of course, is to find an antonym. The opposite of

beautiful is ugly, the opposite of young is old. Another way to form the

opposite of an adjective is with a number of prefixes. The opposite of

fortunate is unfortunate, the opposite of prudent is imprudent, the opposite

of considerate is inconsiderate, the opposite of honourable is

dishonourable, the opposite of alcoholic is non-alcoholic, the opposite of

being properly filled is misfilled. If you are not sure of the spelling of

adjectives modified in this way by prefixes (or which is the appropriate

prefix), you will have to consult a dictionary, as the rules for the selection of

a prefix are complex and too shifty to be trusted. The meaning itself can be

tricky; for instance, flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.

A third means of creating the opposite of an adjective is to combine it with

less or least to create a comparison which points in the opposite direction.

Interesting shades of meaning and tone become available with this usage.

They are figures of speech. For instance, an euphuism is created if we say

that This is the least beautiful city in the state instead of This is the ugliest


city in the state. A candidate for a job can still be worthy and yet less worthy

of consideration than another candidate. It’s probably not a good idea to use

this construction with an adjective that is already negative: He is less

unlucky than his brother, although that is not the same thing as saying he is

luckier than his brother. Use the comparative less when the comparison is

between two things or people; use the superlative least when the comparison

is among many things or people.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Form

Adjectives Positive Comparative Superlative

Short adjectives cheap

small

big°

fat°

old°°

cheaper

smaller

bigger

fatter

older/ elder

the cheapest

the smallest

the biggest

the fattest

the oldest/ the eldest

Adjectives that

end in -y

funny

early

heavy

funnier

earlier

heavier

the funniest

the earliest

the heaviest

Adjectives with

two or more

syllables

careful

expensive

difficult

interesting

rapid

more careful

more expensive

more difficult

more interesting

more rapid

the most careful

the most expensive

the most difficult

the most interesting

the most rapid

Irregular

adjectives

good

bad

many/ much

little

far*

better

worse

more

less

farther/ further

the best

the worst

the most

the least

the farthest/ the


fore**

late***

near****

former

later/latter

nearer

furthest

the foremost/ the

first

the latest/ the last

the nearest/ the next

° Short adjectives double the consonant when the final consonant is

preceded by a short vowel: fat/ fatter/ the fattest, hot/ hotter/ the hottest, etc.

°° Elder and the eldest are used only attributively, in family relationships

(My elder brother is twenty four).

* Farther/ the farthest are used to relate to distance (I live farther than

you.); further/ the furthest are used in relation to time, quantity. The latter

has also an abstract meaning. (Give me further details in order to

understand it better.)

** Former means of an earlier period or the first of two (In former times,

people used typing machines instead of computers.); the foremost means

chief (The foremost welder in this factory is John.); the first means initial

(Americans claim that the first movie was made in the United States.).

*** Latter means the second of two (I’ve met John and Cindy: the former is

a student in Philology, the latter is a student in Foreign Languages); the

latest means the most recent (He bought the latest novel by J. Fowles.); the

last means final: ( Shakespeare’s last play).

****The nearest is used for distance (Could you tell me the way to the

nearest library?); the next refers to order. (The next bus comes in an hour.)

Less versus fewer

When making a comparison between quantities we often have to make a

choice between the words fewer and less. Generally, when we’re talking

about countable things, we use the word fewer, when we’re talking about

measurable quantities that we cannot count, we use the word less.

She had fewer chores, but she also had less energy.


We do, however, use less when referring to statistical or numerical

expressions:

It’s less than four miles to Dallas.

He’s less than six feet tall.

Your essay should be a thousand words or less.

In these situations, it’s possible to regard the quantities as sums of countable

measures.

Taller than I/me?

When making a comparison with than we end with a subject form: taller

than I/she.

We are looking for the subject form: He is taller than I am/ she. (We leave

out the verb in the second clause, am or is.) Some good writers, however,

will argue that the word than should be allowed to function as a preposition.

If we can say He is tall like me/ her, then (if than could be prepositional like

like) we should be able to say, He is taller than me/her. It’s an interesting

argument, but – for now, anyway – in formal, academic prose, use the

subject form in such comparisons.

We also want to be careful in a sentence such as I like him better than

she/her. She will mean that you like this person better than she likes him;

her would mean that you like this male person better than you like that

female person. (To avoid ambiguity and the slippery use of than, we could

write I like him better than she does or I like him better than I like her. )

More than/ over?

In the United States, we usually use more than in countable numerical

expressions, meaning in excess of or over. In England, there is no such

distinction. For instance, in the U.S., some editors would insist on more than

40,000 traffic deaths in one year, whereas in the UK, over 40,000 traffic

deaths would be acceptable. Even so in the U.S., however, you will

commonly hear over in numerical expressions of age, time or height: His


sister is over forty; she is over six feet tall. We’ve been waiting well over

two hours for her.

Good versus well

In both casual speech and formal writing, we frequently have to choose

between the adjective good and the adverb well. With most verbs, there is

no ambiguity: when modifying a verb, use the adverb.

He swims well.

He knows very well who the murderer is.

However, when using a linking verb or a verb that has to do with the five

human senses, you can use the adjective instead.

How are you? I’m feeling good, thank you.

After a bath, the baby smells so good.

Many careful writers, however, will use well after linking verbs relating to

health, and this is perfectly all right. In fact, to say that you are good or that

you feel good usually implies not only that you are OK physically but also

that your spirits are high:

How are you?

I am well, thank you.

Bad versus badly

According to the same rule that applies to good versus well, use the

adjective form after verbs that have to do with human feelings. You feel bad

when something bad happens. If you felt badly it would mean that

something was wrong with your faculties for feeling.

Comparative Sentences

In relation to the degrees of comparison, there are idiomatic expressions

with two comparatives:

Form:

the+ comparative ...... the+ comparative ...


The bigger the essay, the better.

The more mass in the body, the less acceleration.

The more we are, the more fun we’ll have.

Controlled Practice1. Translate into English:

a. Ea avea o maşinã sport albastră.

b. Noi am citit un articol interesant de 5 pagini în “Literary Magazine”.

c. El colecţionează vase vechi, frumoase din porţelan.

d. Ai încercat să descifrezi acel text din engleza veche?

e. El el reprezentantul angajaţilor tineri de la departamentul de marketing.

f. Am discutat astăzi la psihologie cele patru tipuri de temperament:

sanguin, melancolic, coleric şi flegmatic.

g. El este un fumător învederat. Fumează două pachete de ţigări pe zi.

h. Aş vrea să-mi cumpăr un pulover din lână scoţiană.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Talk about the two possible meanings of the following sentences.

Translate them into Romanian:

She bought Egyptian cotton shirts.

She fed her dog biscuits.

Women students are tempting new subjects.



a. Cu cât mai repede învãţãm engleza, cu atât mai bine.

b. Ei fac în continuare investigaţii.

c. Eroarea este mai mare în al doilea caz decât în primul.

d. Cu cât aştept mai mult, cu atât mă enervez mai tare.

e. Avem nevoie de mai multe computere în acest laborator.

f. Studentul acesta este cel mai tânãr dintre toţi.

g. Problema aceasta este cea mai dificilã cu care m-am confruntat vreodatã.

h. Ideea ta e mai bunã, dar soluţia mea este mai ieftinã decât a ta.

i. Engleza devine din ce în ce mai importantã în întreaga lume.

j. Dintre cele douã romane, primul este mai scurt, iar al doilea este mai lung.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Supply the comparative or the superlative form of the adjectives in

brackets:

a. He is (lazy) student in the class.

b. She is looking for a (big) company than the one she is working with now.

c. He was unable to get (far) information.

d. The results were (bad) than expected.

e. Today, (great) care is taken to prevent accidents.


f. (Many) heating devices are required to keep the oil from freezing in the

intense cold.

g. He needed (little) knowledge of computer skills than he thought they

would expect him to.

h. (Difficult) problem was solved by means of computerised technology.

i. She found (few) grammar mistakes in John’s essay than in Mary’s one.

j. Darwin was one of (quarrelsome) scientists.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Here are some of the things John said about the cities he visited. Some are

facts and some are his opinions. Complete his sentences:

a. London is, of course, much older …..... Los Angeles, but it isn’t ……..

than Athens. Athens is …….. oldest city I have ever seen.

b. London doesn’t have …….. buildings than Athens, but it has older ones

…….. the ones in Los Angeles and Tokyo.

c. Tokyo’s exciting, but, for an architect, London is …….. exciting ……..

Tokyo, and, of course, Los Angeles is .……. ..……. exciting of all.

d. Los Angeles has …….. parks than Tokyo, but London has .……. ……..

parks. There are five in the city centre.

e. In comparison to our cities, these are …….. interesting from the point of

view of the buildings people built there.

6. Fill in the gaps with one of the phrases below:

Missing phrases: environmentally friendly; the most expensive; too

expensive; the largest; more environmentally sound


If one of your criteria in choosing a car is its design, the Mercedes is far

more attractive than any others. Yet at the same time you should think that,

even if their cars are very elegant and …….., they are …….. for common

people. The Electrolite is ..…….. than the others as it is equipped with a

filter fitted to remove toxins from the waste water that escapes from it. The

latest Mercedes model is of course …….. and ……. ,yet, if you want to

have a car for a life save your money and buy it.

7. Fill in the adequate form of the adjective:

a. From these two photographs the smaller is the best/the better.

b. He needs some/ any months of training.

c. They have invited any/ many people.

d. Sometimes food eaten at home is the better/ better than food eaten in a

restaurant.

e. A bigger dictionary is always more complete/ completer than a smaller

one.

f. Your first paper was good/ better but this one is even best/ better.

g. Which of the two students is more hardworking/ the more hardworking?

h. The sooner/ sooner you get here, the more relaxed/ the most relaxed you

will feel.

i. He has retired and few/ little friends visit him.

8. Complete the sentences with adjectives ending in –able,-ible, -uble, -ful, -

ous, -ed or -ant derived from the verbs and nouns given in brackets:

a. They waited in the hall for five hours; they were very (patience).

b. The weather here is very (change).

c. There are very few types of plants (eat) on this island.

d. Almost all the currencies in this area are (convert).


e. The (colour) balloons attract the children in the park.

f. You are in the (envy) position of owning half of the firm.

g. His appearance at the party was (pleasure).

h. The family of gipsy across the street live in a (pity) state.

i. It was a (moment) opportunity.

j. I spent a most (enjoy) night talking to my old friend George.

k. You should always be (confidence) in yourself to succeed.

l. Hungary has few (navigate) waterways.

m. Jack was extremely (mischief) that evening.

n. Those children’s minds are very (impress) sometimes.

o. When you go to that refined place, your behaviour must be (courtesy).

p. Strangely enough, they didn’t complain of the (object) smell from the

garbage disposal.

q. We like the privacy of a (fence) yard.

9. Complete each of these sentences with an adjective from the following

list: unprintable, mistrustful, underdone, overwhelming, unruly,

inaccessible, overconfident, dishonest.

a. They are not ………. , they take everything for granted.

b. Because of the snow, there are three places in Predeal which are ……… .

c. The roast beef is ……… . We are not cannibals!

d. She had an ……….. success due to the publication of her latest novel.

e. I’ve never seen such a ………. person: he lies and cheats everybody

whenever he feels like.

f. They had to use guns against that ……….. crowd.

g. He shouldn’t have believe your words, he has been ………… .

h. The story you want to publish is ……….. , there are too many obscenities

in it.


10. Complete the sentences with negative adjectives derived from the verbs

in brackets by using the suffixes –able, -ible, or –uble and the negative

prefixes in- or un-.

a. Heroes finally disappear, but their words are (destroy).

b. Freedom of speech is regarded today as an (alienate) right.

c. Because you have been so stubborn, their decision to sell the house is

(revoke).

d. The Romanian word dor is almost (translate) into English.

e. He is the greatest comic ever, his jokes are (imitate).

f. Adults change into old persons by almost (perceive) stages.

g. They were the first to search that (penetrate) jungle.

h. This pair of trousers is especially made to be (shrink).

i. (Number) changes took place in the office while I was away.

11. Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct order:

a. (…) shirts are a gift for me. (new, silk, two, those).

b. He is (…) teacher. (woman, French, young, a, pleasant).

c. Does he have (…) motorbike? (blue, a, racing, new).

d. She intends to buy (…) coat. (wool, winter, black and white, thick).

e. Tom doesn’t like (…) children. (two, nasty, these, ugly).

f. They used to live in a (…) house. (brick-built, huge, old, country, grey).

g. This library has (…) books. (Russian, old, many, valuable, very).

h. Mary is looking for (…) fountain pen. (blue, a, Chinese, expensive, light).

i. She has found (…) in the park. (canvas, Italian, two pairs of, white and

red, for jogging).

j. Several (…) began last week. (good, radio programmes, very, and

interesting, English, for teaching foreign languages).

12. Choose the correct word (adjective or adverb) according to the meaning:


a. She used to work (hard, hardly) for the exam.

b. You have (hard, hardly) read anything this week.

c. They were (deep, deeply) impressed by our success.

d. My friends entered (deep, deeply) in the cave.

e. My friend sold me the TV set (cheap, cheaply).

f. He stood firm on position, he acted (cool, coolly).

g. Jet airliners can fly (high, highly) in the sky.

h. That blue dress cost (dear, dearly).

i. He wasn’t allowed to hit (low, lowly) for fear he should hurt his opponent.

j. Your position in this company is quite (low, lowly).

13. The following sentences are incorrect. Reformulate them so that they

express the same meaning but use the comparative of superiority of the

antonym:

a. This poem is less good than your last one.

b. My cousin is much less rich than he looks.

c. This room is less wide than the previous one.

d. The water was less deep than they hoped.

e. His office is less near than mine.

f. A car is less quick than an airplane.

g. It is less dangerous to climb the Carpathians than to climb the Alps.

h. The wound is less bad than you thought at the beginning.

i. After that heavy rain the air is less dry that it was before.

14. Fill in with less or fewer:

a. You have always had … … toys than the other little boys.

b. The English drink … … tea than milk.

c. There was … … rain last summer.

d. This plant employs … … men than women.


e. There are … … Italians than Greeks in our town.

f. She writes … … prose than poetry.

g. … … students will get scholarships next year.

h. George has … … American cars than Jack.

i. There will be … … snow this winter.

j. We have … … money for our holiday than last year.

15. Choose the correct form of the adjective in brackets:

a. Which village is (further, farther, farthest) of all?

b. Who is the (oldest, eldest) in the family?

c. I had to choose between French and English; I chose the (last, later,

latter).

d. My colleague’s (last, latest) article has just been published.

e. She lived (nearest, next) door when she was young.

f. (Further, Farther) Mike realised he must return the stolen goods at once.

g. I was wondering where the (nearest, next) bus station was.

h. You needed (farther, further) advice to continue your investigation.

i. I’ve bought two bananas and ate the (latter, later).

16. Translate into English using intensifiers:

a. Cu cât copiii sunt mai neascultători, cu atât părinţii sunt mai nemulţumiţi.

b. La auzul bubuiturii, deveni din ce în ce mai neliniştit.

c. Noua sa bibliotecă e cu mult mai mare decât cea veche.

d. Ţi-am adus cele mai proaspete fructe pe care le-am găsit.

e. Este cu mult mai greu decât mi-am imaginat.

f. Crede cu tărie că aceasta e absolut cea mai frumoasă dintre concurente.

g. Cu cât alergi mai mult, cu atât slăbeşti mai tare.

h. Nu am mai avut răbdare să stăm până la sfârşitul meciului pentru că a

devenit din ce în ce mai puţin interesant.


i. Aceasta este cea mai bună cale posibilă de a o face să renunţe la ţigări.

j. Se şubrezeşte pe zi ce trece.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Explain

the meaning.

a. My grandfather never remembers anything; he has a memory like a

(bucket, mouse, sieve).

b. The Jackson brothers get on like (a house on fire, fish and chips, two peas

in a pod, clockwork). They never argue.

c. I can tell that you have eaten a lot lately; you are as heavy as (a corpse,

lead, an elephant)!

d. Putting your jewelry in this box is as safe as (houses, a bank, gold bars, a

vault).

e. Speak louder, please! He is as deaf as (a post, a leaf, a politician).

f. She was as pleased as (a poppy, a sunflower, punch, pound notes) when

she won the first prize.

g. That vampire hasn’t been banished from town, I saw him last night, as

(real, true, good, large) as life.

h. They will never eat so much ice-cream, they were as sick as a (pig

poodle, horse, dog, donkey).

i. The shoes fit you like (a glove, glue, a mould, a pillowcase) since you

mended them.


j. He drunk a lot yesterday, although normally he is as sober as (Sunday, a

judge, a priest, a Muslim).

18. Select the colour: white, grey, yellow, pink, green, blue.

a. They were tickled … … when the teacher congratulated them.

b. I was given the … … light to announce the winner.

c. To tell a … … lie sometimes does not hurt anybody’s feelings.

d. You can shout at him until you are … … in the face, he won’t listen to

you.

e. Mary was … … with envy when her sister married a handsome young

man.

f. They say that lacking … … matter is worse than lacking beauty.

g. Even if they got a lot of nice gifts, they also got some … … elephants.

h. They were really … … to leave us here without protecting us.

19. Confusing words:

a. My parents have (decisive/conclusive) evidence that I smoke.

b. Kelly has always wanted to live in a (luxurious/luxuriant) mansion.

c. He doesn’t like (urbane/urban) life, he would like to live in the

mountains.

d. I am not that (credible/credulous) to believe everything I am told.

e. Your proposal proves not too expensive, therefore it is

(practicable/practical).

f. Terry chose a (distinctive/distinct) nuance of red for her nail polish.

g. The food you are eating right now is quite (deficient/defective) in fats.

h. The President was very (official/officious) while giving his speech.

i. In Australia there are (strict/severe) regulations with regard to kangaroos.

j. I’ve been trying to decipher the manuscript for more than 6 hours because

his handwriting is totally (eligible/illegible).


k. A (classic/classical) case of tuberculosis has been discovered in this

school.

20. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the adjectives in brackets:

a. Try to be a little (precise), please.

b. She doesn’t believe that these cigarettes are any (good) than the Russian

ones.

c. Your garden has (narrow) alleys than those from our park.

d. Which are the (breath-taking) views in your country?

e. The (cold) the weather, the (low) the temperatures.

f. Then the show became ever (funny).

g. It is (hard) for my nephew to understand the problem than for his (old)

sister.

h. In autumn, nights become (longer) till December, the 22nd.

i. His story became (interesting) the more we listened.

j. They have the (complete) understanding of the problem.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


a. Primul film nu este atât de reuşit ca al doilea şi nici atât de haios.

b. Parcul acela nu este foarte întins; de fapt, este cel mai puţin întins din tot

oraşul.

c. Fotoliul din odaia mea este greu, biroul este şi mai greu dar biblioteca

este cea mai grea din casă.


d. George este chipeş, dar fratele său mai tânăr este cel mai chipeş băiat din

câţi am văzut.

e. Pacientul se simte bine astăzi, dar nu este atât de bine încât să se dea jos

din pat.

f. Domnul Smith este foarte bătrân, dar vărul său mai mare este cu 5 ani mai

în vârstă decât el.

g. Dicţionarul pe care l-ai cumpărat cu două zile în urmă este gros ca o

cărămidă!

h. Mulţi oameni perfect sănătoşi nu sunt la fel de utili societăţii ca unii

oameni cu deficienţe fizice.

i. Problema era mai delicată decât mi-am putut eu imagina vreodată.

j. Nu am întâlnit o persoană mai cunoscută în cercul guvernamental decât

ea.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

22. Rewrite the sentences putting the words into the correct order:

a. incredibly/ holiday/ wonderful/ was/ the.

b. Enormous/ they/ old/ staying/ house/ brown/ are/ an/ in.

c. and/ looks/ now/ old/ she/ fresh/ rather.

d. close/ are/ buddies/ extremely/ we.

e. this/ man/ Pam/ wonder/ really/ I/ marry/ to/wants/if


f. people/ true/pork/that/never/is/drink/it/these/alcohol/no/eat/and?

g. life/movie/in/such/I/never/my/seen/a/have/boring

h. that/ motorbike/have/since/when/new/had/they?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23. Put the adjectives in brackets into the comparative or superlative form:

The company’s twelve-monthly report shows that sales figures were (low)

than the previous year. This is no surprise due to the recession but what is

(unacceptable) than this is the clear proof that some of our (old) clients have

switched to another supplier. We are aware that there are (cheap) suppliers

than ourselves but this may not be the (essential) factor. One old client was

heard to say that their new supplier was (professional) and (flexible) than

we are. If this is the case, then this is (disturbing) than anything else. The

economic situation is getting (critical) and if we don’t compare favorably

with our (big) competitors, then we will not survive. We used to have the

(high) standing in the business but we are in danger of losing that for good.

It is not easy to be the (good) but that is what we should be aiming for.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


24. Complete the sentences with participles as adjectives, using the verbs

below. The verbs with adverbs should be used to form compound

adjectives:

dry, change, act well, keep beautifully, bring up well, continue, break,

decline fast, steal, tailor beautifully, brush well, relax, think clearly, park,

write well, embarrass, build well, plan badly, boil, love.

a. It was a very restful holiday so we feel much more … now.

b. I saw a very … play.

c. I kept calling her by her nickname; it was very … .

d. The … kettle filled the little girl with fear.

e. He’s a very … boy: he always behaves himself well.

f. She may have suffered of a … heart.

g. Her hair is always very … .

h. The increase in divorce shows a … attitude to marriage.

i. Sharon is a good person to have in meetings as she’s very … .

j. Shortage of gas is a … problem for us.

k. Our chalet is old but it’s very … .

l. It was a … escape and so it was doomed to failure.

m. Bears are a … species in that part of the country as many of them are

killed every summer.

n. That’s a … suit she has bought.

o. Mother needs some … fruit to put in the cake.

p. This is a … garden: you must spend at least three hours a day working on

it.

q. It was a very … article.

r. You may be charged with receiving … stolen cars.

s. They’re a very … family and they understand each other perfectly.

t. They should not park near … cars.


25. Complete the following sentences with an adjective formed from one of

the verbs or nouns below plus a suffix:

act, care, change, comfort, describe, dread, enjoy, forget, grace, motion,

power, rely, submit, tire, truth

a. They had a lovely holiday; it was thoroughly enjoyable.

b. She never remembers your birthday; I don’t know why she’s that … .

c. There’s nothing I can do about it; I’m totally… .

d. Everybody believes what Jack says because he’s always been … .

e. My friend never seems to run out of energy; he’s completely … .

f. Jane Austen was a very … writer; she gives you a very good feel for the

places and characters in her novels.

g. He has said he’ll be here and I’m sure he will. He’s very… .

h. They always do what you tell him to do: he’s just so… .

i. You’re so … : you’re always dropping plates on the floor.

j. I love to watch the swans on the lake: they’re so … .

k. The lion stayed … as it waited to pounce on the gazelle.

l. It’s a very … climate; the weather can be completely different from one

day to another.

m. It’s important to keep … after you retire.

n. The armchairs he has just bought are really … . My back never hurts

while sitting in them.

o. The situation in the oil-polluted gulf is … . Thousands of fish are dying

every day.

26. Put the following adjectives into the correct column:

patient, relevant, attractive, literate, flexible, regular, agreeable, mature,

convenient, tasteful, moral legal, responsible, significant, possible, legible,

honest, rational, explicable, justified, mortal, reversible, destructible,

perfect, friendly, soluble, polite, logical, interesting, separable, replaceable


27. Put the adjectives in brackets into the comparative or superlative form.

Some of the comparatives are formed with less:

Mary, who lives in Leeds, is on the phone to her friend Jane, who has

recently moved to the countryside.

Mary: So, how do you like living in the new place?

Jane: Oh, it’s very nice. The house is much … (spacious) than the house we

had in Liverpool and one of the … (good) things is being able to walk out of

the back door into our own garden.

Mary: Mm, that is wonderful. So, it’s much (good) than Liverpool, isn’t it?

Jane: Well, I’m not sure I would say that. It’s certainly … (polluted) here

and I think it’s … (stressful) and that must be good for me. But it’s just so

much … (quiet) here and that takes some time to get used to. I suppose

sometimes I miss the clamour of Liverpool. Going out shopping in

Liverpool was so much … (interesting) than it is here. The people here are

so much … (varied) than they are in Liverpool.

Mary: Yes, that’s quite true. But it’s so much … (busy) on the streets in

Liverpool. It must be nice to walk around somewhere that’s much …

(crowded).

Jane: Well, sometimes it is. Anyway, at least I’m going to Liverpool again

next weekend. I’m … (excited) about that than I am about anything here.

Mary: Oh dear. You seem to be thinking that you haven’t made the …

(good) decision.

Jane: Well, perhaps I’ll feel … (settled) here after a few weeks. Who

knows?

dis- Un- il- im- in- ir-

impatient


Mary: Yes, probably. I personally think you’re really lucky to be where you

are. When I came to visit you, I thought it was one of the … (beautiful)

places I had ever seen.


UNIT 12


Articles

Definite Articles

Indefinite Articles

Zero Articles

ReadingRead the following fragment from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. Pay

attention to the use of the article in English. Underline the definite articles

with one line and the indefinite articles with two lines:

A month or so afterwards, when Jim, in answer to pointed questions, tried to

tell honestly the truth of this experience, he said, speaking of the ship: “She

went over whatever it was as easy as a snake crawling over a stick.” The

illustration was good: the questions were aiming at facts, and the official

Inquiry was being held in the police court of an Eastern port. He stood

elevated in the witness-box, with burning cheeks in a cool lofty room: the

big framework of punkahs moved gently to and fro high above his head, and

from below many eyes were looking at him out of dark faces, out of white

faces, out of red faces, out of faces attentive, spellbound, as if all these

people sitting in orderly rows upon narrow benches had been enslaved by

the fascination of his voice. It was very loud, it rang startling in his own

ears, it was the only sound audible in the world, for the terribly distinct


questions that extorted his answers seemed to shape themselves in anguish

and pain within his breast,- came to him poignant and silent like the terrible

questioning of one’s conscience. Outside the court the sun blazed- within

was the wind of great punkahs that made you shiver, the shame that made

you burn, the attentive eyes whose glance stabbed.

Grammar Reference

The Article

The use of articles in English is complex, and there are a lot of exceptions

that need to be known.

Here are the basic rules.

The Indefinite Article

a (before a word beginning with a consonant or semi-vowel)/ an (before a

word beginning with a vowel) is used

to refer to objects that have not been specifically identified. It refers

to a singular countable noun which is indefinite (either we don’t

know which one, or it doesn’t matter which one):

A pet is a big responsibility.

Give me an apple.

They live in a flat.

I’m reading a course for my exam now.

in measuring

Three times a month, sixty kilometres an hour, $3.45 a kilo, £13 000 a year

Formally per can replace a/an.

to describe what something or someone is (a profession, religion,

class):

That’s an instrument for measuring distance.


She is an Australian.

He is a Christian.

Compare: Tom is a teacher. Tom is the teacher of these students.

to refer to unknown people. Use of a/an emphasises that a person is

unknown:

A Mr Smith called and asked about you.

in phrases:

to be in a hurry, to have a headache, as a matter of fact, to develop a

disease, to have a good time, to take a seat, etc.

it is used with a generic noun that represents a class:

We saw a zebra at the zoo.

A book is for reading.

An indefinite article is required after

such, what: such an ugly scar , what a pretty nose, such pretty eyes

quite a, rather a: quite a large dog, rather a big decision

An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound (except for words

beginning with a semivowel: the sound /j/ and /w/):

an apple, an ink well, an hour, an honest man, an heir, a united party, a

usual case,

but an ugly man, an unusual accident, a university, a year, a woman.

The Definite Article

the is used:

to refer to classes

The tiger is threatened with extinction.

before a singular or a plural noun, when both the speaker and the

listener know which specific object is being referred to:

They live in the blue house on top of the hill.

The course I’m reading is very interesting.


Mind the baby! Mind your steps when you climb the stairs!

before nouns expressing certain public places, especially when

referring to them in a general way:

I went to the cinema last night.

I have to go to the bank to pay my bills.

Before unique objects

the moon, the sun

Note that there are other suns and moons in the universe: The planet has a

small moon.

before proper nouns denoting a family (in the plural), countries (if

they are in the plural, or if they represent a union), denoting groups

of islands, chains of mountains, deserts, oceans, seas, rivers,

compass points/ areas, channels, hotels, shops, institutions, means of

transport, newspapers and magazines:

The Johnsons, The Netherlands, The United States, The Bahamas, The Alps,

The Sahara, The Pacific, The Mediterranean, The Suez Canal, The Thames,

the East, the Middle East, The Hilton, The Orient Express, The Time, The

Sunday Times, The Independent (as the is part of the title, it is capitalised.)

This does not apply to lakes: Lake Geneva, mountain peaks: Everest (but

The Matterhorn), continents (Europe, Asia), countries (France).

Note that titles of books and films do not have the unless there is post-

modification:

The Phantom of the Opera. The is sometimes dropped in everyday speech:

Have you seen “Phantom of the Opera”?

As far as names of places are concerned, note that Edinburgh University

changes into The University of Edinburgh. We say London Bridge, but The

Tower of London.


If the first part of a place name is another name, then normal rules about

zero article apply: Brown’s Restaurant, The Garden House Hotel. The same

applies to geographical names: The Isle of Man, but Canvey Island.

before nouns converted from adjectives, denoting a class,

nationality, or an abstraction:

The rich should help the poor.

The English are very polite.

The French eat in restaurants more than the English.

The singular is not formed in the same way: An Englishman would always

excuse for being late.

to express titles. These tend to be unique:

The director of studies.

If the title is post-modified, the is more likely, but not essential. For

instance:

He became President in 2000.

But: He became (the) President of Romania in 2000. (postmodification)

when a restrictive modifier follows a noun.

The woman who is standing near the door will give a speech.

with the superlative degree of adjectives:

It was the most important day in my life.

with ordinals:

the ninth row, the second chapter, the third day

in phrases:

to tell the time, by the way, at the moment, on the whole, on the one hand...

on the other hand, etc.

The precedes nouns of indefinite quantity or quality (mass nouns and

abstract nouns) used to indicate a particular attribute:

Gold is an important metal.

The gold in this ring is very old. (postmodification)


Emphatic use: This heavily stresses and emphasises the following noun:

This country is the place to visit.

Zero Article

It is used with:

plural and uncountable nouns when talking about things in general.

Money is the root of all evil.

Gas is cheaper than electricity.

Gold and silver are important metals.

Babies need to drink milk.

proper nouns denoting persons, continents, countries, regions, towns,

mountains, lakes, streets, magazines and periodicals, months,

festivals, days of the week, etc.:

Mary/ Mount Everest, Europe, Oxford Street, Paris, January, Sunday,

Newsweek

Most streets do not use an article. Green Road. Exceptions are The High

Street, The Strand and street names without preceding adjectives. Compare:

Holly Drive with The Drive.

some unique organisations: Parliament, but The (House of)

Commons

nouns like school, church, prison, when we imply the use made of

the institution (not the building):

He goes to school (to learn). But: The school in my district is near my

house.

in phrases:

at night, at dawn, day by day, by sea, to be in trouble, by mistake, to make

friends, to shake hands, to take place, etc.


Translation problems

Study these sentences. In what way do the English people use the article

differently in comparison with the way Romanians use it?

A pound and a half of butter.

It’s a film about homeless people.

Terry has flu. I’ve got a splitting headache.

Most and the most

Most without an article means the greater part.

I live in Birmingham most of the time.

This is the most expensive shop in town.

Controlled Practice1. Decide which answer A, B or C best fits each space:

a. He is speaking to .... authority.

A. an; B. - ; C. the

b. In order to survive, plants need ... water.

A. - ; B. a; C. the

c. In order to fix the armchair he needs ... hammer and ... nails.

A. the/ the; B. a/ the; C. a/ some

d. I took ... seat and waited for ... director to come.

A. - /the; B. a/the; C. the/ a

e. I thought you had passed ... exam but it seems that it was ... hardest of all.

A. - /the; B. an/the; C. the/the

f. They had ... excellent dinner and had ... very good time at ... Hilton.

A. - /a/the; B. an/the/ - ; C. an/a/the

g. He had ... degree in ... Physics and one in ... Mathematics, so he was one

of ... best teachers in our highschool.


A. - / - / - /the; B. a/ - / - /the; C. a/the/the/the

h. I did my homework and then went directly to ... bed as I was very tired.

A. - ; B. a; C. the

i. Everyone was impressed by ... sincerity with which he spoke, yet not

everyone admires .... sincerity in such ... way.

A. - / - / - ; B. a/ - / - ; C. the/ - /a

j. ... Smiths are at ... home now, yet they are busy at the moment.

A. - / - ; B. the/ - ; C. - /the;

2. Work in pairs to find the mistakes in each of the following sentences:

a. He’s philologist, so he studies different writers.

b. The time you spend on a relaxing pastime is good for you.

c. Big cities are usually exciting when you see them for the first time: for

example, in London, you can have tea at the Ritz and then go to the theatre

in evening.

d. I must go to a bank to see my bank manager. I want to borrow one

hundred pounds.

e. She goes to the work in the City by train every day. Her office is in the

Baker Street.

f. Don’t you work in bookshop in the London?

g. I want a government to do something about the problem of

unemployment.

h. I’m going to stand for Parliament at the next election.

i. It is not first-class accommodation unless it has a private bathroom.

j. Lion is dangerous animal.

k. The burglaries are definitely on increase.

l. She bought a Cezanne I was telling you about the last week.

m. I don’t like cakes sold in a local bakery.

n. If I had had time to call you, I would have done it.


o. An army spokesman stressed that all troops patrolling streets had been

instructed to issue clear warning before firing any shots.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Decide which answer A, B or C best fits each space:

Britain has 1) ……… unenviable reputation for industrial unrest and strikes.

Successive governments have attempted in 2) ……… vain to reduce this

unrest, which many people feel has had a significant and adverse effect

upon the economy. At the same time, however most of the same people

would defend 3) …….. right of workers to strike. In order to explain this

apparent contradiction, let us examine the arguments for and against the

right to strike.

Whenever the work-force in any firm feel themselves to be 4) ………

victims of injustice, or wish to present their case for a pay increase, their

options are somewhat limited. They can, of course, appeal to the better

nature of their employers, and often, because it is in 5) ……… best interests

of the managements to keep the workers as happy as possible, they will


receive a sympathetic ear. When the economy is none too healthy, however,

and unemployment is high, the management may be less willing to listen

and may try to take advantage of the workers’ fear of losing their jobs. In

such a situation, one has to ask how employees can protect their interests as

regards 6) ……. wages, conditions, and fair treatment by the managements.

As a last resort, there seems little alternative to the withdrawal of labour, the

call to strike.

The arguments against striking are numerous and vary somewhat depending

on one’s point of view. As 7) ……… employer, you may find both practical

and ideological arguments against the right to strike. Strikes disrupt the

process of production and can, as a result, create immense problems as

regards long-term planning. Employers may also resent 8) ……..right to

strike because it imposes limits on the management’s control of employees

and contradicts the ideology of a harmony of interests which assigns

legitimacy to managerial power. The government’s viewpoint is similar in

9) …….. sense that the importance of the ideological argument may vary

with changes of government. But the practical argument against strikes

would remain a constant. 10) ……. Governments in capitalist societies such

as Britain inevitably serve the interests of management. However they may

wish to appear neutral. The state of the nation’s economy is inextricably

linked with 11) ……… fortunes of private enterprise. The disruptive effect

of 12) ……… major strike upon the nation’s economy is therefore

potentially dangerous.

These negative arguments all emphasize 13) ……… disruption and hardship

caused by strikes. Such arguments are not sufficiently strong to warrant

denying workers the right to strike. Withdrawing one’s labour should, of

course, be 14) ……… last resort and there should be fewer irresponsible

industrial disputes, which are an abuse of the right to strike. But without this


right and without the efforts of trade unions over the years, it is hard to

imagine that 15) ……… employees in Britain would be as well treated as

they are today.

1. A. the; B. an; C. –

2. A. –; B. the; C. a

3. A. the; B. - ; C. a

4. A. some; B. - ; C. the

5. A. the; B. -; C. some

6. A. the; B. - ; C. some

7. A. an; B. the; C. –

8. A. the; B. a; C. -

9. A the; B. -; C. a

10. A. Some; B. the; C. -

11. A. the; B. -; C. some

12. A. the; B. a; C.-

13. A. a; B. -; C. the

14. A. the; B. a; C.-

15. A.-; B. the; C. some

4. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate articles:

After you pass ……… Old Windsor, …….. river is somewhat

uninteresting, and does not become itself again until you are nearing ……..

Boveney. George and I rowed up past…….. Home Park, which stretches

along …….. right bank …….. from …….. Abert to ………Victoria Bridge;

and as we were passing …….. Datcher, George asked me if I remembered


our first trip up …….. river and when we landed at …… Datcher at ten

o’clock at …… night, and wanted to go to …… bed.

I answered that I did remember it. It will be some time before I forget it.

It was …… Saturday before …….. August Bank Holiday. We were tired

and hungry, and when we got to ….. Datcher, we took out ….. hamper,

…….. two bags, and …….. rugs and …….. coats, and such like things, and

started off to look for …….. diggings.


Unit 13


Adverbs

Punctuation

ReadingRead the following fragment from Silas Marner by George Eliot. Underline

the adverbs. Can you classify them?

‘Why, this is what I want- and just shake yourself sober and listen, will

you?’ said Godfrey, savagely. He had himself been drinking more than was

good for him, trying to turn his gloom into uncalculating anger. ‘I want to

tell you, I must hand over that rent of Fowler’s to the Squire, or else tell him

I gave it you; for he’s threatening to distrain for it, and it’ll all be out soon,

whether I tell him or not. He said, just now, before he went out, he should

send word to Cox to distrain, if Fowler didn’t come and pay up his arrears

this week. The Squire’s short o’ cash, and in no humour to stand any

nonsense; and you know what he threatened, if ever he found you making

away with his money again. So, see and get the money, and pretty quickly,

will you?’ ‘Oh!’ said Dunsey, sneeringly, coming nearer to his brother and

looking into his face. ‘Suppose, now, you get the money yourself, and save

me the trouble, eh? Since you was so kind as to hand it over to me, you’ll

not refuse me the kindness to pay it back for me: it was your brotherly love

made you do it, you know.’


Grammar Reference 1

The Adverb

The adverb shows a characteristic of an event or state, a quality.

It can modify:

a verb: We are talking about your report today.

an adjective: He was bitterly disappointed.

a noun: Only John knows the whole truth.

a pronoun: Me too.

another adverb: She spoke extremely loud.

a clause: Maybe I will come to your party.

Form

Simple

adverbs

Derived adverbs Compound adverbs Adverbial

phrases

far likewise everywhere at least

fast afloat outdoors at once

here homeward(s) outside by the way

late repeatedly thereby by all means

near hardly therefore in full

now monthly today in general

then bitterly tomorrow in all probability

today happily wherein now and then

well excellently wherefore of old

Adverbs of manner: badly; carefully; excellently; fast

Adverbs of place: away; aboard; above; anywhere

Adverbs of time: already; after; afterwards; early

Adverbs of quantity, measure, degree and approximation: awfully;

extremely; enough; little

Adverbs of frequency: always; ever; every time; again; forever


Adverbs of cause, reason, result and concession: consequently; therefore;

thus; for this reason; hence; so that

Interrogative adverbs: how; where; when; wherefore; why.

Controlled Practice 11. Maria is writing to her friend Mary in England. She’s rather tired, and

she’s left some of the words out by mistake. Rewrite Maria’s letter to Mary

putting in the adverbs and adverb phrases on the right:

Dear Mary,

Thank you for your letter. Is it five months since I last

wrote?

really

I’m sorry, but I’ve been very busy. lately

I’m working for my exams. already

I’ve planned my revision. carefully

I work until about ten o’clock in the evening. usually

I’ve finished for today. just

I don’t keep my plan. of course

I saw a marvelous film. yesterday

It was called “The English Patient”. Have you seen it? yet

I don’t go out. actually, often

Suzanne comes about once a week. here

We talk. a lot

I hope to visit England again. next year

I had a lovely time last year. there

It would be great to see you. again

I’m trying to save some money. hard

How are you? Is your apartment all right? Please reply. soon

Love, yours,


Maria

2. Complete the following conversation between John and Helen by

choosing the correct adjective or adverb in the brackets:

John: Well, the party is going very nice/nicely, isn’t it? Have one of these

sausages. They taste good/well.

Helen: No, thanks.

John: You don’t sound very happy/happily. And you look pale/palely. Are

you all right?

Helen: I feel rather tired/tiredly. And I’m hot/hotly.

John: It is getting a bit warm/warmly in here, isn’t it? Well I can easy/ easily

open this window here.

Helen: Thank you. Actually, my head aches quite bad/badly, too. I think it’s

slow/slowly getting worse.

John: I’m sure/surely the music isn’t helping too much. It seems rather

loud/loudly, doesn’t it? Look, would you like me to take you home?

Helen: No, that’s all right, thanks. But if I could sit quiet/quietly somewhere

for a few minutes, I might be OK.

John: I’ll ask Susan if there’s somewhere you can go.


a. El a venit târziu ieri.

b. Ea nu lipseşte niciodată de la şcoală.

c. Eu nu mă trezesc niciodată devreme.

d. Toată lumea se simţea fericită când s-a aflat că el nu este vinovat.

e. Arăţi destul de bine. Ce ţi-ai făcut la păr?

f. El cumpără ieftin şi vinde scump.

g. Erau cam obosiţi, dar au decis să continue lucrul la proiect pentru încă

vreo câteva ore.


h. A ajuns acasă înaintea tatălui ei, ca de obicei.

i. Maşina asta merge prea repede. Dacă îi vede poliţia o să-i amendeze.

j. Arăţi foarte tristă. Ce ţi s-a întâmplat?

k. Noi vorbim bine englezeşte, şi acceptabil franceza.

l. De-abia s-a aşezat la masa de lucru că deja s-a simţit obosit şi s-a dus la

culcare.

m. De îndată ce se trăseseră cortinele, spectatorii au început să ovaţioneze.

n. În general nu prea îmi plac prăjiturile, dar astăzi o să fac o excepţie şi o să

mănânc.

o. Nu te apropia, este periculos să stai lângă macara. Nu înveţi niciodată

când trebuie să te fereşti de pericole!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Grammar Reference 2

Punctuation

There is a considerable amount of variation in punctuation practices. At one

extreme are writers who use as little punctuation as possible. At the other

extreme there are writers who use to much punctuation in an effort to make

their meaning clear. Here are some punctuation rules.

1. Sentence - Level Punctuation

Punctuation

Marks

Guidelines Examples


. Ordinaly. An indepen-

dent clause is made into

a sentence by beginning

it with a capital letter

and ending it with a

period.

Some of us think we should

invest in this company.

Others think it is useless.

, Independent clauses

may be combined into

one sentence by using

the words and, but, yet,

or, nor, and so. The

first clause is usually

followed by a comma.

The forecast promised

beautiful weather on the coast

of the North Sea, but it rained

every day.

Draw the figure, and solve

the problem.

; The writer can indicate

that independent

clauses are closely

connected by joining

them with a semicolon.

Some of us think we should

invest in this company; others

think it is useless

: When one independent

clause is followed by

another that explains or

exemplifies it, they can

be separated by a colon.

The second clause may

or may not begin with a

capital letter.

There’s only one solution: we

must reduce next year’s

budget.

The conference addresses a

basic question: How can we

take steps needed to protect

the environment?

? Sentences that ask a

question should be

followed by a question

Are they still drilling in that

region?


mark. What percentage of oil have

you recovered here?

! Sentences that express

strong feelings may be

followed by an

exclamation mark.

Watch out!

That’s a rude thing to say!

2. Separating Elements in Clauses

When one of the elements in a clause is compounded, that is, when there are

two or more subjects, predicates, objects, and so forth, punctuation is

necessary.

Punctuation

Marks

Guidelines Examples

When two elements

are compound, they

are usually joined

together with a

words such as and,

or or without any

punctuation.

Occasionally more

than two elements

are joined in this

way.

Tuition may be paid by check or

charged to a major credit card.

I’m taking Chemistry (and)

Physics and Maths this semester.

, Compounds that

contain more than

two elements are

called series.

Commas are used

to separate items in

England, Scotland, and Wales

share the island of Great Britain.

Environmentally conscious

businesses use recycled paper,

photocopy on both sides of a


a series, with words

such as and or or

usually occuring

between the last

two items.

sheet, and ceramic cups.

; When the items in

a series are very

long or have

internal

punctuation,

separation by

commas can be

confusing, and

semicolons may be

used instead.

Students were selected on the

basis of grades; test of

vocabulary, memory, and

reading; and teacher

recommendations.

3. Word - Level Punctuation

The punctuation covered so far is used to clarify the structure of sentences,

There are also punctuation marks that are used with words.

Punctuation

Marks

Guidelines Examples

‘ The apostrophe is

used with nouns to

show possession.

The company’s management

resisted the union’s demands.

An apostrophe is used

in constructions to

show where letters or

numbers have been

omitted.

He’s; didn’t; let’; Ma’am; four

o’clock.

45’s; ABC’s.

. A period is used to Prof. J. K. Lawrence; 24 ft., 4:00


mark shortened forms

like abbreviations and

initials.

p.m.

- A hyphen is used to

end a line of text when

part of a word must be

carried over the next

line

... insta -

bility

Hyphens are

sometimes used to

form compound words

twenty-four, self-confidence

When two modifiers

containing hyphens

are joined together,

common elements are

often not repeated.

The study included first- and

second-year students.

Other uses of Punctuation Marks

Punctuation

Marks

Guidelines Examples

“ When writers use the exact

words of someone else, they

must use quotation marks to

set them off from the rest of

the text.

In 1841, Ralph Waldo

Emerson wrote “I hate

quotations. Tell me what

you know.”

...

....

If part of a quotation is

omitted, the omission must be

marked with points of ellipsis.

When the omission comes in

the middle of a sentence, three

She told him the

following: “If you want

to settle down, to get a

proper job, to find the

proper wife... you should


points are used. When the

omission includes the end of

one or more sentences, four

points are used.

give up your selfish

ideas.”

“Work of the tyre that

B.W.R.A. is doing is of

greatest value when

carried out in a

sufficiently

comprehensive pattern,

and it is much to be

hoped that the framers of

codes will give it full

weight .... There are

many factors which

affect a pressure vessel

of the types commonly

used.”

[ ] When writers insert something

within a quoted passage, the

insertion should be set off with

brackets.

“In a fault, it [the crust of

the earth] has cracked

and caused different

layers of rock to slip.”

The dash can be used to

indicate hesitations in speech.

“Well uh I’d like to

try again if you let me”,

he offered.


Unit 14

ReadingRead the following poem belonging to Rudyard Kipling. Pay attention to if

clauses. Translate the poem into Romanian.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream- and not make dreams your master;

If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:


If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings- nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And- which is more- you’ll be a Man, my son!

Ways with Words1. …If neither foes nor loving friends…

Distinction should be made between foe, enemy and opponent, antagonist,

adversary.

Enemy and foe agree in denoting a person or body of persons that is hostile

or that manifests hostility to another.

Enemy stresses the antagonism that arises from a cherished hatred or a

desire to harm or destroy, but it may suggest nothing more than active or

evident dislike.

He is a man with many friends and no enemies.

Foe implies active enmity either literally or figuratively. Foe is a more

literary and poetic word than enemy.

He is the foe of all reform measures.

Unlike the former group the latter does not necessarily imply personal

animosity or hostility.


Opponent is one who is on the opposite side in a contest or in a conflict of

opinion.

Adversary implies not only the idea of mere opposition but active hostility.

Antagonist implies sharper opposition in a struggle for supremacy or

control.

2. Read the following line: But make allowance for their doubting too.

Which word does allowance come from? We call -ance a suffix.

Let’s read a list of suffixes which are used in order to form nouns:

- acy eg: democracy, diplomacy, accuracy

- age eg: passage, marrige

- ance / - ancy, -ence, -ency eg: utterance, appearance, ascendency,

preference

- ard / -art eg: sluggard, drunkard, braggart

- ation eg: examination, translation, identification

- dom eg: wisdom

- ee eg: refugee, employee

- eer eg: mountaineer, engineer,

- er, -or eg: teacher, dancer, singer

- ery eg: backery, slavery, fishery

- ess eg: actress, hostess, tigress

- hood eg: neighbourhood, childhood

- ism eg: realism, scepticism

- ist eg: satirist, violonist, romanticist

- ity eg: adversity, probability

- let eg: hamlet, booklet

- man eg: Englishman, fisherman

- ment eg: improvement, movement,

- ness eg: greateness, sadness

- ship eg: friendship, leadership


- ure eg: agriculture, departure

Now practise them and find other words for each of them.

Grammar Reference

First Conditional

It is used to express a possible condition and a probable result in the future:

If my cheque comes, I’ll buy this car.

We’ll destroy the environment if we don’t look after it.

If he passes the baccalaureate, he’ll go to university.

Form

No future tense occurs in the conditional clause. This is replaced by the

present simple. However, we can also use: present continuous, present

perfect simple, present perfect continuous, can, should. Will / would can be

used to express polite requests or insistence:

If you will wait for a moment, I’ll wrap it for you. (request)

If you will go on smoking, you’ll get worse. (insistence)

The main clause usually has the verb in the future with will/shall. However,

we can also use: ‘be going to’ future, future continuous, future perfect,

imperative, can/could, may/might, should/ought to, must.

Main Clause If Clause

Present/ Future Present


If I work hard, I’ll pass my exams.

If he’s still waiting for you, he must be very hungry.

If Paul has received your letter, he must phone you today.

If you are late, we won’t wait for you.

If I should see him, I‘ll tell him the good news.

If it’s been raining, you‘ll have to wear boots.


Note: When we use if +should, the condition is less likely to be performed.

Interrogative

What will you do if you don’t go to any university?

Where will she go she can’t find a job in the petroleum field?

Second Conditional

It is used to express an unreal or improbable condition (hypothetical

condition) and its probable result in the present or future. The condition is

unreal because it is different from the facts that we know. We can always

say But...

If I were Prime Minister, I’d increase taxes on properties such as castles,

palaces, ranches, etc. (But I’m not Prime Minister.)

If I lived in a big house, I’d have a party. (But my house is very small.)

Form

The verb in the main clause is in the present conditional (would+infinitive);

the verb in the conditional clause is in the present subjunctive which is

similar to the past simple with the exception of the verb to be which

becomes were for all the persons.

Main Clause If Clause

Present Conditional Present Subjunctive


If I had more money, I would (’d) /could buy a new computer. /go out more

often.

If she knew/ were to know the answer, she would tell it to us immediately.

If I didn’t have debts, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.

Interrogative

What would you do if you were me?

Which countries would you visit it you travelled round the world?


Third Conditional

It is used to express impossible (unfulfilled) condition referring to the past;

it contradicts reality, which can no longer be changed. The condition is

highly hypothetical.

Form

The verb in the main clause is in the past/perfect conditional (would+ have+

the third form of the verb), while the verb in the conditional clause is in the

perfect subjunctive (a form similar to past perfect). However, we can also

use the past perfect continuous or could + perfect infinitive in if clause,

whereas in the main clause we can use the modals could and might before

the perfect infinitive.

Main clause If clause

Past/Perfect conditional Perfect subjunctive


If I had had more money, I would (‘d) have bought this elegant car.

If she had known the answer, she would have passed the exam.

If I hadn’t made so many mistakes, I wouldn’t have failed the driving

license test.

If the ambulance had come sooner, he might have been /could have been

saved.

If he had been travelling in that car, he could have been killed.

Interrogative

What would you have done if you had seen such a wonderful movie?

Which countries would you have visited if you had travelled round the

world?

Notes:

In reported speech, the verb tenses of first conditional sentences

change in the usual way, whereas with second and third conditionals

the tenses remain unchanged.


Besides if, conditionals can also be introduced by other

conjunctions:

on (the) condition that, even if, even though, when, providing (that),

provided (that), as/so long as, suppose, supposing, since, as, unless, but

for + gerund/noun, assuming (that), if only.

Mixed Conditionals

In addition to the tense variations we can use in the first, second and third

conditionals, it is also possible to mix conditionals. The context defines the

meaning.

The most common mixed conditional is:

If + past perfect would/could/might + infinitive

If I had worked harder at university, I would have a degree now.

Other types:

If you come to the party tomorrow, I wouldn’t bring Mary with you.

If he is honest, he would have told the truth.

If she loved him, she would have stayed with him.

Implied Conditionals

Conditionals are not always expressed in the form of conditional clauses,

particularly in spoken English:

Please come out with us tonight. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. (implied condition:

If you come out with us, …)

With a bit more help (if I had more help), I would have finished it on time.

I’m sure we’d really have a good time with you (if we went), but we just

can’t afford a holiday.

I’m glad you didn’t tell Mathew about this. He would have been furious. (if

you had told him)

Inversion in If-Clauses


When there is should, were or had in the if-clause, the subject and the

auxiliary verb can be inverted and if is omitted.

If he should ring, tell him to come at 8.00. / Should he ring, …

If I were you, I wouldn’t say that. / Were I you, …

If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have done such a thing. / Had I known

earlier, …

Controlled Practice 1. Answer the following questions with conditional sentences of the real

type:

a. What happens if you don’t pass this exam?

b. What presents will you buy if you go to that party?

c. What grade do you expect to get if you write a good paper?

d. What do you need to learn if you want to get that job?

e. What will you tell him if he asks you about your accident?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Translate the following sentences into English:

a. Dacã voi putea, te voi ajuta la proiectul de an.

b. Dacã voi şti rãspunsul, o sã ţi-l spun.

c. Dacã vrei sã ne însoţeşti, eşti binevenit.

d. Voi pleca în vacanţã dacã voi avea bani.


e. Vei învãţa mai bine dacã accepţi sã te ajut.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Put if, when, or as soon as into each gap, and put the verbs in brackets in

the correct tense:

John: Bye, darling. Have a good trip.

Maria: Thanks. I (ring) you ... I (arrive) at the hotel.

John: Good, but remember I’m going out.

Maria: Well, ... you (be) out ... I (ring), I (leave) a message on the answer

phone so you know I’ve arrived safely.

John: Great. What time do you expect you’ll be there?

Mary: ... the plane (arrive) on time, I (be) at the hotel at about 10.00. That’s

8.00 your time.

John: All right. And remember. Give me a ring .. you know the time of your

flight back, and I (pick) you up.

Maria: Thanks, darling. Bye!

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4. Translate the following sentences into Romanian:

a. If I knew it, I would have told you the truth.

b. If she helped me I wouldn’t be late to work.

c. If it rained, we would go inside.

d. I’d like to hear her news if she were here.

e. If you could do it, you wouldn’t ask me to tell you how to do it.

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5. Translate the following sentences into English:

a. Dacã aş şti mai multe amãnunte despre acest raport, ţi le-aş spune.

b. Dacã ai vrea, m-ai putea ajuta sã termin proiectul acesta?

c. Dacã ar fi aici, am termina treaba mai repede şi am putea ieşi la o cafea.

d. L-ar asculta dacã ar avea urechi de auzit.

e. Ne-ar face plãcere sã venim la petrecerea ta de terminare a facultãţii dacã

nu am avea altceva de fãcut.

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6. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tenses:

a. If I had a typewriter I (type) it myself.


b. If he worked more slowly he (not make) so many mistakes.

c. I (buy) shares in this company if I had some money.

d. I could tell you what this means if I (speak) Arabian.

e. I (offer) to help if I thought I’d be of any use.

f. If you (change) your job would it affect your pension?

g. If you (speak) more slowly he would understand you.

h. If you (look) at the engine for a moment you would see what is missing.

i. You (save) me a lot of trouble if you told me where you are going.

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7. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

a. If I (know) this from the beginning, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it for

me.

b. If it had rained it (be) a disaster.

c. If she (go) to university so late, she wouldn’t have had these problems in

her career.

d. If you (stay) on that drilling rig and (be confronted with) such storms, I

don’t think you would argue against my leaving that place.

e. If I had known how to solve the problems in chemistry, I (pass) the exam

in the winter session.

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a. Dacã aş fi putut sã te ajut, aş fi fãcut-o încã de atunci.

b. Dacã ar fi ştiut rãspunsurile la toate întrebãrile, nu ar fi luat o notã aşa de

micã.

c. Dacã aş fi învãţat mai bine, nu aş fi picat acest examen.

d. Dacã nu ar fi nins, nu am fi plecat la munte de Crãciun.

e. V-aţi fi distrat mai bine, dacã nu aţi fi avut aceastã problemã de rezolvat

în acelaşi timp.

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9. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tenses:

a. If I had known that you were in danger I (help) you.

b. If you (arrive) fifteen minutes earlier you would have got a seat.

c. I shouldn’t have believed you when telling me about that driller’s

accident if I (not see) it with my own eyes.

d. If he had asked you to do that job, you (accept)?

e. But for the fog we (reach) our destination ages ago.

f. If I (be) ready when he called he would have taken me with him.


g. If she listened to my directions she (not turn) the lights off.

h. If you had told me that he never paid his debts I (not lend) him the

money.

i. You wouldn’t have had so much trouble with your car if you (have) it

serviced regularly.

j. I (take) a taxi to the university if I had realized that it was such a long

way.

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10. Finish these sentences, taking care to use the correct tense. These are

mixed conditional sentences.

a. If he had taken my advice...

b. The substance would look better if...

c. I’d have brought my compass if...

d. If you had asked his permission...

e. If I buy this machine ...

f. If she practised more...

g. If the river rises any higher...

h. I would lend it to you if...

i. If the fire had been noticed earlier...

j. If she rings while I’m in the tunnel...


11. Match the clauses together to make mixed conditional sentences:

1. If you had told me A. he probably won’t be at the

meeting.

about this problem earlier,

2. If you were a more B. you could always ring them up.

sensitive person,

3. If they don’t contact C. his wife would never have left him.

you soon,

4. If he hadn’t died D. you wouldn’t have said that to her.

so young,

5. If he didn’t work E. I would have had them by now.

so hard all the time,

6. If the train hadn’t F. everything would be all right now.

been delayed,

7. If he was feeling G. would you hurry up and get ready?

ill this morning,

8. If you’re coming H. you wouldn’t be so busy this

month.

with us

9. If I really wanted I. we would be there by now.

to have children,

10. If you had worked J. I’m sure he’d be a famous musician

by now.

harder last month,

12. The condition is not stated in a conditional clause in the following

underlined sentences. Write a sentence containing the underlined sentence

as a main clause and an appropriate conditional clause.


a. I think Alison should apply for the job. She would make a very good

managing director.

b. The problem is that she doesn’t work very hard. I know that she could do

really well.

c. We’re lucky it’s sunny today. It would be horrible sitting out here

otherwise.

d. He wouldn’t be able to live on his own without the help of his

neighbours.

e. With luck, we’ll finish the job by the end of the day.

f. I hear you’re thinking of going to Indonesia for the summer. You’ll love it

there.

g. I hope those refugees aren’t deported, but I think they will be. They may

be imprisoned or even executed.

h. It’s a good job you brought all those tables and chairs in from outside last

night. The rain would have ruined them.

i. Mark should have told the truth. I’m sure she would have forgiven him.

j. Without the help of the Red Cross doctors, many more would have died.

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13. First, second or third conditional:

a. We wanted to go out yesterday but the weather was terrible. If it (be) a

nice day, we (go) for a picnic.

b. Why don’t you explain everything to him? If you (not tell) him the truth,

I’m sure you (regret) one day.

c. Jenny was here not long ago. If you (come) round earlier, you (see) her.

d. Apparently, the ferry company are planning to close the port in this town.

If that (happen), the town (lose) a great deal of money.

e. I (help) you with it if I (have) more time but I’m afraid I haven’t got any

spare time at all at the moment.

f. The government is expecting to win the next election, but if it (lose), the

PM (resign) from politics.

g. I’m so glad you took me to your friend’s party. If we (not go) there, I

never (meet) Adrian.

h. It’s ridiculous that trains are so expensive. If fares (be) cheaper, I’m sure

more people (use) the train and (leave) their cars at home.

i. Fortunately the explosion took place at night when the streets were empty.

It (be) a disaster if it (happen) in the middle of the day.

j. If Alison (know) anything about car mechanics, I’m sure she (help) us fix

the car, but she knows even less than we do.

k. They’ve been married for 20 years but I don’t think she (marry) him if

she (know) what a selfish man he was.

l. She has everything she wants but she’s always moaning. I’m sure that if I

(have) so much money I (moan) all the time.

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14. Rewrite the sentences:

a. If you don’t drive carefully, you’ll have an accident.

Unless…

You won’t ….

As long as you …

b. You had better take his advice.

Were…

c. If she happens to come, tell her to wait for me.

Should…

d. As he couldn’t afford a holiday, he stayed at home.

If…

e. Since he doesn’t have any qualifications, he can’t find a job.

If …

f. If it hadn’t been for my mother’s generosity, I wouldn’t have my car now.

But for…

g. If you help me. I’ll help you.

I’ll help you provided…

h. He wasn’t on time, so we missed the train.

Had he…


i. I’m not rich so I can’t afford a long holiday abroad.

If I …

j. I didn’t go out because I had a lot of work to do.

If I …

k. She must be out since she didn’t answer the phone.

If she were…

l. She must have lived in France because she has a perfect French accent.

If she had…

15. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first

sentence using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use

between three and eight words, including the word given.

a. If I were him, I would not be late for the interview. (better)

b. You won’t be punished provided you admit it was your mistake. (long)

c. Since he is an only child, his parents have spoiled him. (not)

d. If I had been you, I would have punished him. (shoes)

e. If you revise all your notes, you’ll pass the exam. (provided)

f. If it wasn’t for the good pay, I wouldn’t stay in this job. (but)

g. If you don’t get to work on time, you’ll be given the sack. (punctual)

h. As you‘ve got a high temperature, you’d better go to the doctor’s. (were)

i. As I couldn’t answer any of the questions, I walked out of the Maths

exam.(so)

j. But for his help, I wouldn’t be in my current job.(got)

k. If Mary were feeling well, she would have come to Tom’s party. (since)

l. If someone gave you a free airline ticket, where would you travel to? (to)

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a. Dacă l-ai vedea acum nu l-ai mai recunoaşte; e numai o umbră din ce a

fost o dată.

b. Dacă n-ai fi atât de mincinos, n-ai fi acum în situaţia regretabilă ca

nimeni să nu aibă încredere în tine.

c. N-aş fi consimţit niciodată să părăsesc adăpostul dacă aş fi ştiut că se va

întâmpla o nenorocire.

d. N-ar fi trebuit să câştige atât de mulţi bani şi n-ar fi dat de necaz dacă

soţiei lui i-ar fi plăcut mai puţin luxul.

e. De data asta te-aş putea duce cu maşina mea dacă îmi promiţi să nu se

mai repete.

f. În cazul în care voi uita, te rog reaminteşte-mi de promisiunea făcută.

g. Dacă se întâmplă să treci pe lângă biroul lui, ai putea să intri şi să îi

înapoiezi dicţionarul pe care l-ai împrumutat de la el.

h. Presupunând că partenerul dvs. ar accepta aceste propuneri, care ar fi

următoarea etapă a tratativelor?

i. Dacă n-ar fi nins, excursia noastră la munte n-ar fi fost atât de plăcută.


j. Mi-a spus de câteva ori că va accepta postul cu condiţia ca salariul să fie

mulţumitor.

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Unit 15

ReadingRead the following fragment from The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane.

Underline the modal verbs:

The Palace Hotel at Fort Romper was painted a light blue, a shade that is

on the legs of a kind of heron, causing the bird to declare its position

against any background. The Palace Hotel, then, was always screaming and

howling in a way that made the dazzling winter landscape of Nebraska seem

only a gray swampish hush. It stood alone on the prairie, and when the

snow was falling the town two hundred yards away was not visible. But

when the traveler alighted at the railway station he was obliged to pass the

Palace Hotel before he could come upon the company of low clap-board

houses which composed Fort Romper, and it was not to be thought that any

traveler could pass the Palace Hotel without looking at it.

Pat Scully, the proprietor, had proved himself a master of strategy when he

chose his paints. It is true that on clear days, when the great trans-

continental expresses, long lines of swaying Pullmans, swept through Fort

Romper, passengers were overcome at the sight, and the cult that knows the

brown-reds and the subdivisions of the dark greens of the East expressed

shame, pity, horror, in a laugh. But to the citizens of this prairie town, and

to the people who would naturally stop there, Pat Scully had performed a

feat. With this opulence and splendor, these creeds, classes, egotisms, that

streamed through Romper on the rails day after day, they had no color in

common.


Ways with Words1. This fragment belongs to a novel written by Stephen Crane. Its title is The

Blue Hotel. Do you know any idioms containing the word blue? How do

you translate out of the blue or once in a blue moon?

2. Let’s learn some idioms with colours.

Be blue; Feel Blue:

‘I feel blue so often when it’s cloudy and rainy.’

‘Sometimes I’m blue on a grey day. But you should see Dorothy’.

To have green fingers (thumbs):

“Mrs. Helen Smith always seems to be successful in growing things. Both

her flower garden and her vegetable garden always appear to be healthy

and very productive. Her friends frequently say: “Helen, you certainly have

a green thumb!”

To be in the pink:

“The doctor examined John thoroughly and finally said:

“You’re in the pink of health”. To which John replied: “It must because I

take vitamins”.

Red – handed:

“As the thief was climbing out the window with the stolen necklace, the

police was waiting for him and caught him red-handed because he had

been/ was careless.”

Black sheep:

“Ted ran away from home at age 15. He got into trouble and spent some

time in prison. From there he robbed a bank, got captured and spent more

time in prison. At least, at the age of 14, he decided to spend his living

honestly and today he is no longer the black sheep of his family. On the

contrary, his family is quite proud of him and of the transformation they see

in his life.”


2. Answer the following questions:

a. Why do people feel blue?

b. Is it possible that some of the following are feeling blue?

A man who has just lost all his money.

A couple that has just got married.

A ship captain whose ship has sunk in a bad storm.

A wife whose husband has just given her a diamond necklace.

c. Have you ever felt blue? What has caused it?

d. Is it possible that the persons described below could be said to have “a

green thumb”?

A little boy who has got a new puppy for his birthday.

A woman who likes to spend her weekends at the beach.

A man who spends his summer evenings working in his garden to

raise tomatoes, cucumbers etc.

An elderly woman who takes great pride in her lovely rose garden

e. Is it possible that some of the following are not in the pink?

A nurse who has just finished working for 24 hours in a hospital and

is exhausted.

An old man who is 80 years of age but who can still swim, play golf,

jog.

A family that have been shipwrecked and have only lived on an

island for three months with coconuts to eat.

A famous boxer who has been training for his next championship

fight for six weeks.

f. It is possible that some of the following persons be caught red-handed?

A grandmother taking care of her small grandson.

A boy taking an apple from a basket in a store.

A man robbing a bank at ten o’clock in the morning.

A policeman driving around in his patrol car.


g. Restate the following sentence using the idiom “red-handed”: The

mystery of the disappearing jam from the cellar was finally solved when

they caught Jim eating a whole pot at night.

h. In your opinion, do many families have a “black sheep”?

i. Is it possible that some of the following might be considered a “black

sheep”?

An old man who has been poor all his life

Twin boys who decide to join the army

A young woman who abandons her parents and starts a life thrill of

robbing homes of jewels and money.

Grammar Reference

Modal Auxiliaries

Modal auxiliaries are also sometimes called modal verbs or modals.

The following are modal auxiliaries:

Present form Past form

Can could

May might

Will would

Shall should

Must

Ought to

Need

Modal auxiliaries always stay the same. They cannot be put into

different tenses, used as infinitives, as gerunds or present participles.

They are followed by the infinitive in different forms.

I. Ability: can, could, be able


Can (present or future) and could (past) refer to a general ability to

do something. Can is also used to refer to an ability to do something

specific at a time in the future.

She can / can’t sing really well.

He could read when he was four.

Can and could refer to the ability to do something, but not to the

doing of it.

My parents live quite a distance away so we’re not able to/can’t see

them.

We use be able to talk about ability + the achievement of the action.

He gave me a lift home so I was able to stay at the party till late.

We use can + be + adjective or noun to talk about possibility.

She can be very charming when she wants to be.

We use can, could and could have in conditional sentences. We also

use them in sentences with an implied condition.

I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t had your help.

II. Certainty, possibility, deduction: can , could , may , might , must , will ,

should , ought to

To talk about something that it is possible to do at any time, use can

or may. With this use, can and may are often followed by the

passive infinitive.

Stamps can/may be bought at most shops which sell cards.

To talk about a future possibility, use may or might. We can also

use could (it refers to a theoretical possibility).

The parcel may/might arrive tomorrow.

We could go by train. (It is possible to take a train there if you

wanted to do that).

To talk about a present or future certainty, use will + simple or

continuous infinitive.


I will be waiting for you when you arrive.

To talk about possibility in the present, use may, might or could +

simple infinitive (usually the verb to be) or continuous infinitive.

I won’t phone Jennifer now because she might be working at home.

To talk about possibility in the past, use may, might, could + perfect

infinitive (simple or continuous).

I don’t know why they’re so late. I suppose they could have got lost.

To make a deduction about something in the present, use must

(positive deduction) or can’t (negative deduction) + simple infinitive

(usually the verb to be) or continuous infinitive.

He can’t be driving here: he hasn’t got a car.

To make a deduction about something in the past, use must/can’t

(or couldn’t) + perfect infinitive (simple or continuous).

He can’t have forgotten about the meeting: he talked to me about it

only this morning.

We can use should or ought to + present infinitive to make

assumptions about the present or the future and should or ought to +

perfect infinitive to make assumptions about the past.

The train got in half an hour ago so they should be here soon.

Let’s go and see Cathy: she should have finished working by now.

III. Advice, obligation, necessity: should , ought to , must , have to , have

got to , need

To give advice, use should or ought to. We often use should/ought

to with I think … /Do(Don’t) you think …?

Don’t you think you should/ought to stop seeing him?

To give strong advice and recommendations, use must. It can refer

to present time or future time.

We must go and visit them more often. You mustn’t let him talk to

you like that.


To criticise actions in the past, use should or ought to + perfect

infinitive. Should /ought to in the past means that the subject did not

do the right thing.

I should/ought to have stayed at home. (= I didn’t stay at home and

my behaviour was wrong)

To talk about obligation, use must, mustn’t or have to. Have to –

the obligation is often external, it comes from the situation; must –

the obligation often comes from the speaker or writer of the

sentence.

Passengers must fasten their seat belts. (The obligation is imposed

by the airline who wrote the notice).

We’ll have to get there before 5 o’clock because the shops close

then.

We can also use have got to to express obligation. Have got to is

often interchangeable with have to but there is sometimes a

difference: have to can be used for habitual actions and single

actions whereas have got to can only be used for single actions.

I have to get the bus into work today/I have to get the bus into work

every day.

I have got to get the bus into work today.

To express a negative obligation, use mustn’t. Do not use don’t

have to = there is no obligation.

You mustn’t wait here. (You are not allowed to wait here).

You don’t have to wait here. (It is not necessary for you to wait here

but you can if you want to).

To express necessity, use need. We can use need as a modal verb in

questions and negative sentences.

You needn’t come if you don’t want to.


To express lack of necessity, use needn’t, don’t need to, don’t

have to, haven’t got to. When the speaker is giving the authority,

we often use needn’t.

Teacher to students: ‘You’ve worked hard today so you needn’t do

any homework tonight.’

We’re eating out tonight so we don’t need/needn’t/don’t have

to/haven’t got to buy any food.

To express lack of necessity in the past, use needn’t + perfect

infinitive or didn’t need to/didn’t have to + infinitive.

I needn’t have gone to the station so early. The train was nearly an

hour late. (It wasn’t necessary to go to the station early but I didn’t

realise that and so I did get there early).

We didn’t need to/didn’t have to get up early this morning because

we had no lectures. (It wasn’t necessary and so we didn’t do it).

IV. Offers, requests, permission, suggestions: can, could, may, might,

would, must, shall, would you mind

Asking permission: Can/Could/May/Might I …?

Making a request: Can/Could/Would you …?

To give or refuse permission: You can/can’t/may/may

not/must/mustn’t …

To make an offer: Can/Shall I, we …? Would you like…?

To make a suggestion or an invitation: Shall we …? We could

..., Would you like to …?

V. Habit: would, used to

Used to is not a modal: I used to work here. I didn’t use to work

here. Did you use to work here?

Use would and used to to talk about past habits.

When we were children, my brother and I used to fight all the time.

When we were children, my brother and I would fight all the time.


When we use would to talk about a past habit, it is necessary to

use a past time reference. Used to can be used with or without a

past time reference.

When we talk about past situations (not actions), we can use

used to but we can’t use would.

Controlled Practice1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of can, could or be able to.

a. He’s very fit for his age. He …(run) really fast.

b. I’d like … (work) with you one day.

c. He …(not climb) up to the top: he was too scared.

d. If they hadn’t phoned for an ambulance, he …(die).

e. I love … (spend) all morning in bed at weekends.

f. We …(go) to that concert tomorrow if the tickets haven’t sold out.

g. I think you should go in the spring: it (be) very crowded there in summer.

h. I … (not understand) what he says: he speaks too quickly.

i. …(speak) another language fluently is a great advantage.

j. Jonathan … (not say) anything until he was about three years old.

k. We … (not phone her up) because her phone had broken, but fortunately

we ... (get) a message to her.

l. Amy’s exam results weren’t very good. She … (do) better.

m. I … (not sleep) very well for the last four nights. It’s been too hot.

n. She tried to think of other things but she … (not put) that awful memory

out of her mind.

o. … (you come) to the party on Sunday?

2. Complete the sentences with can, could, may, might, will, should, ought

to, must and an infinitive in the appropriate form:

a. Kerry’s rather late. She … (miss) the train.


b. Travellers’ cheques … (be exchanged) at most banks.

c. They’re not answering the phone so they … (be) out.

d. Don’t phone her now. It … (be) the middle of the night in Australia.

e. They (not move) house yet. I saw them in town this morning.

f. I haven’t seen Joanna this week. I think she … (visit) her parents but I’m

not sure about it.

g. Her exam results are coming out soon. She worked very hard so she …

(do) well.

h. That woman’s just fallen over. Let’s go and see her: she (be) hurt.

i. I don’t know where she is. She (not still play) tennis: it’s been dark for the

last hour.

j. I sent the letter two days ago so he … (get) it by now, but you can never

be sure.

k. Jim’s been very quiet since his girlfriend went away. He … (miss) her.

l. I … (come) and visit you at the weekends. Anyway, I’ll give you a ring to

let you know.

m. She was with a man I didn’t recognize. It … (be) her brother because he

looked a bit like her.

n. The roads are fairly quiet today so we … (have) a good journey.

o. ‘Why do you think Tricia was in such a hurry?’ ‘I don’t know. She (run)

to catch the bus.’

p. These glasses … (be) Tim’s: they look a bit like his.

r. It … (not rain): the ground’s completely dry.

s. I … (join) the sports club in the summer but I haven’t decided yet.

t. I told her you were coming so she … (expect) you.

u. They’ve just rung the bell so the children … (be) out of the classrooms in

a minute.


3. Complete the sentences using the modals should, ought to, must or need

or the verb have to in the correct tense and form.

a. We … (leave) at 11 o’clock last night because the last bus went at 11.20.

b. I don’t think you … (offer) to help him. You’ve got enough work to do.

c. They … (not pay) to stay in a hotel. They can stay with us.

d. We’ve been staying in a hotel for the last two weeks so we (not cook) our

own meals.

e. You … (come round) for dinner one evening. We haven’t had a good talk

for a long time.

f. We … (run) all the way to the station because we were late for the train.

g. It’s your own fault that you’re so tired. You … (not go) to bed so late.

h. Why … the prisoners … (be locked) in their cells all day?

i. Hurry up. You … (not have) a bath now. The taxi’s coming in twenty

minutes.

j. You … (not tell) him what happened. He would never forgive us.

k. You … (not allow) David to walk home from school every day on his

own. He’s too young.

l. I don’t like … (do) everything my boss tells me to do.

m. You … (go) to that new French restaurant in town. It’s the best

restaurant I’ve ever been to.

n. Paul … (not get up) early in the morning but everyone else in the house

does.

o. If I fail any one of my exams, I … (take) all of them again in November.

p. I … (tell) him what you really think of him next time you see him if I

were you.

r. The wedding’s been cancelled so I … (not buy) that new suit: it was a

waste of money.

s. I … (take) the children to school every morning before I go to work.

t. You … (not eat) in the lecture hall: it’s against the college regulations.


u. I’d like you to come to the meeting but you … (not come) if you don’t

want to.

4. Write what to say using can, could, may, might, shall, must, would,

would you like, would you mind. There may be a number of possible

answers.

a. Offer to open the door for a stranger.

b. Ask someone to answer the phone for you.

c. Invite a friend to go for a swim this morning.

d. Offer to make someone a sandwich.

e. Request an appointment to see your bank manager, Ms Arnold.

f. Give someone permission to use your phone.

g. Suggest going for a picnic this afternoon.

h. Ask someone to wait here for you.

i. Give your son permission to go out but tell him to be back before it gets

dark.

j. You are in the train. Ask another passenger if you can open the window.

Offer to answer the phone.

k. You are in a café. There is a free seat next to someone. Ask that person if

you can sit there.

5. Complete the sentences with would or used to. Where either form is

possible, write them both.

a. I … have lots of free time before I started working here.

b. In the long summer holidays, we … go out somewhere with a picnic

every day.

c. When I was a newly-trained teacher, I … work till late every night

preparing lessons.

d. They … be happy together but they are not now.


e. When they came to London, they … (never) travel anywhere on the tube.

f. When I had a car, I … drive everywhere, but now I’m much fitter because

I always walk or cycle.

g. During my last year at university, I … go to the library to start work at 9

o’clock every morning.

h. When we shared a flat together, we … (often) stay up talking late.

i. When Amy was a baby, people … (often) come up to me and tell me how

beautiful she was.

j. He … be overweight but he’s much slimmer now.

6. Rewrite the following sentences using a modal. In some sentences more

than one modal is possible.

a. I promise to phone you next week. I will/’ll phone you next week.

b. At the age of nine, he still didn’t know how to read.

c. It’s essential that we leave on time tomorrow morning.

d. Are you able to come with me tonight?

e. It’s not a good idea for you to work so hard.

f. It’s possible that they’ll be here soon.

g. Why don’t we go and see a film tonight?

h. He said that he intended to write to me soon.

i. Is it possible for me to sit here?

j. He refuses to give me an answer.

k. It’s not necessary for you to apologize.

l. Am I allowed to smoke in here?

m. He knew how to speak four languages by the time he was twelve.

n. I want to help you but I am not able to.

o. I think it’s a good idea for me to stay in tonight: I’ve got a lot of work to

do.

p. I don’t know who she is but it’s possible that she is Rick’s sister.


r. Do not tell him any of this: it’s vital that it remains a secret.

s. I intend to finish this essay before I go to sleep.

t. It’s 7 o’clock. I assume that Clare will be here soon.

u. I know he’s in but he’s not answering the phone. I’m sure that he is

asleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first

sentence using the word given.

a. Shall we go out tonight? (how)

b. It’s very possible that he’ll be promoted. (every)

c. It is certain that he will return this afternoon. (bound)

d. He was not able to understand the radio message because of the

interference. (impossible)

e. Why haven’t you signed this page at the bottom? (sign)

f. Could he have been telling the truth? (likely)

g. Could you come on Saturday? (suit)

h. How do you feel about going on a trip? (like)

i. You don’t have to inform the agency beforehand. (compulsory)

j. May I borrow your typewriter? (mind)


k. You won’t be able to enter the country unless you have a visa.

(prevented)

l. You mustn’t start writing before the test starts. (rules)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Translate into English using modal verbs:

Ar trebui să-i spună fiicei ei o poveste, dacă vrea ca ea să adoarmă.

Când eram copil nu-i puteam înţelege pe adulţi şi acum că sunt adult nu-i

mai pot înţelege pe copii.

Chiar dacă ne-am strădui din răsputeri nu am reuşi să ajungem.

Nu pot să nu mă gândesc ce s-ar fi întâmplat dacă nu am fi putut rezolva

problema.

Când era tânăr era foarte rezistent; putea lucra toată ziua şi dansa toată

noaptea.

N-aveam cheie, aşa că n-am putut închide uşa.

Ştiam bine oraşul aşa că am putut să le explic cu să ajungă la gară.

Nu trebuie să conduci aşa repede; avem destul timp.

Nu-i voie să conduci aşa repede; este o limitare de viteză aici.

Nu-i nevoie să suni, am eu cheie.

Dacă sunteţi amabil să aşteptaţi a clipă îl chem pe director.


Drumul era acoperit cu gheaţă şi lui îi era groază să nu alunece.

Ar fi trebuit să verifice frânele înainte de plecare.

Am văzut un tigru ieri în pădure. - Nu se poate să fi văzut un tigru, nu sunt

tigrii în ţară la noi.

Tocmai am terminat de udat florile. - Nu era nevoie să le uzi, uite cum

plouă acum.

Uşa era deschisă. – Nu se poate să fi fost deschisă. Am închis-o chiar eu la

plecare.

M-ai auzit când am venit acasă seara trecută? – Nu, trebuie că adormisem.

Stătea pe bancă ore întregi şi se uita la stele.

Dacă îi dai ocazia nu mai încetează cu poveştile din război.

L-am văzut pe stradă dar nu s-a oprit să-mi vorbească. Probabil că era foarte

grăbit.

Când era la şcoală putea merge în mâini distanţe lungi, dar acum nu mai

poate.

Deşi afară plouă cu găleata de cel puţin trei ore, am putut să merg la

farmacie şi să cumpăr medicamente.

Nu este voie să vorbeşti tare aici, doar suntem într-un spital.

Nu e cazul să-i reaminteşti de datorie, este un om cu mult bun simţ.

Nu era nevoie să-i cumperi volumul acesta de poezii, îl mai are de două ori.

Se poate ca ieri pe vremea asta fraţii lui să fi cărat cărămida de la fabrică.

S-ar putea ca ei să îşi formateze sistemul acum, habar n-am.

Trebuie să-mi spăl maşina, este prea murdară. Ar fi trebuit să o spăl cel

puţin acum o lună.

Cu siguranţă că în acest moment echipa adversă sărbătoreşte victoria.

Acum un an am avut un câine tare neascultător: nu vroia să-mi aducă

papucii atunci când îi spuneam eu.

Este de datoria noastră să ne ajutăm părinţii atunci când sunt în dificultate.

Citeam zeci de cărţi pe lună când eram student.


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Progress Test 41. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the

same:

a. Without your support, I should have never won the nomination.

If it hadn’t ………………………………………………………..

b. The telephone rang the moment I stepped into the room

No sooner ………………………………………………………….

c. The candidate was undoubtedly highly intelligent but she was not very

suitable for the job.

Intelligent……………………………………………………………..

d. She has not been to the office since November, 4th.

She last…………………………………………………………………

e. I’d like to have seen this movie.

I wish …………………………………………………………………..

f. I should really like someone to do all the housework for me.

The thing I’d really like ………………………………………………….

g. I’ve never seen such an exciting match before.

This match ………………………………………………………………..

h. Joan is very alike her father.

Joan bears …………………………………………………………………

i. We can’t persuade the cat to come down from that tree.

The cat ………………………………………………………………………

j. Can you play golf well enough to beat him?

Is your ………………………………………………………………………

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Insert the adverbs in brackets in the correct place:

a. We shall go (tonight, to the theatre, at six o’ clock)

b. He goes (to the factory, every morning, at 7 o’clock)

c. She played (last evening, the piano, at the National Opera, wonderfully)

d. My friend spoke (evening, to me, in the street yesterday, very kindly)

e. I am born (on April, in 1978, at 4 o’clock, 3rd)

f. Mr. Smith came (into the office late)

g. I read (all day, at home, yesterday, very much)

h. I enjoyed my lunch (the day before yesterday, very much)

i. They went (for a week and a half, to England, 5th, on March)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Stau câteodată şi-mi aduc aminte ce vremi şi ce oameni mai erau în

părţile noastre pe când începusem şi eu, drăgăliţă-Doamne, a mă ridica

băieţaş la casa părinţilor mei, în satul Humuleştii, din târg drept peste apa

Neamţului; sat mare şi vesel, împărţit în trei părţi, care se ţin tot de una:

Vatra satului, Delenii şi Bejenii.

Ş-apoi Humuleştii, şi pe vremea aceea, nu erau numai aşa, un sat de

oameni fără căpătâiu, ci sat vechiu răzăşesc, întemeiet în toată puterea

cuvântului: cu gospodari tot unul şi unul, cu flăcăi voinici şi fete mândre,

care ştiau a învârti şi hora şi suveica, de vuia satul de vatale în toate părţile;

cu biserică frumoasă şi nişte preoţi şi dascăli şi poporeni ca aceia, de făceau

mare cinste satului lor.

Şi părintele Ioan de sub deal, Doamne, ce om vrednic şi cu bunătate

mai era! Prin îndemnul său, ce mai de pomi s-au pus în ţinterim, care era

îngrădit cu zaplaz de bârne, străşinit cu şindrilă, şi ce chilie durată s-a făcut

la poarta bisericei pentru şcoală; ş-apoi, să fi văzut pe neobositul părinte

cum umbla prin sat din casă în casă, împreună cu bădiţa Vasile a Ilioaei,

dascălul bisericei, un holteiu zdravăn, frumos şi voinic, şi sfătuia pe oameni

să-şi deie copiii la învăţătură. Şi unde nu s-au adunat o mulţime de băieţi şi

fete la şcoală; între care eram şi eu, un băiat prizărit, ruşinos şi fricos şi de

umbra mea.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key:

a. If it hadn’t been for your support I should have never won the

nomination.

b. No sooner had I stepped into the room than the telephone rang.

c. Intelligent as the candidate was, she was not very suitable for the job.

d. She last was to the office on November, 4th.

e. I wish I had seen this movie.

f. The thing I’d really like is to have someone to do all the housework for

me.

g. This match is the most exciting I have ever seen.

h. Joan bears a resemblance with her father.

i. The cat wouldn’t come down from that tree.

j. Is your golf handicap better than his?


2. a. We shall go to the theatre at six o’clock tonight.

b. He goes to the factory at 7 o’clock every morning.

c. She played the piano wonderfully at the National Opera last evening.

d. My friend spoke very kindly to me in the street yesterday evening.

e. I am born at 4 o’clock, on April, 3rd, in 1978.

f. Mr. Smith came into the office late.

g. I read a lot at home all day yesterday.

h. I enjoyed my lunch very much the day before yesterday.

i. They went to England for a week and a half on March, 5th.

3. I sometimes stop and call to mind the customs and people there used to be

in my part of the world at the time when I had, so to speak, just begun to put

a foot over the threshold of boyhood in my home in the village of

Humuleşti. It faced the town on the other side of the waters o the River

Neamţ; it was a large and cheerful village, divided into three closely

connected parts: the village itself, the Deleni and the Bejeni.

Moreover, Humuleşti in those days was not just a village of ne’er-do-wells

but a prosperous and ancient village of freeholders, its reputation and

standing having long since been assured, with farmers who knew their job,

with stalwart young men and comely girls who could swing the shuttle too,

so that the village would buzz with the sound of looms on every side. It had

a fine church and outstanding clergy, church elders and parishioners, who

were a credit to their village.

As for Father Ion, who lived at the foot of the hill, Lord, what an active and

kindly man he was! On his advice lots of trees were planted in the

graveyard – which graveyard was surrounded by a high fence of thick

planks with eaves of shingles – and the fine room at the gate of the church

precincts was built to serve as a village school. You should have seen this

untiring priest going round the village, entering one house after another,

together with one of his elders, Master Vasile, the son of Ilioaia, a sturdy,


good-looking, handsome bachelor. The two of them would persuade people

to send their children to get some schooling, and you should have seen the

number of boys and girls who flocked into the school from all parts, myself

among them, a puny, timid lad, afraid of my own shadow!

(translated by Ana Cartianu)

Score:

1. 1 point + 1 point each x 9 = 10 points

2. 1 point + 1 point each x 9 = 10 points

3. 1 point +9 points = 10 points



Appendix 1Irregular verbs

Base form Past Simple Past

Participle

Translation

to be was/were been a fi

to beat beat beaten a bate

a lovi

a învinge

to become became become a deveni

to bend bent bent a (se) îndoi

to begin began begun a începe

to bid bid

bade

bid

bidden

a ordona

a porunci

a oferi

to bind bound bound a uni

a lega

a obliga

to blow blew blown a sufla

to break broke broken a sparge

a rupe

a sfãrâma

a degrada

to bring brought brought a aduce

a produce

to build built built a clãdi

a construi

to burn burnt burnt a arde


a ataca

to burst burst burst a izbucni

a exploda

a crãpa

to buy bought bought a cumpãra

to cast cast cast a arunca

a turna

to catch caught caught a prinde

a capta

a bloca

a colecta

to choose chose chosen a selecta

a alege

to cleave cleft

clove

cleft

cloven

a (se) despica

a (se) scinda

a separa

to come came come a veni

a ajunge

cost cost cost a costa

to creep crept crept a (se) târî

a aluneca

a se alungi

to cut cut cut a tãia

to deal dealt dealt a se ocupa (cu)

a distribui

to dig dug dug a sãpa

to do did done a face

to draw drew drawn a desena


a schiţa

a atrage

to dream dreamt dreamt a visa

to drink drank drunk a bea

to drive drove driven a acţiona

a conduce

to eat ate eaten a mânca

to fall fell fallen a cãdea

to feed fed fed a alimenta

a hrãni

to feel felt felt a (se) simţi

to fight fought fought a combate

a (se) lupta

to find found found a gãsi

a descoperi

a constata

to fling flung flung a lansa

a arunca

a izbucni

to fly flew flown a zbura

a lansa

to forecast forecast forecast a prevedea

to forbid forbade forbidden a interzice

to forget forgot forgotten a uita

to freeze froze frozen a îngheţa

a refrigera

to get got got a obţine

a primi


a deveni (a ajunge)

to give gave given a da

a acorda

a transmite

a aviza

a preda

to go went gone a merge

a funcţiona

a circula

to grow grew grown a se mãri

a dezvolta

to hang hung hung a suspenda

a agãţa

a pune receptorul în furcã

to have had had a avea

to hear heard heard a auzi

to hew hewed hewed

hewn

a ciopli

a tãia

to hide hid hidden a ascunde

to hit hit hit a lovi

a ciocni

a izbi

to hold held held a ţine

a bloca

a opri

a fixa

a cuprinde

to hurt hurt hurt a rãni


a lovi

a avaria

to keep kept kept a ţine

a reţine

a menţine

a întreţine

to knit knit knit a înnoda

a tricota

a îmbina

to know knew known a şti

a cunoaşte

to lay laid laid a pune

a aşeza

a întinde

to lead led led a conduce

a avansa

a comanda

to lean leant leant a înclina

a (se) apleca

a se sprijini

to learn learnt learnt a învãţa

to leave left left a pleca

a pãrãsi

to lend lent lent a împrumuta

to let let let a lãsa

a permite

to lie lay lain a se afla

a consta în

light lit lit a aprinde


to lose lost lost a pierde

to make made made a fabrica

a face

to mean meant meant a însemna

a vrea să spunã

to meet met met a (se) întâlni

a intersecta

a încrucişa

to pay paid paid a plãti

a achita

to put put put a pune

a aşeza

to read read read a citi

to ride rode ridden a cãlãri

to ring rang rung a suna

a chema (la telefon)

to rise rose risen a (se) ridica

a (se) urca

a rãsãri

to run ran run a alerga

a funcţiona

a administra

to say said said a spune

to saw sawed sawn a tãia cu ferãstrãul

to see saw seen a vedea

to seek sought sought a cãuta

a cerceta

to sell sold sold a vinde


to send sent sent a trimite

to set set set a regla

a ajusta

a stabili

to shake shook shaken a bate

a scutura

a vibra

to shear sheared shorn a tãia

a mãrgini

to shed shed shed a arunca

a difuza

a vãrsa

to shine shone shone a strãluci

to show showed shown a arãta

a manifesta

to shoot shot shot a împuşca

a filma

to shrink shrank shrunk a se contracta

to shut shut shut a închide

to sing sang sung a cânta

to sink sank sunk a (se) scufunda

a îngropa

to sit sat sat a sta jos

to sleep slept slept a dormi

to slide slid slid a aluneca

a glisa

to sling slung slung a arunca


a lansa

to smell smelt smelt a mirosi

to smite smote smitten a izbi

to speak spoke spoken a vorbi

to speed sped sped a accelera

to spell spelt spelt a scrie literã cu literã

a silabisi

to spend spent spent a petrece

a cheltui

a întrebuinţa

to spill spilt spilt a vãrsa

a risipi

a turna

to split split split a scinda

a despica

to spin spun spun a (se) roti

to spread spread spread a rãspândi

a acoperi

a extinde

to spring sprang sprung a sãri

a izvorî

a se arcui

to stand stood stood a sta (vertical)

a rezista

a suporta

to steal stole stolen a fura

to stick stuck stuck a (se) lipi

a se fixa

to strike struck struck a lovi


a izbi

to string strung strung a înşira

a lega

to strive strove striven a se strãdui

a se lupta

to swear swore sworn a jura

to swell swelled swollen a (se) umfla

a creşte

to swim swam swum a înota

to swing swung swung a oscila

a (se) balansa

a pendula

to take took taken a lua

a capta

a necesita

to teach taught taught a preda

to tear tore torn a rupe

to tell told told a spune

to think thought thought a reflecta

a gândi

a socoti cã

to throw threw thrown a arunca

to thrust thrust thrust a împinge

a înfige

to understand understood understood a înţelege

to wake woke woken a (se) trezi

to wear wore worn a purta


a (se) uza

a toci

to weep wept wept a plânge

a se prelinge

to win won won a câştiga

to wind wound wound a

to wring wrung wrung a stoarce

a rãsuci

a smulge

to write wrote written a scrie


Appendix 2WORD+PREPOSITION

(sb.= somebody; sth.= something)

(break sth.) by accident

according to (the weather forecast)

to account for sth.

an advertisement for sth

afraid of (storms)

at the age of (twenty)

to agree with sb. on sth.

to apply for (a job)

appropriate for sth.

to argue with sb. about sth.

to arrive at (the railway station)

to arrive in (Europe)

as a result

to ask for sth.

to assist in sth.

attentive at sth./ sb.

at the beginning of sth.

in the beginning

to be afraid of. sb./ sth.

to be at home

to be aware of sth.

to be bored with sth./sb.

to be careful about sth.

to be fed up with sth.


to be full of (energy)

to be fond of sb.

to be good at sth.

to be in charge of sth.

to be in love with sb.

to be in a mess

to be interested in sth.

to be impressed by sth.

to be married to sb.

to be on strike

to be out of order

to be patient with sb./ sth.

to be proud of sth./ sb.

to be similar to sth.

to be tired of sth.

to believe in sth.

to belong to sb.

to benefit from sth.

to go by bus/ train/plane, etc.

in the (20-th) century

certain of sth.

change for (a dollar)

to come from England/ Romania

to compare sth. with sth. else

to complain about sth.

in (good/bad) condition

in/ under these conditions

in contrast with sth./ sb.

to cooperate with sb.


to cope with sth.

to deal with sth.

to debate on sth.

deficiency in sth./ deficient in sth.

to depend on sb./ sth.

to develop into sth.

to die of sth.

to be different from sb./sth.

in the distance

to distinguish sth. from sth. else

to dream about sb./sth.

in the end

at the end of sth.

to a (certain/great) extent

to fight against sb./ sth.

to fight against sb./ sth.

on a flight to (Paris)

to fight against sb./sth.

to find put about sv./ sth.

to forget about sb./sth.

to get in touch with sb.

to get on (well) with sb.

to go out with sb.

to go home

to have a degree in sth.

to have an interview for a job

to invite sb. to (a party) or for (dinner)

in the North/ South, etc.

to laugh at sb./ sth.


to listen to sth./ sb.

to live on the third/fourth floor

to look after sb.

to look at sth.

to look for sth.

to look forward to doing sth.

to merge with sth.

by mistake

at the/that moment

to operate on sb.

to originate in sth.

owing to sth.

to participate in sth.

to pay ($5000) for sth.

to point at sb./ sth.

to point sth. (a gun) at sb.

preoccupation with sth.

to rely on sb./ sth

representative of sb./ sth.

resistance to sth./ sb.

to search for sth./ sb.

to sell sth. for ($300)

to share sth. with sb.

similar to sb./ sth.

to speak to sb. about sth.

to specialize in sth.

to spend money on sth.

a story about sth.

to suffer from sth.


to talk to sb. about sth.

thanks to sb./ sth.

on television

to think about (What are you thinking about?)

to think of (What do you think of von Laue?)

to throw sth. at sb.

a ticket for sth.

in view of sth.

to wait for sb./ sth.

on the way (to school)

to work as (a teacher)

to work for (an organization)

to worry about sth./ sb.

to write (an e-mail, a letter) to sb.


Bibliography1. ***, English for Science and Technology, 1996, Cavallioti

Publishing House, The British Council, Bucharest

2. ***, Sinteze şi exerciţii pentru examenele de bacalaureat şi

admitere, 1998, Editura Amarcord, Timişoara

3. Andrews, Stephen, Preparing for Proficiency, 1983, Heinemann

Educational Books, London,

4. Archer, Margaret, Nolan, Enid, 1978, Cambridge Certificate – A

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