GRAMMAR APPENDIX UNIT 1
Pe o p l e PRESENT SIMPLE FORM
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You work He / She / It works We / You / They work
I / You do not (don’t) work He / She / It does not (doesn’t) work We / You / They do not (don’t) work
Do I / you work? Does he / she / it work? Do we / you / they work?
Uses
Examples
Adverbs of frequency / Time expressions
A regular habit or routine
My sister works on Sundays.
A general truth or scientific fact
London is a multicultural city.
Stative verbs
I think she is attractive.
always, usually, generally, regularly, occasionally, frequently, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never at 1 o’clock, at night, in the morning, on Fridays, every week, once a month, how often ...?
Form
Uses
Affirmative: This is the same as the base form of the verb (the infinitive without to) for all persons, except for the third person singular, which adds s or es.
● With habitual actions or routines. ● With general or scientific truths.
To form the third person singular correctly, the following spelling rules must be observed: ● Ending in o, ss, sh, ch or x, we add es: do - does, miss - misses, wish - wishes, touch - touches, fix - fixes. ● Ending in vowel + y, we add s: say - says. ● Ending in consonant + y, change the y to i before adding es: try - tries. Negative: We use do not (don’t) or does not (doesn’t) for the third person singular, preceding the base form of the verb. Interrogative: We use do or does before the subject and the verb. If the verb is to do, it will function as the auxiliary verb
and main verb at the same time. Remember that have got, to be and modal verbs do not need do / does either in the negative or in the interrogative.
● With stative verbs (see the following page). ● With schedules and timetables. The train leaves at 4 o’clock. (El tren sale a las 4.) Adverbs of frequency precede the verb, except in the case of to be, when they go after the verb. Ian never wears trainers. (Ian nunca lleva deportivas.) Paul is always nice. (Paul siempre es simpático.) Time expressions are placed at the end or at the beginning of a sentence. James runs every day. (James plancha todos los días.) How often ...? is used to ask how frequently an action takes
place. How often do you read? (¿Con qué frecuencia lees?)
PRESENT CONTINUOUS FORM Affirmative I am singing You are singing He / She / It is singing We / You / They are singing Uses
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Negative I am (I’m) not singing You are not (aren’t) singing He / She / It is not (isn’t) singing We / You / They are not (aren’t) singing
Interrogative Am I singing? Are you singing? Is he / she / it singing? Are we / you / they singing?
Examples
Time expressions
An action which is happening now
Alex is singing right now.
now, right now, at the moment
A temporary action
They are learning French this year.
A definite plan for the near future
Bob is meeting Martin tonight.
this year, at present this evening, tonight, tomorrow, next Friday / week / year
● perception and senses (feel, hear, see, smell, sound, taste, touch),
Form Affirmative: We use to be in the present tense + the main verb ending in ing, observing the following spelling rules:
● prices and measures (cost, measure, weigh) and
● Ending in silent e, loses the e: ride - riding.
● possession (belong, have, own).
● Ending in y, keeps the y: pay - paying.
Some indicate both an action and a state and can be used in both the Present Simple and the Present Continuous. Donna thinks the book is wonderful. (Donna cree que el libro es estupendo.) [state] He is thinking about going to Malta in the summer. (Está pensando en irse a Malta en verano.) [activity]
● Ending in ie, changes the ie to y: die - dying. ● 1 syllable, ending in vowel + consonant, it doubles the consonant (except for w and x): run - running, but show - showing. ● 2 syllables, the first syllable being stressed, ending in l or p, it doubles that letter: travel - travelling.
The verb see in Present Continuous indicates a future action planned beforehand. Brian and I are seeing Ann tonight. (Brian y yo veremos a Ann esta noche.) [We have already planned the meeting.]
● 2 syllables, the second syllable being stressed, ending in vowel + consonant, it doubles the consonant: refer - referring. Negative: It is formed with the verb to be + not (or n’t) + the main verb ending in ing.
➡ Prefixes
Interrogative: to be + the subject + the verb ending in ing.
The prefixes dis, il, im, in and un are added to some adjectives to express the opposite meaning. satisfied (satisfecho) dissatisfied (insatisfecho) legal (legal) illegal (ilegal) patient (paciente) impatient (impaciente) correct (correcto) incorrect (incorrecto) pleasant (agradable) unpleasant (desagradable)
Uses ● To express actions that are happening at the exact moment of speaking. ● To express prolonged actions that are happening in a present period of time. ● To express what we will certainly do in the near future because we have planned it beforehand.
Remember that il precedes adjectives starting with l (illogical) and im precedes those starting with m or p (immortal, impossible). Take into account that sometimes they are not prefixes but part of a word: disaster, illusion, impressive, understand, etc.
● With the adverb always, to express a complaint. He is always complaining. (Siempre se está quejando.)
Other prefixes that are added to different kinds of words are anti, inter, multi, over, re and under. social (social, sociable) antisocial (antisocial) national (nacional) international (internacional) lateral (lateral) multilateral (multilateral) active (activo) overactive (hiperactivo) write (escribir) rewrite (reescribir) ground (suelo) underground (subterráneo)
➡ Stative verbs As they express situations or states, not actions, they are generally used in Present Simple. They are used to express: ● emotions and feelings (dislike, enjoy, hate, hope, like, love, prefer, want), ● thoughts and opinions (believe, forget, guess, know,
UNIT 2
Tr a v e l PAST SIMPLE FORM
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You finished He / She / It finished We / You / They finished
I / You did not (didn’t) finish He / She / It did not (didn’t) finish We / You / They did not (didn’t) finish
Did I / you finish? Did he / she / it finish? Did we / you / they finish?
Uses
A completed action in the past A series of completed actions in the past
Examples
I went to Paris last year. When I opened the door, the dog barked at him.
Time expressions
yesterday, last week / year, two days ago, in 2007, in the 1980s, in the 18th century, when, then 119 119
Grammar Appendix
Form
Negative: We use did not (didn’t) + the base form of the verb.
Affirmative: We add ed to the base form of the verb.
Interrogative: We use did + the subject + the main verb.
Remember that you have to observe the following spelling rules when adding ed:
Uses ● To express complete actions that took place at a specific moment in the past.
● Ending in silent e, we only add d: prove - proved. ● Ending in vowel + y, we add ed: stay - stayed.
● To express consecutive actions in the past.
● Ending in consonant + y, we change the y to i: carry - carried.
● To indicate that a short action (introduced by when) took place while a longer action was in progress. Phil was returning home when his car broke down. (Phil volvía a casa cuando se le estropeó el coche.)
● 1 syllable ending in vowel + consonant, we double the consonant (except for w and x): stop - stopped, but fix - fixed. ● 2 syllables, the first syllable being stressed, ending in l or p, we double the consonant: cancel - cancelled. ● 2 syllables, the second syllable being stressed, ending in vowel + consonant, we double the consonant: prefer - preferred. Irregular verbs do not follow any rule (see pages 148-149).
● To describe how things were in the past. In the 19th century, women didn’t wear bikinis. (En el siglo XIX, las mujeres no llevaban bikinis.) The time expression ago comes after the indicated period of time and it means “hace”. They left two hours ago. (Se fueron hace dos horas.)
PAST CONTINUOUS FORM Affirmative I was writing You were writing He / She / It was writing We / You / They were writing Uses An incomplete action in progress at a specific time in the past An incomplete action interrupted by another action Two incomplete actions in progress at the same time in the past
Negative I was not (wasn’t) writing You were not (weren’t) writing He / She / It was not (wasn’t) writing We / You / They were not (weren’t) writing
Interrogative Was I writing? Were you writing? Was he / she / it writing? Were we / you / they writing?
Examples
Time expressions
At 9 o’clock last night, Eric was visiting his parents. They were skiing when their parents arrived at the resort.
last night / week / year, at 4 o’clock, when, while, as
The plane was taking off as I was driving to the airport.
Form
Uses
Affirmative: We use to be in the past tense + the main verb ending in ing.
● To express what was happening at a specific past moment.
Negative: We add not (or n’t) to was / were + the main verb ending in ing.
● To express a longer action in progress, interrupted by a short action. The long one is preceded by while/as and the short one by when.
Interrogative: We use to be + the subject + the verb ending in ing.
● To express several incomplete actions that took place simultaneously in the past. They are linked by while or as.
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE FORM Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You had arrived He / She / It had arrived We / You / They had arrived
I / You had not (hadn’t) arrived He / She / It had not (hadn’t) arrived We / You / They had not (hadn’t) arrived
Had I / you arrived? Had he / she / it arrived? Had we / you / they arrived?
Uses
A completed action which took place before another action in the past 120 120
Examples
By the time he arrived, the train had already left.
Time expressions
already, by the time, after, before, until, never, just
Grammar Appendix
Form Affirmative: It is formed with to have in the past tense + the participle of the main verb. Negative: We use had not (hadn’t) + the participle of the
main verb. Interrogative: We use had + the subject + the participle of the
main verb.
Uses ● It expresses an action that took place before another action in Past Simple.
careful (cuidadoso/a) neat (ordenado/a) quick (rápido/a) slow (lento/a)
carefully (con cuidado) neatly (ordenadamente) quickly (deprisa, rápidamente) slowly (despacio)
But some of them, like the following, are irregular: fast (rápido/a) fast (deprisa, rápidamente) good (bueno/a) well (bien) hard (duro/a, difícil) hard (duramente, mucho) Adverbs of manner are placed before or after the verb. Well done, Patrick! It’s a great exam result. (¡Bien hecho, Patrick! Es una nota de examen fantástica.) My father drove fast because he was late for work. (Mi padre condujo deprisa porque llegaba tarde a trabajar.)
➡ Phrasal verbs
Adverbs related to the whole sentence
They are followed by one or two particles, forming a new word meaning something different from each of the individual words.
These kind of adverbs are related to the whole sentence and usually express the speaker’s opinion or attitude.
They can be transitive or intransitive. How did you get to the party? (¿Cómo llegaste a la fiesta?) I set off at 8 o’clock. (Salgo a las 8.) Most transitive verbs are separable, that is, the direct complement can be included between the verb and the particle: a noun can go in between or after the phrasal verb, but a pronoun must go in between. I’m going to pick up my brother at the station. (Voy a recoger a mi hermano a la estación.) I’m going to pick my brother up at the station. I’m going to pick him up at the station. However, some transitive verbs, all the intransitive phrasal verbs and those made up of two particles are inseparable. Abel is looking for his keys / them. (Abel está buscando sus llaves / buscándolas.) Some verbs can be combined with different particles to form different phrasal verbs. get across (comunicar, hacer entender; cruzar, atravesar) get by (defenderse (idioma); arreglárselas) get through (comunicar(se)) In addition, many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning: get into (entrar / meterse en; interesarse por) turn down (bajar (el volumen); rechazar) turn up (subir (el volumen); aparecer, presentar(se)) switch off (apagar; desconectar, perder la atención) Look at the list of phrasal verbs on pages 146-147 for more examples.
➡ Adverbs Adverbs of manner
They modify verbs and give information about the way in which an action takes place. They are used to answer questions starting with how ...?. Most of them are regular and are formed by adding the ending ly to the corresponding adjective:
Luckily, they believed me when I told the truth.
(Afortunadamente, me creyeron cuando conté la verdad.) They are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, but they can also be placed in the middle of it. He has probably left the city by now. (Probablemente ya se ha ido de la ciudad.) Adverbs of degree
They are related to some adjectives or to other adverbs to provide an idea of their intensity or degree. a bit (un poco) rather (bastante) fairly (bastante) really (realmente) not at all (nada) slightly (ligeramente) pretty (bastante) totally (totalmente) quite (muy, bastante) very (muy) They precede the adjective or adverb they are related to. Meeting the Queen was quite exciting. (Conocer a la reina fue bastante emocionante.)
➡ used to / would They are used to express actions that took place frequently in the past but do not take place any more. They are usually related to adverbs or time expressions. Every night, Bob used to dream about becoming an actor. (Cada noche, Bob solía soñar / soñaba con llegar a ser actor.) When I was a child, we would often go to the country. (Cuando yo era un niño, solíamos ir al campo a menudo.) Used to is also used to speak about past situations and states. In this case, we translate the main verb in the past tense. Would
cannot be used in this case. I used to live in this street. (Yo vivía en esta calle.) * I would live in this street. [No es correcto.] Used to cannot be used in the present tense. In the negative and interrogative forms, it requires the auxiliary verb did and it loses the “d” in both cases. Did your mother use to travel a lot when she was young? (¿Tu madre solía viajar mucho cuando era joven?) 121 121
Grammar Appendix
UNIT 3
Sport PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE FORM
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You have lived He / She / It has lived We / You / They have lived
I / You have not (haven’t) lived He / She / It has not (hasn’t) lived We / You / They have not (haven’t) lived
Have I / you lived? Has he / she / it lived? Have we / you / they lived?
Uses
An action that began in the past and continues until the present An action that took place at an undetermined time in the past, but is connected to the present
Examples
Time expressions
I have lived in York for two years.
never, ever, already, just, yet, recently, lately, how long ...?, for, since, in recent years
Pam has moved house recently.
Form Affirmative: We use have / has + the participle of the main
verb.
How long have they lived here?
(¿Cuánto tiempo hace que viven aquí?) For indicates how long the action lasted and since, when it
Interrogative: We use have / has + the subject + the participle.
started. I have played volleyball for two years / since I was a child. (He jugado al voleibol durante dos años / desde que era un niño.)
Uses
➡ Past Simple / Present Perfect Simple
Negative: We use have / has + not (or n’t) + the participle.
● With actions that began in the past and still continue in the present. That is why the verb is sometimes translated in the present tense. ● With past actions whose consequences are still visible now. ● An action that has just taken place. In this case, we add just between the auxiliary verb and the participle. Your team has just scored a goal. (Tu equipo acaba de marcar un gol.) Never, ever, already and just are placed between the auxiliary verb (have) and the participle of the verb, while yet is
always placed at the end of the sentence. The match has already started. (El partido ya ha empezado.) Have you seen the new car yet? (¿Has visto ya el coche nuevo?) Never and already are used in affirmative sentences, ever and yet in negative and interrogative sentences, and just can be used
in all of them. I’ve never played basketball. (Nunca he jugado al baloncesto.) She hasn’t tried snowboarding yet. (Ella no ha intentado hacer snowboard todavía.) Have you ever met a football player? (¿Alguna vez has conocido a un jugador de fútbol?) With how long ...? we ask how much time has passed since the action, which still continues, started.
The Past Simple expresses something that happened at a certain moment, while the Present Perfect Simple places an action in a period of time. I paid for the tickets, but I haven’t collected them yet. (Pagué las entradas, pero no las he recogido todavía.)
➡ Gerund and infinitive Gerund
This is the verb form ending in ing, which functions as a noun in the following cases: ● As a direct complement of some verbs: consider, continue, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, finish, hate, like, love, miss, prefer, recommend, suggest, etc. I enjoy doing sport. (Me divierto haciendo deporte.) ● After prepositions. Lucy doesn’t like his style of playing. (A Lucy no le gusta su modo de jugar.) ● After some verb forms: be used to / get used to, can’t help, can’t stand, don’t mind / wouldn’t mind, feel like, it’s no use, look foward to, etc. I like playing rugby. (Me gusta jugar al rugby.) ● As the subject of the sentence, when speaking about general facts. Taking up a new sport is not easy.
(Empezar a hacer un nuevo deporte no es fácil.) 122 122
Grammar Appendix
By contrast, other verbs do not mean the same if they are followed by a gerund or an infinitive. Here are some examples:
Infinitive
This is the base form of the verb preceded by to and it is used as follows: ● After verbs like: agree, appear, choose, decide, expect, hope, learn, plan, promise, refuse, seem, want, wish, etc. He decided to try parkour. (Decidió probar el parkour.) ● After some adjectives and adverbs. He woke up early to go fishing. (Se despertó pronto para ir a pescar.) ● After the indirect complement of verbs like: advise, help, invite, persuade, teach, tell, warn, etc. He invited me to join them. (Me invitó a unirme a ellos.) Some verbs of perception (hear, feel, see ...), make and let are followed by verbs in the base form (without to). I let Sally come with us. (Dejé a Sally venir con nosotros.) Verbs followed by gerund and infinitive
Verbs like begin, forbid, intend, propose and start can be followed by either of the two forms without changing their meaning: They started to answer / answering the letters. (Empezaron a contestar las cartas.)
UNIT 4
● forget + gerund is used in negative sentences to indicate that it is impossible to forget something that happened in the past. I’ll never forget meeting Angelina Jolie. (Nunca olvidaré haber conocido a Angelina Jolie.) forget + infinitive means to forget to do something. He always forgets to bring the keys.
(Él siempre se olvida de traer las llaves.) ● remember + gerund refers to something that happened in the past. I remember giving them their tickets. (Recuerdo haberles dado sus entradas.) remember + infinitive means “to remember to do
something”. Remember to close the door before you go. (Recuerda cerrar la puerta antes de irte.) ● stop + gerund means to give up a habit. Bob stopped smoking last year. (Bob dejó de fumar el año pasado.) stop + infinitive means to stop doing something in order to do something different. Can we stop to have coffee? (¿Podemos parar para tomar café?)
The Environment FUTURE SIMPLE FORM
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You will allow He / She / It will allow We / You / They will allow
I / You will not (won’t) allow He / She / It will not (won’t) allow We / You / They will not (won’t) allow
Will I / you allow? Will he / she / it allow? Will we / you / they allow?
Uses
Examples
Time expressions
A prediction
The government will allow this type of experiment.
A timetable
The TV programme will start at 5 o’clock.
A spontaneous decision
I’ve got a lot of newspapers. I will recycle them.
this evening, in an hour, at 2 o’clock, later, tomorrow, next month / year, soon, in a few weeks, in the future, on 1st May
Form
Uses
Affirmative: We put will before the base form of the verb. In spoken English, it is more common to use the contracted form, which is pronounced as a single “l”.
● To make predictions or announce future actions.
Negative: We put will not + the base form of the verb. The contracted form (won’t) is more common in spoken English.
● To speak about a timetable. ● To express a spontaneous decision, something we decide to do while we are speaking.
Interrogative: We use will + the subject + the base form of the
verb.
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Grammar Appendix
BE GOING TO FORM Affirmative I am going to buy You are going to buy He / She / It is going to buy We / You / They are going to buy
Negative I am not going to buy You are not (aren’t) going to buy He / She / It is not (isn’t) going to buy We / You / They are not (aren’t) going to buy
Uses
Examples
Time expressions
A planned action for the future
Mike is going to buy a hybrid car next year.
An action that is about to happen
Be careful! The dog is going to bite you!
Form Affirmative: We use the present tense of the verb to be + going to + the base form of the main verb; it means “ir a” + infinitive. Negative: We use to be + not (or n’t) + going to + the base
form of the main verb. Interrogative: We use to be + the subject + going to + the base form of the main verb.
Uses ● To express future intentions, decisions or planned actions. ● To say that something is about to happen because there is evidence for it.
Interrogative Am I going to buy? Are you going to buy? Is he / she / it going to buy? Are we / you / they going to buy?
this evening, later, in an hour, at 4 o’clock, tomorrow, soon, next month / year, in a few weeks, on 8th May
➡ Present Continuous with future meaning This announces actions planned beforehand that will take place in the near future. It is normally used for personal plans. It does not express an intention, like be going to, but something that has been planned and that is certainly going to take place. It is different from the normal Present Continuous because we use future time expressions instead of present ones. He is going to sign a contract next month. (Él va a firmar un contrato el mes que viene.) [intención] He is signing a contract tomorrow. (Él firma / firmará un contrato mañana.) [plan concertado]
FUTURE CONTINUOUS FORM Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You will be travelling He / She / It will be travelling We / You / They will be travelling
I / You will not (won’t) be travelling He / She / It will not (won’t) be travelling We / You / They will not (won’t) be travelling
Will I / you be travelling? Will he / she / it be travelling? Will we / you / they be travelling?
Uses
Examples
Time expressions
An action in progress at a certain future time
At this time tomorrow, Jack and Brian will be arriving in Brighton.
at this time tomorrow / next ..., on Thursday, in the next decade
Form
Uses
Afirmative: We use will be + the ing form of the main verb.
● To express an action in progress at a certain future time.
Negative: We use will not (won’t) be + the verb ending in ing.
● To express what will be happening at a certain moment
Interrogative: We use will + the subject + be + the verb ending in ing.
in the future.
FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE FORM
124 124
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I / You will have eaten He / She / It will have eaten We / You / They will have eaten
I / You will not (won’t) have eaten He / She / It will not (won’t) have eaten We / You / They will not (won’t) have eaten
Will I / you have eaten? Will he / she / it have eaten? Will we / you / they have eaten?
Uses
Examples
Time expressions
A completed action at a certain future time
I will have eaten by 3 o’clock.
by this time next week, by 3 o’clock, by the end of ..., by then, by August, in four months
Grammar Appendix
In Spanish, it is usually followed by an infinitive. In this case, the subject of want and the subject of the infinitive is the same.
Form Affirmative: We use will have + the participle of the main verb. Negative: We use will not (won’t) + the participle.
● Want + object + infinitive: This expresses the wish for somebody else to do something.
Interrogative: We use will + the subject + have +
the participle.
Environmental groups want people to recycle paper. (Las organizaciones ecologistas quieren que la gente recicle papel.)
Uses ● To indicate a complete action at a certain time in the future.
The equivalent in Spanish is a subordinate clause made up of a subject and a verb in the subjunctive, but in English, this subject would be the direct complement of want; therefore, if this complement is a pronoun, remember to use object pronouns instead of personal pronouns.
➡ want + infinitive / want + object + infinitive ● Want + infinitive: This expresses a wish to do something. Joe wants to forget the ecological disaster. (Joe quiere olvidar el desastre ecológico.)
UNIT 5
Do you want me to phone for help? (¿Quieres que llame para pedir ayuda?)
Communication RELATIVE CLAUSES DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Uses
Examples
who and that refer to people which and that refer to objects when and that refer to a moment in time where refers to a particular place whose refers to possession
Nerriere was the first person who / that studied this phenomenon. This is the new mobile phone which / that I’ve just bought. He gave me an iPod the day when / that I celebrated my birthday. The airport was the place where he first heard Globish. This is the man whose laptop I bought.
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES Uses who, which, when, where, whose can all be used, but that cannot be used
Examples
My brother, who is an engineer, designs robots. This MP3 player, which is rather old, has got poor sound quality.
These are subordinate clauses introduced by a relative pronoun or adverb. They can be of two kinds: defining and non-defining. Defining relative clauses
These provide essential information about the antecedent, so the sentence would be incomplete without them. ● The pronouns who (people), which (things) and that (people and things) can be omitted if they do not function as the subject. Whose (possession) cannot be omitted or replaced. She is the girl (who / that) I met in England. (Ella es la chica a la que conocí en Inglaterra.) I did not get the e-mail (which / that) you sent. (No recibí el correo electrónico que mandaste.) This is the blog whose author is unknown. (Este es el “blog” cuyo autor es desconocido.) ● When (time) and where (place) are relative adverbs. When can be omitted or replaced by that. Where cannot be replaced by that and it can only be omitted in a few cases.
I’ll never forget the day (when / that) I met her. (Nunca olvidaré el día en que la conocí.) I visited the area where all the trendy shops are. (Visité la zona donde están todas las tiendas de moda.) If a preposition is related to the relative pronoun or adverb, this is omitted and the preposition is located after the verb. The boy (who / that) I talked to was nervous. (El chico con el que hablé estaba nervioso.) Non-defining relative clauses
These add information about the antecedent and they go between commas. They are introduced by who, which, when, where and whose (never by that), which cannot be omitted. They are not common in spoken English because they are very formal. Jack, who is English, works for a French firm. (Jack, que es inglés, trabaja para una empresa francesa.)
125 125
Grammar Appendix
➡ Verbs + preposition
Here are some examples:
There are many verbs in English that are always followed by a set preposition. I’m waiting for the bus. (Estoy esperando al autobús.) Some of them can be followed by different prepositions and their meaning varies. arrive at (“llegar a” un lugar) arrive in (“llegar a” una ciudad o un país) talk about (“hablar de / sobre” algo) talk with / to (“hablar con” una persona) think about (“opinar (sobre), parecer”; “pensar en”) think of (“pensar en”)
UNIT 6
She has already arrived at the office. (Ella ya ha llegado a la oficina.) He arrived in Cartagena on Sunday morning. (Llegó a Cartagena el domingo por la mañana.) We talked about our teachers. (Hablamos de nuestros profesores.) The reporters want to talk to Bruce Willis. (Los periodistas quieren hablar con Bruce Willis. Look at the verb + preposition list on page 147 for more examples.
Culture and Customs MODAL VERBS
Modals
Uses
Examples
Ability
Her brother is able to speak many different languages.
Ability Request Possibility Lack of ability Certainty that something is impossible Past ability Polite request Polite suggestion Possibility
My sister can cook Moroccan food. Can I phone you this evening? Parkour can be dangerous. Alice can’t speak Japanese. It isn’t very late. The pub can’t be closed. Aitor could run marathons when he was younger. Could you help me with the suitcases? Your cousin could take a taxi to the station. It could be useful to learn about other cultures.
don’t have to
Lack of obligation
We don’t have to get up early on Sunday.
have to
Necessity, obligation
You have to arrive on time. It’s rude to be late.
may
Possibility Polite request
It may snow tomorrow. May I join this team?
might
Possibility
It might be easier if Daniel helped you.
must
Necessity, obligation Certainty that something is true
Spanish students must learn English at school. Debbie has got a great job. She must be very happy.
mustn’t
Prohibition
You mustn’t exceed the speed limit.
need to
Necessity, obligation
You need to study harder.
needn’t
Lack of obligation / necessity
You needn’t bring anything - there’s lots of food.
ought to
Advice, opinion
My friend ought to improve her manners.
should
Advice, opinion
You should try Indian food. It’s great!
would
Formal request Offer
Would you open the window, please? Would you like something to drink?
be able to can
can’t
could
➡ Modal verbs
126 126
● They are invariable for all persons.
● They are always followed by another verb in the base form.
● They don’t need do to form the negative or interrogative.
● They do not have infinitive, participle, future or ing forms, or perfect tenses.
Grammar Appendix Be able to and have to don’t share all these features, but they
do share some uses of the modal verbs (ability, obligation, etc.)
Must can only be used in the present tense. For the rest of the tenses, we use have to.
can / be able to / can’t
need to / needn’t
Can, besides expressing ability or capacity, is used to make a
Need to is not a modal verb because it does not need do
request or suggestion and to express possibility.
in interrogative and negative and it can be used in any tense because it conjugates.
To express all these uses in negative we use can’t, which also means deduction or certainty that something is impossible.
Needn’t, however, is a modal verb and it indicates lack of obligation and necessity, like don’t have to.
Can can only be used in the present tense. For the rest of the tenses, we use be able to.
mustn’t / don’t have to Mustn’t indicates prohibition. However, don’t have to means
could
This expresses ability in the past. We also use it to make requests or suggestions, in a more formal way than with can, and it also expresses a more remote possibility than can. may / might
They express possibility (more remote when we use might). May is also used to make more formal requests than with can. must / have to
“no tener que / por qué” , that is, lack of obligation and necessity (like needn’t). should / ought to
Both express advice or opinion. Ought to is rare in negative and interrogative. Should is more common. would
We use it to make an offer or extend an invitation.
Both express obligation or necessity, but the obligation is stronger with must (like the law or an authority). They also express a logical conclusion (“deber de”, “tener que”).
MODAL PERFECTS Modal Perfects could have couldn’t have
Uses
Ability to have done something but in fact did not Certainty that something didn’t happen
Examples
It was a stupid thing to do. You could have hurt yourself. Eric couldn’t have broken the vase. He wasn’t at home.
may / might have
A guess about a past action
Elisa may / might have taken the wrong bus.
must have
Certainty or logical conclusion about an event in the past
I hear you’ve been to Scotland. That must have been interesting.
should / ought to have
Criticism or regret after an event
You should / ought to have warned me earlier.
shouldn’t have
Criticism or regret after an event I shouldn’t have eaten so much.
would have
Willingness to have done something but in fact did not
I would have gone to the party, but I was too busy.
could have + participle
should / ought to have + participle
This indicates that something could have been done in the past but finally wasn’t done.
Both are used to regret what happened or did not happen.
couldn’t have + participle
This expresses certainty that something could have been done in the past but finally wasn’t done. may / might have + participle
This is used to make a guess about a past action.
shouldn’t have + participle
This expresses a critical opinion about a past action, indicating that it should not have happened. would have + participle
This expresses willingness to have done something but in fact it wasn’t done.
must have + participle
This expresses a logical conclusion about a past action. 127 127
Grammar Appendix
➡ Suffixes to form adjectives Suffixes are endings that we add to some words in order to form new words. These are some of the suffixes that are added to nouns and verbs to form adjectives. predict (predecir) predictable (predecible) nation (nación) national (nacional) consider (considerar) considerate (considerado) beauty (belleza) beautiful (bonito) pain (dolor) painless (indoloro) contempt (desprecio) contemptible (despreciable) attract (atraer) attractive (atractivo) danger (peligro) dangerous (peligroso) With some nouns, we can use different suffixes: careful -careless harmful - harmless However, with other nouns, we can only use one suffix: homeless - *homeful *peaceless - peaceful Other suffixes that are added to verbs in order to form adjectives are ed and ing. bore (aburrir) bored ([estar] aburrido) boring ([ser] aburrido)
UNIT 7
When the adjective ends in ed, it describes how the person or thing it refers to feels, while adjectives ending in ing describe what makes one feel that way. Jack is boring so I’m bored when I go out with him. (Jack es aburrido así que me aburro cuando salgo con él.)
➡ be used to / get used to Be used to means “estar acostumbrado a”, while get used to means “acostumbrarse a”. Both structures are followed by a noun or a gerund.
They are very different from the verb form used to (Unit 2), because here, used is not a verb but an adjective. The verbs related to used are be and get and they conjugate. Famous actors are used to the paparazzi. (Los actores famosos están acostumbrados a los paparazzi.) She is used to going to the gym every afternoon. (Está acostumbrada a ir al gimnasio todas las tardes.) He is getting used to his new routine. (Se está acostumbrando a su nueva rutina.) I cannot get used to living in such a noisy street. (No me acostumbro a vivir en una calle tan ruidosa.)
Technology CONDITIONAL CLAUSES FIRST CONDITIONAL
Conditional clause
Result clause
You will download the attached file if you click twice.
Future Simple
if
+ Present Simple imperative unless
Examples
Send Tina a text message if you want to contact her.
modal + base form
If the mouse is broken, Mary can use the keyboard. SECOND CONDITIONAL
if
would + Past Simple
unless
If they had enough money, they would buy this laptop.
+ base form
I could / might open a restaurant if I won the lottery.
could / might
THIRD CONDITIONAL If I had read her e-mail, I would have gone on the date.
would have if
+ Past Perfect
+ past participle could / might have
These are sentences formed by a subordinate clause that expresses the condition (conditional clause) and a main clause that expresses the result (result clause). There are three kinds of conditional clauses in English. First conditional
We use if + Present Simple in the condition clause and Future Simple in the result clause. It expresses what will happen if the condition becomes true. 128 128
He could / might have met her if he had gone to the party. The order in which the clauses are placed in the sentence does not matter, but if the condition clause comes first, both clauses are connected by a comma. If you give me a hand, I will be really grateful. (Si me echas una mano, estaré muy agradecido.) Besides the Future Simple, we can use modal verbs or an imperative in the result clause. You can’t go out if you don’t finish your homework. (No puedes salir si no terminas tus deberes.)
Grammar Appendix If you search for information on the Internet, use Google.
(Si buscas información en Internet, utiliza Google.) To say that something won’t happen if the condition clause does not become true, the clause is introduced by the conjunction unless, an equivalent of if not (“a no ser que”, “a menos que”), or we put the Present Simple verb in the negative. Unless you make a daily backup copy, you will lose
all the information. If you don’t make a daily backup copy, you will lose all the information. (A no ser que hagas / Si no haces una copia de seguridad diaria, perderás toda la información.) Take into account that unless is very common in the first conditional but rare in the second conditional and never used in the third conditional. Second conditional
We use if + Past Simple in the condition clause and would + the base form of a verb in the result clause. It expresses conditions that are hypothetical, that is, they are not very likely to become true; therefore, we translate the verb in pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo. He wouldn’t buy a new computer unless he had the money. (Él no compraría un ordenador nuevo a menos que tuviese el dinero.) If the verb in the conditional clause is to be, we normally use were for all persons in singular and plural. If that camera weren’t so expensive, I would buy it. (Si esa cámara no fuera tan cara, la compraría.) To give advice, we use the structure If I were. If I were you, I wouldn’t download this file. (Yo en tu lugar, no descargaría ese archivo.)
UNIT 8
Instead of would we can use the modal verbs could or might in the result clause, but they both mean that the condition is less likely to become true. They mean “podría” or “tal vez” / “quizás”. If she drove a virtual car, it could encourage her to buy a real one. (Si condujera un coche virtual, eso podría animarla a comprarse uno de verdad.) Third conditional
This is formed with if + Past Perfect in the conditional clause and would have + participle in the result clause. In this case, it does not express a condition, because the action is in the past and cannot become true any more Sarah would have learnt French if she had gone to the lessons. (Sarah habría aprendido francés si hubiera ido a las clases.) Instead of would have + participle, we can use could have or might have + the participle in the result clause. If Jack had come, we could / might have eaten earlier. (Si Jack hubiese venido, podríamos haber comido antes)
➡ Time clauses Time clauses referring to the future are formed like the first conditional: Present Simple in the subordinate clause and Future Simple in the main clause. What we change is the conjunctions. In this case we use as soon as, by the time, the moment (that), when, etc. She’ll buy a car as soon as she passes her driving test. (Ella se comprará un coche en cuanto apruebe el examen de conducir.) When I get home, I’ll be able to help you in the kitchen. (Cuando llegue a casa, podré ayudarte en la cocina.)
Film THE PASSIVE
Tense
Active
Passive
Present Simple
Brad Pitt plays many roles.
Many roles are played by Brad Pitt.
Present Continuous
Brad Pitt is playing many roles.
Many roles are being played by Brad Pitt.
Past Simple
Brad Pitt played many roles.
Many roles were played by Brad Pitt.
Past Continuous
Brad Pitt was playing many roles.
Many roles were being played by Brad Pitt.
Present Perfect Simple
Brad Pitt has played many roles.
Many roles have been played by Brad Pitt.
Past Perfect Simple
Brad Pitt had played many roles.
Many roles had been played by Brad Pitt.
Future Simple
Brad Pitt will play many roles.
Many roles will be played by Brad Pitt.
Modals
Brad Pitt should play many roles.
Many roles should be played by Brad Pitt.
Modal Perfects
Brad Pitt must have played many roles.
Many roles must have been played by Brad Pitt.
have to
Brad Pitt has to play many roles.
Many roles have to be played by Brad Pitt.
be going to
Brad Pitt is going to play many roles.
Many roles are going to be played by Brad Pitt. 129 129
Grammar Appendix Form
Uses
Affirmative: This is formed with the verb to be + the past
● To stress the action more than the subject, either because it is irrelevant or unknown or because we do not want to mention it. This way we avoid an active-voice sentence whose subject is somebody, nobody, etc. Somebody added subtitles to the film. Subtitles were added to the film. (Los subtítulos fueron agregados a la película.)
participle of the main verb. An astronaut was sent into space. (Un astronauta fue enviado al espacio.) Negative: We add not (or n’t) to the verb to be. If the sentence includes a modal verb, a verb in Future Simple or a perfect tense, we add not to the modal, will or have / has. An astronaut wasn’t sent into space. (No fue enviado un astronauta al espacio.) Interrogative: The structure of the sentence is to be + subject +
participle. If the question contains a modal, a verb in Future Simple or a perfect tense, the passive starts with the modal or the auxiliary, as in the active voice. Was an astronaut sent into space? (¿Fue enviado un astronauta al espacio?) How to turn a sentence into the passive
The passive voice is more frequent in English than in Spanish. Therefore, we normally translate the sentence in the active voice or using an impersonal form. ● The tense of the verb to be is the same as that of the main verb in the active-voice sentence. They sold their house last week. Their house was sold last week. (Se vendió su casa la semana pasada.) Modals and be going to remain the same; it is the verb that follows them which is in the passive. The technician must operate the camera. The camera must be operated by the technician. (La cámara debe ser manejada por el técnico.) They are going to show a new film at this cinema. A new film is going to be shown at this cinema. (Se va a poner una película nueva en este cine.) ● The first complement after the verb in the active-voice sentence, either direct or indirect, becomes the subject in the passive. The actor explained the plot. The plot was explained by the actor. (El argumento fue explicado por el actor.) If the indirect complement is an object pronoun, it becomes a subject pronoun. The magazine’s photographers will photograph them at their wedding. They will be photographed at their wedding by the magazine’s photographers. (Ellos serán fotografiados en su boda por los fotógrafos de la revista.) ● We place the subject of the active-voice sentence at the end of the passive structure, preceded by by. If it is a personal pronoun, change it to an object pronoun. This film critic has written the article. The article has been written by this film critic. (El artículo ha sido escrito por este crítico de cine.)
130 130
➡ Causative verbs: have / get + something + done The structure have / get + direct complement + past participle expresses an action we let other people do for us. I’m going to have / get my hair cut. (Voy a cortarme el pelo.) [lo hará otra persona] This structure can be used with most of the tenses. Ann had her computer repaired. (Ann hizo que le arreglaran el ordenador.) The band will have their instruments repaired soon. (El grupo tendrá pronto los instrumentos arreglados.) This structure has a passive sense, because the noun in between receives the action of the participle. We usually translate it in the active voice. My watch broke, so I had it repaired yesterday. (Se me estropeó el reloj, así que lo hice arreglar ayer.) You should have your eyes checked every year. (Deberías revisarte la vista todos los años.) The writer got his book published (by a publisher). (El escritor publicó su libro.) [lo publicó una editorial] Although we can use either have or get, get is more informal and, therefore, it is more common in spoken English. I got my house painted last week. (Me pintaron la casa / Pinté mi casa la semana pasada.)
➡ Adjectives + preposition After the verb to be, it is frequent to find adjectives followed by a preposition and a noun, a pronoun or a gerund. These adjectives have an attributive function. I was thrilled by the last Harry Potter film. (Me encantó la última película de Harry Potter.) My mother is worried about me. (Mi madre está preocupada por mí.) We are tired of working. (Estamos cansados de trabajar.) Look at the list of adjectives + preposition on page 147 for more examples.
Grammar Appendix
UNIT 9
The News REPORTED SPEECH
Tense
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Present Simple
“He works as an editor.”
She said that he worked as an editor.
Present Continuous
“He is working as an editor.”
She said that he was working as an editor.
Past Simple
“He worked as an editor.”
She said that he had worked as an editor.
Past Continuous
“He was working as an editor.”
She said that he had been working as an editor.
Present Perfect Simple
“He has worked as an editor.”
She said that he had worked as an editor.
Present Perfect Continuous
“He has been working as an editor.” She said that he had been working as an editor.
Past Perfect Simple
“He had worked as an editor.”
Past Perfect Continuous
“He had been working as an editor.” She said that he had been working as an editor.
Future Simple
“He will work as an editor.”
She said that he would work as an editor.
CHANGE OF OTHER WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
CHANGE OF MODAL Direct Speech
She said that he had worked as an editor.
Direct Speech
Reported Speech
Reported Speech
can
could
now
then
may
might
today
that day
must / have to
must / had to
tonight
that night
will
would
yesterday
the previous day / the day before
last week
the previous week / the week before
a month ago
the previous month / the month before
tomorrow
the following day / the day after / the next day
next week
the following week / the week after
here
there
this
that
these
those
Reported speech is used to express what someone said without quoting his / her exact words.
Besides removing the quotation marks and changing the verb tenses, we must change the demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns and time and place expressions.
Reported statements
The subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction that, but it is omitted in spoken English. “I’ll start the investigation today,” the detective said. The detective said (that) he would start the investigation that day. (El detective dijo que empezaría la investigación aquel día.)
To express in the present tense what someone just said, we only need to remove the quotation marks, change the subject pronoun and the person of the verb. “I am tired.”
He says that he is tired. (Dice que está cansado.)
But we usually use reported speech in the past. In this case, the verb that follows moves one step towards the past (the Present Simple becomes Past Simple, Past Simple becomes Past Perfect, etc.).
If the sentence expresses a general truth, we do not change the verb tense. “Crime is punished by the law,” she said. She said that crime is punished by the law. (Dijo que la delincuencia es castigada por la ley.) 131 131
Grammar Appendix
As you know, the most common verbs to introduce reported speech are say and tell. Tell is always followed by an indirect complement without the preposition to. Say can be followed by an indirect complement or not, but if it is, it must be preceded by the preposition to. “The police caught the robber,” he said. He told us that the police had caught the robber. He said that the police had caught the robber. He said to us that the police had caught the robber. (Nos dijo que la policía había cogido al ladrón.) Reported questions
There are two types of questions in English: ● Yes / No questions are those that can be answered with “yes” or “no”. To change them to reported speech, we use the verb ask + if or whether. As the question becomes a statement, the order of the sentence is subject + verb and we remove the quotation marks. “Did the contestant win a lot of money?” Matt asked. Matt asked if / whether the contestant had won a lot of money. (Matt preguntó si el concursante había ganado mucho dinero.) ● Wh-questions are those that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”. They start with an interrogative particle (what, who, where, when, why, whose, how, how long, etc.) To change them to reported speech, we use the interrogative particle instead of if or whether. The order of the sentence is subject + verb and we remove the quotation marks. “What is the name of the new show?” Sue asked. Sue asked what the name of the new show was. (Sue preguntó cómo se llamaba el nuevo programa.) Reported orders
To change an order to reported speech, we change the verb in imperative to infinitive. Before the infinitive, we must use a verb expressing demand, like tell or order, followed by an indirect complement. We can also use the verbs ask or beg to make requests, invite to extend an invitation and warn for warnings. “Stop driving so fast.” My mother ordered me to stop driving so fast. (Mi madre me mandó que dejara de conducir tan deprisa.) When it is a negative sentence, we put not before to. “Don’t tell anybody.” He begged me not to tell anybody. (Me suplicó que no se lo dijera a nadie.) Reported suggestions
We put the subject and the verb suggest in the past tense and we add what the person said. Suggestions can be changed to reported speech in two different ways: ● using a clause formed by that, subject and verb in the base form. The verb demand, which also expresses order, follows this structure as well.
132 132
“Let’s watch the new TV show,” Tom suggested. Tom suggested that we watch the new TV show. (Tom sugirió que viéramos el nuevo programa de televisión.) ● with a gerund, not specifying any subject. “Let’s phone the police immediately!” She suggested phoning the police immediately. (Ella sugirió llamar a la policía inmediatamente.)
➡ Reporting verbs The most common verbs to introduce reported speech are say, tell and ask, which transmit the message without adding any extra information. But if we want to transmit the speaker’s intention, we can use many other reporting verbs: ● Statements: admit, announce, answer, apologise, boast, claim, complain, declare, explain, inform, insist, mention, offer, remind, reply, state ● Questions: enquire, request, want to know, wonder ● Orders: ask, demand, order, shout, warn ● Requests: beg ● Suggestion: advise, invite, recommend, suggest “I will be home late.” She reminded me that she would be home late. (Me recordó que llegaría tarde a casa.) “Did you arrive on time?” Dave wanted to know if I had arrived on time. (Dave quiso saber si yo había llegado a tiempo.) “Be careful!” He shouted (at me) to be careful. Me gritó que tuviera cuidado.) “You should do your homework.” The teacher advised me to do my homework. (La profesora me aconsejó que hiciera los deberes.) ➡ Suffixes to form nouns As you know, suffixes are endings that we add to some words to form new words. Some of the most common suffixes to form nouns based on verbs are ment, tion / sion and er / or. These are some examples: agree (acordar) invite (invitar) conclude (concluir) run (correr) sail (navegar)
agreement (acuerdo) invitation (invitación) conclusion (conclusión) runner (corredor) sailor (marinero)
They finally reached an agreement. (Finalmente, llegaron a un acuerdo.)