Saturday, February 27, 2016

SHALL-WILL SHOULD-WOULD

SHALL - WILL
Shall and will are both modal verbs primarily used to express the future tense.

In informal English, the Simple Future is frequently conjugated entirely with the auxiliary 'will', particularly in American English.

In more formal English, there is a rule which states that:
  • the auxiliary shall should be used in the first person, singular and plural (I/we)
  • the auxiliary will should be used in the second and third person, singular and plural,
    (you, he/she/it, they)

    SingularPlural
    Firstshallwe shall
    Secondyou willyou will
    Thirdhe/she/it willthey will
However, shall currently tends to be falling out of use, but it continues to be used
with I and we for offers and suggestions.
  • Shall I open the window?
  • Shall we dance?

SHOULD - WOULD
Should is the conditional form of shall 

Should is used :
 - to give advice : You should take regular exercise.
-  in hypothetical situations : Should you need any help, just call me.
-  to give tentative opinions :I should think the cost will be about €100.

Would is the conditional form of will.
In informal English today, the conditional tense is usually conjugated entirely with would :

- If I had enough money, I would buy a new car.

Friday, February 26, 2016

SAY - TELL

When do we use 'say' and when do we use 'tell'?


SAY

  • Say is used to report someone's words.
    • She said "I'm thirsty. I'd like a glass of water."
    • She said (that) she was thirsty and would like a glass of water..
  • Say is followed by 'to' before the object :
    • Did she actually say that to you?
  • Say is used to ask about languages :
    • Do you know how to say 'water' in Spanish?
  • We say :
    'hello', goodbye', 'please', 'thank you', 'congratulations',
    'Merry Christmas', 'Happy New Year', 'Happy Birthday'.

TELL

  •  Tell is used to inform or instruct :
    • Could you tell me the way to the station please?
    • Tell the children to go to bed!
  • Tell is followed directly by the object :
    • Did she tell you her name?
  • Tell is used for narration :
    • Tom has always been very good at telling stories.
  • We tell :
    the time, our name, how to do something, the truth, a lie, a secret, a story, the difference between two things.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Rob - Burgle - Steal

(to take something illegally)

  • Rob - Steal
    • You rob a person or place.
    • You steal something that does not belong to you.
    • robber or thief :
    • robs a place (for example, a bank), or a person, of something.
    • steals something from a place or person.

      Examples :
      • A bank robbery took place this morning.
      • A gang of armed robbers forced their way into the bank.
      • The thieves robbed the bank.
      • The bank was robbed of a large amount of money.
      • The gang stole a large amount of money from the bank.
      • The thieves also robbed the customers of their wallets..
      • The robbers stole their wallets from the customers.
      • The customers' wallets were stolen by the robbers/thieves.
  • Burgle
    • A burglar is a person who burgles a house by forcing a way into it and stealing from it.

      Example :
      • During a recent concert, a number of houses in the area were burgled.
      • The burglar stole essentially jewellery, cash, credit cards and mobile phones.
      • He was caught by the police while trying to steal a car.
  • N.B. 'Thief' is a noun describing someone who steals, but the verb 'to thieve'is rarely used.
    It is more usual to say 'to steal' something, or 'to rob' someone.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Remember - Remind

The verbs 'remember' and 'remind' have different meanings and uses but they are often confused
  by learners of English.

  'Remember' is something you can do alone.  It means to keep something in your mind/to not forget.
  'Remind' means that someone or something causes a thought or makes you remember something.
  You 'remind' someone of something so that they will 'remember' it!

VERB

MEANING

EXAMPLE

REMEMBER• To have/to keep in one's memory.

♦ Do you remember the name of the book?

♦ I don't remember the author's name.
• Recalling a past action.


♦ I remember buying sugar yesterday.

♦ I remember putting the book on the shelf.
• Don't forget, keep in mind.


♦ Remember to lock the door when you leave.

♦ Remember to fasten your safety belt.
REMIND • Cause someone to think of
something.

♦ Apple tart reminds me of my grandmother.

♦ This town reminds me of the place where
I grew up.
 • Make someone remember
something possibly forgotten.




♦ Remind me to call my sister.
It's her birthday today.♦ I reminded him that we had signed an
agreement.

♦ Passengers are reminded that smoking
is not allowed on board.


Anne to her son Steve :"Remember to turn off the the lights before you leave.
Anne to her friend Sue :"I reminded Steve to turn off the lights before he left."
Sue to Anne :"You remind me of my grandmother - always giving instructions!"

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Reported (Indirect) Speech

In reported (indirect) speech, we report an idea expressed by someone,
without quoting the exact words used.
Direct speechTom : "I like football."
Mary: "What did Tom say?"
Indirect (reported) speechBill :   "Tom said (that) he liked football."

  • We use verbs such as : say, tell, announce, promise, explain.
  • The verb tenses become more past
  • We can omit 'that' : Tom said (that) he liked football

Direct Speech 

You talk to Mr. Smith and he tells you the following things :
  • I clean my car every Friday.
  • I'm doing a computer course this year.
  • I visited a museum yesterday.
  • I will be 30 tomorrow.
Indirect or Reported Speech 

You report your conversation with Mr. Smith to your husband/wife/friend :
  • Mr. Smith said (that) he cleaned his car every Friday.
  • He said (that) he was doing a computer course this year.
  • He said (that) he had visited a museum yesterday.
  • He said (that) he would be 30 tomorrow.

Questions :
In indirect or reported questions, the subject changes place.
    Direct :
  • When is your husband starting his new job?
    Indirect :
  • He asked me when my husband was starting his new job.

Orders, requests, advice and suggestions :
Orders, requests, advice and suggestions are often reported by using the infinitive.
    Direct :
  • Be careful!
  • Don't drive too fast.
    Indirect :
  • I told him to be careful.
  • I told him not to drive too fast.

Friday, February 12, 2016

SPORTS and LEISURE ACTIVITIES

When speaking about sports and leisure activities,
the verbs play, go and do are used as shown in the table below.

VerbExplanationSport/Activity
PLAYSports with teams, rules and competitions or tournaments.
  • Two people can play a game of tennis.
  • You need a team to play football.
Badminton
Basketball
Football
Golf
Rugby
Tennis ,
etc
GOThe name of the activity is the gerund form of the verb (-ing)
  • To camp  →  go camping
    We often go camping in the summer.
  • To swim  →  go swimming
    Many children like to go swimming.

Camping
Dancing
Hiking
Horse-riding
Sailing
Swimming
etc.
DOAll other recreational activities.
  • All classes do gymnastics at school.
  • Sophie does yoga with a group of friends.
Aerobics
Athletics
Gymnastics
Judo
Karate
Yoga
etc.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Passive Form of Verbs

The passive form of verbs is made with the different tenses of BE + the past participle :
(for example : English is spoken here.)
  • We use the active form of a verb to say what a subject does:
    • The chef cooks food every day.
  • We use the passive form to say what happens to the subject:
    • Food is cooked every day.
  • The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active verb :
    • Food is cooked every day.  (Passive).
    • The chef cooks food every day.  (Active)
         
  • We use the passive form of a verb when it is not important who does the action,
    or when we don't know who does it.
    • The letter was delivered at 9 a.m.
      The identity of the person who delivered the letter is unknown or unimportant.
      If we want to say who delivered the letter, we use 'by':
      The letter was delivered by the postman.

VERBACTIVEPASSIVE
Infinitive :To cookTo be cooked



Present Simple :I cook food in the kitchen.Food is cooked in the kitchen.
Present ContinuousI am cooking  food in the kitchen.Food is being cooked in the kitchen.
Present Perfect I have cooked food in the kitchen.Food has been cooked in the kitchen.
Past Simple I cooked food in the kitchen.Food was cooked in the kitchen.
Past Continuous I was cooking food in the kitchen.Food was being cooked in the kitchen.
Past Perfect I had cooked food in the kitchen.Food had been cooked in the kitchen.
Future I will cook food in the kitchen.Food will be cooked in the kitchen.
Future Perfect I will have cooked food in the kitchen.Food will have been cooked in the kitchen.
ConditionalI would cook food in the kitchenFood would be cooked in the kitchen.
Cond. PerfectI would have cooked food in the kitchen.Food would have been cooked in the kitchen.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Must - Have to

When do we use 'must', when do we use 'have to'?


Must and have to both express obligation.
However, they are used differently depending on who imposes the obligation.
MUSTHAVE TO
The speaker thinks it is necessary.Someone else thinks it is necessary.


  • must buy flowers for my mother.
    (It's her birthday and decide to do that.)
  • I have to buy flowers for my mother-in-law.
    (It is not my decision - my husband asked me    to do it.)
  • "You must take more exercise" says the doctor.
    (The doctor thinks it is necessary.)
  • have to take more exercise.
    (The doctor says it is necessary.)
  • must ask my secretary to book a flight for me.
    (It is important for me not to forget.)
  • have to call the travel agency.
    (My boss asked me to book a flight.)
  • "Dogs must be kept on a lead."
    (Written on a sign in the park = a rule which
    must be obeyed.)
  • have to keep my dog on a lead.
    (That's what the sign tells me to do.)

'Must' can also be used to show that we are certain something is true. In this case we are
making a logical deduction based on the evidence we have.

◊ You've had a long journey. You must be tired.
◊ There's no heat in this room.  You must be cold.
◊ You haven't eaten all day. You must be hungry.

N.B. In the negative form, the meaning changes.
  • You mustn't tell George =
    it is important not to tell George =
    don't tell George.
  • You don't have to tell George =
    you can tell George if you like,
    but it isn't necessary. It's your decision.