Time clauses with future reference

We use the present simple or present perfect, but NOT future forms, with words and expressions such as while, before, after, until/till, as, when, whenever, once, as soon as, as long as, by the time, etc to introduce time clauses. By the time we get there, the train will have left. (NOT: by the time we will get there …)

We use future forms with:

· when when it is used as a question word. When will you be seeing David next?

· if/whether after expressions which show uncertainty/ ignorance etc, such as I don’t know, I doubt, I wonder, I’m not sure, etc. I wonder whether he will get the job.

 

CONDITIONALS

 

Type 0 conditionals are used to express a general truth or a scientific fact. In this type of conditional, we can use when instead of if.

If-clause	Main clause
If/When+present simple → present simple
If/When you mix yellow and blue paint, you get green.

Type 1 conditionals are used to express a real or very probable situation in the present or future.

If-clause	Main clause
If+present simple → future simple, imperative, can/must/may etc+bare infinitive
If I finish this job tonight, I will/might/etc go to the theatre with Frank.

 

When the hypothesis comes before the main clause, we separate them with a comma. When the main clause comes before the if-clause, then we do not use a comma to separate them.

NOTE: with Type 1 conditionals we can use unless+affirmative verb (=if+negative verb). I will not be in a position to come unless someone gives me a lift. (= if someone does not give me a lift)

Conditionals Type 2 (unreal present) are used to express imaginary situations which are contrary to facts in the present and, therefore, are unlikely to happen in the present or future. We can use either were or was for all persons in the if-clause. We can also use the structure If I were you … to give advice.

If-clause	Main clause
If+past simple/past continuous → would/could/might+present bare infinitive
If he knew the truth, he would tell you. If Mrs Carson was teaching us Maths this year, we would have a much better chance of passing our exam. If I were you, I would prepare the project well in advance.

Conditionals Type 3 (unreal past) are used to express imaginary situations which are contrary to facts in the past. They are also used to express regrets or criticism.

If-clause	Main clause
If+past perfect/past perfect continuous → would/could/might+perfect bare infinitive
If she had told me about her plans, I would have helped her. If I hadn’t been working on the day of the party, I would have cooked everything myself.

We can form mixed conditionals, if the context permits it, by combining an if-clause from one type with a main clause from another.

If-clause	Main clause
Type 2 If she came home late last night,	Type 1 she won’t be on time for work today.
Type 2 If you were more diplomatic,	Type 3 you wouldn’t have answered your boss like that
Type 3 If he hadn’t missed the plane,	Type 2 he would be here now.

 

We can use wish/if only to express a wish.

Verb tense		Use
+past simple/past continuous	I wish I was/were in Spain. (but I’m not) If only I were travelling by plane and not by boat! It would be much more convenient.(but I’m not)	to say that we would like something to be different about a present situation
+past perfect	I wish I had kept a copy of my dissertation. (but I didn’t) If only I hadn’t spoken so bluntly to him! We could still be friends. (but I did)	to express regret about something which happened or didn’t happen in the past
+subject+would +bare inf.	I wish you would stop talking behind people’s backs. If only it would snow at Christmas!	to express: A polite imperative A desire for a situation or person’s behaviour to change

Notes:

· if only is used in exactly the same way as wish but it is more emphatic or more dramatic.

· we can use were instead of was after wish and if only. I wish I were/was a famous explorer!

· after the subject pronouns I and we, we can use could instead of would. I wish I could travel abroad.

 

INFINITIVE

The to-infinitive is used:

· to express purpose. David phoned to talk about our plans for next week.

· after certain verbs (agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse, etc). They expect to start the construction work next week.

· After would like, would prefer, would love, etc to express a specific preference. I would prefer to go to the opera this evening.

· After adjectives which describe feelings/emotions (happy, sad, glad, etc); express willingness/unwillingness (willing, eager, reluctant, etc); refer to a person’s character (clever, kind, etc) and the adjectives lucky and fortunate. I was very sad to hear that Barry lost his dog.

Note: with adjectives that refer to character, we can also use an impersonal construction. It was kind of you to help David with his car.

· After too/enough. It isn’t cold enough to go skiing.

· To talk about an unexpected event, usually with only. I finally reached the port only to find that the ferry had left without me.

· With it+be+adjective/noun. It was easy to find the turning after all.

· After be+first/second/ next/last etc. He was the next person to shake my hand when I received the award.

· After verbs and expressions such as ask, learn, explain, decide, find out, want, want to know, etc when they are followed by a question word. The Physics teacher explained how to solve the problem.

Note: why is followed by subject+verb, NOT an infinitive. I wonder why she didn’t tell us.

· In the expressions to tell you the truth, to be honest, to sum up, to begin with, etc. To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect that he would tell a lie.

Note: if two to-infinitives are linked by and or or, the to of the second infinitive can be omitted. I would like to go and see what is happening for myself.

The infinitive without to is used:

· After modal verbs. Robin can sing and dance.

· After the verbs let, make, see, hear and feel. They made him take out the entire contents of the suitcase. But: we use the to-infinitive after be made, be heard, be seen etc (passive form). He was made to empty his suitcase on the counter.

Note: when see, hear and watch are followed by an –ing form, there is no change in the passive. He saw me talking to Bob. I was seen talking to Bob.

· After had better and would rather. We had better take the metro.

· Help can be followed by either the to-infinitive or the infinitive without to. She helped me (to) move the sofa.

GERUND (ing form)

The –ing form is used:

· As a noun. Driving without a licence is forbidden.

· After certain verbs: admit, appreciate, avoid, confess, continue, deny, fancy, go (for activities), imagine, mind, miss, quit, save, suggest, practise, consider, prevent, etc. Fancy winning all that money?

· After love, like, enjoy, prefer, dislike, hate to express general preference. Peter enjoys watching TV. BUT: for a specific preference (would like/would prefer/would love) we use a to-infinitive.

· After expressions such as be busy, it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth, what’s the use of, can’t stand, have difficulty (in), have trouble, etc. There is no point in trying to convince him, he never listens to anybody.

· After spend, waste or lose (time, money, etc). He spent a lot of money restoring his home.

· After the preposition to with verbs and expressions such as look forward to, be used to, in addition to, object to, prefer (doing sth to sth else). He prefers walking to playing football.

· After other prepositions. He was thinking of retiring in a few years.

· After the verbs hear, listen to, notice, watch and feel to describe an incomplete action. I heard Tom speaking to Sam. (I only heard part of the conversation.) BUT: we use the infinitive without to with hear, listen to, notice, see, watch and feel to describe the complete action. I heard Tom tell the story. (I heard the whole story.)

THE PASSIVE

We form the passive with the verb to be in the appropriate tense and the past participle of the main verb. Only transitive verbs (verbs which take an object) can be used in the passive.

We use the passive:

· When the person or people who do the action are unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context. Their house was broken into. (The identity of the burglars is unknown.) The lights are being installed. (It’s not important to know who is doing it.) A new bill has been passed. (It’s obvious that the government has passed the bill.)

· When the action itself is more important than the person/people who do it, as in news headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, advertisement, instructions, processes, etc. All trespassers will be prosecuted.

· When we want to avoid taking responsibility for an action or when we refer to an unpleasant event and we do not want to say who or what is to blame. Three people were seriously injured in the accident. The reports were misplaced and have to be typed again.

Changing from the active to the passive:

· The object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence

· The active verb remains in the same tense but changes into a passive form

· The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent, and is either introduced with the preposition by or is omitted.

Examples

The chef was preparing a salad – active

A salad was being prepared by the chef – passive

· Only transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can be changed into the passive. Active: Mary lives in the countryside. ((intransitive verb) No passive form: The countryside is lived in by Mary.

Note: some transitive verbs (have, be, exist, seem, fit, suit, resemble, lack, etc) cannot be changed into the passive. Steven has a modern apartment. Not: A modern apartment is had by Steven.

· We can use the verb to get instead of the verb to be in everyday speech when we talk about things that happen by accident or unexpectedly. She got burnt when she was cooking. (instead of she was burnt…)

· By+the agent is used to say who or what carries out an action. With+instrument/material/ingredient is used to say what the agent used. The TV was fixed by Sam. The room was decorated with flashing lights and streamers.

· The agent can be omitted when the subject is they, he, someone/somebody, people, one, etc. Nobody found the treasure.= The treasure was not found.

· The agent is not omitted when it is a specific or important person, or when it is essential to the meaning of the sentence. The song was composed by Van Morrison.

· With verbs which can take two objects such as bring, tell, send, show, teach, promise, buy, sell, read, offer, give, lend, etc, we can form two different passive sentences. Mathew told me the news. (active)/ I was told the news by Mathew.(passive, more usual)/ The news was told to me by Mathew.(passive, less usual)

· If in an active sentence a preposition follows a verb, then in the passive it is placed immediately after the verb. Simone threw the pile of old magazines out. The pile of old magazines was thrown out by Simone.

· The verbs hear, help, see and make are followed by the bare infinitive in the active but by the to-infinitive in the passive. A witness saw the man climb out of the window. The man was seen to climb out of the window.

· Let becomes be allowed to in the passive. The teacher let the children play a game. The children were allowed to play a game.

· To ask questions in the passive we follow the same rules as for statements, keeping in mind that the verb is in the interrogative form. Has she booked tickets yet? Have tickets been booked (by them) yet?

· When we want to find out who or what performed an action, the passive question form is Who/What … by? What was the damage caused by?

 

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Relative clauses are introduced with either a relative pronoun or a relative adverb.

Relative Pronouns

We use:

I. Who(m)/that to refer to people.

II. Which/that to refer to things.

III. Whose with people, animals and objects to show possession (instead of a possessive adjective).

· Who, which, and that can be omitted when they are the object of the relative clause. This is the sound track (that) I have been looking for.

· Whom can be used instead of who when it is the object of the relative clause. Whom is always used instead of who or that after a preposition. That’s with whom you will be working.

· Who, which, or that is not omitted when it is the subject of a relative clause. The car which won the rally was a Ferrari.

· Whose is never omitted. This is Felicity Mason whose films you must have seen.

Relative adverbs

We use:

I. When/that to refer to a time and (can be omitted). This is the time (when/that) the beach is quiet.

II. Where to refer to place. The office where I work is in the centre.

III. Why to give a reason, usually after the word reason (why can be omitted). The reason (why) he left like that is only to be guessed.

 

REPORTED SPEECH – STATEMENTS

Reported speech is the exact meaning of what someone said, but not the exact words. We do not use quotation marks. The word that can either be used or omitted after the introductory verb (say, tell, suggest,etc).

Say-Tell

· Say+no personal object – She said she was early.

· Say+to+personal object – She said to us she was early.

· Tell+personal object – She told us she was early.

Expressions used with say, tell and ask.

Say	Hello, good morning/afternoon etc, something/nothing, so, a prayer, a few words, no more, for certain/sure, etc
Tell	The truth, a lie, a story, a secret, a joke, the time, the difference, one from another, somebody one’s name, somebody the way, somebody so, someone’s fortune, etc
Ask	A question, a favour, the price, after somebody, the time, around, for something/somebody, etc

Reported Statements

· In reported speech, personal/possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the meaning of the sentence. Emma said,’’I’m going to visit my parents.’’ Emma said (that) she was going to visit her parents.

· We can report someone’s words either a long time after they were (out-of-date reporting) or a short time after they were said (up-to-date reporting).

Up-to-date reporting

The tenses can either change or remain the same in reported speech.

Direct speech	Jonathan said,’’I still haven’t seen my doctor.’’
Reported speech	Jonathan said that he still hasn’t seen his doctor.

Out-of-date reporting

The introductory verb is in the past simple and the tenses change as follows:

Direct speech	Reported speech
Present simple → Past simple
‘I know the answer.’	He said (that) he knew the answer
Present continuous → Past Continuous
‘I am practising the violin now.’	He said (that) he was practising the violin at that moment
Present perfect → Past Perfect
‘I have given up smoking.’	He said (that) he had given up smoking
Past simple → Past simple or Past Perfect
‘They polluted the river with their waste products.’	He said (that) they (had) polluted the river with their products
Past continuous → Past Continuous/ Past Perfect Continuous
‘I was trying to concentrate!’	He said that he was trying/had been trying to concentrate.
Future (will) → Conditional (would)
‘I will fix the heater tomorrow.’	He said that he would fix the heater the next day.

 

· Certain words and time expressions change according to the meaning as follows:

now	→	then, immediately
today	→	that day
yesterday	→	the day before, the previous day
tomorrow	→	the next/following day
this week	→	that week
last week	→	the week before. The previous week
next week	→	the week after, the following week
ago	→	before
here	→	there
come	→	go
bring	→	take

· The verb tenses remain the same in reported speech when the introductory verb is in the present, future or present perfect. Nicole says, ‘I’m cold.’, Nicole says (that) she is cold

· The verb tenses can either change or remain the same in reported speech when reporting a general truth or law of nature. The teacher said, ‘The jay is a bird.’ The teacher said (that) the jay is a bird.

RULES FOR PUNCTUATION

Capital letter is used:

· To begin a sentence. This is a pen.

· For days of the week, months and public holidays. Monday, January, New Year

· For names of people and places. My friend’s name is Sam and she’s from Sydney, Australia.

· For people’s titles. Mr and Mrs Tutte; Dr Potter; Professor Earlisle.

· For nationalities and languages. They are Spanish. He’s fluent in English and Greek.

Note: The personal pronoun I is always a capital letter. Beth and I are celebrating our graduation tonight.

Full stop (.)

A full stop is used:

· To end a sense that is not a question or an exclamation. We’re having a wonderful time. We wish you were here.

Comma (,)

A comma is used:

· To separate words in a list. We need butter, milk, flour and eggs.

· To separate a non-identifying relative clause (i.e. a clause giving extra information which is not essential to the meaning of the main clause) from the main clause. Danny, who is a freelance reporter, was the winner of quiz and went away with £3000.

· After certain linking words/phrases (e.g. in addition to this, moreover, for example, however, in conclusion, etc). Moreover, she has good communication skills.

· When if-clause begin sentences. If you would like to make a booking, contact me on the number below.

· To separate question tags from the rest of the sentence. She’s the famous TV host, isn’t she?

Note: no comma is used, however, when the if-clause follows the main clause.

Question mark (?)

A question mark is used:

· To end a direct question. What is the reason for such behaviour?

Exclamation mark (!)

An exclamation mark is used:

· To end an exclamatory sentence, i.e. a sentence showing admiration, surprise, joy, anger, etc. Never! How awful!

Quotation marks (‘ ’ ‘‘ ’’)

Qoutation marks are used:

· In direct speech to report the exact words someone said. ‘Could I speak with you a moment,’ he asked her. “He has left,” said Antonia.

Colon (:)

A colon is used:

· To introduce a list. This is what you need: your identification card, a copy of your degree and an application form.

Brackets ()

Brackes are used:

· To separate extra information from the rest sentence. The most popular magazines (i.e. National Geographic, Focus, Fair Lady, etc) can be found almost anywhere in the world. The course offers a wide range of literary genres (modernism, post-modernism, feminist, Victorian, etc).

Some/Any/No

Some, any and no used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns. Some jam, some jars.

· Some and its compounds (somebody, someone, something, somewhere etc) are normally used in affirmative sentences. There is some water left in the bottle.

· Some and its compounds are also used in interrogative sentences when we expect a positive answer, for example when we make an offer or request. Would you like something to drink?

· Any and its compounds (anyone, anything etc) are usually used in interrogative sentences. Is there anything I should know? Not any is used in negative sentences. There isn’t any ink in the pen. Any and its compounds can also be used with negative words such as without, never, rarely. I have never seen anything like it.

· When any and its compounds are used in affirmative sentences there is a difference in meaning. You can do anything you like. (it doesn’t matter what)

· No and its compounds are used instead of not any in negative sentences. They didn’t have anything to say to each other. (= They said nothing.) There wasn’t anybody there. (= There was nobody in the theatre.)

Note: We use a singular verb with compounds of some, any and no. There is nothing we can do.

Appendix 2

HOW TO MAKE A PRESENTATION

As part of an extended interview/selection center you may be asked to give a short presentation. Usually you choose the topic from a list which may include your hobbies, a recent holiday, a current affairs topic or one of your achievements, or sometimes you may be asked to make a presentation on a case study you have previously done as part of the extended interview. The purpose is not to test your subject knowledge, but to see how well you can speak in public. Typically you will be asked to talk for five minutes, and will be given 20 or 30 minutes beforehand to prepare.

BASIC TIPS

• Dress smartly: don't let your appearance distract from what you are saying.
• Smile. Don't hunch up and shuffle your feet. Have an upright posture. Try to appear confident and enthusiastic.
• Say hello and smile when you greet the audience: your audience will probably look at you and smile back: an instinctive reaction.
• Speak clearly, firmly and confidently as this makes you sound in control. Don't speak too quickly: you are likely to speed up and raise the pitch of your voice when nervous. Give the audience time to absorb each point. Don't talk in a monotone the whole time. Lift your head up and address your words to someone near the back of audience. If you think people at the back can't hear, ask them.
• Use silence to emphasize points. Before you make a key point pause: this tells the audience that something important is coming. It's also the hallmark of a confident speaker as only these are happy with silences. Nervous speakers tend to gabble on trying to fill every little gap.
• Keep within the allotted time for your talk.
• Eye contact is crucial to holding the attention of your audience. Look at everyone in the audience from time to time, not just at your notes or at the PowerPoint slides. Try to involve everyone, not just those directly in front of you.
• You could try to involve your audience by asking them a question.
• Don't read out your talk, as this sounds boring and stilted, but refer to brief note s jotted down on small (postcard sized) pieces of card. Don't look at your notes too much as this suggests insecurity and will prevent you making eye contact with the audience.
• It’s OK to use humor, in moderation, but better to use anecdotes than to rattle off a string of jokes.
• Take along a wristwatch to help you keep track of time – the assessor may cut you off as soon as you have used the time allocated, whether or not you have finished.
• It can be very helpful to practice at home in front of a mirror. You can also record your presentation and play it back to yourself: don't judge yourself harshly when you replay this - we always notice our bad points and not the good when hearing or seeing a recording or ourselves! Time how long your talk takes. Run through the talk a few times with a friend.
• It's normal to be a little nervous. This is a good thing as it will make you more energized. Many people have a fear of speaking in public. Practicing will make sure that you are not too anxious. In your mind, visualize yourself giving a confident successful performance. Take a few deep slow breaths before your talk starts and make a conscious effort to speak slowly and clearly. Research by T Gilovich (Cornell University) found that people who feel embarrassed are convinced their mistakes are much more noticeable than they really are: we focus on our own behavior more than other people do and so overestimate it's impact. This is called the spotlight effect. If you make a mistake, don't apologize too much, just briefly acknowledge the mistake and continue on.
• Build variety into the talk and break it up into sections: apparently, the average person has a three minute attention span!

Ref.: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/presentationskills.htm