Ex. 6 Grammar Focus 1. The verb “to be”.

	Present Simple	Past Simple	Future Simple
Positive	I am(I’m) He/she/it is(he’s, she’s, it’s) We/you/they are(we’re/you’re/they’re)	I/he/she/it was We/they/you were	I/he/she/it/we/they/you will be
Negative	I am not(I’m not) He/she/it is not(he’s not=he isn’t/she’s not=she isn’t/it’s not=it isn’t) We/you/they are not(we’re not=we aren’t/you’re not=you aren’t/they’re not=they aren’t)	I/he/she/it was not (wasn’t) We/they/you were not(weren’t)	I/he/she/it/we/they/you will not be (won’t be)
Question	Am I? Is he/she/it? Are we/you/they?	WasI/he/she/it? Werewe/you they?	WillI/he/she/it/we/ they/you be?

a) Complete the dialogue with the correct form of the verb to be.

A. Hello. Are you from here?

B. No, I….not. I…..from Italy. My name…..Daniela.

A. We … Tom and Helen.

B. Where … you from?

A. We … from Great Britain.

B.... you from London?

A. No, we …. We … from the north of Scotland.

B. … you here on holiday?

A. No, we…... It……a study trip. This…..a beautiful place.

B. Yes, it….. …..the trip fun?

A. Some of it. The museums…..boring. ……you here for a holiday?

B. Yes, I…..with my parents but I want to be with my friends. It….much fun.

 

b) Wh-questions+to be. Complete these questions. Then practice with a partne r.

Model: A. Who is that?

B. That’s Rich.

1. A: …..he from?

B: He is from Los Angeles.

2. A: ……his last name?

B: It’s Brown.

3. A: …..the two students over there?

B: Their names are Lisa and Kate.

4. A: ……they from?

B: They are from Canada.

 

Ex. 7 Here are some answers, but what are the questions?

1. How do you do? 6. IBM.

2. Jose Perez. 7. They produce and sell computers.

3. J-O-S-E 8. The financial department.

4. I’m Spanish. 9. I’m an auditor.

5. No, I’m single. 10. English, Spanish, and Italian.

 

Remember: I’m a financial controller (a/an +job)

an engineer

I work for ATT (for +employer)

I’m in marketing (in +type of work)

chemical business

Ex. 8 a) Complete the sentences using the phrases in italics.

for Lego in computers a doctor an estate agent a solicitor

1. I’m …. I buy and sell houses.

2. I’m …. I work for IBM.

3. I’m …. I specialize in corporate law.

4. I’m …. I work at Guy’s Hospital in London.

5. I work …. the Danish toy manufacturer.

b) Speaking. Speak about your parents and relatives, who they are and what they do.

Model: My mother is an accountant. She works in the financial services section.

Ex.9 Look at this list of things you can do or never do when you meet someone for the first time. Make sentences using the adjectives given below to describe typical or appropriate behavior.

Model: It is customary to shake hands.

Boring acceptable appropriate customary important polite usual impolite unusual

1. shake hands

2. use his or her first name

3. ask how much he/she earns

4. look at him/her directly

5. smile and laugh a lot

6. find out what his/her interests are

7. give him/her your business card

8. touch him/her on the arm

9. hug him/her when you say goodbye

10. put your hands in the pockets or lean against the wall

 

Ex. 10 a) How true are these statements for you? Agree or disagree.

Statements	True	False
1. I avoid showing others what I’m feeling.
2. I can’t stand waiting for somebody.
3. I love finding solutions to problems.
4. I enjoy spending hours on the phone.
5. I don’t mind listening to people’s problems.
6. I’m interested in visiting unusual places.
7. I dislike getting up early.
8. I hate meddling with other people affairs.
9. I’m keen on playing computer games.
10. I'm crazy about watching football games.

b) How do you feel about these things? Use phrases from a).

Model: talk on the phone

I love talking on the phone.

1. go to big parties

2. learn about computers

3. spend a lot of time by myself

4. watch movies alone

5. talk about my private life with my friends

6. listen to rock music

7. walk in a rainy weather

8. have parties

9. write letters

10. chat on the phone

c) Make an ABC… list of your likes and dislikes and exchange information with your partner.

Ex. 11 Explain these personality traits.

Model: A romantic person is the kind of person who enjoys walking on the beach of sunset and dreaming about the future.

Adventurous impatient ambitious organized practical reserved romantic sympathetic

a) to enjoy walking on the beach at sunset;

b) to avoid shoving others what somebody is feeling;

c) cannot stand waiting for people;

d) to like making a daily schedule;

e) to love finding solutions to problems;

f) not to mind listening to people's problems;

g) to love to accomplish goals;

h) to be interested in visiting unusual places

 

Ex. 12 Name some traits of character your group mate possesses and have your group mates guess who he or she is.

Ex. 13 Write six or more sentences about yourself, using models from Ex. 10.

Model: I enjoy staying home on week days because it’s the only time I can relax.

I avoid speaking in front of large groups as it makes me nervous.

 

Ex. 14 Read the personality profiles. Which person would you most like to meet? Which person is most like you?

Student: talkative and fun, pet lover, hates to cook, goes to big parties

Musician:ambitious artist, dedicated stamp collector, enjoys playing rugby

Lawyer: very organized, fan of old movies, loves to travel

Computer programmer: incurable romantic, nature lover, interested in learning a new language.

 

Ex. 15 Look at the adjectives for discussing people and match them to the definitions.

1. hard working 6. loyal

2. generous 7. open-minded

3. stubborn 8. naughty

4. self-confident 9. sensitive

5. reliable 10. ambitious

 

a) willing to give money, help and kindness

b) having a strong desire to be successful, powerful, or rich

c) willing to consider new ideas and new opinions

d) unwilling to change one's attitude or position on something

e) dedicating a lot of time and energy to work

f) 1. that may be trusted, dependable

2. that you may trust to perform well at all times

g) behaving badly, or not obeying a parent, teacher or set of rules

h) having a belief in one’s own value and abilities

i) faithful to people, places or things

j) easily offended and upset

 

Ex. 16 a) Match these words with their opposites.

To make an opposite adjective we can use prefixes:

anti- (=against) anti-war, anti-social

in- (=opposite) inconvenient, intolerant

il- (=opposite) illegal, illiterate

ir- (=opposite) irrelevant

un- (=opposite) untidy

Also, there are some other adjectives which are the opposites to the given ones.

 

1. clever a) introverted

2. extroverted b) tight-fisted

3. rude c) polite

4. generous d) sociable

5. unsociable e) heavy-minded

b) Give your own examples of opposite adjectives.

Ex. 17 Choose one adjective from ex. 15 to describe each of the following people.

Model: Once Hans decided to do something, it’s impossible to make him change his mind.—He is stubborn.

1. Anita is very slow at thinking. Her boss has to tell her several times what to do.

2. Paul is the sort of person who is ready to discuss his personal problems with everybody.

3. Helen finds it difficult to speak with other people

4. When you go out for a meal with Pierre, he always insists on paying.

5. Tom never buys his girl a drink at a bar.

6. Ivy likes to meet different people and chat with them.

 

Ex. 18 Writing. Write a personality profile for yourself. Do not write your name. Your teacher will mix up the profiles and distribute them among the students who will need to guess whose profile they have. Go round the class and ask each student questions to match the profile you have with its writer.

Model: Do you enjoy listening to classical music?

Ex. 19 Writing. Write a paragraph about your positive and/or negative qualities (not more than 80 words). Use the model.

Model 1: I think my most positive quality is that I am very practical. I’m the kind of person who enjoys solving difficult problems, and I love discovering solutions to things. People always come to me when they don’t know how to fix something. For example, two days ago my father’s computer suddenly stopped working, and he asked me to find the problem. His computer is a powerful one. It took me only 15 minutes. I loved every minute of it.

 

Model 2: My most negative quality is that I’m an extremely disorganized person. My apartment is always a mess, and I can never find anything. My sister is very neat. Last week I finished my homework assignment and then misplaced it. I could not find it, so I had to redo it. My disorganization gets to be a big problem in my life. I’d love to change, but I don’t really know where to begin.

 

Ex. 20 Speaking.

a) Choose one member of your group and describe him or her using the words below.

height age looks hair

short young handsome straight black

fairly short middle aged good-looking curly red

medium height elderly pretty short blond

pretty tall bald

tall long

a mustache and a beard

b) Describe any member of your family using the words above. Use your family photos for this exercise.

Ex. 21 Speaking. Read the phrases and complete the sentences with your own information.

Model: I like people who are sociable

someone who is funny

it when people are reliable

it when someone is easygoing

it when a person is punctual

I don’t like people who leave things all over the place

I can’t stand it when people blow smoke into my face

 

1. I like it when someone….

2. I don’t like a person who is……

3. I like people who……

4. I can’t stand it when …..

5. It bothers me when someone…

6. My best friend is someone who…..