Taking a Cambridge exam in June? Registration is now open. Here’s a link to find out which level is best for you!
Taking a Cambridge exam in June? Registration is now open. Here’s a link to find out which level is best for you!
In today’s Guardian newspaper: “80% of school teachers think the relentless focus on exams is hindering the development of character in UK schools, according to research by the Jubilee Centre for Characters and Virtues.”
What do you think? Is the situation similar in your country? Let us know by commenting under the link to this article on our facebook page!
TASK 2: ASPECT
If the present tense refers to a what the speaker sees as current reality, and the past tense refers to remote situations, the aspects help us express how we see the relationship between the verb and its context:
What does the PERFECT express?
Have you ever been to Canada?
I’m hungry – I haven’t eaten lunch yet!
His stomach was rumbling all through the meeting because he hadn’t had time to eat breakfast that morning!
The PERFECT aspect LOOKS BACK IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN A PARTICULAR MOMENT.
Why would anyone ask the first question? Perhaps they need information on Canada, perhaps they are going to Canada soon … what is important is the knowledge that the person who may have been to Canada has NOW.
I’m explaining why I am hungry NOW
We are explaining why his stomach was rumbling IN THE MEETING. This is the focal moment of the sentence. The moment in which he did or didn’t have breakfast is irrelevant.
What about the CONTINUOUS?
I am sitting at my computer, when I should really be helping my daughter with her homework.
He broke his leg while he was playing football
While he was doing the shopping, his wife was enjoying some time alone watching the football on the TV.
The CONTINUOUS aspect DESCRIBES AN ACTION IN PROGRESS
When we use the continuous, we often imagine the action happening, as if we were watching a film of it
This is why we DON’T USE CONTINUOUS FORMS for STATIC verbs, such as KNOW, UNDERSTAND, SEE, HEAR, which are not actions in progress. In fact, we cannot really DO these, as they are INVOLUNTARY and RECEPTIVE, and are, to a large extent, OUT OF OUR CONTROL; Either we understand or we don’t, we see something or we don’t, …
This can be extended to all ING forms of the verb. When we use the GERUND, our mind’s eye sees the action in progress; the INFINITIVE is more results oriented:
“I like GOING to the dentist” is very unusual; it focuses on the PROCESS – sitting in the chair, looking up the dentist’s nose, with the teeth in your numbed mouth being drilled!
“I like TO GO to the dentist every year” makes sense; it focuses on the result – I know that my teeth are healthy
What about a combination of both – the PERFECT CONTINUOUS?
I’ve been working all day
He was out of breath. He seemed to have been running.
A combination of RETROSPECTION (perfect) and PROCESS (continuous), this EXPLAINS a moment by DESCRIBING actions that lead up to that moment.
TASK 3: MODAL VERBS
What are the modal verbs?:
PRESENT PAST
Give an example of a MODAL PERFECT in context.
Give an example of a MODAL CONTINUOUS in context.
What do the different modal verbs express about the main verbs they are used with?
HOLISTIC GRAMMAR
NON-MODAL | MODAL | |
PRESENT | If I win the lottery..
I have to study tonight
He has missed the bus
I play tennis
The motorway is being completed next year
The motorway is going to be completed next year |
…I will travel around the world
I must study harder!
He must have missed the bus
I can play tennis
the motorway may be completed next year
|
PAST | If I won the lottery…
I had to study last night
He arrived late because he had missed the bus
I used to play tennis on Saturdays
The motorway was being completed
The motorway was going to be completed next year
If it weren’t for the economic crisis…. |
.. I would travel around the world
He shouldn’t have missed the bus
I would play tennis on Saturdays
..the motorway might have been completed last year. |
All verbs in the present tense refer an actual, current situation
All verbs in the past tense refer to a remote situation, either in time (e.g. last night) or reality (e.g. if I won the lottery)
Ideas of ‘real’ or ‘unreal’ depend on the speaker who chooses the form. The person who says “If I win the lottery, I will travel around the world” sees this situation as a real possibility! (Little do they know that, apparently, the chances of a particular number being the winning one are less than the chances of a meteorite colliding with the Earth!)
All non-modal forms describe a situation or make statements of fact (as seen by the speaker)
All modal forms introduce an idea/judgement/attitude related to that fact. The person who says “I have to study” describes a situation, possibly imposed upon them by an external authority, but makes no comment on the desirability of that situation. The person who says “I must study” expresses their feeling of needing to study in order to reach a goal.
Likewise, “I used to play tennis” states this as a fact, whereas “I would play tennis” introduces the speakers wish (or will) to perform that action.
TASK 2: ASPECT
If the present tense refers to a what the speaker sees as current reality, and the past tense refers to remote situations, the aspects help us express how we see the relationship between the verb and its context:
What does the PERFECT express?
Have you ever been to Canada?
I’m hungry – I haven’t eaten lunch yet!
His stomach was rumbling all through the meeting because he hadn’t had time to eat breakfast that morning!
What about the CONTINUOUS?
I am sitting at my computer, when I should really be helping my daughter with her homework.
He broke his leg while he was playing football
While he was doing the shopping, his wife was enjoying some time alone watching the football on the TV.
What about a combination of both – the PERFECT CONTINUOUS?
I’ve been working all day
He was out of breath. He seemed to have been running.
Here are two articles form local paper The Argus. The first is a warning of very cold temperatures, and involves a lot of weather vocabulary and collocations. The second shows beauty created by those very same cold temperatures.