Student worksheet: Spoken Grammar

Transcription

1 Grammar o go! Language healh-check Suden workshee: Spoken Grammar Time for your language healh-check. Find ou how Grammar Scan can help you achieve greaer accuracy. Firs do he diagnosic ess o check your knowledge. Then look a he exracs from Pracical English Usage o fill in any gaps. 1. Choose he righ quesion ag. A. They can all swim, (can hey, don hey)? B. They all speak German, (can hey, don hey)? C. You ve brough he map, (didn you, haven you)? D. He s coming nex monh, (isn he, doesn he)? E. He comes every monh, (isn he, doesn he)? F You waned o come wih us, (didn you, wouldn you)? 2. Righ or wrong? A. You never say wha you re hinking, don you? [ ] B. He could never refuse a drink, couldn he? [ ] (Upper Inermediae Tes 24) 3. Back or again? A. I don hink she go your leer: you d beer wrie B. If I wrie o you every week, will you wrie? C. The bicycle you sold me is oo small. Can I sell i o you? 4. Which of hese senences is/are correc? A. I sood up, and hen I sa back down. B. I sood up, and hen I sa down again. C. I ll be back in he office on Monday. D. I ll be in he office again on Monday. (Advanced Tes 28) Which of hese are naural in speech? A. I ll see you soon. B. Will see you soon. C. See you soon. 6. Wha does his ex message mean? Tx 4 a gr8 pary 9 (Exper Tes 23 & 24) Michael Swan 2010 Phoocopiable page 1

2 Grammar o go! Language healh-check Suden answer shee: Spoken Grammar Wha are he resuls? 1. A. can hey B. don hey C. haven you D. isn he E. doesn he F. didn you (See PEU 487.3) 2. A. Wrong. Should be:. do you? B. Wrong. Should be. could he? (See PEU 487.4) 3. A. again B. back C. back (See PEU 87) 4. All of hem. (See PEU 87.4) 5. A and C (See PEU 179.2) 6. Thanks for a grea pary. See you a he barbecue a 9.00 (See PEU 147.4) Wha s he diagnosis? 0-2 correc. I looks like you may sill have a lo o learn. You will need o revise he basics in Pracical English Usage. 2-4 correc. No bad. You have a prey high language level bu here are some gaps. You will need o sudy some secions of Pracical English Usage. 4-6 correc. Congraulaions a very good command of English. Use Grammar Scan and Pracical English Usage o check any ricky poins ha are sill no clear. Michael Swan 2010 Phoocopiable page 2

3 Grammar o go! Language healh-check Here s he reamen! Spoken Grammar auxiliaries If he main senence has an auxiliary verb (or non-auxiliary be), his is repeaed in he quesion ag. Sally can speak French, can she? The meeing s a en, isn i? You didn speak o Luke, did you? You wouldn like a puppy, would you? If he main senence has no auxiliary, he quesion ag has do. You like oysers, don you? Harry gave you a cheque, didn he? negaive words Non-negaive ags are used afer senences conaining negaive words like never, no, nobody, hardly, scarcely and lile. You never say wha you re hinking, do you? (NOT... don you?) I s no good, is i? (NOT... isn i?) I s hardly rained a all his summer, has i? There s lile we can do abou i, is here? Michael Swan 2010 Phoocopiable page 3

4 Grammar o go! Language healh-check 87 back and again Back and again can be used wih similar meanings, bu here are some differences. 1 back wih a verb Wih a verb, we use back o sugges a reurn o an earlier siuaion, a movemen in he opposie direcion o an earlier movemen, and similar ideas. Again is no normally used in his way wih a verb. Give me my wach back. (NOT Give me my wach again.) I m aking his mea back o he shop. (NOT I m aking his mea o he shop again.) 2 again wih a verb Wih a verb, again usually suggess repeiion. Compare: Tha was lovely. Can you play i again? When I ve recorded your voice I ll play i back. Eric was really bad-mannered. I m never going o invie him again. She comes o our paries bu she never invies us back. I don hink he go your leer. You d beer wrie again. If I wrie o you, will you wrie back? Noe he difference beween sell back (o he same person) and sell again. The bike you sold me is oo small. Can I sell i back o you? If we buy his house and hen have o move somewhere else, how easy will i be o sell i again? 3 cases when back is no used When he verb iself already expresses he idea of reurn o an earlier siuaion or movemen in he opposie direcion, back is no generally used. Sefan can never reurn o his counry. (More naural han Sefan can never reurn back...) Who opened he window? Could you close i, please? (NOT... close i back...) However, again can be used o emphasise he idea of reurn. Sefan can never reurn o his counry again. Who opened he window? Could you close i again, please? 4 adverb paricles ec Wih adverb paricles and preposiional phrases, we can use boh back and again o sugges reurn o an earlier siuaion ec. I sood up, and hen I sa (back) down (again). He ased he apple and spa i (back) ou (again). Go (back) o sleep (again). I ll be (back) in he office (again) on Monday 5 ring/call back Noe ha ring back (BrE only) and call back can be used o mean boh reurn a phone call and repea a phone call. She s no here jus now. Ask her o ring me back. (= reurn my call) I haven go ime o alk now. OK, I ll ring back laer. (= ring again) Michael Swan 2010 Phoocopiable page 4

5 Grammar o go! Language healh-check 6 word order Back is an adverb paricle (see 20), and can usually go beween a verb and is objec, unless his is a pronoun (see 599.4). Again canno. Take back your money I don wan i. (OR Take your money back...) Coun he money again, please. (NOT Coun again he money...) For oher uses of back and again, see a good dicionary. 179 ellipsis (3): a he beginning of a senence 2 unsressed forms of be, will, would, have We do no usually drop words so as o begin senences wih unsressed forms of be, will, would or auxiliary have (hough his someimes happens in poscards, diary enries and oher kinds of very informal wriing). I m coming omorrow. OR Coming omorrow. (BUT NOT Am coming omorrow. Am is no sressed.) I ll see you soon. OR See you soon. (BUT NOT Will see you soon. Will is no sressed.) Haven seen him. (BUT NOT Have seen him. Have is no sressed.) 147 correspondence: s and ex messages x msgs (ex messages) Tex messages (sen for example by mobile phone) use a large number of abbreviaions o save ime and space. Words are shorened, ofen by leaving ou vowels. Leers and numbers are used insead of words (or pars of words) ha sound he same. Iniial leers only are used for some common expressions. Some ypical examples: c u l8r r u cumin 2day? x 4 a gr8 pary jus 2 le u no wil u b hr Thu eve? RUOK? go ur msg See you laer. Are you coming oday? Thanks for a grea pary. Jus o le you know. Will you be here Thursday evening? Are you OK? Go your message. wil 9 Will be a barbecue a 9. 2 bsy am, lk l8r Too busy a he momen, alk laer. if Uv ym, send pix o kids need mo infmn If you have ime, send picures of kids. Need more informaion. Michael Swan 2010 Phoocopiable page 5