VOCABULARY Have you ever done any acting before? / Defence of theatre / Notes of a traveller Airplane Aloud An only child Backpack Box office Business Director Contented Currently Despite Eventful Ignorance Indignation Inland Jail Mad Movie My folks Playwright Refreshing Restroom Seaside Seasons Shortly So far So long Spare time Spare Technician The Alps The Amazon Forest American English: aeroplane. Using one's voice to speak or read so that others can hear you. A child with no brothers or sisters. American English: rucksack The area of a theatre where you can buy tickets to see a show. A person in a company that manages the buying and selling department. Happy, satisfied. At the moment, at present. A word that expresses that something happened even though there were negative setbacks. Full of things happening. Lack of information, knowledge or education. A feeling of not having been treated correctly or of being misjudged. Away from the sea or coast. Another word for "prison". American English: angry, furious. American English: film. American English: My family. A person who writes plays for the theatre. Stimulating, making one feel fresh and alive. American English for toilet or bathroom. An area next to the sea. A very common holiday destination. The four periods of a year: spring, summer, autumn, winter. A recurrent period characterised by certain occurrences, occupations, festivities, or crops. In a short period of time. Until this point, now. American English: another way to say 'goodbye', especially when it is for a long time. Free or extra time. Extra. A person responsible for the technical aspects of a performance or company e.g. electricity, lighting, sound, computers. A mountain range in Europe. It spans various countries, including: Switzerland, Italy, France and Austria. A tropical rainforest in South America, concentrated particularly in Brazil.
The Andes The Bahamas The British Isles The Canaries The Far East The Himalayas The Middle East The Netherlands The Nile The Sahara The South Pole The Thames The United Kingdom To dedicate To get the bug for To keep down To line up To overlook To rehearse To work out Triplets Troublemaker A mountain range in South America. A group of islands in the West Indies. To refer to Great Britain, Ireland and the other, smaller islands in the same region. The group of Spanish islands which are off the coast of North West Africa. To refer to Japan, China and other territories in East Asia. The mountain range in Nepal. A region which includes all the countries between Egypt and Iran. The area of land also known as the Low Countries. An African river, the longest in the world. The largest desert in the world. Located in North Africa. The place which is furthest south. One of the places where the Earth's axis is located. River that flows through London. The group of countries and nations comprised of: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To use time or money for one specific purpose or activity. Informal. To suddenly become really interested in doing something. 1. To prevent something or somebody from increasing or progressing. 2. To instruct someone to remain close to the ground. American English: To wait in a queue with other people who also want the same thing as you. To wait your turn. To forget or not to do something by accident. To practise for a performance. To solve a problem. To find a solution. Three babies born at the same time by the same mother. A person who intentionally causes problems.
VOCABULARY SENTENCES My folks live in San Francisco. Here's a photo of my brother and his wife. My nephew is an only child but he's got plenty of cousins and friends. He spends all his spare time with his family. I wonder why Americans call 'films' 'movies'. You should be more consistent with your spelling. In this sentence you've used British English and here you've written 'airplane' which is American. I had to think twice when the security guard asked to check my backpack. I'm used to it being called a rucksack. Excuse me while I go to the restroom. What's the name of that board game we used to play? You had to buy property and if you landed on the wrong square you got sent to jail. Mr Hardcastle seems to be very contented in his old age. His father was really mad at him for smashing up the car. We had an eventful journey; first the coach broke down and then we nearly missed the plane! They read the poem aloud in front of the class as part of the oral assessment. Dr Castle will be with you shortly. The house has got two bedrooms, and a spare room for guests. She's had three interviews so far, and she's got another one tomorrow. So long, Harry, see you next time. It was nice to have met you. I think we should rehearse that scene again. Check this again please, you have overlooked some mistakes. We had to line up to buy tickets. He dedicates his free time to studying for his architect's licence. You can book theatre tickets at the box offices. I've just been given a promotion at work. I'm going to be the business director, so I'll have a lot more responsibility. Good morning. I'm the technician. There were a few troublemakers in the class. She has recently had triplets.
Which is your favourite season of the year? We like to spend our holidays by the seaside. I wish I could earn a living as a playwright, but I don't think that it'll ever be more than a hobby. He showed his ignorance by asking where the Himalayas were. She showed her indignation at his misjudgement of her by asking him to leave. It makes a refreshing change to talk instead of watching television. I am currently working on my autobiography. Can you believe that he came to the party, despite the fact that Jake warned him to stay away? After living near the sea all my life, I'm not keen on the idea of moving inland, but I have to for my job. The United Kingdom is the political name for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I'm looking for last minute deals on skiing holidays in the Alps. While we're in Brazil, I want to try and visit the Amazon Forest for at least a day. It would be a once in a lifetime experience. We could book a trekking holiday in the Andes if you fancy doing something a little different this year. Let's have our honeymoon in the Bahamas. We can go to the beach and relax all day. I've got to colour the British Isles in blue for my school homework, can you help me? There are some fantastic deals on winter breaks in the Canaries. Shall we have a look? I've just finished a fascinating book about one man's travels around the Far East. It's quite common to try Yak milk when you're in The Himalayas. I did and it was disgusting. I don't know much about The Middle East but I'm going to try and find out more before my business trip. I know a few people who live in the Netherlands so we could stop off and visit them while we are travelling around Europe. Have you read the Agatha Christie book 'Death on The Nile'? Strangely enough, although the Sahara looks barren and lifeless, some animals do manage to survive there. I don't think I'd like to go to the South Pole. It's too cold for my liking. We could take a boat trip down the Thames tomorrow, weather permitting of course.
SHOWROOM: PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE VS. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS She's tidied the kitchen. She's been tidying the kitchen. We've had our cat for many years. They've lived there since they got married. They've been living there since they got married. He's played the violin since he was a child. He's been playing the violin since he was a child. They've known each other for a week. She has been reading for two hours. I have always wanted to visit China. They have been lining up all night I have worked here for five years. I have been working here for five years. How long have you been sunbathing? All morning. USEFUL PHRASES I've been doing some tidying. You'd better start doing some letter-writing. Once you've got the travel bug, you can't stay in one place. Everyone in her class plays the guitar and now she's got the bug too. Don't keep telling me I'm too young! I'm trying to work out how much I owe the babysitter. Well he's made a fool of himself, hasn't he? But he will. You can't keep a good man down. Oh, I can assure you, you won't have any problems, sir.
GRAMMAR Present perfect simple vs. Present perfect continuous a) Forms: PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form Subj. + HAVE/HAS + Participle + Compl. I have travelled a lot. She has read many books. Subj. + HAVE/HAS + not / never + Participle + Compl. They haven t seen that film yet. He has never been to Italy. HAVE/HAS + Subj. + Participle + Compl.? Have you talked to him today? Has she spent all her money yet? PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS Subj. + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + V-ing + Compl. You have been taking a lot of trouble to help her. Subj. + HAVE/HAS + not BEEN + V-ing + Compl. She hasn t been smoking too much lately. HAVE/HAS + Subj. + BEEN + V-ing + Compl.? How long have you been writing that letter? b) Use:
Both the Present Perfect Simple and Continuous are used to talk about actions or events with a connection between the past and the present. I have written two books. I have started writing books at some point in my life and so far, I have written two. I may write more books in the future. However, depending on the tense you use, you will show a different perspective of the situation. - PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE Focuses on a) The result of an action. You have written ten emails today. The emphasis is on the emails you have written today. In other words, it focuses on the result of your action. b) The completion of an action. I have written a book. The book is finished now. c) The action or event is permanent. I have worked here for three years. The speaker focuses on the fact that he/she started working for the company three years ago and on the fact that he/she views this situation as something permanent. d) The result of an action. I have cooked dinner. The emphasis is on the fact that the speaker has cooked dinner. - PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS Focuses on Have you ever done any acting before? / Defence of theatre / Notes of a traveller a) The duration of an action.
I have been writing emails all morning. The speaker wants to emphasise on the fact that he/she has been doing the same activity for a long period of time. Notice that we often use time expressions to say how long the activity has been in progress. b) The duration of an action. I have been writing a book. That is how the speaker has spent his/her time. It doesn t matter whether the book is finished or not. c) The action or event is temporary. I have been working in this office for two months but I usually work from home. The speaker focuses on the fact that this is temporary, meaning that this can change in the future. d) A side effect of an action. Have you ever done any acting before? / Defence of theatre / Notes of a traveller A: Why is the kitchen dirty? B: I have been cooking dinner. The emphasis is on the fact that the kitchen is dirty. It doesn t matter whether Speaker B has cooked dinner or not. Note: we do not use the Present Perfect Continuous with stative verbs, those that describe unchanging states such as: belong, (dis)like or know.
Duration: While, For, During FOR: We use for + a period of time to indicate the duration of an action: I stayed in bed for three days last week. Jim has been studying for two hours this morning. DURING: We use during + a noun to indicate when sth. took place: I fell asleep during the performance. He made a sandwich during the commercial break. Compare: FOR vs. DURING I fell asleep during the film. I was sleeping for one and a half hours. WHILE: It is also used to indicate when an action took place, but, opposite to during, it is followed by a clause. During + noun: I fell asleep during the film. While + clause (subject + verb...): I fell asleep while I was watching the film. We met Peter while we were waiting for you. The article The with geographical names Generally, the names of countries and geographical places don t have an article: Continents: Africa, Asia, America, Europe,... Countries: Spain, Mexico, China,... States or regions: Texas, Alabama, Central Europe,...
Cities and villages: Paris, Madrid, Tehran,... Isles: Sicily, Corsica,... Mountains: Everest, Kilimanjaro,... Nevertheless, the following ones have an article: Groups of isles: The Canaries, The Philippines, The Bahamas, The British Isles Countries, when their proper name indicates an association of various nations or states, like: The United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) The United States (of America) Ranges of mountains: The Alps, The Andes, The Himalayas Rivers, seas and oceans: The Thames, The Mediterranean, The Atlantic, The Pacific Deserts: The Sahara With the cardinal points, we can use articles or not, depending on the structure we use (except The North Pole and The South Pole ): The north of England BUT northern England / North England The south-east of Spain BUT south-eastern Spain / South-East Spain Compare: Italy is in southern Europe, but Denmark is in the north. Have you ever done any acting before? / Defence of theatre / Notes of a traveller
With middle and far we always use the article: The Middle East The Far West Prepositions: in, at, on, by a) In: is used to talk about something inside a closed space or container. I am in the kitchen. Other examples: in the country/countryside in a town/city/village in the city centre in a garden in hospital in a restaurant (or another building) in a pool in the sea in a river We use in to say that something is located inside a country, city, etc. in the north of
in the east of in the south of in the west of b) At: Normally we use at to express a point of reference in space. She is at the bus stop. Compare In / At: We ll meet in the cinema. (inside the building) We ll meet at the cinema. (at the front of the cinema, outside) c) On: We use on to talk about something on the surface. The book is on the table. We use on to say that a place is on a river / on a road / on the coast. The town where I live is on the east coast. Compare On / At
There are some kids playing on the beach. (on the sand) She has an apartment at the beach. (near, close by) d) By: We use by to say that something is next to/beside. She is sitting by me. (next to me) Where is the cat? By the door. (beside)
Abbreviations Common abbreviations in writing (when we have to read them, we read the complete expression): e.g. i.e. etc. PTO PS RSVP for example that is etcetera please turn over post script please reply Abbreviations of countries and organisations which are spelled: UK USA EEC BBC United Kingdom United States of America European Economic Community British Broadcasting Corporation One abbreviation of an organisation, which is read as a whole word, is: NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation More common abbreviations: UFO a.m. p.m. VIP unidentified flying object before midday after midday very important person