LANGUAGE REFERENCE
126
1
GRAMMAR
G1
THE CONTINUOUS ASPECT
Use the continuous aspect to talk about:
• an action which is in progress.
Answer the door! I’
m watching
something.
• an unfinished action.
She
was working
on a new novel when she died.
• a temporary action.
I’
m using
Jo’s laptop while mine is being repaired.
• a trend, changing action or situation.
Scientists say the weather
is getting
hotter.
Compare the present simple and continuous:
I
live
in a small flat. (permanent situation)
I’
m living
with a host family for six weeks. (temporary
situation)
We can also use the present continuous for repeated
actions which are happening around now.
I’
m watching
the new series of
Breaking Bad
. It’s
fantastic. (I watch it every Thursday evening.)
We often use the past continuous and the past
simple to talk about a longer background action in
the past when a shorter action happens during it or
interrupts it.
I was washing the car
when the phone rang
.
We can also use the present continuous to describe
future arrangements.
We’re collecting our new car
at the weekend
.
G2
STATE VERBS
Some verbs describe something passive or a state.
Examples of these verbs are:
agree
,
believe
,
belong
,
depend
,
hate
,
hear
,
know
,
like
,
love
,
prefer
,
see
,
understand
,
want
.
We rarely use state verbs in the continuous:
I’m not understanding this word.
O
I don’t understand this word.
P
G3
THE PERFECT ASPECT
Use the perfect aspect to look back from one time
to another.
PRESENT PERFECT
The present perfect looks back from now to a time
before now. There are four main uses.
• a state that started in the past and is still continuing
I’
ve lived
here all my life.
• a completed action in the past which has some
relevance to the present (e.g. a present result)
There
has been
a severe storm and the airport is
now closed.
• finished actions in a period of time that is still continuing
I’
ve been
there once already today.
• actions in the past which may happen again
Deborah Tannen
has written
several books on
communication. (She could write more books.)
!
Use the past simple, not the present perfect, when
talking about a definite time in the past.
Our lesson has finished at four o’clock.
O
Our lesson finished at four o’clock.
P
PAST PERFECT
The past perfect looks back from a time in the past to
another time before that.
She’
d applied
for ten jobs before she got this one.
We can use the past perfect to describe a sequence
of events. The past perfect describes the first action.
When we arrived, the train
had left
. (First the train
left, and then we arrived.)
We can use
just
or
already
to show that the first
action happened recently or earlier than expected.
We arrived at six, but the train
had just left
.
When they arrived, the film
had already started
.
We can use the past perfect for repeated earlier actions.
By 2006, Deborah Tannen
had written
twenty books.
KEY LANGUAGE
KL
OUTLINING PROBLEMS AND OFFERING
SOLUTIONS
OUTLINING PROBLEMS
The problem is …
The trouble is …
It’s a tricky situation because …
It’s a vicious circle.
OFFERING SOLUTIONS
One way of dealing with this could be …
Well, there’s an obvious solution.
We could talk to …
The best way to deal with it is to …
REACTING TO SUGGESTIONS
That might well solve the problem.
That seems the best way to deal with it.
VOCABULARY
V1
PHRASAL VERBS
bump into, catch up with, get in touch with, keep track
of, lose touch with, stay in touch with, track down
V2
SCIENTIFIC STUDY
concept, experiment, method, random, research, results,
sample, theory
analyse (v), confirm (v), prove (v), test (v)
V3
IDIOMS
actions speak louder than words, be on the same
wavelength, get a word in edgeways, get straight to the
point, have a quick word with someone, hear it on the
grapevine, think before you speak
V4
COLLOCATIONS
display similarities, establish connections, establish
rapport, exhibit knowledge, impart information,
maintain status, negotiate relationships, negotiate status
