LANGUAGE REFERENCE
136
6
GRAMMAR
G1
NARRATIVE TENSES
PAST SIMPLE
Use the past simple for single finished actions. We
also use it for a sequence of single actions (to say that
one action was followed by another one).
I
opened
the door and
walked
into the room.
PAST CONTINUOUS
Use the past continuous for an ongoing action which
sets the scene or background for a story.
The rain
was falling
as we left the house.
Use the past continuous to contrast an ongoing
action with a single shorter (past simple) event which
occurs during or interrupts the ongoing event.
I
was washing
the car when the phone
rang
.
PAST PERFECT
The past perfect looks back from a time in the past to
another time before that, so we can use it to describe an
earlier action in a sequence of events.
It was dark. Someone
had turned off
the light.
When we arrived, the train
had left
. (First the train
left, then we arrived.)
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Form the past perfect continuous with
had
+
been
+
-
ing
form of the verb.
A lady
had been sitting
in the chair.
Use the past perfect continuous to describe an
ongoing action which continued up to or finished
just before another action or time in the past.
Karl realised he
’d been waiting
for over an hour.
We often use the past perfect continuous to explain
a past result.
I was angry because I
’d been waiting
so long.
We often use the past perfect continuous with
before
,
after
and
when
.
Carol
had been working
there for a year before they
gave her a pay rise.
G2
USED TO
,
WOULD
,
GET USED TO
USED TO
Use
used to
+ infinitive without
to
to talk about states that
existed in the past, but no longer exist, and for actions
that were repeated in the past, but don’t happen now.
We
used to live
in the suburbs. (past state)
I
used to read
a lot, but I don’t have enough time
now. (past repeated action)
!
Note the spelling changes for statements,
questions and negatives.
I
used to
be a student. Did you
use to
be a student?
We didn’t
use to
be students.
WOULD
Use
would
+ infinitive without
to
to talk about things
that happened regularly in the past.
When I was a child, we
would spend
every summer
by the seaside.
!
We never use
would
to talk about states in the past.
Summers would be cooler here in the past.
O
Summers
used to
be cooler here in the past.
P
GET USED TO
Use
get used to
+ gerund to talk about situations you
weren’t accustomed to doing / found strange in the
past but are beginning to find less strange.
I
didn’t used to
read electronic books but I’
m getting
used to reading
them now.
KEY LANGUAGE
KL
PERSUADING, MAKING A PERSUASIVE
PRESENTATION
PERSUADING
I’m sure it’ll be a winner.
I’m confident you’ll like my idea.
I think you’ll agree, it’s a really interesting and creative idea.
They’d be perfect.
They’re bound to appeal to the audience.
They love our concepts.
It will attract a wide range of filmgoers.
We think it’s got tremendous potential.
We think our concept is great and hope we’ve been able
to persuade you, too.
MAKING A PERSUASIVE PRESENTATION
I’ll start with …
Turning now to …
Who is our target audience?
To summarise …
VOCABULARY
V1
GENRES
autobiography, biography, biopic, crime (story), costume
drama, horror, novel, play, poetry, psycho drama, romcom,
science fiction (sci-fi), short story, thriller, travel writing
V2
PEOPLE IN LITERATURE
author, autobiographer, biographer, critic, dramatist,
ghostwriter, novelist, poet, screenwriter
V3
ADJECTIVES (FOR LITERATURE/FILM/PLOT REVIEWS)
awful, brilliant, classic, disturbing, dreadful, dull,
gripping, interesting, lightweight, moving, overrated,
riveting, shocking, tedious, tense, thought-provoking
V4
COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS
a charming read, a child’s perspective, a moral tale, a
remake of a film, (dynamic) dialogue, evocative language,
extremely well-written, key character, incredibly heart-
warming, (realistic) plot
I (just) couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a
real page turner. It’s light and easy to read. It (certainly)
lived up to all the hype. It’s (not) my kind of thing. It was
(very) hard going at the beginning. The ending was a real
letdown.
V5
REPORT (READING HABITS)
associated, outperform, preference, pronounced,
proportion, relatively, the gender gap, typically, virtually
