LANGUAGE REFERENCE
106
3
GRAMMAR
G1
PAST CONTINUOUS
Use the past continuous to talk about actions in
progress at a time in the past.
He
was working
at the university in the 1960s.
Form the past continuous with the past form of
be
+ the
-ing
form of the main verb.
We
were travelling
to Mexico.
We
weren’t travelling
to the United States.
Were
you
travelling
by car?
Yes, we
were
. / No, we
weren’t
.
TIME EXPRESSIONS
You often use time expressions with the past
continuous, e.g.
then
,
in +
year (
in 2012
),
at +
time
(
at 9.00
),
at that time
.
We were living in New York
in 2012
.
G2
PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS
Use the past simple for a finished action or series of
actions in the past.
The doorbell
rang
, so I
put down
my book and
answered
the door.
To talk about an action in progress when another
shorter action happened, use the past continuous
for the action in progress. Use the past simple for
the short action. This action can interrupt or stop the
longer action.
I
was reading
my book when the doorbell
rang
.
Notice the difference between these two sentences.
He
was speaking
when the phone rang. (= He was
speaking. Then the phone rang.)
He
spoke
when the phone rang. (= The phone rang.
Then he spoke.)
G3
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Use
which
and
that
to refer to things or ideas.
Use
that
when the information given defines/is
essential to the subject.
It’s the programme
that
stars Katie Holmes.
Use
which
to add extra information, when the
sentence would make sense without it.
The programme,
which
aired in June, stars Katie
Holmes.
Use
who
and
that
to refer to people.
She’s the actress
who
/
that
married Tom Cruise.
Use
where
to refer to places.
YouTube is a website
where
you can upload video
clips.
Use relative pronouns to link pieces of information
about a person or thing.
Marie Curie was a scientist. She discovered radium. =
Marie Curie was the scientist
who
discovered radium.
The information after the relative pronoun often
defines the subject.
A search engine is a programme
that
finds
information.
A newsreader is a person
who
presents the news on
the TV or radio.
!
Do not repeat the subject after a relative pronoun.
The pronoun is the subject.
Bill Gates is the man
who
started Microsoft.
ü
Bill Gates is the man
who he
started Microsoft.
û
KEY LANGUAGE
KL
MAKING SUGGESTIONS
Let’s / Let’s not (interview them about politics).
We should (have a live band on the programme).
Why don’t we (invite some politicians)?
What about (interviewing rich people)?
What about (something on animals)?
What else shall we (do)?
Any ideas?
Anything else?
VOCABULARY
V1
THE MEDIA
nouns: advert, article, blog, celebrity, channel, drama,
email, front page, headline, homepage, journalist,
presenter, programme, social networking site, spam,
video
verbs: like/respect, listen to, read, upload, use / go on,
watch, write
V2
NAMES FOR PEOPLE AND FIELDS
art, artist, blogging, blogger, journalism, journalist,
photographer, photography, politician, politics,
psychologist, psychology, reporting, reporter,
science, scientist
V3
TV PROGRAMMES
chat show, cookery programme, current affairs
programme, drama, game show, lifestyle show,
magazine show, news show, quiz show, talent show,
wildlife documentary
Subject
be
(
+ not
)
Verb +
-ing
+
I/He/She/It
was
You/We/They were
working.
–
I/He/She/It
wasn’t (was not)
You/We/They weren’t (were not)
be
Subject
Verb +
-ing
?
Was
I/he/she/it
working?
Were
you/we/they
