January 2013

Second conditional worksheet

January 27, 2013

The second conditional is used to talk about unreal situations and their imaginary results. Complete the following sentences using appropriate second conditional forms of the verbs given in the brackets. 1. If he ……………………………. (start) early, he would finish in time. 2. If you worked harder, you …………………………. (do) well on the test. 3. If [...]

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Some discourse markers

January 26, 2013

Let me see, well, you know etc Expressions of this kind are often used when the speaker needs time to think. ‘How much are you selling it for?’ ‘Well, let me see…’ ‘When are you going to finish that report?’ ‘Well, I think it will be ready by Tuesday.’ ‘Why did you do that?’ ‘Well, [...]

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Short answers

January 25, 2013

Short answers are often grammatically incomplete because we do not usually repeat the words that have just been said. A typical short answer pattern is subject + auxiliary verb. Short answers may also contain other words that are really necessary. Study the following examples. ‘Can you speak English?’ ‘Yes, I can.’ (More natural than ‘Yes, [...]

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Short answers exercise

January 24, 2013

Short answers are normally constructed with subject and auxiliary verb. Other words in the question are usually omitted in short answers. In affirmative short answers, we use stressed, non-contracted forms. ‘Are you happy?’ ‘Yes, I am.’ (NOT Yes, I’m.) In negative short answers, we usually use contracted forms. Examples are given below: were not – [...]

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