miércoles, 29 de abril de 2015

EXÁMENES DE MAYO







                         NIVEL INTERMEDIO 1, 
           GRUPO NI1A (TURNO DE MAÑANA):

       LUNES 11 y 
MIÉRCOLES 13  DE MAYO, PRUEBAS        ESCRITAS.

   LUNES 18 Y MIÉRCOLES  20
 DE MAYO, EXÁMENES  ORALES.

lunes, 27 de abril de 2015

THE PASSIVE VOICE



THE PASSIVE VOICE.


Use of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
  • the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
  • the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
  • the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive Level: lower intermediate
Tense
Subject
Verb
Object
Simple Present
Active:
Rita
writes
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
is written
by Rita.
Simple Past
Active:
Rita
wrote
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
was written
by Rita.
Present Perfect
Active:
Rita
has written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
has been written
by Rita.
Future 
Active:
Rita
will write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
will be written
by Rita.
Modals
Active:
Rita
can write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
can be written
by Rita.

Examples of Passive Level: upper intermediateLevel 4
Tense
Subject
Verb
Object
Present Progressive
Active:
Rita
is writing
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
is being written
by Rita.
Past Progressive
Active:
Rita
was writing
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
was being written
by Rita.
Past Perfect
Active:
Rita
had written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
had been written
by Rita.
Future II
Active:
Rita
will have written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
will have been written
by Rita.
Conditional I
Active:
Rita
would write
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
would be written
by Rita.
Conditional II
Active:
Rita
would have written
a letter.
Passive:
A letter
would have been written
by Rita.


Passive Sentences with Two Objects.
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject
Verb
Object 1
Object 2
Active:
Rita
wrote
a letter
to me.
Passive:
A letter
was written
to me
by Rita.
Passive:
I
was written
a letter
by Rita.
.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

REPORTED SPEECH




 

Reported speech (1)

When we report someone’s words we can do it in two ways. We can use direct speechwith quotation marks (“I work in a bank”), or we can use reported speech (He said he worked in a bank.) 
In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.
 
Present simple and present continuous tenses

  •  Direct speech: “I travel a lot in my job” Reported speech: He said that he travelled a lot in his job.
The present simple tense (I travel) usually changes to the past simple (he travelled) in reported speech.

  •  Direct speech: “Be quiet. The baby’s sleeping.” Reported speech: She told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping.
The present continuous usually changes to the past continuous. 
NB:

  • “I work in Italy” Reported speech: He told me that he works in Italy.
It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now – he stillworks in Italy – we can use the present simple in the reported sentence. 
Past simple and past continuous tenses

  •  Direct speech: “We lived in China for 5 years.” Reported speech: She told me they had lived in China for 5 years.
The past simple tense (we lived) usually changes to the past perfect (they had lived) in reported speech.

  •  Direct speech: “I was walking down the road when I saw the accident.”Reported speech: He told me he’d been walking down the road when he’d seen the accident.
The past continuous usually changes to the past perfect continuous. 
Perfect tenses

  •  Direct speech: “They’ve always been very kind to me”. Reported speech:She said they’d always been very kind to her.
The present perfect tense (have always been) usually changes to the past perfect tense (had always been).

  •  Direct speech: “They had already eaten when I arrived” Reported speech:He said they’d already eaten when he’d arrived.
The past perfect tense does not change in reported speech. 
You can find more information about reported speech in another section.


 Reported speech (2)

Remember that in reported speech we usually change the tense of the direct statement. The present simple tense changes to the past simple, the past simple changes to the past perfect and so on. 
Here are some other points to consider.
 
‘Can’ and ‘will’

  •  Direct speech: “I can’t remember his name.” Reported speech: She said she couldn’t remember his name.
Can’ and ‘can’t’ in direct speech change to ‘could’ and ‘couldn’t’ in reported speech.

  •  Direct speech: “I’ll be there for 3 weeks.” Reported speech: He told me he’d be there for 3 weeks.
Will’ and ‘won’t’ in direct speech change to ‘would’ and ‘wouldn’t’ in reported speech. 
Other modal verbs

  • Direct speech: “You could be right.” Reported speech: I said that he could be right.
  • Direct speech: “You must call me.” Reported speech: She said that I must call her.
Other modal verbs don’t change in reported speech. 
Reporting orders, requests and advice

  • Direct speech: “Sit down and shut up!” Reported speech: The teacher told me to sit down and shut up.
  • Direct speech: “Can you hold this for me please?” Reported speech: He asked me to hold it.
  • Direct speech: “You should do more exercise.” Reported speech: He advised me to do more exercise.
Orders, request and advice can be reported using an infinitive. 
Reporting verbs 
There are a number of verbs that we use to report statements. These can make your speech and writing more interesting than simply reporting every word of the direct speech.


  • Direct speech: “It wasn’t me who broke the window.” > He denied breaking the window.
  • Direct speech: “I’ll help you if you want” > She offered to help.
There are a number of verbs that can be used to report. They include: promiseclaim,suggestadviserefuseargueconfirm and others.

COPYRIGHT BRITISH COUNCIL 

EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3

miércoles, 25 de marzo de 2015

THIRD CONDITIONAL





Third Conditional: no possibility

EXERCISE ONE

EXERCISE TWO 

EXERCISE THREE 

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(


condition result

Past Perfect WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If I had won the lottery I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.
Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.
Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF condition result

past perfect WOULD HAVE + past participle
If I had seen Mary I would have told her.
If Tara had been free yesterday I would have invited her.
If they had not passed their exam their teacher would have been sad.
If it had rained yesterday would you have stayed at home?
If it had rained yesterday what would you have done?
 
result IF condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle
past perfect
I would have told Mary if I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara if she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad if they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home if it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done if it had rained yesterday?

lunes, 23 de febrero de 2015

SECOND CONDITIONAL




Second conditional

copyright: www.englishgrammarsecrets.com


The Second Conditional is used to talk about 'impossible' situations.

  • If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde Park.
  • If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity.
  • If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.
  • If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

Note that after I / he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'. (Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but other people think 'was' is equally 'correct' .)

  • If she were happy in her job, she wouldn't be looking for another one.
  • If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi every day.
  • If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.

Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice.

  • If I were you, I'd look for a new place to live.
  • If I were you, I'd go back to school and get more qualifications.

The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations.

  • If I went to China, I'd visit the Great Wall.
  • If I was the President, I'd reduce taxes.
  • If you were in my position, you'd understand.

Note that the choice between the first and the second conditional is often a question of the speaker's attitude rather than of facts. Compare these examples. Otto thinks these things are possible, Peter doesn't.

  • Otto – If I win the lottery, I'll buy a big house.
  • Peter – If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house.
  • Otto – If I get promoted, I'll throw a big party.
  • Peter – If I got promoted, I'd throw a big party.
  • Otto – If my team win the Cup, I'll buy champagne for everybody.
  • Peter – If my team won the Cup, I'd buy champagne for everybody.

Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past continuous.

  • If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train.
  • If she were coming, she would be here by now.
  • If they were thinking of selling, I would want to buy.

Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might.

  • If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently.
  • If we met up for lunch, we could go to that new restaurant.
  • If I spoke to him directly, I might be able to persuade him.

Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

  • What would I do without you? ("if you weren't here")
  • Where would I get one at this time of night? ("if I wanted one")
  • He wouldn't agree. ("if I asked him")