Saturday 27 May 2017

Questions and answers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/lower-intermediate/unit-1/session-2

Question forms

Meaning and Use

In English, there are two basic types of question.
1. Yes/no questions often begin with the verb to be, but can also begin with other auxiliary verbs, such as do. We ask these when we want a yes or no answer.
Dave: Are you hungry?Mike: Yes, I’m starving. 
Sarah: Did you get here on time?Emily: No, I missed the bus!
2. Wh-questions start with a question word, such as who, what, where, when, why or how. We ask this type of question when we want different kinds of information. These questions cannot be answered with a yes or no.
Dave: Why are you so hungry?Mike: I didn’t eat breakfast.
Sarah: When did you get here?Emily: About half an hour ago.

Form

Yes/no questions that begin with the verb to be are made with to be + subject.
Are you playing football tomorrow?
Was the weather nice yesterday?
If we start with an auxiliary verb, the order is auxiliary + subject + main verb.
Can Jenny speak Chinese?Did you go to the cinema on Saturday?
Wh-questions can be used to ask about the subject or object of the verb. Compare these questions:
Who loves Lucy?Who does Lucy love?
For subject questions, the order is question word + verb + object.
Who wants ice cream for dessert?Who broke the mirror in the dining room?Who answered the phone?
The object question form is question word + auxiliary + subject + verb.
What did you do at the weekend?Where does your brother work?Who will you ask for help?

Take Note

Asking questions with ‘how’
The question word how is usually combined with other words when asking for information, such as size, someone’s age, or the price of something.
How big is your apartment?How old are your children now?How much is the black dress in the window?

Spoken English

In formal situations, it is common to respond to a yes/no question by repeating the auxiliary in a complete sentence.
Max: Can you use a computer?Jill: Yes, I can.
In casual spoken English, we do not need to repeat the auxiliary. Answers do not always contain 'yes' or 'no'.
Peter: Do you know the way to the train station?William: Not really.
Lucy: Shall we order sushi?Sally: Absolutely!

Practice

rearrange the words to make 'yes/no' and wh-questions.

1. anywhere did you weekend interesting last go?
2. grow up did you where?
3. did for your car new much how pay you?
4. into your when you did move new house?
5. listening to what you are?
6. the game basketball who won?
7. I borrow can your phone?
8. you do watch want movie a tonight to?
Answers
1. Did you go anywhere interesting last weekend? 
[The order of yes/no questions is: auxiliary + subject + main verb.]
2. Where did you grow up? 
[The order of object Wh-questions is: question word + auxiliary + subject + verb.]
3. How much did you pay for your new car? 
[The order of object Wh-questions: question word + auxiliary + subject + verb.] 
4. When did you move into your new house? 
[The order of object Wh-questions is: question word + auxiliary + subject + verb.]
5. What are you listening to?  
[The order of object Wh-questions is: question word + auxiliary + subject + verb.]
6. Who won the basketball game?  
[The order of subject Wh-questions is: question word + verb + object.]
7. Can I borrow your phone?  
[The order of yes/no questions is: auxiliary + subject + main verb.]
8. Do you want to watch a movie tonight?  
[The order of yes/no questions is: auxiliary + subject + main verb.]
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Thursday 25 May 2017

Passive practice

Rephrasing Passive Voice

Rewrite these sentences so their meaning doesn’t change, the beginning is given

 1. A jeep picked up the soldiers from the base.
The soldiers…
2. We ought to invite Susan to the party.
Susan…
3. The police took the angry youth away.
The angry…
4.  Food is being eaten right now in this class.
They…
5. People think pollution is not a minor problem.
Pollution…
6. All the victims were being taken to hospital.
Ambulances…
7. The hairdresser was cutting Martha’s hair.
Martha…
8. Shoes have been made here for nearly 50 years.
They…
9. The teacher had completed our report cards.
We…
10. Mum didn’t cook dinner because she was very tired.
Dinner…

Sophie is in China for work and phones home to tell Ollie about her trip.
38
We use the passive, rather than the active, to show that we are more interested in a certain part of the sentence. The passive is usually formed by the verb to be + past participle.
Can you give me some examples of the active and passive?
Yes, of course. Here’s a passive sentence:
My room is being cleaned.
'My room' is the main focus of the sentence. The active form would be 'The cleaners are cleaning my room'. This sounds strange because it is obvious that, if you are in a hotel, cleaners would clean your room. So we sometimes use the passive to avoid stating the obvious.
OK, that makes sense. Are there any other uses?
We also use the passive when we don’t know who did something, or when it isn’t important.
It’s the biggest outdoor elevator in the world, so I’ve been informed.
It doesn’t matter who told me.
I think loads of films have been made there.
The important thing is the films, not the film-makers.
Can you use a passive and also say who did the action?
Yes.
Avatar was made by James Cameron.
Is the passive formal?
No, not necessarily. It can be formal or neutral or informal.
I hope to find everything clean and tidy … you’ve been warned!
But we often avoid the passive in very informal spoken language, for example, by using they.
They based the scenery in Avatar on the landscape here.
We don’t know exactly who they are, but we can guess that it’s the people who made the film.
I think I’ve heard people use you a lot too when they don’t refer to anyone in particular.
Yes, very good! That’s another way of sounding more informal. You is a bit different; it means 'people in general'.
Parcels can be collected from the Post Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (more formal)
You can collect parcels between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (less formal)
One last question, what about the passive with get? Is that informal too?
Yes, when we’re speaking informally we also often use get rather than the verb be.
He was sacked from his job. = He got sacked from his job.
But be careful, not all verbs can be used in the passive with get - only verbs for talking about an action or a change.
She was knocked off her bike by a bus. = She got knocked off her bike by a bus.
Charlie Chaplin was loved by millions. Charlie Chaplin got loved by millions.
Phew, OK. I think my brain has been fried by all this!
Ah, OK, we’ll stop. But look - you’re using the passive correctly already!

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Tuesday 23 May 2017

Manchester terrorist attack at Ariana´s concert

Twenty-two people, including children, have been killed and 59 injured in a suicide attack at Manchester Arena.
The blast happened at 22:35 BST on Monday at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande.
Greater Manchester Police said the lone male attacker, who died in the blast, was carrying an improvised explosive device which he detonated.
Relatives are using social media to hunt for missing loved ones.
Police have set up an emergency telephone number in response to the attack. It is: 0161 856 9400.
Sixty ambulances attended the incident and those wounded are now being treated at six hospitals around the city.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said it was "the most horrific incident" Greater Manchester had ever faced.
He said the "fast-moving investigation" was now working to establish whether the attacker "was acting alone or as part of a network".
Eyewitnesses described seeing metal nuts and bolts among the debris, and spoke about the fear and confusion that gripped those caught up in the events.
Andy Holey, who had gone to the arena to pick up his wife and daughter, said: "An explosion went off and it threw me about 30ft from one set of doors to the other set of doors.
"When I got up I saw bodies lying on the ground. My first thought was to go into the arena to try to find my family. "

'Absolutely terrifying'

Emma Johnson said she and her husband were at the arena to pick up her children, aged 15 and 17.
"We were stood at the top of the stairs and the glass exploded - it was near to where they were selling the merchandise," she told BBC Radio Manchester.
"The whole building shook. There was a blast and then a flash of fire afterwards. There were bodies everywhere."
Teenager Abigail Walker, who was at the concert, told the BBC: "I had to make sure I had my sister. I grabbed hold of her and pulled hard. Everyone was running and crying.
"We were just trying to figure where everyone was. It was absolutely terrifying."
Charlotte Campbell's daughter Olivia has been missing since the concert.
"She's only a 15-year-old girl, she's out there on her own because her friend has been found," she told the BBC.
"If anyone sees her contact me. Give her your phone and let her ring me. I just want her home."

The explosion happened in the foyer of the arena shortly after Ariana Grande left the stage.
Grande - a 23-year-old American TV teen actress-turned-singer - has a strong following among teenage girls and children. She tweeted: "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it was "a barbaric attack, deliberately targeting some of the most vulnerable". The prime minister is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee at around 09:00.
Flags are flying at half mast in Downing Street and political parties have suspended general election campaigning.
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Friday 19 May 2017

Passive Voice


Passive Voice.Ppt 

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 2

TenseSubjectVerbObject
Simple PresentActive:Ritawritesa letter.
Passive:A letteris writtenby Rita.
Simple PastActive:Ritawrotea letter.
Passive:A letterwas writtenby Rita.
Present PerfectActive:Ritahas writtena letter.
Passive:A letterhas been writtenby Rita.
Future IActive:Ritawill writea letter.
Passive:A letterwill be writtenby Rita.
HilfsverbenActive:Ritacan writea letter.
Passive:A lettercan be writtenby Rita.

Examples of Passive Level 4

TenseSubjectVerbObject
Present ProgressiveActive:Ritais writinga letter.
Passive:A letteris being writtenby Rita.
Past ProgressiveActive:Ritawas writinga letter.
Passive:A letterwas being writtenby Rita.
Past PerfectActive:Ritahad writtena letter.
Passive:A letterhad been writtenby Rita.
Future IIActive:Ritawill have writtena letter.
Passive:A letterwill have been writtenby Rita.
Conditional IActive:Ritawould writea letter.
Passive:A letterwould be writtenby Rita.
Conditional IIActive:Ritawould have writtena letter.
Passive:A letterwould have been writtenby Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level 3

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.
SubjectVerbObject 1Object 2
Active:Ritawrotea letterto me.
Passive:A letterwas writtento meby Rita.
Passive:Iwas writtena letterby 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.

Exercises

Exercises on Passive (Form)

Exercises on Passive (Active → Passive)

Exercises on Passive (Active or Passive)

Grammar in Texts

Tests on Passive

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