viernes, 26 de abril de 2019

C1 HOMEWORK: Grammar review



Here is a review of some grammar for advanced level. There is a short explanation and a link with exercises.



INVERSION
Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. To invert a sentence move the adverbial to the beginning of the sentence and invert the subject and auxiliary verb: 'I had never met someone so interesting.' becomes 'Never had I met someone so interesting.'
We usually make inversions with negative adverbs. Here are some negative adverbs and adverb phrases that we often use with inversion:

Hardly
Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.
Never
Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.
Seldom
Seldom do we see such an amazing display of dance.
Rarely
Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.
Only then
Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.
Not only ... but
Not only does he love chocolate and sweets but he also smokes.
No sooner
No sooner had we arrived home than the police rang the doorbell.
Scarcely
Scarcely had I got off the bus when it crashed into the back of a car.
Only later
Only later did she really think about the situation.
Nowhere
Nowhere have I ever had such bad service.
Little
Little did he know!
Only in this way
Only in this way could John earn enough money to survive.
In no way
In no way do I agree with what you're saying.
On no account
On no account should you do anything without asking me first.

You can try inversion here



CLEFT SENTENCES
We use cleft sentences, to connect what is already understood to what is new to the listener. In a cleft sentence, a single message is divided (cleft) into two clauses. This allows us to focus on the new information.

IT CLEFT SENTENCES are the most common type of cleft clause. The information that comes after it is emphasised for the listener. The clause which follows the it-clause is connected using that and it contains information that is already understood. We often omit that in informal situations when it is the object of the verb:

A: Sharon’s car got broken into yesterday, did it?
B: No. It was Nina’s car that got broken into!

WH- CLEFT SENTENCES are most often introduced by what, but we can also use why, where, how, etc. The information in the wh-clause is typically old or understood information, while the information in the following clause is new and in focus:

A: I don’t know what to cook for them? I don’t know what they like.
B: What they like is smoked salmon.

You can try cleft sentences here



WISHES AND REGRETS: “I wish, If only, It’s time, It’s high time”

A.- Use of I wish / if only:

There are three distinct types of  I wish / if only  sentences:
1.      Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.
2.      Regret with the past perfect.
3.      Complaints with would + verb.

1.- Expressing a wish:

Form: If only / I wish + simple past

Use:
-To express a wish in the present or in the future.
-The simple past here is an unreal past.
-When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.

Example: If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it)

2.- Expressing regret:

Form: If only / I wish + past perfect

Use:
-To express a regret.
-The action is past.

Example: If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)

3.- Complaining:

Form: I wish / if only + would + verb

Use:
-To complain about a behavior that you disapprove.
-Expressing impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.
Example: I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time)

B.- It’s time / It’s high time

Form: It’s (high) time + past simple

Use:    -When someone should have already done something

Example: It’s (high) time the government took measures about the problem (It hasn’t taken measures, and it’s urgent)

You can practise wishes and regrets here



REPORTING PASSIVES: news reporters often use phrases like: "It is believed that..." and "The suspect is known to be..." These structures are called passive reporting structures.

Meaning and use: This structure is used to report information in a formal style or to report facts. Passive structures hide the source of the information. This is because a) it is obvious b) the source is unimportant or is 'people in general', or c) the source is unknown.

Common verbs used with these structures: say, think, expect, know, believe, understand, consider

Form: A passive reporting structure can take two forms:

1.- It + passive reporting verb + that-clause
  • It is known that the sky is blue
  • It is known that the criminal escaped
  • It is thought that chocolate is delicious
2.- Subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive
  • The sky is known to be blue
  • The criminal is known to have escaped
  • Chocolate is thought to be delicious
You can practise reporting passives here

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