ESCUELA:

NOMBRES:

COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR III

FECHA:

Lic. Paúl González T.

ABRIL – AGOSTO 2009

1

Inglés

MODALS AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS

Use can or be able to to describe present ability.

e.g. Paul can sing, but he can’t dance.

Can is more common than be able to in the present.

Use the correct form of be able to for al other verb forms.

Paul wasn’t able to dance very well.

Since his lessons, he has been able to sing very difficult songs.

Use should and ought to to give advice.

Should is more formal than ought to.

You should watch the show tonight.

John ought to watch it too.

Use have to, have got to, and must to express necessity.

We usually use have to and have got to in conversation and informal writing

You have to read UNIT 15.

You must read UNIT 15.

Use may, might and could to talk about future possibility.

The show may start at 10 p.m. I’m not sure.

It might be very good.

She could win the lottery tomorrow.

ADVISABILITY IN THE PAST

Use the modals should have, ought to have, could have, and might have to talk about actions and states that were good ideas in the past, but did not happen.

These modals often communicate a sense of regret or blame.

I should have studied harder.

I ought to have taken that job.

She could have gone to a better college.

You might have told me.

Should not have and ought not to have are the only forms used in negative statements about advisability in the past.

He shouldn’t have missed the exam.

Should not have is more common.

Use may have, might have, and could have to express speculations, or possibilities, about a past situation.

These speculations are usually based on facts that we have.

SPECULATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS THE PAST

FACT

Mary didn’t show up at the party.

SPECULATIONS

Her car may have broken down.

She might have had a problem at home.

She could have been sick.

You can use must have when you are almost certain about your conclusions.

She must have been sick.

Use been in short answers to questions that include a form of be.

Could Mary have been sick?

She certainly could have been.

Use only the modal + have in short answers to questions with other verbs.

Did archeologists measure the drawings?

They must have. They studied them for years.

ACTIVE sentences focus on the agent (the person or thing doing the action)

125 million people speak Japanese.

Millions of people read the magazine.

THE PASSIVE: OVERVIEW

PASSIVE sentences focus on the object (the person or thing receiving the action)

Japanese is spoken by125 million people.

The magazine is read by millions of people.

BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

Only transitive verbs (verbs that can have objects) have passive forms.

INCORRECT: It was seemed interesting.*

CORRECT: It seems interesting.

Use the passive when the agent is unknown or not important.

The magazine is sold at newsstands.

When you want to avoid mentioning the agent.

Some mistakes were made in that newspaper.

Use the passive with by if you mention the agent. In most cases, you do not need to mention an agent in passive sentences. Do not include an agent unnecessarily.

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

THE PASSIVE WITH MODALS AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS

Use will or be going to with the passive to talk about the future.

The project will be completed in five years.

The project is going to be completed in five years.

Can: present ability

The mountain can be seen from here.

Could: past ability

The eclipse could be seen yesterday.

Use could, may, might, and can’t with the passive to express future possibility or impossibility.

It could be completed very soon.

Tourists may be invited.

My brother might be accepted.

This job can’t be done by just one person.

Obligation: (had better)

Privacy had better be respected.

Advisability: (should, ought to)

Crew members should be given training.

Necessity: (must, has (got) to)

Everyone must be consulted.

HAVE (or GET) + OBJECT + P.P.

I have my hair cut by Andrè.

I’ll have the car washed tomorrow.

You should get the oil changed.

THE PASSIVE CAUSATIVE

The passive causative can be used with all verb forms, modals, gerunds and infinitives.

Use the passive causative to talk about services that you arrange for someone to do for you.

My sister is going to get her ears pierced.

Use by when it is necessary to mention the agent (the person doing the service).

You can have your fortune told by Madame Aida.

PRESENT REAL CONDITIONALS

Use present real conditional sentences for general truths.

If you use a credit card, it’s faster.

The if clause talks about the condition. The result clause talks about what

happens if the condition occurs.

You can also use real conditional sentences for habits and things that happen again and again.

If Bill shops online, he uses a credit card.

You can use the present progressive in the if clause.

If I’m surfing the web, I use Google.

You can use modals in the result clause.

If you don’t like the product, you can return it.

If you have children, you shouldn’t let them shop online.

Use the imperative in the result clause to give instructions, commands, and invitations that depend on a certain condition.

If you change your mind, call the company.

If a site isn’t secure, don’t enter your credit card information.

You can begin conditional sentences with the if clause or the result clause.

If you use a credit card, it’s faster. It’s faster if you use a credit card.

Use a comma between the two clauses when the if clause comes first.

UNIT 22FUTURE REAL CONDITIONALS

Use future real conditional sentences to talk about what will happen under certain conditions

The if clause gives the condition. The result clause gives the probable or certain result.

If I study hard, I’ll pass the exam.

Use the simple present in the if clause.

Use the future with will or be going to in the result clause.

If I use this pen, I will pass the test.

You can use modals in the result clause.

If she obtains her degree, she might get a better job.

Use unless to state a negative condition.

Unless he studies, he will fail the test.

(If he doesn’t study, he will fail the test)

Unless often has the same meaning as if...not.

Use present and future unreal conditional sentences to talk about unreal conditions and their results.

A condition and its result may be untrue, imagined or impossible.

PRESENT AND FUTURE UNREAL CONDITIONALS

The sentence can be about the present:If I lived in a palace now, I would give

parties all the time.

or the futureIf I moved next month, I would buy new

furniture.

The if clause gives the unreal condition, and the result clause gives the unreal result of that condition.

Use the simple past in the if clause. (but the meaning is not past)

Use would, might, or could + base form of the verb in the result clause (don’t use would in the if clause)

If they had a nice house, they wouldn’t want to move.

When the verb in the if clause is a form of be, use were for all subjects.

If I were King, I would make you Prime Minister.

Use would in the result clause if the result is certain. Do not use will in unreal conditional sentences.

They love to travel. If they had time, they would take a trip next summer.

Use might or could in the result clause if the result is not certain. Do not use may and can.

They’ve never been to Asia. If they took a trip, they might go to Japan.

Use wish + simple past to talk about things that you want to be true now, but that are not true.

I wish I lived in a castle.

Use were instead of was after wish.I wish I were a child again.

Use could or would after wish. Don’t use can or will.

I wish I could buy a house.

Use past unreal conditional sentences to talk about past unreal conditions and their results.

A condition and its result may be untrue, imagined, or impossible.

PAST UNREAL CONDITIONALS

The if clause gives the unreal condition.

The result clause gives the unreal result of that condition.

If George hadn’t been born, many people’s lives would have been worse.

Use the past perfect in the if clause.

Use would, have, might have, or could have + past participle in the result clause.

If the film had won an Academy Award, it would have become famous.

Use would have in the result clause if the result is certain.

Do not use will in unreal conditional sentences.

If George had gone to college, he would have studied hard.

Use might have or could have in the result clause if the result is not certain.

Do not use may or can.

If George had gone to college, he might have become an architect.

Past unreal conditionals are often used to express regret about what really happened in the past.

If I had known Mary lived alone, I would have invited her to my holiday dinner.

(I regret that I didn’t invite her)

Use wish + past perfect to express regret or sadness about things in the past that you wanted to happen but didn’t.

George wishes he had studied architecture.

(He didn’t study architecture, and now he thinks that was a mistake)

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

Direct speech states the exact words that a speaker used.

In writing, put quotations marks before and after the speech you are quoting.

He said, “The traffic is bad.”“The traffic is bad,” he said.

Indirect speech reports what a speaker said without using the exact words.

He said the check was in the mail.

The word that can introduce indirect speech.

He said that the check was in the mail.

Reporting verbs (such as say or tell) are usually in the simple past for both direct and indirect speech.

“The traffic is bad,” he said.He said that the traffic is bad.

When you mention the listener; it is more common to use tell .

“I’m sorry to be late,” Rick told Ann.

Do not use tell when you don’t mention the listener.

CORRECT: He said he had been sick.

INCORRECT: He told he had been sick.

In indirect speech, make changes in pronouns and possessives to keep the speaker’s original meaning.

Rick told Ann, “I like your haircut.”

Rick told Ann that he liked her haircut.

Use if or whether in indirect yes/no questions.

DIRECT: “Can you type?” she asked.

INDIRECT: She asked me if I could type.

Whether is more formal than if.

My boss wants to know whether the report is ready.

INDIRECT QUESTIONS

We often use whether or not to report yes/no questions.

He wanted to know whether or not the report was ready.

Use question words in indirect wh-questions.

DIRECT: “Where is your office?” I asked.INDIRECT: I asked where his office

was.

Use statement word order (subject + verb):

DIRECT: “Who is the boss?”

INDIRECT: I asked who the boss was.

DIRECT: “Did they hire John?”

INDIRECT: She asked if they hired John.

Do not use do, does or did.

EMBEDDED QUESTIONS

Embedded questions are questions that are inside another sentence.

An embedded question can be:

A. inside a statement

I don’t know who our server is.

B. inside a another question

Do you remember who our server is?

Embedded questions are more polite than direct questions.

You can use embedded questions to:

A. express something you do not know

I don’t know why he didn’t tip the mechanic.

B. ask politely for information

Can you tell me if the tip is included?

Begin embedded yes/no questions with if, whether, or whether or not.

Do you know if they delivered the pizza.

Do you know whether or not they delivered the pizza.

Use statement word order (subject + verb):

Could you tell me if it is 6:00 yet?

I wonder why they ordered pizza.

Do not use do, does or did.

I don’t know …Do you know…?Can you tell me…?I wonder…I’m not sure …Could you explain…?I can’t imagine…

EXAMPLES OF PHRASES WHICH ARE FOLLOWED BY EMBEDDED

QUESTIONS

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