English Language II: Final Exam

Unit 1: Our Land is Your Land!

Language focus: Avoiding repetition, Reduced infinitives, Synonyms in context.
Vocabulary: Describing nationalities, British and American English.
Discussion: Immigrants and emigration, Nationality stereotypes.

Language Focus
Avoiding  repetition

In English it is common for words to be omitted, especially the main verb along with its complements so as to avoid repetition. There are different ways of avoiding repetition, which are:

• [by means of] Auxiliaries

In short answers: When a yes or no question is asked, the whole verb pattern is omitted.

“Will it rain today?” “Yes, it will (rain today)”

“Can she speak English fluently?” “No, she can’t (speak English fluently)”

Commenting: Information that has just been given is avoided.

“Mary is coming.” “I know she is.”

“I think he is able to get through the exams.” “I don’t think he is.”

Note: When there is no auxiliary, either do, does or did are used to reply: “I think you know what I meant.” “I don’t, neither does he.” [This is the case where we can use constructions such as “so do I”, “neither do I”, etc.]

Responding with a different auxiliary: It is necessary to reconstruct the part of the sentence that is missing and to consider carefully the meaning and the time of events in the sentence.

“I didn’t see the movie.” “Oh, should have (seen the movie).”

“I think that’s a mistake.” “It may be, but we can’t assure.”

• Using more than one auxiliary

 When there is more than one auxiliary we can use one or more to reply.

“It could have been a tragedy.” “It could/could have/could have been.”

“I shouldn’t have done that.” “Yes, you shouldn’t/shouldn’t have.”

We always use more than one if there is a change in auxiliary.

“You should be given a rise.” “Well, I haven’t been.”

Reduced Infinitives 
“To” can be used instead of the full infinitive in replies.

“Do you fancy going for a stroll” “I don’t want to”

“The movie wasn’t as thrilling as I expected it to be” [the verb “to be” is not usually reduced to “to”]

Synonyms in context

On the other hand, synonyms are useful as well, If we don’t want to sound repetitive. In narrating, for example, we can say that “someone told her softly such and such” and then refer back to it by saying “someone said quietly to her such and such”. It’s worth noting though, that we should always pay attention to both the context and the slight differences in meaning among synonyms when selecting them. As a way of an example, some recurrent synonyms are:

big: enormous, immense, gigantic, colossal, etc.
rich: wealthy, well-off, high-class, affluent, etc.
kill: murder, assassinate, massacre, execute, slay, slaughter, etc.
enemy: rival, opponent, competitor, antagonist /4n’t4gcnist/.
friend: companion, schoolmate, pal, brother [colloquial].
love (verb): adore, be in love with, have a crush on, be crazy about.
hate (verb): detest, loathe, despise, abhor /cb’ho:r/.
talk: speak, discuss, dialogue, communicate, utter, gossip.
laugh: chuckle, giggle, titter, snicker.laugh
important = essential
careful = thorough
annoying = irritating
persuasive = convincing
confused = bewildered
serious = earnest
supportive = encouraging

Vocabulary

Nationalities

British and American English

There are quite a lot of differences between American and British English which goes from vocabulary, to spelling, to pronunciation and even to grammar.

• As regards vocabulary, I can mention a few examples: cell phone (used by Americans) - mobile phone (used by British) / garbage - rubbish / cookie - biscuit / drug-store - chemist's shop / closet - wardrobe / truck - lorry / sidewalk - pavement / fall - autumn / elevator - lift / windshield - windscreen / pants - trousers / apartment - flat / soccer - football / yard - garden. Besides these words, it is worth noting the different ways of saying the date. Americans say “February 21st”, whereas British say “21st of February”.

• Spelling, on the other hand, also differs in the varieties of English. Generally, words ending in “or” as in the words color, neighbor, humor belong to American English, whereas their British counterparts end in “our”. The same happens with words ending in consonant followed by “re” which belong to British English. On the contrary, those that end in “er” represent American English. Some examples are: centre, litre, metre, etc.

• As for pronunciation, one of the most common differences we often hear about is the pronunciation of “schwa” in final position. Thus, British people, especially those who use the standard accent described as RP, pronounce /mʌðə/, while Americans pronounce /mʌðər/.

•  Finally, grammar is also different. One of many instances of this difference can be seen in collective nouns, which in British English they take either singular or plural verb forms, according to whether the emphasis is on the body as a whole or on the individual members respectively. In American English, collective nouns are almost always singular. As a way of an example, in British English the sentence “The Rolling Stones are an English rock band” is possible, but in American English it’s right to say “The Rolling Stones is an English rock band”.

Discussion
Immigrants and emigration

When we start off reading the book, one of the first things we come across is the idea of "The American dream" which is immediately linked with the "Ellis Island" - a symbol of America's heritage and immigration. It's recorded that during the peak immigration years, an average of 5,000 people were processed per day. Today, one third of Americans can trace their ancestry to the immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island. Then the book goes into the tales of three immigrants: one young woman from Russia, a German boy, and a Polish mother with her newborn baby. 

The Russian girl was an attractive young woman, who arrived in New York with the hopes of getting married to an old countryman acquaintance, but he didn't show up. Obviously, the poor girl felt abandoned and was in quite a critical situation since her entrance was at a standstill until things cleared up. As it turned out, the groom-to-be had changed his mind before the girl went to New York.

The next story concerns a 13-year-old German boy and his family. He was already living in the US when his mother wanted to enter the country. Therefore, in order to be accepted, she first had to take a test on reading because the commissioners questioned people on literacy. This requirement represented a major threat to her because she didn't know how to read, so this is when the boy stepped in quickly memorizing the passage of the book that his mother was supposed to read, and then when she finally sat across the table from the commissioners, the boy got underneath and said the words softly and she said them aloud while looking at the book. In the end, the plan worked out and she was granted the opportunity to get in the US. 

As for the Polish girl, she came across a rather complex situation when she returned to the states after having visited her father, who was seriously sick. As it happened, the Polish lady was hurrying back because she was about to give birth, but as the ship arrived late, her baby was born on board. This case was brought to a good-nature commissioner who wanted the baby to be recognized as a British citizen as it was born in a British ship; however, the British quota had exhausted the day before, as well as the Polish and Belgian ones. But fortunately, the commissioner came up with a fine solution and ruled that since the baby was intended to be born in America, it must be recognized as a native-born American citizen. 

Then the book goes on with the story of the two brothers from Kenya, Vijay and Bhikhu:

Vijay and Bhikhu lived in a quaint little town in Kenya, and although life was difficult in some respects, their mother managed to bring them up properly. At the age of seventeen, Bhikhu set off for London and a year later Vijay followed him. Even though they arrived to London with a few pounds, they saw London as a land of opportunity because they knew they could educate themselves as well as work. Bhikhu wanted to be an architect so he went to the University of Bristol, and Vijay studied pharmacy so as to be able to go into the business.

After some years, Bhikhu gave up being an architect and joined his brother in the pharmacy business. They complemented each other really well, so while Vijay made wealth, Bhikhu looked after it. With such a successful enterprise, they were nominated as the entrepreneurs of the year. 

Nationality stereotypes

This part of the book I think is related to stereotypes and testing the skills to describe nationalities. From my point of view, I think stereotypes exist for a reason: they help us form opinions about people without bothering to getting to know them. 

As far as the book is concerned, people may think Canadians live in a big, frozen land of ice. But what they may not know is that Canada is a bilingual country as 40% of the population has French as a mother tongue. According to what it's said in the book, Canadians are mixed up with Americans which is something that annoys Canadian People.  

Scots are thought to be miserable, dour and unhappy as well as not to be very used to enjoy sunny days. All the same, in the book, a girl argues that as opposed to Londoners most people in Scotland are generous.

As for Americans, Rosemary says the British consider them loud and arrogant. She also says British people have a kind of discontent because America was once a colony of Britain and so, they treat Americans as if they're the rebellious children.

As far as my country, I believe foreigners see us as being quite arrogant, especially the people from neighbor countries. And I think that’s true. I can’t tell what exactly makes Argentinians behave that way, but it’s like we have a complex of superiority in relation to countries such as Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, etc. The same happens when we, ourselves, compare with Spaniards, as we tend to think of us as being better than them, more intelligent than them, which I hardly think it’s true either.


Unit 2: Never Lost for Words

Language focus: Tense review: Simple / Continuous, Perfect / Non-perfect, Active / Passive
Vocabulary: Phrasal verbs: literal and metaphorical
Discussion: Finding out about Iris Murdoch

Language Focus

Tense review

When reviewing tenses in English we have to bear in mind that they have two elements of meaning: time and aspect. Time indicates if the verb action takes place in the past, present of future, and aspect adds further information to the verb action as it answers questions such as is the action completed or in progress? does it have a result to a later time?

Aspect is divided into, let's say, four branches. 

Simple and Continuous

• The simple aspect usually refers to actions that happen all the time: "The sun rises in the east." or actions that are completed: "I've read the book." Also, habits as in "He used to like terror movies" or actions completed in the past: "He wrote the book in 1990."

• The continuous aspect focuses on the duration of an activity, which is not permanent but limited. It is usually used to express a temporary action, for example "She is living overseas." In this particular case, the continuous aspect  reduces the duration of a verb that lasts long such as to live, and makes it temporary. Additionally, the continuous aspect conveys the meaning of progression as in "The year is coming to its end." And empathizes the duration of an action: "I've been waiting for you three hours."

Perfect and Non-perfect

The perfect aspect expresses two ideas:

• An action completed before another time:

"I've been to Europe." (sometime before now)

"I'll have lost weight by the end of the year."

• An action producing a result to a later situation:

"She's studied the papers from top to bottom." (she will pass the exam easily)

"I've read his latests book." (I know the story now)

Active and Passive Voice

Active voice is the "natural", so to speak, and normal voice used in English. By this I mean that it is the one which we use most of the time, and the one we were most likely to learn first. In active voice the attention is on the subject of the action. For example: "Birds eat worms."

Passive voice, on the other hand, moves the focus of attention to the object. The subject is either preserved or left out, and this depending on what the speaker intends to convey. When the subject is omitted it is because it is unknown, unimportant or understood. For example: "Worms are eaten by birds"

Vocabulary

Phrasal verbs: literal and metaphorical

Phrasal verbs are semantic units composed of different particles. They frequently have several meanings, some of which are literal and some metaphorical. It is common that phrasal verbs change and adopt new meanings during the course of time, which is what usually leads a phrasal verb with literal meaning to adopt a metaphoric meaning.

There are four types of phrasal verbs:

1. Verb + adverb
• Literal: "He went off."
• Metaphorical: "The fire has gone off." 

2. Verb + adverb + object
• Literal: "Blow up a balloon."
• Metaphorical: "The building has been browned up."

3. Verb + preposition + object

• Literal: "I ran into an old friend."
• Metaphorical: "The bus ran into a car."

4. Verb + adverb + preposition + object. The meanings of this type are almost always metaphorical.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"I'll go along with you on everything except that." (agree)

Some Phrasal Verbs

• tuck away: 1) eat 2) store, esp in a place difficult to find

• head off: leave somewhere to go to another place

• give away: 1) give something that you do not want or need to someone, without asking them to pay it 2) reveal something secret, often accidentally

• give up: 1) surrender 2) stop doing sth that you did regularly 3) stop trying to do something, esp because it is too difficult

• work out: 1) find a solution "I can't - how to star this machine" 2) do physical exercises 3) formulate or develop "- a plan" 4) develop in a successful way "things have - quite well for us"

• work up: 1) to gradually get excited, angry or anxious "she's - herself up"; "he seemed to be very worked up about something" 2) increase one's skill, responsibility, efficiency "he - to a manager" 3) make you feel in a particular way by mental or physical effort "running works me up an appetite"

• put down: 1) write down 2) bring to an end "the police - the rebellion" 3) humiliate; make remarks that  makes other people feel silly "he has a way of always put me down, and I feel so foolish"

• put up: 1) put sth in a higher position 2) accommodate someone temporarily 3) raise or increase sth "- the prices" 4) suggest a candidate for sth; nominate "the party hopes to - more candidates in the next elections"

• get on with: 1) if people get on, they have a good relationship 2) continue or start doing sth "she told us to - our work"

• get up to: 1) do sth naughty or bad "Those children must be got up to some mischief" 2) reach a particular point "we - the final chapter"

• go in for: 1) make a career choice 2) like; have an interest in "he - classic music" 3) support, advocate "I don't - logging"

• go down with: 1) get ill 2) get a good or bad reaction from someone "The movie didn't go down well with the critics"

Discussion

Finding out about Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch was a prolific novelist and philosopher who was born in 1919 in Dublin, Ireland. She is best known for her novel Under the Net, as well as other works such as The Sea the Sea, The Bell and Jackson's Dilemma.

She grew up in London but always had an Irish background. She studied at Oxford University and later worked there as a teacher of Philosophy. There she met John Bayley, a fellow professor in the same institution to whom she married. They had a long happy relationship but no children.

Jackson's Dilemma is Iris' 26th and last novel and it was published in 1995, four years before her death. Strangely enough, she wrote it while suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer, a disease that caused her to go through a writer's block. She died in 1999 in England.

Unit 3: Big Business

Language focus: Adverb collocations, Adverbs with two forms
Vocabulary: Describing trends, Comparing statistics
Discussion: Planning an advertising campaign, The role of advertising

Language Focus

Adverb collocations

In the majority of the cases, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. However, this does not mean that an adverb can occur interchangeably with any verb or any adjective. Some adverbs collocate specifically with certain verbs or adjectives, and this is so because there is a semantic link between them. For example, the adverb desperately collocates with the adjective anxious but not with happy. The reason why the first two can occur together is because they covey a more or less equal notion, but little relation is there between desperately and happy (though desperately can collocate with unhappy). 

Some commonly used collocations are:

• severely affected/disabled/criticized/damaged.

• eagerly awaited; it also used with verbs such as to seek, to look for, etc.

• try/want/need sth desperately.

• highly can collocate with a large set of adjectives, such as recommended, skilled, successful, unlikely, educated, among others, or verbs as in speak highly of someone or think highly of someone.

• sorely tempted/missed.

• deeply is used many times with emotions, as they can be deep. Therefore, it is accurate to say deeply regret or affected. And also, deeply held conviction or believe.

Adverbs with two forms

Some adverbs have two forms, each one, of course, with a different meaning. There are adverbs that end in -ly and others that don't. To illustrate their differences in meaning we can point out a few examples:

hard vs hardly

In the sentence he works hard, hard is an adverb of manner that expresses effort. However, the adverb hardly in the sentence he hardly works is an adverb of degree that expresses how much or how often the verbs is performed.

fine vs finely

To do sth fine means to do sth well. "Finely", on the other hand, has several meanings. In chop finely, for example, it means into very small pieces.

most vs mostly

In the sentence what do you like most?, most is an adverb of degree which expresses the greatest degree. However, mostly means mainly or generally as in she eats mainly vegetables.

wide vs widely

Wide as an adverb is usually used to say how open sth is. Therefore, we can often hear that the door is wide open. Widely, on the other hand, means by a lot of people or in or to many places as for example the sentence this book is widely read and English is widely spoken all around the world.

wrong vs wrongly

In the sentence It all went wrong, wrong is an adverb of manner that expresses that something happened in a bad way, and wrongly means by mistake as in I wrongly accused him of having cheated.

Vocabulary

Describing trends

Well, when it comes to describing trends, it's a foremost conclusion that if one wants to describe trends, and more if they are business trends, one must at least be familiar with some vocabulary expressing the ups and downs of figures as well as when they get steady. 

UP

• leap: V N upward motion

• soar: V rise or fly upwards

• pick up: V improve in condition or activity

• shoot up: V increase dramatically in amount

DOWN

• slump: V N decline suddenly; collapse

• tumble: V N collapse, fall off

• plummet: V decline suddenly and steeply

• plunge: V N decrease dramatically

Stop moving

• peak: V bring to a maximum of value, intensity

• level out: V move toward stability or consistency

• even out: V become even, as by the removal of bumps, inequalities

• bottom out: V descend to the lowest point possible

To start off, I'm going to describe the web search interest on the word Ipad, from January 2010 up to date. In other words, I'm going to explain the trend that represents the popularity of that word, taking into account how much the Google search box was used to look for it. This graph represents the web search interest I'm talking about:

In the vertical column of the graph the number 100 represents the peak, the maximum level of popularity, although the exact number of times the word was searched is not displayed.

1. In the beginning of the time line, in January of 2010, the popularity of the Ipad starts off soaring pretty high, and this is because in this particular time the Ipad I was announced. However, it immediately tumbles to the bottom, reaching the lowest point during this period. Then again, when the Ipad is released the interest picks up sharply again.

2. In the segment represented by the number two, there is a slight rise after the novelty had faded away. Nevertheless, later the interest evens out until December when it gradually goes up, drops a little, and then closes up the year of 2010 taking a nice leap.

3. In the segment 3, the Ipad II is released and tops its elder sibling's popularity. In this way, it enjoys a very high but brief moment of glory because after a short time it plummets substantially until it finds a steady path and levels out. But then again, as the the next Ipad is announced in the early 2012, googlers make the Ipad's popularity shoot up once again.

4. In March of 2012, Apples' popularity with the Ipad shows off it maximum peak as the mighty Ipad III is released. However, short afterwards the imminent downfall arrives but it's worth saying that the trend levels out higher the previous steady stages.

Comparing statistics

The statistic chart in the book shows John and David's salary figures as well as their expenditure per month.

John earns €3,000 per month, though it falls short of David's salary, which goes up to €8,000. Thanks to his bigger salary which is almost three times as much as John's, David can indulge himself where John might not. Accordingly, David's accommodation costs twice the price as John's, and his bills are four time the amount John pays for.

However, the one single department where David gets edged out is clothes. John spends €300 a month, while David only 200. But when it comes to going out, John is still behind David as they spend 315 and 400 respectively.

Furthermore, John's transport expenditure reaches €500 per month, while David uses, once again, almost three times as much as John does; and that is €1400. Finally, John picks up 250 in food. David, however, tops that figure as he spends €500.

Discussion

Planning an advertising campaign

There's this company called StayWell which is having some financial difficulties. Its chief product is a drink called Sogood, but the problem is that it's getting a bit outdated. Costumers are mostly people of advanced age who are passing away little by little. Therefore, the sales are decreasing accordingly.

Well, this topic needs a kind of role playing, and my job is to relaunch the drink but not without some major changes that will guarantee its newfound success.

First off, I believe the bottle needs to be completely redesigned. To this end, we're going to get rid of the old-fashioned dark brown glass bottle, and taking its place, a nice-looking clear bottle made up of plastic (which is more economic) will be launched. Additionally, instead of the traditional screwing cap, the new bottle will feature a much more practical one, which will only need the flick of a thumb to be open or closed.

Second, the new design will be accompanied by a strong advertising campaign, indented both to gain new customers and to keep the old ones. This is so because I'm inclined to believe the new look will most likely confuse the longtime customers, so the approach of the advertisements will be partly meant to solve this problem.

Additionally, there will also be a new formula with more vitamins and a green coloring, which, by the way, is the reason of the transparent bottle. We need to show off a bright eye-catching color to be able to keep up with competitors

Finally, the distribution will no longer be pharmacy exclusive since it will be available in Supermarkets which means that sales will pick up, so it won't be necessary to increase the price of Sogood.

The role of advertising

From my point of view, advertising is a very important and necessary link in the economy of nowadays. However, although it has its pros, cons are never absent. Most of the time, cons have to do with the fact that advertising has a social cost as it tends to exert a psychological pressure on potential customers.

On the other hand, even though ads inform us of what is available, the primary aim is almost always to suggest, persuade and sometimes even pressure us. At the same time, advertising seems to have the power to constantly create new needs, which in my opinion has a positive effect in the long term because it makes technology to keep its progress.

Said this, I believe advertising is as whole a positive phenomenon. However, it's also true that sometimes when one watches, hears or reads an advertisement, one can't help but to feel a bit irritated because of the way they intend to fool people, which sometimes is outrageously obvious. 

Unit 4: Celebrity

Language focus: Discourse markers, Tags and replies
Vocabulary: Synonyms and antonyms
Discussion: Maze: how to become a A-list celebrity

Language Focus

Discourse markers

Discourse markers are expressions that help to develop ideas and relate them to one another. They give the speaker the means to steer the dialogue however he or she wants.

The functions of discourse markers are diverse, and are often related to tasks such as: to initiate the discourse, to serve as a filler or delaying tactic, to change the subject, to clarify, to persuade, etc. They also show the speaker's attitude to what has been said or what he or she is saying.

Words like actually, so, OK, right? and anyway all function as discourse markers as they help the speaker to build the conversation.

For learners of English as a second language some discourse markers may be of rather difficult comprehension as there's sometimes no exact correlation between the expressions of the different languages. To illustrate, a few examples of discourse markers that may be rather obscure are:

• Admittedly, which expresses that something cannot be denied or that it has to be admitted, and therefore, its use weakens what is being said. An example to this is the sentence: "The Big Bang is only a theory, admittedly, but then again, so is gravity and I don't see anyone jumping off buildings."
• Surely is another discourse marker whose meaning might be rather difficult to understand. When used with a negative or in questions, it shows that something surprises you and you don't want to believe it. For example: "Surely, you don't believe that" and "surely it's obvious?"
• After all, on the other hand, means nevertheless, or ultimately. It emphasizes something to be considered: "after all, she's your boss, so invite her."
• Mind you is a phrase introducing something that should be taken into consideration. For example: "I like him. Mind you, he's not behaving well."
• Finally, the expression so to speak means that something is said in a certain way, even though the words are not exactly accurate. For example: "He always stands up for me. He's my lawyer, so to speak."

Question Tags

Question tags are special constructions that function as mini-questions at the end of sentences. 

One of their uses is for asking the listener to reply to what we have just said and thus keep the conversation going. In this case, we pronounce the question tag with a falling intonation.

This town has a beautiful weather, doesn't it

However, when we really want to know something, we pronounce with a rising intonation.

She didn't lie, did she?

It's worth pointing out that if a statement is positive, the question tag after it is framed with a negative auxiliary. If the statement is negative, then the question tag is positive.

However, there are some instances where these rules aren't applied. Same way tags precede affirmative sentences, yet they're positive. These tags are used to express interest, surprise, concern, or some other reaction.

So you're her mother, are you? She's my teacher.

Finally, reinforcement tags are used to show that the speaker knows what he/she is talking about.

She's a clever girl, she is.

Vocabulary

Synonyms and antonyms

One of the points of the unit 4 deals with is synonyms and antonyms and some of the words that are either compared (synonyms) or contrasted (antonyms) are the following:

• Reverence

synonyms: admiration, adoration, worship, praise

antonyms: contempt, scorn

• Mercy

synonyms: sympathy, clemency, compassion, forgiveness, pity

antonyms: brutality, cruelty, harshness, inhumanity

• Contempt

synonyms: disdain, hatred

antonyms: admiration, esteem, honor, respect

• Bestow:

synonyms: award, confer, give

antonyms: acquire, attain, earn

Discussion

Maze- how to become an A-list celebrity

This part of the program is related to a game in which you use a set cards describing different situations, and then choose between different options and so on. However, it's not possible to play the game individually, so if you let me I'll talk about the main text in the unit N° 4 which is entitled the Cult of Celebrity.

The text begins talking about how fame takes you from a private life to a place where you are in the public eye, and where you become the object of different kinds of sentiments such as criticism, admiration, ridicule, spite and such things as that. It defines fame as something we build up and later we knock down.

Then, the text goes further and poses the question of why fame is so desirable, which emerges from the amazement arose by the readiness of people to allow themselves to be filmed on the most undignified situations in shows like, for example, a fly-on-the-wall documentary. A popular answer provided by a group of 10-year-olds is that they want to be famous no matter for what, just famous.

The American writer Norman Mailer said that part of the obsession of being famous comes from the desire to get to immortality, or to be a sort of God because in a society with no faith in an afterlife, celebrities are the new Gods.
Unit 5: Love is...?

Language focus: Ways of adding emphasis
Vocabulary: Proverbs and poetry
Discussion: Do you believe in fate?

Language Focus

Ways of adding emphasis

• Cleft sentences

Cleft sentences are structures used to emphasize a part of a sentence. They are particularly useful in writing where we cannot use intonation for the purpose of emphasis, but they are also frequently used in formal speech.

From the sentence "Lucy moved to London" we can frame a set of different sentences emphasizing different words:

"What Lucy did was move to London."

"Where Lucy moved to was London."

"Why Lucy moved to London was because..."
To emphasize the person who did the action we use preparatory it:

"It was Lucy who moved to London."

However, preparatory it is also used to highlight different elements of a sentence as in:

"It was London where Lucy moved to."

Besides using wh-words, we can use structures such as the reason why, the thing that, the person/people who, the place where as in the sentence:

"The place where Lucy moved to was London."

•  Negative inversion

Negative inversion is the altered use of the standard pattern subject+auxiliary+main verb of positive sentences. It is a construction where the auxiliary is placed before the subject for the purpose of making a sentence more emphatic or dramatic. Before the inverted pattern a negation such as not, no, never, nothing, etc. or a word implying negation such as only, hardly, scarcely, seldom, rarely, etc is placed. Phrases containing one of the negative adverbials not until, no sooner, in no way, nowhere are also used in negative inversion. For example:

"Never had he ran so fast."

"Only then did I understand the problem."

"Rarely does she get bored."

"No sooner had winter began, than she caught a cold."

•  Pronunciation

In spoken English pronunciation is the most important way of adding emphasis. This is performed by stressing individual words to make them stand out from the rest. For example:

"John likes the brown shoes."

"John likes the brown shoes."

"John likes the brown shoes."

"John likes the brown shoes."

•  Emphatic do, does, did

They give emphasis in positive statements in the present and past simple, and also in the imperative. For example:

"He does seem to have fallen in love with Lucy."

"She does care for their pets."

"I did go to visit my relatives."

"Do take some days off."

Vocabulary

Proverbs

In the book there are some proverbs such as
1. Love is blind.
2. The course of true love never did run smooth.
3. All the world loves a lover.
4. Cold hands, warm heart.
5. All's fair in love and war.
6. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
7. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
8. Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
9. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
10. A little of what you fancy does you good.
11. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
12. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Discussion

Do you believe in fate?

No, I don't. I don't believe that everything that happens is, as they say, written or preordained. What I believe is that you steer your own destiny which, at the same time, is highly influenced by your surrounding as well as by a wide range of different coincidences which can be either beneficial or detrimental to you.

Other than that, I'd like to believe fate doesn't exist as I'm not fond of the feeling that everything that's going to happen to me and to everything is already determined by some superior power, and thereby I'm just like an automatic piece of machinery.

Therefore, my opinion is that one's future is ruled by every single action you do, and to some extend by actions you receive from others. In such cases spontaneousness play an important role.

Unit 6: Newspeak

Language focus: Distancing the facts: Passive constructions, Seem and appear
Vocabulary: Nouns formed from phrasal verbs
Discussion: How television reports the news

Language Focus

Passive constructions

Passive voice is used to put a certain distance between the writer or speaker and the facts. In newspapers this structure is very commonly used because it allows the writer to give information without stating it to be categorically true. In newspaper articles there are some verbs that are particularly used for reporting. For example, allege, announce, say, report, understand, believe, etc.

One passive voice pattern is framed with it + passive verb + that clause or alternatively to infinitive. For example:

"It is expected that the president will return from Europe tomorrow morning."

"It has been decided to relocate the venue for the concert."

Another pattern is framed with subject + passive voice + to infinitive. For example:

"They have been warned not to break the rules again."

"Will is believed to be who stole the money yesterday."

Seem and appear

Seem and appear are used in passive constructions to state something but without being completely certain about it. The two patterns already mentioned are applied here as well.

"It seems that the weather outlook wasn't right."

"She appears to have gone completely crazy."

Vocabulary

Nouns formed from phrasal verbs

The versatility of English allows us to form nouns from many phrasal verbs. Therefore, from the verb break down and one of its meanings which is to divide into parts for analysis, the noun breakdown expresses the action, so we can say "break down the theory" and "the theory breakdown". Some other nouns formed from phrasal verbs are:

takeaway: food you buy to eat at home

downpour: heavy rain

shakeup: a situation in which a lot of changes are made

outfit: a set of clothes worn together

downfall: failure after success

setback: a problem that delays or stops progress

outbreak: sudden star of a disease or of violence

backlash: extreme reaction to an event

upkeep: maintenance

slip-up: a careless mistake

showdown: argument or fight

upturn: improvement

outburst: a sudden expression of strong feelings

Discussion

How television reports the news

Television reports the news in a very dynamic way. They focus on one story, develop it and then they go on to the next one with words such as "in other news". However, when there's a major story or something that's worth devoting more time, especially when it is a dramatic felony, they usually take several days to develop it thoroughly. Therefore, it's not their intention to quickly cut to the chase, but to elaborate on the story by taking into account all minor details such as the involved people's background, what witnesses or testimonies have to say, the clues police might come up with, etc. Besides that, it is also common that they make a short dramatic film where they describe the story with the intention of getting people engaged.

On the other hand, when it comes to minor news that seem to be worth reporting only the same day they take place, television tends to favor those that happened to be filmed whether by some casual passer-by, a surveillance camera, etc. Therefore, as opposed to something that wasn't filmed, an accident that was indeed filmed is more likely to have a spot on the TV news as it is more appealing the audience.

Unit 7: Words of Wisdom

Language focus: Modal auxiliary verbs: Present, Future and Past
Vocabulary: Rhyme and reason: choosing the right words for a poem
Discussion: Prediction game: Dilemma! How well do you know your classmates?

Language Focus

Modal auxiliary verbs

•  Present and Future

Will is used to talk about something certain or factual that will happen in the future.

“I won’t travel on vacation, so I will spend the free time reading some books.”

Will is also used to express that we strongly believe that something is true in the present.

“She will be studying now because tomorrow she has an exam.”

Must and Can’t: Must is used to assert what we infer to be the most logical assumption of a situation.

“They look alike, they must be brothers.”

Can’t is the negative form of must when expressing with this sense.

“She can’t know the truth, I didn’t tell anybody.”

Should expresses what we expect to happen and it also carries the meaning that we want whatever is predicted to happen, therefore it is not used to express negative ideas.

“We should arrive before dark.”

May expresses the possibility that something will happen or is already happening.

“That may or may not be true.”

Might, like may, expresses possibility but suggest a smaller chance.

“If you sleep well, you might feel better tomorrow.”

Could is used in a similar way to might.

“It could rain, but I doubt it.”

But the negative form of could does not express possibility. Instead, might not is used with this meaning.

“It looks like it could rain, but It might not.”

Can is used to express what is generally true and logically possible.

“Cycling can be dangerous.”

Can cannot be used to predict future possibility. We have use will be possible or will be able to instead.

“In the future it will be possible for people to travel to the moon.”

•  Past

All the modal verbs that I mentioned form their past form with a construction consisting of the verb itself plus “have” plus “past participle”.

•  Other uses of modal verbs

Obligation

Must is used to express a strong obligation (the past form is had to). Should is used to express a mild obligation: “You must/should rest.”

Permission

Can and may are used to ask permission, but may is more formal: “Can/May I ask you a question?”

Ability

Can is used to express a general ability; the past form is could: "She can swim."

But when we want to express a particular ability in the past, we generally use was able to: “Last time, I was able to pass the exam.”

Willingness

Won’t expresses a refusal, by either things or people. The past is wouldn’t: “She said she wouldn’t lend me any money.”

Characteristic behavior

Will is used to express characteristic behavior; the past is would: "He will listen to music, alone in his room, for hours."

Vocabulary

Rhyme and reason: choosing the right words for a poem

Discussion

Prediction game: Dilemma! How well do you know your classmates?

Well, although this is a group work activity, I think I can manage to do it by myself.

When we were assigned to develop this unit, the number 7, to put it in the wikispace we considered that we, I mean our group, have been classmates and friends for almost two years, ever since we started university. We can safely say that we know each other. However, It is most likely that we do not know each other as much as we might know other friends of ours we have grown up with, or known for a longer period of time.

Dilemma! is a game that will test, ideally, each one of the group members, but in this especial occasion, it only tests me on how much I actually know my classmates.

The game consists of several cards with hypothetical situations, so we get one and then we guess what one of our classmates would do if said situation were real. Then, they say if what the other says is true or not.

• Situation 1: Mica have been to a party with a friend, who is supposed to be driving her home. It is late at night and time to go home, but she thinks her friend has had too much to drink, even though he insists that he can drive all right.

I think Mica wouldn't let this friend drive her home because she is well aware of the risks it would mean. However, It is very likely she dares to drive the car herself, even though she hasn't yet completely mastered how to drive.

• Situation 2: Tania is looking for a house to buy. She finds a beautiful one which is really quite cheap. Then she learns that it is supposed to be haunted.

I might be wrong but I don't think Tania would be brave enough to move in a haunted house. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's superstitious, but the mere idea of some spooky thing wandering around home would make her hesitate and ultimately turn her back to it.

• Situation 3: Carli is having a dinner party at her house. A husband and wife that she has invited suddenly begin to have a violent argument.

To tell you the truth, I've seen Carli entangled in this sort of situation quite a few times. Therefore, from my experience I can tell that she would most likely say something like "why don't we talk about how wonderful this night is", or maybe she would tell a silly joke or throw one of her antics in order to put the argument to an end.

• Situation 4: Evan has just had a meal in an expensive restaurant. The bill comes, and you realize you have no money and no credit cards on you.

Well, as far as Evan I believe he would wait until the waiter is busy and/or far-off, make sure there are no surveillance cameras and go away and never come back.


Unit 8: Altered Images
Language focus: Real and unreal tense usage, Past tenses to express unreality
Vocabulary: Metaphors and idioms
Discussion: Appreciating art, My favorite work of art

Language Focus

Real and unreal tense usage – Past tenses to express unreality

English tense can be used to refer to fact and to non-fact. Fact is what is considered to be real or quite possible; non-fact is what is supposed or wished for, which is either unreal or improbable.

Tenses used to refer to fact are related to real time, which means that a past verb form refers to the past. Tenses used to refer to non-fact are not related to real time; thus, this unreality is expressed by shifting the verb form backwards even though what's being expressed refers to the present.

This distinction between fact and non-fact is closely related to the use of conditionals.

• Type 1: Real 

Type 1 conditional sentences are based on fact in real time. They express a possible condition and its probable result: "If you don't harry up, they will leave without you."

> In the condition clause, will is sometimes used to express willingness or insistence and won't refusal.

"If you'll save little money every month, when you're old you'll have lots of it"

"If the dog won't stop barking all night, I'll get it inside."

"If he will misbehave at work, he'll get suspended." (insistence: will is stressed and not contracted.)

> Should and happen to make the possibility of an event seem unlikely.

"If you should/happen to see her, could you ask her to call me?"

> There are several other words that can perform the function of if, such as provided that, supposing, unless, etc.

• Type 2: Unreal

Type 2 conditional sentences are not based on fact. They express a hypothetical condition and its probable result. This unreality is shown by a tense shift backwards. By using a past verb form in this this type of conditionals, the speaker suggests that the situation is less probable, impossible, or imaginary.

"I gas were for free, I would drive up to Alaska."

> This conditional type can make a suggestion more polite.

"Would you mind if I opened the window slightly?"

> Would is the past form of will in type 1 which in type 2 also expresses willingness.

• Type 3: Unreal

Type 3 conditional sentences, like type 2, are not based on fact. They express a situation which is contrary to reality in the past. This unreality is again shown by a tense shift backwards.

"If I had known she was an spy, I wouldn't have fallen into the trap."

• Type 2 and type 3 mixed

It is possible for each of the two clauses in a conditional sentence to have a different time reference, and the result is a mixed conditional.

"If I had started to like English when I was 12, I would speak better by now."

If I had started to like English when I was 12 didn't happen in the past, so it is contrary to a past fact.  I would speak better by now is contrary to a present fact.

> When the type 2 conditional refers to the future, it is "unmixed" which means that both clauses have to be framed with the same tense. Hence, the conditional sentence "I would go on vacation next January If I hadn't bought a new cell phone" is more properly framed "I would have gone on vacation next January If I hadn't bought a new cell phone".

Vocabulary

Metaphors and idioms

In the vocabulary part, the unit 8 focuses on metaphors and idioms. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison. An idiom is a semantic expression that consists of a group of words whose meaning cannot be deduced from their individual components, but from the unit as a whole. 

Some metaphors and idioms displayed in the book are:

time flies: times goes so fast

slave away: working extremely hard

be tied up: very busy

bit off more than we can chew: try to do something which is too difficult or more that one can manage to do

Furthermore, some more metaphors are sorted out into different categories.

Metaphors that have to do with the body

point the finger at someone: put the blame on

Metaphors to do with light

be overshadowed: appearing inferior in comparison to someone or something else

Metaphors involving nature

blossom: develop successfully

Metaphors that have to do with movement

reach a crossroad: reach a point in life when an important choice has to be made

Other metaphors and idioms are:

snowed under: have a lot of work to do

keeping our heads above water: manage to survive, especially financially / keep up with one's work

tighten one's belt: make a lot of economies

pick up: improve

sleepy: where not much happens

must dash: must go

have a few hiccups: have a few small problems

broke his heart: hurt him very deeply

take one's breath away: leave you stunned and unable to speak

come to one in a flash: it suddenly occurred to me

glowing with pride: visibly very, very proud

sparked my interest: awakened my interest

it dawned on me: I realized

stormy relationship: a relationship in which people row a lot

blazing rows: very angry rows with lots of shouting

in floods of tears: crying a lot

the root of: the fundamental cause of

haven't the foggiest idea: really don't know or understand

followed in his father's footsteps: did what his father did

rambling speech: long-winded and poorly-planned speech

going round in circles: making no progress at all

great strides: very significant and rapid progress

Discussion

Appreciating art – My favorite work of art

Art is such a complex concept, if it actually can be restricted to be boundaries laid by the very word concept. After taking the time to muse on the idea of art and also to research about it, I realized that it is not an easy task to materialize art through language because it refuses to give in to definition, reason, and explanation.

I believe that the ability to appreciate art lies on the innermost reasoning of human beings, which is sometimes so deep beneath the surface of our thinking that we tend to disregard the beauty that everyday is set right before our eyes. However, at the beginning of our lives when we're yet uncorrupted art appreciation blossoms. During our first years we learn language through songs, we enjoy drawing without restraint, we just give free rein to our own art.

As far as my favorite works of art, what I enjoy the most is the stimulation that evokes from words and music. I like literature, stories, the art of writing to express the most complex ideas and feelings. However, poetry is something that I find utterly boring. Other form of art that I do enjoy is music, the kind of music that takes you from this world to a surreal environment. There are some songs that I feel are a mixture of both these two forms of art, the art of expressing feelings through well-written songs and music. That is, a good rhythmic pattern and awesome lyrics.
8680 words