business english course 1

8/7/2019 Business English Course 1

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Business English Course 1


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Business Introduction

Introducing yourself1. I'm Jackie, Im John. (Use first name in informal

situations)

2. I'm John Kennedy. I'm Jackie O'Neill. (Use fullname in business and formal situations)

3. (It's) nice to meet you.

(It's) nice meeting you.

(It's) good to meet you.

N.B. Listen to others introducing themselves. Say "Nice to

meet you" and repeat their names. Smile and shake hands

if appropriate.


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Notes:

1. It is not common to use titles (Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.) when

referring to yourself.

However, it is polite to use titles with others in formal

situations, unless they give you permission to do otherwise.

Examples:

I'm Mr. Robert Smith. (If you want to keep the relationship

formal)

(After an introduction)

Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith.

Oh, please call me "Bob.

2. Do not use titles with first names, and do not use last

names alone without titles.

Hello, Mr. Bob (Wrong!)

Hi, Bob (Okay)

Good morning, Smith (Wrong!)

Good morning, Mrs. Smith (Correct)


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Introducing people: Informal

This is my boss, Mr. Stratford.Jared, this is my secretary, Barbara.

Good to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

I'd like you to meet my co-worker, Collin Beck.

Collin, this is Susan Palmer.

Nice to meet you.

My pleasure.

Have you met, Jason?

I don't believe we've met. I'm Greg.


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Simple Present

The simple present tense takes one of two forms depending on the subject.

I, you, they, we, plural nouns (Base form: eat, work, write)

She, he, it, singular nouns, non-count nouns (-S form: eats, works, writes)

Exercises:

1. Jerry (come/comes) to school on time.

2. Jerry and Linda (come/comes) to school on time.

3. Ms. Jones (teach/teaches) geography.

4. The cat (sleep/sleeps) on the sofa every day.

5. Milk (cost/costs) two dollars a quart.


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Use the simple present tense to indicate:

1. Routine actions

2. Facts

Examples

Routine actions

John brushes his teeth every morning.

Carol usually drives to work.

F

actsHawaii is in the Pacific Ocean.

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

Exercises

Tell whether the present tense is appropriate in the following

sentences.1. Yesterday I go to Washington D.C.

2. Every day, Mr. Johnson cleans his living room.

3. They usually take the bus to the office.

4. Right now Susan eats her breakfast.

5. Melinda and Harry work in the bank.


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S

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Pa

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t

1. The simple past tense is expressed with the past form

of the verb.

My grandfather died last year.

2. The simple past tense refers to

a. action which occurred at a specific time in the past

b. completed action

c. past status

Ex

amples: Specific past action

I ate lunch at noon today.

He drove to work yesterday.

Completed action

She finally mailed the letter.Jan finished her report on time.

Past status

John was still single in 1995.

Jane was a movie star.


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Exercises:

Change the verbs in the following sentence into past tense.

1. Yesterday, I go to the restaurant with a client.

2. We drive around the parking lot for 20 minutes in order to

find a parking space.3. When we arrive at the restaurant, the place is full.

4. The waitress asks us if we have reservations.

5. I say, "No, my secretary forgets to make them."

6. The waitress tells us to come back in two hours.

7. My client and I slowly walk back to the car.8. Then we see a small grocery store.

9. We stop in the grocery store and buy some sandwiches.

10. That is better than waiting for two hours.

Correct the mistakes in the following sentences:

1. Last night, Samantha have pizza for supper.2. My pet lizard was died last month.

3. Yesterday I spend two hours cleaning my living room.

4. This morning before coming to class, Jack eats two bowls of

cereal.

5. What was happened to your leg?


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Future Simple

In English the Future Time is expressed in a number of ways.

The most common are with willand be going to.

I will finish my homework in an hour.

I'm going to finish my homework in an hour.

With be going to, make sure the verb be agrees with itssubject.

I'm going to eat a whole watermelon.

She's going to eat a whole watermelon.

In speech, the words going to are often pronounced ? gonna .?

Don't forget the be verb.A: What are you gonna do this weekend?

B: I'm gonna stay home and watch a movie.

NOT: I gonna stay?

NOT: I'm gonna to stay?


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What's the difference between willand be goingto?

- Be going to is preferable for strong intentions or for

describing sure future.

- Willis the preferable form for making offers or

expressing pop decisions.N.B. Sometimes future time can be expressed with

either the presentor present progressive tense. In

such cases, time words must be expressed or

clearly implied.

I fly to New York tomorrow.

I'm flying to New York tomorrow.


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Present Progressive

The present progressive tense takes the form be + V ing.

The form ofbe is determined by the subject of the sentence.

He is singing.

She is listening.

T

hey are sleeping.I am going home.

In English, the present progressive is used to indicate actions happening

at the time of speaking, or right now.

Jake is speaking to his mother right now.

The present progressive can also be used to indicate actions occurring

over a period of time which includes the present.

I'm taking five classes at the university.

Grace is working at a chemical factory.

The present progressive is sometimes used to indicate future actions.


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Yes/No question

There are many types of questions in English. The easiest are questions that can be

answered "yes" or "no."

A: Are you from around here?

B: Yes, I am.

A: Can I buy you a drink?

B: No, thanks.

To form a question from a statement, first countthe number of verbs.

- John is a doctor.

One verb: is (be)

- Jane drives a sports car.

One verb: drives

- Jan is eating her dinner.

Two verbs: is eating

- Jen has been living there since 1969.

Three verbs: has been living


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If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is a form of

be, simply switch the positions of the subject and verb.Statement:

John is a doctor.

Question:

Is John a doctor?

If there are two verbs, simply switch the positions of thesubject and firstverb.

Statement:

Jan is eating dinner.

Jen has been living here since 1969.

Question:

Is Jan eating dinner?

Has Jen been living here since 1969?


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If there is one verb, and the verb is not a form ofbe, the process is more

complex.

1. Add Do to the beginning of the sentence.

The Johnsons live in that house.

Do the Johnsons live in that house?

2. If the main verb "carries" a third person singular s, move the s to Do, making it

Does.

Jane drives a car.

Do Jane drives a car? (Not finished yet!)

Does Jane drive a car? (Good question!)

3. If the main verb "carries" past tense, move the past tense to Do, making it Did.

Joan played basketball last night.

Do Joan played basketball? (Not finished yet!)

Did Joan play basketball? (Good question!)

In British English, the main verb have sometimes functions like be in questions.

This is

not common in American English.

Statement

You have a pet ferret.

Question

Have you a pet ferret? (British)

Do you have a pet ferret? (American)


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WH questionWhen? Time

Where? Place

Who? Person

Why? Reason

How? Manner

What? ObjectOther words can also be used to inquire about specific

information:

Which (one)? Choice

Whose? Possession

How much? Price, amount (non-count)How many? quantity

How long? Duration

How often? frequency

How far? Distance

What kind (of)? description


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Singular vs. Plural English nouns can be classified as count(singular and plural)

and non-count.

The singularform is used when considering the noun as a

single item (count) or entity (non-count).

(Brick, dog, airplane, person, foot, water, sugar, truth,

education)

The pluralform is used when considering more than one ofthe same item. Non-count nouns do not have a plural form.

(Bricks, Dogs, Airplanes, People, feet)

Regular plural (s, es)

Irregular plural

Non-count nouns do not have a plural form; however, some

nouns can be used in both the countand non-countsense:

- I have a lot of experience.

- I have a lot of experiences.


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This, That, These, Those

Demonstratives are used to point out a particular item.

They are as follows:

This (indicates something close to the speaker)

That(indicates something away from the speaker)

These (indicates some things close to the speaker)

Those (indicates some things away from the speaker)

Example:

A: What is this? (pointing to something held in the speaker's

hand or near the speaker)

B: A pencil.

A: What is that? (pointing to something at a distance from

the speaker)

B: A tree.


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Be sure to use this/thatwith singular and non-count nouns

and these/those with count nouns.

- This orange is sour.

- These oranges are sweet.- That truck is full.

- Those trucks are empty.

- This milk is fresh.

On the telephone, this and thatare used differently in

British and American English to identify callers.Example:

Receiver: Hello.

Caller: I was wondering if you would be interested in buying . .

.

Receiver: Who is this? (American) / Who is that? (British)

(Both expressions are used to ask the caller to identify

himself/herself.)

Caller: This is Mr. Fuller from the Acme Brush Company.

(Same for both British and American English)


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Prepositions: In, On, and At

The prepositions in, on, and atcan be used to indicate time

and place. Notice how they are used in the following

situations:

In

Year, Month, In 1999, In December

Country, State, City In Japan, In Utah, InTaipei

On

Day, Date On Saturday, On May 1

Street On Main Street, On 1st Ave.

AtTime At 8:00, At 7:30

Address At 815 East Main Street

- Just remember that in usually indicates the "largest" time or

place, and atusually indicates the "smallest" time or place.


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When talking about locations, use atto

indicate the general area, and in to indicateinside the building, enclosed area. For

example:

1- at the swimming pool (on site)

- in the swimming pool (in the pool itself i.e. inthe water)

2- at the post office/bank (general)

- in the post office/bank (inside the building)

3- at the zoo (visitors, general area)- in the zoo (animals in their cages)

4- at school

- in the classroom


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Classroom question:

How do you say it in English?

How do you spell it?

How do you pronounce it? Please say it again.

Please speak more slowly.

I don't understand.

business english course 1

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