old map of england and scotland - liceocanicatti.gov.it english... · old map of england and...

Old map of England and Scotland

where the Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Northern Germany

implanting the nucleus of the Anglo-Saxon language (’Old English’),

which would become ‘Middle English’ after the Norman invasion of

England in 1066 and ‘Modern English’ from

Shakespeare on.

Map of the United States of America

Which became the first and most influential country of English spea-

kers outside the British Isles when the Plilgrim Fathers on the “May

Flower” entered the harbour at Cape Cod on the 11th November

1620.

English in the WORLD

English is officially spoken in many countries (over 50) in the World

as the main language (see red areas on the map below) but is present

in many other parts especially as the language for business, research

etc. and due to the growing military, economic and cultural

influence of the United States, it has become the ‘global language’

at every level of communication today, even in local versions like

“Singlish”, a pidgin variety spoken in Singapore.

ENGLISH VERBS & CO.

This grammar is dedicated to the poor children of

Africa, in particular to the orphans suffering from

HIV/AIDS in Tanga (Tanzania) where the

“Associazione Casa Rosetta - NGO” runs a wonder-

ful centre

Tanga December 2008

CONTENTS

PART I Expressing Present Time

- Unit 1: Present Simple p. 2

- Unit 2: Present Continuous p. 5

- Unit 3: To Be and To Have p. 9

- Unit 4: The Imperative p. 14

- Test / Notes p. 16-18

PART II Expressing Past Time

- Unit 4: Past Simple p. 21

- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect p. 25

B-Present Perfect Continuous p. 30

-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect p. 33

B- Past Perfect Continuous p. 35

C- Past Progressive p. 37

D- Used to p. 39


PART III Expressing Future Time

- Unit 7: A- Present Simple p. 47

B- Present Continuous p. 48

- Unit 8: A- Going to - form p. 49

B- will (’ll) form p. 51

- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous p. 54

B-Future Perfect p. 56


PART IV Verbs & Co

- Unit 10: Modal verbs p. 63

- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech p. 70

- Unit 12: Passive verbs p. 76

- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses p. 80

B- time clauses p. 84


- Appendix I: Irregular verbs p. 92

- Appendix II: Phrasal verbs p. 98

PART I

Expressing Present Time There are 2 main ways of expressing the present in English: the Simple

Present, for routines and the Present Continuous, to describe actions which

are happening at that precise moment in time. We’ll also deal with the 2

auxiliary verbs To Be and To Have in the third Unit.

- Unit 1: Present Simple p. 2

- Unit 2: Present Continuous p. 5

- Unit 3: To Be and To Have p. 9

- Unit 4: The Imperative p. 14

- Test p. 16

- Notes p. 18

Introduction to

A copy cut and paste compact Grammar of English

The idea of writing a compact grammar for my students came to me a year ago, while I was revising

modal verbs with my third year class last year.

Just before the test, one of my students, Martina, showed me her notes on the Modal verbs we had just

revised: a computer chart, quick and easy to compile and understand with every variety of modal ac-

companied by examples and translation in Italian.

Not exactly communicative! But it was clear and practical ! Why not to do the same for the rest of the

grammar? With a group of students from that class (who had already worked on the school news-

sheet in English “YOU’RE HERE!”) we began to look at other areas of grammar in a similar way and

gradually at the beginning of the year the basis for this book emerged. We would try to make this

grammar as user-friendly as possible beginning with the revision of the English Verb system. I want-

ed students to understand at a glance how easy English verbs are. The most complicated verb, the

auxiliary verb to BE has only 8 forms and the normal regular verb has only 4 forms. Through charts

and the use of colour the grammar rule would be easily understood. This work is intended for every-

one who has attended some basic course in English at school or university and wants to go on to the

intermediate level (e.g. P.E.T./F.C.E./upper secondary school/university exams/students on Erasmus

exchange programs in English speaking countries etc.). In this analysis of the English verb system the

students will be able to assess the English verb and tense system from a global point of view. For

example, right from the start they will see the normal uses of the Present Simple together with the

more advanced application of this tense in “if” clauses. For the final version polished and printed

correctly, I am especially grateful to four of my school students, who have worked on this project

right from the start inspiring many of its qualities: Martina, Ilaria, Roberta and Erika. A thanks to

Gabriella Bosco for her original drawings. The responsibility for any mistakes present in this work

is only mine! In any case we welcome your comments and suggestions. Use our e-mail: farmaci-

[email protected]

2008/2009

Author and Project Co-ordinator

Pietro Cipolla

Liceo Scientifico St. “A. Sciascia”

Canicattì (AG)

www. …

Unit 1: Present Simple A) How is it formed ?

The Present Simple

is formed by adding the base form to the subject for all the forms except the third person sin-

gular. We use the do auxiliary for the interrogative and the don’t for he negative. With the

third person singular (HE/SHE/IT) remember to add an “s” to the base form of the verb in af-

firmative sentences and to transform DO DOES in the negative and , DON’T

DOESN’T in the interrogative (for the spelling rules concerning the “s” see BOX

below).

B) When is it used?

•to describe habitual actions or routines, usually accompanied by frequency adverbs (see BOX

below):

e.g. I always go to discos on Saturday nights. [Vado sempre in discoteca ogni Sabato sera.]

She never goes out during the week. [Non esce mai durante la settimana]

Does she ever listen to her i-pod while she studies? [Ascolta mai il suo i-pod mentre studia?]

• to talk about general situations or things that are normally true or ask about factual infor-

mation:

e.g. Water becomes ice when it is extremely cold. [l’acqua diventa ghiaccio quando fa

molto f reddo.]

Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]

They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]

Where do you come from? [Da dove vieni?]

What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]

• with state verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental

activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound):

e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]

She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]

It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]

C) Exceptions :

• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:

e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]

They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]

Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.

• we always use the Simple Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:

e.g. I’m tired. [Sono stanco.]

But when we use the verb TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the

continuous for:

e.g He’s being stupid! [Si comporta da stupido!]

AFFERMATIVE

NEGATIVE

I

You

We

They

don’t

watch TV on Saturday evenings

INTERROGATI-

VE

Do I

you

we

they

watch TV on Saturday eve-nings ?

Yes

No

Short answers

I

you

we

they

do

don’t

he

she

it

does

doesn’t

INTERROGATI-

VE

Does he

she

it

play football on Fridays?

Yes

No

AFFERMATIVE

NEGATIVE

He

She

It

smells nice!

sound interesting!

doesn’t Short answers

• to talk about general situations or things that are normally true or ask about factual infor-

mation:

e.g. Water becomes ice when there’s frost. [L’acqua diventa ghiaccio quando c’è gelo.]

Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]

They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]

Where do you come from? [Da dove vieni?]

What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]

• with state verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental

activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound) see Appendix

pag ….. :

e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]

She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]

It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]

• DO/DOES can also be used in affirmative/imperative sentences to express emphasis

e.g. Do sit down, please! [Ti chiedo di sederti, per favore!]

She does go to school! [Va a scuola per davvero!]

C) Exceptions :

• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:

e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]

They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]

Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.

• we always use the Simple Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:

e.g. I’m tired. [Sono stanco.]

But when we use the verb TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the

continuous form:

e.g He’s being stupid! [Si comporta da stupido!]

2 3

1– I pronomi in inglese devono essere sempre espressi:

es “Vado sempre al mercato” “I always go to the market”

2– L’indicativo presente italiano non corrisponde sempre al Present Simple inglese

es. “Guarda! Piove .” è reso in inglese con il Present Continuous “Look! It’s raining.”

Ma nell’espressione “Piove ogni volta che esco!” ovviamente si usa il Present Simple in inglese:

es. “It always rains when I go out!”

Inoltre l’indicativo presente italiano può essere reso in inglese anche col futuro (will):

es. “Bussano alla porta...vado io ad aprire!” “They’re knocking at the door...I’ll open it!” (see Unit…)

Unit 2: Present Continuous A) How is it formed ?

It is formed with the Present of the verb be + ing. (For the verb

be see Unit… pag…)

B) When is it used?

• to describe things that are happening now:

e.g. We’re watching TV. [Stiamo guardando la TV.]

What are you doing at the moment? [Cosa stai facendo ora?]

Frequency adverbs

always = sempre

usually = di solito

normally / generally = generalmente

often / frequently = spesso

sometimes = qualche volta

seldom / rarely = raramente

hardly ever = quasi mai

never / ever = mai

every now and then = ogni tanto

Frequency expressions

e.g once a week

every day

three times a week

on Monday afternoon etc

Position of adverbs

The adverb goes always in front of the verb:

e.g. I always go to school on foot.

But with the verb TO BE the adverb goes after the verb:

e.g. I’m always late.

The long frequency expressions may be placed at the end of the sentence:

e.g I go to school five times a week.

For the “s” of the third person singular apply the same rule of the plural of nouns:

• verbs which finish in –s, -sh, -ch, -x + es.

e.g. He watches football on TV.

• verbs which finish with a consonants + y ies

e.g. He studies a lot. etc

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

AND EXPRESSIONS SPELLING

I

He

She

It

You

We

they

am/’m

is/’s

are/’re

go+ing

am not/‘m not

is not/isn’t

are not/aren’t

go+ing

Yes

No

I am

he/she/it is

you/we/they are

I’m not

he/she/it isn’t

you/we/they aren’t

AFFERMATIVE NEGATIVE

I

he

she

it

you

we

they

Am

Is

Are

go+ing

?

INTERROGATIVE

I

He

She

It

You

We

they

Short answers

You nearly always use the Present Simple with State verbs, which can be divided into the follo-wing groups:

1– verbs about love: love/hate/mind/prefer/like etc

2– verbs about needs: want/need etc

3- verbs about understanding: know/think/believe/ undestand/suppose etc

4– verbs about perception: hear/taste/sound/smell etc

5– verbs about possession: own/have/belong

6- other verbs like concern, include etc….

Some of these verbs can be used with the -ing form but the meaning changes:

e.g. I think she’s nice [Penso che sia bella.]

But: I’m thinking of going to Boston next Summer. [Sto pensando di andare Boston . . quest’estate.]

STATE VERBS

4 5

• to describe things that are happening during this period (not necessarily at this precise moment)

e.g. He’s living in London at the moment. [Per ora vive a Londra.]

He usually lives in Italy, but at the moment he’s living in London. This is a temporary action.

e.g. Are you working at the moment? No,they’ve sacked me! [Lavori per ora?No, mi hanno licenziato] He usually has a job, but at the moment he’s unemployed.

• to describe changes that are happening during this period with verbs like: increase; fall; rise; slow down; go up; etc…

e.g. The price of petrol is going up due to the war in Iraq. [Il prezzo del petrolio sta aumentando a causa della guerra in Iraq.]

• to describe planned actions with an appropriate time adverb (see Unit …. e.g. I’m meeting Janet tomorrow)

C) Exceptions :

• never use the –ing form with state verbs. (See Unit 1)

1– il Present

Continuous inglese

corrisponde all’italiano “stare

+ gerundio” (sto andando

ecc.)

2– si devono sempre usare

le forme contratte

nell’inglese informale

(conversazione, lettere di tipo

personale, e-mails ecc)

SPELLING BOX

Usually add –ing to the base form.

e.g. Go going

• But with verbs which end in -e, the –e falls and add –ing.

e.g. Come coming

• verbs ending in –ie, the -ie falls and add –ying.

e.g. Die dying; lie lying.

• verbs ending in consonant + vowel +consonant, double

consonant before adding- ing

e.g. begin beginning; plan planning

And verbs ending in consonant + vowel + -l, double the –l before

adding –ing.

e.g. Travel travelling;

This doubling does not happen in American English (A. Eng):

e.g. Travel traveling

Today the use of the Progressive form is widely used in colloquial English in the place of the Simple

form in many parts of the world:

e.g. I’m thinking it’s going to rain [Penso che pioverà.]

In Indian English it’s beginning to substitute the standard form:

I think it’s going to rain [Penso che pioverà.]

(See preceding Unit …. for the differences between the Simple and Progressive forms in standard English).

For other innovations in the English spoken in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore etc...see the interesting article on the Daily Telegraph (06/03/2008) reporting on David Crystal’s “English Project” lecture at the University of Winchester.

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE WORLD

6 7

Unit 3: To Be and To Have

-To be A) How is it formed ?

B) When is it used?

• it is used as the main verb:

e.g. I’ m tired. [Sono stanco.] Are you English? [Sei inglese?]

I am I’m

You are You’re

He is He’s

She is She’s

It is It’s

We are We’re

You are You’re

They are They’re

happy!

AFFERMATIVE

I am not I’m not

You are not You’re not /

He is not He’s not / isn’t

She is not She’s not / isn’t

It is not It’s not / isn’t

We are not We’re not /

aren’t

You are not You’re not /

aren’t

They are

not

They’re not/

aren’t

happy!

NEGATIVE

INTERROGATIVE

Am I

Are you

Is he

Is she

Is it

Are we

Are you

Are they

Happy?

Short answers

I’m not

he/she/it isn’t


Yes

No

I am

he/she/it is

you/we/they are

INTERROGATIVE/

NEGATIVE

Aren’t I

Aren’t you

Isn’t he

Isn’t she

Isn’t it

Aren’t we

Aren’t you

Aren’t they

Happy?

8 9

• apart from its use as an auxiliary to form both the Present Continuous (see Unit 2) and the

Passive see Unit….), it has its own independent meaning:

e.g I’m from Sicily. [Sono dalla Sicilia.]

He isn’t interested in archeology. [Non è interessato in archeologia.]

Aren’t they late? [Non sono in ritardo?]

• compared to Italian the verb to be has special idiomatic meanings in English:

e.g I’m hungry. [Ho fame.]

I’m thirsty. [Ho sete.]

I’m right/wrong. [Ho ragione/torto.]

I’m 16/years old etc. [Ho 16 anni.]

I’m well. [Sto bene.]

What time is it? [Che ora sono?]

I’m in a hurry! [Ho fretta!]

It’s cloudy/hot/cold/misty/windy etc… [E’ nuvoloso/caldo/freddo/c’è nebbia/vento ecc...]

SPELLING BOX

Contracted forms of the verb to be are used in

informal English at the end of the

subject of the verb (both noun or pronoun):

e.g Martina’s late. [Martina è in ritardo.]

It’s new. [E’ nuovo.]

-To have A) How is it formed ?

an i-pod.

NEGATIVE (I)

I haven’t got

You haven’t got

He hasn’t got

She hasn’t got

It hasn’t got

We haven’t got

You haven’t got

They haven’t

a shower.

NEGATIVE (II)

I don’t have

You don’t have

He doesn’t have

She doesn’t have

It doesn’t have

We don’t have

You don’t have

They don’t have

I have got I’ve got

You have got You’ve got

He has got He’s got

She has got She’s got

It has got It’s got

We have got We’ve got

You have got You’ve got

They have

got

They’ve got

an i-pod.

AFFERMATIVE (I)

I have I’ve

You have You’ve

He has He has

She has She has

It has It has

We have We’ve

You have You’ve

They have They’ve

AFFERMATIVE (II)

a party.

For the interrogative-negative form of the verb

to be in the first person singular use aren’t I

and not am not I:

e g. I’m really good with the computer, aren’t

I?[Sono bravo con il computer, vero?]

This form is used a lot with “tag” questions.

INTERROGATIVE-NEGATIVE

10 1

B) When is it used?

•to indicate possession together with got:

e.g. I’ve got a new bike. [Ho una bici nuova.]

Have you got an Apple computer? [Hai un computer Apple?]

I haven’t got enough money. [Non ho abbastanza soldi.]

When have means possession we never use the -ing form.

But in A.Eng. have is used without got to mean possession:

e.g. Do you have a light? [Hai da accendere?]

I don’ t have a big family. [Non ho una grande famiglia.]

I’ve an interesting idea! [Ho un’idea interessante!]

• it is used as an auxiliary verb with the Present Perfect and in other compound forms:

e.g. I’ve always studied English. [Studio inglese da sempre.]

• it is also used as a normal verb without got and with do/does with a variety of meanings:

e.g. I have a shower before going to school. [Mi faccio la doccia prima di andare a scuola.]

Do you have breakfast before leaving? [Fai colazione prima di partire?]

He doesn’t have a snack at school. [Non fa lo spuntino a scuola.]

For the other meanings of have look at the box below.

• have + to + base form is also used to express obligation:

e.g. I have to surf the net now. [Devo navigare su internet ora.]

have + got + to is also used in this sense in colloquial English:

e.g. I’ve got to do my homework this evening. [Devo fare i miei compiti stasera.]

(see Unit... on modals for the different meanings of have in the negative/interrogative forms)

Remember that in the Past forms of have we never use got.

e.g. I didn’t have any money yesterday. [Non avevo soldi ieri.]

• with food and drink: have breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/a drink/a coffee/a pint; etc...

• with outdoor activities: have a walk/a swim/a ride; etc...

• with indoor activities: have a shower/ a bath/ a sleep/a wash; etc…

• with special occasions: have a party/a meeting; etc…

• with other meanings: have a look [dare un’occhiata.] ; have a talk [fare una

chiacchierata.] ; have a try/go [fare una prova] ;

BOX: COMMON MEANINGS OF HAVE AS AN ACTION VERB

I/you/we/they haven’t

he/she/it hasn’t

Yes

No

I/you/we/they have

he/she/it has

Short answers (I) INTERROGATIVE (I)

Have I got

Have you got

Has he got

Has she got

Has it got

Have we got

Have you got

Have they got

an i-pod?

INTERROGATIVE (II)

Do I have

Do you have

Does he have

Does she ha-

ve

Does it have

Do we have

Do you have

Do they have

time?

Short answers (II)

I/you/we/they don’t

he/she/it doesn’t

Yes

No

I/you/we/they do

he/she/it does

12 13

Unit 4: The Imperative

The imperative is used for orders, invitations and directions and is only used in the Present

(direct speech). You use the base form of the verb withouth subject:

e.g. Go away! [Vattene!/ Andatevene!]

Be quiet! [Stai zitto!/ State zitti!] .

• It can be used for advice:

e.g. Drive carefully! [Guidi/guidate con cura!]

• for offering and inviting:

e.g. Have a coffee! [Prendi/ prendete un caffè!]

• In a recepe

e.g. Mix the flour, sugar and butter…. [Miscelate la farina, lo zucchero e il burro….]

• With some types of “if” clauses (see Unit.. Pag…)

e.g. If you see Martina give her the money... [Se vedi Martina dalle i soldi…]

The imperative has also a negative form, don’t + base form:

e.g. Don’t eat all that chocolate! [Non ti mangiare/non vi mangiate tutto quel cioccolato!]

(cf. road signs: Turn left-right)

Remember you can’t use two negatives together in English:

e.g Never drink and drive! [Mai guidare e bere!]

There is also a first person imperative which we use to include ourselves in the invitation or

suggestion:

e.g. Let’s watch TV. [Guardiamo la Tv.]

Let’s go to the cinema. [Andiamo al cinema.]

(cf. Shall we + base form see pag…)This form derives from Let + us + base form. It has a

negative equivalent, Let’s not + base form which is used for orders and prohibitions (cf

must pag….):

e.g. Let’s not ruin the party! [Non roviniamo la festa!]

14 15

Exercises on present tenses

A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate present tense (make any oth-

er necessary changes):

(15 marks)

1) What …………………………….(YOU/DO) now?

2) He………………………………..(GO) to school once a year.

3) They ……………………………. (THINK) he’s deaf.

4) ………………………………… (YOU/EVER/ GO) to a disco?

5) She……………………………….(ALWAYS/BEHAVE) badly!

6) ……………………………………(YOU/BELIEVE) his story?

7) They………………………………(BE) stupid today! They are normally quite nice.

8) He ………………………………..(WORK) abroad at the moment.

9) What ……………………………..(YOU/DO) for a living?

10) They …………………… (THINK) of buying a new house.

11) ………………………… (YOUR STUDENTS/OFTEN/HAVE) a shower at school?

12) The value of the dollar……………(GO DOWN) and the price of petrol …………(GO

UP).

13) ………………………………… (THEY/HAVE) a big party every Christmas?

14) What sort of i-pod ……………….(YOU/HAVE)?

B) Write a description of a typical day spent in your school/University

(5 marks)

e.g. On a normal school morning I usually arrive at school just before the bell rings at

8.20………………………………………..

C) Write an e-mail to new pen-friend talking about yourself and asking him/her ques-

tions about hobbies/family/school/appearance etc. (70-90 words):

(5 marks)

e.g. Hi Pete!

I’m John. Your e-mail was given to me by my English teacher…………....

………………

D) You’re looking through your bed-room window. You’re tired and bored! Write

down your thoughts/ideas in your blog/diary:

(10 Marks)

e.g. Now I’m fed up of studying! Coz I’m tired! Wouldn’t it be nice to go for a walk? No,

it’s too bloody cold!............

E) Translate the following sentences into English:

(10 marks)

1) Scrivi inglese correttamente?

2) Nevica! Non uscire con la macchina!

3) Si comporta sempre così nella presenza di estranei!

4) Mi sto divertendo molto in vacanza.

5) Ha la casa in campagna. Ma per ora vive a Londra.

6) Rassomigli molto a tuo papà.

7) Ti piace nuotare?

8) Faccio colazione ogni giorno alle 7.

9) Sta parlando al telefono. Non disturbarlo!

10) Il film parla di un uomo che vive a Londra nel quartiere di Knightsbridge vicino al

‘Victoria and Albert Museum’.

16 17

Notes on present tenses Notes on present tenses

18 19

PART II

Expressing Past Time

When we talk about the past in English we have to decide between 2 main

tenses: the Past Simple, for determined actions completed in the past

(Unit 4)and the Present Perfect,for actions that are indetermined or

concern duration (Unit5). In the second part of Unit5 we’ll also look at the

Present Perfect Continuous. In unit 6 the other secondary ways of indicating

past time will be examined: Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous/Past Pro-

gressive.

- Unit 4: Past Simple p. 21

- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect p. 25

B-Present Perfect Continuous p. 30

-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect p. 33

B- Past Perfect Continuous p. 35

C- Past Progressive p. 37

D- Used to p.

39

- Test p. 42

- Notes p. 44

Unit 4: Past Simple A) How is it formed ?

To form

the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of all regular verbs. For spelling and pronuncia-

tion see boxes below. For irregular verbs which have their own form of the Past Simple look

at the table at the end of Unit…. pag...The interrogative and negative is formed with did/

didn’t + base form for both regular and irregular verbs.

I

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

didn’t work yester-

day.

I

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

worked yesterday.


I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

Did

work last

week?

INTERROGATIVE Short answers

did

.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

did-

n’t.

N

o

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

20 21

To form the af-

firmative of the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of the regular verb. (for spelling

and pronunciation rules see Boxes at the end of this Unit p….). Irregular verbs have a special

form for the Past Simple. (See Table at the end of this Unit p. …). For the interrogative and

the negative forms of both regular and irregular verbs use did and didn’t.

For regular verbs (affermative):

e.g. I watched TV yesterday. [Ho guardato la TV ieri.]

For irregular verbs (affermative):

e.g. I saw a good film Saturday. [Ho visto un bel film sabato.]

For both regular and irregular verbs (negative and interrogative):

e.g. I didn’t go shopping last week. [Non ho fatto acquisti la scorsa settimana.]

l Did you study the literature lesson yesterday? [Hai studiato letteratura ieri?]

However the auxiliary verb to be has a specific Past Simple form.

The verb to be is the only irregular verb which has 2

forms in the Past Simple (was/were). The auxiliary to have can form its Past Simple in the

same way as other verbs:

e.g. Did you have a party yesterday? [Hai fatto festa ieri?]

I didn’t have a sandwich for lunch. [Non ho preso un sandwich per pranzo.]

However you can also form the Past Simple of to have by inverting subject and verb:

e.g. I hadn’t any money when I was young. [Non avevo soldi quando ero giovane.]

Had he an e-mail address when he worked at the Ministry? [Aveva un indirizzo e-mail

quando lavorava al Ministero?]

This last form of to have is not very common today. Remember never to use got in the Past

Tense with the verb to have:

e.g. NOT: I had got a bike when I went to school.

But: I had a bike when I went to school. [Avevo una bicicletta quando andavo a scuola.]

B) When is it used?

• to talk about past events which happened in a given moment of time, usually accompanied

by an appropriate time adverb like yesterday/last Tuesday etc…(see box below pag...)

e.g. I went to school yesterday. [Sono andato a scuola ieri.]

He didn’t work last week. [Non ha lavorato la settimana scorsa.]

• to talk about historical facts and events:

I

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

went shopping

yesterday.

AFFERMATIVE

I

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

didn’t go shopping

yesterday.

NEGATIVE

I

He/She/It

was

You

We

They

were

at home

yesterday.

AFFERMATIVE

I

He/She/It

wasn’t

You

We

They

weren’t

at home

yesterday.

NEGATIVE

Was

I

he/she/it

Wer

e

you

we

they

at home

yesterday?


I/he/she/it wasn’t

you/we/they weren’t

Yes

No

I/he/she/it was

you/we/they were

22 23

• ‘WH’ questions about someone’s past:

e.g. Where were you born? [Dove sei nato?]

Which school did you go to? [Quale scuola hai frequentato?]

• in “if” clauses (second conditionals):

e.g. If I had a lot of money, I’d live in New York. [Se avessi tanti soldi vivrei a New York.]

See Unit on “if” clauses pag…

Unit 5: A- Present Perfect A) How is it formed ?

It’s formed by ad-

ding the Past Participle of the verb to the auxiliary to

have. Remember that in English the auxiliary verb to be is never used in the Present Perfect.

The Past Participle of the regular verbs coincides with the –ed form; for the irregular Past

Participles see the third column of the Appendix pag……..

PAST TIME ADVERBS

Yesterday = ieri

Last Monday/week = lunedì/settimana scorsa

Last month/year = mese/anno scorso

Last Christmas/winter = Natale/inverno scorso

2 weeks ago = 2 settimane fa

A month ago = un mese fa

In 1956 = nel 1956

The day before yesterday= l’altro ieri

A decade ago= un decennio fa

A century ago= un secolo fa

In the 19th century= nell’Ottocento

etc...

PRONUNCIATION BOX

Even if we always add –ed to the base form of the regular verb to create the Past Simple, the pronunciation varies according to the last conso-nant/s of the verb:

1- verbs ending with /f/; /k/; /p/;/s/ → /t/

e.g. stopped → stop/t/

walked → walk/t/

2- verbs ending with /d/; /t/ → /id/

e.g. started → start/id/

3- verbs ending with /l/; /v/; /r/;/n/; /y/ → /d/

e.g. closed → clos/d/

Offered → offer/d/ SPELLING BOX

To form the Past Simple form of regular verbs add -ed with the following spelling rules:

1- verbs ending in -e just add -d:

e.g. arrive → arrived

2- verbs ending in -y preceded by a consonant remove –y and add -ied:

e.g. study → studied

3- certain verbs ending with a consonant preceded by a vowel double last consonant:

e.g. stop → stopped

4– all verbs ending in -l double the -l (only in B.Eng)

e.g. travel → travelled

I’ve

You’ve

He’s

She’s

It’s

We’ve

You’ve

They’ve

worked all day.

AFFERMATIVE

done the shop-

ping today?

INTERROGATIVE

Have

Has

I

you

We

they

he

she

it

Short answers

I haven’t

he/she/it hasn’t

you/we/they ha-

ven’t

Yes

No

I have

he/she/it has

you/we/they have

I haven’t

worked all day.

You

He

hasn’t She

It

We

haven’t You

They

NEGATIVE

24 25

B) When is it used?

• the Present Perfect causes some complications for Italian students. However we must

remember to use the Present Perfect for actions which are not determined (there is no specific

time adverb which refers to a precise time context):

e.g. I’ve lost my keys [Ho perso le mie chiavi.]

Have you done your homework? [Hai fatto i compiti?]

She hasn’t remembered to call me. [Non si è ricordata di chiamarmi.]

In all these cases the event has happened in the past but this past is not determined. If we add

to these sentences a precise time adverb we can not use the Present Perfect but must use the

Simple Past:

e.g. NOT Yesterday I’ve lost my keys BUT Yesterday I lost my keys.

• to describe actions which happened in the past but are still felt as important now at the time

of speaking:

e.g. My boss has sacked me. [Il mio capo mi ha licenziato.]

• with the these time adverbs: just, yet, never, ever, still, already we automatically use the

Present Perfect when the action is referred to the past. If you think a moment about the

meaning of these adverbs, they all refer to actions which have just happened, in any case they

didn’t happen in a precise moment of the past and have some relationship with the Present

JUST I’ve just finished my homework. [Ho appena finito i miei compiti.]

YET I haven’t finished my breakfast yet. [Non ho ancora finito la colazione.]

Yet is always used in interrogative and negative sentences and placed at the end of the

phrase.

NEVER I’ve never drunk champagne. [Non ho mai bevuto champagne.]

EVER Have you ever visited Euro-Disney? [Hai mai visitato Euro-Disney?]

Ever is used in interrogative sentences and with not:

I haven’t ever played the guitar = I’ve never played the guitar. [Non ho mai suonato la

chitarra.]

But ever can be used in affermative sentences with the superlative and the Present Perfect:

e.g. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen! [E’ la più bella ragazza che io abbia mai

visto!]

This Audi A3 is the fastest car I’ve ever driven! [Questa Audi A3 è la macchina più

veloce che io abbia mai guidato!]

STILL He still hasn’t studied the lesson. [Non ha ancora studiato la lezione.]

Still is used before the verb to have and it refers to actions which have happened in a time

which goes from the past until now. Sometimes it can be used with the present:

I’m still hungry. [Ho ancora fame.]

ALREADY I’ve already finished my homework. [Ho già finito i compiti.]

• with FOR/SINCE. This use of the Present Perfect with FOR or SINCE is sometimes called

“duration form” because it describes the “duration” of actions which happened in a past

which continue to the present:

e.g. I’ve studied English for 3 years. [Studio Inglese da 3 anni.]

I’ve studied English since 2004. [Studio Inglese dal 2004.]

We use FOR to indicate the duration of the action; we use SINCE to indicate the moment

when the action starts.

Re-

member that in all these cases if we were to translate the sentences into Italian we would

have to use the present:

“I haven’t seen him since Sunday” is translated into Italian by “Non lo vedo da domenica.”

Not “Non l’ho visto da domenica” which doesn’t mean anything in Italian.

After SINCE if there is a verb it must go into the Past Simple:

e.g. I haven’t seen him since I was 12. [Non lo vedo da quando avevo 12 anni.]

FOR SINCE

I haven’t seen him for 2 years.

I haven’t eaten anything for a week.

He’s been here for 2 hours

I haven’t seen her for ages.

I haven’t seen him since Christmas.

I haven’t visited the USA since 1982.

He’s lived here since his birth.

They haven’t met since their divorce.

26 27

e.g. It’s been ages since I saw him = It’s been a long time since I saw him [E’ da tanto

tempo che non lo vedo.]

• with the question how long we normally use the Present Perfect because we are usually

referring to the duration of time:

e.g. How long have you lived in Racalmuto? [Da quando tempo vivi a Racalmuto?]

In all these cases we FOR/SINCE/HOW LONG in English we can usually also use the Pre-

sent Perfect Continuous. (see Unit pag…)

In the Present Perfect been and gone have slightly different meanings:

e.g. He’s gone to school [E’ andato a scuola.]

(he hasn’t come back yet)

He’s been to Paris [E’ stato a Parigi.]

(he has visited Paris and has come back)

BEEN/GONE

28 29

Unit 5: B- Present Perfect Continuous A) How is it formed ?

It is

formed with the Present Perfect of the verb to be + ing form.

e.g. I’ve been watching TV all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che guardo la TV.]

Has he been eating all day? [Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]

He hasn’t been eating much recently. [Non ha mangiato molto in questi ultimi tempi.]

B) When is it used?

• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,

especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration

of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In

these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,

how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any

case these actions are incomplete.

It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:

I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.

I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei

compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.

•

I’ve

been

studying all

day.

You’ve

He’s

She’s

It’s

We’ve

You’ve

They’ve


I haven’t

been

studying all

day.

You ha-

ven’t

He hasn’t

She hasn’t

It hasn’t

We haven’t

You ha-

They ha-

ven’t

studying all

day?

INTERROGATIVE

Have

Has

I

you

We

they

he

she

it

been

Short answers

I haven’t

he/she/it hasn’t

you/we/they ha-

ven’t

Yes

No

I have

he/she/it has

you/we/they have

B) When is it used?









I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei compiti.]

Here the action is still going on or has just finished.

Obviously the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used with verbs that do not have the

progressive form (See Unit pag ….)

e.g. I’ve known him for ages. [Lo conosco da anni.]

And not: I’ve been knowing him for ages.

• the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used when the actions are limited or determined

in some way:

e.g. How long have you been writing letters? [Da quanto tempo stai scrivendo lettere? ]

But: How many letters have you written? [Quante lettere hai scritto?]

Has he been playing football all afternoon? [Ha giocato a calcio tutto il pomeriggio?]

But: How many matches has he played this year? [Quante partite ha giocato quest’anno?]

In these last examples we use the Present Perfect for complete actions which are determined

and the Present Perfect Continuous with actions which are continuing up to the Present and

are not determined in any way.

30 31

B) When is it used?











•

Unit 6: A- Past Perfect A) How is it formed ?

It is

formed by adding the Past Participle to had:

e.g. After he had studied at Palermo University he went to live in Turin. [Dopo aver

studiato all’Università di Palermo è andato a vivere a Torino ]

Had he remembered to lock the door when he went to sleep? [Si è ricordato di

chiudere la porta a chiave prima di andare a dormire?]

Il Present Perfect Continuous come anche il Present Perfect creano . . ..

.. qualche problema nella traduzione italiana specialmente con la “duration .

. form” (for/since/how long). Con la “duration form” usiamo molto spesso

in …… Italiano il presente per rendere il Present Perfect/Present Perfect

Continuous:

“I’ve lived in Racalmuto for 10 years/I’ve been living in Racalmuto for 10 years”

deve essere tradotto in Italiano con il Presente [Vivo a Racalmuto da 10 anni. ]

In alcuni casi può essere anche tradotto dal Passato Prossimo ma deve essere chiaro che

nell’Inglese questa forma, specie la forma Progressiva, viene usata per descrivere azioni

iniziate nel passato che continuano fino al presente:

Has he been eating all day? [Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]

TRANSLATION BOX

I

had/’

d

visited Israel

before getting

married.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

AFFERMATIVE

I

hadn’t

visited Israel

before getting

married.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

visited Israel befo-

re getting married?

INTERROGATIVE

Had

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

Short answers

had.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

had-

n’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

32 33

B) When is it used?

• It is used to emphasize actions which happened in the past before other actions in the past:

e.g. After he had finished his homework he went out. [ Dopo che aveva finito i compiti è

uscito.]

This tense is often used with time-sequencers: after/before/when etc. We can use also the

Past Perfect with For/Since:

e.g. He had worked in Australia for 8 years. [Aveva lavorato in Australia per 8 anni.]

He had lived in that house since he was born. [Aveva vissuto in quella casa da quando

era nato.]

B) When is it used?











•

-Unit 6: B- Past Perfect Continuous A) How is it formed ?

It is formed with the Past Perfect of the verb to be + ing form:

e.g. He had been living in London for many years when he got married. [Viveva a Londra

da tanti anni quando si sposò]

I

had/’d

been

living

abroad,

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

AFFERMATIVE

I

hadn’t

been

living

abroad.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

been living

abroad?

INTERROGATIVE

Had

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

Short answers

had.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

had-

n’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

34 35

B) When is it used?

• it is used to describe continuous actions when the main verb is in the Past Simple:

e.g. She had been working in New York when she met George Bush. [Viveva a New York

quando incontrò George Bush.]

How long had she been studying English when she passed the F.C.E exam? [Da quanto

tempo ha studiato l’inglese quando ha superato l’esame F.C.E? ]

B) When is it used?











•

-Unit 6: C- Past Progressive A) How is it formed ?

It is formed by adding the -ing form to the past of the

verb to be:

e.g. I was sleeping when you arrived. [Stavo dormendo quando sei arrivata.]

Were you washing the car when it began to rain? [Stavi lavando la macchina quando è

cominciato a piovere?]

B) When is it used?

• it is used to describe actions which were happening at the same time as the action of the

main verb (the two parts of the sentences are usually connected with when or while):

e.g. I was shopping in Oxford Street when we heard an explosion. [Stavo facendo aquisti in

Oxford Street quando abbiamo sentito un esplosione.]

I

He/She/It

was

You

We

They

were

watching

TV.

AFFERMATIVE

I

He/She/It

wasn’t

You

We

They

weren’t

watching

TV.

NEGATIVE

Was

I

he/she/it

Wer

e

you

we

they

watching

TV?


I/he/she/it wasn’t

you/we/they weren’t

Yes

No

I/he/she/it was

you/we/they were

36 37

With while we can use the Past Progressive with both verbs:

e.g. While I was having a shower she was watching TV. [Mentre stavo facendo la doccia

lei si stava guardando la TV.]

B) When is it used?











•

-Unit 6: D- Used to A) How is it formed ?

Re-

member to add use to the interrogative and negative forms:

e.g. Did she use to go to school on foot? [Era solita andare a scuola a piedi?]

I didn’t use to study my lessons by heart. [Non ero solito imparare a memoria le lezioni.]

I

used to

study hard at

school.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

AFFERMATIVE

I

didn’t use to

study hard at

school .

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

use to study hard at

school?

INTERROGATIVE

Did

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

Short answers

did.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

didn’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

38 39

B) When is it used?

• to describe habits in the past:

e.g. We used to eat out a lot when we were on holiday. [Eravamo soliti mangiare fuori

quando eravamo in vacanza ]

In more formal or written English would + base form can also be used with the same

meaning.

e.g. When I was little my mother would take me to school in her car. [Quando ero piccolo

mia madre era solita portarmi a scuola con la sua macchina]

B) When is it used?











•

While used to + base form are limited to the past, to describe things that you have got to

know in all tenses you can use the adjective form to be used to + ing which should not be

confused with used to + base form:

e.g. I’m used to studying with my I-pod on. [Sono abituato a studiare con l’I-pod acceso.]

Are you used to having a rest in the afternoon? [Sei abituato a riposarti dopo pranzo?]

I’m not used to telling lies. [Non sono abituata a dire bugie.]

We can also use the verb get in the place of the verb to be:

e.g. I got used to eating my pasta without much salt. [Mi sono abituato a mangiare . .. .

la pasta senza sale.]

In this last case the use of get implies that some time or effort was involved in the action.

Both be/get + used to can also be use with a pronoun or noun without any other verb:

e.g. I’m used to her. [Sono abituato a lei.]

I got used to Roberta and Martina after many years of working with them. [Mi sono

abituato a Roberta e Martina dopo tanti anni di lavoro con loro.]

TO BE USED TO + BASE FORM

40 41

Exercises on past tenses

A) Complete with the appropriate past tense and make any other necessary changes:

(25 marks)

1) I ……………………………………(GO) to New York 3 summers ago.

2) When I …………………………….(MEET) last week he………………..(WEAR) a

heavy coat.

3) She………………………………….(FINISH/JUST) her English homework.

4) How long …………………………..(KNOW) him?

5) They………………………………...(LIVE/NEVER) abroad since they…………….

(GET) married.

7) We ………………………………….(LIVE) in Sicily all our lives.

8) He ………………………………… (WORK) on the novel all morning.

9) I…………………………………….(LOSE ) my keys! I can’t get in!

10) …………………………………… (SEE/YOU) the new Bond film?

How……………….(BE) it?

11) He…………………………………. (FINISH//YET) his homework.

12) I …………………………………… (COLLECT) stamps since I ……………(BE) a

child.

13) While he……………………………..(WORK) in the garden they ………………

(BREAK) into the house.

14) Nobody……………………………. (DRIVE/EVER) so fast!

15) She is the most beautiful girl he………………………..(MEET/EVER)!

16) How many cups ……………………..(WIN/THEY) this year?

17) She …………………………………..(PREFER) English to French when she

……………..(STUDY) at Bologna University.

18) Their English …………………………(IMPROVE) so far.

19) After he ………………………………(LEAVE) his home he ……………………….

(GO) abroad.

B) Write a letter to a pen-friend describing what you did on holiday last

summer (100-120 words):

( 5 marks)

e.g. Hi Tom,

I’m writing to tell you about the 2 weeks I spent in Spain last July….

C) Describe an episode which you remember of your childhood that had a positive or

negative influence on maturity (120-150 words):

(10 marks)

e.g. One day at the age of 5, my father took me to the circus………..

D) Translate the following sentences into English:

(10 marks)

1) Studio inglese da più di 10 anni.

2) Da quanto tempo suoni il pianoforte?

3) E’ stata a Hong Kong due volte. L’ultima volta è stata 2 anni fa.

4) Quando ero piccolo ero solito andare da mia nonna in bici.

5) Stavo guardando la TV quando sei arrivata.

6) Da quanto tempo conosci tuo marito?

7) Mi dispiace, è uscito!

8) Non ho mai visto quel film.

9) Non ho ancora finito di cucinare.

10) E’ tutto il giorno che gioca.

42 43

Notes on past tenses Notes on past tenses

44 45

PART III

Expressing Future Time There are many ways of communicating or expressing Future Time in

English: you can use forms that have other primary uses like the Simple

Present to express pre-arranged and scheduled or ‘time-

tabled’ plans; or the Present Continuous with programmed personal

actions coupled with the appropriate time adverb; or the going to- form

to express future intention which is widely used in colloquial English.

Finally we have the will form to express a more neutral form of future.

In the last unit of this section the use of the Future Continuous and Fu-

ture Perfect will be illustrated.

- Unit 7: A- Present Simple p. 47

B- Present Continuous p. 48

- Unit 8: A- Going to - form p. 49

B- will (’ll) form p. 51

- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous p. 54

B-Future Perfect p. 57

- Test p. 58

- Notes p. 60

- Unit 7: A- Present Simple A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 1 for the form and primary uses of the Present Simple)

B) When is it used?

• to talk about the future with time-tabled actions (trains, planes, ships, etc) or with a

scheduled school or TV time-table:

e.g. When does the film start tomorrow evening? [Quando inizia il fim domani sera?]

What time does this train to Liverpoool leave this afternoon? [A che ora parte il treno

per Liverpool per questo pomeriggio?]

Do not use Present Simple for personal plans or arrangements. For personal plans we

generally use the Present Continuous (see B of this Unit):

e.g. They’re getting married tomorrow. [Si sposano domani.]

• with if- clauses (first conditionals) and time clauses (when, as soon as, until, before etc.):

e.g. If I go to London next year I’ll visit Westminster. [Se andrò a Londra il prossimo anno

visiterò Westminser.]

When we see him we’ll tell him you’ve called. [Quando lo vedremo gli diremo che tu lo

hai chiamato.]

(see Unit….pag… for the other time clauses and conditionals )

What

time/

When,

etc..

does the train leave

tomorrow?

the lessons start on

Monday?

do

WH– QUESTIONS

It leaves at 15.05.

They start at 8.20.

Answers

46 47

B- Present Continuous

A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 2 for the form and primary uses of the Present Contin-

uous)

B) When is it used?

• for personal plans with an appropriate time adverb which must specify future time or in any

case some sort of reference to the future must be implicit, otherwise the use of the Present

Continuous may create ambiguity:

e.g. I’m leaving from Heathrow Airport tomorrow. [Partirò.dall’aereoporto di Heathrow . .

domani.]

Are you eating out this evening? [Mangerai fuori stasera?]

She isn’t going out Saturday afternoon. [Non uscirà sabato pomeriggio.]

- Unit 8: A- Going to - form A) How is it formed ?

The going to

form is com-

posed of the verb to be + going to + base form:

e.g. I’m going to study hard for my P.E.T. exam. [Studierò molto per il P.E.T.]

Are you going to have breakfast together? [Farete colazione insieme?]

He isn’t going to buy a new car this year. [Non comprerà una machina nuova

quest’anno.]

What time/

When, etc..

are you

we

they

going out Saturday

evening?

coming back home

for Christmas?

is he

she

WH– QUESTIONS

I ‘m

going out later.

arriving on

Christmas Eve.

He

She

‘s

We

They

‘re

Answers

Tomorrow = domani;

Next Monday/week/year/summer/Christmas etc..= il prossimo lunedì/la prossima settimana etc…

In a week/year etc..= fra una settimana/ fra un anno;

In two days’ time = fra due giorni;

The day after tomorrow = dopodomani

In the future = in futuro

One week from now = fra una settimana

ADVERBS AND EXPRESSIONS OF FUTURE TIME

am not/‘m not

is not/isn’t

are not/aren’t

going

to

NEGATIVE

I

he

she

it

you

we

they

Am

Is

Are

going to

INTERROGATIVE

I

He

She

It

You

We

they

I

He

She

It

You

We

they

am/’m

is/’s

are/’re

going

to

AFFERMATIVE

study at

Palermo

University.

get mar-

ried.

have a

birthday

party?

Yes

No

I am

he/she/it is

you/we/they are

I’m not

he/she/it isn’t


Short answers

48 49

B) When is it used?

• to describe things we have decided or intended to do in the future (the going to form is also

called “Intentional Future”) :

e.g. She’s going to get drunk. [Ha intenzione di ubriacarsi.]

They aren’t going to see the new Muccino film. [Non hanno intenzione di vedere il

nuovo film di Muccino.]

• to describe actions which will clealy happen from the indications given:

e.g. She’s not studying enough! She’s going to have problems at University. [Non sta . .

studiando abbastanza! Avrà problemi all’Università.]

It’s really clowdy! It’s going to rain. [E’ molto nuvoloso! Pioverà.]

Cf. (=compare with) the use of will with a similar meaning. (see the next Unit on will)

• to describe things which are about to happen:

e.g. They’ve recentely had a serious quarrel. They’re going to divorce. [Recentemente .

hanno litigato seriamente. Hanno intenzione di divorziare.]

In many ways it is similar to the Present Continuous, although as we have seen the latter is

used when we are talking about future plans (see Unit….) However with the going to form

we don’t have to use a future adverb or expression. The going to part of the construction

comunicates by itself the future.

• there is also the past equivalent of the going to form composed of was/were + going to +

base form which is used to describe things which you wanted to do in the past but didn’t

manage to do (for the form See the unit on the Past Progressive pag…..):

e.g. I was going to play tennis yesterday afternoon but it rained. [Avevo intenzione di

giocare a tennis ieri pomeriggio ma ha piovuto.]

- Unit 8: B- will (’ll) form A) How is it formed ?

This

form

of the future is composed of the modal will+base form. In the affirmative and negative the

contracted forms are usually used (shall/shan’t are no longer used for the first person singu-

lar and plural - see Unit .. p. ...for other uses of shall/shan’t)

e.g. I think he’ll pass his exams. [Penso che supererà i suoi esami.]

They won’t go out if it rains. [Non usciranno se piove.]

Will you see him tomorrow? [Lo vedrai domani?]

A.Eng: I’m gonna see her. [Ho intenzione di vederla.]

In A.Eng “gonna” often substitutes going to in both the written and oral language.

See the lyrics of many American rock singers and groups.

Sometimes in spoken English going to is rended by /gənə/

AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SLANG

I

‘ll

(will)

open the door.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

AFFERMATIVE

I

won’t

(will

not)

speak to him.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

Short answers

will.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

won’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

INTERROGATIVE

Will

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

send me a

Valentine card?

50 51

B) When is it used?

• to talk about things you think /believe/are sure/ aren’t sure/ hope/ guess/ may possibly

happen for predictions etc:

e.g. I think she’ll be a good athlete. [Penso che sarà una buona atleta.]

I’m not sure he’ll come to school tomorrow. [Non sono sicuro che verrà a scuola domani.]

Will they win the match? [Vinceranno la partita?]

I don’t think it’ll rain tomorrow. [Non penso che pioverà domani.]

This is a similar use to the going to form, but it is more of a prodiction than something based

on concrete evidence.

• to make promises, invitations or requests:

e.g. I’ll help you! [Ti aiuterò!]

Will you come to my party? [Verrai alla mia festa?]

I promise I won’t smoke. [Ti prometto che non fumerò.]

• to talk about things you have decided to do in that precise moment of time:

e.g. “Look! It’s dark!” - “I’ll switch on the light”. [“Guarda. Fa buio!”- “Accendo/

accenderò la luce.”]

“The telephone’s ringing.” - I’ll answer. [“Il telefono sta suonando” - risponderò.]

• can be used in the non– abbreviated form for emphasis (See Modals pag....):

e.g. She will stay at home this evening. [Deve restare a casa stasera. (lo dico io!)]

Instead of the normal contracted form:

e.g. She’ll stay at home this evening. [Resterà a casa stasera.]

For emphasis we can similarly use the form shall/shall not in a more formal register:

e.g. Man shall obey God! [L’uomo deve ubbidire Dio!]

In this emphatic use it is never contracted.

• in “if” and “when” clauses:

e.g. If I go out I’ll come and see you. [Se esco ti verrò a trovare.]

When he finishes his homework he’ll help you. [Quando finisce i suoi compiti ti aiuterà.]

For other examples see Unit … pag….

• the form shall is used for invitations, suggestions etc…

e.g. Shall we dance? [Balliamo?]

Il presente italiano non deve essere tradotto con il Presente Semplice. .

. in inglese, spesso viene reso con la forma will/won’t ecc…

e.g. È finito il latte. Vado a comprarlo. Non può essere tradotto con:

. “The milk has finished. I buy some.” ma con il will:

. “The milk has finished. I’ll buy some.”

Ricorda che in inglese il Present Simple si usa per descrivere azioni abituali (vedi Unit I

pag…)

TRADURRE IN INGLESE IL PRESENTE ITALIANO

To be to + base form to indicate an action which

is destined to happen at a certain point of time or

which must happen:

e.g. The sale is to begin after the Christmas

holidays. [I saldi cominceranno dopo le vacanze

di Natale.]

To be about to + base form to indicate an action

which will happen soon (=sta per):

e.g. They’re about to open a new University in

Agrigento. [Stanno per aprire una nuova

Università ad Agrigento.]

OTHER MINOR WAYS OF EXPRES- FUTURE IN THE PAST

In the past to refer to events which happened in a

relatively future time we use the following

structures:

A- e.g. When I left for Sicily in 1974 I didn’t

know I would become an English teacher.

[Quando sono partito per la Sicilia nel 1974 non

sapavo che sarei diventato un insegnante d’inglese.]

In this structure we use the conditional form

(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the place of the future

(will etc…). For other uses of the conditional see

Unit …. Pag...

B- e.g. I was going to London the following day.

[Sarei andato a Londra il giorno successivo.]

C- e.g Barack Obama was about to become

President of the USA when Lehman Brothers

went bankrupt. [Stava per essere eletto Barack

Obama Presidente degli USA quando Lehmnab

Brothers fallirono.]

52 53

Unit 9: A-Future Continuous A) How is it formed ?

It

is formed by adding the -ing form to will be:

e.g. She’ll be working on the school project from 2 to 4 tomorrow. [Dalle 2 alle 4 domani

starà lavorando al progetto scolastico.]

B) When is it used?

• to describe or imagine things that are happening at a precise moment in the future:

e.g. Tom at this time tomorrow you’ll be flying to New York! [Tom domani a ques’ora

starai volando verso New York!]

• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with

variations of the meaning according to the modal used (see Unit … p. …)

e.g. He should be studying at home this afternoon. [Dovrebbe essere a casa a studiare oggi

pomeriggio.]

I’ll

be

travell + ing

to London at this

time tomorrow.

You’ll

He’ll

She’ll

It’ll

We’ll

You’ll

They’l

AFFERMATIVE

I

won’t be

(will

not)

Travell + ing to

London at this

time tomorrow.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

INTERROGATIVE

Will

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

be

travell + ing

to London at

this time to-

morrow?

Short answers

will.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

won’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

54 55

Unit 9: B-Future Perfect A) How is it formed ?

It

is formed by adding the past participle of the verb to will have:

e.g. Will you have finished eating by 9? [Avrai finito di mangiare prima delle 9?] . .

B) When is it used?

• to describe things that will happen in the future within a certain period of time (usually

accompanied by/already):

e.g. I’ll have finished this novel by the end of the year. [Avrò finito questo romanzo entro la

fine dell’anno.]

• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with

variations of the meaning according to the modal used but which usually have lost any

reference to the future (see Unit … p. …)

e.g. He may have left the car door open. [Può darsi che abbia lasciato la porta della

macchina aperta.]

I’ll

have

finished by 9

o’ clock.

You’ll

He’ll

She’ll

It’ll

We’ll

You’ll

They’l

AFFERMATIVE

I

won’t ha-

ve

(will not)

finished by 9

o’clock.

You

He

She

It

We

You

They

NEGATIVE

INTERROGATIVE

Will

I

you

he

she

it

we

they

have

finished by 9

o’clock.

Short answers

will.

Yes

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

won’t.

No

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

56 57

Exercises on future tenses

A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate future tense (make any other

necessary changes):

(20 marks)

1) I think he ………………………………….(PASS) that exam.

2) They……………………………………….(LEAVE) tomorrow at 7.

3) I……………………………………………(GET) married in the near future.

4) Look at those clouds! It…………………..(RAIN) tomorrow!

5) What time…………………………………..(DEPART/THE LIVERPOOL TRAIN) to-

morrow afternoon?

6) Look! It’s raining! I…………………………(SHUT) the window.

7) He………………………………………… (FINISH) by the time I get back.

8) When he leaves university he………………(WORK) at Microsoft in Seattle.

9) Tomorrow evening I………………………(PLAY) squash from 7-8 o’clock.

10) The kettle’s boiling! I……………………..(MAKE) the tea!

11) What………………………………………(DO/YOU) after you leave school this year?

12) Do you think he……………………………(MANAGE) to survive without any water for

a week?

13) She……………………………………… .(HAVE) a party next Saturday.

14) By 2020 we ……………………………… (EXPLOIT) all our natural resources!

15) He………………………………………… (FINISH) the test by now!

16) What time ………………………………… (START/ the English lesson) tomorrow

morning?

17) Are you sure she……………………………(WIN) the match?

18) …………………………………………… (COME/YOU) to the party?

19) I believe he………………………………….(MAKE) it to Cambridge!

20) I ……………………………………..….(NOT GO) to University if you don’t want me

to!

B) Interview a famous actor/actress/writer/singer etc. about his/her future career and

imagine their answers (10-15 exchanges):

(10 marks)

You: What are you going to do after this film?

TOM CRUISE: I’m going to direct my first movie …….

C) Describe in detail what you are going to do at university after leaving school (120-

150 words):

(10 marks)

D) Translate the following sentences into English:

(10 marks)

1) Avrò finito la partita entro le 7.

2) Andremo in vacanza a luglio.

3) Ti sposerai nei prossimi anni?

4) Guarda! Non ci sono nuvole! Farà freddo domani!

5) Stanno per andare a casa. Vuoi un passaggio?

6) Pensi che risponderà al mio e-mail?

7) Spero che ti piacerà il nuovo film di Tom Hanks!

8) Sembri affamato! Ti porto qualcosa da mangiare!

9) Domani vado a Londra.

10) Fra un’ora starà pranzando con la Regina!

58 59

Notes on future tenses

.

Notes on future tenses

60 61

PART IV

Verbs & Co. In this last part of the grammar we’ll concentrate on other important

aspects of the English verb system like the passive voice, reported

speech, modality, tense sequences ( in ‘if’ and time clauses).

- Unit 10: Modal verbs p. 63

- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech p. 70

- Unit 12: Passive verbs p. 76

- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses p. 80

B- time clauses p. 84

- Test p. 86

- Notes p. 90

Unit 10: Modal verbs When we use modal verbs (also known as modal auxiliaries or modals) we are not doing

things with words but we are indicating some sort of attitude towards what we are saying:

Yesterday we went to work. [Ieri siamo andati a lavorare.]

This is very different to: Peter should go to work. [Peter dovrebbe andare a lavorare.]

In the latter we are expressing a personal opinion. When language is about the register of

what we comunicate we need to use modal verbs:

Shut up!!! [Stai zitto!!!] is very different to the modal expression: you ought to be quiet.

Modal verbs are used to make requests /orders/offers/suggestions/express shades of feeling/

possibility/probability etc... Their use can vary from one English speaking country to another

(ought is rarely used in A.Eng).

Modals can not be inflected (we can not say: he musts); they are always used the base form

usually without to (they must go etc.); they are always contracted in spoken English (can’t;

mustn’t; shouldn’t etc.); they are used in ‘tag’ questions (I shouldn’t go, should I ?); they

can be used sometimes by themselvs without a following verb (I must go home now- I think

you should! ). In these last uses they are comparable to auxiliary verbs. However modals

have no reference to time (except for the following past modals: can → could; may → could/

might; shall → should; will → would; dare → dared ) or in perfect modals e.g. could have done/

might have done / should have done/ must have done etc.

Most modal verbs can be read according to the following two scales:

PROBABILITY / CERTAINTY

Might Must

PERMISSION / OBLIGATION

May Must

All the modals we are going to look at in the following charts, can be placed under one or

both of these scales according to a slight variation of their modal meaning.

62 63

CAN + base form

CAN’T + base

form

COULD + base

form

COULD NOT +

base form

(COULDN’T)

MAY + base form

MAY NOT + base

form

MODALS

•Can you swim breast-

stroke? [Sai nuotare a rana?]

Abilità generale/

poter/saper fare (con

significato presente e

futuro)

•Can I open the door?

[Posso aprire la porta?]

Chiedere permesso

• It can’t be him! He’s

living in Australia. [Non può essere lui! Vive in

Australia]

Fare deduzioni/ ipo-

tesi negative

• Could I talk to the

bank manager please?[Potrei parlare con il diretto-

re della baca per favore?]

Chiedere permesso

(formale)

• I could pass the test.[Potrei superare il test.]

Parlare di possibilità

presente o futura

• I could play the piano

when I was little [Sapevo suonare il pianofor-

te quando ero piccolo.]

Parlare di capacità o

abilità passate

• I couldn’t meet her

yesterday. [Non l’ho potuta incontrare

ieri.]

Parlare di qualcosa

che è stato difficile

fare in passato

• I may go to school

tomorrow. [Può essere che vado a scuo-

la domani.]

• May I go to the loo?

[Posso andare in bagno? ]

Parlare di probabilità

Chiedere permesso

BE ABLE TO

MAY/

COULD

CAN/MAY/

WOULD

LIKE/MIGHT

(molto forma-

le)

MIGHT/

MAY

WASN’T

ABLE TO

MIGHT/

COULD

CAN/COULD

etc...

ALTERNATIVE

MODAL EXPRES-

MIGHT + base

form

MIGHT NOT +

base form

(MIGHTN’T)

MUST + base form

MUST NOT + base

form

(MUSTN’T)

OUGHT TO + base

form

OUGHT NOT TO +

base form

(OUGHTN’T TO)

SHALL + base form

SHALL NOT +

base form

(SHAN’T)

• I might go to the party

tonight

[Può darsi che vado alla

festa stasera.]

Parlare di probabilità

• Might I sit here? [Potrei sedermi qui?]

Chiedere il permesso

(molto formale)

• You must be home by

midnight! [Devi essere a casa entro

mezzanotte!]

Espimere un obbligo

(con autorità perso-

nale)

• She must be over 20[Avrà più di 20 anni.]

Esprimere deduzioni

• You mustn’t go out in

the cold! [Non devi usire col freddo!]

Esprimere divieti

• You ought to smoke

less! [Dovresti fumare di meno!]

Esprimere un forte

consiglio (Br. Eng)

• Shall we go shopping?[Andiamo a fare la spesa?]

Fare proposte, inviti,

suggerimenti,offerte

• We shall overcome![Supereremo!]

Esprimere desideri e

convinzioni (enfatico

soprattutto in Br.

Eng)

MAY/

COULD

MAY/

COULD

HAVE TO/

HAD BET-

TER(con ve-

lata minac-

cia)/ NEED

SHOULD/

HAD BET-

TER

MODALS ALTERNATIVE

MODAL EXPRES-

64 65

MODAL EXPRESSIONS • Will you come to the

party?

[Vuoi venire alla festa?]

Fare inviti

• I will pass my exam! [Supererò il mio esame!]

Esprimere una con-

vinzione personale o

proposito. In questi

casi per enfasi non si

usano le forme con-

tratte

• Won’t you help me

with my homework? [Mi vuoi aiutare con i com-

piti?]

Inviti persuasivi

(specialmente in

Br.Eng)

• You should wear low-

heeled shoes! [Dovresti indossare scarpe

con tacco basso!]

Esprimere forte con-

siglio

• Would you open the

door, plese? [Mi apriresti la porta?]

Chiedere gentilmente

MODALS ALTERNATIVE

MODAL EXPRES-

WILL + base form

WILL NOT + base

form

(WON’T)

SHOULD + base

form

SHOULD NOT +

base form

(SHOULDN’T)

WOULD + base

form

WOULD NOT +

base form

(WOULDN’T)

CAN/

COULD

WOULD

OUGHT TO/

HAD BET-

TER

COULD/

WILL

MUST

DON’T

NEED TO

MANAGE

TO

COULDN’T

• In England you have to

drive on the left

[In Inghilterra si deve guida-

re a sinistra.]

Esprimere obbligo

specie se imposto dal-

la legge o da condizio-

ni esterne, necessità.

• You don’t have to do

your homework. You’re

too tired! [Non c’è bisogno che tu

faccia i compiti. Sei troppo

stanco!]

Esprimere assenza di

bisogno

• I was able to see him

yesterday [Ho potuto incontrarlo ieri.]

Parlare di possibilità o

capacità, specie al

passato e al futuro

• He wasn’t able to un-

derstand him/ he was

unable to understand

him [Non riuscì a capirlo.]

• I’m going to get mar-

ried [Ho intenzioni di sposarmi.]

Esprimere intenzioni

HAVE TO + base

form

DON’T HAVE TO

+ base form

(HAVEN’T TO)

BE ABLE TO +

base form

NOT BE ABLE

TO + base form /

TO BE UNABLE

TO + base form

BE GOING TO +

base form

NOT BE GOING

TO + base form

ALTERNATIVE

MODAL EXPRES-

66 67

The modals in the preceding table can all be used in “if” clauses (see

Unit…..pag..) and with the Future Continuous type expressions like: may be

doing/might be doing/could be doing/ should be doing for supposed actions

in the future etc..( see Unit...pag…).

MODALS IN COMPLEX SENTENCES (e.g. “if” clauses/reported

• He may have lost the key

[Può darsi che ha perso la chiave.] Per descrivere qualcosa che

può essere accaduta

• You ought to have locked the

front door [Avresti dovuto chiudere a chiave la

porta di ingresso]

Per descrivere qualcosa di

necessario che non si è fatto

nel passato

• You shouldn’t have copied

from your class-mate [Non avresti dovuto copiare da lui.]

Per descrivere qualcosa di

negativo che si è fatto al pas-

sato

• I would have bought him an

I-phone but it was to expensive [Gli avrei comprato un I-phone ma era

troppo costoso]

Per descrivere azioni che si

era intenzionati a fare ma

non si sono realizzate

• He couldn’t get in. He must

have forgotten his key at home [Non è potuto entrare. Avrà dimenti-

cato la sua chiave a casa.]

Fare deduzioni su azioni che

si sono possibilmente realiz-

zate

MAY HAVE +

past participle

MAY NOT HAVE

+ past pariciple

MIGHT HAVE +

past participle

MIGHTN’T HAVE

+ past pariciple

COULD HAVE +

past participle

COULDN’T HA-

VE + past partici-

ple

SHOULD HAVE +

past participle

OUGHT TO HA-

VE + past partici-

ple

SHOULDN’T HA-

VE + past partici-

ple

OUGHTN’T TO

HAVE + past parti-

ciple

WOULD HAVE +

past participle

WOULDN’T HA-

VE + past partici-

ple

MUST HAVE +

past participle

MUSTN’T HAVE

+ past participle

SEMI-MODALS

• Don’t you dare open the

window

[Non osare aprire la finestra]

Esprimere minaccio-

so divieto

• I need to do my ho-

mework [Ho bisogno di fare i compi-

Esprimere necessità

• He doesn’t need to

work. He’s rich!

• He needn’t work. He’s

rich! [Non ha bisogno di lavorare.

È ricco!]

Esprimere la man-

canza di necessità

DARE + base

form

DARE NOT +

base form

(DAREN’T)

NEED TO + base

form

DON’T NEED TO

+ base form

NEEDN’T + base

form

HAD BET-

TER

MUST/

HAVE TO

DO NOT

HAVE TO

ALTERNATIVE

MODAL EXPRES-

68 69

Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech

A) Reported speech in general

When we refer what we say or other people are saying we can use the Present Tense if we

want. In these cases the reporting verb (say/tell/ask etc...) is usually in the Present:

e.g. “I’m leaving at 6.” [Partirò alle 6.]

He’s saying he’s leaving at 6. [Sta dicendo che partirà alle 6.]

However normally when we report what we or other people have said, a time change occurs:

the reporting verb is in the past (he said/he told/he asked etc…) and a whole series of time

changes occur.

e.g “I’m going to Rome.” [Andrò a Roma.]

He said he was going to Rome. [Ha detto che andava a Roma.]

The Present Continuous becomes the Past Continuous and the first person singular becomes

third person singular etc…. Look at the following table for the other time changes that occur

when we transform direct into indirect speech: [ Sto guardando la TV.]

N.B. All references to people (pronouns) / time / places / may change in reported speech. See tables at

the end of unit

e.g. “I’m happy here” [ Sono felice qui .] He said he was happy there [ Ha detto che

era felice lì .]

TENSE CHANGE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Present to be

Past to be

“I’m tired”

[ Sono stanco.]

He said he was tired

[ Ha detto che era stanco.]

Present Simple

Past Simple

“I like shopping”

[ Mi piace fare la spesa.]

She said she liked shopping

[ Ha detto che le piaceva fare la

spesa.]

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

“We’re watching TV”

[ Sto guardando la TV.]

They said they was watching TV

[ Hanno detto che stavano

guardando la TV.]

Past Simple

Past Simple / Past Perfect

“I liked that film”

[ Mi è piaciuto quel film.]

“I lived in Milan”

[ Vivevo a Milano.]

He said he liked that film

[ Ha detto che gli piaceva quel

film.] or

He said he had lived in Milan

[ Ha detto che gli era vissuto a

Milano.]

TENSE CHANGE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

“I’ve lived in New York for

10 years”

[ Ho vissuto a New York per

10 anni.]

He said he had lived in New York

fot 10 years

[ Ha detto che era vissuto a New

York per 10 anni.]

Past Continuous

Past Continuous

“I was going to school when I

saw the accident”

[ Stavo andando a scuola

quando ho visto l’incidente.]

He said he was going to school

when he saw the accident

[ Ha detto che stava andando a

scuola quando vide l’incidente.]

Am/is/are going to + base

form

Was/were going to + base

form

“I’m going to get married

next year”

[ Mi sposerò l’anno

prossimo.]

He said he was going to get married

next year /the following year

[ Ha detto che si sarebbe sposato

l’anno prossimo /l’anno seguente.]

Will/ ’ll/ won’t

Would/ ‘d/ wouldn’t

“I think she’ll pass the exam”

[ Penso che supererà

l’esame.]

He said he thought she would pass

the exam

[ Ha detto che avrebbe superato

l’esame.]

Modal verbs (I):

Can

Could

“I can go immediately”

[ Posso andare subito.]

He said he could go immediately

[ Ha detto che poteva andare

subito.]

Modal verbs (II) :

Must / should

Had to

Other modals may or

may not change

“You must get up earlier!”

[ Ti devi alzare prima.]

He said he had to get up earlier

[ Ha detto che si doveva alzare

prima.]

70 71

B) Reporting questions

With reporting verbs like ask / want to know / demand / wonder etc... there are two types of

transformations of questions in reported speech:

1) yes / no questions

We transform yes / no questions into reported speech with if / whether :

Are you English? [Sei inglese?]

He asked if he was English [Ha chiesto se era inglese.]

2) “wh” -questions

We transform “wh” -questions into reported speech maintaining the word order of the

affermative form:

Where are you going tomorrow? [Dove andrai domani?]

He asked where she was going tomorrow/the following day. [Ha chiesto dove sarebbe

andata l’indomani /il giorno successivo. ]

What’s your name? [Come ti chiami?]

He asked what her name was. [Le ha chiesto come si chiamana.]

Why are you studying English? [Perché stai atudiando inglese?]

He asked why he was studying English. [Gli chiese perché stesse studiando inglese.]

As you can see above the reported transformations for both yes /no and “wh” -questions

are affermative and not interrogative.

C) Orders / requests / advice

Normally when we report an order, a request or some sort of advice we use to + base form

after the reporting verb:

1) Orders

“Go away!” [Vattene!]

He told her to go away. [Le ha detto di andare via.]

“Be quite!” [State zitti!]

She told them to be quite. [Ha detto a loro di stare zitti.]

For the differences between tell and say see table at the end of the unit p. ...

2) Requests

“Come with me please.” [Vieni con me per favore.]

She asked him to come with her. [Gli ha chiesto di andare con lei.]

“Can you open the window please?” [Puoi aprire la finestra per favore?]

She ask him to open the window. [Gli ha chiesto di aprire la finestra.]

3) Advice

“Study a little more.” [Studia un pò di più.]

He advised her to study a little more. [Le ha consigliato di studiare un po’ di più.]

“Be careful!” [Stai attenta.]

She told her to be careful [Le ha detto di stare attenta.]

1- Reporting verb + to + base form:

She agreed to go with him. ( “Ok let’s go!”)

They offered to help. ( “Can I help you?”)

They promised to study more. ( “We’re going to study

more.”)

He refused to leave. ( “I’m not going to leave!”)

2- Reporting verb + for + ing:

He apologized for arriving late. ( “I’m sorry, I’m late!”)

3- Reporting verb + noun / pronoun:

He agreed with her. ( “Ok, you’re right.”)

4- Reporting verb + ing:

I suggested going to Spain in August. ( “Let’s go to

Spain in August!”)

OTHER VERB STRUCTURES IN REPORTED

Say (dire) and tell (dire / raccontare)

are widely used in English especially

in reported speech, but they are used

in different ways. We say something

but we tell someone something:

He said that it was a beautiful

morning.

[Disse che era una bella mattinata.]

She said she loved him.

[Disse che lo amava.]

She told him she loved him.

[Gli disse che l’amava.]

She told them to go away.

[Disse loro di andare via.]

We can use say with a pronoun or

noun but the pronoun or noun must

be preceded by to:

I said to them to go away

But this form is hardly ever used in

English.

SAY / TELL

In inglese nel discorso indiretto il “che” non viene mai

usato , anche se usarlo non è grammaticamente sbagliato:

Disse che sarebbe andato a scuola l’indomani She said

she would go to school the following day.

THAT (CHE)

72 73

1) time changes

today that day now

then/at that time tomorrow the

next day/the following day / the day after

yesterday the day before / the previous day

next Monday / next year / next Christmas etc... the following

Monday / the following year / the following Christmas etc...

Last Monday / last year / last Christmas etc... The previous

Monday / the previous year / the previous Christmas etc...

2) place changes

Here there

over here over there

this place that place

3) pronoun changes

I he / she

you he / she / they

he / she he / she

we they

they they

me him / her

you him / her / them

him / her him / her

us them

them them

POSSIBLE TIME /PLACE / PRONOUN CHANGES IN INDI-

74 75

Unit 12: The Passive When we want to avoid mentioning the subject (agent) of an action, specially in formal wri-

ting (scientific reports/instructions etc.), we can use the Passive:

e.g. The experiment was carried out in normal conditions. [ L’esperimento fu condotto in

condizioni normali.]

Listening is improved in language labs. [L’ascolto si migliora nei laboratori linguistici.]

A) How is it formed ?

We use the equivalent tense of to be of the main verb + Past Participle as we can see in the

following table with the object of the active sentence becoming the subject of the passive

sentence:

In these examples of the passive, the agent can normally be specified with the use of by:

“Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” was painted by Picasso in 1907 [“Les Demoiselles

D’Avignon” fu dipinto da Picasso nel 1907]

Some verbs can have two objects (e.g. ask/give/offer/pay/promess/show/teach/tell etc.):

e.g. The English teacher asked his class(I) a question(II) [Il Professore d’inglese fece una

domanda alla sua classe]

This sort of verb can generate too passive sentences with the person (usually) or the object

(rare) becoming the subject of the passive sentence:

I - His class was asked a question

II - A question was asked his class

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Present Simple I paint my room blue

[Dipingo la mia stanza di blu]

My room is painted blue

[La mia stanza è dipinta di blu]

Present

Continuous

I’m painting my room blue

[Sto dipingendo la mia stanza di

blu]

My room is being painted blue

[Stanno dipingendo la mia stanza

di blu]

Present Perfect I have painted my room blue

[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]

My room has been painted blue

[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di

blu]

Past Simple I painted my room blue

[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]

My room was painted blue

[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di

blu]

Past

Continuous

I was painting my room blue

[Stavo dipingendo la mia stanza di

blu]

My room was being painted blue

[Stavano dipingendo la mia stanza

di blu]

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Future:

A) will

B) going to

I’ll paint my room blue

[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]

I’m going to paint my room blue

[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]

My room will be painted blue

[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]

My room is going to be painted

blue

[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]

Modals:

A) can

B) must

Etc...

I can paint my room blue

[Posso dipingere la mia stanza di

blu]

I must paint my room blue

[Devo dipingere l a mia stanza di

blu]

My room can be painted blue

[La mia stanza può essere dipinta

di blu]

My room must be painted blue

[La mia stanza deve essere dipinta

di blu]

76 77

B) More formal uses of the passive

Especially in writing and in formal English there are a variety of expressions which use the

passive form to communicate impersonal meaning (Queste espressioni traducono il “si” ital-

iano):

It is said that….[Si dice che...]

It is reported that…..[Si riferisce che....]

It is forbidden to….[E’ vietato....]

It is claimed that…[È dichiarato che ...]

It is mentioned ... [È mensionato che ... ] etc...

A special case is “ is supposed to + base form” with a variety of meanings and frequent in

spoken English e.g to express single opinions:

He is supposed to be going to school this morning [Si pensa che andrà a scuola stamattina.]

or general opinions:

You’re not supposed to drink alcohol here [Non si dovrebbe bere alcool qui.]

or in the past:

You weren’t supposed to go out this evening (but you did!) [Non dovevi uscire questa sera.]

C) Informal equivalents of the passive

In colloquial English there are many equivalent expressions to the passive which are used

when you get something done by other people:

Have + noun + past participle

e.g I have my hair cut once a month [Mi taglio i capelli una volta al mese.]

And in even more in formal English:

Get + noun + past participle

e.g I got my car washed [Ho fatto lavare la mia macchina.]

Make + noun + base form:

e.g. She made her husband work. [Lei ha fatto lavorare suo marito.]

78 79

Unit 13: A- “if” clauses

We have already seen examples of the “if” clauses in the sections of this grammar dedicated

to the Present, Past and Future. In this unit we will concentrate on the time sequences in “if”

clauses which often create difficulties in English language learning.

A) FIRST CONDITIONALS (probability)

“If” + verb always in the Present and the verb in the main sentences in the future:

If I see him I’ll tell him to call. [Se lo vedo gli dirò di chiamare.]

I won’t go to school if I have a headache. [Non andrò a scuola se ho mal di testa]

Sometimes the future can be substituted by a modal verb or by the imperative:

You can come round if you want. [Puoi vienire a trovarmi se vuoi]

If you go to London this summer you must remember to visit the new Saatchi Gallery [Se andrai a Londra quest’estate ricordati di visitare la nuova Saatchi Gallery]

Don’t forget to bring your umbrella if it rains. [Non dimenticare di portare l’ombrello se piove]

If not can be substituted with unless:

I won’t go to school unless you come=I won’t go to school if you don’t come [Non andrò a

scuola se tu non vieni/ a meno che tu non vieni]

If can also substituted with provided that/so long as/on condition that with similar

meanings:

I’ll go so long as you come with me. [Verrò a patto che vieni con me.]

Sometimes we can use the Present in both the if clauses and in the main sentence ( this type

of sentence is usually known as “0” type conditional) and in these cases we are normally

referring to general truths and not to specific personal situations:

If you drink too much red wine you get a headache. [Se bevi troppo vino rosso ti fa male la

testa] This is a general truth. But in the following the first conditional sequence is necessary:

If you drink too much beer at the party this evening you’ll be sick! [Se bevi troppa birra alla

festa questa sera, ti sentirai male!]

B) SECOND CONDITIONALS (Hypothetical clauses)

• In the second conditionals you use the simple past with the if clause and the conditional

(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the main sentence:

e.g. If I had a million pounds I’d live in London [Se avessi un milione di sterline vivrei a

Londra]

What would you do if you didn’t go to University? [Cosa faresti se non andassi

all’Università?]

• Sometimes the conditional can be substituted by other modals with slight variations of

meaning:

e.g. If you studied you could go to University. [Se Studiassi potresti andare all’Università.]

• In other cases it is possible to use could in the if clauses as the past form of can:

e.g. Would you buy a Ferrari if you could? [Compreresti una Ferrari se potessi?]

• With the verb to be in the if clause you can use both was and were in the first person( were

is correct and less colloquial:

e.g. If I were you I’d never get married. [Se fossi in te non mi sposerei mai.]

In spoken English “if I was you” is possible.

• Conected to the second type of if clauses, we have a variety of expressions in which the if

clause is often implicit but the same type of tense sequencing occurs:

e.g. I wish you were here! [Magari fossi qui!]

Had I enough money I’d buy a new house=If I had enough money I’d buy a new

house [Se avessi abbastanza soldi comprerei una casa nuova.]

Should I meet him I’d be very surprised! [Se lo incontrassi sarei molto sorpreso!]

If only I had a house in New York I would be the happiest man in the world! [Se

soltanto avessi una casa a New York sarei l’uomo più felice del mondo.]

If I get married I’ll live in the country-side (first type)

If I got married I wouldn’t have any children (second type)

Both these if clauses are grammatically corect, but semantically they are very different. In the former

we are talking about something which is possible in the near future; in the latter we are talking about

something which is improbable and theoretical.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND CONDITIONALS

80 81

C) THIRD CONDITIONALS ( impossible or past)

In the third type of if clauses we use the past perfect in the if clause and would + have +

past participle in the main clause:

e.g. If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married her. [Se avessi incontrato

Julia Roberts 20 anni fa l’avrei sposata.]

I’d have caught that train if I had arrived on time [Avrei preso quel treno se fosse arrivato in

orario.]

In this third type of if clause the general condition is past and therefore the main event can

not happen. We can change the would for other modals like could/might/should with varia-

tions of the meaning (See modals pag...):

e.g. He could have passed his exam if he had studied more. [Avrebbe potuto superare

l’esame se avesse studiato di più.]

Like with the second conditionals variations are possibile:

Had I passed my exams. I would have gone to University= if I had passed my exams I

would have gone to University. [Se avessi superato gli esami sarei andato all’Università.]

Sometimes you can mix second and third conditionals:

If he hadn’t drunk (third conditional) so much at the party he wouldn’t feel (second

conditional) so sick now. [Se non avessi bevuto cisì tanto alla festa non si sentirebbe così male ora.]

In these cases we are talking about something which happened in the past but the result is

present.

IF CLAUSES TENSE CHANGES

“0” CONDITIONAL IF PRESENT + PRESENT

If you drink too much red wine you get a headache

FIRST CONDITIONAL IF PRESENT + FUTURE

If I see him I’ll tell him to call.

SECOND CONDITIONAL IF SIMPLE PAST + CONDITIONAL

If I had a million pounds I’d live in London

THIRD CONDITIONAL IF PAST PERFECT + WOULD HAVE PAST PARTICI-

PLE

If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married

her.

SUMMARY OF TENSE SEQUENCING IN “IF” CLAUSES

Il congiuntivo nell’ inglese di oggi è stato sostituito dal passato nella maggior parte dei casi:

Se avessi dei soldi comprerei una macchina ( If I had some money I’d buy a car)

Il congiuntivo passato in inglese esiste ancora nella forma “were” al posto di was che usiamo nell’ “if”

clause di secondo tipo:

If I were you I’d marry him (se fossi in te lo sposerei)

Il congiuntivo presente inglese esiste in alcune rare forme:

God save the Queen! (che Dio salvi la regina)

Qui il “save” è congiuntivo presente e non present simple (manca infatti la -s della terza persona)

IL CONGIUNTIVO IN INGLESE

82 83

B- time clauses

With when, before, after, as soon as, until, while we use the same tense sequenze as in the

“if” clauses (first conditional): the future in the main clause and the present in the time clau-

se, even if it refers to the future:

e.g. When I go to London I’ll visit Buckingham Palace. [Quando andrò a Londra visiterò Buc-

kingham Palace.]

I’ll get married as soon as I get my degree. [mi sposerò appena mi laurierò.]

The future in the main clause can be substituted with the going to form or a modal.

e.g I’m going to get my degree when I finish school [Mi laurierò quando finisce la scuola.]

In inglese è vietato usare il doppio futuro come in italiano:

es: Quando sarò grande lavorerò per la FIAT [When I’m old I’ll work for FIAT.]

NON: When I’ll be old I’ll work for FIAT

DOPPIO FUTURO IN INGLESE

84 85

EXERCISES REVISING THE GRAMMATICAL POINTS OF

PART IV + PHRASAL VERBS

A- Complete the exercise with the appropriate phrasal verb constructions (verb/

preposition/adverb):

(30 marks)

1) They…………………….into the house and stole the jewellery.

2) He ………………………..across an old friend at the market.

3) He got …………………….the operation very quickly.

4)They didn’t get ………………….even though they were of the same age.

5) Time………………………by when you are having fun.

6) He looked ……………… his father when he was old and ill.

7) They couldn’t …………………..out the house in the distance because of the mist.

8) They put………………….some money for their old age.

9) The car ………………..out of petrol quickly.

10) Who are you taking……………on Saturday night?

11) The telephone hasn’t been working, I haven’t been able to get …………………..

12) The bomb …………………..off yesterday at day break.

13) We waited for them until late but they didn’t ………………round.

14) He came ……………..with an original idea for the project.

15) He stole the car but he ……………away with it.

16) He ………….up with his engagement 2 weeks before the wedding.

17) The plane…………..off on time

18) He ran…………….the cat with his motor-bike.

19) He put …………..some bread for dinner.

20) He ……………….up the story about his previous marriage.

21) They were ……………….forward to the Christmas party.

22) He couldn’t find ……………..the truth about his father’s death.

23) Please look ……………..my dog while I’m on holiday!

24) He made……………..the money after the robbery.

25) They………….on a new play on the French Revolution.

26) He ………………up a considerable debt after finishing his new house.

27) He always …………..off his jacket after work.

28) As an English teacher he was unable to ……………across the importance of grammar in

the course.

B) Complete the following ‘IF’ clauses:

(15 marks)

1) I’ll visit my relations in New Zealand ......................................

2) If I had arrived at the station on time .......................................

3) I wouldn’t talk to him if ...........................................................

4) Would you go abroad if ......................................................?

5) If he does his English homework .............................................

6) He wouldn’t have married her if ..............................................

7) They’ll go shopping if ..............................................................

8) If I were you .............................................................................

9) He’ll be at school tomorrow if .................................................

10) If I had a lot of money .............................................................

11) He’d do this exercises at school if ...........................................

12) What would you buy him if .....................................................?

13) He’ll see the show on TV if ....................................................

14) If I were the Primeminister of Italy .........................................

15) Will you buy him that shirt if ..................................................?

86 87

C) Transform the following utterances into reported speech adding the appropriate

reporting verb and making all the necessary changes:

(15 marks)

1) “Hello darling! How are you?”

2) “I’m going to New York next week.”

3) “What do you think of the new Spielberg film?”

4) “Please sit down and be quite!”

5) “Have a nice cup of tea!”

6) “Go to the blackboard and write the following sentence!”

7) “Can you tell me the way to the nearest tube statition please?”

8) “What’s your name?”

9) “Are you going to school tomorrow?”

10) “Yesterday I went shopping with mum.”

11) “Do you really like red lipstick?”

12) “I must go to school early tomorrow.”

13) “If I go to school early tomorrow I’ll prepare your tests.”

14) “Give me your pen!”

15) “You should study more if you want to pass the English PET exam.”

D) Transform the following sentences into the passive:

(15 marks)

1) He’ll build that church next year.

2) Milan-Ajax played the match in the rain.

3) You press ‘Escape’ on your computer to get out of trouble.

4) You should write a book on the Mafia.

5) Next year the Headmistress of this school will allow us to go to England.

6) They bought that car two years ago.

7) I’ve just painted my house red.

8) They’ll look after their father-in-law.

9) Kim Basinger wrote a romantic letter to an English teacher!

10) Marco Polo discovered China in the Middle Ages.

E) Write a short composition (120-150 words) beginning with the words:

If I could travel anywhere in the world I’d ……………… (15 marks)

F) Translate the following sentences into English:

(10 marks)

1) Dovresti alzarti presto.2) Non ho potuto fare i compiti ieri.

3) Devi andare a scuola oggi!

4) Puoi incontrare i suoi genitori domani a scuola?

5) Vorrei parlare in inglese senza un accento italiano.

6) Potresti aiutarmi con il lavoro di casa?

7) Dovresti andare a lavoro a piedi più spesso

8) Dovrò spedirti un fax.

9) Potrò venire alla tua festa di compleanno.

10) Dovrò andare a fare la spesa prima di andare a scuola

11) Non hai bisogno di studiare per questo test.

12) Non devi usare il verbo “essere” con il Present Perfect in inglese.

13) Dovresti guardare meno televisione la sera.

14) Vorresti un Martini?

15) Posso venire con te, se vuoi!

16) Ho dovuto smettere di lavorare presto ieri sera perché mia figlia stava male.

17) Non ho potuto fare i compiti d’inglese. Erano troppo difficili.

18) Domani dovrò partire alle 8.

19 ) Potresti venire con la macchina domani?

20) Domani dovrò portare €100 per la gita scolastica.

88 89

Notes

Notes

90 91

Appendix I: Irregular verbs

to arise arose arisen sorgere

to be was/were been essere

to bear bore borne portare/sopportare

to beat beat beaten batere

to become became become diventare

to begin began begun incominciare

to bend bent bent piegare/piegarsi

to bet bet bet scommettere

to bite bit bitten mordere

to bleed bled bled sanguinare

to blow blew blown soffiare

to break broke broken rompere/rompersi

to breed bred bred allevare/generare

to bring brought brought portare

to build built built costruire

to burn burned

burnt(B.ENG)

burned

burnt(B.ENG)

bruciare

to buy bought bought comprare

to cast cast cast gettare

to catch caught caught prendere/acchiappare

to choose chose chosen scegliere

to come came come venire

to cost cost cost costare

to creep crept crept strisciare

to cut cut cut tagliare

to deal dealt dealt trattare

to dig dug dug scavare

INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE ITALIAN

to do did done fare

to draw drew drawn disegnare

to dream dreamed

dreamt(B.ENG)

dreamed

dreamt(B.ENG)

sognare

to drink drank drunk bere

to drive drove driven guidare(auto)

to eat ate eaten mangiare

to fall fell fallen cadere

to feed fed fed nutrire

to feel felt felt sentire/sentirsi

to fight fought fought combattere

to find found found trovare

to flee fled fled fuggire

to fly flew flown volare

to forbid forbade forbidden proibire

to forget forgot forgotten dimenticare

to forgive forgave forgiven perdonare

to freeze froze frozen gelare

to get got got/gotten (A.Eng) ottenere/diventare

to give gave given dare

to go went gone andare

to grind ground ground tirare

to grow grew grown crescere/coltivare

to hang hung hung appendere

to have had had avere

to hear heard heard udire

to hide hid hidden nascondere

to hold held held tenere

to hurt hurt hurt ferire

92 93

to keep kept kept tenere/conservare

to kneel knelt/kneeled knelt/kneeled inginocchiarsi

to know knew known conoscere/sapere

to lay laid laid deporre/posare

to lead led led condurre/guidare

to learn learnt/learned learnt/learned imparare

to leave left left partire

to lend lent lent prestare

to let let let lasciare/permettere

to lie lay lain giacere/trovarsi

to light lighted/lit lighted/lit accendere

to lose lost lost perdere

to make made made fare/costruire

to mean meant meant significare

to meet met met incontrare

to pay paid paid pagare

to put put put mettere

to quit quit quit smettere

to read read /red/ read /red/ leggere

to ride rode ridden cavalcare

to ring rang rung suonare/squillare

to rise rose risen sorgere/alzarsi

to run ran run correre

to say said said dire

to see saw seen vedere

to seek sought sought cercare

to sell sold sold vendere

to send sent Sent mandare/spedire

to set set set porre

to shake shook shaken scuotere

to shed shed shed versare

to shine shone shone brillare/splendere

to shoot shot shot sperare

to show showed shown mostrare

to shrink shrank shrunk/shrunken restringersi

to shut shut shut chiudere

to sing sang sung cantare

to sink sank sunk affondare

to sit sat sat sedersi

to sleep slept slept dormire

to slide slid slid scivolare

to speak spoke spoken parlare

to spend spent spent spendere/trascorrere

to spread spread spread diffondere/stendere

to spring sprang sprung saltare

to stand stood stood stare in piedi

to steal stole stolen rubare

to stick stuck stuck attaccare/attaccarsi

to sting stung stung pungere

to stink stank stunk puzzare

to stike struck struck/striken colpire

to strive strove striven lottare

to swear swore sworn giurare

to sweep swept swept spazzare/scopare

to swim swam swum nuotare

to swing swung swung dondolare

to take took taken prender/portare

94 95

The spaces below can be filled in with new irregular verbs as you meet them

in future reading etc...

To teach taught taught insegnare

To tear tore torn strappare

To tell told told dire/raccontare

To think thought thought pensare

To throw threw thrown gettare

To tread trod trodden calpestare

To understand understood understood comprendere

To wake woke woken svegliare/svegliarsi

To wear wore worn indossare/logorare

To win won won vincere

To wind wound wound avvolgere

To wring wrung wrung torcere

To write wrote written scrivere

96 97

Appendix II: Phrasal verbs

Widely used and typical of spoken/informal English, phrasal verbs

are made up of a base form and a preposition/adverb. With phra-

sal verbs you can extend communication producing thousands of

meanings with a limited number of verbs through a ‘copy, cut and

paste’ system of language creation and with a very light memory

load. The meaning of most phrasal verbs can be guessed:

e.g. I gave out the photocopies. [Ho distribuito le fotocopie]

While in other cases you must learn the meaning of the phrasal

verb by heart:

e.g. How are you getting along with your new class mates? [Vai d’accor-

do con i tuoi compagni?]

We can distinguish two main types of phrasal verbs:

Type 1- where there is no object:

e.g. The bomb went off. [La bomba è esplosa.]

Type 11- where there is an obje ct:

e.g. He took off his jacket. [Si è tolto la giacca.]

Which can also be rendered by: He took his jacket off.

And if we substitute the object with the pronoun by:

e.g. He took it off. And NOt: He took off it.

Add up (a) To add up a column of figures

Sommare una colonna di cifre

Sommare

Add up (b) Something about his behaviour just didn’t

seem to add up

Qualcosa nel suo comportamento sembrava

proprio che non quadrasse

Avere un senso

Ask over He asked his neighbour over for dinner

Ha invitato a cena il suo vicino di casa

Invitare a casa

Back up (a) He backed up his application with a lot of

documents

Ha sostenuto la sua domanda con tanti do-

cumenti

Dare sostegno/ appoggia-

re

Back up (b) He backed up all his computer files

Ha copiato tutti i suoi files del computer

Fare la copia di un file

Break down

(a) His car broke down

La sua macchina si è rotta

Rompersi

Break down

(b)

The problem was broken down into 3

parts

Il problema è stato analizzato in 3 parti

Analizzare

Break into The thieves broke into the jewellery

I ladri entrarono con violenza nella gioiel-

leria

Entrare con

violenza

Break out

of They broke out of prison

Sono scappati dalla prigione

Scappare

98 99

.

Bring

about It brought about a big change

Ha causato un grande cambiamento

Causare

Bring up (a) Their children were brought up well

I loro figli sono stati educati bene

Crescere,educare

Bring up

(b)

He brought up a new aspect of the prob-

lem

Ha sollevato un nuovo aspetto del proble-

ma

Sollevare un argomento

Call off The match was called off

La partita è stata annullata

Annullare

Calm down Calm down before your exam

Rilassati prima dell’esame

Rilassarsi

Care for The three children all cared for their old

parents

I tre bambini si prendevano cura dei loro

anziani genitori

Prendere cura di

Carry on (a) She carried on working all day

Continuò a lavorare tutto il giorno

Continuare

Carry out He carried out the plan to change the

school

Ha portato avanti il piano per cambiare la

scuola

Eseguire un compito

Catch on The use of the I-pod is catching on

L’uso dell’I-pod si sta diffondendo

Diffondersi

Catch up

(with)

During the marathon he caught up with

me

Durante la maratona lui mi ha raggiunto

Raggiungere

Cheer up He cheered up the losing team

Ha tirato su di morale la squadra perdente

Tirarsi su di morale

Come

about The tragedy came about

E’ avvenuta la tragedia

Avvenire

Come

across

In Charles Dickens, characters come

across each other by chance

In Charles Dickens, i personaggi si incon-

trano per caso

Incontrare per

caso

Come back He came back to school

E’ tornado a scuola

Ritornare

Come for-

ward

He came forward to help build the new

school

Si è proposto per aiutare a costruire la

nuova scuola

Proporsi

Come in (to) He came into the room silently

Entrò nella stanza silenziosamente

Entrare

Come up

with

He came up with a new idea for the

school review

Escogitò una nuova idea per la rivista

scolastica

Escogitare, suggerire

Cross out She crossed out his name from her diary

Ha cancellato il suo nome dal proprio

diario

Cancellare, eliminare

Cut down He cut down all the big trees in his gar-

den

Ha abbattuto tutti gli alberi grandi del suo

giardino

Eliminare, abbattere

100 101

.

Cut down

on

Families have cut down on the use of

their cars because of the recent increase

in the price of petrol

Le famiglie hanno ridotto l’uso della

macchina a causa del recente aumento del

costo della benzina

Ridurre

Cut off The ski lift was cut off from the snow

resort because of the avalanche

Lo ski lift fu isolato dalla stazione sciisti-

ca a causa della valanga

Interrompere

Cut out He cut out the interesting article on music

from the newspaper

Ha ritagliato l’ articolo interessante sulla

musica dal giornale

Ritagliare

Cut up She cut up the cake into pieces

Ha tagliato in pezzi la torta

Fare a pezzi

Die away As we walked away the music died away

Man mano ci allontanavamo a piedi la

musica si spegneva a poco a poco

Spegnersi a poco a poco

Die out Many species have died out in the last

100 years

Molte specie si sono estinte negli ultimi

100 anni

Estinguersi ,

scomparire

Do

without

He did without his secretary when he

bought a new computer

Lui ha fatto a meno della sua segretaria

quando ha comprato un nuovo computer

Fare a meno di

Draw up The school will draw up a new contract

for teachers

La scuola stilerà un nuovo contratto per

gli insegnanti

Stilare, preparare

Dream up He dreamed up a new way of collecting

money for school projects

Ha escogitato un nuovo sistema per racco-

gliere I soldi per I progetti scolastici

Escogitare,

concepire (idea)

Dress up She dressed up for her first date with her

new boyfriend

Si è ben vestita per il suo primo appunta-

mento con il suo nuovo ragazzo

Vestirsi con

eleganza

Drive

away

He drove away many of the shop’s clients

with his bad manners

Spinse via tanti clienti del negozio con le

sue cattive maniere

Spingere via

Drive back He drove his children back home

Accompagnò i suoi figli a casa con la

macchina

Riaccompagnare con la

macchina

Drop

behind

She dropped behind in the school race

because she sprained her ankle

È riamasta indietro nella corsa scolastica

perchè si è slogato la caviglia

Rimanere indietro

Drop by

Drop in on I‘ve just dropped by to say ‘hello’

Sono passato solo per salutarti

Andare a trovare senza

preavviso

102 103

.

Drop off (a) My father dropped me off at school

Mio padre mi ha accompagnato a scuola

Accompagnare a

Drop off

(b) I dropped off during the English lesson

Mi sono addormenta durante la lezione

d’inglese

Addormentarsi

Drop out After he failed his ‘O’ Level exams he

dropped out

Dopo essere stato bocciato agli esami ‘O’

Level si ritirò

Ritirarsi dalla scuola

Eat out I always eat out Saturdays

Mangio sempre fuori sabato

Mangiare fuori casa

Eat up Eat up your food!

Mangiati tutto il cibo!

Divorare, mangiare tutto

End up He ended up living alone

Finì per vivere da solo

Finire per,

concludersi

Face up to Italians have to face up to the fact that the

cost of living has risen terribly

Gli italiani devono acettare che il costo

della vita si è alzato terribilmente

Affrontare,

accettare

Fall apart His marriage fell apart when he went to

live in London

Il suo matrimonio è andato in pezzi quan-

do è andato a vivere a Londra

Andare in pezzi,

disintegrarsi

Fall behind Martina fell behind at school when she

broke her leg

Martina è rimasta indietro quando si è rota

la gamba

Rimanere indietro, farsi

superare

Fall down She fell down outside the shop

È caduta a terra fuori dal negozio

Cadere a terra

Fall for She fell for him as soon as she saw him

Si è innamorata di lui appena l’ha visto

Innamorarsi

Fall out

with

Martina fell out with Robert when the

school finished

Martina litigò con Roberto quando finì la

scuola

Litigare

Fall over While he was running he fell over

Mentre correva è caduto

Cadere, crollare

Feel up to We didn’t feel up to meeting her soon

after her divorce

Non ci sentivamo di incontrarla subito

dopo il suo divorzio

Sentirsi all’ altezza, sen-

tirsi di

Fight back He fought back his anger when his boss

sacked him

Ha controllato la sua rabbia quando fu

licenziato dal suo capo

Reprimere,

controllare

Figure out We haven’t figured out why she’s so sad!

Non abbiamo capito perchè è così triste!

Capire, risolvere

Fill in Fill in your application form

Completa la tua domanda

Completare con

l’informazione

richiesta

Fill up Before leaving he filled his car up with

petrol

Prima di partire ha fatto il pieno

Riempire, colmare

104 105

.

Find out Tom and Mary found out that their 16

year –old - son wasn’t going to school

Tom e Mary scoprirono che il loro figlio

sedicenne non andava a suola

Scoprire, trovare

Fit in He didn’t fit in the class because he stud-

ied too much

Non si è inserito nella classe perchè stu-

diava troppo

Inserirsi,

ambientarsi

Get

along with

She didn’t get along with her new neigh-

bours

Non andava d’accordo con I suoi nuovi

vicini di casa

Andare d’accordo

Get

away

When the police arrived the thieves had

got away

Quando arrivò la polizia i ladri erano

scappati

Scappare

Get

away with

He’s so spoilt that he thinks he can get

away with anything

È così viziato che pensa di farla franca in

tutte le cose

Farla franca

Get by He couldn’t get by without a real job

Non poteva sopravvivere senza un vero

lavoro

Sopravvivere

Get over She got over her heart operation after

many months

Si riprese dall’intervento al cuore dopo

tanti mesi

Riprendersi da

Get through

to

Yesterday I couldn’t get through to Mar-

tina and Roberta because my mobile

phone wasn’t working

Ieri non sono riuscito a comunicare con

Martina e Roberta perché il mio telefono

non funzionava

Riuscire a far capire, riu-

scire a raggiungere / co-

municare

Get up I always get up with a smile

Mi alzo sempre con il sorriso

Alzarsi

Give

away He gave away all his money to the poor

Donò tutti i suoi soldi ai poveri

Donare

Give back She gave him back their engagement ring

Gli ha restituito l’ anello di finanziamento

Restituire

Give in She gave in and went back home

Si è arresa ed è tornata a casa

Arrendersi, cedere

Give out She gave out the photocopies

Ha distribuito le fotocopie

Distribuire,

consegnare

Give up She gave up smoking

Ha smesso di fumare

Arrendersi, smettere

Go along

with

He could’t go along with the idea that his

wife was living with another man

Non era d’accordo con l’idea che la mo-

glie viveva con un altro uomo

Essere d’accordo

Go back I’ll go back when my Erasmus project

finishes

Tornerò quando finirà il mio progetto Era-

smus

Ritornare

106 107

.

Go down I go down to Agrigento every weekend

Scendo ad Agrigento ogni weekend

Scendere

Go on (a) After leaving school you must go on with

your studies

Dopo aver finito la scuola devi proseguire

con gli studi

Proseguire,

continuare

Go on (b) What’s going on over there?

Che sta succedendo lì?

Succedere,

accadere

Go out with Martina is going out with Mattia at the

moment

Martina sta uscendo per ora con Mattia

Uscire con

Go over He went over the English lesson for his

test

Ha ripassato la lezione d’inglese per il

compito

Ripassare, controllare

Go through

(with)

She’s going through a bad period at the

moment

Sta attraversando un brutto periodo in

questo momento

Andare fino in

fondo, attraversare

Go with (a) That t-shirt goes with your skirt

Quella maglietta si abbina con la gonna

Abbinarsi a

Go with (b) I went to the disco with Roberta

Sono andato in discoteca con Roberta

Accompagnare, andare

con

Go

without He went without breakfast yesterday

Ieri ha fatto a meno della colazione

Fare a meno di

Grow

apart

After the birth of their 3 children they be-

gan to grow apart

Dopo la nascita di 3 figli cominciarono ad

allontanarsi

Allontanarsi

Grow up He grew up in London

È cresciuto a Londra

Crescere

Hand in I handed my project work in

Ho consegnato il mio progetto

Consegnare

Hand out I handed out all the novels to read during

the summer

Ho distribuito I romanzi da leggere duran-

te l’estate

Distribuire

Hang

around/

about

He spent the whole summer hanging

around the main street

Ha passato l’intera estate in giro per la

strada principale

Bighellonare, stare in giro

Hang out She didn’t like hanging out the washing

Non le piaceva stendere la biancheria

Stendere,

appendere fuori

Hang up I was so angry with him on the phone I

just had to hang up

Ero così arrabbiata con lui che ho dovuto

riattaccare

Mettere giù,

riattaccare, appendere

Have on I had my white dress on

Indossavo il mio vestito bianco

Indossare

Have

over I had my neighbours over for lunch

Ho invitato a pranzo i miei vicini

Invitare a casa

propria

108 109

.

Hear from I haven’t heard from him for ages

Non lo sento da anni

Ricevere o avere notizie

da

Help out He’s helping out with the housework

while his wife’s in hospital

Sta dando una mano nei lavori di casa

mentre la moglie è in ospedale

Dare un aiuto

Hint at He hinted at her embarrassing family

situation

Ha alluso alla sua situazione familiare

imbarazzante

Alludere a, insinuare

Hold back He was so angry that it was impossible to

hold him back

Era così arrabbiato che era impossibile

trattenerlo

Trattenere

Hold out The poor Rumanian girl held her hand

out for money

La povera ragazza rumena tese la mano

per I soldi

Porgere, tendere

Hunt down The police hunted down all the hooligans

outside the stadium

La polizia ha scovato e punito tutti gli

ultrà fuori dallo stadio

Scovare e punire

Identify

with

I couldn’t identify with the new ideas of

the left-wing

Non potevo identificarmi con le nuove

idée della sinistra

Identificarsi con

Invite over I invited my mother-in-law over for lunch

Ho invitato a casa a mia suocera per pran-

zo

Invitare a casa

Iron out In a school meeting parents and teachers

ironed out all the difficulties

In un incontro a scuola tra genitori e inse-

gnanti tutti i problemi sono stati risolti

Eliminare, risolvere

Join in My class will join in the English project

next year

L’anno prossimo la mia classe parteciperà

ad un progetto d’inglese

Partecipare

Jump at My students jumped at the possibility of

going to study in England

I miei studenti hanno colto a volo la possi-

bilità di studiare in Inghilterra

Cogliere al volo

Keep

away from Keep away from him! He’s dangerous…

Tieniti lontano da lui! È pericoloso….

Tenersi lontano da, evita-

re

Keep out We kept the dog out of the garden

Abbiamo tenuto il cane fuori dal giardino

Tenere fuori da

Keep up

(with)

It was difficult to keep up with the best

students in my class

Era difficile stare dietro ai migliori studen-

ti della mia classe

Rimanere alla pari degli

altri, stare aggior-

nato su

Kick out He was kicked out of the team for doping

Fu buttato fuori dalla squadra per doping

Cacciare, buttare fuori

Kneel down She kneeled down and prayed

Si è inginocchiata ed ha pregato

Inginocchiarsi

110 111

.

Know of Do you know of any good motorbike on

sale?

Hai sentito dire se c’è in vendita qualche

motocicletta in buone condizioni?

Aver sentito parlare di

Lay down He laid his keys down on the table

Ha posato le chiavi sul tavolo

Mettere giù, posare

Lay off The FIAT laid off a lot of their workers

La FIAT ha sospeso dal lavoro molti dei

suoi lavoratori

Sospendere dal

lavoro

Lead up to In 1968 the discontent in French schools

and University led up to the May riots

Nel 1968 lo scontento delle scuole e uni-

versità francesi portò alla ribellione di

Maggio

Preparare, portare a

Leave

behind

When she separated from her husband she

left all her problems behind

Quando si è separato dal marito ha lascia-

to dietro tutti i suoi problemi

Lasciare dietro

Leave out He didn’t leave anybody out of the pro-

ject

Non ha escluso nessuno dal progetto

Escludere,

tralasciare

Let down He didn’t want to let his children down

Non ha voluto deludere i suoi figli

Deludere

Let in Don’t let him in!

Non lasciarlo entrare!

Lasciare entrare

Let out He let the dog out for a walk

Ha fatto uscire fuori il cane per una pas-

seggiata

Fare/ lasciare uscire

Lie down When he has lunch he always wants to

lie down for a bit

Quando pranza vuole sempre sdraiarsi per

un pò

Stendersi

Light up He’ll light up the garden for the midnight

party

Illuminerà il giardino per la festa di mez-

zanotte

Illuminare,

accendere

Live up to I was unable to live up to my parents’

ambitions for me

Non sono stato in grado di rispondere alle

ambizioni che i miei genitori avevano per

me

Rispondere alle

aspettative

Lock out She locked her husband out for the night

Chiuse fuori il marito per la notte

Chiudere fuori

Lock up Don’t forget to lock up the house before

going on holiday!

Non dimenticare di chiudere a chiave la

casa prima di andare in vacanza

Chiudere a chiave, impri-

gionare

Log on to

(onto)

Use the password to log on to the new

program

Usare la password per entrare nel nuovo

programma

Entrare in un sistema in-

formatico usando una

chiave d’identificazione

Look

after It is very difficult to look after old parents

È difficile badare ai genitori

anziani

Badare a

112 113

.

Look down

on

She looked down on the poorer students

of the class

Teneva in scarsa considerazione i compa-

gni più poveri della classe

Tenere in scarsa conside-

razione

Look for What are you looking for?

Cosa stai cercando?

Cercare

Look

forward to I’m looking forward to hearing from you

Non vedo l’ora di sentirti

Non vedere l’ora di

Look into The police looked into the murder of the

old-aged-pensioner

La polizia ha indagato sull’omicidio del

pensionato

Indagare

Look out

( for)

Parents should look out for early signals

of psychological unrest in the children

I genitori dovrebbero stare attenti ai primi

segnali di irrequietezza psicologica nei

loro figli

Stare in guardia

Look

over I looked the new contract over

Ho esaminato il nuovo contratto

Esaminare

Look up Look this word up on Wikipedia

Cerca questa parola su Wikipedia

Cercare una parola in un

dizionario o un dato in un

elenco

Make out I can’t make out your hand- writing

Non riesco a capire la tua scrittura

Decifrare, capire

Make up (a) He made the whole story up

Si è inventato l’intera storia

Inventare/si

Make up

(b)

They made up after the birth of their first

child

Si sono riconciliati dopo la nascita del

primo figlio

Riconciliarsi

Mix up I always mix their names up

Confondo sempre i loro nomi

Confondere,

mescolare bene

Nod off My students always nod off during the

literature lessons

I miei studenti dormono sempre durante le

lezioni di letteratura

Addormentarsi

Own up to My daughter owned up to stealing from

my purse

Mia figlia ha ammesso di aver rubato soldi

dal mio portamonete

Confessare, ammettere

Pass

away He passed away without suffering

E’ morto senza soffrire

Morire

Pass out She passed out when she discovered she

was pregnant

E’ svenuta quando ha scoperto di essere

incinta

Perdere coscienza, svenire

Pay

back/off He paid all his debts back

Ha finito di pagare tutti I suoi debi-

ti

Finire di pagare

Pay off His new activity paid off quickly

La sua nuova attività è stata subito redditi-

zia

Essere redditizio

114 115

.

Pick on They picked on me at school because I

always got good marks

Mi sfottevano a scuola perchè prendevo

sempre bei voti

Prendersela con, sfottere

Pick out She picked out a new pair of shoes for

the party

Ha scelto un nuovo paio di scarpe per la

festa

Selezionare,

individuare,

scegliere

Pick up (a) I pick my children up at school every

afternoon

Vado a prendere con la macchina I miei

figli a scuola ogni pomeriggio

Andare a prendere con la

macchina

Pick up (b) He picked the case up and went to the

gate

Ha preso la valigia ed è andato all’uscita

Prendere, alzare

Pick up (c) After the long winter business is picking

up

Dopo il lungo inverno gli affair si stanno

riprendendo

Riprendersi

Play down This government always plays down the

problems connected with the increasing

cost of living

Questo governo minimizza sempre i pro-

blemi legati al costo della vita che sta au-

mentando

Minimizzare

Point out He pointed out the negative aspects of

the plan

Ha indicato gli aspetti negative del piano

Indicare, far notare

Pull away She pulled away quickly without looking

in the mirror

Si è allontanata velocemente senza guar-

dare lo specchietto

Allontanare

(in macchina)

Pull in She pulled into the emergency lane

Si è accostata nella corsia di emergenza

Arrivare, accostarsi (in

macchina)

Pull off (a) They pulled the take-over off

Sono riusciti a concludere l’acquisto/

controllo

Riuscire a concludere

Pull off (b) She pulled off the baby’s clothes and put

him in the bath

Ha tolto I vestiti del bambino e l’ha messo

nel bagno

Tirare via, togliere i vesti-

ti

Pull up The taxi pulled up and waited for me

Il taxi si è accostato e mi ha aspettato

Accostare

(in macchina)

Put

across

He put his ideas across to the class in a

very convincine way

Ha comunicato le sue idea alla classe in

modo convincente

Comunicare

Put away He put all his books away after studying

ha conservato tutti I suoi libri dopo aver

studiato

Mettere via, riporre

Put back She put her clothes back into the ward-

robe

Ha rimesso i vestiti nell’armadio

Rimettere a posto

Put down She put her bag down on the table

Ha posato la sua borsa sul tavolo

Posare

116 117

.

Put off (a) The match was put off because of the bad

weather

La partita è stata rinviata a causa del mal

tempo

Rinviare

Put on (a) She put her Armani jumper on for her

first date

Ha indossato il suo maglione Armani per

il primo appuntamento (con il ragazzo)

Indossare

Put on ( c) During the winter I put on weight

Durante l’estate prendo peso

Mettere su (di peso)

Put out (a) He put the fire out before leaving

Ha spent oil fuoco prima di partire

Spegnere

Put out (b) She put the dog out for the night

Ha fatto uscire il cane fuori per la notte

Fare uscire

Put up He put her up for the night in the flat

upstairs

L’ha ospitata nell’appartamento sopra

Alloggiare, ospitare

Put up with It’s difficult to put up with my English

teacher

E’ difficile sopportare il professore d’in-

glese

Sopportare,

tollerare

Read up on The students read up on nuclear energy

for the physics project

I studenti si documentarono sull’energia

nucleare per il progetto di fisica

Documentarsi su un argo-

mento

Ring up I rang her up to fix an appointment

Le ho telefonato per fissare un appunta-

mento

Telefonare a

Rule out The teacher ruled her out of the PET

group because her English wasn’t good

enough

L’insegnante l’ha esclusa del gruppo PET

perchè il suo inglese non era buona abba-

stanza

Escludere

Run

across

(into)

I ran across my ex-class mate at the pub

Ho incontrato per caso il mio ex compa-

gno di classe al pub

Incontrare per caso

Run

against

Barack Obama is running against John

McCain in the American Presidential

Election in November

Barack Obama si candida contro John

McCain nelle elezioni presenziali america-

ne a novembre

Candidarsi contro

Run

around

She’s running around all day without

doing anything in particular

Va in giro freneticamente senza fare nien-

te in particolare

Andare in giro in

maniera frenetica e scon-

clusionata

Run away She ran away with the money

Scappò via con I soldi

Scappare

Run down He ran the cat down on his way to work

Ha investito il gatto andando a lavoro

Investire, travolgere

Run for Hilary Clinton first ran for the Senate in

2000

Hilary Clinton si candidò per la prima vol-

ta per il Senato nel 2000

Candidarsi per

118 119

.

Run off

with The boss ran off with his secretary

Il capo scappò via con la segretaria

Scappare per stare insie-

me a

Run out of My car ran out of petrol on the motor-

way

La mia macchina è rimasta senza benzina

sull’autostrada

Esaurire, finire

Save up We all saved up for the school trip

Tutti abbiamo messo da parte i soldi per la

gita scolastica

Risparmiare

See

about

I’m seeing about finding him a job at the

new bank

Mi sto informando per trovargli un lavoro

nella nuova banca

Informarsi su

See off I saw her off at the port

L’ho salutata quando è partita dal porto

Salutare alla

partenza

See through I could see through every lie of hers

Riuscivo a capire ogni sua bugia

Capire, intuire

See to I wanted to see to every need of hers

Volevo occuparbi di ogni suo bisogno

Provvedere, occuparsi di

Sell out Leonard Cohen sold out all the copies of

his new CD in the first month

Leonard Cohen ha venduto tutte le copie

del suo nuovo CD nel primo mese

Vendere tutto,

esaurire

Set aside I set aside some money for when I retire

Ho messo da parte un pò di soldi per

quando vado in pensione

Riservare, mettere da

parte

Set off He set off for a long journey

È partito per un lungo viaggio

Partire, cominciare un

viaggio

Set up They’re going to set up a new charity

organization for homeless people

Istituiranno una nuova associazione di

carità per le persone senza casa

Mettere su, istituire

Settle down They will settle down in their new home

after the summer holidays

Si sistemeranno nella loro nuova casa

dopo le vacanze estive

Sistemarsi

Show off When Roberta was little she was always

showing off everything she had

Quando Roberta era piccolo ostentava

tutto quello che aveva

Mettersi in mostra, osten-

tare

Show up

(a)

He showed up when the party had fin-

ished

È apparso quando la festa era finita

Apparire senza

preavviso

Show up

(b)

She showed her fiancé up at the party by

getting drunk

Ha messo in imbarazzo il fidanzato alla

festa ubriacandosi

Mettere in imbarazzo, far

fare brutta figura a

Shut down The shop shut down because of the eco-

nomic crisis

Il negozio ha chiuso a causa della crisi eco-

nomica

Chiudere battenti

120 121

.

Shut out She shut her husband out all night

Non fece entrare per tutta la notte suo ma-

rito

Non fare entrare

Shut up She told her class to shut up!

Ha detto alla classe di stare zitta!

Mettere a tacere

Slow down Slow down you’re moving too fast!

Rallenta stai andando troppo veloce!

Rallentare

Speak out

against

He spoke out against apartheid in South

Africa

Ha dissentito pubblicamente contro l’a-

partheid in sud Africa

Dissentire pubblicamente

Speak out

for

She spoke out for getting new legislation

for women at work

Parlò in pubblico per ottenere la nuova

legislazione per le donne che lavorano

Parlare pubblicamente a

favore di

Speak up Don’t be shy! I want you to speak up!

Non essere timido! Voglio che parli con

chiarezza!

Non tacere, parlare in

modo chiaro

Spell out I want you to spell out the problem

Voglio che mi dica chiaramente come sta

la situazione

Spiegare chiaramente

Stand for ‘FIAT’ stands for “Fabbrica Italiana Au-

tomobili Torino”

‘FIAT’ significa “Fabbrica Italiana Auto-

mobili Torino”

Significare

Stand out With her long blond hair she stood out in

the crowd

Si distingueva dalla folla per I suoi lunghi

capelli biondi

Distinguersi

Stay out She stayed out all night for the New Year

celebrations

È rimasta fuori tutta la notte per i festeg-

giamenti di Capodanno

Stare fuori

Stay over She stayed over at her friend’s home after

the party

È rimasta a casa dell’amica dopo la festa

Rimanere la notte

Stay up They stayed up all night to see the Olym-

pic opening ceremony in Beijing

Non andarono al letto per vedere la Ceri-

monia di apertura delle Olimpiadi di

Pechino

Non andare a letto

Take

after

He took after his father in all his bad hab-

its

Assomigliava il padre in tutte le sue brutte

abitudini

Assomigliare a

Take

away

He took the children away from his for-

mer wife

Portò via i figli dalla sua prima moglie

Sottrarre, portare via

Take back

(a)

I took the shirt back to the shop because it

was too big

Riportò la camicia al negozio perchè era

troppo grande

Restituire

122 123

.

Take back

(b)

The song ‘Yesterday’ took me back to

when I was a student in England

La canzone ‘Yesterday’ mi portò indietro

ai tempi in cui ero studente in Inghilterra

Far tornare indietro

Take down He took down her address and telephone

number

Ha scritto il suo indirizzo e il nuomero di

telefono

Annotare

Take in He took in all she had to say about the

affair

Ha ascoltato con attenzione tutto quello

che lei aveva da dire sull’affare

Ascoltare

attentamente

Take off (a) He took his hat off

Si è tolto il cappello

Togliere

Take off (b) She took a week off for Christmas

Si è presa una settimana di vacanze per

Natale

Prendersi una

vacanza

Take off

(c ) The plane took off on time

L’aereo decollò in orario

Decollare

Take

over

He took over the company during the cri-

sis

Prese il controllo della compagnia durante

la crisi

Prendere il controllo di

Take up He took up collecting Renaissance paint-

ings after he sold his company

Ha iniziato a collezionare quadri del Rina-

scimento dopo aver venduto la sua compa-

gnia

Iniziare un’ attività come

passatempo

Talk over He talked it over with his director

Ne parlò con il suo direttore

Discutere a fondo

Tear up She tore up all his photos after they quar-

relled

Fece a pezzi tutte le sue foto dopo aver

litigato

Fare a pezzi

Tell off She told him off because of his bad man-

ners

Lo rimproverò per le sue cattive maniere

Rimproverare

Think

over

Think it over tonight and give me an an-

swer tomorrow

Pensaci stanotte e domani mi dai una ri-

sposta

Pensare bene prima di

decidere

Throw

away He threw all her letters away

Ha buttato via tutte le sue lettere

Buttare via

Throw up He threw up after mixing beer and wine

Vomitò dopo aver mischiato birra e vino

Vomitare

Tie up The thieves tied her up and stole all the

jewellery

I ladri la legarono e rubarono tutti i gioielli

Legare per chiudere o

impedire ogni mo-

vimento

Touch on He touched on different aspects of the

problem during his speech

Toccò diversi apetti del problema

durante il suo discorso

Mensionare

brevemente

Try on (a) He tried his new suit on before the wed-

ding

Provò il suo nuovo vestito prima del ma-

trimonio

Provare un vestito

124 125

.

Try out She tried out the new washing-machine

Provò la nuova macchina da lavare

collaudare

Turn down

(a) She turned down his offer

Ha rifiutato la sua offerta

Rifiutare

Turn down

(b) He turned down the stereo

Ha abbassato il volume dello stereo

Abbassare

Turn into She would have loved to turn into a fairy

Le sarebbe piaciuto trasformarsi in una

fatina

Trasformarsi in

Turn off He turned the radio off

Ha spento la radio

Spegnere

Turn on He turned the hot water tap on

Ha aperto il rubinetto dell’acqua calda

Accendere, aprire

Turn up (a) He turned up at the party without an invi-

tation

È arrivato alla festa senza un invito

Apparire all’improvviso

Turn up (b) He turned his i-pod up

Alzò il volume del suo i-pod

Alzare il volume

Use up Don’t use up all the colours

Non consumare tutti i colori

Consumare, esaurire

Wake up Wake him up if you can!

Sveglialo se puoi!

Svegliarsi

Walk out He walked out of the meeting when they

began to speak in favour of abortion

Uscì dall’incontro quando cominciarono a

parlare a favore dell’aborto

Uscire, uscire per protesta

Wash

away His house was washed away by the flood

La sua casa venne trascinata via dal dilu-

vio

Trascinare via con l’acqua

Wash up Wash up after eating!

Lava i piatti dopo aver finito di mangiare!

Lavare o fare i piatti

Watch out

for

Watch out for dangerous animals while

you are in the jungle!

Stai attenta agli animali pericolosi mentre

sei nella giungla!

Badare a, stare

attento a,

guardarsi da.

Watch over I think I’m a lucky person. There seems to

be somebody watching over me all the

time!

Penso di essere una persona fortunate.

Sembra che ci sia qualcuno che sorveglia

sopra di me tutto il tempo!

Sorvegliare

Wear out My children wear their shoes out quickly

I miei figli consumano le scarpe veloce-

mente

Consumare

Wipe out We should try to wipe out all forms of

prejudice in our society

Dovremmo cercare di eliminare ogni for-

ma di pregiudizio nella società

Distruggere,

eliminare

126 127

The spaces below can be filled in with new phrasal verbs as you meet them

in future reading etc…

Work out They’re trying to work out all their prob-

lems before deciding whether to divorce

Stanno cercando di risolvere tutti i loro

problemi prima di decidere di divorziare o

meno

Risolvere un

problema con un certo

sforzo

Write back Write back as soon as you know his ad-

dress!

Rispondi subito non appena sai il suo in-

Rispondere per

lettera

Write down His class used to write down notes during

the Literature lessons

La sua classe era abituata a prendere ap-

punti durante la lezione di letteratura

Fare un appunto scritto

Write out Write out your full name and address!

Scrivere per esteso il tuo nome e indiriz-

zo!

Scrivere per esteso

In this section on phasal verbs we are indebted to the following works:

Introduzione ai “Phasal Verbs” , Matthew Furfine, Sellerio, Palermo 2006

Dizionario d’uso dei PHRASAL VERBS, Fernando Picchi, U. Hoepli, Milano 2004

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

128 129

.

130 131

BRIEF READING LIST AND INTERNET WEB AND BLOG SITES

ADVANCED GRAMMARS:

A Communicative Grammar of English, G.Leech, J.Svartvil, London (1975),

Longman;

A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, R.Quirk,

S.Greenbaum, G.Leech, J. Svartvik (with an Index by D.Crystal), Harlow, first

published 1985, twentieth impression (2005), Longman;

Advanced Grammar in Use, (A Self-study reference and practice book for

advanced students of English with/without answers), M. Hewings,

Cambridge (2005), Cambridge University Press.

Cobuild English Grammar, Birmingham University International Language

Database project (chief edit. J.Sinclair), London (1990), Collins;

INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:

English Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for

intermediate students of English with/without answers), R. Murphy,

Cambridge (2004), Cambridge University Press;

Grammar Goals, (Reference and practise for intermediate students), D. Sellen,

Canterbury (2002), Black Cat Publishing (Cideb Editrice);

ELEMENTARY/LOWER-INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:

Essential Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for

elementary students of English with/without answers), Cambridge (1998),

Cambridge University Press;

Grammatica pratica dell’INGLESE dalla A alla Z, (titolo originale:

Grammaire alphabétique de l’anglais by J.Brossard and Sylvie Chevalier),

Milano (1997), U.Hoepli;

The Good Grammar Book, ( A grammar practice book for elementary to lower

-

intermediate students of English - with answers),M.Swan, C. Walter, Oxford

(2001), Oxford University Press;

The New Burlington English Grammar, (Grammar and Practice for Italian

Students, P.Conti, E.Sharman, R.Zizzo, A.Cowan, Firenze (2005), Burlington

Books/Le Monnier

New Grammar Spectrum (Elementary/Pre-Intermediate/Intermediate),

K.Paterson, M.Harrison, N.Coe, Oxford (2006/2007??), Oxford University

Press

132 133

GRAMMAR IN CYBER SPACE

INTERNET SITES

www.bbc.co.uk

www.englishlearner.com

www.soundsofenglish

www.english-to-go.com

www.englishpage.com

www.zonalingue.com

www.toefl.org

www.britishcouncil.org

BLOG SITES

Learn English! Blog (Google)

(Other blogs which do not just include texts but also pictures/audio /videos,etc)

YouTube, My face and other social networks etc...

134 135

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.englishlearner.com/

http://www.soundsofenglish/

http://www.english-to-go.com/

http://www.englishpage.com/

http://www.zonalingue.com/

http://www.toefl.org/

http://www.britishcouncil.org/

NOTE ON THE AUTHOR (INSIDE BACK-COVER)

Pietro Cipolla was born in 1956 in Solihull where his Sicilian parents were

working and living, and brought up in the Midlands where he completed his

secondary education at the Kings Heath Grammar School (Birmingham). In

1974 he went to study Modern Languages at the University of Palermo and

got he got his degree in 1978 and worked under Professor Giovanni Cianci

for three years, teaching English at various levels at the Facoltà di Lettere e

Filosofia, publishing an essay “Futurist Art and Theory in Wyndham Lew-

is’s Vorticist Manifesto “Our Vortex”, in the Quaderno 9, Istituto

di Lingue, Palermo (1979). A full-time secondary school English teacher

since 1982, in the last seven years he has gone back to teaching at Universi-

ty, working part-time at the Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione (LUMSA

University) in Caltanissetta under Padre Vincenzo Sorce. In all these years

he has always alternated teaching with interpretation and translation work,

travelled widely working as a translator and interpreter in Africa for ‘Casa

Famiglia Rosetta’ (Caltanissetta) one of the most important NGOs in Italy

specialized in drug treatment and prevention, collaborating as a language

councellor with the United States Department of States and the United Na-

tions (UNODC). Recently he has published translations in Franco Carlisi’s

Iavaivoi, Edizioni Gente di Fotografia, Palermo (2006) and edited a school

magazine in English You’re here! (with the same students of the Liceo Sci-

entifico “A.Sciascia” (Canicattì, Agrigento) who have worked on this gram-

mar (Roberta Cassaro, Erika Cicero, Ilaria e Martina Lauricella) .

136 137

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