Unit 2: LUXURY AND ROMANCE

A) WARMING UP: 1) What do you think we are going to study in this unit? Why? 2) Are you a romantic person? Why/ Why not? 3) Would you like to live a life of luxury?

B) ORAL DISCOURSE: DESCRIBING EXPERIENCES. 1. CAN DOs: 1) Describe and discuss dreams, hopes and ambitions 2) Narrate a story 3) Relate details of unpredictable occurrences

a) Listen to this couple discussing a possible future millionaire purchase:

DIALOGUE: The luxury boat

W: Have you seen this boat thing? M: What boat thing? W: Yeah look it says here in the paperthe worlds premier luxury ship for the fabulously rich M: I dont know what youre talking about W: Look look here see fabulous houses for millionaires and billionaires on this superluxury liner. A ship for the richest people in the world. A ship where the richest people in the world can live. M: Really?

W: Well you pay a couple of million pounds for an apartment on this ship and then you live on the ship while it sails around the world RioVeniceLondon New York Bombay Sydney M: Mmm sounds nice W: Nice? I should think it is nice at that price! M: Whats it got then? W: Well you know luxuries and things just about everything money can buy. .. cocktail barhealth spa casino restaurantsnightclub.. golf course M: Golf course! How can you have a golf course on a ship? W: With difficulty, I imagine M: I mean a golf course. W: Yeah, well its an enormous ship. And what they do what they do is have a sort of floating island behind and you hit your golf balls biodegradable golf balls at the island. M: Youre joking! W: No, look it says here. And theyve got a beauty salon M: Youre beautiful enough You dont need a beauty salon W: Thank you all the same and theyve got a sushi bar... and a library and a museum M: What for? W: Well the sushi bar M: No the museum and the the library thing W: Youve heard of reading? Literature? Culture? M: Yeah but what do they want that on the ship for? I thought the whole point was to have a holiday enjoy yourself W: Yeah, well shall we buy one? M: Well, I dont know 2 million pounds its a lot of money. We could have a castle in Scotland for that, couldnt we? Or a flat in London

W: Yeah but the Radfords are going M: ARE they?? The Radfords? W: Yeah theyre going to have a 2-bedroom apartment .. M: Well well have a FIVE bedroom apartment Anything Bertie Radford can do I can do twice as well and a bit more and make sure were on the posh side of the ship too::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: b) Now discuss the following with your tutor or classmates in the forum/virtual class: 1. What kind of holiday are these people discussing about? 2. Who is more enthusiastic about the possible purchase of an apartment on a super-luxury liner? 3. What kinds of things can you get on this luxury boat? 4. What makes the man finally decide to buy this new house on a boat? 5. Would you like to be the owner of a luxury-liner apartment and live there? Why/ Why not?

C) MULTI-TASKING ACTIVITIES THE LUXURY DAIMLER: LOOK, READ, LISTEN, STUDY and WRITE Step 1. Go to the following webpage to see different pictures of Guy Salmon luxury cars: http://images.google.es/images?hl=es&q=Guy+Salmon+cars&btnG=Buscar+im%C3%A1g enes&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=

Step 2. READ the related text and LISTEN to its spoken version to make sure you know how to pronounce and give the correct intonation to it.

WHAT CAN FOUR HOURS IN A GUY SALMON DAIMLER DO TO A DOZEN ROSES?

This is the true story of a lady, a gentleman, a Guy Salmon chauffeur and a dozen red roses. Or to be strictly accurate, two dozen red roses. The roses were ordered to be placed in a chauffeur-driven Daimler, reserved recently by one of our clients. The roses - and the Daimler - were to mark the occasion of his ladyfriend's birthday. His intention was to present one whilst traveling in the other to a fashionable and elegant West End restaurant for a surprise birthday dinner. To start the evening in a suitably celebrator y manner, he also ordered a bottle of Pol Roger to be chilled and waiting in the limousine. Having given his instructions, the gentleman knew he could look forward with pleasant anticipation to an evening to remember. For the Guy Salmon chauffeur, however, the evening started much earlier in the day. Each Guy Salmon limousine is the responsibility of one par ticular chauffeur. It's his duty to ensure it is maintained in perfect mechanical order, and washed and valeted to perfection. So, although this particular Daimler had made only one trip since its last w ash, the chauffeur washed it again. He polished it too. He brushed every inch of the upholstery. He vacuumed the car pets. He polished the w oodw or k and cleaned the windows. He even washed out the ashtrays.

The limousine prepared, the chauffeur changed into his immaculate livery. Then he placed the champagne in the Daimler's ice bucket and the dozen red roses on the back seat before setting off. His destination was a private address in south London. He intended to arrive, as always, ten minutes early, saving his clients from any last minute worry that their limousine may be late. His timing, as always, was perfect. He knocked, informed the gentleman his limousine had arrived, and waited. In a few minutes, his passengers were ready. The gentleman was suitably charming. The lady was suitably impressed. Thanks to the chauffeur's driving skills, for once the course of true love ran smooth. Not a drop of champagne was spilt, and the couple arrived in the best of spirits. Four hours later, the limousine returned. The lady embarked, while the chauffeur took the gentleman to one side. 'I hope you don't mind, sir, but I felt the roses were perhaps not of the standard they might have been,' he explained. 'And four hours in the back of the Daimler would not have improved them. So I took the liberty of replacing them with another dozen roses, sir. I hope you don't object.' The gentleman certainly didn't. Nor did his ladyfriend, who found her roses mysteriously looking even fresher than when she first received them. But how did the chauffeur find a dozen fresh roses at midnight, in central London? Well, he was a Guy Salmon chauffeur, after all. If you w ould like to discuss your chauffeur-drive requirements, please ring our Mr. Cordner at 01-730 8571.

Punch, Publicity.

Click here

to listen to the whole text.

Step 3. DO the following exercises and STUDY the grammar explanations when necessary: 1) Choose the correct answer from the ones given below: a) The chauffeur cleans a) the ashtrays. b) the upholstery.

c) the entire car. b) The chauffeur puts the roses a) on the back seat. b) in the ice bucket. c) on the front seat. c) He leaves ten minutes early a) because he was once late due to traffic problems. b) to avoid his clients getting impatient. c) in order to buy the flowers before arriving.

d) The car picks the clients up a) at their house. b) at a restaurant. c) at a hotel. e) Thanks to the chauffeur's driving skills a) the champagne was not spilt. b) they avoided the traffic jam. c) they arrived at the restaurant sooner than anyone else. f) They spent the four hours a) at a East End restaurant. b) at a West End restaurant. c) having drinks in the car. g) The advertisement mainly sells a) a practical service. b) luxury. c) speed. h) The driver's most outstanding quality is that he a) drives very quickly. b) repairs the car himself. c) foresees everything.

GRAMMAR CAPSULE: Connectors again! Lets revise what we learnt in Unit 1: Connectors are words or expressions that are used to connect ideas, such as so, otherwise, then, on the contrary, on the other hand. When speaking about the syntactic structure of the sentence, these connectors are called conjuncts. Conjuncts are units whose main function is to join together two or more utterances which have a semantic relationship between them. They express textual relationships. They are connectors of structure, and as such, they can connect phrases, clauses, sentences and paragraphs: E.g.: He was a bank robber and furthermore an assassin. (Noun phrases)

He never tried to find his biological mother. On the contrary, she made all possible attempts in order to find him. (Sentences) Typical paragraph connectors are First of all, Second of all (mainly used in American English), In addition to all this, In conclusion, Finally, etc. From the semantic point of view, the main types of conjuncts are the following: Additive: And, additionally, in other words, besides, etc. Causal: Therefore, so, thus, in that case, etc. Adversative: But, on the contrary, on the other hand, instead, otherwise, etc. Temporal: Then, finally, after that, first of all, etc. In spoken discourse, conjuncts are very frequently used to mark the beginning of a turn in conversation, and as such, they are also considered to be discourse markers. Among the most common discourse markers are Well, Now, Now then, So, Then, etc. all of which can be used to make different types of semantic connections.

2) Join the following sentences by using one of the connectors and including the necessary punctuation a) The gentleman had given his instructions. He thought he could look forward to an evening to remember. (once / while) b) They entered the limousine. He ordered a bottle to be chilled. (before / although)

c) Each Guy Salmon limousine is the responsibility of one particular chauffeur.

It is his duty to maintain it in perfect mechanical condition. therefore) d) This particular Daimler had made only one trip. It had to be washed. (once / although) e) He brushed every inch of the upholstery. He also vacuumed the carpets. (and / as a result)

(however /

f) He wanted to arrive with enough time. His clients would not have to wait. (so that / but)

g) He had placed the champagne in the Daimler. He set off. (once / while) h) He left then minutes early. His timing was perfect. (once / so) i)He knocked at the door. He informed the gentleman his limousine had arrived. (until / in order) j) He waited They were not quite ready (therefore / because) k) The roses were not of the standard they might have been. The chauffeur had to buy some new ones. (since / in contrast)

3) Oral and written production: Describe and discuss dreams, hopes and

ambitions; narrate a story; relate details of unpredictable occurrences4) A) Answer these questions a) What does the slogan "We're not number one, you are" suggest to you? b) Comment on some of the advantages offered by this service. c) What sort of person might be interested in renting one of these chauffeur-driven cars? d) How do you think the chauffeur found the roses? e) Would you dream of hiring a service like this ever in your life?

B) Imagine you are interested in impressing the daughter of a local millionaire with a view to marrying her eventually. Everything must be perfect and money is no object. Explain your requirements and plans to the Daimler agent in 150 words (about two or three paragraphs).

D) TACKLING VOCABULARY 1. Find in the text the opposite of the following words:

a) false b) vaguely c) unstylish d) inappropriately e) horrible f) unattractive g) inability h) obviously

2. Some of the words in the text are related to cleaning. Try to find the appropriate verb to complete each sentence:

clean vacuum

wipe brush

polish wash

a) You should b) I have to c) He always

your shoes before you go out. my hair, it's very dirty. his teeth twice a day.

d) This rug is full of dust, you will have to e) Please

it.

the table, you have spilt milk all over it.

3. Complete the following sentences with the verb in the appropriate tense from those listed below:

Order reserve intend inform

ensure maintain present replace

impress mind mark improve

a) It is important to business.

high standards when you are running a

b) If you want to

your English, you must study more.

c) We very crowded.

a table at the restaurant, because we knew it would be

d) When he left the company, they his years of service.

him with a gold watch for

e) I

to come to the party, but at the last minute the boss

gave me some extra work to do.

f)

He windows.

that the house was safe by locking all the doors and

g) They were very by the flowers we bought them; they said they had never seen any so beautiful.

h) Every year we open a bottle of champagne to which we got married.

the day on

i)

He says he doesn't taking us to the airport on Saturday, because he has nothing else to do.

j)

When he broke the glass, he had to it was very valuable.

it with another one, as

k) I

two bottles of wine, but the waiter has brought only one.

l)

They him of his mother's illness as soon as he came back from his holiday.

4. Complete the sentences using the appropriate adjective or adverb from those listed below and changing them where necessary:

strictly accurate fashionable

suitably pleasant particular

charming mysteriously

a) Her clothes were very________________; she was appropriately dressed for the occasion. b) His money _________________ disappeared from his wallet, and he never found out who took it. c) Their report on the situation in Africa was very_____________; all of the correct facts were there. d) He smiled _____________________; he was a very attractive man. e) She wanted that ________________painting; she wouldnt accept any other. f) The sun shone very _______________; it was neither too hot nor too cold.

g) They always want to go to the most going to unstylish ones.

places; they can't stand

h) His remarks were not exaggerated.

true; I found them rather vague and

5. The phrasal verb set off (43) means to leave, to start going. Insert one of the following verbs in the blank spaces of these sentences: turn off (stop by using a switch), put off (delay), take off (the beginning of a flight), be off (go, leave), wear off (lose intensity, fade away), put (someone) off (discourage), get off (come down from).

a) Please,

the light, I want to go to sleep. to John's house. at 12.00, but it was

b) As soon as I finish typing this report I'll c) The plane was supposed to delayed. d) that horse, it's very dangerous.

e) Don't worry if the colour is too bright, it will f) We will have to

soon enough.

going to London until next month. (her)

g) She is very enthusiastic about the idea; try not to with your sarcasm.

6. Fill in the blank spaces with the correct form: set up (raise into position), set back (delay), set in (begin and continue), set aside (reserve, keep), set about (to begin to do), set down (establish), set off (cause to act), set out (begin a course of action).

a) We all

to look for the lost girl.

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b) They the cameras and recording equipment before the actors arrived so they wouldn't waste time. c) All our holiday plans were d) The rules were clearly e) The bomb could have been f) Winter has by the bad weather. by the teacher. by the heat.

earlier than usual this year. doing her work when he arrived. the green coat for me until the next

g) She had just

h) At the store I asked them to day.

7. Solve the crosword using the clues below. The lines in brackets will help you find the word. Down 1. ability, quality of doing something well (55-57) 2. specific, singular (24-28) 4. precise, correct (4-7) 6. strangely (71-74) 10. make better (66-70) Across 3. in vogue, up to the minute (8-13) 5. in an appropriate way (14-17) 6. to signify, to identify (8-13) 7. affect strongly, create a favourable attitude (52-59) 8. substitute (66-70) 9. attractive, pleasant (52-55) 11. set aside (4-7)

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12. a small quantity of liquid (55-59) 13. tell, report (45-51) 14. something which is given on a special occasion (8-13)

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E) NOW, HOWS YOUR SPELLING?

1.

The i in a word such as sir (63) is sometimes indistinguishable from the letter u. Add either i or u to complete the following words:

ret_rn s_rvive c_rve sh_rt p_rpose s_rface s_rgeon s_rge

c_rcus b_rst s_rprise f_rm c_rcle th_rst b_rth

d_rt fl_rt p_rchase f_rnish m_rder b_rth _rgent

2. Some of these words which appear in the text take a double consonant. Include it in the blank space where necessary:

chauf_eur ele_gant bot_le val_eted im_aculate wor_y pas_engers skil_s

ac_urate din_er chil_ed perf_ection ad_res_ tim_ing charm_ing smo_th

oc_as_ion even_ing rem_ember vacu_med ar_ive inform_ed impres_ed

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F) AND HOWS YOUR FORMATION OF WORDS?

1.

Notice the words "present" and "promise". The prefixes pre- and prohave been added to the bases sent and mise to form these terms. See how many words you can make by joining these two prefixes pre-/pro- to the following bases:

________fer

_________tend

________vide

________voke

________pel

_________scribe

________serve

________cede

________sume

_________duce

________pose

________dict

2. Give the adjective and the adverb that correspond to these nouns:

NOUN SUIT MYSTERY DUTY SKILL BEAUTY RESPONSIBILITY MECHANIC DANGER

ADJECTIVE

ADVERB

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G) USING ENGLISH APPROPRIATELY AND PUTTING IT INTO MOTION 1. Look at the expression "two dozen red roses" (dos docenas de rosas rojas). Notice that the word "dozen" (hundred, thousand, million) when used with a definite number takes neither the plural suffix -s nor the pre- position of.

GRAMMAR CAPSULE: Zero plural

Some nouns which indicate quantities or measures have the same form in the singular as in the plural when followed by a noun, for example: dozen, foot, hundred, thousand, million, etc.

E.g.:

Madrid has around four million inhabitants. Hes seven foot three (inches). [7ft 3in.]Or to be strictly accurate, two dozen (red) roses. (See text)

These nouns, however, add the plural s inflectional morpheme if they are followed by the preposition of. E.g.: Dozens of flowers Millions of people Some animal names take the zero plural but can be used with a singular and plural meaning, for example: cod, deer, salmon, sheep, grouse, etc. E.g.: One sheep, two sheep, etc. One cod, a lot of cod, etc. Some other names of animals also have zero plural if they are considered prey, e.g.: herring, pheasant, salmon, trout, etc. However, if they are used to denote different individuals or species they take the regular plural inflection E.g.: They went hunting and they shot two deer. The fishes of the Atlantic are not as good as those of the Mediterranean.

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Other zero plurals include: a) Some words with bases ending in s: series, means, species (one series/ two series, etc.) b) Nationality words ending in ese: Portuguese, Chinese, etc. (one Portuguese, two Portuguese, etc.) c) Words such as aircraft and dice (one aircraft/ two aircraft, etc.)

1. Now translate into English: a) Trescientos dlares. b) Cincuenta euros. c) Cientos de libros. d) Cinco docenas de huevos. e) Ocho mil trescientas personas. f) Docenas de flores.

g) Cinco millones de habitantes.

2. Look at the use of the word even in the text: "He even washed out the ashtrays". (incluso) ... "looking even fresher than when she first received them" . (an ms) From the following pairs of sentences write a new one using the word even as in the example below: E.g.: Yesterday was hot. Today was hotter. Today was even hotter than yesterday.

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a) Mary is beautiful. b) This film is bad.

Sophie is more beautiful. The other one is worse.

c) London is big. Tokyo is bigger. d) Tom is thin. Bill is thinner. e) Piccadilly Circus is large. Trafalgar Square is larger.

3. Several auxiliary verbs appear in the text expressing: condition ... the gentleman knew he could look forward to an evening to remember possibility ... any last minute worry that the limousine may be late. excessive politeness I felt the roses were perhaps not of the standard they might have been

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GRAMMAR CAPSULE: Modal auxiliaries: may/might/can/could

May, might, can and could are modal auxiliaries (see Chapter 1, section B 3. for an introduction to modal verbs). 4.1. Modal auxiliaries are special verbs which behave in some ways like the primary auxiliaries be, have and do but which have certain peculiarities. Their main characteristics are: a) They form the negative and interrogative according to the normal auxiliary pattern: E.g.: I could send you all the information by e-mail. She got nervous because she could not find her way out. Can I have one of those biscuits?

b) As with primary auxiliaries, contraction of these verbs is possible in the negative. E.g.: cant; mustnt; couldnt; neednt; etc.

Note that the negative form for can is either cant or cannot/ can not (written as one word or as two separate words).

c) They can be used to form tag questions, such as: E.g.: You cant pilot a helicopter, can you?

d) They can be used in short answers, as in: E.g.: A- Can you speak Japanese? B- No, I cant.

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e) They can replace a verb or clause that has been referred before and, therefore, avoid redundancy. E.g.: She couldnt withdraw that amount of money from the bank, but I can.

f) In contrast with primary auxiliaries, they have no infinitive and therefore they cannot be preceded by to. g) They do not add an s to the third person singular in the present tense. h) All modal verbs are followed by the bare infinitive, except for ought to and used to1 which take to.

E.g:

She might be interested in watching that documentary.

i) These verbs are defective because they only have one or two forms. They usually lack a form for the future, the conditional and an ing form.

1

But notice that used to is a semi-modal, i.e. it can occur with a primary auxiliary (e.g.: He didnt use to play golf as a child) or it can behave as a modal auxiliary proper (e.g.: He usednt to play golf as a child), though this last one is mainly a form of British English.

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Note: Even though some of the modals have forms for the present and the past (can/could, will/ would, may/ might), they are regarded as unmarked for tense because there are a number of other meanings associated to them whose main function is not to mark time distinctions but rather express the speakers stance or attitude. For example, modals associated with past time are also associated with the speakers intention to convey different degrees of politeness, as well as with hypothetical situations.

E.g.:

Could you please post this letter for me? Would you mind if I smoke?

4.2. Although these verbs can have different uses depending on the type of modality, the following are some common uses: 4.2.1. May. a) It is often used in questions to grant or ask for permission (intrinsic modality). E.g.: want. b) It is also used to show possibility (extrinsic modality). E.g.: tired. c) May is used in polite requests. E.g.: May I help you? 22 I have a ticket for the concert but I may not go because I feel A: May I borrow your sunglasses? B: No, you may not. But you may borrow my hat if you

4.2.2. Might. a) Might is used with the sense of possibility. E.g.: the train. The tourist guide said we might not be back in time to take

b) It is also used to grant or ask for permission and in polite requests. E.g.: 4.2.3. Can. a) Can is used to express a natural or learned ability: E.g.: Leopards can run very fast. My sister can speak three modern languages. I was wondering if I might talk to you for a moment.

b) It is also used with the sense of permission: E.g.: Can I borrow your car next Saturday night? She said I can use hers if you dont lend me yours.

Note that, with this meaning, can is less formal than may.

4.2.4. Could. a) In the same way as can, it is used to express a natural or learned ability with the difference that could is associated with the past: E.g.: When he was young he could swim very well. In spite of the fact that it was her forth language, she could speak German very well.

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Note: The past of can is either could or was/were able to + infinitive, depending on whether an imperfective of perfective meaning is intended. In the case of could the action is viewed as extended in the past, i.e. imperfective. E.g.: When she lived in Paris, she could see the Eiffel Tower from her window. With be able to the predicated action is achieved, i.e. it is seen as perfective. E.g.: The people were able to survive the earthquake. In the negative, however, could and was/were able to are interpreted as having the same result and are therefore interchangeable: They werent able to survive. = They couldnt survive.

b) This verb is also used with the meaning of possibility. E.g.: You could talk to a psychotherapist about your problem. That man could very well be your father, so dont you dare to date him!

After reading the grammar capsule, do the following exercise by adding may, might, can or could in the blank spaces: a) You b) He c) use my class notes if you are careful not to lose them. still come, it's not too late yet. I borrow your pen?

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d) You

be right. I'm in no position to judge. interrupt his colleague.

e) The chairman asked politely if he

f) The children should have been more careful when they crossed the street, they have got run over. g) I'm sure I h) You i) j) I Long paint the room in two days. keep your room a little more tidy. speak French fluently when I was younger. it last!

4. Answer the following questions using the words in brackets:

E.g.: Why isn't he home? (may / go cinema) He may have gone to the cinema. a) Why didn't he write to us? (could / forget) b) How did he know about our plans? (could / guess) c) Why isn't she waiting at the bus stop? (may / delay) d) Why didn't he come to visit us? (might / busy) e) Why is he in bed? (might / ill) 5. Notice the use of the prepositions on, in, at , and for which appear frequently in this text and after reviewing them, fill in the blanks with the appropriate one: a) I hope to be with my daughter b) She lives apartment. her birthday. a big

the third floor of that building

c) They always get up early d) She was not sufficiently dressed e) The paint f) We knocked

the morning. the occasion.

the wall is still wet. the door but nobody answered.

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g)

Germany they usually open their presents________ Christmas Eve.

h) They had a quick meal i) j) He has worked France

the train. two years. the coast is that there are too

The problem with living many tourists during the summer.

k) They say that crime doesn't pay l) We can meet Wednesday,

the end. front of your office.

m) They went off

the weekend to the mountains.

6. Notice the sentence: Having given his instructions, the gentleman knew... Once something is finished we begin another activity. The past simple is used.

GRAMMAR CAPSULE: Tense and aspect

In most languages, including English and Spanish, verbal tense does not necessarily coincide with real time. Tense is the grammatical category (linguistic expression) that we can identify as verbal inflection. In English, for example, we can distinguish two tenses; present and past (English has no future inflected form of the verb), whereas we, as humans, can identify events occurring in the past, present or future. now

past present

future

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In the same way, we can use different tenses to refer to various moments in time; for instance, we can use the simple present forms to refer to a time different from the moment of speaking. E.g.: past time) Then the Normans come to England. (Historic Present tense

I hear she has graduated from Cornell University. (Present used with verbs of communication past time) She leaves for the airport within an hour. (Present tense - future time) If Tom were here today, he would be the first to dance. (Past tense present time)

Tenses in English. The primary use of the present tense is to locate the situation in present time. Situation is a general term covering states, actions or processes and present time is the time of the utterance. In general, the Simple Present expresses events or situations that exist at the time of speaking, have existed in the past, and probably will exist in the future. now

past

future

a) Static situations extend beyond the moment of utterance. When used for static situations, this tense refers to general statements or facts and it is called State Present.

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E.g.:

The Earth is a planet and the Moon is its satellite. Vegetables are essential for a healthy diet.

b) This tense is also used to express an everyday activity or an action that occurs repeatedly. This use is referred to as the Habitual Present: E.g.: She always has a cup of tea early in the morning. Everyday I take the train to go to the office. (c) The Instantaneous Present indicates an action or situation that takes place at the time of speaking: E.g.: I thank you for all your help with this project. Im sorry for being late.

The Simple Past refers to a definite time in the past. It shows that at that particular time in the past something happened. now

past

future

a) The action in the Simple Past describes a past event that started and finished at a certain point in the past.

E.g.:

Christopher Wren built Westminster Abbey. She moved to Buffalo when she got married.

Note that the action in the when clause happened first.

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b) The simple past can also refer to past actions that took place on a regular basis: E.g.: We spent our holidays on the beach when we were younger. As a child, she always attended piano classes. c) The simple past can also be used to express past time schedule of future situations. E.g.: The campaign started tomorrow, but this morning they decided to postpone it. d) And it can refer to factual remoteness too. E.g.: If I saw you tomorrow, we could have lunch together

e) Sometimes the Simple Past can be used in combination with other tenses to form compound tenses (in this example past perfect continuous) to express a specific time in the past. Examine the following sentence form the text: E.g.: Having given his instructions, the gentleman knew [] (See text)

In this case the Simple Past refers to a time after the previous action, i.e., we could transcribe this sentence as Once his instructions had been given, the gentleman knew [].Aspect While tense primarily relates the event to speech time, or to a reference point in the past, aspect is concerned with the internal character of the event as it is presented by the speaker. Aspect can be perfect or progressive and that depends on the internal character of the event, whether it is completed or uncompleted. Strictly speaking, English does not have grammatical aspect. A language has grammatical aspect if it has a system of the verb, marked inflectionally or by such analytic devices as auxiliaries, where the primary semantic contrast between the terms is a matter of aspectual meaning.

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Note: We can, however, talk of aspectual verbs in English, i.e. verbs with aspectual meaning (such as begin, start, cease, finish, stop, continue, keep, etc.), but they do not form a grammatically distinct class and are not dependent on the verbs with which they enter into construction. The most frequent expression of the perfective aspect is perfect have. We need to distinguish two cases of the perfect construction: the Present Perfect, where have carries a present tense inflection (has done, have done) and the nonpresent perfect, where have either carries the past tense inflection or else is nontensed (had gone, to have gone, may have gone, having gone). The Present Perfect expresses the idea of something that began in a specified or unspecified time in the past and continues to the present, or is somehow related to it. E.g.: She has already worked for that firm before. Have you ever spent a year abroad? All perfect combinations (present perfect, past perfect and future perfect) give the idea that something happened before another time or event.

now

past

future

a) The present perfect also refers to an action that began in the past and has been repeated some times since then.

E.g.:

Since I got here I have written four postcards to my best friend. I have learned many things since I joined this team.

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b) This tense is frequently used with time prepositions, adverbs or adverbials such as: for, since, all day, all night, etc. to refer to a situation that began in the past and continues to the present. E.g.: They have been here enjoying the excursions for two weeks. We have had this same car since we moved to the country.

Note that, in the second example above, since is functioning as a subordinating conjunction introducing an adverbial phrase of time.

The Past Perfect refers to an activity that finished or was completed before another activity in the past. E.g.: The kids had already done their homework when you got home. She had fallen down before I could notice the gap. now

past

future

Regardless of the time it refers to (present, past or future), the progressive aspect indicates that the action is or was not finished and, therefore, lasts or lasted for some time. It is realized by verbal periphrasis: some form of be and the ing participle: E.g.: I am sure shes driving home at the moment. (Present + progressive)

We have been working together for three years now. (Perfect + progressive) The Present Progressive indicates that an action began in the past, is in progress at the moment of speaking, and will continue in the future.

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The traditionally-called progressive or continuous tenses (present continuous, past continuous and future continuous) are used in English to give the idea that an action is in progress for some time.

E.g.:

Shes watching that new soap opera on TV. They are still working on the new computer program because they have to finish it for tomorrow.

now

past

future

This tense can also be used to refer to an activity that is not taking place at the very moment of speaking but which is in progress. E.g.: Im attending French classes this year. She joined this course because shes trying to improve he German.

The Present Perfect Progressive is usually used to express the duration of a past activity that continues to the present. Time adverbs that express the aforesaid duration are frequently used, e.g.: for, since, all day, all night, etc.

E.g.:

It has been snowing all the weekend. She has been sitting by the riverbank for two hours.

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now

past

future

The Past Perfect Progressive refers to an activity that was taking place for some time before an event in the past. E.g.: We had been waiting for you for an hour when you arrived. They had been mocking me for some time before I realized it. now

past

future

After reviewing the grammar point, put the following sentences together, as the example shows: E.g.: He finished his lunch. He went out to play.

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Having finished his lunch, he went out to play. a) I won the first prize. I received a sports car.

_______________________________________________ b) He finished reading the book. He gave it to his sister.

________________________________________________ c) I studied until very late. Then I went to bed.

_________________________________________________ d) He lost the keys to his apartment. He spent the night at a friend's house. ___________________________________________________________ e) She finished lunch. She went out for a walk.

___________________________________________________________

7. Note the use of the definite and indefinite article in the text, and then include either a(n), the, or (no article) in the blank spaces: a) He only had because he is on b) They made c) We lived in d) Do you play music and I play e) What remember. f) Japanese is g) visit Meninas. hard-boiled egg and diet. beds and cleaned country for apple for lunch

room. couple of years.

piano? No, but I'm very fond of guitar bit. day! Yes, it is certainly day to

difficult language to learn.

first thing they did when they got to Madrid was Prado museum because they wanted to see

h) Would you prefer banana or dessert? orange please, I love

orange oranges.

for

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