Tenses
A colleague says:
“You’re covered in paint!”
What tense would you use to explain what happened if the activity has just stopped?
Present Perfect Continuous:
“I’ve been painting the kitchen.”
Explain the difference:
“I stopped smoking.”
“I stopped to smoke.”
quit smoking vs stopped another activity in order to smoke.
Choose the best option:
“You ___ tell anyone. It's confidential.”
a) don't have to
b) mustn't
c) shouldn't
b) mustn't
She sings beautiful.
Correct or Incorrect?
She sings beautifully.
Complete the sentence:
The new shopping centre ___ (open) next month.
will be opened
What is the difference between:
“I think he’s lying.”
“I’m thinking about changing jobs.”
think = opinion/belief → Present Simple;
be thinking about = considering something → Present Continuous.
Complete the sentence with the correct form:
I regret ___ (tell) you that your application has been unsuccessful.
to tell
What is the difference?
“You must be joking.”
“You have to be joking.”
must = speaker's strong deduction;
have to – normally expresses external necessity, though in this expression it can also function idiomatically.
What's the difference between:
hard and hardly?
hard = with a lot of effort; hardly = almost not.
Complete:
“The suspect is thought ___ (hide) somewhere in the city.”
to be hiding
Complete the story:
“I ___ (drive) home when I suddenly ___ (realise) that I ___ (leave) my phone at work.”
was driving / realised / had left
Complete the sentence:
The manager seems ___ (have / misunderstand) what we were trying to achieve.
to have misunderstood
Complete the sentence
She ___ have misunderstood what you meant. She reacted very strangely.
may / might / could have misunderstood.
They dug ___ into the ground to find the buried pipe.
A) deep
B) deeply
deep
This sentence contains an advanced passive construction. Explain its meaning:
“He is said to have been working on the project for several months.”
People say that he has been working on the project for several months.
Complete:
“By the end of this year, I ___ (work) here for five years.”
will have been working
Rewrite using a complex infinitive:
“People believe that he is extremely talented.”
He is believed to be extremely talented.
What's the difference?
“You didn't need to call me.”
“You needn't have called me.”
didn't need to → there was no necessity; doesn't say whether they called.
needn't have called → they did call, but it wasn't necessary.
Explain the difference:
“She arrived late.”
“She has been working lately.”
late = not on time; lately = recently.
Rewrite using a passive reporting structure:
“People expect that the negotiations will end soon.”
The negotiations are expected to end soon.
Complete the text using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
By the time I ___ (arrive) at the office tomorrow, my colleagues ___ (already / work) for several hours. The company ___ (prepare) for an important presentation for weeks, and everyone is under pressure.
Yesterday, while I ___ (check) the final version of the presentation, I ___ (notice) that someone ___ (delete) several important slides. We ___ (try) to find out what had happened ever since, but so far, we ___ (not / discover) who did it.
By the end of this week, we ___ (work) on the presentation for almost a month, so hopefully everything ___ (be) ready by then.
By the time I arrive at the office tomorrow, my colleagues will already have been working for several hours. The company has been preparing for an important presentation for weeks, and everyone is under pressure.
Yesterday, while I was checking the final version of the presentation, I noticed that someone had deleted several important slides. We have been trying to find out what had happened ever since, but so far, we haven’t discovered who did it.
By the end of this week, we will have been working on the presentation for almost a month, so hopefully everything will be ready by then.
Complete:
“I’d rather you ___ (not / tell) anyone about this.”
didn’t tell
Bonus 200: Why can't we say “I’d rather you not to tell…”?
Complete the text with the most appropriate modal structure. There may be more than one possible answer in some cases, but the meaning must remain logical.
When the company announced the sudden closure of three branches, employees were shocked. The management ___ (know) about the financial problems for months, but they apparently chose not to tell anyone.
The situation ___ (avoid) if the company had acted earlier, but by then it was already too late. The CEO ___ (underestimate) how serious the situation was, or he ___ (hope) that things would improve on their own.
Several employees complained that they ___ (inform) about the possibility of redundancies much earlier. However, the management argues that they ___ (not / announce) anything until the negotiations with the investors were complete.
Looking back, the company ___ (take) a completely different approach. It ___ (prevent) many of the problems if it had communicated more openly.
When the company announced the sudden closure of three branches, employees were shocked. The management must have known about the financial problems for months, but they apparently chose not to tell anyone.
The situation could have been avoided if the company had acted earlier, but by then it was already too late. The CEO may/might have underestimated how serious the situation was, or he may/might have hoped that things would improve on their own.
Several employees complained that they should have been informed about the possibility of redundancies much earlier. However, the management argues that they couldn't have announced anything until the negotiations with the investors were complete.
Looking back, the company should have taken a completely different approach. It could have prevented many of the problems if it had communicated more openly.
What is the difference between:
“high” / “highly”
“deep” / “deeply”
“close” / “closely”?
окончания -ly здесь часто меняют значение, а не просто превращают слово в «наречие».
Rewrite using a passive reporting structure:
1. People believe that the painting was stolen during the night.
2. People say that the company has been losing money for months.
3. People expect that the new regulations will affect small businesses significantly.
4. People suspect that someone has deliberately leaked the information.
5. People believe that the politician is trying to avoid answering the question.
The painting is believed to have been stolen during the night.
The company is said to have been losing money for months.
The new regulations are expected to affect small businesses significantly.
The information is suspected to have been deliberately leaked.
The politician is believed to be trying to avoid answering the question.