Grammar
Give an example of the past continuous
I was cooking when he called to ask me out to dinner
very important, decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something; entscheidend
crucial
Where does an adverb of frequency go in a sentence. Give an example
before the main verb: I rarely drive to work
What is skimming? How do you do it?
Reading for gist; focus on high value content of a text: first and last paragraph, topic sentences in each one of the other paragraphs
What do we use the past perfect for? Give an example
Action/state before another moment in the past.
I had already bought a ticket when I arrived at the festival.
unclear, dirty, difficult to see through; trüb, undurchsichtig, unklar
murky
What is the Oxford comma?
A comma placed after the second-to-last term in a list (just before the conjunction) when writing out three or more terms: The strippers, JFK [,] and Stalin were drinking alcohol
How do you order multiple adjectives before a noun?
From subjective to objective: a cute, small, red dog
What are the signal words for the present perfect?
JEANY
incongruous in a striking or shocking way; clashing; misstönend, holprig
jarring
What does a paragraph consist of?
topic sentence (including controlling idea), supporting sentences, concluding sentence/transition to next paragraph
Ich schreibe Ihnen bezüglich...
I am writing to you concerning/regarding/in reference to/with connection to
What do we use the past perfect continuous for? Give an example
Duration before another action or point in time in the past: I had been travelling for a month when I ran out of money.
two ways of saying "vorletzte" in English
penultimate, second to last
What are coordinating conjunctions? Which ones? Commas?
FANBOYS
Name five features of formal (academic) register
- no contractions, no phrasal verbs/use single word verbs, use complex/compound sentences, nominalizations, avoid colloquial language, avoid punctuation indicating attitude, use hedges, avoid gendering, etc.
What are three uses of the present perfect?
1. life experiences: I have been to NYC.
2. past actions relevant in the present: Have you read my email?
3. actions/states that started in the past and still happening now: I have known him for 15 years.
area of responsibility/activity, scope; Aufgabenbereich
remit
Give an example each of an essential and a non-essential relative clause. Commas?
Essential: Can you give me back the book that I gave you?
Non-essential: The book I gave you, which I never read, was actually a gift from my partner.
What is the usual order for simple sentences?
SVOMPT (Subject - Verb - Object - Manner - Place - Time)