Grammar
Questi on tags
Use
- In question tags, use a rising intonation if you are really asking a question.
o Ex. Someone told him about the meeting, didn’t they?
- Use a falling intonation if you are just checking, making sure or asking for agreement.
o Ex. Someone told him about the meeting, didn’t they?
Some rules
- Let’s shall we
- Isn’t is (negative positive)
- Is isn’t (positive negative)
- Everybody they
- Hardly = negative
- No one = negative
- Rarely = negative
Leading and open questi ons
- Leading questions
o What problems have you had with the new printer?
o Leading questions are deliberately designed to influence the listener into choosing a
particular response. These questions are ‘directional’ and either guide the person to
the answer wanted by the person who is asking or may try to stop them thinking of
alternatives.
- Open questions
o What do you think about the new printer?
o An open question does not suggest the answer.
Functi onal language: reporti ng verb patt erns
- The majority of the respondents were in agreement that …
- 10 percent of respondents raised concerns that …
- The survey confirmed that …
- ! The findings indicate that …
when we tell someone what another person said, we use reporting verbs like said, told, asked,
informed, announced, suggested, replied, agreed and thanked
3 patterns:
- Reporting verb + that clause
o She told us that we should increase our offering.
- Reporting verb + to infinitive
o They agreed to complete the survey
- Reporting verb + -ing or noun phrase
o We discussed changing the logo
,Academic reading and listening: skimming and scanning
- Skimming
o To look through a text quickly to get the gist (general idea)
o Example: newspaper
o Use
See what’s in the news in a paper or on a website
Browse through a book to see if you want to read it
Look through the television guide to see what’s on one evening
Flick through the options given on a Google Search to see what sites it
suggest
o Don’t read text word for word; pictures, title, key words
- Scanning
o Example: dictionary
o Use:
Look up a word in a dictionary or index
Find an address or a phone number in a directory
Check what time your programme is on television
Look up details or prices in a catalogue
Pick out the website you want from options on a Google search
o When you don’t have time to read every word
Synonyms
- Contrast
o In contrast
o Although
o However
- Addition
o Moreover
o Added to this
Perfect aspect
Perfect tenses share one common feature: they all link two points in time
o Past perfect simple
Links a point in the past with a point further in the past
Use
To talk about a finished or completed past action/event that
happened before another action/event in the past
o Before I worked in this office, I hadn’t worked at a smart
desk
To talk about life experience before a point of time in the past
o Often use pps with the adverbs ever, never, already, yet and
just
o I have never seen this kind of smart building before
With time expressions
o As by, by 2010, by the end of the week, by the time, …
o By the time I had installed the new software, it was already
outdated
, o Present perfect simple
Links a point in the past with a point in the present
Use
To talk about indefinite time in the past, we don’t know when
something happened or we don’t consider when it happened
important
o Recently, in recent years, this weak/month/year, …
o The number of online devices has grown exponentially in
recent years
To talk about past actions or states which are relevant now
o Already, before, ever, never, recently, always, still, just and
yet
o We’ve just installed security updates in the system.
To talk about past actions or states which are still continuing or are
still true now
o For, since
o Malware and ransomware have existed since the 1990s.
Since = the point when the period of time began
o I have worked in IT for nearly twenty years.
For = the length of time
o Future perfect simple
Links two points in the future
Use
To talk about events in the future which will happen before a certain
time
o Within a few years most companies will have installed smart
technology in the office
o By the end of the year, we will have implemented a policy
for security updates.
Academic writt en communicati on
- Guideline
o Write a clear subject line
o Attachments with a clear title
o A correct formal greeting
Dear
o Correct opening of your message
Introduce yourself and indicate the reason you are writing
o Give all the necessary information
o Use an appropriate style
o Use clear questions
o Polite and formal salutation
Best wishes / kind regards / yours sincerely
o Signature and necessary details
o Read your mail again and check your spelling
, Academic reading and listening: linking words and cohesion
Controversy = a linear economy is damaging the planet and should be replaces with a
circular economy
Cohesion
o Refers to the ways texts use grammar and vocabulary to ‘stick’ or ‘glue’ ideas
together, to make meaningful connections between ideas in a text
o Use
Sequence, words and phrases to make lists
First(ly), second(ly), third(ly)
Next, last, finally
The latter and the former
Addition
In addition / additionally
Furthermore
Moreover
Contrast
However
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
Although / even though / though
Despite / in spite of
In contrast (to)
Whereas
Comparison
Similarly / similar to
In comparison with
Compared to / with
Example
For instance
For example
To illustrate
To exemplify
That is (i.e.)
Such as
Result
As a result
As a consequence (of) / consequently
Therefore
Thus
Hence
o There are other cohesive devices who may be less obvious
Pronouns
Personal pronouns (he, it, they,… )
Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those, …)
Relative pronouns (which, who, that, …)
Quantitative pronouns (same, all, any, most, …)
Specialized nouns, verbs or adjectives (resolves, problem, …)