English

REPORTED SPEECH

We use the Reported Speech when we want to report what someone else said before.

 

Direct speech	Reported speech
"I always drink coffee". She said.	She said that she always drank coffee.

-       Although the most common verbs are say, tell and ask, we can use verbs such as  explain, promise, say, tell, suggest...

-       It is not neccesary to change the verb tense if the verb in the direct speech is in the present.

-       that can be omited.

-       When we make a sentence in Reported Speech, the verb moves a step backwards in time:

Direct speech	Reported speech
present simple I am happy I sleep	past simple He said he was happy He said he slept
present continuos I am feeling happy I am sleeping	past continuos He said he was feeling happy He said he was sleeping
past simple I was happy I slept	past perfect He said he had been happy He said he had slept
present perfect I have been happy I have slept	past perfect He said he had been happy He said he had slept
present perfect continuos I have been feeling happy I have been sleeping	past perfect continuos He said he had been feeling happy He said he had been sleeping
future I will be happy I will sleep	simple conditional He said he would be happy He said he would sleep
future perfect I will have been happy I will have sleep

CAN I can sleep	COULD He said he could sleep
MAY I may sleep	MIGHT He said he might sleep
WILL I will sleep	WOULD He said he would sleep
MUST I must sleep	HAD TO He said he had to sleep

THIRD CONDITIONAL: NO POSSIBILITY

IF + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT, SUBJECT + WOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

SUBJECT + WOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE + IF + SUBJECT + PAST PERFECT

The third conditional (also called conditional type 3) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past.

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.

Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

	condition	result
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had won the lottery	I would have bought a car.

 

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF	condition	result
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE + past participle
If	I had seen Mary	I would have told her.
If	Tara had been free yesterday	I would have invited her.
If	they had not passed their exam	their teacher would have been sad.
If	it had rained yesterday	would you have stayed at home?
If	it had rained yesterday	what would you have done?

 

result	IF	condition
WOULD HAVE + past participle		past perfect
I would have told Mary	if	I had seen her.
I would have invited Tara	if	she had been free yesterday.
Their teacher would have been sad	if	they had not passed their exam.
Would you have stayed at home	if	it had rained yesterday?
What would you have done	if	it had rained yesterday?

 

Now check your knowledge with this activity found by ALBA (6ªC):

Third Conditional Exercise

Lots of you know that one of my favourite authors for kids is Roald Dahl, click on the link to find more about him and his stories.

Because everyday is Roald Dahl Day!!!

KET Speaking Test

 

Isn’t it interesting to have the opportunity of watching a real oral test?

I’m sure you can do it better, can’t you? 

PET for Schools Vocabulary Trainer

Click on the link to have some extra practice with the vocabulary you need to know for your PET for Schools test.

VOCABULARY TRAINER

PET for Schools: Real Speaking Test

 

Have a look at these two candidates during one of the parts of their speaking test. Do you like how they do it?

Cambridge Monolingual wordlists

Here there are two books (one with the definitions and the other one without them) with the vocabulary you need to know for your Cambridge examinations. I thought you might want to print or save them to carry on practicing at home.

Wordlist with definitions - Objective PET

Wordlist without definitions - Objective PET

PAST PERFECT

[had + past participle]

Examples:

• You had studied English before you moved to New York.
• Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
• You had not studied English before you moved to New York.

Complete List of Past Perfect Forms

USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
• I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
• Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
• She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
• Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
• A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
  B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

 

MOREOVER

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.

Examples:

• She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
• She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

HOWEVER

If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.

Examples:

• She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
• She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
• Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic’s license. Active
• Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic’s license. Passive

More About Active / Passive Forms

EXERCISES AND RELATED TOPICS

• Verb Tense Exercise 11 Simple Past and Past Perfect
• Verb Tense Exercise 12 Simple Past, Present Perfect, and Past Perfect
• Verb Tense Exercise 13 Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 14 Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 17 Present and Past Tense Review
• Verb Tense Practice Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review
• Verb Tense Final Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review

RELATIVE PRONOUNS (Relative Clauses)

In grammar, the word relative refers to a previously used word or clause in the same sentence; therefore, when pronoun words such as who, which or that are used to begin a relative clause they are referred to as relative pronouns. A relative clause is a qualifying clause in a sentence that refers to, and provides additional information about, a preceding noun or pronoun and often begins with a relative pronoun.

***

How are these three relative pronouns used in relation to persons, animals, things or collective nouns (nouns that refer to a group of people or things considered as a single unit such as the word "committee") in a sentence?

• Who is used to refer to persons.

• Which is used to refer to animals, things and occasionally collective nouns referring to persons.

• That is used to also refer to animals or things; however, it can also be used to refer to people.

***

Example Sentences Using the Relative Pronouns:

Who

1.  Doctors who specialize in treating diseases and conditions of the larynx are called laryngologists.

In this example, the relative pronoun "who" refers back to the noun word "Doctors".

2.  In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy, who was also known as Helen of Sparta, was the wife of Menelaus.

Here, the relative pronoun "who" refers back to the proper noun word "Helen".

***

Which

1.  The American lobster, which thrives in the cold waters of the North Atlantic coast, is a solitary sea crustacean.

In this example, the relative pronoun"which" refers back to the noun word "lobster". 

2.  Our log cabin, which we purchased last week, is located in Virginia.

Here, the relative pronoun "which" refers back to the noun word "cabin".

3.  The audience, which had become lukewarm toward the singers in Act I of the play, became enamored with the new singers in Act II.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun "which" relates back to the collective noun word "audience".

***

That

1.  The blouse that Collette wore had a stain on its sleeve.

In this example, the relative pronoun "that" refers back to (or is relative to) the noun word "blouse".

2.  Porpoises have a communicative ability that is quite unique.

Here, the relative pronoun "that" refers back to the noun word "ability".

3.  The men that work atop high buildings cannot afford to have a fear of heights.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun "that"refers back to the noun word "men".

Exercises:

• Exercise on Relative Pronouns Level: elementary
• Relative Pronouns in the Text „Stonehenge“ (who/which) Level: elementary
• Relative Clauses - Formation
• Definitions with Relative Clauses Level: intermediate
• Forming Relative Clauses - defining and non-definingL

Tests:

• Relative Clauses: Level 1 • Level 2 • Level 3 • Level 4evel: upper intermediate

KET & PET On-line Reading Comprehension Practice

An elementary and intermediate level exam, testing your ability to deal with written and spoken communications.

Key English Test (KET)

Preliminary English Test (PET)

TEST YOUR ENGLISH

Test your English with this quick, free online test. It will give you an idea of your English level.

Click ’start’ and answer each of the questions.

• There are 20 multiple-choice questions.
• There is no time limit.
• You will be able to see answers at the end of the test.

Please note: This is not a Cambridge ESOL exam and the test scores and levels are very approximate.

PASSIVE TENSE

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.

Active Form

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Examples:

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

• the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
• the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
• the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]

Examples:

Active / Passive Overview

	Active	Passive
Simple Present	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.	Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic’s license.	Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic’s license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant’s fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.	The restaurant’s fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Simple Future be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous will	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John.
Future Continuous be going to	At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect will	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect be going to	They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.	The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous will	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Future Perfect Continuous be going to	The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always	My mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past Would	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future in the Past Was Going to	I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight.

 

Exercises

• Exercise on Passive with Simple Present
• Exercise on Passive with Simple Past 
• Exercise on Passive with Present Perfect 
• Exercise on Passive with Future I
• Exercise on Passive with Simple Present
• Exercise on Passive with Simple Past 
• Exercise on Passive with Present Perfect 
• Exercise on Passive with Future I
• Exercise on Passive with Auxiliary Verbs
• Mixed Exercise on Passive with Passive
• Exercise on Passive with Present Progressive 
• Exercise on Passive with Past Progressive 
• Exercise on Passive with Past Perfect 
• Exercise on Passive with Future II 
• Exercise on Passive with Conditional I
• Exercise on Passive with Conditional II 
• Exercise on Simple Present 
• Exercise on Simple Past 
• Exercise on Present Perfect
• Exercise on Future I with will

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

Present Perfect

The present perfect tense is common in English. It is used for many different functions. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular and irregular verbs.

Forming the present perfect tense

This tense is formed using two components: the verb HAVE (in the present tense), and the past participle form of a verb. With a regular verb the past participle ends with -ED (just like the simple past). Irregular verbs have a special past participle form that you have to learn. Here are the rules, using the regular verb “arrive” and the irregular verb “eat”:

Subject	HAVE	Past Participle
I	have	arrived eaten
You	have	arrived eaten
He	has	arrived eaten
She	has	arrived eaten
It	has	arrived eaten
We	have	arrived eaten
They	have	arrived eaten

Note that the subject and auxiliary verb may be contracted: for example, “I have” becomes “I’ve” and “She has” becomes “She’s”.

How to make the past participle form

With regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the simple past. You can form it by adding -ED to the end of the verb. (See Simple Past: Regular Verbs for more information on this.) However, with some verbs, you need to add -EN or change the verb itself. There are no real rules for this; you just need to learn the verbs which are irregular. Sometimes the past participle is the same as the simple past, and sometimes it isn’t. Here are four main categories of verbs with examples. Please note that there are many different ways to form past participles; this is just a small sample.

Category	Present	Simple Past	Past Participle
Verbs which don’t change	cut hit fit	cut hit fit	cut hit fit
Verbs which change their vowel	sit drink dig	sat drank dug	sat drunk dug
Verbs which change their vowel and add -EN	break eat take	broke ate took	broken eaten taken
Verbs which change completely	catch bring teach	caught brought taught	caught brought taught

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.

Continue with the exercises

Present Perfect Continuous

FORM

[has/have + been + present participle]

Positive	Negative	Question
I have been sleeping. You have been sleeping. We have been sleeping. They have been sleeping. He has been sleeping. She has been sleeping. It has been sleeping.	I have not been sleeping. You have not been sleeping. We have not been sleeping. They have not been sleeping. He has not been sleeping. She has not been sleeping. It has not been sleeping.	Have I been sleeping? Have you been sleeping? Have we been sleeping? Have they been sleeping? Has he been sleeping? Has she been sleeping? Has it been sleeping

USE 1 Duration from the Past Until Now

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.

Examples:

• They have been talking for the last hour.
• She has been working at that company for three years.
• What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
• James has been teaching at the university since June.
• We have been waiting here for over two hours!
• Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?

USE 2 Recently, Lately

You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning.

Examples:

• Recently, I have been feeling really tired.
• She has been watching too much television lately.
• Have you been exercising lately?
• Mary has been feeling a little depressed.
• Lisa has not been practicing her English.
• What have you been doing?

IMPORTANT

Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Present Perfect.

Examples:

• Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
• Sam has had his car for two years. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You have only been waiting here for one hour.
• Have you only been waiting here for one hour?

EXERCISES

• Verb Tense Exercise 7 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 8 Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 9 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 10 Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 16 Present and Past Tenses with Non-Continuous Verbs
• Verb Tense Exercise 17 Present and Past Tense Review
• Verb Tense Practice Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review
• Verb Tense Final Test Cumulative Verb Tense Review

PRESENT PERFECT vs PAST SIMPLE

The Present Perfect is used when an action happened in the past and there is a connection to the present. There’s no exact time expressed when the action happened.

Key words: already, just, yet, ever, never, for, since, so far, up to now, not yet, lately

PAST		PRESENT
Nick has gone on holiday.	result	He is not in the office.
Have you ever been to Italy?	connection with the present	Do you know Italy? No, I have never been there.
He has already met Sue.	connection with the present	He likes her.
He has just eaten something bad.	connection with the present	He feels bad now.
He has been in Spain for ten days.	connection with the present	He is still there.
He has been in Spain since Friday.	connection with the present	He is still there.

 

EXERCISE 1

EXERCISE 2

EXERCISE 3

EXERCISE 4

EXERCISE 5

EXERCISE 6

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

IF + SUBJECT + PAST SIMPLE , SUBJECT + WOULD + INFINITIVE

SUBJECT + WOULD + INFINITIVE + IF + SUBJECT + PAST S.

The Second Conditional is used to talk about ’impossible’ situations.

• If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde Park.
• If I had millions dollars, I’d give a lot to charity.
• If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.
• If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease

Note that after I / he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'.

• If she were happy in her job, she wouldn’t be looking for another one.
• If I lived in Japan, I’d have sushi every day.
• If they were to enter our market, we’d have big problems.

Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice.

• If I were you, I’d look for a new place to live.
• If I were you, I’d go back to school and get more qualifications.

The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations.

• If I went to China, I’d visit the Great Wall.
• If I was the President, I’d reduce taxes.
• If you were in my position, you’d understand.

Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past continuous.

• If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train.
• If she were coming, she would be here by now.
• If they were thinking of selling, I would want to buy.

Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might'.

• If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently.
• If we met up for lunch, we could go to that new restaurant.
• If I spoke to him directly, I might be able to persuade him.

Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

• What would I do without you? ("if you weren’t here")
• Where would I get one at this time of night? ("if I wanted one")
• He wouldn’t agree. ("if I asked him")

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

exercise 6

KET & PET for Schools: Computer-based Practice Tests

These on-line tests show the types of questions that will appear in the live exam.

Please, follow the instructions and do this practice at home to get use to the exam we are doing in May.

CB KET for Schools

KET for Schools Reading & Writing Practice Test (9.47Mb) | KET for Schools Reading & Writing Practice Test Answer Key (14Kb)

KET for Schools Listening Practice Test (23.75Mb) | KET for Schools Listening Practice Test Answer Key (9Kb)

CB PET for Schools

PET for Schools Reading & Writing Practice Test (11.12Mb) | PET for Schools Reading & Writing Practice Test Answer Key (14Kb)

PET for Schools Listening Practice Test (24.72Mb) | PET for Schools Listening Practice Test Answer Key (8Kb)

System requirements

Pentium III 800 Mhz or equivalent
Minimum 128MB RAM
Windows 2000 Professional or above
CD-ROM drive, minimum 24x speed
High colour 32 bit display
Screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher
Sound card and speakers or headphones
Mouse or other pointing device
Flash Player version 8 or above

1. Save the attached file to your hard drive (C: drive on most PCs).
2. Double click on the file to run the test.
3. At the log in screen, click ‘Submit’. No candidate number or password are required.
4. Repeat the above process for each individual PC on which you wish to run the Practice Test.

                                    

THE FIRST CONDITIONAL

IF + SUBJECT + PRESENT SIMPLE , SUBJECT + WILL + INFINITIVE SUBJECT + WILL + INFINITIVE + IF + SUBJECT + PRESENT SIMPL

We use the First Conditional to talk about future events that are likely to happen.

• If we take John, he’ll be really pleased.
• If you give me some money, I’ll pay you back tomorrow.
• If they tell us they want it, we’ll have to give it to them.
• If Mary comes, she’ll want to drive.

The ’if’ clause can be used with different present forms.

• If I go to New York again, I’ll buy you a souvenir from the Empire State Building.
• If he’s feeling better, he’ll come.
• If she hasn’t heard the bad news yet, I’ll tell her.

 

The "future clause" can contain ’going to’ or the future perfect as well as ’will’.

• If I see him, I’m going to tell him exactly how angry I am.
• If we don’t get the contract, we’ll have wasted a lot of time and money.

 

The "future clause" can also contain other modal verbs such as ’can’ and ’must’.

• If you go to New York, you must have the cheesecake in Lindy’s.
• If he comes, you can get a lift home with him.

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

If you give a mouse a cookie

 

Don’t forget to write a story similar to this one, starting: "If you show an elephant a mouse".

And remember the first conditional formula to make all your sentences.

Be creative! Be original! And have fun!!