Modals in Past Form

 

Modals are helping words that are used to express: (1)possibility, (2)ability, (3)degree of certainty, and (4) level of authority

   Kinds of modals such as:

      Can, could, may,might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would.

    are used in the past time.They are could, would, should, and might.

Formula of modals is:

Modals + verb 1 + O/C. Can be used in every tenses.

a.       Could is the past tense of can

The modal auxiliary could is used

       -   To express an ability in the past:

   I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.

        - To express past or future permission:

   Could i bury my cat in your back yard?

        - To express present possibility:

    We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking

 - To express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances :

   If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

Noun Phrase

Noun Phrase

noun is a word that names a person, animal, place, thing, idea, or concept, or anything considered as noun 

The Noun examples

•       Persons: girl, boy, instructor, student, Mr. Smith, Peter, president

•       Animals: dog, cat, shark, hamster, fish, bear, flea

•        Places: gym, store, school, Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, village, Europe

•       Things: computer, pen, notebook, mailbox, bush, tree, cornflakes

•       Ideas: liberty, panic, attention, knowledge, compassion, worship

•       The Functions of Nouns in Sentences

•                       1.Subject of the sentence
               2.Predicate Noun (also Predicate Nominative or Subjective Complement)

•                       3. Appositive (noun in apposition)

•                       4. Direct object of a verb

•                       5. Indirect object of a verb

•                       6. Object of the preposition

•                       7. Object Complement (Objective Complement)

Gerunds can also be classified as noun

• For example:

•       I like swimming

•       The word ‘swimming’  is a gerund

•     

Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct and Indirect Speech

Direct speech refers to reproducing another person’s exact words or saying exactly what someone has said (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.

•          indirect speech reproducing the idea of another person’s words that doesn’t use question mark to enclose what the person said and it doesn’t have to be word for word. Indirect speech is sometimes called reported speech

For example:

Direct speech :"I'm going to the cinema", he said.

Indirect speech : He said he was going to the cinema.

•          When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

•          Note : the reporting verbs that are usually used to report imperative sentence are :Tell , other command , ask , warn , remind

Present simple
Past tense
direct                    : Nina said “ I eat fried rice”
indirect                 :Nina said that  she ate fried rice.

Past simple
Past perfect
direct                    :  My Grandma said “ I went to market yesterday”
indirect                  : My Grandma said (that) she had gone to market the day before.

 Future simple
Past future
direct                    : Daussaid “ I will buy an i-pod next week’
indirect                 : Daus said (that) he would buy an i-pod the week after

Present continuous
Past continuous
direct                    : Tito said “ I’m playing football”
indirect                 : Tito said he was playing football

Past continuous
Past perfect continuous
direct                    : She said “ I was teaching earlier”
indirect                  : She said she had been teaching earlier

when we want to report what someone said , we don’t usually repeat their exact words , we use our words , we can use reporting words such as tell say as follow by “that clause”
example  :
Selin said that she got up at 4 o’clock

News Item

News Item

 News Item:  is a factual text which informs the readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

•          Social function of news item is: to inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important
.

Generic structure:

•          Newsworthy Event(s):  recounts the events in summary form

•          Background Event(s):  elaborate what happened, to WHOM, in WHAT circumstances.

•          Sources:  comments by participants in, witnesses to, and expert on the event.

•          Significant Grammar Features:

•          Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline

•          Generally using Simple Past Tense

•          Use of Material Processes to retell the event

•          Using Action Verbs, e.g.: were, run, go, kill, etc.

•          Using Saying Verbs, e.g.: say, tell

•          Focus on Circumstances

•          Use of projecting Verbal Processes in Sources stages

Introductory It

Introductory It

A :     To understand this lesson is easy.

B :     It    is easy to understand this lesson.

•          In this pattern, it has no meaning. It is used only to fill the subject position in the sentence. Thus, it is called introductory “it”.

•          A and B mean the same thing, but sentence B is more common and useful than A. A was introduced mainly to make the meaning of B easier to understand.  

Example of Introductory “it” :

•          To watch musical programs is pleasant.

•          It is pleasant to watch musical program.

•          To play football must be fun.

•          It is fun to play football

Passive Voice

Passive Voice

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 by Agent in the passive sentence (or is dropped)

¢  Only active sentence containing object which can be changed into passive form

¢  The two forms should have the same tenses

¢  IN A PASSIVE CLAUSE, WE USUALLY USE A PHRASE BEGINNING WITH BY IF WE WANT TO MENTION THE AGENT - THE PERSON OR THING THAT DOES THE ACTION, OR THAT CAUSES WHAT HAPPENS.
EXAMPLES:
MY MOTHER   MAKES   THE SANDWICH EVERY MORNING.
   SUBJECT     VERB1+S/ES      O     C (ADV. OF TIME)


THE SANDWICH  IS MADE  BY MY MOTHER EVERY MORNING.
SUBJECT    O BE+V3      AGENT            C (ADV. OF TIME)

¢  If you want to change an active sentence which has two objects into its passive forms, there are two ways:

¢  Make its indirect object into the subject of the passive sentence.

¢  Make its direct object into the subject of the passive sentence

 

Surprise and Disbeliefs

Surprise and Disbeliefs

The meaning of surprise are:

The astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you, or

The state of being surprised,or taken unawares,by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen.

The meaning of disbelief are:

A state of the mind in which one is fully persuaded that an opinion, assertion or doctrine is not true.

Denial of belief.

Ways to say it: Expressing being surprised

Telling surprising news:

Guess what!

Surprise!

I’ve got news for you.

Do you know what?

You won’t believe it!

  

Responding to believe or not:

Oh, no. That’s not true.

You don’t say.

Really? That sounds interesting.

Really? It’s surprising that….

Seeing is believing.

Good heavens.

My goodness!

This is really a surprise