Comprehensive Study Guide for Solutions Elementary Workbook

Bibliographic Information and Authorship

The Third Edition of the Solutions Elementary Workbook is authored by Tim Falla and Paul A Davies. It is published by the Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom. The publication is a department of the University of Oxford. The e-Book Edition carries the ISBN: $978\,0\,19\,456205\,8$. The first publication date was in $2017$, with all moral rights of the authors asserted. This digital publication is strictly protected by international copyright laws, prohibiting copying, file sharing, or reproduction without written permission from the ELT Rights Department of Oxford University Press.

Introduction: Personal Information and Basic Grammar

Basic personal exchange involves specific question structures: "What's your name?", "How do you spell that?", "How old are you?", and "Where are you from?". The workbook identifies fourteen primary countries for introductory study: Poland, France, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Argentina. The verb be functions in affirmative and negative forms, such as "they aren't cousins," "I'm a student," or asking "are you seventeen?" and "is it cold today?". The verb have got is used to indicate possession, with Liam and Zoe as examples: Liam has got a skateboard and a dictionary, while Liam and Zoe have both got smartphones, but neither has got a bike.

Speaking skills in this section focus on ability and permission. Musical instruments identified for vocabulary include the clarinet, drums, flute, guitar, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and violin. The modal verb can expresses ability ($\text{Ted can't play the violin; Marie can speak Chinese}$) and permission inquiries ($\text{Can I ask a question? Can I borrow a pencil? Can I share your book?}$). Grammatically, the use of articles is established: "a/an" for singular nouns, "some" for plural or uncountable items, and "the" for specific reference. The demonstrative pronouns this and these refer to objects near the speaker, while that and those refer to objects at a distance.

Unit 1: Family and Friends

Family vocabulary distinguishes between various relations: grandson (son's son), uncle (dad's brother), grandparents (mum's father and mother), sister (parents' daughter), and cousins (father's sister's children). Step-relations include stepfather (mother's new husband) and brother-in-law (sister's husband). Possession is marked by apostrophes, distinguishing between my wife's sister (singular) and my children's dog (plural). Present simple affirmative is used for habits and facts. Third person singular forms usually add $-s$ (enjoys, knows), $-es$ after $-sh$ or $-ch$ (finishes, watches), or change $-y$ to $-ies$ (studies). The verb go becomes goes, and have becomes has.

Housework activities include cleaning the bedroom, cooking dinner, doing the dishes or washing, loading/unloading the dishwasher, and setting the table. Phonetic awareness is emphasized through vowel sounds, such as identifying the differences in "book" ($\text{short u}$) versus "soon" ($\text{long u}$). Present simple negative and interrogative forms utilize the auxiliary verb do/does. For example: "We don't live in London" or "Does Harry work in London?". Plural noun rules include adding $-es$ for nouns ending in $-o$, $-s$, $-sh$, or $-ch$, and changing $-f$ or $-fe$ to $-ves$ (knife to knives).

Sibling Rivalry and Personal Profiles

The "Sibling Effect" research highlights that siblings significantly influence personality development. Arguments between siblings teach important social skills not typically learned from friends. Academic research shows having a successful older sibling can increase an individual's exam scores by $4\,\%$ (increasing to $11\,\%$ for children from impoverished families). University of Ulster research suggests boys with sisters are generally better at discussing emotions and managing worry. Step-siblings offer similar benefits only if they have been part of the family for $6$ years or more.

When writing a personal profile, the document should be structured into four distinct paragraphs: home and family, school details, hobbies and interests, and future ambitions. Adjectives describing personality include creative, friendly, patient, hard-working, sensible, and honest. Informal writing strategies recommend the use of contractions ($\text{I'm, she's}$) and specific prepositions, such as riding a bike "to" school or being "at" university.

Unit 2: School Days and Obligations

Daily routines are defined by chronological markers: waking up, getting dressed, having breakfast, arriving at school, leaving school, and going to bed. School subjects include art and design, biology, chemistry, economics, gymnastics, and P.E. The structure have to expresses necessity or compulsion. For example, a sign might indicate "You have to stop" or "You have to wear a hard hat." In the West London Free School, students have to wear uniforms and study Latin. Small schools are profiled through Scoraig in Scotland, which has only five children and is accessible only by boat or a $4\text{-km}$ path, and the Budaixi Primary School in China, which has only one student named Xianzi taught by Mr Guo.

Adverbs of frequency range from always ($100\,\%$) to never ($0\,\%$), with usually, often, sometimes, and hardly ever in between. Prepositions of time are strictly categorized: "in" for months, years, and seasons; "at" for specific times, night, and festivals; and "on" for days and specific dates. Advice-giving utilizes should or shouldn't ($\text{He should go to bed; they shouldn't swim in this river}$). Formal school announcements should contain the club name, meeting location, day/time, activities, and contact information.

Unit 3: Style and Appearance

Clothing vocabulary includes boots, cardigan, dress, leggings, scarf, tracksuit, trainers, and trousers. Present continuous grammar ($\text{am/is/are + -ing}$) describes actions happening now ($\text{I'm helping with the housework}$). Syllable stress is vital for pronunciation, distinguishing patterns in words like "address" or "afternoon." Stative verbs such as believe and know are noted for not usually being used in continuous tenses. Adjective opposites include awful/fantastic, cheap/expensive, and dangerous/safe. Negative prefixes often use "un-" to create opposites like unfriendly, unkind, or unnecessary.

In the context of personal perspectives on appearance, teenagers like Elsie ($16$) prefer charity shops to establish a unique look, while Oscar ($17$) focuses on fitness and gym-going. Bella ($15$) finds fashion boring and prefers sports, and Grace ($15$) uses fashion for fun with friends. When making arrangements, the present continuous is used for future plans ($\text{What are you doing this evening?}$). Informal emails utilize linking words like and, because, but, or, and so to transition between current activities and future suggestions.

Unit 4: Food and Nutrition

Food categories include beef, chicken, lamb, prawns, mushrooms, peppers, strawberries, and dairy like cheese and yoghurt. The grammar of "there is / there are" is used with "some" (affirmative) and "any" (negative and interrogative). Wild foraging is introduced as a practice where people collect fresh, healthy, and free food from the countryside, such as nuts and herbs, believing it is better for the environment. Quantifiers distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns: "how much" for liquids/uncountables and "how many" for plural count items. Small amounts are expressed as "a little" or "a few."

Adjective and preposition collocations are specific: popular "with," bad "for," keen "on," and famous "for." The South Korean phenomenon of "mukbang" involves watching people like Lee Chang-hyun or Park Seo-yeon ($\text{The Diva}$) eat large meals online. Park Seo-yeon reportedly earns $\$9,000$ per month. This trend is attributed to social isolation in metropolitan areas like Seoul, providing a sense of a "digital dinner party." Restaurant protocol involves formal phrases: "Are you ready to order?" "Is everything OK for you?" and "Can we have the bill, please?".

Unit 5: In the City and Transportation

Urban locations include the town hall, car park, airport, fire station, gym, library, museum, and police station. Comparative adjectives are formed by adding $-er$ to short adjectives ($\text{smaller, easier}$) or using "more" for longer ones ($\text{more interesting}$). Superlatives identify extremes ($\text{planes are the quickest form of transport; the Amazon is the longest river in the world}$). Major cities profiled for their extremes include Norilsk, Russia (the northernmost large city, with life expectancy $10$ years shorter due to nickel factory pollution); Punta Arenas, Chile (the southernmost city near Patagonia); and El Alto, Bolivia (the highest city at $4,150\,m$ altitude).

Travel collocations involve verbs such as catch a bus, miss a train, go on foot, or give somebody a lift. Directions use imperative verbs like "go along," "take the first left," or "go over the bridge." Descriptive articles of towns should cover history, places of interest, transport, and accommodation. For example, Northwick features a $500\text{-year-old}$ market and Northwick Hall, once visited by Queen Victoria. Southport is noted for art shops and a shopping centre outside the town.

Unit 6: Animals and the Past

Wild animal vocabulary covers the bear, butterfly, crocodile, dolphin, eagle, elephant, frog, shark, and wolf. Morphological features include ears, paws, tails, wings, and teeth. Past simple regular verbs end in $-ed$. The workbook notes specific phonetic rules where /d/ or /t/ sounds disappear in connected speech ($\text{e.g., "moved slowly" sounds like "move slowly"}$). Irregular past forms for the verb be are was and were, and for can, the form is could. Prepositions of movement include across, away from, towards, and through.

Natural mysteries like "Bigfoot" or "Sasquatch" are described as half-human creatures roughly $3\,m$ tall. A specific account from $1964$ in Dewey Lake, Michigan, involved Mrs. Ultrup, whose dog was allegedly attacked by such a creature, resulting in the police documenting huge footprints. Survival stories include Juliane Koepcke, who survived a plane crash in the Peruvian Amazon at age seventeen, navigating the jungle for ten days before finding a hut. Postcard writing requires the present continuous for current location and the past simple for completed activities.

Unit 7: Digital World and Technology

Computing devices include the charger, keyboard, laptop, router, and tablet. Key digital actions are scanning, uploading, downloading, and posting comments. Irregular past simple verbs in this field include become (became), build (built), and make (made). Phrasal verbs are essential for technology: back up (save work), break down (stop working), log off, plug in, and shut down. Instructions favor sequencing words: first of all, secondly, then, and finally.

Cyberbullying is addressed through the story of Kaitlyn Collins, a Green Bay Packers cheerleader who was targeted by Chicago Bears fans on Facebook in $2013$. She responded with a viral YouTube video using placards to communicate, leading to the removal of the bullying content. In retail settings, shoppers inquire about features like touch-screens, built-in webcams, or HDMI ports. Prices are written using the pound symbol ($\text{\pounds299.99}$). Narrative writing in this context often involves direct speech and specific time expressions like "a few months ago" or "at that moment."

Unit 8: Sports, Hobbies, and the Future

Sports are categorized by the verbs used with them: play for team/ball games ($\text{basketball, football, volleyball}$), go for "-ing" activities ($\text{climbing, cycling, swimming, skiing}$), and do for individual activities/martial arts ($\text{gymnastics, karate, yoga, judo}$). Future plans are expressed using going to, while predictions use will/won't. Noun suffixes are used to transform verbs and adjectives: $-ation$ (conversation), $-ness$ (darkness), $-ment$ (arrangement), and $-ion$ (discussion).

Inspiring athletes include Dara Torres (USA swimmer with $12$ Olympic medals), Emil Zátopek (Czech runner who won the $5,000\,m$, $10,000\,m$, and marathon at the $1952$ Helsinki Games), and Bonnie Blair (USA speed skater with $5$ gold medals). Speed climber Ueli Steck is noted for his record-breaking ascent of the Grandes Jorasses, rising $1,220\,m$ in just under $2.5$ hours. Informal letters in this unit focus on apologizing for delays and making suggestions for future shared activities.

Unit 9: Home and Recent Events

Rooms in a house include the basement, loft, utility room, and hall. Furniture vocabulary spans blinds, bookcase, chest of drawers, rug, and wardrobe. The present perfect affirmative ($\text{have/has + past participle}$) indicates recent events ($\text{I've already emailed her}$). Past participles of irregular verbs often differ from the past simple: be (been), break (broken), eat (eaten), see (seen), and write (written). The adverbs just, already, and yet specify the timing of actions.

The distinction between bring and take is based on direction: bring toward the speaker and take away from the speaker. The remote village of Staylittle in Wales is used to illustrate communication difficulties, as it lacked mobile signals and reliable phone lines until recent satellite improvements. Photo comparisons require speculative language ($\text{"It looks as if..." or "I would say that..."}$). Descriptions of homes use modifiers like fairly, really, and extremely to provide nuanced detail about location and living conditions.

Questions & Discussion

During the listening exercise regarding the tour of Buckingham Palace, the following exchange occurred: Question: Does the tour include all of the rooms in the palace? Response: No, the tour includes the nineteen State Rooms, which are the main public rooms. Question: What was Finley's favorite thing on the tour? Response: Finley's favorite thing was a beautiful staircase. Question: Where did a photographer take a photo of Prince William just after he got married? Response: The photo was taken in the Throne Room. Question: What did one of the Kings of England do in the garden? Response: He planted a lot of mulberry trees, though he wanted silkworms to live in them.

In the context of the Symantec experiment on lost smartphones: Question: What did most people do when they found a lost phone? Response: $48$ out of $50$ people turned the phones on and tried to open apps. The most concerning behavior was that $21$ finders attempted to access online banking information. There is approximately a $50\,\%$ chance of a lost phone being returned if found in major US or Canadian cities.