Language Awareness
Tenses
Present Time
Present simple - when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly
"She plays the piano every evening." (habitual action)
"The sun rises in the east." (fact)
"I live in New York." (state of being)
"The train leaves at 9:00 AM." (scheduled event in the future)
Words and phrases often used: always, usually, generally, often, sometimes, rarely, never, whenever, nowadays, these days, from time to time
Empathetic present simple - add "do" or "does" to the verb's basic present tense to get the present emphatic tense
“I do work at the art gallery”
“Jack does exceedingly well in horse riding”
Present Continuous - indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.
"She is studying for her exams." (She is currently engaged in studying.)
"They are playing soccer in the park." (They are currently participating in a soccer game.)
"I am writing an email to my friend." (I am in the process of writing an email.)
Words and phrases often used: now, right now, for now, currently, at the moment, for time being, at present, this week, It’s or That’s the last time
Present Perfect Simple - to talk about a finished event or state in the very recent past.
"I have finished my homework." (The action of finishing homework happened at some point in the past, but the effect is relevant to the present.)
"She has traveled to many countries." (She has experienced traveling to many countries at some point in her life, and the experience is relevant to the present.)
"They have eaten all the pizza." (The action of eating all the pizza occurred in the past, but it's relevant because there's no pizza left now.)
Words and phrases often used: since, for, It’s the first/second time, before, already, yet ever just, still, recently, up to now, so far
Present Perfect Continuous - describes an action or situation that started in the past (usually in the recent past) and continues in the present
"I have been studying for two hours." (I started studying two hours ago, and I am still studying now.)
"She has been working at the company since last year." (She started working at the company last year, and she is still working there now.)
"They have been waiting for the bus for thirty minutes." (They started waiting for the bus thirty minutes ago, and they are still waiting.)
Words and phrases often used: since, for, just, all day/week
Past Time
Past Simple - completed actions before a moment in the past
Empathetic Past Simple -
"She lost her favorite book." (Past simple)
"She lost her favorite book, and she was really upset about it." (Empathetic past simple)
Past Continuous - actions in progress at a particular time in the past
"She was reading a book when I called her." (She was in the middle of reading when the phone rang.)
"They were playing soccer when it started raining." (They were actively engaged in playing soccer when the rain began.)
Past Perfect Simple - completed actions before a moment in the past
"I had finished my homework before dinner." (I completed my homework before dinner.)
"She had already left when I arrived." (She departed before my arrival.)
Past Perfect Continuous - actions continuing up to the present
"She had been studying for two hours before her friends called." (She was actively studying for two hours before her friends called.)
"They had been waiting for the bus for thirty minutes when it finally arrived." (They were in the state of waiting for thirty minutes before the bus arrived.)
Would - is past tense auxiliary
Used to - you can use Used To or past simple
Future Time
Will - decisions made at the moment of speaking
Be going to - predictions based on evidence or intentions
Present Continuous - the verb form used for actions or events that are happening or developing now
“I’m asking for a pay raise tomorrow” (Arrangements)
“I’m meeting Fiona on Friday to discuss the lecture” (Intentions)
! I’m going to work for a really successful company one day (correct) BUT I’m working for a huge multinational one day (wrong) !
Present Simple - the tense that is used to refer to events, actions, and conditions that are happening all the time, or exist now
The shop close at 3 pm next Sunday (fixed future events, usually timetables and schedules)
Future Perfect Simple - something that will be completed before a specific time in the future
It looks like Jake will have lost his job by the end of the week (Completed situations before a certain time)
This time next week, I’ll have worked at the company for exactly three weeks (Continuing situation up to a certain time)
Future Perfect Continuous - a verb tense that describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future
This time next week, I’ll have been working at the company for three weeks (Continuous situation up to a certain time but emphasis on duration)
Future Continuous - an action that will be in progress at a certain time in the future
This time next week I’ll be traveling around China (Situation in progress at a certain time in the future)
The company’s CEO will be arriving on Friday (Situation which will happen in the future in the normal course of events)
I think, in the future, more and more people will be commuting by plane (Habits or repeated actions at one point in the future)
Time Clauses - time words (when, while, once, as soon…)
Present Simple: I’ll give you a pay raise when you start working harder!
Present Continuous: I’ll give you a pay rise once you’re bringing in three new customers a week
Present Perfect Simple: I’ll give you a pay raise as soon as you’ve prove you’re a hard worker
Present Perfect Continuous: I won’t give you a pay raise until you’ve been working here for three years
Future in the Past
Will - would
Present simple - past simple
Stative and non-stative use of words - when certain words are used to describe states, generally used in simple tense rather than continuous form
Ex; Communication (agree, disagree, deny), Thinking (believe, consider, doubt, expect, imagine), Emotions (adore, appeal, desire, need, pity), Perception (hear, see, smell, look, notice)
Agreement
Agreement with Noncount Nouns, Collective Nouns, and Nouns Derived from Adjectives
Noncount Nouns - include mass nouns and abstract nouns, these nouns take a singular verb.
Mass Nouns (equipment, traffic, vocabulary, homework) Abstract Noun (advice, education, knowledge)
Collective Nouns - some collective nouns define groups of people, animals, or things
(audience, group, family, the public, team)
Some collective nouns also refer to things as well as to people and animals.
Nouns Derived from Adjectives - noun phrases derived from adjectives that describe the people such as; the young, the rich, the homeless
Subjects Requiring Singular Verbs - some types of subjects always take singular form
Some common singular nouns that end with -s; (courses, diseases, news)
Plural unit words of distance, time and money: distance, time and money
Arithmetical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
Items that have two parts when you use the noun pair (pair of scissors, scissors)
Clause subjects have a subject and a verb embedded within them. These subjects may begin with noun clause markers such as what or that. The verb is singular even when the noun is referred to as plural.
Arrangement with Fractions, Percentage and Quantifiers - all of and a lot of agreement depends on the noun or clause after these phrases.
Exceptions of Traditional Agreement Rule - the formal are examples when native speakers of English do not follow those rules, especially in spoken or less formal setting.
Either/Neither of
Either/Neither or
None + Prepositional Phrase
There + Be + Plural Noun
Reported speech - If the reporting verb is in the past, we usually have to change the tense of what the person actually said. The general rule is to go back one tense but there are some exceptions: with past perfect simple and continuous, there is no tense change
Adjectives are attributive (attributing a quality to what is denoted by a noun) when they are being used as premodifiers
Gradable adjectives can be used with grading adverbs:
Grading adverbs: a bit, dreadfully, extremely, hugely, immensely, intensely, rather, reasonably, slightly, very
Gradable adjectives: angry, big, busy, clever, common, different, fast, friendly, happy, important, low, popular, quiet, rich, strong, weak, young
Non-gradable adjectives are used with non-grading adverbs which emphasize their extreme or absolute nature, such as absolutely or completely
Non-grading adverbs: absolutely, completely, entirely, perfectly, practically, simply, totally, utterly, virtually, almost, exclusively, fully, largely, mainly, nearly, primarily
Non-gradable adjectives: awful, excellent, impossible, superb, terrible, unique, unknown, wrong, domestic, environmental, agricultural
Position of multiple adjectives - When more than one adjective comes before a noun, the adjectives are normally in a particular order.
Adverbs;
Adjectives describe nouns (how something / somebody is) while adjectives specify verbs (how somebody does something / how something happens). E.g. He is a responsible driver. / He drives very responsibly. Adverbs are used before adjectives and other adverbs. E.g. reasonably cheap (adverb + adjective) E.g. incredibly quickly (adverb + adverb)
Vocab;
A current (water), Mountaintop (top of the mountain), Head waters (start of a river), Ridge (a long narrow part of a mountain), Cape (long piece of land sticking out into a river or lake), Global Warming, Ozone Layer, CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), Environmentalist, Greenhouse effect (the process through which heat is trapped near Earth's surface by substances known as 'greenhouse gasses’), Commute, Accommodation, Facility, Outskirts (countryside), Loungewear (casual clothes worn at home everyday),
In each passage:
a) identify participle clauses, defining and non-defining relative clauses, any alternative sentence patterns
b) check the accuracy of conditional clauses, subject-verb agreement, Saxon genitive, and punctuation
c) explain the use of present simple vs continuous, and present perfect simple vs continuous
Passage 3:
Driven by compassion and ethical considerations, advocates for animal rights strive to end the exploitation and suffering of sentient beings. By exposing cruel practices in industries such as factory farming and promoting alternative approaches like plant-based diets they aim to create a more compassionate world. Concurrently, animal rights activists are raising awareness about other animals intrinsic value, advocating for legal protections and fostering a society that recognizes and respects the rights and welfare of all living creatures. It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that sheds light on the injustices animals face urge individuals and governments to take action. By implementing stricter regulations on animal cruelty, promoting plant-based diets, and support cruelty-free alternatives, other animals can be protected from unnecessary harm.
Participle Clauses:
"Driven by compassion and ethical considerations"
"By exposing cruel practices in industries such as factory farming and promoting alternative approaches like plant-based diets"
"advocating for legal protections and fostering a society that recognizes and respects the rights and welfare of all living creatures"
"By implementing stricter regulations on animal cruelty, promoting plant-based diets, and support cruelty-free alternatives"
Defining Relative Clauses:
"that recognizes and respects the rights and welfare of all living creatures" (defining the type of society)
Non-Defining Relative Clauses:
None present in this passage.
Alternative Sentence Patterns:
The sentence structure "Driven by compassion and ethical considerations, advocates for animal rights strive to end the exploitation and suffering of sentient beings" could be alternately structured as "Advocates for animal rights, driven by compassion and ethical considerations, strive to end the exploitation and suffering of sentient beings."
b) Accuracy of Various Elements
Conditional Clauses:
"By implementing stricter regulations on animal cruelty, promoting plant-based diets, and support cruelty-free alternatives, other animals can be protected from unnecessary harm."
This should be corrected to: "By implementing stricter regulations on animal cruelty, promoting plant-based diets, and supporting cruelty-free alternatives, other animals can be protected from unnecessary harm."
Subject-Verb Agreement:
"It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that sheds light on the injustices animals face urge individuals and governments to take action."
Corrected version: "It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that shed light on the injustices animals face and urge individuals and governments to take action."
Saxon Genitive:
Correct use: "animals' intrinsic value" (although it's phrased as "other animals intrinsic value" which should be corrected to "other animals' intrinsic value").
Punctuation:
"By exposing cruel practices in industries such as factory farming and promoting alternative approaches like plant-based diets they aim to create a more compassionate world."
Corrected version: "By exposing cruel practices in industries such as factory farming and promoting alternative approaches like plant-based diets, they aim to create a more compassionate world."
"It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that sheds light on the injustices animals face urge individuals and governments to take action."
Corrected version: "It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that shed light on the injustices animals face and urge individuals and governments to take action."
c) Explanation of Verb Tenses
Present Simple vs. Present Continuous:
Present Simple: Used for general truths and habitual actions.
"Advocates for animal rights strive to end the exploitation and suffering of sentient beings." (General truth about what advocates do)
"They aim to create a more compassionate world." (General intention or goal)
"Animal rights activists are raising awareness..." (Ongoing action at the current time)
"It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that shed light..." (General truth about what movements and campaigns do)
Present Continuous: Used for actions happening at the moment or ongoing actions.
"Animal rights activists are raising awareness about other animals' intrinsic value..." (An action that is currently in progress)
Present Perfect Simple vs. Present Perfect Continuous:
Not explicitly used in the passage, but generally:
Present Perfect Simple: Used for actions that occurred at an unspecified time before now and are relevant to the present moment.
Example (not in the passage): "They have exposed cruel practices."
Present Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that started in the past and are still continuing or have recently stopped.
Example (not in the passage): "They have been exposing cruel practices."
Revised Passage with Corrections
Driven by compassion and ethical considerations, advocates for animal rights strive to end the exploitation and suffering of sentient beings. By exposing cruel practices in industries such as factory farming and promoting alternative approaches like plant-based diets, they aim to create a more compassionate world. Concurrently, animal rights activists are raising awareness about other animals' intrinsic value, advocating for legal protections and fostering a society that recognizes and respects the rights and welfare of all living creatures. It is grassroots movements and strategic campaigns that shed light on the injustices animals face and urge individuals and governments to take action. By implementing stricter regulations on animal cruelty, promoting plant-based diets, and supporting cruelty-free alternatives, other animals can be protected from unnecessary harm.