Study newsletter 2015, week 51 Content Language level Page Phrase of the week It s worth a try All levels 1 Mind map Bedroom All levels 2 Czenglish Inviting me vs. Inviting Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 3 Business Writing A few words about sentences Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 4-5 Test Past simple, continuous and perfect Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 6 Phrase of the week It s worth a try We use this expression to say that it's a good idea to try something You can use this phrase in language. Spoken Written Informal Example 1 A: Pete's not at his office. Do you think I should call John? He might be there? B: It's worth a try. They often have meetings at this time. Example 2 A: It would be great to have a party for our department. Shall we ask the boss if the company would pay for that? B: It's worth a try. He might say yes. 1
Mind map Learning new vocabulary in the most effective way Vyzkoušejte si interaktivní Mindmapy zde: http://www.jazykovka.info/studujeme-jazyky/mindmap/bedroom/ Klikejte na slova, uslyšíte jednotlivá slovíčka namluvená rodilým mluvčím. Slovíčka Slovo Bed Nightwear Bedside table Bedside lamp Pillow Duvet Bedding Sheet Make the bed Earplug Význam slova postel noční prádlo noční stolek noční lampička polštář peřina povlečení prostěradlo ustlat postel špunt do uší 2
Czenglish WRONG: RIGHT: I can't come to your birthday but thanks for inviting. I can't come to your birthday but thanks for inviting me. When students say, "Thanks for inviting", every English teacher in the world is screaming for them to add the word "me". But more often than not, it doesn't come. But without that small little word, it doesn't make sense. Thanks for inviting who? We need to know who has been invited. So, you have to say, "Thanks for inviting me." Another way of not making this mistake is to say, "Thanks for the invitation" and it means the same thing. So, let's role-play a correct conversation: A: I can't come to your birthday but thanks for inviting me. B: No problem. Are you going out somewhere else? A: Yeah, I had already received an invitation to go to a ball. Sorry. 3
Business Writing A few words about sentences Sentences are one of the main units of writing. We have words and we have paragraphs and, in between, we have sentences. At its most basic a sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate. To be a complete sentence it must have both parts. In some writing incomplete sentences are fine, but in business writing it s best to write complete sentences (writing sales copy is probably the only exception to this). First some quick definitions Subject: who or what the sentence is about Predicate: says something about the subject The shortest complete sentence in English is: I am. I is the subject. Am is the predicate. To find the subject of your sentence, first find the main verb and then ask who? or what? Example: Yesterday, after lunch, the client contacted me. The main verb is contacted. Who or what contacted? The client. But it s not always simple Both parts of the sentence can be simple, complex or compound, or a combination of each. This is where a careless writer may get into trouble, writing long, rambling sentences. A good rule of thumb on sentence length is No sentence should have more than 20 words. Now, like all rules, you may need to break this one; it s more general guidance than a rule. Simplex, complex and compound Here s a simple example: The committee has approved the proposal. The subject is the committee and the predicate is has approved the proposal. 4
Now a more complex example: The Finance Committee, which met on Monday 13 April 2015, has approved the proposal put forward by the HR Committee that apart from graduate recruitment, recruitment be frozen for the next two months. The simple subject is the finance committee and the simple predicate is approved the proposal. Then there are complex subjects and predicates: The committee and the board have discussed and approved the proposal. Here there are two nouns in the subject (the committee and the board) and two verbs relating to that subject (discussed and approved). DALICE TROST, původem z Austrálie, je absolventkou magisterského studia managementu lidských zdrojů na University of Canberra v Austrálii. Lektorka je držitelkou certifikátu TEFL opravňující k výuce cizích jazyků. V rámci své profesní praxe zastávala vysoké manažerské pozice jako personalistka, senior supervizorka, HR manažerka, a to mimo jiné ve společnostech v Dubaji a Austrálii. Aktivně se věnuje publikační práci v oboru vzdělávání a anglického jazyka. Lektorka je autorkou knihy, ze které čerpáme tyto tipy: Business Writing-A Tip a Day for 30 Days 5
TEST: Past simple, continuous and perfect The conference was very successful. The seminars and talks (1) extremely interesting. It was obvious that all the speakers (2) their speeches very thoroughly. We (3) to the hotel very excited about our trip. But we (4) that the hotel manager isn't very good at his job. He (5) the wrong hotel room for us. Therefore we (6) enough space in the room. Unfortunately, he couldn't let us have the larger room because he (7) it to bigger group. He also (8) the letter we sent him. In the letter was what food we (9). In fact, we (10) that he had lost the letter, that's why we don't recommend using this hotel again. 1. A had been B were C was D have being 2. A prepared B were preparing C had been preparing D had prepared 3. A arrived B had been arriving C had arrived D were arriving 4. A had discovered B discovered C had been discovering D were discovering 5. A reserved B were reserving C was reserving D had reserved 6. A had not have B did not have C were not having D was not having 7. A gave B hadn't been giving C was giving D had given 8. A -, misunderstood B had, misunderstood C was, misunderstanding D hadn't been misunderstanding 9. A required B had required C were requiring D was requiring 10. A had suspected B were suspecting C had been suspecting D suspected Správné odpovědi se dozvíte ihned po dokončení on-line testu zde: http://www.jazykovka.info/studujeme-jazyky/minitest/past-simple-continuous-and-perfect/ Správné odpovědi z minulého týdne (Simply perfect and perfectly simple): 1B, 2D, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6C, 7C, 8B, 9C, 10A 6