Map of the United States of America
Which became the first and most influential country of English speakers outside the British Isles when the Plilgrim Fathers on the “May
Flower” entered the harbour at Cape Cod on the 11th November
1620.
Old map of England and Scotland
where the Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Northern Germany
implanting the nucleus of the Anglo-Saxon language (’Old English’),
which would become ‘Middle English’ after the Norman invasion of
England in 1066 and ‘Modern English’ from
Shakespeare on.
ENGLISH VERBS & CO.
English in the WORLD
English is officially spoken in many countries (over 50) in the World
as the main language (see red areas on the map below) but is present
in many other parts especially as the language for business, research
etc. and due to the growing military, economic and cultural
influence of the United States, it has become the ‘global language’
at every level of communication today, even in local versions like
“Singlish”, a pidgin variety spoken in Singapore.
This grammar is dedicated to the poor children of
Africa, in particular to the orphans suffering from
HIV/AIDS in Tanga (Tanzania) where the
“Associazione Casa Rosetta - NGO” runs a wonderful centre
Tanga December 2008
PART III Expressing Future Time
CONTENTS
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple
PART I Expressing Present Time
B- Present Continuous
- Unit 1: Present Simple
p. 2
- Unit 2: Present Continuous
p. 5
- Unit 3: To Be and To Have
p. 9
- Unit 4: The Imperative
- Test / Notes
p. 14
p. 16-18
- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect
B-Present Perfect Continuous
-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect
p. 21
p. 25
p. 30
p. 33
B- Past Perfect Continuous
p. 35
C- Past Progressive
p. 37
D- Used to
p. 39
- Test / Notes
B- will (’ll) form
- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous
B-Future Perfect
- Test / Notes
p. 48
p. 49
p. 51
p. 54
p. 56
p. 58-60
PART IV Verbs & Co
PART II Expressing Past Time
- Unit 4: Past Simple
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form
p. 47
p. 42-44
- Unit 10: Modal verbs
p. 63
- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech
p. 70
- Unit 12: Passive verbs
p. 76
- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses
p. 80
B- time clauses
p. 84
- Test / Notes
p. 86-90
- Appendix I: Irregular verbs
p. 92
- Appendix II: Phrasal verbs
p. 98
Introduction to
A copy cut and paste compact Grammar of English
PART I
Expressing Present Time
The idea of writing a compact grammar for my students came to me a year ago, while I was revising
modal verbs with my third year class last year.
Just before the test, one of my students, Martina, showed me her notes on the Modal verbs we had just
revised: a computer chart, quick and easy to compile and understand with every variety of modal accompanied by examples and translation in Italian.
Not exactly communicative! But it was clear and practical ! Why not to do the same for the rest of the
grammar? With a group of students from that class (who had already worked on the school newssheet in English “YOU’RE HERE!”) we began to look at other areas of grammar in a similar way and
gradually at the beginning of the year the basis for this book emerged. We would try to make this
grammar as user-friendly as possible beginning with the revision of the English Verb system. I wanted students to understand at a glance how easy English verbs are. The most complicated verb, the
auxiliary verb to BE has only 8 forms and the normal regular verb has only 4 forms. Through charts
and the use of colour the grammar rule would be easily understood. This work is intended for everyone who has attended some basic course in English at school or university and wants to go on to the
intermediate level (e.g. P.E.T./F.C.E./upper secondary school/university exams/students on Erasmus
exchange programs in English speaking countries etc.). In this analysis of the English verb system the
students will be able to assess the English verb and tense system from a global point of view. For
example, right from the start they will see the normal uses of the Present Simple together with the
more advanced application of this tense in “if” clauses. For the final version polished and printed
correctly, I am especially grateful to four of my school students, who have worked on this project
right from the start inspiring many of its qualities: Martina, Ilaria, Roberta and Erika. A thanks to
Gabriella Bosco for her original drawings. The responsibility for any mistakes present in this work
is only mine! In any case we welcome your comments and suggestions. Use our e-mail: [email protected]
2008/2009
Author and Project Co-ordinator
Pietro Cipolla
Liceo Scientifico St. “A. Sciascia”
Canicattì (AG)
www.
…
There are 2 main ways of expressing the present in English: the Simple
Present, for routines and the Present Continuous, to describe actions which
are happening at that precise moment in time. We’ll also deal with the 2
auxiliary verbs To Be and To Have in the third Unit.
- Unit 1: Present Simple
p. 2
- Unit 2: Present Continuous
p. 5
- Unit 3: To Be and To Have
p. 9
- Unit 4: The Imperative
p. 14
- Test
p. 16
- Notes
p. 18
• to talk about general situations or things that are normally true or ask about factual information:
Unit 1: Present Simple
A) How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE I
You
watch TV on Saturday evenings
We
don’t
NEGATIVE
They
INTERROGATI- Do
VE
I
you
we
they
watch TV on Saturday evenings ?
The Present Simple
Short answers
Yes I
you
we
No they
do
don’t
is formed by adding the base form to the subject for all the forms except the third person singular. We use the do auxiliary for the interrogative and the don’t for he negative. With the
third person singular (HE/SHE/IT) remember to add an “s” to the base form of the verb in affirmative sentences and to transform DO DOES in the negative and , DON’T
DOESN’T in the interrogative (for the spelling rules concerning the “s” see BOX
below).
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
He
She
It
C) Exceptions
: to school!
She does go
smells nice!
doesn’t sound interesting!
INTERROGATI- Does he
she
VE
it
play football on Fridays?
Short answers
Yes he does
she
it
No
doesn’t
[Va a scuola per davvero!]
• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:
C) Exceptions :
e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]
• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:
They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]
e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]
Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.
They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]
Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.
• we always use the Simple Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:
B) When is it used?
•to describe habitual actions or routines, usually accompanied by frequency adverbs (see BOX
below):
e.g.always
I’m tired.
[Sono
stanco.]
• we
use the
Simple
Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:
She never goes out during the week. [Non esce mai durante la settimana]
But
use the
verb
TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the
e.g.when
I’m we
tired.
[Sono
stanco.]
continuous for:
But when we use the verb TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the
e.g He’s being
stupid! [Si comporta da stupido!]
continuous
form:
Does she ever listen to her i-pod while she studies?
e.g He’s being stupid!
e.g. I always go to discos on Saturday nights. [Vado sempre in discoteca ogni Sabato sera.]
2
is extremely
cold. [l’acqua
diventa quando
ghiaccio
e.g. Water becomes ice when it
there’s
frost. [L’acqua
diventa ghiaccio
c’èquando
gelo.] fa
molto
f reddo.]
Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]
Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]
They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]
They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]
Where do you come from?
[Da dove vieni?]
Where do you come from?
[Da dove vieni?]
What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]
What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]
• with state verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental
activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound) see Appendix
•pag
with
state
…..
: verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental
activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound):
e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]
e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]
She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]
She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]
It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]
It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]
• DO/DOES can also be used in affirmative/imperative sentences to express emphasis
e.g. Do sit down, please!
[Ti chiedo di sederti, per favore!]
[Ascolta mai il suo i-pod mentre studia?]
[Si comporta da stupido!]
3
FREQUENCY ADVERBS
AND EXPRESSIONS
Frequency adverbs
always = sempre
usually = di solito
normally / generally = generalmente
often / frequently = spesso
sometimes = qualche volta
seldom / rarely = raramente
hardly ever = quasi mai
never / ever = mai
every now and then = ogni tanto
Frequency expressions
e.g once a week
every day
three times a week
on Monday afternoon etc
Position of adverbs
For the “s” of the third person singular apply the
same rule of the plural of nouns:
• verbs which finish in –s, -sh, -ch, -x + es.
e.g. He watches football on TV.
• verbs which finish with a consonants + y
ies
e.g. He studies a lot. etc
STATE VERBS
You nearly always use the Present Simple with
State verbs, which can be divided into the following groups:
1– verbs about love: love/hate/mind/prefer/like
etc
2– verbs about needs: want/need etc
3- verbs about understanding: know/think/
believe/
undestand/suppose etc
The adverb goes always in front of the verb:
4– verbs about perception: hear/taste/sound/smell
etc
e.g. I always go to school on foot.
5– verbs about possession: own/have/belong
But with the verb TO BE the adverb goes after
the verb:
6- other verbs like concern, include etc….
e.g. I’m always late.
Unit 2: Present Continuous
SPELLING
Some of these verbs can be used with the -ing
form but the meaning changes:
e.g. I think she’s nice
e.g I go to school five times a week.
But: I’m thinking of going to Boston next
Summer. [Sto pensando di andare Boston .
.
quest’estate.]
1– I pronomi in inglese devono
essere sempre espressi:
es “Vado sempre al mercato” “I always go to the market”
2– L’indicativo presente italiano non corrisponde sempre al Present Simple inglese
es. “Guarda! Piove .” è reso in inglese con il Present Continuous
“Look! It’s raining.”
Ma nell’espressione “Piove ogni volta che esco!” ovviamente si usa il Present Simple in inglese:
es. “It always rains when I go out!”
Inoltre l’indicativo presente italiano può essere reso in inglese anche col futuro (will):
NEGATIVE
AFFERMATIVE
am/’m
I
I
He
She
She
is/’s
go+ing
are/’re
We
Short answers
Yes
I
you/we/they are
she
it
I am
he/she/it is
he
Are
are not/aren’t
they
INTERROGATIVE
Is
go+ing
You
they
Am
is not/isn’t
It
You
We
am not/‘m not
He
It
[Penso che sia
The long frequency expressions may be placed
at the end of the sentence:
bella.]
A) How is it formed ?
go+ing
?
No
I’m not
you
he/she/it isn’t
we
you/we/they aren’t
they
It is
be see Unit… pag…)
formed with the Present of the verb be + ing. (For the verb
B) When is it used?
• to describe things that are happening now:
e.g. We’re watching TV.
[Stiamo guardando la TV.]
What are you doing at the moment?
[Cosa stai facendo ora?]
es. “Bussano alla porta...vado io ad aprire!” “They’re knocking at the door...I’ll open it!” (see Unit…)
4
5
• to describe things that are happening during this period (not necessarily at this precise
moment)
e.g. He’s living in London at the moment. [Per ora vive a Londra.]
He usually lives in Italy, but at the moment he’s living in London. This is a temporary action.
e.g. Are you working at the moment? No,they’ve sacked me!
licenziato]
[Lavori per ora?No, mi hanno
TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE WORLD
Today the use of the Progressive form is widely used in colloquial English in the place of the Simple
form in many parts of the world:
e.g. I’m thinking it’s going to rain
He usually has a job, but at the moment he’s unemployed.
[Penso che pioverà.]
In Indian English it’s beginning to substitute the standard form:
• to describe changes that are happening during this period with verbs like: increase; fall;
rise; slow down; go up; etc…
e.g. The price of petrol is going up due to the war in Iraq. [Il prezzo del petrolio sta
aumentando a causa della guerra in Iraq.]
• to describe planned actions with an appropriate time adverb (see Unit …. e.g. I’m meeting
Janet tomorrow)
I think it’s going to rain
[Penso che pioverà.]
(See preceding Unit …. for the differences between the Simple and Progressive forms in standard
English).
For other innovations in the English spoken in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore etc...see the interesting
article on the Daily Telegraph (06/03/2008) reporting on David Crystal’s “English Project” lecture at
the University of Winchester.
C) Exceptions :
• never use the –ing form with state verbs. (See Unit 1)
SPELLING BOX
Usually add –ing to the base form.
e.g. Go
going
• But with verbs which end in -e, the –e falls and add –ing.
e.g. Come
coming
• verbs ending in –ie, the -ie falls and add –ying.
e.g. Die
dying; lie
lying.
• verbs ending in consonant + vowel +consonant, double
consonant before adding- ing
e.g. begin
beginning; plan
planning
And verbs ending in consonant + vowel + -l, double the –l before
adding –ing.
e.g. Travel
travelling;
1– il Present
Continuous inglese
corrisponde all’italiano “stare
+ gerundio” (sto andando
ecc.)
2– si devono sempre usare
le forme contratte
nell’inglese informale
(conversazione, lettere di tipo
personale, e-mails ecc)
This doubling does not happen in American English (A. Eng):
e.g. Travel
6
traveling
7
Unit 3: To Be and To Have
-To be
A) How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
I am
I’m
I am not
You are
You’re
You are not You’re not /
He is
He’s
She is
She’s
It is
It’s
We are
We’re
You are
You’re
They are
They’re
happy!
He is not
He’s not / isn’t
She is not
She’s not / isn’t
It is not
It’s not / isn’t
We are not
We’re not /
aren’t
happy!
You are not You’re not /
aren’t
INTERROGATIVE/
NEGATIVE They
INTERROGATIVE
not
are
Short answers
They’re not/
Yes
aren’tI am
Am I
Aren’t I
Are you
Aren’t you
he/she/it is
Is he
Isn’t he
you/we/they are
Is she
Isn’t she
Is it
Happy?
Aren’t we
Are you
Aren’t you
Are they
Aren’t they
[Sono stanco.]
No
Happy?
Isn’t it
Are we
e.g. I’ m tired.
8
I’m not
I’m not
he/she/it isn’t
you/we/they aren’t
B) When is it used?
• it is used as the main verb:
Are you English? [Sei inglese?]
9
• apart from its use as an auxiliary to form both the Present Continuous (see Unit 2) and the
Passive see Unit….), it has its own independent meaning:
-To have
e.g
A) How is it formed ?
I’m from Sicily.
[Sono dalla Sicilia.]
He isn’t interested in archeology.
Aren’t they late?
[Non è interessato in archeologia.]
[Non sono in ritardo?]
AFFERMATIVE (I)
I have got
I’ve got
AFFERMATIVE (II)
I have
I’ve
• compared to Italian the verb to be has special idiomatic meanings in English:
You have got You’ve got
You have
You’ve
e.g I’m hungry.
He has got
He’s got
He has
He has
She has got
She’s got
She has
She has
It has got
It’s got
It has
It has
We have got We’ve got
We have
We’ve
You have got You’ve got
You have
You’ve
They have
got
They have They’ve
I’m thirsty.
[Ho fame.]
[Ho sete.]
I’m right/wrong.
[Ho ragione/torto.]
I’m 16/years old etc.
I’m well.
[Ho 16 anni.]
[Sto bene.]
What time is it?
I’m in a hurry!
[Che ora sono?]
[Ho fretta!]
It’s cloudy/hot/cold/misty/windy etc… [E’ nuvoloso/caldo/freddo/c’è nebbia/vento ecc...]
They’ve got
NEGATIVE (I)
an i-pod.
NEGATIVE (II)
I haven’t got
I don’t have
You haven’t got
You don’t have
He hasn’t got
He doesn’t have
She hasn’t got
She doesn’t have
It hasn’t got
an i-pod.
It doesn’t have
SPELLING BOX
INTERROGATIVE-NEGATIVE
Contracted forms of the verb to be are used in
informal English at the end of the
For the interrogative-negative form of the verb
to be in the first person singular use aren’t I
and not am not I:
We haven’t got
We don’t have
You haven’t got
You don’t have
e g. I’m really good with the computer, aren’t
I?[Sono bravo con il computer, vero?]
They haven’t
They don’t have
subject of the verb (both noun or pronoun):
e.g Martina’s late.
It’s new.
10
[Martina è in ritardo.]
[E’ nuovo.]
a party.
a shower.
This form is used a lot with “tag” questions.
1
But in A.Eng. have is used without got to mean possession:
e.g. Do you have a light?
INTERROGATIVE (I)
Short answers (I)
Have I got
Yes
Have you got
I don’ t have a big family.
I/you/we/they have
I’ve an interesting idea!
he/she/it has
Has he got
No
an i-pod?
Has it got
I/you/we/they haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
Have we got
e.g. I’ve always studied English.
Do you have breakfast before leaving?
He doesn’t have a snack at school.
Do I have
Short answers (II)
Yes
Do you have
Does he have
[Non fa lo spuntino a scuola.]
• have + to + base form is also used to express obligation:
I/you/we/they do
e.g.
he/she/it does
have + got + to is also used in this sense in colloquial English:
time?
No
I/you/we/they don’t
he/she/it doesn’t
I have to surf the net now.
[Devo navigare su internet ora.]
Do you have
it used?
possession together with got:
[Ho una bici nuova.]
Have you got an Apple computer?
I haven’t got enough money.
[Hai un computer Apple?]
[Non ho abbastanza soldi.]
When have means possession we never use the -ing form.
[Devo fare i miei compiti stasera.]
(see Unit... on modals for the different meanings of have in the negative/interrogative forms)
Remember that in the Past forms of have we never use got.
e.g.
Do we have
12
[Fai colazione prima di partire?]
e.g. I’ve got to do my homework this evening.
Does it have
e.g. I’ve got a new bike.
[Mi faccio la doccia prima di andare a scuola.]
For the other meanings of have look at the box below.
INTERROGATIVE (II)
•to indicate
[Studio inglese da sempre.]
• it is also used as a normal verb without got and with do/does with a variety of meanings:
Have they got
Do they have
[Ho un’idea interessante!]
e.g. I have a shower before going to school.
Have you got
B) When is
[Non ho una grande famiglia.]
• it is used as an auxiliary verb with the Present Perfect and in other compound forms:
Has she got
Does she have
[Hai da accendere?]
I didn’t have any money yesterday.
[Non avevo soldi ieri.]
BOX: COMMON MEANINGS OF HAVE AS AN ACTION VERB
• with food and drink: have breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/a drink/a coffee/a pint; etc...
• with outdoor activities: have a walk/a swim/a ride; etc...
• with indoor activities: have a shower/ a bath/ a sleep/a wash; etc…
• with special occasions: have a party/a meeting; etc…
• with other meanings: have a look [dare un’occhiata.] ; have a talk [fare una
chiacchierata.] ; have a try/go [fare una prova] ;
13
Unit 4: The Imperative
The imperative is used for orders, invitations and directions and is only used in the Present
(direct speech). You use the base form of the verb withouth subject:
e.g. Go away! [Vattene!/ Andatevene!]
Be quiet!
[Stai zitto!/ State zitti!] .
• It can be used for advice:
e.g. Drive carefully!
[Guidi/guidate con cura!]
• for offering and inviting:
e.g.
Have a coffee!
[Prendi/ prendete un caffè!]
• In a recepe
e.g. Mix the flour, sugar and butter….
[Miscelate la farina, lo zucchero e il burro….]
• With some types of “if” clauses (see Unit.. Pag…)
e.g. If you see Martina give her the money...
[Se vedi Martina dalle i soldi…]
The imperative has also a negative form, don’t + base form:
e.g. Don’t eat all that chocolate!
[Non ti mangiare/non vi mangiate tutto quel cioccolato!]
(cf. road signs: Turn left-right)
Remember you can’t use two negatives together in English:
e.g
Never drink and drive!
[Mai guidare e bere!]
There is also a first person imperative which we use to include ourselves in the invitation or
suggestion:
e.g. Let’s watch TV. [Guardiamo la Tv.]
Let’s go to the cinema.
[Andiamo al cinema.]
(cf. Shall we + base form see pag…)This form derives from Let + us + base form. It has a
negative equivalent, Let’s not + base form which is used for orders and prohibitions (cf
must pag….):
e.g. Let’s not ruin the party!
14
[Non roviniamo la festa!]
15
Exercises on present tenses
A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate present tense (make any other necessary changes):
C) Write an e-mail to new pen-friend talking about yourself and asking him/her questions about hobbies/family/school/appearance etc. (70-90 words):
(5 marks)
e.g. Hi Pete!
(15 marks)
1) What …………………………….(YOU/DO) now?
I’m John. Your e-mail was given to me by my English teacher…………....
………………
2) He………………………………..(GO) to school once a year.
3) They ……………………………. (THINK) he’s deaf.
4) ………………………………… (YOU/EVER/ GO) to a disco?
5) She……………………………….(ALWAYS/BEHAVE) badly!
6) ……………………………………(YOU/BELIEVE) his story?
7) They………………………………(BE) stupid today! They are normally quite nice.
8) He ………………………………..(WORK) abroad at the moment.
9) What ……………………………..(YOU/DO) for a living?
10) They ……………………
11) …………………………
(THINK) of buying a new house.
(YOUR STUDENTS/OFTEN/HAVE) a shower at school?
12) The value of the dollar……………(GO DOWN) and the price of petrol …………(GO
UP).
D) You’re looking through your bed-room window. You’re tired and bored! Write
down your thoughts/ideas in your blog/diary:
(10 Marks)
e.g. Now I’m fed up of studying! Coz I’m tired! Wouldn’t it be nice to go for a walk? No,
it’s too bloody cold!............
E) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Scrivi inglese correttamente?
2) Nevica! Non uscire con la macchina!
3) Si comporta sempre così nella presenza di estranei!
13) ………………………………… (THEY/HAVE) a big party every Christmas?
4) Mi sto divertendo molto in vacanza.
14) What sort of i-pod ……………….(YOU/HAVE)?
5) Ha la casa in campagna. Ma per ora vive a Londra.
6) Rassomigli molto a tuo papà.
B) Write a description of a typical day spent in your school/University
(5 marks)
7) Ti piace nuotare?
8) Faccio colazione ogni giorno alle 7.
9) Sta parlando al telefono. Non disturbarlo!
e.g.
On a normal school morning I usually arrive at school just before the bell rings at
8.20………………………………………..
16
10) Il film parla di un uomo che vive a Londra nel quartiere di Knightsbridge vicino al
‘Victoria and Albert Museum’.
17
Notes on present tenses
18
Notes on present tenses
19
PART II
Unit 4: Past Simple
A) How is it formed ?
Expressing Past Time
AFFERMATIVE
When we talk about the past in English we have to decide between 2 main
tenses: the Past Simple, for determined
actions completed in the past
(Unit 4)and the Present
Perfect,for actions that are indetermined or
concern duration (Unit5). In the second part of Unit5 we’ll also look at the
Present Perfect Continuous. In unit 6 the other secondary ways of indicating
past time will be examined: Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous/Past Progressive.
- Unit 4: Past Simple
p. 21
- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect
p. 25
I
I
You
You
He
He
C- Past Progressive
It
We
We
You
You
They
They
INTERROGATIVE
p.
39
- Test
- Notes
20
p. 35
p. 37
D- Used to
p. 42
p. 44
She
It
p. 33
B- Past Perfect Continuous
worked yesterday.
She
B-Present Perfect Continuous p. 30
-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect
NEGATIVE
Did
didn’t work yesterday.
Short answers
I
I
I
you
you
you
he
he
he
she
it
work last
week?
Yes
she
it
did
.
N
o
she
it
we
we
we
you
you
you
they
they
they
didn’t.
To
form
the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of all regular verbs. For spelling and pronunciation see boxes below. For irregular verbs which have their own form of the Past Simple look
at the table at the end of Unit…. pag...The interrogative and negative is formed with did/
didn’t + base form for both regular and irregular verbs.
21
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
I
You
You
He
He
went shopping
yesterday.
It
Was
Yes
he/she/it
I/he/she/it was
you/we/they were
at home
She
didn’t go shopping
It
yesterday.
We
We
You
You
They
They
you
Wer
e
yesterday?
No
we
I/he/she/it wasn’t
you/we/they weren’t
they
The
verb to be is the only irregular verb which has 2
forms in the Past Simple (was/were). The auxiliary to have can form its Past Simple in the
same way as other verbs:
To
form
the affirmative of the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of the regular verb. (for spelling
and pronunciation rules see Boxes at the end of this Unit p….). Irregular verbs have a special
form for the Past Simple. (See Table at the end of this Unit p. …). For the interrogative and
the negative forms of both regular and irregular verbs use did and didn’t.
For regular verbs (affermative):
e.g. I watched TV yesterday. [Ho guardato la TV ieri.]
For irregular verbs (affermative):
e.g. I saw a good film Saturday.
Short answers
I
I
She
INTERROGATIVE
e.g. Did you have a party yesterday?
[Hai fatto festa ieri?]
I didn’t have a sandwich for lunch.
[Non ho preso un sandwich per pranzo.]
However you can also form the Past Simple of to have by inverting subject and verb:
e.g. I hadn’t any money when I was young.
[Non avevo soldi quando ero giovane.]
Had he an e-mail address when he worked at the Ministry? [Aveva un indirizzo e-mail
quando lavorava al Ministero?]
This last form of to have is not very common today. Remember never to use got in the Past
Tense with the verb to have:
[Ho visto un bel film sabato.]
For both regular and irregular verbs (negative and interrogative):
e.g. I didn’t go shopping last week.
[Non ho fatto acquisti la scorsa settimana.]
l
Did you study the literature lesson yesterday? [Hai studiato letteratura ieri?]
e.g. NOT:
But:
I had got a bike when I went to school.
I had a bike when I went to school.
[Avevo una bicicletta quando andavo a scuola.]
However the auxiliary verb to be has a specific Past Simple form.
AFFERMATIVE
I
He/She/It
was
They
22
were
He/She/It
at home
yesterday.
You
We
They
B) When is it used?
• to talk about past events which happened in a given moment of time, usually accompanied
by an appropriate time adverb like yesterday/last Tuesday etc…(see box below pag...)
I
You
We
NEGATIVE
wasn’t
at home
weren’t yesterday.
e.g. I went to school yesterday. [Sono andato a scuola ieri.]
He didn’t work last week.
[Non ha lavorato la settimana scorsa.]
• to talk about historical facts and events:
23
• ‘WH’ questions about someone’s past:
e.g. Where were you born?
Unit 5: A- Present Perfect
[Dove sei nato?]
Which school did you go to?
[Quale scuola hai frequentato?]
A) How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE
• in “if” clauses (second conditionals):
e.g.
If I had a lot of money, I’d live in New York. [Se avessi tanti soldi vivrei a New York.]
See Unit on “if” clauses pag…
PAST TIME ADVERBS
PRONUNCIATION BOX
Last month/year = mese/anno scorso
Even if we always add –ed to the base form of
the regular verb to create the Past Simple, the
pronunciation varies according to the last consonant/s of the verb:
Last Christmas/winter = Natale/inverno scorso
1- verbs ending with /f/; /k/; /p/;/s/ → /t/
2 weeks ago = 2 settimane fa
e.g. stopped → stop/t/
Yesterday = ieri
Last Monday/week = lunedì/settimana scorsa
A month ago = un mese fa
walked → walk/t/
In 1956 = nel 1956
The day before yesterday= l’altro ieri
2- verbs ending with /d/; /t/ → /id/
A decade ago= un decennio fa
e.g. started → start/id/
A century ago= un secolo fa
3- verbs ending with /l/; /v/; /r/;/n/; /y/ → /d/
In the 19th century= nell’Ottocento
I’ve
I
You’ve
You
He’s
He
e.g. study → studied
3- certain verbs ending with a consonant preceded by a vowel double last consonant:
e.g. stop → stopped
hasn’t
You
You’ve
worked all day.
haven’t
They
They’ve
INTERROGATIVE
I
Short answers
Yes
Have you
they
he
Has
she
it
I have
he/she/it has
We
To form the Past Simple form of regular verbs add -ed with the following spelling rules:
2- verbs ending in -y preceded by a consonant remove –y and add -ied:
She
We
We’ve
SPELLING BOX
e.g. arrive → arrived
haven’t
It
It’s
Offered → offer/d/
1- verbs ending in -e just add -d:
worked all day.
She’s
e.g. closed → clos/d/
etc...
NEGATIVE
you/we/they have
done the shopping today?
No
I haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
you/we/they haven’t
It’s formed by
adding the
Past Participle of the verb to the auxiliary to
have. Remember that in English the auxiliary verb to be is never used in the Present Perfect.
The Past Participle of the regular verbs coincides with the –ed form; for the irregular Past
Participles see the third column of the Appendix pag……..
4– all verbs ending in -l double the -l (only in B.Eng)
e.g. travel → travelled
24
25
B) When is it used?
But ever can be used in affermative sentences with the superlative and the Present Perfect:
• the Present Perfect causes some complications for Italian students. However we must
remember to use the Present Perfect for actions which are not determined (there is no specific
time adverb which refers to a precise time context):
e.g.
e.g. I’ve lost my keys
veloce che io abbia mai guidato!]
[Ho perso le mie chiavi.]
Have you done your homework?
She hasn’t remembered to call me.
[Hai fatto i compiti?]
[Non si è ricordata di chiamarmi.]
In all these cases the event has happened in the past but this past is not determined. If we add
to these sentences a precise time adverb we can not use the Present Perfect but must use the
Simple Past:
She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen!
[E’ la più bella ragazza che io abbia mai
visto!]
This Audi A3 is the fastest car I’ve ever driven! [Questa Audi A3 è la macchina più
STILL
He still hasn’t studied the lesson.
[Non ha ancora studiato la lezione.]
Still is used before the verb to have and it refers to actions which have happened in a time
which goes from the past until now. Sometimes it can be used with the present:
I’m still hungry. [Ho ancora fame.]
ALREADY
I’ve already finished my homework. [Ho già finito i compiti.]
e.g. NOT Yesterday I’ve lost my keys BUT Yesterday I lost my keys.
• to describe actions which happened in the past but are still felt as important now at the time
of speaking:
e.g.
My boss has sacked me.
[Il mio capo mi ha licenziato.]
• with the these time adverbs: just, yet, never, ever, still, already we automatically use the
Present Perfect when the action is referred to the past. If you think a moment about the
meaning of these adverbs, they all refer to actions which have just happened, in any case they
didn’t happen in a precise moment of the past and have some relationship with the Present
• with FOR/SINCE. This use of the Present Perfect with FOR or SINCE is sometimes called
“duration form” because it describes the “duration” of actions which happened in a past
which continue to the present:
e.g. I’ve studied English for 3 years. [Studio Inglese da 3 anni.]
I’ve studied English since 2004.
[Studio Inglese dal 2004.]
We use FOR to indicate the duration of the action; we use SINCE to indicate the moment
when the action starts.
FOR
SINCE
JUST
I’ve just finished my homework. [Ho appena finito i miei compiti.]
I haven’t seen him for 2 years.
I haven’t seen him since Christmas.
YET
I haven’t finished my breakfast yet.
I haven’t eaten anything for a week.
I haven’t visited the USA since 1982.
He’s been here for 2 hours
He’s lived here since his birth.
[Non ho ancora finito la colazione.]
Yet is always used in interrogative and negative sentences and placed at the end of the
phrase.
NEVER
I’ve never drunk champagne.
EVER
Have you ever visited Euro-Disney?
[Non ho mai bevuto champagne.]
[Hai mai visitato Euro-Disney?]
Ever is used in interrogative sentences and with not:
I haven’t ever played the guitar = I’ve never played the guitar. [Non ho mai suonato la
chitarra.]
I haven’t seen her for ages.
They haven’t met since their divorce.
Remember that in all these cases if we were to translate the sentences into Italian we would
have to use the present:
“I haven’t seen him since Sunday” is translated into Italian by “Non lo vedo da domenica.”
Not “Non l’ho visto da domenica” which doesn’t mean anything in Italian.
After SINCE if there is a verb it must go into the Past Simple:
e.g.
26
I haven’t seen him since I was 12.
[Non lo vedo da quando avevo 12 anni.]
27
e.g.
It’s been ages since I saw him = It’s been a long time since I saw him [E’ da tanto
tempo che non lo vedo.]
• with the question how long we normally use the Present Perfect because we are usually
referring to the duration of time:
e.g.
How long have you lived in Racalmuto?
[Da quando tempo vivi a Racalmuto?]
In all these cases we FOR/SINCE/HOW LONG in English we can usually also use the Present Perfect Continuous. (see Unit pag…)
BEEN/GONE
In the Present Perfect been and gone have
slightly different meanings:
e.g. He’s gone to school [E’ andato a scuola.]
(he hasn’t come back yet)
He’s been to Paris [E’ stato a Parigi.]
(he has visited Paris and has come back)
28
29
Unit 5: B- Present Perfect Continuous
A)
How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
I’ve
I haven’t
You’ve
He’s
You haven’t
She’s
He hasn’t
been
It’s
studying all
day.
studying all
day.
[Ho
fattotutti
tuttii imiei
mieicompiti.]
compiti.] Here
Here
action
is complete.
[Ho fatto
thethe
action
is complete.
da un
unpomeriggio
pomeriggioche
che
faccio
i miei
I’ve been
been doing
doing my
my homework
homework all
all afternoon.
afternoon. [E’
[E’ da
faccio
i miei
compiti.]
compiti.]
Here
the action
Here is
thestill
action
going
is still
on orgoing
has on
justorfinished.
has just finished.
Obviously the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used with verbs that do not have the
progressive form (See Unit pag ….)
•
e.g. I’ve known him for ages. [Lo conosco da anni.]
And not: I’ve been knowing him for ages.
They haven’t
INTERROGATIVE
I
Yes
Have you
We
they
he
Short answers
• the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used when the actions are limited or determined
in some way:
I have
e.g.
he/she/it has
But: How many letters have you written?
you/we/they have
been studying all
day?
No
she
It
is
formed with the Present Perfect of the verb to be + ing form.
I’ve been watching TV all afternoon.
Has he been eating all day?
I haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
it
e.g.
been
She hasn’t
You ha-
They’ve
Has
I’ve done
done all
all my
my homework.
homework.
We haven’t
You’ve
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
It hasn’t
We’ve
B) When is it used?
you/we/they haven’t
How long have you been writing letters?
[Da quanto tempo stai scrivendo lettere? ]
[Quante lettere hai scritto?]
Has he been playing football all afternoon?
[Ha giocato a calcio tutto il pomeriggio?]
But: How many matches has he played this year? [Quante partite ha giocato quest’anno?]
In these last examples we use the Present Perfect for complete actions which are determined
and the Present Perfect Continuous with actions which are continuing up to the Present and
are not determined in any way.
[E’ da un pomeriggio che guardo la TV.]
[Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]
He hasn’t been eating much recently. [Non ha mangiato molto in questi ultimi tempi.]
30
31
TRANSLATION BOX
Il Present Perfect Continuous come anche il Present Perfect creano . . ..
qualche problema nella traduzione italiana specialmente con la “duration .
form” (for/since/how long). Con la “duration form” usiamo molto spesso
Italiano il presente per rendere il Present Perfect/Present Perfect
..
.
in ……
Continuous:
“I’ve lived in Racalmuto for 10 years/I’ve been living in Racalmuto for 10 years”
deve essere tradotto in Italiano con il Presente [Vivo a Racalmuto da 10 anni. ]
In alcuni casi può essere anche tradotto dal Passato Prossimo ma deve essere chiaro che
nell’Inglese questa forma, specie la forma Progressiva, viene usata per descrivere azioni
iniziate nel passato che continuano fino al presente:
Has he been eating all day? [Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]
B) When is it used?
Unit 6: A- Past Perfect
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
A)
How
it formed ? English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
especially
in is
spoken/informal
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
these cases it can
be often used with time expressions like all day,
all morning, all year,
how long,
for
and
since,
for
actions
which
are
still
happening
or
have
just finished. In any
I
I
case these actions are incomplete.
You
You
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
He
I’ve done all my homework.
She
He
[Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.]
Here the action is complete.
She
had/’ visited Israel
hadn’t visited Israel
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
before getting
before getting
It Heredthe action
It finished.
compiti.]
is still going on or has just
married.
married.
We
We
•
You
You
They
They
Short answers
INTERROGATIVE
I
I
I
you
you
you
he
he
he
Had
she
it
Yes
visited Israel before getting married?
we
they
It is
formed by adding the Past Participle to had:
e.g.
she
had.
No
she
it
it
we
we
you
you
they
they
After he had studied at Palermo University he went to live in Turin.
hadn’t.
[Dopo aver
studiato all’Università di Palermo è andato a vivere a Torino ]
Had he remembered to lock the door when he went to sleep?
[Si è ricordato di
chiudere la porta a chiave prima di andare a dormire?]
32
33
B) When is it used?
B) When is it used?
• It is used to emphasize actions which happened in the past before other actions in the past:
This tense is often used with time-sequencers: after/before/when etc. We can use also the
Past Perfect with For/Since:
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
A)
How
it formed ? English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
especially
in is
spoken/informal
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
these cases it can
be often used with time expressions like all day,
all morning, all year,
how long,
for
and
since,
for
actions
which
are
still
happening
or
have
just finished. In any
I
I
case these actions are incomplete.
e.g.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
e.g. After he had finished his homework he went out.
[ Dopo che aveva finito i compiti è
uscito.]
He had worked in Australia for 8 years.
[Aveva lavorato in Australia per 8 anni.]
He had lived in that house since he was born. [Aveva vissuto in quella casa da quando
era nato.]
-Unit 6: B- Past Perfect Continuous
You
You
He
I’ve done all my homework.
She
He
[Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.]
Here the action is complete.
She
had/’d
living
hadn’t
living
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
abroad,
abroad.
been
It Herebeen
It finished.
compiti.]
the action is still going on or has just
•
We
We
You
You
They
They
Short answers
INTERROGATIVE
I
I
I
you
you
you
he
he
he
Had
she
it
Yes
been living
abroad?
we
they
she
had.
No
she
it
it
we
we
you
you
they
they
hadn’t.
It is formed with the Past Perfect of the verb to be + ing form:
e.g.
He had been living in London for many years when he got married. [Viveva a Londra
da tanti anni quando si sposò]
34
35
B) When is it used?
B) When is it used?
• it is used to describe continuous actions when the main verb is in the Past Simple:
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
A)
How
it formed ? English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
especially
in is
spoken/informal
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
these cases it can
be often used with time expressions like all day,
all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
I
I
case these actions are incomplete.
e.g. She had been working in New York when she met George Bush.
[Viveva a New York
quando incontrò George Bush.]
How long had she been studying English when she passed the F.C.E exam? [Da quanto
tempo ha studiato l’inglese quando ha superato l’esame F.C.E? ]
-Unit 6: C- Past Progressive
He/She/It
was
wasn’t
He/She/It
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
watching
Youall my homework.
You
I’ve done
[Ho fatto tutti i miei
compiti.]
TV.
watching
Here the action
is complete.
TV.
We doing mywere
weren’t
I’ve been
homework all afternoon. [E’We
da un pomeriggio
che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
They
•
They
INTERROGATIVE
Short answers
Yes
I
Was
Wer
e
you/we/they were
he/she/it
you
I/he/she/it was
watching
TV?
No
I/he/she/it wasn’t
you/we/they weren’t
we
they
It is
verb to be:
formed by adding the -ing form to the past of the
e.g.
[Stavo dormendo quando sei arrivata.]
I was sleeping when you arrived.
Were you washing the car when it began to rain?
[Stavi lavando la macchina quando è
cominciato a piovere?]
B) When is it used?
• it is used to describe actions which were happening at the same time as the action of the
main verb (the two parts of the sentences are usually connected with when or while):
e.g. I was shopping in Oxford Street when we heard an explosion.
[Stavo facendo aquisti in
Oxford Street quando abbiamo sentito un esplosione.]
36
37
With while we can use the Past Progressive with both verbs:
B) When is it used?
e.g. While I was having a shower she was watching TV.
lei si stava guardando la TV.]
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
A)
How
it formed ? English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
especially
in is
spoken/informal
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
these cases it can
be often used with time expressions like all day,
all morning, all year,
how long,
for
and
since,
for
actions
which
are
still
happening
or
have
just finished. In any
I
I
case these actions are incomplete.
[Mentre stavo facendo la doccia
-Unit 6: D- Used to
You
You
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
He
I’ve done all my homework.
She
He
[Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.]
Here the action is complete.
She
study hard at
didn’t use to study hard at
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
school .
It Here the actionschool.
It finished.
compiti.]
is still going on or has just
•
used to
We
We
You
You
They
They
Short answers
INTERROGATIVE
I
I
I
you
you
you
he
he
he
Did
she
it
Yes
use to study hard at
school?
we
they
she
Did she use to go to school on foot?
I didn’t use to study my lessons by heart.
38
No
she
it
it
we
we
you
you
they
they
Remember to add use to the interrogative and negative forms:
e.g.
did.
didn’t.
[Era solita andare a scuola a piedi?]
[Non ero solito imparare a memoria le lezioni.]
39
B) When is it used?
B) When is it used?
• to describe habits in the past:
In more formal or written English would + base form can also be used with the same
meaning.
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
e.g. When I was little my mother would take me to school in her car.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
e.g.
We used to eat out a lot when we were on holiday. [Eravamo soliti mangiare fuori
quando eravamo in vacanza ]
[Quando ero piccolo
mia madre era solita portarmi a scuola con la sua macchina]
I’ve done all my homework.
TO BE USED TO + BASE FORM
While used to + base form are limited to the past, to describe things that you have got to
know in all tenses you can use the adjective form to be used to + ing which should not be
confused with used to + base form:
e.g. I’m used to studying with my I-pod on. [Sono abituato a studiare con l’I-pod acceso.]
[Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.]
Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
Are you used to having a rest in the afternoon? [Sei abituato a riposarti dopo pranzo?]
I’m not used to telling lies.
[Non sono abituata a dire bugie.]
We can also use the verb get in the place of the verb to be:
e.g. I got used to eating my pasta without much salt.
[Mi sono abituato a mangiare . .. .
la pasta senza sale.]
In this last case the use of get implies that some time or effort was involved in the action.
Both be/get + used to can also be use with a pronoun or noun without any other verb:
e.g. I’m used to her.
[Sono abituato a lei.]
I got used to Roberta and Martina after many years of working with them. [Mi sono
abituato a Roberta e Martina dopo tanti anni di lavoro con loro.]
40
41
Exercises on past tenses
A) Complete with the appropriate past tense and make any other necessary changes:
(25 marks)
1) I ……………………………………(GO) to New York 3 summers ago.
2) When I …………………………….(MEET) last week he………………..(WEAR) a
heavy coat.
3) She………………………………….(FINISH/JUST) her English homework.
4) How long …………………………..(KNOW) him?
5) They………………………………...(LIVE/NEVER) abroad since they…………….
(GET) married.
7) We ………………………………….(LIVE) in Sicily all our lives.
8) He ………………………………… (WORK) on the novel all morning.
9) I…………………………………….(LOSE ) my keys! I can’t get in!
10) …………………………………… (SEE/YOU) the new Bond film?
How……………….(BE) it?
B) Write a letter to a pen-friend describing what you did on holiday last
summer (100-120 words):
( 5 marks)
e.g. Hi Tom,
I’m writing to tell you about the 2 weeks I spent in Spain last July….
C) Describe an episode which you remember of your childhood that had a positive or
negative influence on maturity (120-150 words):
(10 marks)
e.g. One day at the age of 5, my father took me to the circus………..
D) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Studio inglese da più di 10 anni.
2) Da quanto tempo suoni il pianoforte?
11) He…………………………………. (FINISH//YET) his homework.
3) E’ stata a Hong Kong due volte. L’ultima volta è stata 2 anni fa.
12) I …………………………………… (COLLECT) stamps since I ……………(BE) a
child.
4) Quando ero piccolo ero solito andare da mia nonna in bici.
13) While he……………………………..(WORK) in the garden they ………………
(BREAK) into the house.
6) Da quanto tempo conosci tuo marito?
14) Nobody……………………………. (DRIVE/EVER) so fast!
15) She is the most beautiful girl he………………………..(MEET/EVER)!
16) How many cups ……………………..(WIN/THEY) this year?
17) She …………………………………..(PREFER) English to French when she
……………..(STUDY) at Bologna University.
5) Stavo guardando la TV quando sei arrivata.
7) Mi dispiace, è uscito!
8) Non ho mai visto quel film.
9) Non ho ancora finito di cucinare.
10) E’ tutto il giorno che gioca.
18) Their English …………………………(IMPROVE) so far.
19) After he ………………………………(LEAVE) his home he ……………………….
(GO) abroad.
42
43
Notes on past tenses
44
Notes on past tenses
45
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple
PART III
A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 1 for the form and primary uses of the Present Simple)
Expressing Future Time
There are many ways of communicating or expressing Future Time in
English: you can use forms that have other primary uses like the Simple
Present to express
pre-arranged and scheduled or ‘timetabled’ plans; or the Present Continuous with programmed personal
actions coupled with the appropriate time adverb; or the going to- form
to express future intention which is widely used in colloquial English.
Finally we have the will form to express a more neutral form of future.
In the last unit of this section the use of the Future Continuous and Future Perfect will be illustrated.
WH– QUESTIONS
Answers
What
time/
does
the train leave
tomorrow?
It
When,
etc..
do
the lessons start on
Monday?
They start
B- Present Continuous
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form
B- will (’ll) form
- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous
B-Future Perfect
p. 47
p. 48
at 8.20.
• to talk about the future with time-tabled actions (trains, planes, ships, etc) or with a
scheduled school or TV time-table:
e.g. When does the film start tomorrow evening?
[Quando inizia il fim domani sera?]
[A che ora parte il treno
per Liverpool per questo pomeriggio?]
Do not use Present Simple for personal plans or arrangements. For personal plans we
generally use the Present Continuous (see B of this Unit):
p. 49
e.g.
p. 51
• with if- clauses (first conditionals) and time clauses (when, as soon as, until, before etc.):
p. 54
p. 57
- Test
p. 58
- Notes
p. 60
46
at 15.05.
B) When is it used?
What time does this train to Liverpoool leave this afternoon?
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple
leaves
e.g.
They’re getting married tomorrow.
[Si sposano domani.]
If I go to London next year I’ll visit Westminster.
[Se andrò a Londra il prossimo anno
visiterò Westminser.]
When we see him we’ll tell him you’ve called.
[Quando lo vedremo gli diremo che tu lo
hai chiamato.]
(see Unit….pag… for the other time clauses and conditionals )
47
B- Present Continuous
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form
A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 2 for the form and primary uses of the Present Continuous)
A) How is it formed ?
WH– QUESTIONS
are
What time/
When, etc..
is
AFFERMATIVE
you
Answers
we
going out Saturday
they
evening?
he
she
I
He
coming back home
She
for Christmas?
We
‘m
‘s
‘re
going out later.
arriving on
Christmas Eve.
They
B) When is it used?
I
am/’m
is/’s
going
to
It
study at
Palermo
University.
You
We
[Partirò.dall’aereoporto di Heathrow . .
She
is not/isn’t
going
to
It
are/’re
We
are not/aren’t
they
INTERROGATIVE
Am
Short answers
I
Yes
domani.]
he
Are you eating out this evening?
[Mangerai fuori stasera?]
She isn’t going out Saturday afternoon.
she
Is
[Non uscirà sabato pomeriggio.]
it
Next Monday/week/year/summer/Christmas etc..= il prossimo lunedì/la prossima settimana etc…
Are
you/we/they are
No
you/we/they aren’t
they
In two days’ time = fra due giorni;
The day after tomorrow = dopodomani
e.g. I’m going to study hard for my P.E.T. exam.
In the future = in futuro
One week from now = fra una settimana
Are you going to have breakfast together?
He isn’t going to buy a new car this year.
I’m not
he/she/it isn’t
we
The
form is
posed of the verb to be + going to + base form:
In a week/year etc..= fra una settimana/ fra un anno;
I am
he/she/it is
have a
going to birthday
party?
you
ADVERBS AND EXPRESSIONS OF FUTURE TIME
Tomorrow = domani;
get married.
You
they
I’m leaving from Heathrow Airport tomorrow.
am not/‘m not
He
• for personal plans with an appropriate time adverb which must specify future time or in any
case some sort of reference to the future must be implicit, otherwise the use of the Present
Continuous may create ambiguity:
e.g.
I
He
She
NEGATIVE
going to
com[Studierò molto per il P.E.T.]
[Farete colazione insieme?]
[Non comprerà una machina nuova
quest’anno.]
48
49
B) When is it used?
• to describe things we have decided or intended to do in the future (the going to form is also
called “Intentional Future”) :
e.g.
She’s going to get drunk.
They aren’t going to see the new Muccino film.
How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE
[Non hanno intenzione di vedere il
• to describe actions which will clealy happen from the indications given:
She’s not studying enough! She’s going to have problems at University.
It’s really clowdy! It’s going to rain.
I
You
You
He
He
‘ll
(will)
It
[E’ molto nuvoloso! Pioverà.]
Cf. (=compare with) the use of will with a similar meaning. (see the next Unit on will)
• to describe things which are about to happen:
They’ve recentely had a serious quarrel. They’re going to divorce.
[Recentemente
NEGATIVE
I
She
[Non sta . .
studiando abbastanza! Avrà problemi all’Università.]
e.g.
A)
[Ha intenzione di ubriacarsi.]
nuovo film di Muccino.]
e.g.
- Unit 8: B- will (’ll) form
open the door.
She
won’t
It
(will
not)
We
We
You
You
They
They
.
Short answers
hanno litigato seriamente. Hanno intenzione di divorziare.]
e.g.
I was going to play tennis yesterday afternoon but it rained.
[Avevo intenzione di
giocare a tennis ieri pomeriggio ma ha piovuto.]
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SLANG
A.Eng: I’m gonna see her. [Ho intenzione di vederla.]
In A.Eng “gonna” often substitutes going to in both the written and oral language.
See the lyrics of many American rock singers and groups.
Sometimes in spoken English going to is rended by /gənə/
50
I
I
I
you
you
you
he
he
INTERROGATIVE
In many ways it is similar to the Present Continuous, although as we have seen the latter is
used when we are talking about future plans (see Unit….) However with the going to form
we don’t have to use a future adverb or expression. The going to part of the construction
comunicates by itself the future.
• there is also the past equivalent of the going to form composed of was/were + going to +
base form which is used to describe things which you wanted to do in the past but didn’t
manage to do (for the form See the unit on the Past Progressive pag…..):
speak to him.
Will
Yes
he
send me a
she
Valentine card?
she
will.
No she
it
it
it
we
we
we
you
you
won’t.
they
This
they
they
form
of the future is composed of the modal will+base form. In the affirmative and negative the
contracted forms are usually used (shall/shan’t are no longer used for the first person singular and plural - see Unit .. p. ...for other uses of shall/shan’t)
e.g. I think he’ll pass his exams.
They won’t go out if it rains.
Will you see him tomorrow?
[Penso che supererà i suoi esami.]
[Non usciranno se piove.]
[Lo vedrai domani?]
51
B) When is it used?
• can be used in the non– abbreviated form for emphasis (See Modals pag....):
• to talk about things you think /believe/are sure/ aren’t sure/ hope/ guess/ may possibly
happen for predictions etc:
e.g. She will stay at home this evening.
e.g. I think she’ll be a good athlete.
[Penso che sarà una buona atleta.]
Will they win the match?
[Vinceranno la partita?]
I don’t think it’ll rain tomorrow.
[Resterà a casa stasera.]
Man shall obey God!
[L’uomo deve ubbidire Dio!]
In this emphatic use it is never contracted.
• to make promises, invitations or requests:
I’ll help you!
She’ll stay at home this evening.
For emphasis we can similarly use the form shall/shall not in a more formal register:
e.g.
[Non penso che pioverà domani.]
This is a similar use to the going to form, but it is more of a prodiction than something based
on concrete evidence.
e.g.
Instead of the normal contracted form:
e.g.
I’m not sure he’ll come to school tomorrow. [Non sono sicuro che verrà a scuola domani.]
[Deve restare a casa stasera. (lo dico io!)]
• in “if” and “when” clauses:
e.g. If I go out I’ll come and see you.
[Ti aiuterò!]
[Se esco ti verrò a trovare.]
When he finishes his homework he’ll help you. [Quando finisce i suoi compiti ti aiuterà.]
Will you come to my party?
[Verrai alla mia festa?]
I promise I won’t smoke.
[Ti prometto che non fumerò.]
For other examples see Unit … pag….
• the form shall is used for invitations, suggestions etc…
• to talk about things you have decided to do in that precise moment of time:
e.g.
“Look! It’s dark!” - “I’ll switch on the light”.
e.g. Shall we dance?
accenderò la luce.”]
“The telephone’s ringing.” - I’ll answer.
[“Il telefono sta suonando” - risponderò.]
TRADURRE IN INGLESE IL PRESENTE ITALIANO
.
e.g.
.
.
Il presente italiano non deve essere tradotto con il Presente Semplice.
in inglese, spesso viene reso con la forma will/won’t ecc…
.
È finito il latte. Vado a comprarlo. Non può essere tradotto con:
“The milk has finished. I buy some.” ma con il will:
“The milk has finished. I’ll buy some.”
Ricorda che in inglese il Present Simple si usa per descrivere azioni abituali (vedi Unit I
pag…)
52
[Balliamo?]
[“Guarda. Fa buio!”- “Accendo/
OTHER MINOR WAYS OF EXPRES-
FUTURE IN THE PAST
To be to + base form to indicate an action which
is destined to happen at a certain point of time or
which must happen:
In the past to refer to events which happened in a
relatively future time we use the following
structures:
A- e.g. When I left for Sicily in 1974 I didn’t
know I would become an English teacher.
e.g. The sale is to begin after the Christmas
holidays. [I saldi cominceranno dopo le vacanze
di Natale.]
To be about to + base form to indicate an action
which will happen soon (=sta per):
e.g. They’re about to open a new University in
Agrigento. [Stanno per aprire una nuova
Università ad Agrigento.]
[Quando sono partito per la Sicilia nel 1974 non
sapavo che sarei diventato un insegnante d’inglese.]
In this structure we use the conditional form
(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the place of the future
(will etc…). For other uses of the conditional see
Unit …. Pag...
B- e.g. I was going to London the following day.
[Sarei andato a Londra il giorno successivo.]
C- e.g Barack Obama was about to become
President of the USA when Lehman Brothers
went bankrupt. [Stava per essere eletto Barack
Obama Presidente degli USA quando Lehmnab
Brothers fallirono.]
53
B) When is it used?
Unit 9: A-Future Continuous
• to describe or imagine things that are happening at a precise moment in the future:
A) How is it formed ?
e.g.
AFFERMATIVE
Tom at this time tomorrow you’ll be flying to New York!
[Tom domani a ques’ora
starai volando verso New York!]
NEGATIVE
I’ll
I
You’ll
You
• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with
variations of the meaning according to the modal used (see Unit … p. …)
He’ll
He
e.g.
She’ll
be
It’ll
We’ll
travell + ing
to London at this
time tomorrow.
She
We
You
They’l
They
[Dovrebbe essere a casa a studiare oggi
won’t be Travell + ing to
London at this
(will
time tomorrow.
not)
It
You’ll
He should be studying at home this afternoon.
pomeriggio.]
Short answers
INTERROGATIVE
I
you
he
Will
she
it
be
travell + ing
to London at
this time tomorrow?
we
they
It
is formed by adding the -ing form to will be:
e.g.
Yes
I
I
you
you
he
he
she
will.
No
she
it
it
we
we
you
you
they
they
She’ll be working on the school project from 2 to 4 tomorrow .
won’t.
[Dalle 2 alle 4 domani
starà lavorando al progetto scolastico.]
54
55
B) When is it used?
Unit 9: B-Future Perfect
• to describe things that will happen in the future within a certain period of time (usually
accompanied by/already):
A) How is it formed ?
AFFERMATIVE
I’ll
I
You’ll
You
He’ll
He
She’ll
have finished by 9
o’ clock.
I’ll have finished this novel by the end of the year.
[Avrò finito questo romanzo entro la
fine dell’anno.]
• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with
variations of the meaning according to the modal used but which usually have lost any
reference to the future (see Unit … p. …)
She
It
won’t have
We’ll
We
(will not)
You’ll
You
They’l
They
It’ll
e.g.
NEGATIVE
e.g. He may have left the car door open.
finished by 9
o’clock.
[Può darsi che abbia lasciato la porta della
macchina aperta.]
Short answers
INTERROGATIVE
I
you
he
Will
she
finished by 9
have o’clock.
it
we
they
Yes
I
I
you
you
he
he
she
will.
56
Will you have finished eating by 9?
she
it
it
we
we
you
you
they
they
It
is formed by adding the past participle of the verb to will have:
e.g.
No
[Avrai finito di mangiare prima delle 9?]
won’t.
.
.
57
Exercises on future tenses
A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate future tense (make any other
necessary changes):
(20 marks)
1) I think he ………………………………….(PASS) that exam.
B) Interview a famous actor/actress/writer/singer etc. about his/her future career and
imagine their answers (10-15 exchanges):
(10 marks)
You: What are you going to do after this film?
TOM CRUISE: I’m going to direct my first movie …….
2) They……………………………………….(LEAVE) tomorrow at 7.
3) I……………………………………………(GET) married in the near future.
4) Look at those clouds! It…………………..(RAIN) tomorrow!
5) What time…………………………………..(DEPART/THE LIVERPOOL TRAIN) tomorrow afternoon?
C) Describe in detail what you are going to do at university after leaving school (120150 words):
(10 marks)
6) Look! It’s raining! I…………………………(SHUT) the window.
7) He………………………………………… (FINISH) by the time I get back.
8) When he leaves university he………………(WORK) at Microsoft in Seattle.
9) Tomorrow evening I………………………(PLAY) squash from 7-8 o’clock.
10) The kettle’s boiling! I……………………..(MAKE) the tea!
11) What………………………………………(DO/YOU) after you leave school this year?
12) Do you think he……………………………(MANAGE) to survive without any water for
a week?
D) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Avrò finito la partita entro le 7.
2) Andremo in vacanza a luglio.
3) Ti sposerai nei prossimi anni?
4) Guarda! Non ci sono nuvole! Farà freddo domani!
13) She……………………………………… .(HAVE) a party next Saturday.
5) Stanno per andare a casa. Vuoi un passaggio?
14) By 2020 we ……………………………… (EXPLOIT) all our natural resources!
6) Pensi che risponderà al mio e-mail?
15) He………………………………………… (FINISH) the test by now!
7) Spero che ti piacerà il nuovo film di Tom Hanks!
16) What time ………………………………… (START/ the English lesson) tomorrow
morning?
8) Sembri affamato! Ti porto qualcosa da mangiare!
17) Are you sure she……………………………(WIN) the match?
10) Fra un’ora starà pranzando con la Regina!
9) Domani vado a Londra.
18) …………………………………………… (COME/YOU) to the party?
19) I believe he………………………………….(MAKE) it to Cambridge!
20) I ……………………………………..….(NOT GO) to University if you don’t want me
to!
58
59
Notes on future tenses
Notes on future tenses
.
60
61
Unit 10: Modal verbs
PART IV
Verbs & Co.
In this last part of the grammar we’ll concentrate on other important
aspects of the English verb system like the passive voice, reported
speech, modality, tense sequences ( in ‘if’ and time clauses).
- Unit 10: Modal verbs
p. 63
- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech
p. 70
- Unit 12: Passive verbs
p. 76
- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses
p. 80
B- time clauses
p. 84
- Test
p. 86
- Notes
p. 90
When we use modal verbs (also known as modal auxiliaries or modals) we are not doing
things with words but we are indicating some sort of attitude towards what we are saying:
Yesterday we went to work.
[Ieri siamo andati a lavorare.]
This is very different to: Peter should go to work.
[Peter dovrebbe andare a lavorare.]
In the latter we are expressing a personal opinion. When language is about the register of
what we comunicate we need to use modal verbs:
Shut up!!! [Stai zitto!!!] is very different to the modal expression: you ought to be quiet.
Modal verbs are used to make requests /orders/offers/suggestions/express shades of feeling/
possibility/probability etc... Their use can vary from one English speaking country to another
(ought is rarely used in A.Eng).
Modals can not be inflected (we can not say: he musts); they are always used the base form
usually without to (they must go etc.); they are always contracted in spoken English (can’t;
mustn’t; shouldn’t etc.); they are used in ‘tag’ questions (I shouldn’t go, should I ?); they
can be used sometimes by themselvs without a following verb (I must go home now- I think
you should! ). In these last uses they are comparable to auxiliary verbs. However modals
have no reference to time (except for the following past modals: can → could; may → could/
might; shall → should; will → would; dare → dared ) or in perfect modals e.g. could have done/
might have done / should have done/ must have done etc.
Most modal verbs can be read according to the following two scales:
PROBABILITY / CERTAINTY
Might
Must
PERMISSION / OBLIGATION
May
Must
All the modals we are going to look at in the following charts, can be placed under one or
both of these scales according to a slight variation of their modal meaning.
62
63
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
MODALS
CAN + base form
•Can you swim breaststroke?
[Sai nuotare a rana?]
•Can I open the door?
Abilità generale/
BE ABLE TO
poter/saper fare (con
significato presente e
futuro)
Chiedere permesso
[Posso aprire la porta?]
CAN’T + base
form
• It can’t be him! He’s
living in Australia.
MAY/
COULD
Fare deduzioni/ ipotesi negative
MIGHT + base
form
• Could I talk to the
bank manager please?
MIGHT NOT +
base form
(MIGHTN’T)
MUST + base form
Chiedere permesso
(formale)
[Potrei superare il test.]
Parlare di possibilità
presente o futura
• I could play the piano
when I was little
Parlare di capacità o
abilità passate
CAN/MAY/
WOULD
LIKE/MIGHT
(molto formale)
MIGHT/
MAY
[Sapevo suonare il pianoforte quando ero piccolo.]
COULD NOT +
base form
(COULDN’T)
MAY + base form
• I couldn’t meet her
yesterday.
[Non l’ho potuta incontrare
ieri.]
• I may go to school
tomorrow.
Parlare di qualcosa
che è stato difficile
fare in passato
Parlare di probabilità
[Può essere che vado a scuola domani.]
MAY NOT + base
form
64
• May I go to the loo?
[Posso andare in bagno? ]
Parlare di probabilità MAY/
COULD
• Might I sit here?
[Potrei sedermi qui?]
Chiedere il permesso MAY/
(molto formale)
COULD
• You must be home by Espimere un obbligo
midnight!
(con autorità perso[Devi essere a casa entro
nale)
mezzanotte!]
[Potrei parlare con il direttore della baca per favore?]
• I could pass the test.
• I might go to the party
tonight
[Può darsi che vado alla
festa stasera.]
[Non può essere lui! Vive in
Australia]
COULD + base
form
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
MODALS
Chiedere permesso
• She must be over 20
[Avrà più di 20 anni.]
MUST NOT + base
• You mustn’t go out in Esprimere divieti
form
the cold!
(MUSTN’T)
[Non devi usire col freddo!]
OUGHT TO + base
form
• You ought to smoke
less!
OUGHT NOT TO +
base form
(OUGHTN’T TO)
WASN’T
ABLE TO
MIGHT/
COULD
Esprimere deduzioni
HAVE TO/
HAD BETTER(con velata minaccia)/ NEED
Esprimere un forte
consiglio (Br. Eng)
[Dovresti fumare di meno!]
SHOULD/
HAD BETTER
SHALL + base form • Shall we go shopping? Fare proposte, inviti,
SHALL NOT +
base form
(SHAN’T)
[Andiamo a fare la spesa?]
suggerimenti,offerte
• We shall overcome!
Esprimere desideri e
convinzioni (enfatico
soprattutto in Br.
Eng)
[Supereremo!]
CAN/COULD
etc...
65
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
MODALS
WILL + base form
• Will you come to the
party?
Fare inviti
CAN/
COULD
[Vuoi venire alla festa?]
• I will pass my exam!
[Supererò il mio esame!]
WILL NOT + base
form
(WON’T)
SHOULD + base
form
SHOULD NOT +
base form
(SHOULDN’T)
WOULD + base
form
• Won’t you help me
with my homework?
[Mi vuoi aiutare con i compiti?]
Esprimere una convinzione personale o
proposito. In questi
casi per enfasi non si
usano le forme contratte
Inviti persuasivi
(specialmente in
Br.Eng)
HAVE TO + base
form
DON’T
NEED TO
[Non c’è bisogno che tu
faccia i compiti. Sei troppo
stanco!]
WOULD
BE ABLE TO +
base form
NOT BE ABLE
TO + base form /
TO BE UNABLE
TO + base form
• I was able to see him
yesterday
Parlare di possibilità o MANAGE
capacità, specie al
TO
passato e al futuro
COULDN’T
• He wasn’t able to understand him/ he was
unable to understand
him
[Non riuscì a capirlo.]
• Would you open the
door, plese?
Chiedere gentilmente COULD/
WILL
BE GOING TO +
base form
[Mi apriresti la porta?]
WOULD NOT +
base form
Esprimere obbligo
MUST
specie se imposto dal[In Inghilterra si deve guida- la legge o da condiziore a sinistra.]
ni esterne, necessità.
DON’T HAVE TO • You don’t have to do Esprimere assenza di
+ base form
your homework. You’re bisogno
(HAVEN’T TO)
too tired!
OUGHT TO/
HAD BETTER
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
• In England you have to
drive on the left
[Ho potuto incontrarlo ieri.]
• You should wear low- Esprimere forte conheeled shoes!
siglio
[Dovresti indossare scarpe
con tacco basso!]
MODAL EXPRESSIONS
• I’m going to get married
Esprimere intenzioni
[Ho intenzioni di sposarmi.]
NOT BE GOING
TO + base form
(WOULDN’T)
66
67
MODALS IN COMPLEX SENTENCES (e.g. “if” clauses/reported
MAY HAVE +
past participle
• He may have lost the key
[Può darsi che ha perso la chiave.]
Per descrivere qualcosa che
può essere accaduta
The modals in the preceding table can all be used in “if” clauses (see
Unit…..pag..) and with the Future Continuous type expressions like: may be
doing/might be doing/could be doing/ should be doing for supposed actions
in the future etc..( see Unit...pag…).
MAY NOT HAVE
+ past pariciple
MIGHT HAVE +
past participle
MIGHTN’T HAVE
+ past pariciple
DARE + base
form
COULD HAVE +
past participle
DARE NOT +
base form
COULDN’T HAVE + past participle
(DAREN’T)
SHOULD HAVE +
past participle
OUGHT TO HAVE + past participle
NEED TO + base
form
• You ought to have locked the
front door
[Avresti dovuto chiudere a chiave la
porta di ingresso]
Per descrivere qualcosa di
necessario che non si è fatto
nel passato
SHOULDN’T HA- • You shouldn’t have copied
from your class-mate
VE + past partici[Non avresti dovuto copiare da lui.]
ple
Per descrivere qualcosa di
negativo che si è fatto al passato
OUGHTN’T TO
HAVE + past participle
• I would have bought him an
WOULD HAVE + I-phone but it was to expensive
[Gli avrei comprato un I-phone ma era
past participle
WOULDN’T HA- troppo costoso]
VE + past partici• He couldn’t get in. He must
ple
Per descrivere azioni che si
era intenzionati a fare ma
non si sono realizzate
MUST HAVE +
past participle
MUSTN’T HAVE
68+ past participle
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
SEMI-MODALS
have forgotten his key at home
[Non è potuto entrare. Avrà dimenticato la sua chiave a casa.]
• Don’t you dare open the Esprimere minaccio- HAD BETwindow
so divieto
TER
[Non osare aprire la finestra]
• I need to do my homework
Esprimere necessità
MUST/
HAVE TO
Esprimere la mancanza di necessità
DO NOT
HAVE TO
[Ho bisogno di fare i compi-
DON’T NEED TO • He doesn’t need to
+ base form
work. He’s rich!
NEEDN’T + base
form
• He needn’t work. He’s
rich!
[Non ha bisogno di lavorare.
È ricco!]
Fare deduzioni su azioni che
si sono possibilmente realizzate
69
Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech
TENSE CHANGE
DIRECT SPEECH
INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Perfect
“I’ve lived in New York for
10 years”
He said he had lived in New York
fot 10 years
When we refer what we say or other people are saying we can use the Present Tense if we
want. In these cases the reporting verb (say/tell/ask etc...) is usually in the Present:
Past Perfect
[ Ho vissuto a New York per
10 anni.]
[ Ha detto che era vissuto a New
York per 10 anni.]
e.g.
Past Continuous
“I was going to school when I He said he was going to school
saw the accident”
when he saw the accident
Past Continuous
[ Stavo andando a scuola
quando ho visto l’incidente.]
[ Ha detto che stava andando a
scuola quando vide l’incidente.]
Am/is/are going to + base
form
“I’m going to get married
next year”
He said he was going to get married
next year /the following year
[ Mi sposerò l’anno
prossimo.]
[ Ha detto che si sarebbe sposato
l’anno prossimo /l’anno seguente.]
Will/ ’ll/ won’t
“I think she’ll pass the exam”
Would/ ‘d/ wouldn’t
[ Penso che supererà
l’esame.]
He said he thought she would pass
the exam
Modal verbs (I):
“I can go immediately”
He said he could go immediately
Can
[ Posso andare subito.]
[ Ha detto che poteva andare
subito.]
Modal verbs (II) :
“You must get up earlier!”
He said he had to get up earlier
Must / should
[ Ti devi alzare prima.]
[ Ha detto che si doveva alzare
prima.]
A) Reported speech in general
“I’m leaving at 6.”
[Partirò alle 6.]
He’s saying he’s leaving at 6.
[Sta dicendo che partirà alle 6.]
However normally when we report what we or other people have said, a time change occurs:
the reporting verb is in the past (he said/he told/he asked etc…) and a whole series of time
changes occur.
e.g
“I’m going to Rome.” [Andrò a Roma.]
He said he was going to Rome.
[Ha detto che andava a Roma.]
The Present Continuous becomes the Past Continuous and the first person singular becomes
third person singular etc…. Look at the following table for the other time changes that occur
when we transform direct into indirect speech:
[ Sto guardando la TV.]
TENSE CHANGE
DIRECT SPEECH
INDIRECT SPEECH
Present to be
“I’m tired”
He said he was tired
[ Sono stanco.]
[ Ha detto che era stanco.]
“I like shopping”
She said she liked shopping
[ Mi piace fare la spesa.]
[ Ha detto che le piaceva fare la
spesa.]
“We’re watching TV”
They said they was watching TV
[ Sto guardando la TV.]
[ Hanno detto che stavano
guardando la TV.]
“I liked that film”
He said he liked that film
Past to be
Present Simple
Past Simple
Present Continuous
Past Continuous
Past Simple
[ Mi è piaciuto quel film.]
Past Simple / Past Perfect
“I lived in Milan”
[ Vivevo a Milano.]
[ Ha detto che gli piaceva quel
film.]
or
He said he had lived in Milan
[ Ha detto che gli era vissuto a
Milano.]
70
Was/were going to + base
form
[ Ha detto che avrebbe superato
l’esame.]
Could
Had to
Other modals may or
may not change
N.B. All references to people (pronouns) / time / places / may change in reported speech. See tables at
the end of unit
e.g. “I’m happy here” [ Sono felice
era felice lì .]
qui .]
He said he was happy there [ Ha detto che
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B) Reporting questions
2) Requests
With reporting verbs like ask / want to know / demand / wonder etc... there are two types of
transformations of questions in reported speech:
“Come with me please.” [Vieni con me per favore.]
She asked him to come with her.
[Gli ha chiesto di andare con lei.]
1) yes / no questions
“Can you open the window please?”
She ask him to open the window.
We transform yes / no questions into reported speech with if / whether :
Are you English? [Sei inglese?]
He asked if he was English [Ha chiesto se era inglese.]
2) “wh” -questions
We transform “wh” -questions into reported speech maintaining the word order of the
affermative form:
Where are you going tomorrow?
[Dove andrai domani?]
He asked where she was going tomorrow/the following day.
[Ha chiesto dove sarebbe
andata l’indomani /il giorno successivo. ]
What’s your name?
[Come ti chiami?]
He asked what her name was.
[Le ha chiesto come si chiamana.]
Why are you studying English?
[Perché stai atudiando inglese?]
He asked why he was studying English.
[Gli chiese perché stesse studiando inglese.]
As you can see above the reported transformations for both yes /no and “wh” -questions
are affermative and not interrogative.
C) Orders / requests / advice
Normally when we report an order, a request or some sort of advice we use to + base form
after the reporting verb:
[Puoi aprire la finestra per favore?]
[Gli ha chiesto di aprire la finestra.]
3) Advice
“Study a little more.” [Studia un pò di più.]
He advised her to study a little more.
[Le ha consigliato di studiare un po’ di più.]
“Be careful!” [Stai attenta.]
She told her to be careful [Le ha detto di stare attenta.]
OTHER VERB STRUCTURES IN REPORTED
SAY / TELL
1- Reporting verb + to + base form:
She agreed to go with him. (
“Ok let’s go!”)
They offered to help. (
“Can I help you?”)
They promised to study more. (
“We’re going to study
more.”)
He refused to leave. (
“I’m not going to leave!”)
Say (dire) and tell (dire / raccontare)
are widely used in English especially
in reported speech, but they are used
in different ways. We say something
but we tell someone something:
2- Reporting verb + for + ing:
He apologized for arriving late. (
“I’m sorry, I’m late!”)
3- Reporting verb + noun / pronoun:
He agreed with her. ( “Ok, you’re right.”)
4- Reporting verb + ing:
I suggested going to Spain in August. (
Spain in August!”)
“Let’s go to
1) Orders
“Go away!” [Vattene!]
He told her to go away. [Le ha detto di andare via.]
“Be quite!” [State zitti!]
She told them to be quite.
[Ha detto a loro di stare zitti.]
For the differences between tell and say see table at the end of the unit p. ...
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THAT (CHE)
In inglese nel discorso indiretto il “che” non viene mai
usato , anche se usarlo non è grammaticamente sbagliato:
Disse che sarebbe andato a scuola l’indomani
She said
she would go to school the following day.
He said that it was a beautiful
morning.
[Disse che era una bella mattinata.]
She said she loved him.
[Disse che lo amava.]
She told him she loved him.
[Gli disse che l’amava.]
She told them to go away.
[Disse loro di andare via.]
We can use say with a pronoun or
noun but the pronoun or noun must
be preceded by to:
I said to them to go away
But this form is hardly ever used in
English.
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POSSIBLE TIME /PLACE / PRONOUN CHANGES IN INDI1) time changes
today
that day
now
then/at that time
tomorrow
the
next day/the following day / the day after
yesterday
the day before / the previous day
next Monday / next year / next Christmas etc...
the following
Monday / the following year / the following Christmas etc...
Last Monday / last year / last Christmas etc...
The previous
Monday / the previous year / the previous Christmas etc...
2) place changes
Here
there
over here
over there
this place
that place
3) pronoun changes
I
he / she
you
he / she / they
he / she
he / she
we
they
they
they
me
him / her
you
him / her / them
him / her
him / her
us
them
them
them
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75
Unit 12: The Passive
TENSE
When we want to avoid mentioning the subject (agent) of an action, specially in formal writing (scientific reports/instructions etc.), we can use the Passive:
e.g. The experiment was carried out in normal conditions.
A) will
B) going to
Listening is improved in language labs.
[L’ascolto si migliora nei laboratori linguistici.]
I’ll paint my room blue
My room will be painted blue
[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]
[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]
I’m going to paint my room blue My room is going to be painted
[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]
We use the equivalent tense of to be of the main verb + Past Participle as we can see in the
following table with the object of the active sentence becoming the subject of the passive
sentence:
Present Simple
Present
Continuous
blue
[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]
A) How is it formed ?
TENSE
PASSIVE
Future:
[ L’esperimento fu condotto in
condizioni normali.]
ACTIVE
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
I paint my room blue
My room is painted blue
[Dipingo la mia stanza di blu]
[La mia stanza è dipinta di blu]
I’m painting my room blue
My room is being painted blue
[Sto dipingendo la mia stanza di
blu]
[Stanno dipingendo la mia stanza
di blu]
Modals:
A) can
B) must
I can paint my room blue
My room can be painted blue
[Posso dipingere la mia stanza di
blu]
[La mia stanza può essere dipinta
di blu]
I must paint my room blue
My room must be painted blue
[Devo dipingere l a mia stanza di
blu]
[La mia stanza deve essere dipinta
di blu]
Etc...
In these examples of the passive, the agent can normally be specified with the use of by:
“Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” was painted by Picasso in 1907
Present Perfect
Past Simple
Past
Continuous
76
[“Les Demoiselles
I have painted my room blue
My room has been painted blue
D’Avignon” fu dipinto da Picasso nel 1907]
[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]
[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di
blu]
Some verbs can have two objects (e.g. ask/give/offer/pay/promess/show/teach/tell etc.):
I painted my room blue
My room was painted blue
[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]
[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di
blu]
I was painting my room blue
My room was being painted blue
[Stavo dipingendo la mia stanza di
blu]
[Stavano dipingendo la mia stanza
di blu]
e.g. The English teacher asked his class(I) a question(II) [Il Professore d’inglese fece una
domanda alla sua classe]
This sort of verb can generate too passive sentences with the person (usually) or the object
(rare) becoming the subject of the passive sentence:
I - His class was asked a question
II - A question was asked his class
77
B) More formal uses of the passive
Especially in writing and in formal English there are a variety of expressions which use the
passive form to communicate impersonal meaning (Queste espressioni traducono il “si” italiano):
It is said that….[Si dice che...]
It is reported that…..[Si riferisce che....]
It is forbidden to….[E’ vietato....]
It is claimed that…[È dichiarato che ...]
It is mentioned ... [È mensionato che ... ] etc...
A special case is “ is supposed to + base form” with a variety of meanings and frequent in
spoken English e.g to express single opinions:
He is supposed to be going to school this morning [Si pensa che andrà a scuola stamattina.]
or general opinions:
You’re not supposed to drink alcohol here [Non si dovrebbe bere alcool qui.]
or in the past:
You weren’t supposed to go out this evening (but you did!)
[Non dovevi uscire questa sera.]
C) Informal equivalents of the passive
In colloquial English there are many equivalent expressions to the passive which are used
when you get something done by other people:
Have + noun + past participle
e.g
I have my hair cut once a month
[Mi taglio i capelli una volta al mese.]
And in even more in formal English:
Get + noun + past participle
e.g I got my car washed
[Ho fatto lavare la mia macchina.]
Make + noun + base form:
e.g. She made her husband work.
78
[Lei ha fatto lavorare suo marito.]
79
B) SECOND CONDITIONALS (Hypothetical clauses)
Unit 13: A- “if” clauses
We have already seen examples of the “if” clauses in the sections of this grammar dedicated
to the Present, Past and Future. In this unit we will concentrate on the time sequences in “if”
clauses which often create difficulties in English language learning.
• In the second conditionals you use the simple past with the if clause and the conditional
(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the main sentence:
e.g. If I had a million pounds I’d live in London [Se avessi un milione di sterline vivrei a
Londra]
What would you do if you didn’t go to University? [Cosa faresti se non andassi
A) FIRST CONDITIONALS (probability)
all’Università?]
“If” + verb always in the Present and the verb in the main sentences in the future:
• Sometimes the conditional can be substituted by other modals with slight variations of
meaning:
If I see him I’ll tell him to call.
[Se lo vedo gli dirò di chiamare.]
e.g. If you studied you could go to University. [Se Studiassi potresti andare all’Università.]
I won’t go to school if I have a headache. [Non andrò a scuola se ho mal di testa]
Sometimes the future can be substituted by a modal verb or by the imperative:
You can come round if you want. [Puoi vienire a trovarmi se vuoi]
If you go to London this summer you must remember to visit the new Saatchi Gallery
[Se andrai a Londra quest’estate ricordati di visitare la nuova Saatchi Gallery]
Don’t forget to bring your umbrella if it rains. [Non dimenticare di portare l’ombrello se piove]
If not can be substituted with unless:
I won’t go to school unless you come=I won’t go to school if you don’t come
[Non andrò a
• In other cases it is possible to use could in the if clauses as the past form of can:
e.g. Would you buy a Ferrari if you could? [Compreresti una Ferrari se potessi?]
• With the verb to be in the if clause you can use both was and were in the first person( were
is correct and less colloquial:
e.g. If I were you I’d never get married.
[Se fossi in te non mi sposerei mai.]
In spoken English “if I was you” is possible.
• Conected to the second type of if clauses, we have a variety of expressions in which the if
clause is often implicit but the same type of tense sequencing occurs:
scuola se tu non vieni/ a meno che tu non vieni]
e.g. I wish you were here! [Magari fossi qui!]
If can also substituted with provided that/so long as/on condition that with similar
meanings:
Had I enough money I’d buy a new house=If I had enough money I’d buy a new
house [Se avessi abbastanza soldi comprerei una casa nuova.]
I’ll go so long as you come with me. [Verrò a patto che vieni con me.]
Sometimes we can use the Present in both the if clauses and in the main sentence ( this type
of sentence is usually known as “0” type conditional) and in these cases we are normally
referring to general truths and not to specific personal situations:
Should I meet him I’d be very surprised!
[Se lo incontrassi sarei molto sorpreso!]
If only I had a house in New York I would be the happiest man in the world!
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND CONDITIONALS
If you drink too much red wine you get a headache. [Se bevi troppo vino rosso ti fa male la
testa] This is a general truth. But in the following the first conditional sequence is necessary:
If I get married I’ll live in the country-side (first type)
If you drink too much beer at the party this evening you’ll be sick! [Se bevi troppa birra alla
If I got married I wouldn’t have any children (second type)
festa questa sera, ti sentirai male!]
80
[Se
soltanto avessi una casa a New York sarei l’uomo più felice del mondo.]
Both these if clauses are grammatically corect, but semantically they are very different. In the former
we are talking about something which is possible in the near future; in the latter we are talking about
something which is improbable and theoretical.
81
C) THIRD CONDITIONALS ( impossible or past)
In the third type of if clauses we use the past perfect in the if clause and would + have +
past participle in the main clause:
e.g. If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married her.
[Se avessi incontrato
Julia Roberts 20 anni fa l’avrei sposata.]
I’d have caught that train if I had arrived on time [Avrei preso quel treno se fosse arrivato in
orario.]
In this third type of if clause the general condition is past and therefore the main event can
not happen. We can change the would for other modals like could/might/should with variations of the meaning (See modals pag...):
e.g. He could have passed his exam if he had studied more. [Avrebbe potuto superare
l’esame se avesse studiato di più.]
SUMMARY OF TENSE SEQUENCING IN “IF” CLAUSES
Like with the second conditionals variations are possibile:
IF CLAUSES
Had I passed my exams. I would have gone to University= if I had passed my exams I
would have gone to University. [Se avessi superato gli esami sarei andato all’Università.]
Sometimes you can mix second and third conditionals:
If he hadn’t drunk (third conditional) so much at the party he wouldn’t feel (second
conditional) so sick now. [Se non avessi bevuto cisì tanto alla festa non si sentirebbe così male ora.]
In these cases we are talking about something which happened in the past but the result is
present.
“0” CONDITIONAL
Il congiuntivo nell’ inglese di oggi è stato sostituito dal passato nella maggior parte dei casi:
Se avessi dei soldi comprerei una macchina (
IF PRESENT + PRESENT
If you drink too much red wine you get a headache
FIRST CONDITIONAL
IF PRESENT + FUTURE
If I see him I’ll tell him to call.
SECOND CONDITIONAL
IF SIMPLE PAST + CONDITIONAL
If I had a million pounds I’d live in London
THIRD CONDITIONAL
IL CONGIUNTIVO IN INGLESE
TENSE CHANGES
IF PAST PERFECT + WOULD HAVE PAST PARTICIPLE
If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married
her.
If I had some money I’d buy a car)
Il congiuntivo passato in inglese esiste ancora nella forma “were” al posto di was che usiamo nell’ “if”
clause di secondo tipo:
If I were you I’d marry him (se fossi in te lo sposerei)
Il congiuntivo presente inglese esiste in alcune rare forme:
God save the Queen! (che Dio salvi la regina)
Qui il “save” è congiuntivo presente e non present simple (manca infatti la -s della terza persona)
82
83
B- time clauses
With when, before, after, as soon as, until, while we use the same tense sequenze as in the
“if” clauses (first conditional): the future in the main clause and the present in the time clause, even if it refers to the future:
e.g.
When I go to London I’ll visit Buckingham Palace. [Quando andrò a Londra visiterò Buc-
kingham Palace.]
I’ll get married as soon as I get my degree. [mi sposerò appena mi laurierò.]
The future in the main clause can be substituted with the going to form or a modal.
e.g I’m going to get my degree when I finish school [Mi laurierò quando finisce la scuola.]
DOPPIO FUTURO IN INGLESE
In inglese è vietato usare il doppio futuro come in italiano:
es: Quando sarò grande lavorerò per la FIAT
[When I’m old I’ll work for FIAT.]
NON: When I’ll be old I’ll work for FIAT
84
85
EXERCISES REVISING THE GRAMMATICAL POINTS OF
PART IV + PHRASAL VERBS
A- Complete the exercise with the appropriate phrasal verb constructions (verb/
preposition/adverb):
(30 marks)
22) He couldn’t find ……………..the truth about his father’s death.
23) Please look ……………..my dog while I’m on holiday!
24) He made……………..the money after the robbery.
25) They………….on a new play on the French Revolution.
26) He ………………up a considerable debt after finishing his new house.
1) They…………………….into the house and stole the jewellery.
27) He always …………..off his jacket after work.
2) He ………………………..across an old friend at the market.
3) He got …………………….the operation very quickly.
28) As an English teacher he was unable to ……………across the importance of grammar in
the course.
4)They didn’t get ………………….even though they were of the same age.
B) Complete the following ‘IF’ clauses:
5) Time………………………by when you are having fun.
(15 marks)
6) He looked ……………… his father when he was old and ill.
1) I’ll visit my relations in New Zealand ......................................
7) They couldn’t …………………..out the house in the distance because of the mist.
2) If I had arrived at the station on time .......................................
8) They put………………….some money for their old age.
3) I wouldn’t talk to him if ...........................................................
9) The car ………………..out of petrol quickly.
4) Would you go abroad if ......................................................?
10) Who are you taking……………on Saturday night?
5) If he does his English homework .............................................
11) The telephone hasn’t been working, I haven’t been able to get …………………..
6) He wouldn’t have married her if ..............................................
12) The bomb …………………..off yesterday at day break.
7) They’ll go shopping if ..............................................................
13) We waited for them until late but they didn’t ………………round.
8) If I were you .............................................................................
14) He came ……………..with an original idea for the project.
9) He’ll be at school tomorrow if .................................................
15) He stole the car but he ……………away with it.
10) If I had a lot of money .............................................................
16) He ………….up with his engagement 2 weeks before the wedding.
11) He’d do this exercises at school if ...........................................
17) The plane…………..off on time
12) What would you buy him if .....................................................?
18) He ran…………….the cat with his motor-bike.
13) He’ll see the show on TV if ....................................................
19) He put …………..some bread for dinner.
14) If I were the Primeminister of Italy .........................................
20) He ……………….up the story about his previous marriage.
15) Will you buy him that shirt if ..................................................?
21) They were ……………….forward to the Christmas party.
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87
C) Transform the following utterances into reported speech adding the appropriate
reporting verb and making all the necessary changes:
(15 marks)
1) “Hello darling! How are you?”
2) “I’m going to New York next week.”
3) “What do you think of the new Spielberg film?”
4) “Please sit down and be quite!”
8) They’ll look after their father-in-law.
9) Kim Basinger wrote a romantic letter to an English teacher!
10) Marco Polo discovered China in the Middle Ages.
E) Write a short composition (120-150 words) beginning with the words:
If I could travel anywhere in the world I’d ………………
F) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
5) “Have a nice cup of tea!”
1) Dovresti alzarti presto.2) Non ho potuto fare i compiti ieri.
6) “Go to the blackboard and write the following sentence!”
3) Devi andare a scuola oggi!
7) “Can you tell me the way to the nearest tube statition please?”
4) Puoi incontrare i suoi genitori domani a scuola?
8) “What’s your name?”
5) Vorrei parlare in inglese senza un accento italiano.
9) “Are you going to school tomorrow?”
6) Potresti aiutarmi con il lavoro di casa?
10) “Yesterday I went shopping with mum.”
7) Dovresti andare a lavoro a piedi più spesso
11) “Do you really like red lipstick?”
8) Dovrò spedirti un fax.
12) “I must go to school early tomorrow.”
9) Potrò venire alla tua festa di compleanno.
13) “If I go to school early tomorrow I’ll prepare your tests.”
10) Dovrò andare a fare la spesa prima di andare a scuola
14) “Give me your pen!”
11) Non hai bisogno di studiare per questo test.
15) “You should study more if you want to pass the English PET exam.”
12) Non devi usare il verbo “essere” con il Present Perfect in inglese.
D) Transform the following sentences into the passive:
13) Dovresti guardare meno televisione la sera.
(15 marks)
(15 marks)
14) Vorresti un Martini?
1) He’ll build that church next year.
15) Posso venire con te, se vuoi!
2) Milan-Ajax played the match in the rain.
16) Ho dovuto smettere di lavorare presto ieri sera perché mia figlia stava male.
3) You press ‘Escape’ on your computer to get out of trouble.
17) Non ho potuto fare i compiti d’inglese. Erano troppo difficili.
4) You should write a book on the Mafia.
18) Domani dovrò partire alle 8.
5) Next year the Headmistress of this school will allow us to go to England.
19 ) Potresti venire con la macchina domani?
6) They bought that car two years ago.
20) Domani dovrò portare €100 per la gita scolastica.
7) I’ve just painted my house red.
88
89
Notes
90
Notes
91
Appendix I: Irregular verbs
to do
did
done
fare
to draw
drew
drawn
disegnare
to dream
dreamed
dreamed
sognare
to drink
dreamt(B.ENG)
drank
dreamt(B.ENG)
drunk
bere
to drive
drove
driven
guidare(auto)
to eat
ate
eaten
mangiare
to fall
fell
fallen
cadere
to feed
fed
fed
nutrire
to feel
felt
felt
sentire/sentirsi
to fight
fought
fought
combattere
to find
found
found
trovare
to flee
fled
fled
fuggire
to fly
flew
flown
volare
INFINITIVE
PAST SIMPLE
PAST PARTICIPLE
ITALIAN
to arise
arose
arisen
sorgere
to be
was/were
been
essere
to bear
bore
borne
portare/sopportare
to beat
beat
beaten
batere
to become
became
become
diventare
to begin
began
begun
incominciare
to bend
bent
bent
piegare/piegarsi
to bet
bet
bet
scommettere
to bite
bit
bitten
mordere
to bleed
bled
bled
sanguinare
to blow
to break
blew
broke
blown
broken
soffiare
rompere/rompersi
to breed
bred
bred
allevare/generare
to forbid
forbade
forbidden
proibire
to bring
brought
brought
portare
to forget
forgot
forgotten
dimenticare
to build
built
built
costruire
to forgive
forgave
forgiven
perdonare
to burn
burned
burned
bruciare
to freeze
froze
frozen
gelare
burnt(B.ENG)
bought
burnt(B.ENG)
bought
to get
got
got/gotten (A.Eng)
ottenere/diventare
to buy
comprare
to cast
cast
cast
gettare
to give
gave
given
dare
to catch
caught
caught
prendere/acchiappare
to go
went
gone
andare
to grind
ground
ground
tirare
to choose
chose
chosen
scegliere
to grow
grew
grown
crescere/coltivare
to come
came
come
venire
to hang
hung
hung
appendere
to cost
cost
cost
costare
to have
had
had
avere
to creep
crept
crept
strisciare
to cut
cut
cut
tagliare
to hear
heard
heard
udire
to deal
dealt
dealt
trattare
to hide
hid
hidden
nascondere
to dig
dug
dug
scavare
to hold
held
held
tenere
to hurt
hurt
hurt
ferire
92
93
to keep
kept
kept
tenere/conservare
to send
sent
Sent
mandare/spedire
to kneel
knelt/kneeled
knelt/kneeled
inginocchiarsi
to set
set
set
porre
to know
knew
known
conoscere/sapere
to shake
shook
shaken
scuotere
to lay
laid
laid
deporre/posare
to shed
shed
shed
versare
to lead
led
led
condurre/guidare
to shine
shone
shone
brillare/splendere
to learn
learnt/learned
learnt/learned
imparare
to shoot
shot
shot
sperare
to leave
left
left
partire
to show
showed
shown
mostrare
to shrink
shrank
shrunk/shrunken
restringersi
to lend
lent
lent
prestare
to shut
shut
shut
chiudere
to let
let
let
lasciare/permettere
to sing
sang
sung
cantare
to lie
lay
lain
giacere/trovarsi
to sink
sank
sunk
affondare
to light
lighted/lit
lighted/lit
accendere
to sit
sat
sat
sedersi
to lose
lost
lost
perdere
to sleep
slept
slept
dormire
to make
made
made
fare/costruire
to slide
slid
slid
scivolare
to speak
spoke
spoken
parlare
to mean
meant
meant
significare
to spend
spent
spent
spendere/trascorrere
to meet
met
met
incontrare
to spread
spread
spread
diffondere/stendere
to pay
paid
paid
pagare
to spring
sprang
sprung
saltare
to put
put
put
mettere
to stand
stood
stood
stare in piedi
to quit
quit
quit
smettere
to steal
stole
stolen
rubare
to read
read /red/
read /red/
leggere
to stick
stuck
stuck
attaccare/attaccarsi
to ride
rode
ridden
cavalcare
to sting
stung
stung
pungere
to ring
rang
rung
suonare/squillare
to stink
stank
stunk
puzzare
to rise
rose
risen
sorgere/alzarsi
to stike
struck
struck/striken
colpire
to strive
strove
striven
lottare
to run
ran
run
correre
to swear
swore
sworn
giurare
to say
said
said
dire
to sweep
swept
swept
spazzare/scopare
to see
saw
seen
vedere
to swim
swam
swum
nuotare
to seek
sought
sought
cercare
to swing
swung
swung
dondolare
to sell
sold
sold
vendere
to take
took
taken
prender/portare
94
95
To teach
taught
taught
insegnare
To tear
tore
torn
strappare
To tell
told
told
dire/raccontare
To think
thought
thought
pensare
To throw
threw
thrown
gettare
To tread
trod
trodden
calpestare
To understand
understood
understood
comprendere
To wake
woke
woken
svegliare/svegliarsi
To wear
wore
worn
indossare/logorare
To win
won
won
vincere
To wind
wound
wound
avvolgere
To wring
wrung
wrung
torcere
To write
wrote
written
scrivere
The spaces below can be filled in with new irregular verbs as you meet them
in future reading etc...
96
97
Add up (a)
Appendix II: Phrasal verbs
Add up (b)
Ask over
Back up (a)
Back up (b)
He took off his jacket.
[Si è tolto la giacca.]
Which can also be rendered by: He took his jacket off.
He took it off. And NOt:
He took off it.
He backed up his application with a lot of
documents
He backed up all his computer files
Break down
(a)
His car broke down
Break down
(b)
The problem was broken down into 3
parts
Fare la copia di un file
Rompersi
La sua macchina si è rotta
Break into
The thieves broke into the jewellery
I ladri entrarono con violenza nella gioielleria
Break out
of
98
Dare sostegno/ appoggiare
Analizzare
Il problema è stato analizzato in 3 parti
And if we substitute the object with the pronoun by:
e.g.
Invitare a casa
Ha copiato tutti i suoi files del computer
Type 1- where there is no object:
e.g.
He asked his neighbour over for dinner
Ha sostenuto la sua domanda con tanti documenti
[Vai d’accor-
do con i tuoi compagni?]
Type 11- where there is an obje ct:
Avere un senso
Ha invitato a cena il suo vicino di casa
While in other cases you must learn the meaning of the phrasal
verb by heart:
e.g. The bomb went off. [La bomba è esplosa.]
Something about his behaviour just didn’t
seem to add up
Qualcosa nel suo comportamento sembrava
proprio che non quadrasse
e.g. I gave out the photocopies. [Ho distribuito le fotocopie]
We can distinguish two main types of phrasal verbs:
Sommare
Sommare una colonna di cifre
Widely used and typical of spoken/informal English, phrasal verbs
are made up of a base form and a preposition/adverb. With phrasal verbs you can extend communication producing thousands of
meanings with a limited number of verbs through a ‘copy, cut and
paste’ system of language creation and with a very light memory
load. The meaning of most phrasal verbs can be guessed:
e.g. How are you getting along with your new class mates?
To add up a column of figures
They broke out of prison
Entrare con
violenza
Scappare
Sono scappati dalla prigione
99
Bring
about
It brought about a big change
Bring up (a)
Their children were brought up well
Causare
Ha causato un grande cambiamento
He brought up a new aspect of the problem
Crescere,educare
Sollevare un argomento
Come
about
The tragedy came about
Come
across
In Charles Dickens, characters come
across each other by chance
The match was called off
Annullare
Calm down before your exam
Rilassarsi
Rilassati prima dell’esame
Care for
The three children all cared for their old
parents
She carried on working all day
He carried out the plan to change the
school
The use of the I-pod is catching on
Come forward
E’ tornado a scuola
He came forward to help build the new
school
Proporsi
Si è proposto per aiutare a costruire la
nuova scuola
During the marathon he caught up with
me
Durante la maratona lui mi ha raggiunto
100
He came into the room silently
Entrare
Continuare
Eseguire un compito
Come up
with
Cross out
Escogitare, suggerire
She crossed out his name from her diary
Cancellare, eliminare
Ha cancellato il suo nome dal proprio
diario
Diffondersi
Raggiungere
He came up with a new idea for the
school review
Escogitò una nuova idea per la rivista
scolastica
L’uso dell’I-pod si sta diffondendo
Catch up
(with)
caso
Entrò nella stanza silenziosamente
Ha portato avanti il piano per cambiare la
scuola
Catch on
Incontrare per
Ritornare
Come in (to)
Continuò a lavorare tutto il giorno
. Carry out
E’ avvenuta la tragedia
He came back to school
Prendere cura di
I tre bambini si prendevano cura dei loro
anziani genitori
Carry on (a)
Avvenire
Come back
La partita è stata annullata
Calm down
Tirarsi su di morale
In Charles Dickens, i personaggi si incontrano per caso
Ha sollevato un nuovo aspetto del problema
Call off
He cheered up the losing team
Ha tirato su di morale la squadra perdente
I loro figli sono stati educati bene
Bring up
(b)
Cheer up
Cut down
He cut down all the big trees in his garden
Eliminare, abbattere
Ha abbattuto tutti gli alberi grandi del suo
giardino
101
Cut down
on
Families have cut down on the use of
their cars because of the recent increase
in the price of petrol
Ridurre
The ski lift was cut off from the snow
resort because of the avalanche
Dream up
He cut out the interesting article on music
from the newspaper
Dress up
Drive
away
Cut up
She cut up the cake into pieces
Fare a pezzi
Die away
Ha tagliato in pezzi la torta
As we walked away the music died away
Spegnersi a poco a poco
Many species have died out in the last
100 years
Drive back
Drop
behind
He did without his secretary when he
bought a new computer
Lui ha fatto a meno della sua segretaria
quando ha comprato un nuovo computer
102
Fare a meno di
Vestirsi con
eleganza
He drove away many of the shop’s clients
with his bad manners
Spingere via
He drove his children back home
She dropped behind in the school race
because she sprained her ankle
Riaccompagnare con la
macchina
Rimanere indietro
È riamasta indietro nella corsa scolastica
perchè si è slogato la caviglia
Molte specie si sono estinte negli ultimi
100 anni
Do
without
She dressed up for her first date with her
new boyfriend
Accompagnò i suoi figli a casa con la
macchina
Estinguersi ,
scomparire
Escogitare,
concepire (idea)
Spinse via tanti clienti del negozio con le
sue cattive maniere
Man mano ci allontanavamo a piedi la
musica si spegneva a poco a poco
Die out
He dreamed up a new way of collecting
money for school projects
Si è ben vestita per il suo primo appuntamento con il suo nuovo ragazzo
Ritagliare
Ha ritagliato l’ articolo interessante sulla
musica dal giornale
.
Stilare, preparare
Ha escogitato un nuovo sistema per raccogliere I soldi per I progetti scolastici
Interrompere
Lo ski lift fu isolato dalla stazione sciistica a causa della valanga
Cut out
The school will draw up a new contract
for teachers
La scuola stilerà un nuovo contratto per
gli insegnanti
Le famiglie hanno ridotto l’uso della
macchina a causa del recente aumento del
costo della benzina
Cut off
Draw up
Drop by
Drop in on
I‘ve just dropped by to say ‘hello’
Sono passato solo per salutarti
Andare a trovare senza
preavviso
103
Drop off (a)
My father dropped me off at school
Accompagnare a
Fall down
Mio padre mi ha accompagnato a scuola
Drop off
(b)
I dropped off during the English lesson
Drop out
After he failed his ‘O’ Level exams he
dropped out
Addormentarsi
Fall for
Ritirarsi dalla scuola
Fall out
with
Eat up your food!
Mangiare fuori casa
Fall over
He ended up living alone
Finì per vivere da solo
Face up to
Italians have to face up to the fact that the
cost of living has risen terribly
Divorare, mangiare tutto
Feel up to
Finire per,
concludersi
Fight back
Affrontare,
accettare
His marriage fell apart when he went to
live in London
Fall behind
Martina fell behind at school when she
broke her leg
Martina è rimasta indietro quando si è rota
la gamba
104
Fill in
We didn’t feel up to meeting her soon
after her divorce
He fought back his anger when his boss
sacked him
We haven’t figured out why she’s so sad!
Fill in your application form
Completa la tua domanda
Rimanere indietro, farsi
superare
Cadere, crollare
Sentirsi all’ altezza, sentirsi di
Reprimere,
controllare
Capire, risolvere
Non abbiamo capito perchè è così triste!
Andare in pezzi,
disintegrarsi
Il suo matrimonio è andato in pezzi quando è andato a vivere a Londra
While he was running he fell over
Ha controllato la sua rabbia quando fu
licenziato dal suo capo
Figure out
Fall apart
Litigare
Non ci sentivamo di incontrarla subito
dopo il suo divorzio
Gli italiani devono acettare che il costo
della vita si è alzato terribilmente
.
Martina fell out with Robert when the
school finished
Mentre correva è caduto
Mangiati tutto il cibo!
End up
Innamorarsi
Martina litigò con Roberto quando finì la
scuola
Mangio sempre fuori sabato
Eat up
She fell for him as soon as she saw him
Si è innamorata di lui appena l’ha visto
Mi sono addormenta durante la lezione
d’inglese
I always eat out Saturdays
Cadere a terra
È caduta a terra fuori dal negozio
Dopo essere stato bocciato agli esami ‘O’
Level si ritirò
Eat out
She fell down outside the shop
Fill up
Before leaving he filled his car up with
petrol
Completare con
l’informazione
richiesta
Riempire, colmare
Prima di partire ha fatto il pieno
105
Find out
Tom and Mary found out that their 16
year –old - son wasn’t going to school
Scoprire, trovare
Get through
to
Tom e Mary scoprirono che il loro figlio
sedicenne non andava a suola
Fit in
He didn’t fit in the class because he studied too much
She didn’t get along with her new neighbours
Inserirsi,
ambientarsi
When the police arrived the thieves had
got away
He’s so spoilt that he thinks he can get
away with anything
Scappare
Get by
He couldn’t get by without a real job
Mi alzo sempre con il sorriso
Give
away
He gave away all his money to the poor
Give back
She gave him back their engagement ring
Give in
Give out
Farla franca
She got over her heart operation after
many months
Si riprese dall’intervento al cuore dopo
tanti mesi
106
Donare
Donò tutti i suoi soldi ai poveri
She gave in and went back home
She gave out the photocopies
Ha distribuito le fotocopie
Give up
Restituire
Arrendersi, cedere
She gave up smoking
Distribuire,
consegnare
Arrendersi, smettere
Ha smesso di fumare
Sopravvivere
Go along
with
Non poteva sopravvivere senza un vero
lavoro
Get over
Alzarsi
Si è arresa ed è tornata a casa
È così viziato che pensa di farla franca in
tutte le cose
.
I always get up with a smile
Gli ha restituito l’ anello di finanziamento
Quando arrivò la polizia i ladri erano
scappati
Get
away with
Get up
Andare d’accordo
Non andava d’accordo con I suoi nuovi
vicini di casa
Get
away
Riuscire a far capire, riuscire a raggiungere / comunicare
Ieri non sono riuscito a comunicare con
Martina e Roberta perché il mio telefono
non funzionava
Non si è inserito nella classe perchè studiava troppo
Get
along with
Yesterday I couldn’t get through to Martina and Roberta because my mobile
phone wasn’t working
He could’t go along with the idea that his
wife was living with another man
Essere d’accordo
Non era d’accordo con l’idea che la moglie viveva con un altro uomo
Riprendersi da
Go back
I’ll go back when my Erasmus project
finishes
Ritornare
Tornerò quando finirà il mio progetto Erasmus
107
Go down
I go down to Agrigento every weekend
Scendere
Scendo ad Agrigento ogni weekend
Grow
apart
After the birth of their 3 children they began to grow apart
Allontanarsi
Dopo la nascita di 3 figli cominciarono ad
allontanarsi
Go on (a)
After leaving school you must go on with
your studies
Proseguire,
continuare
What’s going on over there?
Che sta succedendo lì?
Succedere,
accadere
Hand in
Martina is going out with Mattia at the
moment
Uscire con
He went over the English lesson for his
test
.
She’s going through a bad period at the
moment
I handed out all the novels to read during
the summer
Hang
around/
about
He spent the whole summer hanging
around the main street
Andare fino in
fondo, attraversare
Hang out
She didn’t like hanging out the washing
Abbinarsi a
Hang up
Ripassare, controllare
Ha ripassato la lezione d’inglese per il
compito
Go through
(with)
I handed my project work in
Consegnare
Distribuire
Ho distribuito I romanzi da leggere durante l’estate
Martina sta uscendo per ora con Mattia
Go over
Crescere
Ho consegnato il mio progetto
Hand out
Go out with
He grew up in London
È cresciuto a Londra
Dopo aver finito la scuola devi proseguire
con gli studi
Go on (b)
Grow up
Bighellonare, stare in giro
Ha passato l’intera estate in giro per la
strada principale
Non le piaceva stendere la biancheria
Stendere,
appendere fuori
Sta attraversando un brutto periodo in
questo momento
Go with (a)
Go with (b)
That t-shirt goes with your skirt
Quella maglietta si abbina con la gonna
I was so angry with him on the phone I
just had to hang up
I went to the disco with Roberta
Ero così arrabbiata con lui che ho dovuto
riattaccare
Sono andato in discoteca con Roberta
Accompagnare, andare
con
Have on
I had my white dress on
Mettere giù,
riattaccare, appendere
Indossare
Indossavo il mio vestito bianco
Go
without
108
He went without breakfast yesterday
Ieri ha fatto a meno della colazione
Fare a meno di
Have
over
I had my neighbours over for lunch
Ho invitato a pranzo i miei vicini
Invitare a casa
propria
109
Hear from
I haven’t heard from him for ages
Non lo sento da anni
Ricevere o avere notizie
da
Iron out
In a school meeting parents and teachers
ironed out all the difficulties
Eliminare, risolvere
In un incontro a scuola tra genitori e insegnanti tutti i problemi sono stati risolti
Help out
He’s helping out with the housework
while his wife’s in hospital
Dare un aiuto
Join in
Sta dando una mano nei lavori di casa
mentre la moglie è in ospedale
My class will join in the English project
next year
Partecipare
L’anno prossimo la mia classe parteciperà
ad un progetto d’inglese
Hint at
He hinted at her embarrassing family
situation
Alludere a, insinuare
Jump at
Ha alluso alla sua situazione familiare
imbarazzante
Hold back
He was so angry that it was impossible to
hold him back
Hold out
The poor Rumanian girl held her hand
out for money
.
Hunt down
The police hunted down all the hooligans
outside the stadium
I couldn’t identify with the new ideas of
the left-wing
I invited my mother-in-law over for lunch
Ho invitato a casa a mia suocera per pranzo
Keep out
We kept the dog out of the garden
Tieniti lontano da lui! È pericoloso….
Tenersi lontano da, evitare
Tenere fuori da
Abbiamo tenuto il cane fuori dal giardino
Keep up
(with)
Identificarsi con
Non potevo identificarmi con le nuove
idée della sinistra
Invite over
Keep away from him! He’s dangerous…
Scovare e punire
La polizia ha scovato e punito tutti gli
ultrà fuori dallo stadio
Identify
with
Keep
away from
Porgere, tendere
La povera ragazza rumena tese la mano
per I soldi
Cogliere al volo
I miei studenti hanno colto a volo la possibilità di studiare in Inghilterra
Trattenere
Era così arrabbiato che era impossibile
trattenerlo
My students jumped at the possibility of
going to study in England
It was difficult to keep up with the best
students in my class
Era difficile stare dietro ai migliori studenti della mia classe
Kick out
He was kicked out of the team for doping
Rimanere alla pari degli
altri, stare
aggiornato su
Cacciare, buttare fuori
Fu buttato fuori dalla squadra per doping
Invitare a casa
Kneel down
She kneeled down and prayed
Inginocchiarsi
Si è inginocchiata ed ha pregato
110
111
Know of
Do you know of any good motorbike on
sale?
Aver sentito parlare di
He laid his keys down on the table
Lie down
Mettere giù, posare
The FIAT laid off a lot of their workers
La FIAT ha sospeso dal lavoro molti dei
suoi lavoratori
Lead up to
In 1968 the discontent in French schools
and University led up to the May riots
Sospendere dal
lavoro
Light up
Preparare, portare a
Live up to
Lasciare dietro
Quando si è separato dal marito ha lasciato dietro tutti i suoi problemi
He didn’t leave anybody out of the project
Lock up
Escludere,
tralasciare
Non ha escluso nessuno dal progetto
Let down
He didn’t want to let his children down
Don’t let him in!
Illuminare,
accendere
I was unable to live up to my parents’
ambitions for me
Rispondere alle
aspettative
Log on to
(onto)
Don’t forget to lock up the house before
going on holiday!
Use the password to log on to the new
program
Usare la password per entrare nel nuovo
programma
Look
after
Lasciare entrare
She locked her husband out for the night
Chiudere fuori
Chiudere a chiave, imprigionare
Non dimenticare di chiudere a chiave la
casa prima di andare in vacanza
Deludere
Non ha voluto deludere i suoi figli
Let in
He’ll light up the garden for the midnight
party
Chiuse fuori il marito per la notte
.
Leave out
Stendersi
Non sono stato in grado di rispondere alle
ambizioni che i miei genitori avevano per
me
Lock out
When she separated from her husband she
left all her problems behind
When he has lunch he always wants to
lie down for a bit
Illuminerà il giardino per la festa di mezzanotte
Nel 1968 lo scontento delle scuole e università francesi portò alla ribellione di
Maggio
Leave
behind
Fare/ lasciare uscire
Quando pranza vuole sempre sdraiarsi per
un pò
Ha posato le chiavi sul tavolo
Lay off
He let the dog out for a walk
Ha fatto uscire fuori il cane per una passeggiata
Hai sentito dire se c’è in vendita qualche
motocicletta in buone condizioni?
Lay down
Let out
It is very difficult to look after old parents
Entrare in un sistema informatico usando una
chiave d’identificazione
Badare a
È difficile badare ai genitori
anziani
Non lasciarlo entrare!
112
113
Look down
on
She looked down on the poorer students
of the class
Tenere in scarsa considerazione
Teneva in scarsa considerazione i compagni più poveri della classe
Look for
What are you looking for?
I’m looking forward to hearing from you
Mix up
The police looked into the murder of the
old-aged-pensioner
Indagare
Parents should look out for early signals
of psychological unrest in the children
Own up to
Stare in guardia
I genitori dovrebbero stare attenti ai primi
segnali di irrequietezza psicologica nei
loro figli
.
Look
over
Look up
I looked the new contract over
Cerca questa parola su Wikipedia
Make out
I can’t make out your hand- writing
Non riesco a capire la tua scrittura
Addormentarsi
Esaminare
Cercare una parola in un
dizionario o un dato in un
elenco
My daughter owned up to stealing from
my purse
Confessare, ammettere
Mia figlia ha ammesso di aver rubato soldi
dal mio portamonete
Pass
away
He passed away without suffering
Pass out
She passed out when she discovered she
was pregnant
Ho esaminato il nuovo contratto
Look this word up on Wikipedia
My students always nod off during the
literature lessons
I miei studenti dormono sempre durante le
lezioni di letteratura
La polizia ha indagato sull’omicidio del
pensionato
Look out
( for)
Riconciliarsi
Confondere,
mescolare bene
I always mix their names up
Confondo sempre i loro nomi
Non vedo l’ora di sentirti
Nod off
Look into
They made up after the birth of their first
child
Si sono riconciliati dopo la nascita del
primo figlio
Cercare
Non vedere l’ora di
Inventare/si
He made the whole story up
Si è inventato l’intera storia
Make up
(b)
Cosa stai cercando?
Look
forward to
Make up (a)
Morire
E’ morto senza soffrire
Perdere coscienza, svenire
E’ svenuta quando ha scoperto di essere
incinta
Pay
back/off
He paid all his debts back
Pay off
His new activity paid off quickly
Decifrare, capire
Ha finito di pagare tutti I suoi
ti
Finire di pagare
debiEssere redditizio
La sua nuova attività è stata subito redditizia
114
115
Pick on
They picked on me at school because I
always got good marks
Prendersela con, sfottere
Pull away
Mi sfottevano a scuola perchè prendevo
sempre bei voti
She pulled away quickly without looking
in the mirror
Si è allontanata velocemente senza guardare lo specchietto
Pull in
She pulled into the emergency lane
Si è accostata nella corsia di emergenza
Pick out
She picked out a new pair of shoes for
the party
Ha scelto un nuovo paio di scarpe per la
festa
Pick up (a)
I pick my children up at school every
afternoon
Selezionare,
individuare,
scegliere
Andare a prendere con la
macchina
Pull off (a)
He picked the case up and went to the
gate
They pulled the take-over off
Arrivare, accostarsi (in
macchina)
Riuscire a concludere
Sono riusciti a concludere l’acquisto/
controllo
Pull off (b)
Vado a prendere con la macchina I miei
figli a scuola ogni pomeriggio
Pick up (b)
Allontanare
(in macchina)
She pulled off the baby’s clothes and put
him in the bath
Tirare via, togliere i vestiti
Ha tolto I vestiti del bambino e l’ha messo
nel bagno
Prendere, alzare
Pull up
The taxi pulled up and waited for me
Il taxi si è accostato e mi ha aspettato
Accostare
(in macchina)
Ha preso la valigia ed è andato all’uscita
Pick up (c)
After the long winter business is picking
up
Riprendersi
Play down
This government always plays down the
problems connected with the increasing
cost of living
Put away
Minimizzare
Questo governo minimizza sempre i problemi legati al costo della vita che sta aumentando
Point out
He pointed out the negative aspects of
the plan
Ha indicato gli aspetti negative del piano
116
He put his ideas across to the class in a
very convincine way
Comunicare
Ha comunicato le sue idea alla classe in
modo convincente
Dopo il lungo inverno gli affair si stanno
riprendendo
.
Put
across
He put all his books away after studying
Mettere via, riporre
ha conservato tutti I suoi libri dopo aver
studiato
Put back
She put her clothes back into the wardrobe
Rimettere a posto
Ha rimesso i vestiti nell’armadio
Indicare, far notare
Put down
She put her bag down on the table
Posare
Ha posato la sua borsa sul tavolo
117
Put off (a)
The match was put off because of the bad
weather
Rinviare
Rule out
La partita è stata rinviata a causa del mal
tempo
Put on (a)
She put her Armani jumper on for her
first date
Put on ( c)
During the winter I put on weight
He put the fire out before leaving
Run
across
(into)
I ran across my ex-class mate at the pub
Run
against
Barack Obama is running against John
McCain in the American Presidential
Election in November
Spegnere
Ha spent oil fuoco prima di partire
Put out (b)
She put the dog out for the night
Incontrare per caso
Ho incontrato per caso il mio ex compagno di classe al pub
Mettere su (di peso)
Durante l’estate prendo peso
Put out (a)
Escludere
L’insegnante l’ha esclusa del gruppo PET
perchè il suo inglese non era buona abbastanza
Indossare
Ha indossato il suo maglione Armani per
il primo appuntamento (con il ragazzo)
The teacher ruled her out of the PET
group because her English wasn’t good
enough
Candidarsi contro
Barack Obama si candida contro John
McCain nelle elezioni presenziali americane a novembre
Fare uscire
Ha fatto uscire il cane fuori per la notte
Put up
He put her up for the night in the flat
upstairs
Alloggiare, ospitare
Run
around
Va in giro freneticamente senza fare niente in particolare
L’ha ospitata nell’appartamento sopra
Put up with
.
It’s difficult to put up with my English
teacher
Sopportare,
tollerare
Run away
The students read up on nuclear energy
for the physics project
Documentarsi su un argomento
Run down
I rang her up to fix an appointment
Telefonare a
Run for
Le ho telefonato per fissare un appuntamento
118
Scappare
He ran the cat down on his way to work
Investire, travolgere
Ha investito il gatto andando a lavoro
I studenti si documentarono sull’energia
nucleare per il progetto di fisica
Ring up
She ran away with the money
Andare in giro in
maniera frenetica e sconclusionata
Scappò via con I soldi
E’ difficile sopportare il professore d’inglese
Read up on
She’s running around all day without
doing anything in particular
Hilary Clinton first ran for the Senate in
2000
Candidarsi per
Hilary Clinton si candidò per la prima volta per il Senato nel 2000
119
Run off
with
The boss ran off with his secretary
Run out of
My car ran out of petrol on the motorway
Il capo scappò via con la segretaria
Scappare per stare insieme a
Set aside
I set aside some money for when I retire
Ho messo da parte un pò di soldi per
quando vado in pensione
Riservare, mettere da
parte
Esaurire, finire
Set off
He set off for a long journey
Partire, cominciare un
viaggio
È partito per un lungo viaggio
La mia macchina è rimasta senza benzina
sull’autostrada
Save up
We all saved up for the school trip
Set up
Risparmiare
I’m seeing about finding him a job at the
new bank
Informarsi su
Settle down
I saw her off at the port
L’ho salutata quando è partita dal porto
See through
I could see through every lie of hers
Salutare alla
partenza
Riuscivo a capire ogni sua bugia
I wanted to see to every need of hers
Volevo occuparbi di ogni suo
Show off
Provvedere, occuparsi di
Show up
(a)
Leonard Cohen ha venduto tutte le copie
del suo nuovo CD nel
primo mese
Mettersi in mostra, ostentare
ostentava
He showed up when the party had finished
Apparire senza
preavviso
È apparso quando la festa era finita
bisogno
Leonard Cohen sold out all the copies of
his new CD in the first month
When Roberta was little she was always
showing off everything she had
Quando Roberta era piccolo
tutto quello che aveva
Show up
(b)
Sell out
Sistemarsi
Capire, intuire
.
See to
They will settle down in their new home
after the summer holidays
Si sistemeranno nella loro nuova casa
dopo le vacanze estive
Mi sto informando per trovargli un lavoro
nella nuova banca
See off
Mettere su, istituire
Istituiranno una nuova associazione di
carità per le persone senza casa
Tutti abbiamo messo da parte i soldi per la
gita scolastica
See
about
They’re going to set up a new charity
organization for homeless people
Vendere tutto,
esaurire
She showed her fiancé up at the party by
getting drunk
Mettere in imbarazzo, far
fare brutta figura a
Ha messo in imbarazzo il fidanzato alla
festa ubriacandosi
Shut down
The shop shut down because of the economic crisis
Chiudere battenti
Il negozio ha chiuso a causa della crisi economica
120
121
Shut out
She shut her husband out all night
Non fare entrare
Stand out
Non fece entrare per tutta la notte suo marito
Shut up
She told her class to shut up!
Slow down you’re moving too fast!
Distinguersi
Si distingueva dalla folla per I suoi lunghi
capelli biondi
Mettere a tacere
Ha detto alla classe di stare zitta!
Slow down
With her long blond hair she stood out in
the crowd
Stay out
Stare fuori
È rimasta fuori tutta la notte per i festeggiamenti di Capodanno
Rallentare
Stay over
Rallenta stai andando troppo veloce!
She stayed out all night for the New Year
celebrations
She stayed over at her friend’s home after
the party
Rimanere la notte
È rimasta a casa dell’amica dopo la festa
Speak out
against
He spoke out against apartheid in South
Africa
Dissentire pubblicamente
Stay up
Ha dissentito pubblicamente contro l’apartheid in sud Africa
Speak out
for
She spoke out for getting new legislation
for women at work
They stayed up all night to see the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing
Non andare a letto
Non andarono al letto per vedere la Cerimonia di apertura delle
Olimpiadi di
Pechino
Parlare pubblicamente a
favore di
Parlò in pubblico per ottenere la nuova
legislazione per le donne che lavorano
Speak up
.
Don’t be shy! I want you to speak up!
Non essere timido! Voglio che parli con
chiarezza!
Spell out
I want you to spell out the problem
Non tacere, parlare in
modo chiaro
Spiegare chiaramente
Take
after
‘FIAT’ stands for “Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino”
‘FIAT’ significa “Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino”
122
Assomigliare a
Assomigliava il padre in tutte le sue brutte
abitudini
Take
away
Voglio che mi dica chiaramente come sta
la situazione
Stand for
He took after his father in all his bad habits
He took the children away from his former wife
Sottrarre, portare via
Portò via i figli dalla sua prima moglie
Significare
Take back
(a)
I took the shirt back to the shop because it
was too big
Restituire
Riportò la camicia al negozio perchè era
troppo grande
123
Take back
(b)
The song ‘Yesterday’ took me back to
when I was a student in England
Far tornare indietro
He took down her address and telephone
number
Tear up
He took in all she had to say about the
affair
Tell off
Ascoltare
attentamente
Ha ascoltato con attenzione tutto quello
che lei aveva da dire sull’affare
Take off (a)
He took his hat off
Togliere
Si è tolto il cappello
Take off (b)
She took a week off for Christmas
Si è presa una settimana di vacanze per
Natale
.
Take off
(c )
The plane took off on time
Take
over
He took over the company during the crisis
Prendersi una
vacanza
Ha iniziato a collezionare quadri del Rinascimento dopo aver venduto la sua compagnia
124
Fare a pezzi
She told him off because of his bad manners
Rimproverare
Lo rimproverò per le sue cattive maniere
Think
over
Think it over tonight and give me an answer tomorrow
Pensare bene prima di
decidere
Pensaci stanotte e domani mi dai una risposta
Throw
away
He threw all her letters away
Throw up
He threw up after mixing beer and wine
Buttare via
Ha buttato via tutte le sue lettere
Vomitare
Decollare
Tie up
L’aereo decollò in orario
He took up collecting Renaissance paintings after he sold his company
She tore up all his photos after they quarrelled
Vomitò dopo aver mischiato birra e vino
The thieves tied her up and stole all the
jewellery
I ladri la legarono e rubarono tutti i gioielli
Prendere il controllo di
Touch on
Prese il controllo della compagnia durante
la crisi
Take up
Discutere a fondo
Fece a pezzi tutte le sue foto dopo aver
litigato
Annotare
Ha scritto il suo indirizzo e il nuomero di
telefono
Take in
He talked it over with his director
Ne parlò con il suo direttore
La canzone ‘Yesterday’ mi portò indietro
ai tempi in cui ero studente in Inghilterra
Take down
Talk over
He touched on different aspects of the
problem during his speech
Toccò diversi apetti del
durante il suo discorso
Iniziare un’ attività come
passatempo
Try on (a)
Legare per chiudere o
impedire ogni
movimento
Mensionare
brevemente
problema
He tried his new suit on before the wedding
Provare un vestito
Provò il suo nuovo vestito prima del matrimonio
125
Try out
She tried out the new washing-machine
collaudare
Walk out
Provò la nuova macchina da lavare
He walked out of the meeting when they
began to speak in favour of abortion
Uscire, uscire per protesta
Uscì dall’incontro quando cominciarono a
parlare a favore dell’aborto
Turn down
(a)
She turned down his offer
Rifiutare
Ha rifiutato la sua offerta
Turn down
(b)
He turned down the stereo
Turn into
She would have loved to turn into a fairy
Abbassare
Wash
away
His house was washed away by the flood
Wash up
Wash up after eating!
Ha abbassato il volume dello stereo
Trasformarsi in
He turned the radio off
Spegnere
Watch out
for
Ha spento la radio
Turn on
He turned the hot water tap on
.
He turned up at the party without an invitation
He turned his i-pod up
Watch over
Apparire all’improvviso
Don’t use up all the colours
Alzare il volume
Wear out
Wake him up if you can!
Sveglialo se puoi!
126
Wipe out
Svegliarsi
I think I’m a lucky person. There seems to
be somebody watching over me all the
time!
Sorvegliare
My children wear their shoes out quickly
Consumare
I miei figli consumano le scarpe velocemente
Consumare, esaurire
Non consumare tutti i colori
Wake up
Badare a, stare
attento a,
guardarsi da.
Penso di essere una persona fortunate.
Sembra che ci sia qualcuno che sorveglia
sopra di me tutto il tempo!
Alzò il volume del suo i-pod
Use up
Lavare o fare i piatti
Accendere, aprire
È arrivato alla festa senza un invito
Turn up (b)
Watch out for dangerous animals while
you are in the jungle!
Stai attenta agli animali pericolosi mentre
sei nella giungla!
Ha aperto il rubinetto dell’acqua calda
Turn up (a)
La sua casa venne trascinata via dal diluvio
Lava i piatti dopo aver finito di mangiare!
Le sarebbe piaciuto trasformarsi in una
fatina
Turn off
Trascinare via con l’acqua
We should try to wipe out all forms of
prejudice in our society
Distruggere,
eliminare
Dovremmo cercare di eliminare ogni forma di pregiudizio nella
società
127
Work out
Write back
They’re trying to work out all their problems before deciding whether to divorce
Stanno cercando di risolvere tutti i loro
problemi prima di decidere di divorziare o
meno
Write back as soon as you know his address!
Risolvere un
problema con un certo
sforzo
The spaces below can be filled in with new phrasal verbs as you meet them
in future reading etc…
Rispondere per
lettera
Rispondi subito non appena sai il suo inWrite down
Write out
His class used to write down notes during
the Literature lessons
La sua classe era abituata a prendere appunti durante la lezione di letteratura
Write out your full name and address!
Fare un appunto scritto
Scrivere per esteso
Scrivere per esteso il tuo nome e indirizzo!
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
In this section on phasal verbs we are indebted to the following works:
Introduzione ai “Phasal Verbs” , Matthew Furfine, Sellerio, Palermo 2006
Dizionario d’uso dei PHRASAL VERBS, Fernando Picchi, U. Hoepli, Milano 2004
128
129
.
130
131
Grammar Goals, (Reference and practise for intermediate students), D. Sellen,
BRIEF READING LIST AND INTERNET WEB AND BLOG SITES
Canterbury (2002), Black Cat Publishing (Cideb Editrice);
ADVANCED GRAMMARS:
ELEMENTARY/LOWER-INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:
A Communicative Grammar of English, G.Leech, J.Svartvil, London (1975),
Longman;
Essential Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for
elementary students of English with/without answers), Cambridge (1998),
Cambridge University Press;
A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, R.Quirk,
S.Greenbaum, G.Leech, J. Svartvik (with an Index by D.Crystal), Harlow, first
published 1985, twentieth impression (2005), Longman;
Grammatica pratica dell’INGLESE dalla A alla Z, (titolo originale:
Grammaire alphabétique de l’anglais by J.Brossard and Sylvie Chevalier),
Milano (1997), U.Hoepli;
Advanced Grammar in Use, (A Self-study reference and practice book for
advanced students of English with/without answers), M. Hewings,
The Good Grammar Book, ( A grammar practice book for elementary to lower
Cambridge (2005), Cambridge University Press.
Cobuild English Grammar, Birmingham University International Language
Database project (chief edit. J.Sinclair), London (1990), Collins;
INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:
intermediate students of English - with answers),M.Swan, C. Walter, Oxford
(2001), Oxford University Press;
The New Burlington English Grammar, (Grammar and Practice for Italian
Students, P.Conti, E.Sharman, R.Zizzo, A.Cowan, Firenze (2005), Burlington
English Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for
Books/Le Monnier
intermediate students of English with/without answers), R. Murphy,
Cambridge (2004), Cambridge University Press;
New Grammar Spectrum (Elementary/Pre-Intermediate/Intermediate),
K.Paterson, M.Harrison, N.Coe, Oxford (2006/2007??), Oxford University
Press
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133
GRAMMAR IN CYBER SPACE
INTERNET SITES
www.bbc.co.uk
www.englishlearner.com
www.soundsofenglish
www.english-to-go.com
www.englishpage.com
www.zonalingue.com
www.toefl.org
www.britishcouncil.org
BLOG SITES
Learn English! Blog (Google)
(Other blogs which do not just include texts but also pictures/audio /videos,etc)
YouTube, My face and other social networks etc...
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135
NOTE ON THE AUTHOR (INSIDE BACK-COVER)
Pietro Cipolla was born in 1956 in Solihull where his Sicilian parents were
working and living, and brought up in the Midlands where he completed his
secondary education at the Kings Heath Grammar School (Birmingham). In
1974 he went to study Modern Languages at the University of Palermo and
got he got his degree in 1978 and worked under Professor Giovanni Cianci
for three years, teaching English at various levels at the Facoltà di Lettere e
Filosofia, publishing an essay “Futurist Art and Theory in Wyndham Lewis’s Vorticist Manifesto “Our Vortex”, in the Quaderno 9,
Istituto
di Lingue, Palermo (1979). A full-time secondary school English teacher
since 1982, in the last seven years he has gone back to teaching at University, working part-time at the Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione (LUMSA
University) in Caltanissetta under Padre Vincenzo Sorce. In all these years
he has always alternated teaching with interpretation and translation work,
travelled widely working as a translator and interpreter in Africa for ‘Casa
Famiglia Rosetta’ (Caltanissetta) one of the most important NGOs in Italy
specialized in drug treatment and prevention, collaborating as a language
councellor with the United States Department of States and the United Nations (UNODC). Recently he has published translations in Franco Carlisi’s
Iavaivoi, Edizioni Gente di Fotografia, Palermo (2006) and edited a school
magazine in English You’re here! (with the same students of the Liceo Scientifico “A.Sciascia” (Canicattì, Agrigento) who have worked on this grammar (Roberta Cassaro, Erika Cicero, Ilaria e Martina Lauricella) .
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