LESSON 25 (1 June 2016)

Dear Clare,
taken
Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry it has ………………………
me so long to write back but I’ve had a very busy
forward
period at school. I’m so looking ………………………….. to your visit to St Petersburg in July and I think it’s a great
before
idea to learn some Russian …………………………..
you come.
I think the best advice about learning a language is to try to do a little every day – that’s much more effective, in my
opinion / view
……………………………..
, than doing a lot once a week or once a fortnight. It’d be sensible to have some lessons
on
make
but you’d have to do a lot of work ………………………
your own in between the lessons to ……………………
good
progress.
English-speaking people often think Russian’s difficult to learn because we have a different alphabet, but in practice
almost / nearly
What
……………………………
everyone manages to master Cyrillic letters very quickly. ……………………
is much
so
as / since / because nouns and adjectives decline, ………………………….
harder is the grammar, …………………………
each of them
on
has about ten different forms, depending …………………………
what case it’s in and whether it’s singular or plural.
at
I think you might find the vocabulary hard ……………………………
first too, as most everyday words bear
no
………………………..
similarity at all to English words.
Although
………………………………..
vocabulary is difficult at the beginning, I think that’s what you should concentrate
on
even
…………………………. . That way you’ll be able to communicate, ……………………..
if you make lots of grammar
mistakes. I’ll send you some lists of words and expressions that I think you’ll find most useful – language that you
might need in a museum or restaurant, for example.
Best wishes,
Natasha
Madam
Dear Sir / ………………………
,
considering
I have recently heard that our town council is ……………………………
banning private vehicles from the town
centre during working hours. My initial reaction was that this was an impractical proposal and impossible to
more
more
enforce. However, the ………………………
I think about it, the ……………………….
sensible the idea seems.
These are my current thoughts. There is no doubt that traffic congestion during working hours has
been
………………………
getting gradually worse for some time and this has become a cause of irritation for
that
/
who
motorists ……………………… may be trying to get to work. The large number of private cars also prevents
buses and taxis getting efficiently from A to B. The council has already tried other measures,
such
………………………..
as congestion charging and the introduction of special bus lanes during rush-hour
periods. Unfortunately, these measures have not had the desired effect and the situation is continuing to
deteriorate.
It is to be hoped that reserving the town centre for essential traffic and public transport will make our town a
much / far
……………………
more pleasant environment for employees of shops and businesses, as
well
………………………
as for tourists, shoppers and others who may want to visit the town centre during
working hours.
favour
In my view, the arguments in ………………………………….
of banning private vehicles are indisputable
for
However / Nevertheless, for the ban to be successful,
………………………… the reasons I have given. ……………………………
improved train and bus services must be provided for those who will have to leave their cars at home when
into
the ban comes …………………….
force. Such services need to be regular efficient and affordable.
faithfully
Yours ………………………..
,
Mike Thompson
Ex. 3 p. 41
1) Tyler wouldn’t be feeling ill if he hadn’t eaten too much.
2) Unless your temperature goes down, I’ll call the nurse.
3) If Emma wasn’t / weren’t a caring person, she wouldn’t have become a doctor.
4) Provided (that) you do a lot of exercise, you will lose weight.
5) Had Mr Kay known he was so unwell, he wouldn’t have carried on working.
6) As long as surgery is not required, patients are usually treated in one day.
7) Supposing Eva has to go to hospital, what will her children do?
8) Should you need a further appointment, please inform the receptionist.
9) On condition (that) you have a prescription, you can buy medication on this
website.
10) Were there any accidents, paramedics will treat minor injuries.
Come vorrei avere un altro mese per studiare.
I WISH I HAD another month to study.
IF ONLY I HAD another month to study.
Come vorrei essere in vacanza.
I WISH / IF ONLY I WAS/WERE on holiday.
I WISH / IF ONLY
+
SIMPLE
PAST
To express a wish in the present.
Sarebbe ora che……..
IT IS TIME (that) +
IT IS ABOUT TIME (that) +
IT IS HIGH TIME (that)+
SIMPLE
PAST
IT IS (ABOUT / HIGH) TIME (that) you started to study.
Come vorrei aver studiato di più.
I WISH / IF ONLY I HAD STUDIED more.
I WISH / IF ONLY
+
To express a regret in the past.
PAST
PERFECT
Come vorrei andare al cinema domani.
I WISH / IF ONLY I COULD GO to the cinema tomorrow.
I WISH / IF ONLY
+
COULD
WOULD
To express a wish in the future.
Come vorrei che il professore smettesse di parlare.
I WISH / IF ONLY the teacher WOULD STOP speaking.
I WISH / IF ONLY
+ someone else +
Different subject
To express annoyance.
WOULD
Preferirei rimanere a casa.
I’D RATHER STAY at home.
Preferirei che tu rimanessi a casa.
I’D RATHER you STAYED at home.
To express a preference in the present.
I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+
BARE
INFINITIVE
Same subject
I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+ SIMPLE PAST Different subject
Avrei preferito rimanere a casa.
I’D RATHER HAVE STAYED at home.
Avrei preferito che tu fossi rimasto a casa.
I’D RATHER you HAD STAYED at home.
To express a preference in the past.
I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+
HAVE + PAST
PARTICIPLE
Same subject
I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+
PAST
PERFECT
Different subject
My maths teacher never raises her voice.
Never does my maths teacher raise her voice.
INVERSION for emphasis
Avviene ogni volta che metto all’inizio della frase una parola o un’espressione che
ha un senso negativo.
Examples:
never
never before
on no account
not until
nowhere
no sooner …… than
at no time
in / under no circumstances
not since
not for one moment
not once
Nowhere have I met anyone with such enthusiasm.
No sooner had Tom come in than he started shouting.
barely / hardly / scarcely
rarely / seldom
only + a time expression
only + by / in / with
little
Only when they arrived, did they realise it was the wrong place.
Only by chance, did they discover where he was hiding.
not only
in no way
INVERSION for emphasis
Avviene anche dopo…….
SO + adjective ………. THAT
So successful was her business, that she became a millionaire.
So dangerous did the weather conditions become, that all roads were closed.
SUCH + verb to BE ……… THAT
Such is the popularity of the film, that the cinema will be full every night.
Avviene anche dopo…….
neither
nor
anche quando non sono all’inizio della frase.
After the explosion Jack couldn’t hear, and neither could he see.
The council didn’t want the new supermarket to be built, nor did local residents.