A Sample sentences
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I warned them not to put up their prices by more than the annual rate of inflation.
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The bank told the company to suspend its operations until a full investigation could be completed.
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The suppliers asked the purchasing director to give them a little more time to reconsider their prices.
B Uses
Reported commands, instructions:
She told them to check the goods thoroughly before accepting them.
The court ordered them to pay all their debts before 1 January.
He demanded that the faulty goods be collected as soon as possible. (subjunctive)
I warned them not to put up their prices by more than the annual rate of inflation.
Reported requests:
He asked the manager to accept his resignation.
Reported questions:
There are two types of direct questions:
1) wh-questions, e.g. When exactly will you be in Switzerland?
2) yes/no questions, e.g. Does your company provide investment advice?
In reported wh-questions, we use the wh-question word:
He asked when exactly I would be in Switzerland.
In reported yes/no questions, we use if or whether:
She asked if/whether our company provided investment advice.
C Practice
1. Are the following sentences right or wrong? If wrong, correct them.
1) The company has told to adopt Vision 2000 as our aim for the next five years.
2) Vision 2000 urges that we adopt a range of internal measures to improve productivity and quality throughout the company.
3) Individual managers are asked to implement Vision 2000 in their own departments.
4) Having presented the policy in outline, managers have asked their teams what training would they like.
5) Most teams have asked to not have theoretical training courses.
6) In fact they have all suggested to have project groups to explore the best way to implement Vision 2000.
2. Report the following exchange between a training manager and a personnel manager. You need to choose an appropriate verb of speaking to introduce each sentence.
PM:
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When will the new training programme be introduced?
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TM:
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I don't know. But we have approached a number of outside training organisations.
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PM:
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Could I see the list of suppliers?
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TM:
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Yes, I'll let you see the details.
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PM:
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Why don't we make a final decision together?
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TM:
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Well, I prefer to make the final decision myself.
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Writing Activity
Write a report of a face-to-face conversation that you have had with someone in your company.
3. NARRATIVE TENSES
A Sample sentences
We can use different tenses to narrate a story.
Past simple
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The newspapers heard about it.
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Past continuous
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It was going really well.
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Past perfect
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We'd tested it for over six months, and there'd been no bad reaction to it.
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Present perfect
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Since then, we've kept away from skin care products.
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B Form
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The Past Simple comprises:
one part in the positive, i.e. V2/Ved
two parts in the negative and interrogative, i.e. did + V1
Positive form
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Negative form
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Interrogative form
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Last year I worked in personnel.
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At that time he didn't know the forecast.
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Did they fill in the form correctly?
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The Past Continuous comprises
two parts: the past tense of to be (was/were)+ Ving
Positive form
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Negative form
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Interrogative form
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I was checking the stock.
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We were not/weren't expecting a delivery
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What was he doing at this time last year?
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The Past Perfect comprises
two parts: had + V3/Ved
Positive form
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Negative form
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Interrogative form
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I had/'d finished the project.
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You had not/hadn't finished the project.
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Had we finished the project?
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two parts: has/have + V3/Ved
Positive form
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Negative form
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Interrogative form
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I have/'ve finished the project.
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She has not/hasn't finished the project.
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Have they finished the project?
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C Uses
1. The Past Simple is common when we describe a sequence of events or tell a story in chronological order about events that happened in the past.
2. We use the Past Perfect to situate an event that happened before another past event.
3. The Present Perfect is used to describe past events of current significance.
4. The Past Continuous is used to describe unfinished events which were in progress around a particular past time.
D Practice
1. Look at the following chart which shows the history of a joint venture between two companies. Write a short paragraph which explains the main events.
Jan 1992
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TELCO reports profits of $28m (increase of 25%)
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June 1992
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TeleResearch (TR) produces prototype of Linco Mobile Phone
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Oct 1992
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TR offers Telco a licence agreement
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Nov 1992
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Telco offers to buy Linco Mobile Phone for $2.5m
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TR rejects offer
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Jan 1993
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Telco suggests joint venture
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negotiations begin
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June 1993
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Telco and TR form a joint venture company, Linco.
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2. Write six sentences describing your educational and/or professional background.
3. Below is an extract from a report on an accident at a construction site. Complete the text by choosing an appropriate form of each verb in brackets. Use either the past simple or the past continuous.
On Monday at 16.30 a construction worker was hurt at the Iribas plant. The foreman said that four men 1) (work) on a roof when a crane 2) (hit) the wall of the building. One of the men 3) (slip) and 4) (fall) to the ground. The crane driver 5) (try) to lift a metal pipe when he 6) (lose) control. A preliminary report identifies three factors which contributed to the accident: the injured worker 7) (not/wear) a safety harness. The crane 8) (work) in a prohibited area. It 9) (rain), so work should have been stopped.
4. Use either the past simple or the present perfect simple.
Last year our company 1) (report) a small increase in profits. This year we 2) (see) continued improvement and our turnover 3) (rise) by 15 per cent. This is very good news in a difficult world market. In fact internationally, the market 4) (fall). Naturally, our costs 5) (go up) and so the rise in profits is not so great. It is true that our domestic performance 6) (be helped) by the collapse of our competitor, Capra & Pecora, which 7) (go out of business) in January.
5. Write four examples of sentences describing events affecting your work/studies, in which a past tense is contrasted with a past perfect tense.
Example: I had already worked in marketing before I joined my present company.
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