Fixed phrases using the present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is not as popular in present-day English as it was centuries ago. That is why many of the phrases used below come from old translations of the Bible, old sayings and sometimes poetry (such as the phrase 'lest we forget'). There are a number of verbs, e.g. demand, insist, urge, which take a verb in the present subjunctive in American English and the modal verb should with a bare infinitive or the present simple indicative form in British English. I am going to write a separate post about the use of the present subjunctive in such sentences. This post is about fixed phrases and idioms.

Ex. 1 Paraphrase the following sentences using the words given so that the meaning remains as similar as possible to the original sentences.

1. No matter what happened, the boys would listen to no counsel.
   Come ….....................................................................................
2. All I can say is that if I could afford that house, I would buy it.
   Suffice …....................................................................................
3. I'm not the right person to question the minister's decisions.
   Far it …......................................................................................
4. I'll marry you regardless of the odds.
   Come hell …...............................................................................
5. The law in Singapore is very strict and those who smoke on the underground will regret it bitterly.
   The law in Singapore is very strict and woe …..............................
6. To be honest, I'm too tired to go to the gym tonight.
   Truth ….......................................................................................
7. In my dream I ran fast so I wouldn't be caught.
   In my dream I ran fast lest …........................................................
   
   
   
   
   Ex. 2 Fill in the gaps with one or two words connected with the present subjunctive.
   
   
   1. I know that trams are sometimes late. ….................. as it may, you are expected to come to class on time. 2. All the regulations have to be approved by the powers ….................. . 3. 'God ….................. the Queen!' sang the enthusiastic crowd. 4. 'Lest …..................' is a popular phrase engraved on war memorials. 5. 'Atishoo!' '…..................!' 6. Jesus said to His disciples, 'Peace ….................. with you'. 7. 'Mummy, can we have a bonfire in the living room?' 'Heaven …..................! You'd burn the house down!' 8. If you insist on marrying your hipster boyfriend and moving to Amsterdam, so ….................. . 9. '….................. the Force be with you,' said Obi-Wan Kenobi. 10. 'Long ….................. the bride and groom!' cried the wedding guests as they raised their glasses of champagne. 11. George was a strong ….................. rather short man. 12. Christians are obliged to help anyone, ….................. friend or foe.
   
   KEY
   Ex. 1 1. ... what may, the boys would listen to no council. 2. ... it to say that if I could afford that house, I would buy it. 3. … be from me to question the minister's decisions. 4. … or high water, I'll marry you. 5. … betide those who smoke on the underground. 6. … be told, I'm too tired to go to the gym tonight. 7. … I (should) be caught.
   Ex. 2 1. Be that, 2. that be, 3. save, 4. we forget, 5. Bless you, 6. be, 7. forbid, 8. be it, 9. May, 10. live, 11. albeit, 12. be they

Adjectives starting with P

Read the following words. Look them up in a dictionary if necessary. One of these words does not exist. Can you guess which one it is without looking the words up?

pernicious, precocious, preposterous, prenumptious, precarious, presumptuous, pretentious

Ex. 1 Match the words provided above with their definitions or synonyms.

1. .......... - harmful, affecting something negatively
2. .......... - not clever, absurd
3. .......... - unsafe, not fixed (of an object)
4. .......... - rude, disrespectful
5. .......... - (of a child) smart or behaving like someone older
6. .......... - attempting to appear to be more important or knowledgeable

Ex. 2 Fill in the gaps with one of the words provided above.

1. Kate was a .......... toddler who could read and write before she was three.
2. You really think that the moon is made of cheese? What a ........... idea!
3. The gallery was visited by a .......... critic who wanted to be called 'Maestro'.
4. The bad weather has had a .......... effect on the crops and the tourism industry.
5. The man was in a .......... position and we thought he'd fall any second.
6. When my friend asked me if she was fat, I told her a little white lie. It would have been .......... of me to tell her what I really thought.

KEY
The word prenumptious does not exist.
Ex. 1 1. pernicious, 2. preposterous, 3. precarious, 4. presumptuous, 5. precocious, 6. pretentious
Ex. 2 1. precocious, 2. preposterous, 3. pretentious, 4. pernicious, 5. precarious, 6. presumptuous

About the blog

Hello and welcome to the Land of Advanced English!

My name is Maciej Rataj and I'm a Reader (Assistant Professor) at the Institute of English and American Studies, which is part of the University of Gdańsk. I hold a PhD in Linguistics from that university. Apart from teaching and doing research into linguistics, I also teach Practical English at the upper-intermediate and advanced levels (CEFR B2 to C2).
The idea behind this blog is simple: as of summer 2016 it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a free blog with advanced use of English and writing exercises for EFL students. As students, my friends and I did hundreds of grammar and vocabulary exercises from advanced English books written by such prominent TEFL figures as A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, B.D. Graver, Michael Vince, Michael Swan, Hugh Gethin, Virginia Evans, F.V. Bywater and many others. Many of these books have gone through seemingly countless editions and are still used in English departments all over Europe and beyond - except where American English is preferred. Hence my exercises are quite similar to what a student of advanced English in my native Poland and almost everyone preparing for a Cambridge ESOL examination will encounter. Here are the most popular types of exercises on my blog.

Multiple choice
Choose one correct option.
a. Are you serious or are you ___ my leg?
A. pulling   B. pushing   C. breaking   D. shaking
b. I didn't know that John was / has been / had been married before.

Error correction
Correct the errors or put 'OK' next to correct sentences.
a. Kate do not likes John. does not like 

Sentence transformation
Paraphrase the sentences using the words provided so that the meaning changes as little as possible. In type a. simply complete the sentence using the word or words given. In type b. use the keyword given and decide where in the sentence it belongs. These days Cambridge ESOL examinations combine revealed fragments and keywords in their Use of English papers.
a. I've never seen so many penguins in one zoo.
Never............................................................
have I seen so many penguins in one zoo.
b. It's a pity I didn't go to the zoo with you! WISH
.....................................................................
I wish I had gone to the zoo with you!

Gap filling
Use one word in each gap unless the exercise requires otherwise. There are variations of this exercise, e.g. the number of missing letters may be indicated as in a crossword.
a. I'm going to the library to return the book I ... last month. borrowed
b. My neighbours t _ _ _ _ a loud party last night. threw

Derivation (word building)
Use the keyword to form a word that completes the sentence provided. This involves changing the speech part (e.g. deriving a noun from a verb), adding a negative prefix or suffix (as in un+able or friend+less) etc.

a. What is the ..... of this sofa? LONG   length
b. I hate asking Peter to do anything. He's always ..... . HELP unhelpful

Apart from use of English exercises I am also going to post advice on writing essays. Since there exist numerous blogs and other free websites dealing with essays and academic writing in general, there will be fewer posts on writing and most of them will consist in advice for Polish students of English, who as a rule are accustomed to the rather particular style used in Polish language writing. Of course all other EFL students may find my posts on writing useful.

This blog is not a grammar book or a dictionary. If you want to know how the different words, structures and idioms are used and what they mean, please look them up in a good reference source (I'm thinking OUP, CUP, Pearson and Macmillan, for example) instead of expecting me to explain everything. I assume that everyone using this blog is an autonomous learner who can understand the content of sources written for advanced-level foreign students of English as well as most sources written for native speakers of English.

My default English is the standard British variety, so don't be surprised if you see only British English grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation in most of my posts.

Needless to say, you're more than welcome to comment on the posts, ask me questions and point out mistakes. I hope to collaborate with English teachers and native speakers of English who come across this blog.

If you want to quote my posts or use them in the classroom, do remember to refer to the source according to one of the available bibliographical styles, e.g. MLA, APA or CMS.

Enjoy!

Emphatic Inversion 1

Ex. 1 Look at the underlined fragments of the following sentences and choose the correct option. NB. Not all the sentences require the use of inversion.

1. Under no circumstances you are allowed / are you allowed to smoke on board.
2. Only in Paris can you see / you can see so many expensive restaurants.
3. At no time did he say / he said / said he who had hurt him.
4. Only Jack and Jill did go up / went up / up they went the hill.
5. Kate said that she had never seen / had she never seen / she never had seen so many tourists in her hometown.
6. Only afterwards did I realise / I realised / realised I that I had made a serious mistake.
7. On no account you must consider / mustn't you consider / must you consider leaving your wife and children!
8. If only had I known / I had known about the snowstorm, I wouldn't have driven / wouldn't I have driven to Fairbanks.

Ex. 2 Paraphrase the following sentences using the beginnings provided so that the meaning changes as little as possible. Do not alter the words provided in any way.

1. This is the most beautiful horse I've ever seen!
Never .......................................................................................................!
2. The king didn't know that his favourite adviser was a spy.
Little ..........................................................................................................
3. Never ever let your children play with matches.
On no ........................................................................................................
4. The general never admitted defeat.
At no time ..................................................................................................
5. If I had worked harder as a student, I would have graduated magna cum laude.
Had ...........................................................................................................
6. Whatever happens, stay indoors.
Under no .................................................................................... outdoors.
7. Everyone was surprised by the fact that Kate decided to move to Madrid.
That ............................................................................. surprised everyone.
8. Nobody knows why John dyed his hair pink.
Why ..........................................................................................................
9. In case you need help, just call me and we'll arrange a meeting.
Should .......................................................................................................
10. We won't start the show until the musicians arrive.
Only ..........................................................................................................
11. As soon as we left the building, it started to rain.
Hardly .......................................................................................................
12. The moment she fell asleep, her baby began to cry.
Scarcely ....................................................................................................
13. As soon as the door closed, the girls began to laugh.
No sooner .............................................................................. into laughter.
14. I hardly ever meet such interesting people.
Seldom .....................................................................................................

Ex. 3. Four of the following sentences contain an error. Correct the errors and write 'OK' next to the correct sentence.

1. Only in Wales you can see so many sheep.
2. If had I known you were getting divorced, I wouldn't have asked you to give my best to your wife.
3. Little did we know that we would never see our old house again.
4. Never before I have been so surprised!
5. Nobody does know as much about computers as Jack.

KEY

Ex. 1 1. are you allowed, 2. can you see, 3. did he say, 4. went up, 5. she had never seen, 6. did I realise, 7. must you consider, 8. I had known, I wouldn't have driven
Ex. 2 1. ...(before) have I seen such a beautiful horse! 2. ...did the king know/realise that his favourite adviser was a spy. 3. ...account must you / can you / are you allowed to let your children play with matches. 4. ...did the general admit defeat. 5. ...I worked harder as a student, I would have graduated magna cum laude. 6. ...circumstances can you / may you / must you / are you allowed to go/venture... 7. ...Kate decided to move to Madrid... 8. ...John dyed his hair pink, nobody knows. 9. ...you need help, just call me and we'll arrange a meeting. 10. ...when the musicians arrive will we start the show. 11. ...had we left the building, when it started to rain. 12. ...had she fallen asleep, when her baby began to cry. 13. ...had the door closed than the girls broke... . 14. ...do I meet such interesting people.
Ex. 3 1. can you see, 2. If I had known / Had I known, 3. OK, 4. have I been, 5. Nobody knows