Perfect forms of modal verbs

Paraphrase the following sentences using the words provided so that the meaning changes as little as possible. Use perfect forms of modal verbs.

1. I'm sure that John went to London last year.
John must ........................................................................... last year.
2. It's impossible that you saw Jane at the gym. She hates sports.
You .............................................. Jane at the gym. She hates sports.
3. You bought ten oranges although it wasn't necessary.
You ............................................................................... ten oranges.
4. It's bad that you told Lilly about her husband's affairs.
You oughtn't ............................................ about her husband's affairs.
5. I didn't help Jim because he didn't ask me.
If Jim ................................................................................... done it.
6. It was a bad idea to have that old car repaired.
You shouldn't ..................................................................... repaired.
7. She was free to visit me during my duty hours (but she never did).
She could ....................................................... during my duty hours.
8. At the end of the week our course will be over.
By the end of the week we ............................................ our course.
9. Perhaps this book belonged to Grandma.
This book ................................................................... to Grandma.
10. It's certain that Tim took your umbrella by mistake.
Tim ................................................... taken your umbrella by mistake.

KEY
1. have gone to London, 2. can't have seen, 3. needn't have bought, 4. to have told Lilly, 5. had asked me to help him, I would have, 6. have had that old car, 7. have visited me, 8. will have completed, 9. may/might have belonged, 10. must have

While making this exercise I got a little help from this website: http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Yellow%20Level/Y12%20Perfect%20Modals.html
I also had a look at this book: Close, R.A. 1975. A Reference grammar for students of English. London: Longman.

Run-on sentences and comma splices

These sentences are the opposite of sentence fragments. They combine two main clauses that could be expressed as independent sentences but without a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or or for. I have decided to include comma splices, i.e. sentences in which a comma creates ambiguity or generally makes the structure unclear. Look at the following examples and their corrections.

a. *I like bananas they are very healthy. *I like bananas, they are very healthy. => I like bananas. They are very healthy. I like bananas because/for they are very healthy. I like bananas; they are very healthy.

b. *Henry said he didn't like gardening, however, he spent all day weeding and mowing his lawn. =>
Henry said he didn't like gardening. However, he spent...   Henry said he didn't like gardening; however, he spent...   Although Henry said he didn't like gardening, he spent...

Since however can be attached at the end of a clause, if the starred sentence in b. is preceded by other sentences, it is not clear whether the contrast refers to the first clause or the second one. That is why a full stop or a semi-colon is necessary.

Ex. Correct the following sentences.

1. English is not the only language worth studying, actually, Spanish is important too.
2. I had a terrible day my car broke down and my dog peed on the carpet.
3. She's always talking about her health problems it's quite annoying.
4. Julia's alarm clock didn't work, however, she woke up at six.
5. Have you bought the dictionary our teacher recommended I've bought a used copy online.
6. Jake is a good friend of mine, we went to school together.
7. Kate likes tea, her boyfriend prefers coffee. 
8. Most foreigners think that the books about the Moomins were written in Finnish, however, few realise they were written in Swedish.
9. I once attended a Business English course now I can't remember anything.
10. In American movies all French people smoke besides you can see the Eiffel Tower from any spot in Paris.

KEY (sometimes more options are possible)

1. ... studying. Actually, Spanish... / studying. Actually, Spanish... 2. ... day: my car... / ... day, because my car ... 3. ... her health problems. It's quite annoying. / ... her health problems; it's quite... / ... her health problems, which is... 4. ... work. However, she / ... work; however, she... / Although Julia's alarm clock didn't work, she (nonetheless) woke up at six. 5. ... recommended? I've bought... 6. ... of mine. We went to school... / ... of mine; we went to school ... 7. Kate likes tea while/whereas/and her boyfriend prefers coffee. 8. ... in Finnish. However, few ... / ... in Finnish; however, few ... 9. ... a Business English course, but now ... / ... course. Now ... 10. .. smoke. Besides, you ... / smoke, and you ...

Sentence fragments

Polish speakers and writers of English often struggle with sentence fragments. Polish allows many fragments, equivalents of which are either extremely informal or simply non-existent in English. We can distinguish four major types of sentence fragments:

a. Structures without a verb: Irene likes gardening and cooking. *Her husband, fishing and wartime novels. He reads every day. *British, American and other books about the Great War and the Vietnam War.

b. Structures without a subject: Kate went to the station to see her friend off. *Waited and waited, and then it turned out the train had already left. *Tired and in a hurry, finally went home.

c. Structures with a transitive verb but without an object: I'm reading a Swedish crime novel. *I really want to know who killed. 

d. Subordinate clauses used as standalone sentences: It started to rain. *Before we left home. We went for a walk. *Although it was raining.

Correct the following sentences. You may need to join them together or add words so as to make them grammatical.

1. I really love winter. Snow sparkling on the ground, children making snowmen and frozen lakes.
2. Much as I like George. I can't stand his stupid jokes.
3. The baby started to cry again. As soon as I sat on the sofa.
4. Scotland has many beautiful castles. Wales, green hills and other landmarks.
5. Jane began to write her essay. Hadn't planned it in advance so had trouble organising her arguments. 
6. Paul likes gin and tonic. His girlfriend rum and coke.
7. When the meeting was over. We finally went home.
8. Have you seen this picture? Sheila painted for me.
9. The boy who is standing over there. He's my cousin.
10. London is difficult to drive in. Too many cars, pedestrians and buses.
11. Dubai is far too hot. Yesterday was forty-five degrees there.
12. Although I dislike Norwegian. I enjoy learning Danish.

KEY
1.What I really love about winter is snow... / I really love winter. I love snow... 2. Much as I like George, I... 3. ...to cry again as soon as... / As soon as I sat on the sofa, the baby... 4. ...castles, whereas/while Wales has... 5. She hadn't planned it in advance, so she had... 6. Paul likes gin and tonic, while/whereas his girlfriend likes... 7. ... over, we... 8. Sheila painted it for me. 9. ... there is my cousin. 10. drive in, because there are too many... there. / It has too many cars... 10. Yesterday it was... 11. ...Norwegian, I enjoy...

Multiple choice: Love and relationships

Happy Valentine's Day! Make sure to sit down with your significant other and learn some English together. ;)

Choose the correct option to fill in the gaps.

1. Do you believe in love at first ___?
     A. blink   B. sight   C. peek   D. glance
2. Sheila was head over ___ in love with her new boss.
     A. shoes   B. boots   C. heels   D. socks
3. The king became ___ with the queen's lady-in-waiting, but he did not want a scandal.
     A. infatuated   B. inebriated   C. insatiable   D. inclement
4. After getting engaged, John and Mary decided to call the ___ well before the wedding.
     A. banns   B. shots   C. bells   D. songs
5. These days you can't find a good shoemaker for love ___.
     A. or friendship   B. or hate   C. nor laughter   D. nor money
6. You need to accept me the way I am: love me, ___.
     A. don't hate me   B. love my dog   C. or leave me   D. let me go
7. Jason and Julia met at a party, hit ___ and soon felt like they'd known each other for years.
     A. about   B. two birds with one stone   C. it off   D. the nail on the head
8. When you get married, where are you planning to go for your ___?
     A. candy month   B. love trip   C. honey month   D. honeymoon
9. Sadly, their relationship was soon at ___ and they didn't know whether they should live together.
     A. a crossroads   B. odds and ends   C. sharp bends   D. bits and bobs
10. This is Marjorie, my ___ wife.
     A. legally married   B. lawful wedded   C. high and low   D. in-law
11. 'Have we met before?' is the worst ___ line I've ever heard.
     A. get-on   B. set-about   C. pick-up   D. turn-around
12. The groom considered himself a poet and decided to write his own wedding ___.
     A. claims   B. terms   C. vows   D. declarations
13. Before his wedding Hugh asked his childhood friend to be his ___.
     A. good man   B. protector   C. usher   D. groomsmaid
14. Kate hates it when Aunt Trudy asks her if she's found her Prince ___.
     A. Charming   B. Enchanting   C. Loving   D. Handsome
15. Don't you think Mr Darcy is an ___ bachelor?
     A. eligible   B. illegible   C. intelligible   D. indelible
16. Paula always shows her husband a lot of love and ___.
     A. affliction   B. affection   C. affirmation   D. affiliation
17. When you pretend to be someone else online to find a date, it's called ___.
     A. trouting   B. salmoning   C. catfishing   D. herring
18. Some people get on like ___ while others need some time to realise they're falling in love.
     A. wild horses   B. candles in the wind   C. hot cakes   D. a house on fire

1B, 2C, 3A, 4A, 5D, 6B, 7C, 8D, 9A, 10B, 11C, 12C, 13C, 14A, 15A, 16B, 17C, 18D

Identifying -ing forms: gerunds and participles

Words ending in -ing have several functions. They can be:

A. Gerunds, i.e. replace nouns as subjects, nominal complements, objects or objects of prepositions;
B. Present participles in continuous tenses;
C. Present participles in participial clauses (including reduced relative clauses);
D. Present participles used as adjectives.

Look at the categories above and match them with the following examples of -ing forms.

1. Swimming in the cold sea is Dorothy's favourite pastime.
2. Swimming in the cold sea, George seemed very relaxed.
3. The man standing next to John is my new neighbour.
4. When my grandparents were children they had no running water.
5. I was texting my friend when I stumbled on the pavement and fell.
6. Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for ages!
7. Monika Brodka wrote a song about dancing shoes.
8. I always ask people to refrain from smoking in my living room.
9. Fox hunting has been banned, much to the dismay of some aristocrats.
10. Wagging its tail, the dog greeted us and ran to fetch its squeaky toy.
11. Have you seen my reading glasses?
12. This time tomorrow we will be flying to Glasgow.
13. Having done his homework, Dave went outside to play with his friends.
14. Look at these clouds! Isn't Irish summer depressing?
15. Do you enjoy reading fantasy novels?
16. Smoking is strictly forbidden here.
17. I'd been reading my students' essays for two hours when I realised I was late for a meeting.
18. Have you tried pushing the red button to start the machine?
19. The woman living next door introduced Johnny to her daughter.
20. SpongeBob, I am sorry to inform you you have failed your boating exam.

KEY
1A, 2C, 3C, 4D, 5B, 6B, 7D, 8A, D, 9A, 10C, 11D, 12B, 13C, 14D, 15A, 16A, 17B (meeting - a gerund made countable), 18A, 19C, 20D

Calques from Polish 1

Most Polish learners of English have heard of and laughed at Polish-English mistranslations written by amateurs or created on purpose. The former include Denmark from chicken (dania z kurczaka - chicken dishes), follow in oil (śledź w oleju - herring in oil) and cervical cancer (szyjki rakowe - crayfish), all found on menus across Poland. The latter are e.g. Thank you from the mountain (Dziękuję z góry - Thank you in advance) and Don't make a village (Nie rób wiochy - Don't embarrass yourself). Most calques of Polish phrases, idioms and collocations, however, may look and sound 'English enough' for the Polish learner and yet be absent from native English. Many of the following errors recur in my students' essays and test answers. The exercise also contains some instances of grammatical interference.

N.B. Sometimes a word or phrase that resembles a Polish one exists in English but is rare.

Polish - rare in English - more common in English
zrobić karierę - make a career (out of something) - succeed, go up in the world etc.
być analfabetą (noun) - be analphabetic (adj.) - be illiterate
gazeta - gazette (old-fashioned) - newspaper
boazeria - boiserie (narrower meaning) - (wood) panelling

The same works in the opposite direction: you can translate surprise as siurpryza but the present-day Polish word is niespodzianka.


Correct the following sentences.
0. My wife is very expensive to me. dear

1. Please apologise Henry for what you said about him.
2. Studying English grammar is not big philosophy.
3. What can you see on the picture?
4. He underlined the importance of helping the poor.
5. They told me to wait for Pam Jones, but I don't know how does she look like.
6. I can't stay up late - I've never been night Mark.
7. I don't care if they're getting divorced: not my circus, not my monkeys.
8. The teacher checked all the essays last night.
9. I went to my doctor on a control.
10. My dachshund is as stubborn as a donkey.
11. Don't lie me here - tell me the truth!
12. I was on Lithuania last summer, and my brother was on Ukraine.
13. The IC train to Poznań, through Gdańsk and Bydgoszcz, departs from Platform 3 at 11.45.
14. I love dogs. In contrast, my wife dislikes dogs and loves cats.
15. The reason of his absence is unknown.
16. If I wouldn't like you, I wouldn't have bought you flowers.
17. George looked at the clock on his wrist and realised he was late.
18. Now when we know why she resigned we can draw some conclusions.
19. Lem's novels have been translated onto many languages.
20. She presented X on the example of Y.

KEY
1. apologise to, 2. is not rocket science / brain surgery, 3. in the picture, 4. He emphasised, 5. what she looks like, 6. a night owl, 7. it's none of my business, 8. The teacher corrected, 9. to have a ckeck-up / for a check-up, 10. as a mule, 11. Don't lie to me (now), 12. in Lithuania, in Ukraine (also in Hungary, Belarus, Latvia, unlike in Polish, which uses the preposition na), 13. calling at (instead of through or via), 14. By contrast, 15. reason for, 16. If I didn't like you, 17. his watch and, 18. Now that, 19. translated into, 20. She exemplified X by means of Y.

Misrelated participles

When using a participle, the subject of the main clause must agree with it. Wait. Can you see what I did in the first sentence? I made a common mistake, that is I used a participle which does not agree with the subject of the main clause. My sentence means that it is not a speaker or writer that uses a participle but the subject of the main clause. How can we rephrase this sentence to make it grammatically and semantically correct? Look at the following options:

1. When using a participle, you/the writer must make sure it agrees with the subject of the main clause.
2. In a participial clause the participle must agree with the subject of the main clause.

It is possible to make this mistake with both present and past participles. Look at the following sentence.

*Brought up in a rich family, his parents gave him anything he wanted.

We don't really know who this sentence is about. Who is this he and who was raised in a rich family: he, his parents (then we would put family in the plural) or someone else? Consider the following:

1. Brought up in a rich family, the boy was given anything he wanted.
2. The boy was brought up in a rich family: his parents gave him anything he wanted.
3. The boy's parents were rich and gave him anything he wanted.

The perfect form of the present participle can also be used incorrectly.

*Having waited for Hugh for an hour, he finally turned up.

This sentence is nonsensical because it means that Hugh waited for himself and then arrived. We don't know, however, who waited for Hugh in the first place (I? we?). These are far better options:

1. Having waited for Hugh for an hour, I/we finally saw him turn up.
2. After I/we'd been waiting for Hugh for an hour, I/we finally saw him turn up.
3. I/We'd been waiting for Hugh for an hour when he finally turned up.

Finally, remember that phrases such as summarising, taking everything into consideration, granted and a few others are exceptions to this rule.

Summarising, smoking is very harmful. instead of Summarising, I claim that...

Try an easier exercise first and then go on to a more challenging one.

I. Choose the correct option.

1. Having won the election / After Trump won the election, Trump's supporters were on cloud nine.
2. Driving home / As I was driving home, it began to snow.
3. Having called me fat / When I was called fat, I felt offended.
4. Barking loudly, the postman was scared of the dog / the dog frightened the postman.
5. Having read one book, the next book was waiting / I was eager to read the next book.

II. Correct the following sentences. When the subject is unclear, think of I or we.

1. Swinging its trunk, the children watched the elephant.
2. Having arrived home, dinner was served.
3. Watching the news, our TV broke down.
4. While visiting Scotland, seeing Edinburgh is a must.
5. Having won the game, the team's fans cheered loudly.
6. Broken while digging, I had to buy a new shovel.
7. Having studied Finnish for five years, Janet's decision to move to Tampere was no surprise.
8. Driving too fast, a car can be dangerous.
9. Built in 2005, people regard the skyscraper as a symbol of the city.
10. Having lifted the heaviest barbell, all the girls admired the bodybuilder.


KEY
I. In each the second option is correct.

II. 1. The children watched the elephant swinging its trunk. 2. Having arrived home, I was / we were served dinner. When we arrived home, dinner was served. 3. We were watching the news when our TV broke down. 4. While visiting Scotland, you must see Edinburgh. For anyone visiting Scotland seeing Edinburgh is a must. 5. When the team won the game, its fans cheered loudly. 6. I broke my shovel while digging and had to buy a new one. 7. Janet had studied / had been studying Finnish for five years, so her decision to move to Tampere was no surprise. Having studied Finnish for five years, Janet decided to move to Tampere, which was no surprise. 8. Driven / If driven too fast, a car can be dangerous. Driving too fast can make a car dangerous. 9. Built in 2005, the skyscraper is regarded as a symbol of the city. 10. Having lifted the heaviest barbell, the bodybuilder was admired by all the girls.