Gareth King - Colloquial English - A Complete English Language Course

• I’m getting the hang of itmeans ‘I’m slowly learning how to do it’

Language point 58 – time words

Some ‘time words’ are often found with particular tenses. For example, while(= ‘during the time that . . .’) is very common with the PAST CONTINUOUS:

While I was sitting in the café, a friend walked byAnd we often use it with the PRESENT CONTINUOUS:

Why don’t you have a cup of tea while you’re waiting?

Stilloften appears with the PRESENT CONTINUOUS: I’m still waiting for a letter from her

or with the PRESENT SIMPLE:

I still see Fiona every month at the judo club

Just, yet, alreadyand everare often used with the PRESENT PERFECT: James has just sold his house

Have you phoned your brother yet?

I’ve already paid for the tickets

Have you ever visited the National Gallery in London?

The position of these words in relation to the verb is important – if you place them wrongly it sounds strange.

•

just, alreadyand evercome before the past participle

•

stillcomes before the ing-form, or before the present simple

•

yetusually comes at the end of the sentence

•

alreadycomes before the past participle or the ing-form.

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Exercise 9

Pick the correct sentence from each pair.

1

a I’m still looking for a new job.

b I still look for a new job.

2

a Did you already pay for the tickets?

b Have you already paid for the tickets?

3

a We still wait for a bus.

b We’re still waiting for a bus.

4

a I sat on the bus when I was seeing Kath.

b I was sitting on the bus when I saw Kath.

5

a Were they already ordering the food?

b Have they already ordered the food?

6

a Has your brother phoned you back yet?

b Did your brother phone you back yet?

Exercise 10

Put the time words in their correct place in the sentences.

1 We’ve seen Brenda in the coffee shop.

(just)

2 I’m working in the local supermarket.

(still)

3 Rosemary has worked in the supermarket.

(never)

4 Have you finished your homework?

(yet)

5 The students have passed their exams.

(already)

6 I want to visit the museum.

(still)

7 Do you go to the opera?

(ever)

8 Have you been to New Zealand?

(ever)

9 Is your sister back from university?

(yet)

10 I’ve explained that to you.

(already)

Exercise 11

Follow the instructions for this exercise on the audio.

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Phrasal verbs

bring along– if you ask someone to bring something along, it means that you want them to bring it with them ; it’s a bit like come along(Unit 5).

drop by– ‘visit at home’; if you want to invite someone to call on you at home next week, you can say Why don’t you drop by next week?

hand in– if we find someone’s wallet in the street and we take it to the police station, we call this handingsomething in.

invite round– ‘invite to your home’.

pick up– ‘collect’. We use this phrasal verb for both things and people –

We can pick up the food on the way back; Can you pick me up from the station?

10 Which do you

prefer?

In this unit you will learn how to:

• compare things

• express preferences

• compare and contrast what people do

• use adverbs of degree

Dialogue 1

Rosemary and Stuart are discussing preferences.

STUART:

Which do you prefer – Indian or Chinese food?

ROSEMARY:

Well, I really like both.

[ thinks for a moment ]

I suppose I prefer Chinese when it’s a takeaway, but I’d rather have Indian when I go out. What about you?

STUART:

Indian is my favourite. And I don’t like Italian food at all.

ROSEMARY:

Neither do I.

Dialogue 2

Hannah and Natalie are trying on clothes in an expensive shop.

HANNAH:

What do you think of this jumper?

NATALIE:

You can’t afford that – it’s £60!

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HANNAH:

I know. But what do you think of it?

NATALIE:

I prefer the red one.

HANNAH:

You’re just saying that because it’s cheaper.

NATALIE:

No I’m not! I really think it’s better.

HANNAH:

That’s fine, then – you buy the cheap one, and I’ll buy the nice one.

Idioms

• We use I supposeto show that we are not quite certain about the statement we’re going to make. I suppose I prefer Chinese foodmeans ‘I think I prefer Chinese food, but I’m not quite sure’.

See also Language point 89.

• at allafter a NEGATIVE verb means ‘completely’ – I don’t like Italian food at allmeans ‘I really dislike Italian food’.

• favouritemeans ‘(the one) I like best ’ – you can use it as a NOUN: Curry is my favourite

or as an ADJECTIVE:

Curry is my favourite food

• can’t affordmeans ‘haven’t got enough money for . . .’

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Language point 59 – comparatives and

superlatives

When we compare two things we can use the COMPARATIVE form of the ADJECTIVE. Here are some examples:

cheap

These shoes are cheaper than those

heavy

Steel is heavier than aluminium

comfortable

My new armchair is more comfortable than

my old one

good

I think brown bread is better than white

There are two ways of forming comparatives of regular adjectives: 1

with short adjectives, we add -er(so cheap→ cheaper) Spelling rules

• When the adjective ends in -e, we add -r: fine

→ finer

blue

→ bluer

• When the adjective ends in a single vowel + single consonant, we double the consonant:

big

→ bigger

hot

→ hotter

• When the adjective ends in CONSONANT + y, we change -yto -ier: happy→

happier

heavy→

heavier

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2

with longer adjectives (more than two syllables) we simply put more before the adjective:

comfortable

→

more comfortable

expensive