old map of england and scotland - ...part ii expressing past time -unit 4: past simple p. 21 - unit...
TRANSCRIPT
Old map of England and Scotland
where the Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Northern Germany
implanting the nucleus of the Anglo-Saxon language (’Old English’),
which would become ‘Middle English’ after the Norman invasion of
England in 1066 and ‘Modern English’ from
Shakespeare on.
Map of the United States of America
Which became the first and most influential country of English spea-
kers outside the British Isles when the Plilgrim Fathers on the “May
Flower” entered the harbour at Cape Cod on the 11th November
1620.
English in the WORLD
English is officially spoken in many countries (over 50) in the World
as the main language (see red areas on the map below) but is present
in many other parts especially as the language for business, research
etc. and due to the growing military, economic and cultural
influence of the United States, it has become the ‘global language’
at every level of communication today, even in local versions like
“Singlish”, a pidgin variety spoken in Singapore.
ENGLISH VERBS & CO.
This grammar is dedicated to the poor children of
Africa, in particular to the orphans suffering from
HIV/AIDS in Tanga (Tanzania) where the
“Associazione Casa Rosetta - NGO” runs a wonder-
ful centre
Tanga December 2008
CONTENTS
PART I Expressing Present Time
- Unit 1: Present Simple p. 2
- Unit 2: Present Continuous p. 5
- Unit 3: To Be and To Have p. 9
- Unit 4: The Imperative p. 14
- Test / Notes p. 16-18
PART II Expressing Past Time
- Unit 4: Past Simple p. 21
- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect p. 25
B-Present Perfect Continuous p. 30
-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect p. 33
B- Past Perfect Continuous p. 35
C- Past Progressive p. 37
D- Used to p. 39
- Test / Notes p. 42-44
PART III Expressing Future Time
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple p. 47
B- Present Continuous p. 48
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form p. 49
B- will (’ll) form p. 51
- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous p. 54
B-Future Perfect p. 56
- Test / Notes p. 58-60
PART IV Verbs & Co
- Unit 10: Modal verbs p. 63
- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech p. 70
- Unit 12: Passive verbs p. 76
- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses p. 80
B- time clauses p. 84
- Test / Notes p. 86-90
- Appendix I: Irregular verbs p. 92
- Appendix II: Phrasal verbs p. 98
PART I
Expressing Present Time There are 2 main ways of expressing the present in English: the Simple
Present, for routines and the Present Continuous, to describe actions which
are happening at that precise moment in time. We’ll also deal with the 2
auxiliary verbs To Be and To Have in the third Unit.
- Unit 1: Present Simple p. 2
- Unit 2: Present Continuous p. 5
- Unit 3: To Be and To Have p. 9
- Unit 4: The Imperative p. 14
- Test p. 16
- Notes p. 18
Introduction to
A copy cut and paste compact Grammar of English
The idea of writing a compact grammar for my students came to me a year ago, while I was revising
modal verbs with my third year class last year.
Just before the test, one of my students, Martina, showed me her notes on the Modal verbs we had just
revised: a computer chart, quick and easy to compile and understand with every variety of modal ac-
companied by examples and translation in Italian.
Not exactly communicative! But it was clear and practical ! Why not to do the same for the rest of the
grammar? With a group of students from that class (who had already worked on the school news-
sheet in English “YOU’RE HERE!”) we began to look at other areas of grammar in a similar way and
gradually at the beginning of the year the basis for this book emerged. We would try to make this
grammar as user-friendly as possible beginning with the revision of the English Verb system. I want-
ed students to understand at a glance how easy English verbs are. The most complicated verb, the
auxiliary verb to BE has only 8 forms and the normal regular verb has only 4 forms. Through charts
and the use of colour the grammar rule would be easily understood. This work is intended for every-
one who has attended some basic course in English at school or university and wants to go on to the
intermediate level (e.g. P.E.T./F.C.E./upper secondary school/university exams/students on Erasmus
exchange programs in English speaking countries etc.). In this analysis of the English verb system the
students will be able to assess the English verb and tense system from a global point of view. For
example, right from the start they will see the normal uses of the Present Simple together with the
more advanced application of this tense in “if” clauses. For the final version polished and printed
correctly, I am especially grateful to four of my school students, who have worked on this project
right from the start inspiring many of its qualities: Martina, Ilaria, Roberta and Erika. A thanks to
Gabriella Bosco for her original drawings. The responsibility for any mistakes present in this work
is only mine! In any case we welcome your comments and suggestions. Use our e-mail: farmaci-
2008/2009
Author and Project Co-ordinator
Pietro Cipolla
Liceo Scientifico St. “A. Sciascia”
Canicattì (AG)
www. …
Unit 1: Present Simple A) How is it formed ?
The Present Simple
is formed by adding the base form to the subject for all the forms except the third person sin-
gular. We use the do auxiliary for the interrogative and the don’t for he negative. With the
third person singular (HE/SHE/IT) remember to add an “s” to the base form of the verb in af-
firmative sentences and to transform DO DOES in the nega- tive and , DON’T
DOESN’T in the interrogative (for the spelling rules concerning the “s” see BOX
below).
B) When is it used?
•to describe habitual actions or routines, usually accompanied by frequency adverbs (see BOX
below):
e.g. I always go to discos on Saturday nights. [Vado sempre in discoteca ogni Sabato sera.]
She never goes out during the week. [Non esce mai durante la settimana]
Does she ever listen to her i-pod while she studies? [Ascolta mai il suo i-pod mentre studia?]
• to talk about general situations or things that are normally true or ask about factual infor-
mation:
e.g. Water becomes ice when it is extremely cold. [l’acqua diventa ghiaccio quando fa
molto f reddo.]
Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]
They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]
Where do you come from? [Da dove vieni?]
What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]
• with state verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental
activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound):
e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]
She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]
It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]
C) Exceptions :
• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:
e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]
They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]
Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.
• we always use the Simple Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:
e.g. I’m tired. [Sono stanco.]
But when we use the verb TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the
continuous for:
e.g He’s being stupid! [Si comporta da stupido!]
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
I
You
We
They
don’t
watch TV on Saturday evenings
INTERROGATI-
VE
Do I
you
we
they
watch TV on Saturday eve-nings ?
Yes
No
Short answers
I
you
we
they
do
don’t
he
she
it
does
doesn’t
INTERROGATI-
VE
Does he
she
it
play football on Fridays?
Yes
No
AFFERMATIVE
NEGATIVE
He
She
It
smells nice!
sound interesting!
doesn’t Short answers
• to talk about general situations or things that are normally true or ask about factual infor-
mation:
e.g. Water becomes ice when there’s frost. [L’acqua diventa ghiaccio quando c’è gelo.]
Does she speak a foreign language? [Parla una lingua straniera?]
They don’t live far away from here. [Non abitano tanto lontano da qui.]
Where do you come from? [Da dove vieni?]
What does she do in her free-time? [Cosa fa nel suo tempo libero?]
• with state verbs (e.g. verbs which describe emotional states, love/like, or concern mental
activities, believe/forget/understand or perceptions-senses, smell/taste/sound) see Appendix
pag ….. :
e.g. I love rap (NOT “I’m lovin’ it” like in the Mc-Donald’s slogan). [Amo il rap.]
She doesn’t believe him! [Non gli crede!]
It sounds fantastic! [E’ una buona idea!]
• DO/DOES can also be used in affirmative/imperative sentences to express emphasis
e.g. Do sit down, please! [Ti chiedo di sederti, per favore!]
She does go to school! [Va a scuola per davvero!]
C) Exceptions :
• sometimes with the frequency adverb ALWAYS we may use the Present Continuous:
e.g. He’s always chatting in class! [Chiacchiera sempre in classe!]
They’re always getting into truoble! [Sono sempre nei guai.]
Here we are enphasizing a repeated action usually with a negative tone.
• we always use the Simple Present with the verb TO BE + an adjective:
e.g. I’m tired. [Sono stanco.]
But when we use the verb TO BE to mean how a person is behaving, we may use the
continuous form:
e.g He’s being stupid! [Si comporta da stupido!]
2 3
1– I pronomi in inglese devono essere sempre espressi:
es “Vado sempre al mercato” “I always go to the market”
2– L’indicativo presente italiano non corrisponde sempre al Present Simple inglese
es. “Guarda! Piove .” è reso in inglese con il Present Continuous “Look! It’s raining.”
Ma nell’espressione “Piove ogni volta che esco!” ovviamente si usa il Present Simple in inglese:
es. “It always rains when I go out!”
Inoltre l’indicativo presente italiano può essere reso in inglese anche col futuro (will):
es. “Bussano alla porta...vado io ad aprire!” “They’re knocking at the door...I’ll open it!” (see Unit…)
Unit 2: Present Continuous A) How is it formed ?
It is formed with the Present of the verb be + ing. (For the verb
be see Unit… pag…)
B) When is it used?
• to describe things that are happening now:
e.g. We’re watching TV. [Stiamo guardando la TV.]
What are you doing at the moment? [Cosa stai facendo ora?]
Frequency adverbs
always = sempre
usually = di solito
normally / generally = generalmente
often / frequently = spesso
sometimes = qualche volta
seldom / rarely = raramente
hardly ever = quasi mai
never / ever = mai
every now and then = ogni tanto
Frequency expressions
e.g once a week
every day
three times a week
on Monday afternoon etc
Position of adverbs
The adverb goes always in front of the verb:
e.g. I always go to school on foot.
But with the verb TO BE the adverb goes after the verb:
e.g. I’m always late.
The long frequency expressions may be placed at the end of the sentence:
e.g I go to school five times a week.
For the “s” of the third person singular apply the same rule of the plural of nouns:
• verbs which finish in –s, -sh, -ch, -x + es.
e.g. He watches football on TV.
• verbs which finish with a consonants + y ies
e.g. He studies a lot. etc
FREQUENCY ADVERBS
AND EXPRESSIONS SPELLING
I
He
She
It
You
We
they
am/’m
is/’s
are/’re
go+ing
am not/‘m not
is not/isn’t
are not/aren’t
go+ing
Yes
No
I am
he/she/it is
you/we/they are
I’m not
he/she/it isn’t
you/we/they aren’t
AFFERMATIVE NEGATIVE
I
he
she
it
you
we
they
Am
Is
Are
go+ing
?
INTERROGATIVE
I
He
She
It
You
We
they
Short answers
You nearly always use the Present Simple with State verbs, which can be divided into the follo-wing groups:
1– verbs about love: love/hate/mind/prefer/like etc
2– verbs about needs: want/need etc
3- verbs about understanding: know/think/believe/ undestand/suppose etc
4– verbs about perception: hear/taste/sound/smell etc
5– verbs about possession: own/have/belong
6- other verbs like concern, include etc….
Some of these verbs can be used with the -ing form but the meaning changes:
e.g. I think she’s nice [Penso che sia bella.]
But: I’m thinking of going to Boston next Summer. [Sto pensando di andare Boston . . quest’estate.]
STATE VERBS
4 5
• to describe things that are happening during this period (not necessarily at this precise moment)
e.g. He’s living in London at the moment. [Per ora vive a Londra.]
He usually lives in Italy, but at the moment he’s living in London. This is a temporary action.
e.g. Are you working at the moment? No,they’ve sacked me! [Lavori per ora?No, mi hanno licenziato] He usually has a job, but at the moment he’s unemployed.
• to describe changes that are happening during this period with verbs like: increase; fall; rise; slow down; go up; etc…
e.g. The price of petrol is going up due to the war in Iraq. [Il prezzo del petrolio sta aumentando a causa della guerra in Iraq.]
• to describe planned actions with an appropriate time adverb (see Unit …. e.g. I’m meeting Janet tomorrow)
C) Exceptions :
• never use the –ing form with state verbs. (See Unit 1)
1– il Present
Continuous inglese
corrisponde all’italiano “stare
+ gerundio” (sto andando
ecc.)
2– si devono sempre usare
le forme contratte
nell’inglese informale
(conversazione, lettere di tipo
personale, e-mails ecc)
SPELLING BOX
Usually add –ing to the base form.
e.g. Go going
• But with verbs which end in -e, the –e falls and add –ing.
e.g. Come coming
• verbs ending in –ie, the -ie falls and add –ying.
e.g. Die dying; lie lying.
• verbs ending in consonant + vowel +consonant, double
consonant before adding- ing
e.g. begin beginning; plan planning
And verbs ending in consonant + vowel + -l, double the –l before
adding –ing.
e.g. Travel travelling;
This doubling does not happen in American English (A. Eng):
e.g. Travel traveling
Today the use of the Progressive form is widely used in colloquial English in the place of the Simple
form in many parts of the world:
e.g. I’m thinking it’s going to rain [Penso che pioverà.]
In Indian English it’s beginning to substitute the standard form:
I think it’s going to rain [Penso che pioverà.]
(See preceding Unit …. for the differences between the Simple and Progressive forms in standard English).
For other innovations in the English spoken in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore etc...see the interesting article on the Daily Telegraph (06/03/2008) reporting on David Crystal’s “English Project” lecture at the University of Winchester.
TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE WORLD
6 7
Unit 3: To Be and To Have
-To be A) How is it formed ?
B) When is it used?
• it is used as the main verb:
e.g. I’ m tired. [Sono stanco.] Are you English? [Sei inglese?]
I am I’m
You are You’re
He is He’s
She is She’s
It is It’s
We are We’re
You are You’re
They are They’re
happy!
AFFERMATIVE
I am not I’m not
You are not You’re not /
He is not He’s not / isn’t
She is not She’s not / isn’t
It is not It’s not / isn’t
We are not We’re not /
aren’t
You are not You’re not /
aren’t
They are
not
They’re not/
aren’t
happy!
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
Am I
Are you
Is he
Is she
Is it
Are we
Are you
Are they
Happy?
Short answers
I’m not
he/she/it isn’t
you/we/they aren’t
Yes
No
I am
he/she/it is
you/we/they are
INTERROGATIVE/
NEGATIVE
Aren’t I
Aren’t you
Isn’t he
Isn’t she
Isn’t it
Aren’t we
Aren’t you
Aren’t they
Happy?
8 9
• apart from its use as an auxiliary to form both the Present Continuous (see Unit 2) and the
Passive see Unit….), it has its own independent meaning:
e.g I’m from Sicily. [Sono dalla Sicilia.]
He isn’t interested in archeology. [Non è interessato in archeologia.]
Aren’t they late? [Non sono in ritardo?]
• compared to Italian the verb to be has special idiomatic meanings in English:
e.g I’m hungry. [Ho fame.]
I’m thirsty. [Ho sete.]
I’m right/wrong. [Ho ragione/torto.]
I’m 16/years old etc. [Ho 16 anni.]
I’m well. [Sto bene.]
What time is it? [Che ora sono?]
I’m in a hurry! [Ho fretta!]
It’s cloudy/hot/cold/misty/windy etc… [E’ nuvoloso/caldo/freddo/c’è nebbia/vento ecc...]
SPELLING BOX
Contracted forms of the verb to be are used in
informal English at the end of the
subject of the verb (both noun or pronoun):
e.g Martina’s late. [Martina è in ritardo.]
It’s new. [E’ nuovo.]
-To have A) How is it formed ?
an i-pod.
NEGATIVE (I)
I haven’t got
You haven’t got
He hasn’t got
She hasn’t got
It hasn’t got
We haven’t got
You haven’t got
They haven’t
a shower.
NEGATIVE (II)
I don’t have
You don’t have
He doesn’t have
She doesn’t have
It doesn’t have
We don’t have
You don’t have
They don’t have
I have got I’ve got
You have got You’ve got
He has got He’s got
She has got She’s got
It has got It’s got
We have got We’ve got
You have got You’ve got
They have
got
They’ve got
an i-pod.
AFFERMATIVE (I)
I have I’ve
You have You’ve
He has He has
She has She has
It has It has
We have We’ve
You have You’ve
They have They’ve
AFFERMATIVE (II)
a party.
For the interrogative-negative form of the verb
to be in the first person singular use aren’t I
and not am not I:
e g. I’m really good with the computer, aren’t
I?[Sono bravo con il computer, vero?]
This form is used a lot with “tag” questions.
INTERROGATIVE-NEGATIVE
10 1
B) When is it used?
•to indicate possession together with got:
e.g. I’ve got a new bike. [Ho una bici nuova.]
Have you got an Apple computer? [Hai un computer Apple?]
I haven’t got enough money. [Non ho abbastanza soldi.]
When have means possession we never use the -ing form.
But in A.Eng. have is used without got to mean possession:
e.g. Do you have a light? [Hai da accendere?]
I don’ t have a big family. [Non ho una grande famiglia.]
I’ve an interesting idea! [Ho un’idea interessante!]
• it is used as an auxiliary verb with the Present Perfect and in other compound forms:
e.g. I’ve always studied English. [Studio inglese da sempre.]
• it is also used as a normal verb without got and with do/does with a variety of meanings:
e.g. I have a shower before going to school. [Mi faccio la doccia prima di andare a scuola.]
Do you have breakfast before leaving? [Fai colazione prima di partire?]
He doesn’t have a snack at school. [Non fa lo spuntino a scuola.]
For the other meanings of have look at the box below.
• have + to + base form is also used to express obligation:
e.g. I have to surf the net now. [Devo navigare su internet ora.]
have + got + to is also used in this sense in colloquial English:
e.g. I’ve got to do my homework this evening. [Devo fare i miei compiti stasera.]
(see Unit... on modals for the different meanings of have in the negative/interrogative forms)
Remember that in the Past forms of have we never use got.
e.g. I didn’t have any money yesterday. [Non avevo soldi ieri.]
• with food and drink: have breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/a drink/a coffee/a pint; etc...
• with outdoor activities: have a walk/a swim/a ride; etc...
• with indoor activities: have a shower/ a bath/ a sleep/a wash; etc…
• with special occasions: have a party/a meeting; etc…
• with other meanings: have a look [dare un’occhiata.] ; have a talk [fare una
chiacchierata.] ; have a try/go [fare una prova] ;
BOX: COMMON MEANINGS OF HAVE AS AN ACTION VERB
I/you/we/they haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
Yes
No
I/you/we/they have
he/she/it has
Short answers (I) INTERROGATIVE (I)
Have I got
Have you got
Has he got
Has she got
Has it got
Have we got
Have you got
Have they got
an i-pod?
INTERROGATIVE (II)
Do I have
Do you have
Does he have
Does she ha-
ve
Does it have
Do we have
Do you have
Do they have
time?
Short answers (II)
I/you/we/they don’t
he/she/it doesn’t
Yes
No
I/you/we/they do
he/she/it does
12 13
Unit 4: The Imperative
The imperative is used for orders, invitations and directions and is only used in the Present
(direct speech). You use the base form of the verb withouth subject:
e.g. Go away! [Vattene!/ Andatevene!]
Be quiet! [Stai zitto!/ State zitti!] .
• It can be used for advice:
e.g. Drive carefully! [Guidi/guidate con cura!]
• for offering and inviting:
e.g. Have a coffee! [Prendi/ prendete un caffè!]
• In a recepe
e.g. Mix the flour, sugar and butter…. [Miscelate la farina, lo zucchero e il burro….]
• With some types of “if” clauses (see Unit.. Pag…)
e.g. If you see Martina give her the money... [Se vedi Martina dalle i soldi…]
The imperative has also a negative form, don’t + base form:
e.g. Don’t eat all that chocolate! [Non ti mangiare/non vi mangiate tutto quel cioccolato!]
(cf. road signs: Turn left-right)
Remember you can’t use two negatives together in English:
e.g Never drink and drive! [Mai guidare e bere!]
There is also a first person imperative which we use to include ourselves in the invitation or
suggestion:
e.g. Let’s watch TV. [Guardiamo la Tv.]
Let’s go to the cinema. [Andiamo al cinema.]
(cf. Shall we + base form see pag…)This form derives from Let + us + base form. It has a
negative equivalent, Let’s not + base form which is used for orders and prohibitions (cf
must pag….):
e.g. Let’s not ruin the party! [Non roviniamo la festa!]
14 15
Exercises on present tenses
A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate present tense (make any oth-
er necessary changes):
(15 marks)
1) What …………………………….(YOU/DO) now?
2) He………………………………..(GO) to school once a year.
3) They ……………………………. (THINK) he’s deaf.
4) ………………………………… (YOU/EVER/ GO) to a disco?
5) She……………………………….(ALWAYS/BEHAVE) badly!
6) ……………………………………(YOU/BELIEVE) his story?
7) They………………………………(BE) stupid today! They are normally quite nice.
8) He ………………………………..(WORK) abroad at the moment.
9) What ……………………………..(YOU/DO) for a living?
10) They …………………… (THINK) of buying a new house.
11) ………………………… (YOUR STUDENTS/OFTEN/HAVE) a shower at school?
12) The value of the dollar……………(GO DOWN) and the price of petrol …………(GO
UP).
13) ………………………………… (THEY/HAVE) a big party every Christmas?
14) What sort of i-pod ……………….(YOU/HAVE)?
B) Write a description of a typical day spent in your school/University
(5 marks)
e.g. On a normal school morning I usually arrive at school just before the bell rings at
8.20………………………………………..
C) Write an e-mail to new pen-friend talking about yourself and asking him/her ques-
tions about hobbies/family/school/appearance etc. (70-90 words):
(5 marks)
e.g. Hi Pete!
I’m John. Your e-mail was given to me by my English teacher…………....
………………
D) You’re looking through your bed-room window. You’re tired and bored! Write
down your thoughts/ideas in your blog/diary:
(10 Marks)
e.g. Now I’m fed up of studying! Coz I’m tired! Wouldn’t it be nice to go for a walk? No,
it’s too bloody cold!............
E) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Scrivi inglese correttamente?
2) Nevica! Non uscire con la macchina!
3) Si comporta sempre così nella presenza di estranei!
4) Mi sto divertendo molto in vacanza.
5) Ha la casa in campagna. Ma per ora vive a Londra.
6) Rassomigli molto a tuo papà.
7) Ti piace nuotare?
8) Faccio colazione ogni giorno alle 7.
9) Sta parlando al telefono. Non disturbarlo!
10) Il film parla di un uomo che vive a Londra nel quartiere di Knightsbridge vicino al
‘Victoria and Albert Museum’.
16 17
Notes on present tenses Notes on present tenses
18 19
PART II
Expressing Past Time
When we talk about the past in English we have to decide between 2 main
tenses: the Past Simple, for determined actions completed in the past
(Unit 4)and the Present Perfect,for actions that are indetermined or
concern duration (Unit5). In the second part of Unit5 we’ll also look at the
Present Perfect Continuous. In unit 6 the other secondary ways of indicating
past time will be examined: Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous/Past Pro-
gressive.
- Unit 4: Past Simple p. 21
- Unit 5: A-Present Perfect p. 25
B-Present Perfect Continuous p. 30
-Unit 6: A- Past Perfect p. 33
B- Past Perfect Continuous p. 35
C- Past Progressive p. 37
D- Used to p.
39
- Test p. 42
- Notes p. 44
Unit 4: Past Simple A) How is it formed ?
To form
the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of all regular verbs. For spelling and pronuncia-
tion see boxes below. For irregular verbs which have their own form of the Past Simple look
at the table at the end of Unit…. pag...The interrogative and negative is formed with did/
didn’t + base form for both regular and irregular verbs.
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
didn’t work yester-
day.
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
worked yesterday.
AFFERMATIVE NEGATIVE
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
Did
work last
week?
INTERROGATIVE Short answers
did
.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
did-
n’t.
N
o
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
20 21
To form the af-
firmative of the Past Simple we add –ed to the base form of the regular verb. (for spelling
and pronunciation rules see Boxes at the end of this Unit p….). Irregular verbs have a special
form for the Past Simple. (See Table at the end of this Unit p. …). For the interrogative and
the negative forms of both regular and irregular verbs use did and didn’t.
For regular verbs (affermative):
e.g. I watched TV yesterday. [Ho guardato la TV ieri.]
For irregular verbs (affermative):
e.g. I saw a good film Saturday. [Ho visto un bel film sabato.]
For both regular and irregular verbs (negative and interrogative):
e.g. I didn’t go shopping last week. [Non ho fatto acquisti la scorsa settimana.]
l Did you study the literature lesson yesterday? [Hai studiato letteratura ieri?]
However the auxiliary verb to be has a specific Past Simple form.
The verb to be is the only irregular verb which has 2
forms in the Past Simple (was/were). The auxiliary to have can form its Past Simple in the
same way as other verbs:
e.g. Did you have a party yesterday? [Hai fatto festa ieri?]
I didn’t have a sandwich for lunch. [Non ho preso un sandwich per pranzo.]
However you can also form the Past Simple of to have by inverting subject and verb:
e.g. I hadn’t any money when I was young. [Non avevo soldi quando ero giovane.]
Had he an e-mail address when he worked at the Ministry? [Aveva un indirizzo e-mail
quando lavorava al Ministero?]
This last form of to have is not very common today. Remember never to use got in the Past
Tense with the verb to have:
e.g. NOT: I had got a bike when I went to school.
But: I had a bike when I went to school. [Avevo una bicicletta quando andavo a scuola.]
B) When is it used?
• to talk about past events which happened in a given moment of time, usually accompanied
by an appropriate time adverb like yesterday/last Tuesday etc…(see box below pag...)
e.g. I went to school yesterday. [Sono andato a scuola ieri.]
He didn’t work last week. [Non ha lavorato la settimana scorsa.]
• to talk about historical facts and events:
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
went shopping
yesterday.
AFFERMATIVE
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
didn’t go shopping
yesterday.
NEGATIVE
I
He/She/It
was
You
We
They
were
at home
yesterday.
AFFERMATIVE
I
He/She/It
wasn’t
You
We
They
weren’t
at home
yesterday.
NEGATIVE
Was
I
he/she/it
Wer
e
you
we
they
at home
yesterday?
INTERROGATIVE Short answers
I/he/she/it wasn’t
you/we/they weren’t
Yes
No
I/he/she/it was
you/we/they were
22 23
• ‘WH’ questions about someone’s past:
e.g. Where were you born? [Dove sei nato?]
Which school did you go to? [Quale scuola hai frequentato?]
• in “if” clauses (second conditionals):
e.g. If I had a lot of money, I’d live in New York. [Se avessi tanti soldi vivrei a New York.]
See Unit on “if” clauses pag…
Unit 5: A- Present Perfect A) How is it formed ?
It’s for- med by ad-
ding the Past Participle of the verb to the auxiliary to
have. Remember that in English the auxiliary verb to be is never used in the Present Perfect.
The Past Participle of the regular verbs coincides with the –ed form; for the irregular Past
Participles see the third column of the Appendix pag……..
PAST TIME ADVERBS
Yesterday = ieri
Last Monday/week = lunedì/settimana scorsa
Last month/year = mese/anno scorso
Last Christmas/winter = Natale/inverno scorso
2 weeks ago = 2 settimane fa
A month ago = un mese fa
In 1956 = nel 1956
The day before yesterday= l’altro ieri
A decade ago= un decennio fa
A century ago= un secolo fa
In the 19th century= nell’Ottocento
etc...
PRONUNCIATION BOX
Even if we always add –ed to the base form of the regular verb to create the Past Simple, the pronunciation varies according to the last conso-nant/s of the verb:
1- verbs ending with /f/; /k/; /p/;/s/ → /t/
e.g. stopped → stop/t/
walked → walk/t/
2- verbs ending with /d/; /t/ → /id/
e.g. started → start/id/
3- verbs ending with /l/; /v/; /r/;/n/; /y/ → /d/
e.g. closed → clos/d/
Offered → offer/d/ SPELLING BOX
To form the Past Simple form of regular verbs add -ed with the following spelling rules:
1- verbs ending in -e just add -d:
e.g. arrive → arrived
2- verbs ending in -y preceded by a consonant remove –y and add -ied:
e.g. study → studied
3- certain verbs ending with a consonant preceded by a vowel double last consonant:
e.g. stop → stopped
4– all verbs ending in -l double the -l (only in B.Eng)
e.g. travel → travelled
I’ve
You’ve
He’s
She’s
It’s
We’ve
You’ve
They’ve
worked all day.
AFFERMATIVE
done the shop-
ping today?
INTERROGATIVE
Have
Has
I
you
We
they
he
she
it
Short answers
I haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
you/we/they ha-
ven’t
Yes
No
I have
he/she/it has
you/we/they have
I haven’t
worked all day.
You
He
hasn’t She
It
We
haven’t You
They
NEGATIVE
24 25
B) When is it used?
• the Present Perfect causes some complications for Italian students. However we must
remember to use the Present Perfect for actions which are not determined (there is no specific
time adverb which refers to a precise time context):
e.g. I’ve lost my keys [Ho perso le mie chiavi.]
Have you done your homework? [Hai fatto i compiti?]
She hasn’t remembered to call me. [Non si è ricordata di chiamarmi.]
In all these cases the event has happened in the past but this past is not determined. If we add
to these sentences a precise time adverb we can not use the Present Perfect but must use the
Simple Past:
e.g. NOT Yesterday I’ve lost my keys BUT Yesterday I lost my keys.
• to describe actions which happened in the past but are still felt as important now at the time
of speaking:
e.g. My boss has sacked me. [Il mio capo mi ha licenziato.]
• with the these time adverbs: just, yet, never, ever, still, already we automatically use the
Present Perfect when the action is referred to the past. If you think a moment about the
meaning of these adverbs, they all refer to actions which have just happened, in any case they
didn’t happen in a precise moment of the past and have some relationship with the Present
JUST I’ve just finished my homework. [Ho appena finito i miei compiti.]
YET I haven’t finished my breakfast yet. [Non ho ancora finito la colazione.]
Yet is always used in interrogative and negative sentences and placed at the end of the
phrase.
NEVER I’ve never drunk champagne. [Non ho mai bevuto champagne.]
EVER Have you ever visited Euro-Disney? [Hai mai visitato Euro-Disney?]
Ever is used in interrogative sentences and with not:
I haven’t ever played the guitar = I’ve never played the guitar. [Non ho mai suonato la
chitarra.]
But ever can be used in affermative sentences with the superlative and the Present Perfect:
e.g. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen! [E’ la più bella ragazza che io abbia mai
visto!]
This Audi A3 is the fastest car I’ve ever driven! [Questa Audi A3 è la macchina più
veloce che io abbia mai guidato!]
STILL He still hasn’t studied the lesson. [Non ha ancora studiato la lezione.]
Still is used before the verb to have and it refers to actions which have happened in a time
which goes from the past until now. Sometimes it can be used with the present:
I’m still hungry. [Ho ancora fame.]
ALREADY I’ve already finished my homework. [Ho già finito i compiti.]
• with FOR/SINCE. This use of the Present Perfect with FOR or SINCE is sometimes called
“duration form” because it describes the “duration” of actions which happened in a past
which continue to the present:
e.g. I’ve studied English for 3 years. [Studio Inglese da 3 anni.]
I’ve studied English since 2004. [Studio Inglese dal 2004.]
We use FOR to indicate the duration of the action; we use SINCE to indicate the moment
when the action starts.
Re-
member that in all these cases if we were to translate the sentences into Italian we would
have to use the present:
“I haven’t seen him since Sunday” is translated into Italian by “Non lo vedo da domenica.”
Not “Non l’ho visto da domenica” which doesn’t mean anything in Italian.
After SINCE if there is a verb it must go into the Past Simple:
e.g. I haven’t seen him since I was 12. [Non lo vedo da quando avevo 12 anni.]
FOR SINCE
I haven’t seen him for 2 years.
I haven’t eaten anything for a week.
He’s been here for 2 hours
I haven’t seen her for ages.
I haven’t seen him since Christmas.
I haven’t visited the USA since 1982.
He’s lived here since his birth.
They haven’t met since their divorce.
26 27
e.g. It’s been ages since I saw him = It’s been a long time since I saw him [E’ da tanto
tempo che non lo vedo.]
• with the question how long we normally use the Present Perfect because we are usually
referring to the duration of time:
e.g. How long have you lived in Racalmuto? [Da quando tempo vivi a Racalmuto?]
In all these cases we FOR/SINCE/HOW LONG in English we can usually also use the Pre-
sent Perfect Continuous. (see Unit pag…)
In the Present Perfect been and gone have slightly different meanings:
e.g. He’s gone to school [E’ andato a scuola.]
(he hasn’t come back yet)
He’s been to Paris [E’ stato a Parigi.]
(he has visited Paris and has come back)
BEEN/GONE
28 29
Unit 5: B- Present Perfect Continuous A) How is it formed ?
It is
formed with the Present Perfect of the verb to be + ing form.
e.g. I’ve been watching TV all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che guardo la TV.]
Has he been eating all day? [Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]
He hasn’t been eating much recently. [Non ha mangiato molto in questi ultimi tempi.]
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
I’ve
been
studying all
day.
You’ve
He’s
She’s
It’s
We’ve
You’ve
They’ve
AFFERMATIVE NEGATIVE
I haven’t
been
studying all
day.
You ha-
ven’t
He hasn’t
She hasn’t
It hasn’t
We haven’t
You ha-
They ha-
ven’t
studying all
day?
INTERROGATIVE
Have
Has
I
you
We
they
he
she
it
been
Short answers
I haven’t
he/she/it hasn’t
you/we/they ha-
ven’t
Yes
No
I have
he/she/it has
you/we/they have
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei compiti.]
Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
Obviously the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used with verbs that do not have the
progressive form (See Unit pag ….)
e.g. I’ve known him for ages. [Lo conosco da anni.]
And not: I’ve been knowing him for ages.
• the Present Perfect Continuous can not be used when the actions are limited or determined
in some way:
e.g. How long have you been writing letters? [Da quanto tempo stai scrivendo lettere? ]
But: How many letters have you written? [Quante lettere hai scritto?]
Has he been playing football all afternoon? [Ha giocato a calcio tutto il pomeriggio?]
But: How many matches has he played this year? [Quante partite ha giocato quest’anno?]
In these last examples we use the Present Perfect for complete actions which are determined
and the Present Perfect Continuous with actions which are continuing up to the Present and
are not determined in any way.
30 31
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
Unit 6: A- Past Perfect A) How is it formed ?
It is
formed by adding the Past Participle to had:
e.g. After he had studied at Palermo University he went to live in Turin. [Dopo aver
studiato all’Università di Palermo è andato a vivere a Torino ]
Had he remembered to lock the door when he went to sleep? [Si è ricordato di
chiudere la porta a chiave prima di andare a dormire?]
Il Present Perfect Continuous come anche il Present Perfect creano . . ..
.. qualche problema nella traduzione italiana specialmente con la “duration .
. form” (for/since/how long). Con la “duration form” usiamo molto spesso
in …… Italiano il presente per rendere il Present Perfect/Present Perfect
Continuous:
“I’ve lived in Racalmuto for 10 years/I’ve been living in Racalmuto for 10 years”
deve essere tradotto in Italiano con il Presente [Vivo a Racalmuto da 10 anni. ]
In alcuni casi può essere anche tradotto dal Passato Prossimo ma deve essere chiaro che
nell’Inglese questa forma, specie la forma Progressiva, viene usata per descrivere azioni
iniziate nel passato che continuano fino al presente:
Has he been eating all day? [Ha mangiato tutto il giorno?]
TRANSLATION BOX
I
had/’
d
visited Israel
before getting
married.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
AFFERMATIVE
I
hadn’t
visited Israel
before getting
married.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
visited Israel befo-
re getting married?
INTERROGATIVE
Had
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
Short answers
had.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
had-
n’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
32 33
B) When is it used?
• It is used to emphasize actions which happened in the past before other actions in the past:
e.g. After he had finished his homework he went out. [ Dopo che aveva finito i compiti è
uscito.]
This tense is often used with time-sequencers: after/before/when etc. We can use also the
Past Perfect with For/Since:
e.g. He had worked in Australia for 8 years. [Aveva lavorato in Australia per 8 anni.]
He had lived in that house since he was born. [Aveva vissuto in quella casa da quando
era nato.]
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
-Unit 6: B- Past Perfect Continuous A) How is it formed ?
It is formed with the Past Perfect of the verb to be + ing form:
e.g. He had been living in London for many years when he got married. [Viveva a Londra
da tanti anni quando si sposò]
I
had/’d
been
living
abroad,
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
AFFERMATIVE
I
hadn’t
been
living
abroad.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
been living
abroad?
INTERROGATIVE
Had
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
Short answers
had.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
had-
n’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
34 35
B) When is it used?
• it is used to describe continuous actions when the main verb is in the Past Simple:
e.g. She had been working in New York when she met George Bush. [Viveva a New York
quando incontrò George Bush.]
How long had she been studying English when she passed the F.C.E exam? [Da quanto
tempo ha studiato l’inglese quando ha superato l’esame F.C.E? ]
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
-Unit 6: C- Past Progressive A) How is it formed ?
It is formed by adding the -ing form to the past of the
verb to be:
e.g. I was sleeping when you arrived. [Stavo dormendo quando sei arrivata.]
Were you washing the car when it began to rain? [Stavi lavando la macchina quando è
cominciato a piovere?]
B) When is it used?
• it is used to describe actions which were happening at the same time as the action of the
main verb (the two parts of the sentences are usually connected with when or while):
e.g. I was shopping in Oxford Street when we heard an explosion. [Stavo facendo aquisti in
Oxford Street quando abbiamo sentito un esplosione.]
I
He/She/It
was
You
We
They
were
watching
TV.
AFFERMATIVE
I
He/She/It
wasn’t
You
We
They
weren’t
watching
TV.
NEGATIVE
Was
I
he/she/it
Wer
e
you
we
they
watching
TV?
INTERROGATIVE Short answers
I/he/she/it wasn’t
you/we/they weren’t
Yes
No
I/he/she/it was
you/we/they were
36 37
With while we can use the Past Progressive with both verbs:
e.g. While I was having a shower she was watching TV. [Mentre stavo facendo la doccia
lei si stava guardando la TV.]
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
-Unit 6: D- Used to A) How is it formed ?
Re-
member to add use to the interrogative and negative forms:
e.g. Did she use to go to school on foot? [Era solita andare a scuola a piedi?]
I didn’t use to study my lessons by heart. [Non ero solito imparare a memoria le lezioni.]
I
used to
study hard at
school.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
AFFERMATIVE
I
didn’t use to
study hard at
school .
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
use to study hard at
school?
INTERROGATIVE
Did
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
Short answers
did.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
didn’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
38 39
B) When is it used?
• to describe habits in the past:
e.g. We used to eat out a lot when we were on holiday. [Eravamo soliti mangiare fuori
quando eravamo in vacanza ]
In more formal or written English would + base form can also be used with the same
meaning.
e.g. When I was little my mother would take me to school in her car. [Quando ero piccolo
mia madre era solita portarmi a scuola con la sua macchina]
B) When is it used?
• It’s a form which is very similar to the Present Perfect and can be often used in its place,
especially in spoken/informal English. It’s specifically used to emphasize the time-duration
of actions that began in the past and are probably still continuing are not the action itself. In
these cases it can be often used with time expressions like all day, all morning, all year,
how long, for and since, for actions which are still happening or have just finished. In any
case these actions are incomplete.
It is interesting to note the differences between the following sentences:
I’ve done all my homework. [Ho fatto tutti i miei compiti.] Here the action is complete.
I’ve been doing my homework all afternoon. [E’ da un pomeriggio che faccio i miei
compiti.] Here the action is still going on or has just finished.
•
While used to + base form are limited to the past, to describe things that you have got to
know in all tenses you can use the adjective form to be used to + ing which should not be
confused with used to + base form:
e.g. I’m used to studying with my I-pod on. [Sono abituato a studiare con l’I-pod acceso.]
Are you used to having a rest in the afternoon? [Sei abituato a riposarti dopo pranzo?]
I’m not used to telling lies. [Non sono abituata a dire bugie.]
We can also use the verb get in the place of the verb to be:
e.g. I got used to eating my pasta without much salt. [Mi sono abituato a mangiare . .. .
la pasta senza sale.]
In this last case the use of get implies that some time or effort was involved in the action.
Both be/get + used to can also be use with a pronoun or noun without any other verb:
e.g. I’m used to her. [Sono abituato a lei.]
I got used to Roberta and Martina after many years of working with them. [Mi sono
abituato a Roberta e Martina dopo tanti anni di lavoro con loro.]
TO BE USED TO + BASE FORM
40 41
Exercises on past tenses
A) Complete with the appropriate past tense and make any other necessary changes:
(25 marks)
1) I ……………………………………(GO) to New York 3 summers ago.
2) When I …………………………….(MEET) last week he………………..(WEAR) a
heavy coat.
3) She………………………………….(FINISH/JUST) her English homework.
4) How long …………………………..(KNOW) him?
5) They………………………………...(LIVE/NEVER) abroad since they…………….
(GET) married.
7) We ………………………………….(LIVE) in Sicily all our lives.
8) He ………………………………… (WORK) on the novel all morning.
9) I…………………………………….(LOSE ) my keys! I can’t get in!
10) …………………………………… (SEE/YOU) the new Bond film?
How……………….(BE) it?
11) He…………………………………. (FINISH//YET) his homework.
12) I …………………………………… (COLLECT) stamps since I ……………(BE) a
child.
13) While he……………………………..(WORK) in the garden they ………………
(BREAK) into the house.
14) Nobody……………………………. (DRIVE/EVER) so fast!
15) She is the most beautiful girl he………………………..(MEET/EVER)!
16) How many cups ……………………..(WIN/THEY) this year?
17) She …………………………………..(PREFER) English to French when she
……………..(STUDY) at Bologna University.
18) Their English …………………………(IMPROVE) so far.
19) After he ………………………………(LEAVE) his home he ……………………….
(GO) abroad.
B) Write a letter to a pen-friend describing what you did on holiday last
summer (100-120 words):
( 5 marks)
e.g. Hi Tom,
I’m writing to tell you about the 2 weeks I spent in Spain last July….
C) Describe an episode which you remember of your childhood that had a positive or
negative influence on maturity (120-150 words):
(10 marks)
e.g. One day at the age of 5, my father took me to the circus………..
D) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Studio inglese da più di 10 anni.
2) Da quanto tempo suoni il pianoforte?
3) E’ stata a Hong Kong due volte. L’ultima volta è stata 2 anni fa.
4) Quando ero piccolo ero solito andare da mia nonna in bici.
5) Stavo guardando la TV quando sei arrivata.
6) Da quanto tempo conosci tuo marito?
7) Mi dispiace, è uscito!
8) Non ho mai visto quel film.
9) Non ho ancora finito di cucinare.
10) E’ tutto il giorno che gioca.
42 43
Notes on past tenses Notes on past tenses
44 45
PART III
Expressing Future Time There are many ways of communicating or expressing Future Time in
English: you can use forms that have other primary uses like the Simple
Present to express pre-arranged and scheduled or ‘time-
tabled’ plans; or the Present Continuous with programmed personal
actions coupled with the appropriate time adverb; or the going to- form
to express future intention which is widely used in colloquial English.
Finally we have the will form to express a more neutral form of future.
In the last unit of this section the use of the Future Continuous and Fu-
ture Perfect will be illustrated.
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple p. 47
B- Present Continuous p. 48
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form p. 49
B- will (’ll) form p. 51
- Unit 9: A-Future Continuous p. 54
B-Future Perfect p. 57
- Test p. 58
- Notes p. 60
- Unit 7: A- Present Simple A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 1 for the form and primary uses of the Present Simple)
B) When is it used?
• to talk about the future with time-tabled actions (trains, planes, ships, etc) or with a
scheduled school or TV time-table:
e.g. When does the film start tomorrow evening? [Quando inizia il fim domani sera?]
What time does this train to Liverpoool leave this afternoon? [A che ora parte il treno
per Liverpool per questo pomeriggio?]
Do not use Present Simple for personal plans or arrangements. For personal plans we
generally use the Present Continuous (see B of this Unit):
e.g. They’re getting married tomorrow. [Si sposano domani.]
• with if- clauses (first conditionals) and time clauses (when, as soon as, until, before etc.):
e.g. If I go to London next year I’ll visit Westminster. [Se andrò a Londra il prossimo anno
visiterò Westminser.]
When we see him we’ll tell him you’ve called. [Quando lo vedremo gli diremo che tu lo
hai chiamato.]
(see Unit….pag… for the other time clauses and conditionals )
What
time/
When,
etc..
does the train leave
tomorrow?
the lessons start on
Monday?
do
WH– QUESTIONS
It leaves at 15.05.
They start at 8.20.
Answers
46 47
B- Present Continuous
A) How is it formed ? (See Unit 2 for the form and primary uses of the Present Contin-
uous)
B) When is it used?
• for personal plans with an appropriate time adverb which must specify future time or in any
case some sort of reference to the future must be implicit, otherwise the use of the Present
Continuous may create ambiguity:
e.g. I’m leaving from Heathrow Airport tomorrow. [Partirò.dall’aereoporto di Heathrow . .
domani.]
Are you eating out this evening? [Mangerai fuori stasera?]
She isn’t going out Saturday afternoon. [Non uscirà sabato pomeriggio.]
- Unit 8: A- Going to - form A) How is it formed ?
The going to
form is com-
posed of the verb to be + going to + base form:
e.g. I’m going to study hard for my P.E.T. exam. [Studierò molto per il P.E.T.]
Are you going to have breakfast together? [Farete colazione insieme?]
He isn’t going to buy a new car this year. [Non comprerà una machina nuova
quest’anno.]
What time/
When, etc..
are you
we
they
going out Saturday
evening?
coming back home
for Christmas?
is he
she
WH– QUESTIONS
I ‘m
going out later.
arriving on
Christmas Eve.
He
She
‘s
We
They
‘re
Answers
Tomorrow = domani;
Next Monday/week/year/summer/Christmas etc..= il prossimo lunedì/la prossima settimana etc…
In a week/year etc..= fra una settimana/ fra un anno;
In two days’ time = fra due giorni;
The day after tomorrow = dopodomani
In the future = in futuro
One week from now = fra una settimana
ADVERBS AND EXPRESSIONS OF FUTURE TIME
am not/‘m not
is not/isn’t
are not/aren’t
going
to
NEGATIVE
I
he
she
it
you
we
they
Am
Is
Are
going to
INTERROGATIVE
I
He
She
It
You
We
they
I
He
She
It
You
We
they
am/’m
is/’s
are/’re
going
to
AFFERMATIVE
study at
Palermo
University.
get mar-
ried.
have a
birthday
party?
Yes
No
I am
he/she/it is
you/we/they are
I’m not
he/she/it isn’t
you/we/they aren’t
Short answers
48 49
B) When is it used?
• to describe things we have decided or intended to do in the future (the going to form is also
called “Intentional Future”) :
e.g. She’s going to get drunk. [Ha intenzione di ubriacarsi.]
They aren’t going to see the new Muccino film. [Non hanno intenzione di vedere il
nuovo film di Muccino.]
• to describe actions which will clealy happen from the indications given:
e.g. She’s not studying enough! She’s going to have problems at University. [Non sta . .
studiando abbastanza! Avrà problemi all’Università.]
It’s really clowdy! It’s going to rain. [E’ molto nuvoloso! Pioverà.]
Cf. (=compare with) the use of will with a similar meaning. (see the next Unit on will)
• to describe things which are about to happen:
e.g. They’ve recentely had a serious quarrel. They’re going to divorce. [Recentemente .
hanno litigato seriamente. Hanno intenzione di divorziare.]
In many ways it is similar to the Present Continuous, although as we have seen the latter is
used when we are talking about future plans (see Unit….) However with the going to form
we don’t have to use a future adverb or expression. The going to part of the construction
comunicates by itself the future.
• there is also the past equivalent of the going to form composed of was/were + going to +
base form which is used to describe things which you wanted to do in the past but didn’t
manage to do (for the form See the unit on the Past Progressive pag…..):
e.g. I was going to play tennis yesterday afternoon but it rained. [Avevo intenzione di
giocare a tennis ieri pomeriggio ma ha piovuto.]
- Unit 8: B- will (’ll) form A) How is it formed ?
This
form
of the future is composed of the modal will+base form. In the affirmative and negative the
contracted forms are usually used (shall/shan’t are no longer used for the first person singu-
lar and plural - see Unit .. p. ...for other uses of shall/shan’t)
e.g. I think he’ll pass his exams. [Penso che supererà i suoi esami.]
They won’t go out if it rains. [Non usciranno se piove.]
Will you see him tomorrow? [Lo vedrai domani?]
A.Eng: I’m gonna see her. [Ho intenzione di vederla.]
In A.Eng “gonna” often substitutes going to in both the written and oral language.
See the lyrics of many American rock singers and groups.
Sometimes in spoken English going to is rended by /gənə/
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SLANG
I
‘ll
(will)
open the door.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
AFFERMATIVE
I
won’t
(will
not)
speak to him.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
Short answers
will.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
won’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
INTERROGATIVE
Will
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
send me a
Valentine card?
50 51
B) When is it used?
• to talk about things you think /believe/are sure/ aren’t sure/ hope/ guess/ may possibly
happen for predictions etc:
e.g. I think she’ll be a good athlete. [Penso che sarà una buona atleta.]
I’m not sure he’ll come to school tomorrow. [Non sono sicuro che verrà a scuola domani.]
Will they win the match? [Vinceranno la partita?]
I don’t think it’ll rain tomorrow. [Non penso che pioverà domani.]
This is a similar use to the going to form, but it is more of a prodiction than something based
on concrete evidence.
• to make promises, invitations or requests:
e.g. I’ll help you! [Ti aiuterò!]
Will you come to my party? [Verrai alla mia festa?]
I promise I won’t smoke. [Ti prometto che non fumerò.]
• to talk about things you have decided to do in that precise moment of time:
e.g. “Look! It’s dark!” - “I’ll switch on the light”. [“Guarda. Fa buio!”- “Accendo/
accenderò la luce.”]
“The telephone’s ringing.” - I’ll answer. [“Il telefono sta suonando” - risponderò.]
• can be used in the non– abbreviated form for emphasis (See Modals pag....):
e.g. She will stay at home this evening. [Deve restare a casa stasera. (lo dico io!)]
Instead of the normal contracted form:
e.g. She’ll stay at home this evening. [Resterà a casa stasera.]
For emphasis we can similarly use the form shall/shall not in a more formal register:
e.g. Man shall obey God! [L’uomo deve ubbidire Dio!]
In this emphatic use it is never contracted.
• in “if” and “when” clauses:
e.g. If I go out I’ll come and see you. [Se esco ti verrò a trovare.]
When he finishes his homework he’ll help you. [Quando finisce i suoi compiti ti aiuterà.]
For other examples see Unit … pag….
• the form shall is used for invitations, suggestions etc…
e.g. Shall we dance? [Balliamo?]
Il presente italiano non deve essere tradotto con il Presente Semplice. .
. in inglese, spesso viene reso con la forma will/won’t ecc…
e.g. È finito il latte. Vado a comprarlo. Non può essere tradotto con:
. “The milk has finished. I buy some.” ma con il will:
. “The milk has finished. I’ll buy some.”
Ricorda che in inglese il Present Simple si usa per descrivere azioni abituali (vedi Unit I
pag…)
TRADURRE IN INGLESE IL PRESENTE ITALIANO
To be to + base form to indicate an action which
is destined to happen at a certain point of time or
which must happen:
e.g. The sale is to begin after the Christmas
holidays. [I saldi cominceranno dopo le vacanze
di Natale.]
To be about to + base form to indicate an action
which will happen soon (=sta per):
e.g. They’re about to open a new University in
Agrigento. [Stanno per aprire una nuova
Università ad Agrigento.]
OTHER MINOR WAYS OF EXPRES- FUTURE IN THE PAST
In the past to refer to events which happened in a
relatively future time we use the following
structures:
A- e.g. When I left for Sicily in 1974 I didn’t
know I would become an English teacher.
[Quando sono partito per la Sicilia nel 1974 non
sapavo che sarei diventato un insegnante d’inglese.]
In this structure we use the conditional form
(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the place of the future
(will etc…). For other uses of the conditional see
Unit …. Pag...
B- e.g. I was going to London the following day.
[Sarei andato a Londra il giorno successivo.]
C- e.g Barack Obama was about to become
President of the USA when Lehman Brothers
went bankrupt. [Stava per essere eletto Barack
Obama Presidente degli USA quando Lehmnab
Brothers fallirono.]
52 53
Unit 9: A-Future Continuous A) How is it formed ?
It
is formed by adding the -ing form to will be:
e.g. She’ll be working on the school project from 2 to 4 tomorrow. [Dalle 2 alle 4 domani
starà lavorando al progetto scolastico.]
B) When is it used?
• to describe or imagine things that are happening at a precise moment in the future:
e.g. Tom at this time tomorrow you’ll be flying to New York! [Tom domani a ques’ora
starai volando verso New York!]
• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with
variations of the meaning according to the modal used (see Unit … p. …)
e.g. He should be studying at home this afternoon. [Dovrebbe essere a casa a studiare oggi
pomeriggio.]
I’ll
be
travell + ing
to London at this
time tomorrow.
You’ll
He’ll
She’ll
It’ll
We’ll
You’ll
They’l
AFFERMATIVE
I
won’t be
(will
not)
Travell + ing to
London at this
time tomorrow.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
Will
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
be
travell + ing
to London at
this time to-
morrow?
Short answers
will.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
won’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
54 55
Unit 9: B-Future Perfect A) How is it formed ?
It
is formed by adding the past participle of the verb to will have:
e.g. Will you have finished eating by 9? [Avrai finito di mangiare prima delle 9?] . .
B) When is it used?
• to describe things that will happen in the future within a certain period of time (usually
accompanied by/already):
e.g. I’ll have finished this novel by the end of the year. [Avrò finito questo romanzo entro la
fine dell’anno.]
• the will can be substituted by other modals (can, may, should, must, might etc.) with
variations of the meaning according to the modal used but which usually have lost any
reference to the future (see Unit … p. …)
e.g. He may have left the car door open. [Può darsi che abbia lasciato la porta della
macchina aperta.]
I’ll
have
finished by 9
o’ clock.
You’ll
He’ll
She’ll
It’ll
We’ll
You’ll
They’l
AFFERMATIVE
I
won’t ha-
ve
(will not)
finished by 9
o’clock.
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
Will
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
have
finished by 9
o’clock.
Short answers
will.
Yes
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
won’t.
No
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they
56 57
Exercises on future tenses
A) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate future tense (make any other
necessary changes):
(20 marks)
1) I think he ………………………………….(PASS) that exam.
2) They……………………………………….(LEAVE) tomorrow at 7.
3) I……………………………………………(GET) married in the near future.
4) Look at those clouds! It…………………..(RAIN) tomorrow!
5) What time…………………………………..(DEPART/THE LIVERPOOL TRAIN) to-
morrow afternoon?
6) Look! It’s raining! I…………………………(SHUT) the window.
7) He………………………………………… (FINISH) by the time I get back.
8) When he leaves university he………………(WORK) at Microsoft in Seattle.
9) Tomorrow evening I………………………(PLAY) squash from 7-8 o’clock.
10) The kettle’s boiling! I……………………..(MAKE) the tea!
11) What………………………………………(DO/YOU) after you leave school this year?
12) Do you think he……………………………(MANAGE) to survive without any water for
a week?
13) She……………………………………… .(HAVE) a party next Saturday.
14) By 2020 we ……………………………… (EXPLOIT) all our natural resources!
15) He………………………………………… (FINISH) the test by now!
16) What time ………………………………… (START/ the English lesson) tomorrow
morning?
17) Are you sure she……………………………(WIN) the match?
18) …………………………………………… (COME/YOU) to the party?
19) I believe he………………………………….(MAKE) it to Cambridge!
20) I ……………………………………..….(NOT GO) to University if you don’t want me
to!
B) Interview a famous actor/actress/writer/singer etc. about his/her future career and
imagine their answers (10-15 exchanges):
(10 marks)
You: What are you going to do after this film?
TOM CRUISE: I’m going to direct my first movie …….
C) Describe in detail what you are going to do at university after leaving school (120-
150 words):
(10 marks)
D) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Avrò finito la partita entro le 7.
2) Andremo in vacanza a luglio.
3) Ti sposerai nei prossimi anni?
4) Guarda! Non ci sono nuvole! Farà freddo domani!
5) Stanno per andare a casa. Vuoi un passaggio?
6) Pensi che risponderà al mio e-mail?
7) Spero che ti piacerà il nuovo film di Tom Hanks!
8) Sembri affamato! Ti porto qualcosa da mangiare!
9) Domani vado a Londra.
10) Fra un’ora starà pranzando con la Regina!
58 59
Notes on future tenses
.
Notes on future tenses
60 61
PART IV
Verbs & Co. In this last part of the grammar we’ll concentrate on other important
aspects of the English verb system like the passive voice, reported
speech, modality, tense sequences ( in ‘if’ and time clauses).
- Unit 10: Modal verbs p. 63
- Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech p. 70
- Unit 12: Passive verbs p. 76
- Unit 13: A- “if” clauses p. 80
B- time clauses p. 84
- Test p. 86
- Notes p. 90
Unit 10: Modal verbs When we use modal verbs (also known as modal auxiliaries or modals) we are not doing
things with words but we are indicating some sort of attitude towards what we are saying:
Yesterday we went to work. [Ieri siamo andati a lavorare.]
This is very different to: Peter should go to work. [Peter dovrebbe andare a lavorare.]
In the latter we are expressing a personal opinion. When language is about the register of
what we comunicate we need to use modal verbs:
Shut up!!! [Stai zitto!!!] is very different to the modal expression: you ought to be quiet.
Modal verbs are used to make requests /orders/offers/suggestions/express shades of feeling/
possibility/probability etc... Their use can vary from one English speaking country to another
(ought is rarely used in A.Eng).
Modals can not be inflected (we can not say: he musts); they are always used the base form
usually without to (they must go etc.); they are always contracted in spoken English (can’t;
mustn’t; shouldn’t etc.); they are used in ‘tag’ questions (I shouldn’t go, should I ?); they
can be used sometimes by themselvs without a following verb (I must go home now- I think
you should! ). In these last uses they are comparable to auxiliary verbs. However modals
have no reference to time (except for the following past modals: can → could; may → could/
might; shall → should; will → would; dare → dared ) or in perfect modals e.g. could have done/
might have done / should have done/ must have done etc.
Most modal verbs can be read according to the following two scales:
PROBABILITY / CERTAINTY
Might Must
PERMISSION / OBLIGATION
May Must
All the modals we are going to look at in the following charts, can be placed under one or
both of these scales according to a slight variation of their modal meaning.
62 63
CAN + base form
CAN’T + base
form
COULD + base
form
COULD NOT +
base form
(COULDN’T)
MAY + base form
MAY NOT + base
form
MODALS
•Can you swim breast-
stroke? [Sai nuotare a rana?]
Abilità generale/
poter/saper fare (con
significato presente e
futuro)
•Can I open the door?
[Posso aprire la porta?]
Chiedere permesso
• It can’t be him! He’s
living in Australia. [Non può essere lui! Vive in
Australia]
Fare deduzioni/ ipo-
tesi negative
• Could I talk to the
bank manager please?[Potrei parlare con il diretto-
re della baca per favore?]
Chiedere permesso
(formale)
• I could pass the test.[Potrei superare il test.]
Parlare di possibilità
presente o futura
• I could play the piano
when I was little [Sapevo suonare il pianofor-
te quando ero piccolo.]
Parlare di capacità o
abilità passate
• I couldn’t meet her
yesterday. [Non l’ho potuta incontrare
ieri.]
Parlare di qualcosa
che è stato difficile
fare in passato
• I may go to school
tomorrow. [Può essere che vado a scuo-
la domani.]
• May I go to the loo?
[Posso andare in bagno? ]
Parlare di probabilità
Chiedere permesso
BE ABLE TO
MAY/
COULD
CAN/MAY/
WOULD
LIKE/MIGHT
(molto forma-
le)
MIGHT/
MAY
WASN’T
ABLE TO
MIGHT/
COULD
CAN/COULD
etc...
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
MIGHT + base
form
MIGHT NOT +
base form
(MIGHTN’T)
MUST + base form
MUST NOT + base
form
(MUSTN’T)
OUGHT TO + base
form
OUGHT NOT TO +
base form
(OUGHTN’T TO)
SHALL + base form
SHALL NOT +
base form
(SHAN’T)
• I might go to the party
tonight
[Può darsi che vado alla
festa stasera.]
Parlare di probabilità
• Might I sit here? [Potrei sedermi qui?]
Chiedere il permesso
(molto formale)
• You must be home by
midnight! [Devi essere a casa entro
mezzanotte!]
Espimere un obbligo
(con autorità perso-
nale)
• She must be over 20[Avrà più di 20 anni.]
Esprimere deduzioni
• You mustn’t go out in
the cold! [Non devi usire col freddo!]
Esprimere divieti
• You ought to smoke
less! [Dovresti fumare di meno!]
Esprimere un forte
consiglio (Br. Eng)
• Shall we go shopping?[Andiamo a fare la spesa?]
Fare proposte, inviti,
suggerimenti,offerte
• We shall overcome![Supereremo!]
Esprimere desideri e
convinzioni (enfatico
soprattutto in Br.
Eng)
MAY/
COULD
MAY/
COULD
HAVE TO/
HAD BET-
TER(con ve-
lata minac-
cia)/ NEED
SHOULD/
HAD BET-
TER
MODALS ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
64 65
MODAL EXPRESSIONS • Will you come to the
party?
[Vuoi venire alla festa?]
Fare inviti
• I will pass my exam! [Supererò il mio esame!]
Esprimere una con-
vinzione personale o
proposito. In questi
casi per enfasi non si
usano le forme con-
tratte
• Won’t you help me
with my homework? [Mi vuoi aiutare con i com-
piti?]
Inviti persuasivi
(specialmente in
Br.Eng)
• You should wear low-
heeled shoes! [Dovresti indossare scarpe
con tacco basso!]
Esprimere forte con-
siglio
• Would you open the
door, plese? [Mi apriresti la porta?]
Chiedere gentilmente
MODALS ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
WILL + base form
WILL NOT + base
form
(WON’T)
SHOULD + base
form
SHOULD NOT +
base form
(SHOULDN’T)
WOULD + base
form
WOULD NOT +
base form
(WOULDN’T)
CAN/
COULD
WOULD
OUGHT TO/
HAD BET-
TER
COULD/
WILL
MUST
DON’T
NEED TO
MANAGE
TO
COULDN’T
• In England you have to
drive on the left
[In Inghilterra si deve guida-
re a sinistra.]
Esprimere obbligo
specie se imposto dal-
la legge o da condizio-
ni esterne, necessità.
• You don’t have to do
your homework. You’re
too tired! [Non c’è bisogno che tu
faccia i compiti. Sei troppo
stanco!]
Esprimere assenza di
bisogno
• I was able to see him
yesterday [Ho potuto incontrarlo ieri.]
Parlare di possibilità o
capacità, specie al
passato e al futuro
• He wasn’t able to un-
derstand him/ he was
unable to understand
him [Non riuscì a capirlo.]
• I’m going to get mar-
ried [Ho intenzioni di sposarmi.]
Esprimere intenzioni
HAVE TO + base
form
DON’T HAVE TO
+ base form
(HAVEN’T TO)
BE ABLE TO +
base form
NOT BE ABLE
TO + base form /
TO BE UNABLE
TO + base form
BE GOING TO +
base form
NOT BE GOING
TO + base form
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
66 67
The modals in the preceding table can all be used in “if” clauses (see
Unit…..pag..) and with the Future Continuous type expressions like: may be
doing/might be doing/could be doing/ should be doing for supposed actions
in the future etc..( see Unit...pag…).
MODALS IN COMPLEX SENTENCES (e.g. “if” clauses/reported
• He may have lost the key
[Può darsi che ha perso la chiave.] Per descrivere qualcosa che
può essere accaduta
• You ought to have locked the
front door [Avresti dovuto chiudere a chiave la
porta di ingresso]
Per descrivere qualcosa di
necessario che non si è fatto
nel passato
• You shouldn’t have copied
from your class-mate [Non avresti dovuto copiare da lui.]
Per descrivere qualcosa di
negativo che si è fatto al pas-
sato
• I would have bought him an
I-phone but it was to expensive [Gli avrei comprato un I-phone ma era
troppo costoso]
Per descrivere azioni che si
era intenzionati a fare ma
non si sono realizzate
• He couldn’t get in. He must
have forgotten his key at home [Non è potuto entrare. Avrà dimenti-
cato la sua chiave a casa.]
Fare deduzioni su azioni che
si sono possibilmente realiz-
zate
MAY HAVE +
past participle
MAY NOT HAVE
+ past pariciple
MIGHT HAVE +
past participle
MIGHTN’T HAVE
+ past pariciple
COULD HAVE +
past participle
COULDN’T HA-
VE + past partici-
ple
SHOULD HAVE +
past participle
OUGHT TO HA-
VE + past partici-
ple
SHOULDN’T HA-
VE + past partici-
ple
OUGHTN’T TO
HAVE + past parti-
ciple
WOULD HAVE +
past participle
WOULDN’T HA-
VE + past partici-
ple
MUST HAVE +
past participle
MUSTN’T HAVE
+ past participle
SEMI-MODALS
• Don’t you dare open the
window
[Non osare aprire la finestra]
Esprimere minaccio-
so divieto
• I need to do my ho-
mework [Ho bisogno di fare i compi-
Esprimere necessità
• He doesn’t need to
work. He’s rich!
• He needn’t work. He’s
rich! [Non ha bisogno di lavorare.
È ricco!]
Esprimere la man-
canza di necessità
DARE + base
form
DARE NOT +
base form
(DAREN’T)
NEED TO + base
form
DON’T NEED TO
+ base form
NEEDN’T + base
form
HAD BET-
TER
MUST/
HAVE TO
DO NOT
HAVE TO
ALTERNATIVE
MODAL EXPRES-
68 69
Unit 11: Reported or Indirect speech
A) Reported speech in general
When we refer what we say or other people are saying we can use the Present Tense if we
want. In these cases the reporting verb (say/tell/ask etc...) is usually in the Present:
e.g. “I’m leaving at 6.” [Partirò alle 6.]
He’s saying he’s leaving at 6. [Sta dicendo che partirà alle 6.]
However normally when we report what we or other people have said, a time change occurs:
the reporting verb is in the past (he said/he told/he asked etc…) and a whole series of time
changes occur.
e.g “I’m going to Rome.” [Andrò a Roma.]
He said he was going to Rome. [Ha detto che andava a Roma.]
The Present Continuous becomes the Past Continuous and the first person singular becomes
third person singular etc…. Look at the following table for the other time changes that occur
when we transform direct into indirect speech: [ Sto guardando la TV.]
N.B. All references to people (pronouns) / time / places / may change in reported speech. See tables at
the end of unit
e.g. “I’m happy here” [ Sono felice qui .] He said he was happy there [ Ha detto che
era felice lì .]
TENSE CHANGE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
Present to be
Past to be
“I’m tired”
[ Sono stanco.]
He said he was tired
[ Ha detto che era stanco.]
Present Simple
Past Simple
“I like shopping”
[ Mi piace fare la spesa.]
She said she liked shopping
[ Ha detto che le piaceva fare la
spesa.]
Present Continuous
Past Continuous
“We’re watching TV”
[ Sto guardando la TV.]
They said they was watching TV
[ Hanno detto che stavano
guardando la TV.]
Past Simple
Past Simple / Past Perfect
“I liked that film”
[ Mi è piaciuto quel film.]
“I lived in Milan”
[ Vivevo a Milano.]
He said he liked that film
[ Ha detto che gli piaceva quel
film.] or
He said he had lived in Milan
[ Ha detto che gli era vissuto a
Milano.]
TENSE CHANGE DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
“I’ve lived in New York for
10 years”
[ Ho vissuto a New York per
10 anni.]
He said he had lived in New York
fot 10 years
[ Ha detto che era vissuto a New
York per 10 anni.]
Past Continuous
Past Continuous
“I was going to school when I
saw the accident”
[ Stavo andando a scuola
quando ho visto l’incidente.]
He said he was going to school
when he saw the accident
[ Ha detto che stava andando a
scuola quando vide l’incidente.]
Am/is/are going to + base
form
Was/were going to + base
form
“I’m going to get married
next year”
[ Mi sposerò l’anno
prossimo.]
He said he was going to get married
next year /the following year
[ Ha detto che si sarebbe sposato
l’anno prossimo /l’anno seguente.]
Will/ ’ll/ won’t
Would/ ‘d/ wouldn’t
“I think she’ll pass the exam”
[ Penso che supererà
l’esame.]
He said he thought she would pass
the exam
[ Ha detto che avrebbe superato
l’esame.]
Modal verbs (I):
Can
Could
“I can go immediately”
[ Posso andare subito.]
He said he could go immediately
[ Ha detto che poteva andare
subito.]
Modal verbs (II) :
Must / should
Had to
Other modals may or
may not change
“You must get up earlier!”
[ Ti devi alzare prima.]
He said he had to get up earlier
[ Ha detto che si doveva alzare
prima.]
70 71
B) Reporting questions
With reporting verbs like ask / want to know / demand / wonder etc... there are two types of
transformations of questions in reported speech:
1) yes / no questions
We transform yes / no questions into reported speech with if / whether :
Are you English? [Sei inglese?]
He asked if he was English [Ha chiesto se era inglese.]
2) “wh” -questions
We transform “wh” -questions into reported speech maintaining the word order of the
affermative form:
Where are you going tomorrow? [Dove andrai domani?]
He asked where she was going tomorrow/the following day. [Ha chiesto dove sarebbe
andata l’indomani /il giorno successivo. ]
What’s your name? [Come ti chiami?]
He asked what her name was. [Le ha chiesto come si chiamana.]
Why are you studying English? [Perché stai atudiando inglese?]
He asked why he was studying English. [Gli chiese perché stesse studiando inglese.]
As you can see above the reported transformations for both yes /no and “wh” -questions
are affermative and not interrogative.
C) Orders / requests / advice
Normally when we report an order, a request or some sort of advice we use to + base form
after the reporting verb:
1) Orders
“Go away!” [Vattene!]
He told her to go away. [Le ha detto di andare via.]
“Be quite!” [State zitti!]
She told them to be quite. [Ha detto a loro di stare zitti.]
For the differences between tell and say see table at the end of the unit p. ...
2) Requests
“Come with me please.” [Vieni con me per favore.]
She asked him to come with her. [Gli ha chiesto di andare con lei.]
“Can you open the window please?” [Puoi aprire la finestra per favore?]
She ask him to open the window. [Gli ha chiesto di aprire la finestra.]
3) Advice
“Study a little more.” [Studia un pò di più.]
He advised her to study a little more. [Le ha consigliato di studiare un po’ di più.]
“Be careful!” [Stai attenta.]
She told her to be careful [Le ha detto di stare attenta.]
1- Reporting verb + to + base form:
She agreed to go with him. ( “Ok let’s go!”)
They offered to help. ( “Can I help you?”)
They promised to study more. ( “We’re going to study
more.”)
He refused to leave. ( “I’m not going to leave!”)
2- Reporting verb + for + ing:
He apologized for arriving late. ( “I’m sorry, I’m late!”)
3- Reporting verb + noun / pronoun:
He agreed with her. ( “Ok, you’re right.”)
4- Reporting verb + ing:
I suggested going to Spain in August. ( “Let’s go to
Spain in August!”)
OTHER VERB STRUCTURES IN REPORTED
Say (dire) and tell (dire / raccontare)
are widely used in English especially
in reported speech, but they are used
in different ways. We say something
but we tell someone something:
He said that it was a beautiful
morning.
[Disse che era una bella mattinata.]
She said she loved him.
[Disse che lo amava.]
She told him she loved him.
[Gli disse che l’amava.]
She told them to go away.
[Disse loro di andare via.]
We can use say with a pronoun or
noun but the pronoun or noun must
be preceded by to:
I said to them to go away
But this form is hardly ever used in
English.
SAY / TELL
In inglese nel discorso indiretto il “che” non viene mai
usato , anche se usarlo non è grammaticamente sbagliato:
Disse che sarebbe andato a scuola l’indomani She said
she would go to school the following day.
THAT (CHE)
72 73
1) time changes
today that day now
then/at that time tomorrow the
next day/the following day / the day after
yesterday the day before / the previous day
next Monday / next year / next Christmas etc... the following
Monday / the following year / the following Christmas etc...
Last Monday / last year / last Christmas etc... The previous
Monday / the previous year / the previous Christmas etc...
2) place changes
Here there
over here over there
this place that place
3) pronoun changes
I he / she
you he / she / they
he / she he / she
we they
they they
me him / her
you him / her / them
him / her him / her
us them
them them
POSSIBLE TIME /PLACE / PRONOUN CHANGES IN INDI-
74 75
Unit 12: The Passive When we want to avoid mentioning the subject (agent) of an action, specially in formal wri-
ting (scientific reports/instructions etc.), we can use the Passive:
e.g. The experiment was carried out in normal conditions. [ L’esperimento fu condotto in
condizioni normali.]
Listening is improved in language labs. [L’ascolto si migliora nei laboratori linguistici.]
A) How is it formed ?
We use the equivalent tense of to be of the main verb + Past Participle as we can see in the
following table with the object of the active sentence becoming the subject of the passive
sentence:
In these examples of the passive, the agent can normally be specified with the use of by:
“Les Demoiselles D’Avignon” was painted by Picasso in 1907 [“Les Demoiselles
D’Avignon” fu dipinto da Picasso nel 1907]
Some verbs can have two objects (e.g. ask/give/offer/pay/promess/show/teach/tell etc.):
e.g. The English teacher asked his class(I) a question(II) [Il Professore d’inglese fece una
domanda alla sua classe]
This sort of verb can generate too passive sentences with the person (usually) or the object
(rare) becoming the subject of the passive sentence:
I - His class was asked a question
II - A question was asked his class
TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE
Present Simple I paint my room blue
[Dipingo la mia stanza di blu]
My room is painted blue
[La mia stanza è dipinta di blu]
Present
Continuous
I’m painting my room blue
[Sto dipingendo la mia stanza di
blu]
My room is being painted blue
[Stanno dipingendo la mia stanza
di blu]
Present Perfect I have painted my room blue
[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]
My room has been painted blue
[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di
blu]
Past Simple I painted my room blue
[Ho dipinto la mia stanza di blu]
My room was painted blue
[La mia stanza è stata dipinta di
blu]
Past
Continuous
I was painting my room blue
[Stavo dipingendo la mia stanza di
blu]
My room was being painted blue
[Stavano dipingendo la mia stanza
di blu]
TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE
Future:
A) will
B) going to
I’ll paint my room blue
[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]
I’m going to paint my room blue
[Dipingerò la mia stanza di blu]
My room will be painted blue
[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]
My room is going to be painted
blue
[La mia stanza sarà dipinta di blu]
Modals:
A) can
B) must
Etc...
I can paint my room blue
[Posso dipingere la mia stanza di
blu]
I must paint my room blue
[Devo dipingere l a mia stanza di
blu]
My room can be painted blue
[La mia stanza può essere dipinta
di blu]
My room must be painted blue
[La mia stanza deve essere dipinta
di blu]
76 77
B) More formal uses of the passive
Especially in writing and in formal English there are a variety of expressions which use the
passive form to communicate impersonal meaning (Queste espressioni traducono il “si” ital-
iano):
It is said that….[Si dice che...]
It is reported that…..[Si riferisce che....]
It is forbidden to….[E’ vietato....]
It is claimed that…[È dichiarato che ...]
It is mentioned ... [È mensionato che ... ] etc...
A special case is “ is supposed to + base form” with a variety of meanings and frequent in
spoken English e.g to express single opinions:
He is supposed to be going to school this morning [Si pensa che andrà a scuola stamattina.]
or general opinions:
You’re not supposed to drink alcohol here [Non si dovrebbe bere alcool qui.]
or in the past:
You weren’t supposed to go out this evening (but you did!) [Non dovevi uscire questa sera.]
C) Informal equivalents of the passive
In colloquial English there are many equivalent expressions to the passive which are used
when you get something done by other people:
Have + noun + past participle
e.g I have my hair cut once a month [Mi taglio i capelli una volta al mese.]
And in even more in formal English:
Get + noun + past participle
e.g I got my car washed [Ho fatto lavare la mia macchina.]
Make + noun + base form:
e.g. She made her husband work. [Lei ha fatto lavorare suo marito.]
78 79
Unit 13: A- “if” clauses
We have already seen examples of the “if” clauses in the sections of this grammar dedicated
to the Present, Past and Future. In this unit we will concentrate on the time sequences in “if”
clauses which often create difficulties in English language learning.
A) FIRST CONDITIONALS (probability)
“If” + verb always in the Present and the verb in the main sentences in the future:
If I see him I’ll tell him to call. [Se lo vedo gli dirò di chiamare.]
I won’t go to school if I have a headache. [Non andrò a scuola se ho mal di testa]
Sometimes the future can be substituted by a modal verb or by the imperative:
You can come round if you want. [Puoi vienire a trovarmi se vuoi]
If you go to London this summer you must remember to visit the new Saatchi Gallery [Se andrai a Londra quest’estate ricordati di visitare la nuova Saatchi Gallery]
Don’t forget to bring your umbrella if it rains. [Non dimenticare di portare l’ombrello se piove]
If not can be substituted with unless:
I won’t go to school unless you come=I won’t go to school if you don’t come [Non andrò a
scuola se tu non vieni/ a meno che tu non vieni]
If can also substituted with provided that/so long as/on condition that with similar
meanings:
I’ll go so long as you come with me. [Verrò a patto che vieni con me.]
Sometimes we can use the Present in both the if clauses and in the main sentence ( this type
of sentence is usually known as “0” type conditional) and in these cases we are normally
referring to general truths and not to specific personal situations:
If you drink too much red wine you get a headache. [Se bevi troppo vino rosso ti fa male la
testa] This is a general truth. But in the following the first conditional sequence is necessary:
If you drink too much beer at the party this evening you’ll be sick! [Se bevi troppa birra alla
festa questa sera, ti sentirai male!]
B) SECOND CONDITIONALS (Hypothetical clauses)
• In the second conditionals you use the simple past with the if clause and the conditional
(would/’d/wouldn’t) in the main sentence:
e.g. If I had a million pounds I’d live in London [Se avessi un milione di sterline vivrei a
Londra]
What would you do if you didn’t go to University? [Cosa faresti se non andassi
all’Università?]
• Sometimes the conditional can be substituted by other modals with slight variations of
meaning:
e.g. If you studied you could go to University. [Se Studiassi potresti andare all’Università.]
• In other cases it is possible to use could in the if clauses as the past form of can:
e.g. Would you buy a Ferrari if you could? [Compreresti una Ferrari se potessi?]
• With the verb to be in the if clause you can use both was and were in the first person( were
is correct and less colloquial:
e.g. If I were you I’d never get married. [Se fossi in te non mi sposerei mai.]
In spoken English “if I was you” is possible.
• Conected to the second type of if clauses, we have a variety of expressions in which the if
clause is often implicit but the same type of tense sequencing occurs:
e.g. I wish you were here! [Magari fossi qui!]
Had I enough money I’d buy a new house=If I had enough money I’d buy a new
house [Se avessi abbastanza soldi comprerei una casa nuova.]
Should I meet him I’d be very surprised! [Se lo incontrassi sarei molto sorpreso!]
If only I had a house in New York I would be the happiest man in the world! [Se
soltanto avessi una casa a New York sarei l’uomo più felice del mondo.]
If I get married I’ll live in the country-side (first type)
If I got married I wouldn’t have any children (second type)
Both these if clauses are grammatically corect, but semantically they are very different. In the former
we are talking about something which is possible in the near future; in the latter we are talking about
something which is improbable and theoretical.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND CONDITIONALS
80 81
C) THIRD CONDITIONALS ( impossible or past)
In the third type of if clauses we use the past perfect in the if clause and would + have +
past participle in the main clause:
e.g. If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married her. [Se avessi incontrato
Julia Roberts 20 anni fa l’avrei sposata.]
I’d have caught that train if I had arrived on time [Avrei preso quel treno se fosse arrivato in
orario.]
In this third type of if clause the general condition is past and therefore the main event can
not happen. We can change the would for other modals like could/might/should with varia-
tions of the meaning (See modals pag...):
e.g. He could have passed his exam if he had studied more. [Avrebbe potuto superare
l’esame se avesse studiato di più.]
Like with the second conditionals variations are possibile:
Had I passed my exams. I would have gone to University= if I had passed my exams I
would have gone to University. [Se avessi superato gli esami sarei andato all’Università.]
Sometimes you can mix second and third conditionals:
If he hadn’t drunk (third conditional) so much at the party he wouldn’t feel (second
conditional) so sick now. [Se non avessi bevuto cisì tanto alla festa non si sentirebbe così male ora.]
In these cases we are talking about something which happened in the past but the result is
present.
IF CLAUSES TENSE CHANGES
“0” CONDITIONAL IF PRESENT + PRESENT
If you drink too much red wine you get a headache
FIRST CONDITIONAL IF PRESENT + FUTURE
If I see him I’ll tell him to call.
SECOND CONDITIONAL IF SIMPLE PAST + CONDITIONAL
If I had a million pounds I’d live in London
THIRD CONDITIONAL IF PAST PERFECT + WOULD HAVE PAST PARTICI-
PLE
If I had met Julia Roberts 20 years ago I’d have married
her.
SUMMARY OF TENSE SEQUENCING IN “IF” CLAUSES
Il congiuntivo nell’ inglese di oggi è stato sostituito dal passato nella maggior parte dei casi:
Se avessi dei soldi comprerei una macchina ( If I had some money I’d buy a car)
Il congiuntivo passato in inglese esiste ancora nella forma “were” al posto di was che usiamo nell’ “if”
clause di secondo tipo:
If I were you I’d marry him (se fossi in te lo sposerei)
Il congiuntivo presente inglese esiste in alcune rare forme:
God save the Queen! (che Dio salvi la regina)
Qui il “save” è congiuntivo presente e non present simple (manca infatti la -s della terza persona)
IL CONGIUNTIVO IN INGLESE
82 83
B- time clauses
With when, before, after, as soon as, until, while we use the same tense sequenze as in the
“if” clauses (first conditional): the future in the main clause and the present in the time clau-
se, even if it refers to the future:
e.g. When I go to London I’ll visit Buckingham Palace. [Quando andrò a Londra visiterò Buc-
kingham Palace.]
I’ll get married as soon as I get my degree. [mi sposerò appena mi laurierò.]
The future in the main clause can be substituted with the going to form or a modal.
e.g I’m going to get my degree when I finish school [Mi laurierò quando finisce la scuola.]
In inglese è vietato usare il doppio futuro come in italiano:
es: Quando sarò grande lavorerò per la FIAT [When I’m old I’ll work for FIAT.]
NON: When I’ll be old I’ll work for FIAT
DOPPIO FUTURO IN INGLESE
84 85
EXERCISES REVISING THE GRAMMATICAL POINTS OF
PART IV + PHRASAL VERBS
A- Complete the exercise with the appropriate phrasal verb constructions (verb/
preposition/adverb):
(30 marks)
1) They…………………….into the house and stole the jewellery.
2) He ………………………..across an old friend at the market.
3) He got …………………….the operation very quickly.
4)They didn’t get ………………….even though they were of the same age.
5) Time………………………by when you are having fun.
6) He looked ……………… his father when he was old and ill.
7) They couldn’t …………………..out the house in the distance because of the mist.
8) They put………………….some money for their old age.
9) The car ………………..out of petrol quickly.
10) Who are you taking……………on Saturday night?
11) The telephone hasn’t been working, I haven’t been able to get …………………..
12) The bomb …………………..off yesterday at day break.
13) We waited for them until late but they didn’t ………………round.
14) He came ……………..with an original idea for the project.
15) He stole the car but he ……………away with it.
16) He ………….up with his engagement 2 weeks before the wedding.
17) The plane…………..off on time
18) He ran…………….the cat with his motor-bike.
19) He put …………..some bread for dinner.
20) He ……………….up the story about his previous marriage.
21) They were ……………….forward to the Christmas party.
22) He couldn’t find ……………..the truth about his father’s death.
23) Please look ……………..my dog while I’m on holiday!
24) He made……………..the money after the robbery.
25) They………….on a new play on the French Revolution.
26) He ………………up a considerable debt after finishing his new house.
27) He always …………..off his jacket after work.
28) As an English teacher he was unable to ……………across the importance of grammar in
the course.
B) Complete the following ‘IF’ clauses:
(15 marks)
1) I’ll visit my relations in New Zealand ......................................
2) If I had arrived at the station on time .......................................
3) I wouldn’t talk to him if ...........................................................
4) Would you go abroad if ......................................................?
5) If he does his English homework .............................................
6) He wouldn’t have married her if ..............................................
7) They’ll go shopping if ..............................................................
8) If I were you .............................................................................
9) He’ll be at school tomorrow if .................................................
10) If I had a lot of money .............................................................
11) He’d do this exercises at school if ...........................................
12) What would you buy him if .....................................................?
13) He’ll see the show on TV if ....................................................
14) If I were the Primeminister of Italy .........................................
15) Will you buy him that shirt if ..................................................?
86 87
C) Transform the following utterances into reported speech adding the appropriate
reporting verb and making all the necessary changes:
(15 marks)
1) “Hello darling! How are you?”
2) “I’m going to New York next week.”
3) “What do you think of the new Spielberg film?”
4) “Please sit down and be quite!”
5) “Have a nice cup of tea!”
6) “Go to the blackboard and write the following sentence!”
7) “Can you tell me the way to the nearest tube statition please?”
8) “What’s your name?”
9) “Are you going to school tomorrow?”
10) “Yesterday I went shopping with mum.”
11) “Do you really like red lipstick?”
12) “I must go to school early tomorrow.”
13) “If I go to school early tomorrow I’ll prepare your tests.”
14) “Give me your pen!”
15) “You should study more if you want to pass the English PET exam.”
D) Transform the following sentences into the passive:
(15 marks)
1) He’ll build that church next year.
2) Milan-Ajax played the match in the rain.
3) You press ‘Escape’ on your computer to get out of trouble.
4) You should write a book on the Mafia.
5) Next year the Headmistress of this school will allow us to go to England.
6) They bought that car two years ago.
7) I’ve just painted my house red.
8) They’ll look after their father-in-law.
9) Kim Basinger wrote a romantic letter to an English teacher!
10) Marco Polo discovered China in the Middle Ages.
E) Write a short composition (120-150 words) beginning with the words:
If I could travel anywhere in the world I’d ……………… (15 marks)
F) Translate the following sentences into English:
(10 marks)
1) Dovresti alzarti presto.2) Non ho potuto fare i compiti ieri.
3) Devi andare a scuola oggi!
4) Puoi incontrare i suoi genitori domani a scuola?
5) Vorrei parlare in inglese senza un accento italiano.
6) Potresti aiutarmi con il lavoro di casa?
7) Dovresti andare a lavoro a piedi più spesso
8) Dovrò spedirti un fax.
9) Potrò venire alla tua festa di compleanno.
10) Dovrò andare a fare la spesa prima di andare a scuola
11) Non hai bisogno di studiare per questo test.
12) Non devi usare il verbo “essere” con il Present Perfect in inglese.
13) Dovresti guardare meno televisione la sera.
14) Vorresti un Martini?
15) Posso venire con te, se vuoi!
16) Ho dovuto smettere di lavorare presto ieri sera perché mia figlia stava male.
17) Non ho potuto fare i compiti d’inglese. Erano troppo difficili.
18) Domani dovrò partire alle 8.
19 ) Potresti venire con la macchina domani?
20) Domani dovrò portare €100 per la gita scolastica.
88 89
Notes
Notes
90 91
Appendix I: Irregular verbs
to arise arose arisen sorgere
to be was/were been essere
to bear bore borne portare/sopportare
to beat beat beaten batere
to become became become diventare
to begin began begun incominciare
to bend bent bent piegare/piegarsi
to bet bet bet scommettere
to bite bit bitten mordere
to bleed bled bled sanguinare
to blow blew blown soffiare
to break broke broken rompere/rompersi
to breed bred bred allevare/generare
to bring brought brought portare
to build built built costruire
to burn burned
burnt(B.ENG)
burned
burnt(B.ENG)
bruciare
to buy bought bought comprare
to cast cast cast gettare
to catch caught caught prendere/acchiappare
to choose chose chosen scegliere
to come came come venire
to cost cost cost costare
to creep crept crept strisciare
to cut cut cut tagliare
to deal dealt dealt trattare
to dig dug dug scavare
INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE ITALIAN
to do did done fare
to draw drew drawn disegnare
to dream dreamed
dreamt(B.ENG)
dreamed
dreamt(B.ENG)
sognare
to drink drank drunk bere
to drive drove driven guidare(auto)
to eat ate eaten mangiare
to fall fell fallen cadere
to feed fed fed nutrire
to feel felt felt sentire/sentirsi
to fight fought fought combattere
to find found found trovare
to flee fled fled fuggire
to fly flew flown volare
to forbid forbade forbidden proibire
to forget forgot forgotten dimenticare
to forgive forgave forgiven perdonare
to freeze froze frozen gelare
to get got got/gotten (A.Eng) ottenere/diventare
to give gave given dare
to go went gone andare
to grind ground ground tirare
to grow grew grown crescere/coltivare
to hang hung hung appendere
to have had had avere
to hear heard heard udire
to hide hid hidden nascondere
to hold held held tenere
to hurt hurt hurt ferire
92 93
to keep kept kept tenere/conservare
to kneel knelt/kneeled knelt/kneeled inginocchiarsi
to know knew known conoscere/sapere
to lay laid laid deporre/posare
to lead led led condurre/guidare
to learn learnt/learned learnt/learned imparare
to leave left left partire
to lend lent lent prestare
to let let let lasciare/permettere
to lie lay lain giacere/trovarsi
to light lighted/lit lighted/lit accendere
to lose lost lost perdere
to make made made fare/costruire
to mean meant meant significare
to meet met met incontrare
to pay paid paid pagare
to put put put mettere
to quit quit quit smettere
to read read /red/ read /red/ leggere
to ride rode ridden cavalcare
to ring rang rung suonare/squillare
to rise rose risen sorgere/alzarsi
to run ran run correre
to say said said dire
to see saw seen vedere
to seek sought sought cercare
to sell sold sold vendere
to send sent Sent mandare/spedire
to set set set porre
to shake shook shaken scuotere
to shed shed shed versare
to shine shone shone brillare/splendere
to shoot shot shot sperare
to show showed shown mostrare
to shrink shrank shrunk/shrunken restringersi
to shut shut shut chiudere
to sing sang sung cantare
to sink sank sunk affondare
to sit sat sat sedersi
to sleep slept slept dormire
to slide slid slid scivolare
to speak spoke spoken parlare
to spend spent spent spendere/trascorrere
to spread spread spread diffondere/stendere
to spring sprang sprung saltare
to stand stood stood stare in piedi
to steal stole stolen rubare
to stick stuck stuck attaccare/attaccarsi
to sting stung stung pungere
to stink stank stunk puzzare
to stike struck struck/striken colpire
to strive strove striven lottare
to swear swore sworn giurare
to sweep swept swept spazzare/scopare
to swim swam swum nuotare
to swing swung swung dondolare
to take took taken prender/portare
94 95
The spaces below can be filled in with new irregular verbs as you meet them
in future reading etc...
To teach taught taught insegnare
To tear tore torn strappare
To tell told told dire/raccontare
To think thought thought pensare
To throw threw thrown gettare
To tread trod trodden calpestare
To understand understood understood comprendere
To wake woke woken svegliare/svegliarsi
To wear wore worn indossare/logorare
To win won won vincere
To wind wound wound avvolgere
To wring wrung wrung torcere
To write wrote written scrivere
96 97
Appendix II: Phrasal verbs
Widely used and typical of spoken/informal English, phrasal verbs
are made up of a base form and a preposition/adverb. With phra-
sal verbs you can extend communication producing thousands of
meanings with a limited number of verbs through a ‘copy, cut and
paste’ system of language creation and with a very light memory
load. The meaning of most phrasal verbs can be guessed:
e.g. I gave out the photocopies. [Ho distribuito le fotocopie]
While in other cases you must learn the meaning of the phrasal
verb by heart:
e.g. How are you getting along with your new class mates? [Vai d’accor-
do con i tuoi compagni?]
We can distinguish two main types of phrasal verbs:
Type 1- where there is no object:
e.g. The bomb went off. [La bomba è esplosa.]
Type 11- where there is an obje ct:
e.g. He took off his jacket. [Si è tolto la giacca.]
Which can also be rendered by: He took his jacket off.
And if we substitute the object with the pronoun by:
e.g. He took it off. And NOt: He took off it.
Add up (a) To add up a column of figures
Sommare una colonna di cifre
Sommare
Add up (b) Something about his behaviour just didn’t
seem to add up
Qualcosa nel suo comportamento sembrava
proprio che non quadrasse
Avere un senso
Ask over He asked his neighbour over for dinner
Ha invitato a cena il suo vicino di casa
Invitare a casa
Back up (a) He backed up his application with a lot of
documents
Ha sostenuto la sua domanda con tanti do-
cumenti
Dare sostegno/ appoggia-
re
Back up (b) He backed up all his computer files
Ha copiato tutti i suoi files del computer
Fare la copia di un file
Break down
(a) His car broke down
La sua macchina si è rotta
Rompersi
Break down
(b)
The problem was broken down into 3
parts
Il problema è stato analizzato in 3 parti
Analizzare
Break into The thieves broke into the jewellery
I ladri entrarono con violenza nella gioiel-
leria
Entrare con
violenza
Break out
of They broke out of prison
Sono scappati dalla prigione
Scappare
98 99
.
Bring
about It brought about a big change
Ha causato un grande cambiamento
Causare
Bring up (a) Their children were brought up well
I loro figli sono stati educati bene
Crescere,educare
Bring up
(b)
He brought up a new aspect of the prob-
lem
Ha sollevato un nuovo aspetto del proble-
ma
Sollevare un argomento
Call off The match was called off
La partita è stata annullata
Annullare
Calm down Calm down before your exam
Rilassati prima dell’esame
Rilassarsi
Care for The three children all cared for their old
parents
I tre bambini si prendevano cura dei loro
anziani genitori
Prendere cura di
Carry on (a) She carried on working all day
Continuò a lavorare tutto il giorno
Continuare
Carry out He carried out the plan to change the
school
Ha portato avanti il piano per cambiare la
scuola
Eseguire un compito
Catch on The use of the I-pod is catching on
L’uso dell’I-pod si sta diffondendo
Diffondersi
Catch up
(with)
During the marathon he caught up with
me
Durante la maratona lui mi ha raggiunto
Raggiungere
Cheer up He cheered up the losing team
Ha tirato su di morale la squadra perdente
Tirarsi su di morale
Come
about The tragedy came about
E’ avvenuta la tragedia
Avvenire
Come
across
In Charles Dickens, characters come
across each other by chance
In Charles Dickens, i personaggi si incon-
trano per caso
Incontrare per
caso
Come back He came back to school
E’ tornado a scuola
Ritornare
Come for-
ward
He came forward to help build the new
school
Si è proposto per aiutare a costruire la
nuova scuola
Proporsi
Come in (to) He came into the room silently
Entrò nella stanza silenziosamente
Entrare
Come up
with
He came up with a new idea for the
school review
Escogitò una nuova idea per la rivista
scolastica
Escogitare, suggerire
Cross out She crossed out his name from her diary
Ha cancellato il suo nome dal proprio
diario
Cancellare, eliminare
Cut down He cut down all the big trees in his gar-
den
Ha abbattuto tutti gli alberi grandi del suo
giardino
Eliminare, abbattere
100 101
.
Cut down
on
Families have cut down on the use of
their cars because of the recent increase
in the price of petrol
Le famiglie hanno ridotto l’uso della
macchina a causa del recente aumento del
costo della benzina
Ridurre
Cut off The ski lift was cut off from the snow
resort because of the avalanche
Lo ski lift fu isolato dalla stazione sciisti-
ca a causa della valanga
Interrompere
Cut out He cut out the interesting article on music
from the newspaper
Ha ritagliato l’ articolo interessante sulla
musica dal giornale
Ritagliare
Cut up She cut up the cake into pieces
Ha tagliato in pezzi la torta
Fare a pezzi
Die away As we walked away the music died away
Man mano ci allontanavamo a piedi la
musica si spegneva a poco a poco
Spegnersi a poco a poco
Die out Many species have died out in the last
100 years
Molte specie si sono estinte negli ultimi
100 anni
Estinguersi ,
scomparire
Do
without
He did without his secretary when he
bought a new computer
Lui ha fatto a meno della sua segretaria
quando ha comprato un nuovo computer
Fare a meno di
Draw up The school will draw up a new contract
for teachers
La scuola stilerà un nuovo contratto per
gli insegnanti
Stilare, preparare
Dream up He dreamed up a new way of collecting
money for school projects
Ha escogitato un nuovo sistema per racco-
gliere I soldi per I progetti scolastici
Escogitare,
concepire (idea)
Dress up She dressed up for her first date with her
new boyfriend
Si è ben vestita per il suo primo appunta-
mento con il suo nuovo ragazzo
Vestirsi con
eleganza
Drive
away
He drove away many of the shop’s clients
with his bad manners
Spinse via tanti clienti del negozio con le
sue cattive maniere
Spingere via
Drive back He drove his children back home
Accompagnò i suoi figli a casa con la
macchina
Riaccompagnare con la
macchina
Drop
behind
She dropped behind in the school race
because she sprained her ankle
È riamasta indietro nella corsa scolastica
perchè si è slogato la caviglia
Rimanere indietro
Drop by
Drop in on I‘ve just dropped by to say ‘hello’
Sono passato solo per salutarti
Andare a trovare senza
preavviso
102 103
.
Drop off (a) My father dropped me off at school
Mio padre mi ha accompagnato a scuola
Accompagnare a
Drop off
(b) I dropped off during the English lesson
Mi sono addormenta durante la lezione
d’inglese
Addormentarsi
Drop out After he failed his ‘O’ Level exams he
dropped out
Dopo essere stato bocciato agli esami ‘O’
Level si ritirò
Ritirarsi dalla scuola
Eat out I always eat out Saturdays
Mangio sempre fuori sabato
Mangiare fuori casa
Eat up Eat up your food!
Mangiati tutto il cibo!
Divorare, mangiare tutto
End up He ended up living alone
Finì per vivere da solo
Finire per,
concludersi
Face up to Italians have to face up to the fact that the
cost of living has risen terribly
Gli italiani devono acettare che il costo
della vita si è alzato terribilmente
Affrontare,
accettare
Fall apart His marriage fell apart when he went to
live in London
Il suo matrimonio è andato in pezzi quan-
do è andato a vivere a Londra
Andare in pezzi,
disintegrarsi
Fall behind Martina fell behind at school when she
broke her leg
Martina è rimasta indietro quando si è rota
la gamba
Rimanere indietro, farsi
superare
Fall down She fell down outside the shop
È caduta a terra fuori dal negozio
Cadere a terra
Fall for She fell for him as soon as she saw him
Si è innamorata di lui appena l’ha visto
Innamorarsi
Fall out
with
Martina fell out with Robert when the
school finished
Martina litigò con Roberto quando finì la
scuola
Litigare
Fall over While he was running he fell over
Mentre correva è caduto
Cadere, crollare
Feel up to We didn’t feel up to meeting her soon
after her divorce
Non ci sentivamo di incontrarla subito
dopo il suo divorzio
Sentirsi all’ altezza, sen-
tirsi di
Fight back He fought back his anger when his boss
sacked him
Ha controllato la sua rabbia quando fu
licenziato dal suo capo
Reprimere,
controllare
Figure out We haven’t figured out why she’s so sad!
Non abbiamo capito perchè è così triste!
Capire, risolvere
Fill in Fill in your application form
Completa la tua domanda
Completare con
l’informazione
richiesta
Fill up Before leaving he filled his car up with
petrol
Prima di partire ha fatto il pieno
Riempire, colmare
104 105
.
Find out Tom and Mary found out that their 16
year –old - son wasn’t going to school
Tom e Mary scoprirono che il loro figlio
sedicenne non andava a suola
Scoprire, trovare
Fit in He didn’t fit in the class because he stud-
ied too much
Non si è inserito nella classe perchè stu-
diava troppo
Inserirsi,
ambientarsi
Get
along with
She didn’t get along with her new neigh-
bours
Non andava d’accordo con I suoi nuovi
vicini di casa
Andare d’accordo
Get
away
When the police arrived the thieves had
got away
Quando arrivò la polizia i ladri erano
scappati
Scappare
Get
away with
He’s so spoilt that he thinks he can get
away with anything
È così viziato che pensa di farla franca in
tutte le cose
Farla franca
Get by He couldn’t get by without a real job
Non poteva sopravvivere senza un vero
lavoro
Sopravvivere
Get over She got over her heart operation after
many months
Si riprese dall’intervento al cuore dopo
tanti mesi
Riprendersi da
Get through
to
Yesterday I couldn’t get through to Mar-
tina and Roberta because my mobile
phone wasn’t working
Ieri non sono riuscito a comunicare con
Martina e Roberta perché il mio telefono
non funzionava
Riuscire a far capire, riu-
scire a raggiungere / co-
municare
Get up I always get up with a smile
Mi alzo sempre con il sorriso
Alzarsi
Give
away He gave away all his money to the poor
Donò tutti i suoi soldi ai poveri
Donare
Give back She gave him back their engagement ring
Gli ha restituito l’ anello di finanziamento
Restituire
Give in She gave in and went back home
Si è arresa ed è tornata a casa
Arrendersi, cedere
Give out She gave out the photocopies
Ha distribuito le fotocopie
Distribuire,
consegnare
Give up She gave up smoking
Ha smesso di fumare
Arrendersi, smettere
Go along
with
He could’t go along with the idea that his
wife was living with another man
Non era d’accordo con l’idea che la mo-
glie viveva con un altro uomo
Essere d’accordo
Go back I’ll go back when my Erasmus project
finishes
Tornerò quando finirà il mio progetto Era-
smus
Ritornare
106 107
.
Go down I go down to Agrigento every weekend
Scendo ad Agrigento ogni weekend
Scendere
Go on (a) After leaving school you must go on with
your studies
Dopo aver finito la scuola devi proseguire
con gli studi
Proseguire,
continuare
Go on (b) What’s going on over there?
Che sta succedendo lì?
Succedere,
accadere
Go out with Martina is going out with Mattia at the
moment
Martina sta uscendo per ora con Mattia
Uscire con
Go over He went over the English lesson for his
test
Ha ripassato la lezione d’inglese per il
compito
Ripassare, controllare
Go through
(with)
She’s going through a bad period at the
moment
Sta attraversando un brutto periodo in
questo momento
Andare fino in
fondo, attraversare
Go with (a) That t-shirt goes with your skirt
Quella maglietta si abbina con la gonna
Abbinarsi a
Go with (b) I went to the disco with Roberta
Sono andato in discoteca con Roberta
Accompagnare, andare
con
Go
without He went without breakfast yesterday
Ieri ha fatto a meno della colazione
Fare a meno di
Grow
apart
After the birth of their 3 children they be-
gan to grow apart
Dopo la nascita di 3 figli cominciarono ad
allontanarsi
Allontanarsi
Grow up He grew up in London
È cresciuto a Londra
Crescere
Hand in I handed my project work in
Ho consegnato il mio progetto
Consegnare
Hand out I handed out all the novels to read during
the summer
Ho distribuito I romanzi da leggere duran-
te l’estate
Distribuire
Hang
around/
about
He spent the whole summer hanging
around the main street
Ha passato l’intera estate in giro per la
strada principale
Bighellonare, stare in giro
Hang out She didn’t like hanging out the washing
Non le piaceva stendere la biancheria
Stendere,
appendere fuori
Hang up I was so angry with him on the phone I
just had to hang up
Ero così arrabbiata con lui che ho dovuto
riattaccare
Mettere giù,
riattaccare, appendere
Have on I had my white dress on
Indossavo il mio vestito bianco
Indossare
Have
over I had my neighbours over for lunch
Ho invitato a pranzo i miei vicini
Invitare a casa
propria
108 109
.
Hear from I haven’t heard from him for ages
Non lo sento da anni
Ricevere o avere notizie
da
Help out He’s helping out with the housework
while his wife’s in hospital
Sta dando una mano nei lavori di casa
mentre la moglie è in ospedale
Dare un aiuto
Hint at He hinted at her embarrassing family
situation
Ha alluso alla sua situazione familiare
imbarazzante
Alludere a, insinuare
Hold back He was so angry that it was impossible to
hold him back
Era così arrabbiato che era impossibile
trattenerlo
Trattenere
Hold out The poor Rumanian girl held her hand
out for money
La povera ragazza rumena tese la mano
per I soldi
Porgere, tendere
Hunt down The police hunted down all the hooligans
outside the stadium
La polizia ha scovato e punito tutti gli
ultrà fuori dallo stadio
Scovare e punire
Identify
with
I couldn’t identify with the new ideas of
the left-wing
Non potevo identificarmi con le nuove
idée della sinistra
Identificarsi con
Invite over I invited my mother-in-law over for lunch
Ho invitato a casa a mia suocera per pran-
zo
Invitare a casa
Iron out In a school meeting parents and teachers
ironed out all the difficulties
In un incontro a scuola tra genitori e inse-
gnanti tutti i problemi sono stati risolti
Eliminare, risolvere
Join in My class will join in the English project
next year
L’anno prossimo la mia classe parteciperà
ad un progetto d’inglese
Partecipare
Jump at My students jumped at the possibility of
going to study in England
I miei studenti hanno colto a volo la possi-
bilità di studiare in Inghilterra
Cogliere al volo
Keep
away from Keep away from him! He’s dangerous…
Tieniti lontano da lui! È pericoloso….
Tenersi lontano da, evita-
re
Keep out We kept the dog out of the garden
Abbiamo tenuto il cane fuori dal giardino
Tenere fuori da
Keep up
(with)
It was difficult to keep up with the best
students in my class
Era difficile stare dietro ai migliori studen-
ti della mia classe
Rimanere alla pari degli
altri, stare aggior-
nato su
Kick out He was kicked out of the team for doping
Fu buttato fuori dalla squadra per doping
Cacciare, buttare fuori
Kneel down She kneeled down and prayed
Si è inginocchiata ed ha pregato
Inginocchiarsi
110 111
.
Know of Do you know of any good motorbike on
sale?
Hai sentito dire se c’è in vendita qualche
motocicletta in buone condizioni?
Aver sentito parlare di
Lay down He laid his keys down on the table
Ha posato le chiavi sul tavolo
Mettere giù, posare
Lay off The FIAT laid off a lot of their workers
La FIAT ha sospeso dal lavoro molti dei
suoi lavoratori
Sospendere dal
lavoro
Lead up to In 1968 the discontent in French schools
and University led up to the May riots
Nel 1968 lo scontento delle scuole e uni-
versità francesi portò alla ribellione di
Maggio
Preparare, portare a
Leave
behind
When she separated from her husband she
left all her problems behind
Quando si è separato dal marito ha lascia-
to dietro tutti i suoi problemi
Lasciare dietro
Leave out He didn’t leave anybody out of the pro-
ject
Non ha escluso nessuno dal progetto
Escludere,
tralasciare
Let down He didn’t want to let his children down
Non ha voluto deludere i suoi figli
Deludere
Let in Don’t let him in!
Non lasciarlo entrare!
Lasciare entrare
Let out He let the dog out for a walk
Ha fatto uscire fuori il cane per una pas-
seggiata
Fare/ lasciare uscire
Lie down When he has lunch he always wants to
lie down for a bit
Quando pranza vuole sempre sdraiarsi per
un pò
Stendersi
Light up He’ll light up the garden for the midnight
party
Illuminerà il giardino per la festa di mez-
zanotte
Illuminare,
accendere
Live up to I was unable to live up to my parents’
ambitions for me
Non sono stato in grado di rispondere alle
ambizioni che i miei genitori avevano per
me
Rispondere alle
aspettative
Lock out She locked her husband out for the night
Chiuse fuori il marito per la notte
Chiudere fuori
Lock up Don’t forget to lock up the house before
going on holiday!
Non dimenticare di chiudere a chiave la
casa prima di andare in vacanza
Chiudere a chiave, impri-
gionare
Log on to
(onto)
Use the password to log on to the new
program
Usare la password per entrare nel nuovo
programma
Entrare in un sistema in-
formatico usando una
chiave d’identificazione
Look
after It is very difficult to look after old parents
È difficile badare ai genitori
anziani
Badare a
112 113
.
Look down
on
She looked down on the poorer students
of the class
Teneva in scarsa considerazione i compa-
gni più poveri della classe
Tenere in scarsa conside-
razione
Look for What are you looking for?
Cosa stai cercando?
Cercare
Look
forward to I’m looking forward to hearing from you
Non vedo l’ora di sentirti
Non vedere l’ora di
Look into The police looked into the murder of the
old-aged-pensioner
La polizia ha indagato sull’omicidio del
pensionato
Indagare
Look out
( for)
Parents should look out for early signals
of psychological unrest in the children
I genitori dovrebbero stare attenti ai primi
segnali di irrequietezza psicologica nei
loro figli
Stare in guardia
Look
over I looked the new contract over
Ho esaminato il nuovo contratto
Esaminare
Look up Look this word up on Wikipedia
Cerca questa parola su Wikipedia
Cercare una parola in un
dizionario o un dato in un
elenco
Make out I can’t make out your hand- writing
Non riesco a capire la tua scrittura
Decifrare, capire
Make up (a) He made the whole story up
Si è inventato l’intera storia
Inventare/si
Make up
(b)
They made up after the birth of their first
child
Si sono riconciliati dopo la nascita del
primo figlio
Riconciliarsi
Mix up I always mix their names up
Confondo sempre i loro nomi
Confondere,
mescolare bene
Nod off My students always nod off during the
literature lessons
I miei studenti dormono sempre durante le
lezioni di letteratura
Addormentarsi
Own up to My daughter owned up to stealing from
my purse
Mia figlia ha ammesso di aver rubato soldi
dal mio portamonete
Confessare, ammettere
Pass
away He passed away without suffering
E’ morto senza soffrire
Morire
Pass out She passed out when she discovered she
was pregnant
E’ svenuta quando ha scoperto di essere
incinta
Perdere coscienza, svenire
Pay
back/off He paid all his debts back
Ha finito di pagare tutti I suoi debi-
ti
Finire di pagare
Pay off His new activity paid off quickly
La sua nuova attività è stata subito redditi-
zia
Essere redditizio
114 115
.
Pick on They picked on me at school because I
always got good marks
Mi sfottevano a scuola perchè prendevo
sempre bei voti
Prendersela con, sfottere
Pick out She picked out a new pair of shoes for
the party
Ha scelto un nuovo paio di scarpe per la
festa
Selezionare,
individuare,
scegliere
Pick up (a) I pick my children up at school every
afternoon
Vado a prendere con la macchina I miei
figli a scuola ogni pomeriggio
Andare a prendere con la
macchina
Pick up (b) He picked the case up and went to the
gate
Ha preso la valigia ed è andato all’uscita
Prendere, alzare
Pick up (c) After the long winter business is picking
up
Dopo il lungo inverno gli affair si stanno
riprendendo
Riprendersi
Play down This government always plays down the
problems connected with the increasing
cost of living
Questo governo minimizza sempre i pro-
blemi legati al costo della vita che sta au-
mentando
Minimizzare
Point out He pointed out the negative aspects of
the plan
Ha indicato gli aspetti negative del piano
Indicare, far notare
Pull away She pulled away quickly without looking
in the mirror
Si è allontanata velocemente senza guar-
dare lo specchietto
Allontanare
(in macchina)
Pull in She pulled into the emergency lane
Si è accostata nella corsia di emergenza
Arrivare, accostarsi (in
macchina)
Pull off (a) They pulled the take-over off
Sono riusciti a concludere l’acquisto/
controllo
Riuscire a concludere
Pull off (b) She pulled off the baby’s clothes and put
him in the bath
Ha tolto I vestiti del bambino e l’ha messo
nel bagno
Tirare via, togliere i vesti-
ti
Pull up The taxi pulled up and waited for me
Il taxi si è accostato e mi ha aspettato
Accostare
(in macchina)
Put
across
He put his ideas across to the class in a
very convincine way
Ha comunicato le sue idea alla classe in
modo convincente
Comunicare
Put away He put all his books away after studying
ha conservato tutti I suoi libri dopo aver
studiato
Mettere via, riporre
Put back She put her clothes back into the ward-
robe
Ha rimesso i vestiti nell’armadio
Rimettere a posto
Put down She put her bag down on the table
Ha posato la sua borsa sul tavolo
Posare
116 117
.
Put off (a) The match was put off because of the bad
weather
La partita è stata rinviata a causa del mal
tempo
Rinviare
Put on (a) She put her Armani jumper on for her
first date
Ha indossato il suo maglione Armani per
il primo appuntamento (con il ragazzo)
Indossare
Put on ( c) During the winter I put on weight
Durante l’estate prendo peso
Mettere su (di peso)
Put out (a) He put the fire out before leaving
Ha spent oil fuoco prima di partire
Spegnere
Put out (b) She put the dog out for the night
Ha fatto uscire il cane fuori per la notte
Fare uscire
Put up He put her up for the night in the flat
upstairs
L’ha ospitata nell’appartamento sopra
Alloggiare, ospitare
Put up with It’s difficult to put up with my English
teacher
E’ difficile sopportare il professore d’in-
glese
Sopportare,
tollerare
Read up on The students read up on nuclear energy
for the physics project
I studenti si documentarono sull’energia
nucleare per il progetto di fisica
Documentarsi su un argo-
mento
Ring up I rang her up to fix an appointment
Le ho telefonato per fissare un appunta-
mento
Telefonare a
Rule out The teacher ruled her out of the PET
group because her English wasn’t good
enough
L’insegnante l’ha esclusa del gruppo PET
perchè il suo inglese non era buona abba-
stanza
Escludere
Run
across
(into)
I ran across my ex-class mate at the pub
Ho incontrato per caso il mio ex compa-
gno di classe al pub
Incontrare per caso
Run
against
Barack Obama is running against John
McCain in the American Presidential
Election in November
Barack Obama si candida contro John
McCain nelle elezioni presenziali america-
ne a novembre
Candidarsi contro
Run
around
She’s running around all day without
doing anything in particular
Va in giro freneticamente senza fare nien-
te in particolare
Andare in giro in
maniera frenetica e scon-
clusionata
Run away She ran away with the money
Scappò via con I soldi
Scappare
Run down He ran the cat down on his way to work
Ha investito il gatto andando a lavoro
Investire, travolgere
Run for Hilary Clinton first ran for the Senate in
2000
Hilary Clinton si candidò per la prima vol-
ta per il Senato nel 2000
Candidarsi per
118 119
.
Run off
with The boss ran off with his secretary
Il capo scappò via con la segretaria
Scappare per stare insie-
me a
Run out of My car ran out of petrol on the motor-
way
La mia macchina è rimasta senza benzina
sull’autostrada
Esaurire, finire
Save up We all saved up for the school trip
Tutti abbiamo messo da parte i soldi per la
gita scolastica
Risparmiare
See
about
I’m seeing about finding him a job at the
new bank
Mi sto informando per trovargli un lavoro
nella nuova banca
Informarsi su
See off I saw her off at the port
L’ho salutata quando è partita dal porto
Salutare alla
partenza
See through I could see through every lie of hers
Riuscivo a capire ogni sua bugia
Capire, intuire
See to I wanted to see to every need of hers
Volevo occuparbi di ogni suo bisogno
Provvedere, occuparsi di
Sell out Leonard Cohen sold out all the copies of
his new CD in the first month
Leonard Cohen ha venduto tutte le copie
del suo nuovo CD nel primo mese
Vendere tutto,
esaurire
Set aside I set aside some money for when I retire
Ho messo da parte un pò di soldi per
quando vado in pensione
Riservare, mettere da
parte
Set off He set off for a long journey
È partito per un lungo viaggio
Partire, cominciare un
viaggio
Set up They’re going to set up a new charity
organization for homeless people
Istituiranno una nuova associazione di
carità per le persone senza casa
Mettere su, istituire
Settle down They will settle down in their new home
after the summer holidays
Si sistemeranno nella loro nuova casa
dopo le vacanze estive
Sistemarsi
Show off When Roberta was little she was always
showing off everything she had
Quando Roberta era piccolo ostentava
tutto quello che aveva
Mettersi in mostra, osten-
tare
Show up
(a)
He showed up when the party had fin-
ished
È apparso quando la festa era finita
Apparire senza
preavviso
Show up
(b)
She showed her fiancé up at the party by
getting drunk
Ha messo in imbarazzo il fidanzato alla
festa ubriacandosi
Mettere in imbarazzo, far
fare brutta figura a
Shut down The shop shut down because of the eco-
nomic crisis
Il negozio ha chiuso a causa della crisi eco-
nomica
Chiudere battenti
120 121
.
Shut out She shut her husband out all night
Non fece entrare per tutta la notte suo ma-
rito
Non fare entrare
Shut up She told her class to shut up!
Ha detto alla classe di stare zitta!
Mettere a tacere
Slow down Slow down you’re moving too fast!
Rallenta stai andando troppo veloce!
Rallentare
Speak out
against
He spoke out against apartheid in South
Africa
Ha dissentito pubblicamente contro l’a-
partheid in sud Africa
Dissentire pubblicamente
Speak out
for
She spoke out for getting new legislation
for women at work
Parlò in pubblico per ottenere la nuova
legislazione per le donne che lavorano
Parlare pubblicamente a
favore di
Speak up Don’t be shy! I want you to speak up!
Non essere timido! Voglio che parli con
chiarezza!
Non tacere, parlare in
modo chiaro
Spell out I want you to spell out the problem
Voglio che mi dica chiaramente come sta
la situazione
Spiegare chiaramente
Stand for ‘FIAT’ stands for “Fabbrica Italiana Au-
tomobili Torino”
‘FIAT’ significa “Fabbrica Italiana Auto-
mobili Torino”
Significare
Stand out With her long blond hair she stood out in
the crowd
Si distingueva dalla folla per I suoi lunghi
capelli biondi
Distinguersi
Stay out She stayed out all night for the New Year
celebrations
È rimasta fuori tutta la notte per i festeg-
giamenti di Capodanno
Stare fuori
Stay over She stayed over at her friend’s home after
the party
È rimasta a casa dell’amica dopo la festa
Rimanere la notte
Stay up They stayed up all night to see the Olym-
pic opening ceremony in Beijing
Non andarono al letto per vedere la Ceri-
monia di apertura delle Olimpiadi di
Pechino
Non andare a letto
Take
after
He took after his father in all his bad hab-
its
Assomigliava il padre in tutte le sue brutte
abitudini
Assomigliare a
Take
away
He took the children away from his for-
mer wife
Portò via i figli dalla sua prima moglie
Sottrarre, portare via
Take back
(a)
I took the shirt back to the shop because it
was too big
Riportò la camicia al negozio perchè era
troppo grande
Restituire
122 123
.
Take back
(b)
The song ‘Yesterday’ took me back to
when I was a student in England
La canzone ‘Yesterday’ mi portò indietro
ai tempi in cui ero studente in Inghilterra
Far tornare indietro
Take down He took down her address and telephone
number
Ha scritto il suo indirizzo e il nuomero di
telefono
Annotare
Take in He took in all she had to say about the
affair
Ha ascoltato con attenzione tutto quello
che lei aveva da dire sull’affare
Ascoltare
attentamente
Take off (a) He took his hat off
Si è tolto il cappello
Togliere
Take off (b) She took a week off for Christmas
Si è presa una settimana di vacanze per
Natale
Prendersi una
vacanza
Take off
(c ) The plane took off on time
L’aereo decollò in orario
Decollare
Take
over
He took over the company during the cri-
sis
Prese il controllo della compagnia durante
la crisi
Prendere il controllo di
Take up He took up collecting Renaissance paint-
ings after he sold his company
Ha iniziato a collezionare quadri del Rina-
scimento dopo aver venduto la sua compa-
gnia
Iniziare un’ attività come
passatempo
Talk over He talked it over with his director
Ne parlò con il suo direttore
Discutere a fondo
Tear up She tore up all his photos after they quar-
relled
Fece a pezzi tutte le sue foto dopo aver
litigato
Fare a pezzi
Tell off She told him off because of his bad man-
ners
Lo rimproverò per le sue cattive maniere
Rimproverare
Think
over
Think it over tonight and give me an an-
swer tomorrow
Pensaci stanotte e domani mi dai una ri-
sposta
Pensare bene prima di
decidere
Throw
away He threw all her letters away
Ha buttato via tutte le sue lettere
Buttare via
Throw up He threw up after mixing beer and wine
Vomitò dopo aver mischiato birra e vino
Vomitare
Tie up The thieves tied her up and stole all the
jewellery
I ladri la legarono e rubarono tutti i gioielli
Legare per chiudere o
impedire ogni mo-
vimento
Touch on He touched on different aspects of the
problem during his speech
Toccò diversi apetti del problema
durante il suo discorso
Mensionare
brevemente
Try on (a) He tried his new suit on before the wed-
ding
Provò il suo nuovo vestito prima del ma-
trimonio
Provare un vestito
124 125
.
Try out She tried out the new washing-machine
Provò la nuova macchina da lavare
collaudare
Turn down
(a) She turned down his offer
Ha rifiutato la sua offerta
Rifiutare
Turn down
(b) He turned down the stereo
Ha abbassato il volume dello stereo
Abbassare
Turn into She would have loved to turn into a fairy
Le sarebbe piaciuto trasformarsi in una
fatina
Trasformarsi in
Turn off He turned the radio off
Ha spento la radio
Spegnere
Turn on He turned the hot water tap on
Ha aperto il rubinetto dell’acqua calda
Accendere, aprire
Turn up (a) He turned up at the party without an invi-
tation
È arrivato alla festa senza un invito
Apparire all’improvviso
Turn up (b) He turned his i-pod up
Alzò il volume del suo i-pod
Alzare il volume
Use up Don’t use up all the colours
Non consumare tutti i colori
Consumare, esaurire
Wake up Wake him up if you can!
Sveglialo se puoi!
Svegliarsi
Walk out He walked out of the meeting when they
began to speak in favour of abortion
Uscì dall’incontro quando cominciarono a
parlare a favore dell’aborto
Uscire, uscire per protesta
Wash
away His house was washed away by the flood
La sua casa venne trascinata via dal dilu-
vio
Trascinare via con l’acqua
Wash up Wash up after eating!
Lava i piatti dopo aver finito di mangiare!
Lavare o fare i piatti
Watch out
for
Watch out for dangerous animals while
you are in the jungle!
Stai attenta agli animali pericolosi mentre
sei nella giungla!
Badare a, stare
attento a,
guardarsi da.
Watch over I think I’m a lucky person. There seems to
be somebody watching over me all the
time!
Penso di essere una persona fortunate.
Sembra che ci sia qualcuno che sorveglia
sopra di me tutto il tempo!
Sorvegliare
Wear out My children wear their shoes out quickly
I miei figli consumano le scarpe veloce-
mente
Consumare
Wipe out We should try to wipe out all forms of
prejudice in our society
Dovremmo cercare di eliminare ogni for-
ma di pregiudizio nella società
Distruggere,
eliminare
126 127
The spaces below can be filled in with new phrasal verbs as you meet them
in future reading etc…
Work out They’re trying to work out all their prob-
lems before deciding whether to divorce
Stanno cercando di risolvere tutti i loro
problemi prima di decidere di divorziare o
meno
Risolvere un
problema con un certo
sforzo
Write back Write back as soon as you know his ad-
dress!
Rispondi subito non appena sai il suo in-
Rispondere per
lettera
Write down His class used to write down notes during
the Literature lessons
La sua classe era abituata a prendere ap-
punti durante la lezione di letteratura
Fare un appunto scritto
Write out Write out your full name and address!
Scrivere per esteso il tuo nome e indiriz-
zo!
Scrivere per esteso
In this section on phasal verbs we are indebted to the following works:
Introduzione ai “Phasal Verbs” , Matthew Furfine, Sellerio, Palermo 2006
Dizionario d’uso dei PHRASAL VERBS, Fernando Picchi, U. Hoepli, Milano 2004
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
128 129
.
130 131
BRIEF READING LIST AND INTERNET WEB AND BLOG SITES
ADVANCED GRAMMARS:
A Communicative Grammar of English, G.Leech, J.Svartvil, London (1975),
Longman;
A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, R.Quirk,
S.Greenbaum, G.Leech, J. Svartvik (with an Index by D.Crystal), Harlow, first
published 1985, twentieth impression (2005), Longman;
Advanced Grammar in Use, (A Self-study reference and practice book for
advanced students of English with/without answers), M. Hewings,
Cambridge (2005), Cambridge University Press.
Cobuild English Grammar, Birmingham University International Language
Database project (chief edit. J.Sinclair), London (1990), Collins;
INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:
English Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for
intermediate students of English with/without answers), R. Murphy,
Cambridge (2004), Cambridge University Press;
Grammar Goals, (Reference and practise for intermediate students), D. Sellen,
Canterbury (2002), Black Cat Publishing (Cideb Editrice);
ELEMENTARY/LOWER-INTERMEDIATE GRAMMARS:
Essential Grammar in Use, (A self-study reference and practice book for
elementary students of English with/without answers), Cambridge (1998),
Cambridge University Press;
Grammatica pratica dell’INGLESE dalla A alla Z, (titolo originale:
Grammaire alphabétique de l’anglais by J.Brossard and Sylvie Chevalier),
Milano (1997), U.Hoepli;
The Good Grammar Book, ( A grammar practice book for elementary to lower
-
intermediate students of English - with answers),M.Swan, C. Walter, Oxford
(2001), Oxford University Press;
The New Burlington English Grammar, (Grammar and Practice for Italian
Students, P.Conti, E.Sharman, R.Zizzo, A.Cowan, Firenze (2005), Burlington
Books/Le Monnier
New Grammar Spectrum (Elementary/Pre-Intermediate/Intermediate),
K.Paterson, M.Harrison, N.Coe, Oxford (2006/2007??), Oxford University
Press
132 133
GRAMMAR IN CYBER SPACE
INTERNET SITES
www.bbc.co.uk
www.englishlearner.com
www.soundsofenglish
www.english-to-go.com
www.englishpage.com
www.zonalingue.com
www.toefl.org
www.britishcouncil.org
BLOG SITES
Learn English! Blog (Google)
(Other blogs which do not just include texts but also pictures/audio /videos,etc)
YouTube, My face and other social networks etc...
134 135
NOTE ON THE AUTHOR (INSIDE BACK-COVER)
Pietro Cipolla was born in 1956 in Solihull where his Sicilian parents were
working and living, and brought up in the Midlands where he completed his
secondary education at the Kings Heath Grammar School (Birmingham). In
1974 he went to study Modern Languages at the University of Palermo and
got he got his degree in 1978 and worked under Professor Giovanni Cianci
for three years, teaching English at various levels at the Facoltà di Lettere e
Filosofia, publishing an essay “Futurist Art and Theory in Wyndham Lew-
is’s Vorticist Manifesto “Our Vortex”, in the Quaderno 9, Istituto
di Lingue, Palermo (1979). A full-time secondary school English teacher
since 1982, in the last seven years he has gone back to teaching at Universi-
ty, working part-time at the Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione (LUMSA
University) in Caltanissetta under Padre Vincenzo Sorce. In all these years
he has always alternated teaching with interpretation and translation work,
travelled widely working as a translator and interpreter in Africa for ‘Casa
Famiglia Rosetta’ (Caltanissetta) one of the most important NGOs in Italy
specialized in drug treatment and prevention, collaborating as a language
councellor with the United States Department of States and the United Na-
tions (UNODC). Recently he has published translations in Franco Carlisi’s
Iavaivoi, Edizioni Gente di Fotografia, Palermo (2006) and edited a school
magazine in English You’re here! (with the same students of the Liceo Sci-
entifico “A.Sciascia” (Canicattì, Agrigento) who have worked on this gram-
mar (Roberta Cassaro, Erika Cicero, Ilaria e Martina Lauricella) .
136 137