UNIVERSITATEA ȘTEFAN CEL MARE DIN SUCEAVA

Facultatea de Științe Economice și Administrație Publică

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Str. Universității nr.13, 720 229, Suceava

Tel: Decanat – 0230 52 02 63, Secretariat: 0230 216 147 / 309, 315
Cont IBAN: RO40TREZ59120F330500XXXX
Cod fiscal: 4244423

Forma de învăţământ: ID
Program de studiu : Contabilitate și informatică de gestiune
Anul I, sem I

LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

Curs pentru învăţământ la distanţă

Lect. univ. dr. Narcisa Maria GALEŞ

2017
Cuprinsul:
I –The Noun…………………………………………………… ……… 5
1. 1. Form……………………………………………………………… 5
1. 1. 2. Compound Nouns…………………………………………. 6
1. 2. Types of Nouns………………………………………………….... 8
1. 2. 1. Proper Nouns…………………………………………………. .8
1.2.2. Common Nouns…………………………………………….. 8
1. 2.3. Partitives………………………………………………….. 10
1. 2. 4.Collective Nouns………………………………………….. 11
1. 3.Gender…………………………………………………………… 12
1.4. Number………………………………………………………….. 16
1. 4. 1. Concord between Subject and Predicate……………. .25
1. 5. Case……………………………………………………………… 27
1. 5.1.The Nominative Case………………………………….. 27
1.5.2. The Genitive(Possessive) Case………………………... 28
1.5.2.1.The Synthetical-Saxon Genitive…………………… 28
1.5.2.2. The Analytical –Prepositional Genitive…………. 30
1.5.2.3. The Double Possessive……………………………. 32
1.5.2.4. The Implicite Genitive……………………………. 32
1.5.3. The Dative Case…………………………………….. .32
1.5.4. The Accusative Case………………………………… 33
1.6. Exercises…………………………………………………………... 38
2. The Article………………………………………………………….. 38
2.1. The Definite Article…………………………………………….. 40
2.2.The Indefinite Article……………………………………………. 40
2.3. The Zero Article………………………………………………… .42
2.4. Exercises…………………………………………………………. 43
3. The Indicative………………………………………………………. 47
3.1. The Simple Present…………………………………………….. .47
3.1.1 Form………………………………………………………… 47
3.1.2 Use…………………………………………………………… 48
3. 1.3Exercises……………………………………………………. 49
3.2. The Present Continuous……………………………………….. 51
3.2.1.Form………………………………………………………... 51
3.2.2Use………………………………………………………….. 51
3.2.3 Exercises……………………………………………….…. .55
3.3. The Present Perfect Simple…………………………………….. 59
3.3.1.Form……………………………………………………… 59
3.3.2.Use……………………………………………………… …60

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 3.3.3. Exercises…………………………………………………. .62
3.4. The Present Perfect Continuous…………………………………. 65
3.4.1. Form………………………………………………………. 65
3.4.2.Use…………………………………………………………. 65
3.4.3. Exercises………………………………………………….. .66
3.5. FUTURITY...................................................................................... 69
3.5.1. Form..................................................................................... 69
3.5.2..................................................................................... 69
3.5.2. The Future Continuous…………………………………….... 73
3.5.2.1. Form…………………………………………………… 73
3.5.2.2. Use……………………………………………………… .73
3.5.2.3. Exercises………………………………………………… 73
3.5.3. To Be Going To (The Near Future)………………………… 74
3.5.3.1.Use………………………………………………………… 74
3.5.3.2.Exercises………………………………………………….. .74
3.5.4. The Future Perfect Simple(shall-will+have+Past
Participle)…………………………………………………………….. 75
3.5.4.1. Use…………………………………………………………..75
3.5.4.2.Exercises………………………………………………….….76
3.5.5. The Future Perfect Continuous (shall/will+have +been+ Past
Participle)……………………………………………………………… 76
3.5.5.1. Use………………………………………………………… 76
3.5.5.2. Exercises…………………………………………………. 76
3.5.6. The Future-In-The- Past Simple( should/would + Short
Infinitive)………………………………………………………………...77
3.5.6.1.Use…………………………………………………………..77
3.5.6.2.Exercises……………………………………………………..77
3.5.7. The Future-In- The- Past Continuous( should/would+ be+
Present Participle)……………………………………………………….77
3.5.7.1. Use…………………………………………………………77
3.5.7.2. Exercises…………………………………………………..77
Conclusions……………………………………………………………….79
Bibliography:…………………………………………………………….79

3
Introduction

Tot ceea ce realizează cineva are un Ce, un De ce, adică posibilele reclamaţii
şi un Cum, adică modalitatea de realizare. Ele îi asigură credibilitatea şi deplina
înţelegere. Lucrarea de faţă nu va fi nici ea o excepţie.
Ce-ul, adică cursul este structurat în trei capitole, fiecare menit să structureze
principalele probleme teoretice legate de substantiv ( cap.1), articol (cap. 2) şi verb
(cap.3). Toate aceste reguli gramaticale sunt însoţite, la sfârşitul fiecărui capitol şi
chiar subcapitol de exerciţii care să faciliteze înţelegerea teoriei prezentate anterior.
Nu este omisă în acest curs nici introducerea unor termeni specifici limbajului
economic, care să conducă, la sfârşitul acestui curs la posibilitatea realizării unei
conversaţii coerente.
Cursul de lima engleză urmat de studenţii anului I, CIG, îşi propune în
primul rând învăţarea principalelor reguli gramaticale legate de substantiv, articol
şi verb, cu precădere modul indicativ.
Aprofundarea acestor probleme gramaticale se va realiza cu ajutorul
exerciţiilor, care vor conţine şi termeni de specialitate. Ele vor fi în aşa fel
structurate încât să genereze rezultate aşteptate în scurt timp.

4
CHAPTER I:
THE NOUN
Capitolul I se va ocupa de prezentarea substantivului, începând cu definiţia
acestei părţi de vorbire, continuînd cu tipurile de substantive existente în limba
engleză, numărul, genul şi cazurile.
Ultima parte a capitolului este dedicată exerciţiilor, care să ajute la însuşirea
teoriei prezentate anterior.

A noun is that part of speech used as the name of a person (girl; John), an
animal (dog), a place (park, Oxford), a job title (teacher), a thing (book), an
action (writing), a quality (bravery), a state (happiness).
Nouns can function as:
a) the subject of a verb :
The boy runs in the street.
b) the direct object of a verb:
Jane wrote a letter.
c) the indirect object of a verb:
I offered mother some flowers.
d) the object of a preposition:
The girl went to school.
e) the complement of the verb to be :
My brother is an engineer.
f) an apposition:
I sent Miss Smith, my secretary, a telex.
g) direct address:
Tom/Boy, come here!

1.1. FORM
Some words function only as nouns (fog, lion, courage), while others may
function as :
a) nouns or verbs having either the same spelling and pronunciation
(answer -to answer, attempt - to attempt; blame - to blame; book - to
book; call -to call; change - to change; climb - to climb ; copy - to copy ;
cost - to cost; dance - to dance ; dream - to dream; drink - to drink ;
drive - to drive ; end -to end ; fall - to fall; fear - to fear ; help - to help ;
hope - to hope ; joke - to joke; kiss - to kiss; offer - to offer ; stop - to stop
; try - to try ; vote - to vote ; walk - to walk ; wash - to wash ; wish - to

5
 wish), or a different pronunciation and,sometimes, a different spelling: (f) -
(v) (belief - to believe; proof - to prove), /s/ - /z/ (advice - to advise; use
- to use); /6/ - hi (bath - to bathe; cloth -to clothe), or a different stress :
('abstract - to ab'stract; 'conduct - to con'duct; 'desert - to de'sert;
'export - to ex'port; 'import - to im'port; 'permit -to per'mit;
'produce - to pro'duce; 'rebel - to re'bel; 'record - to re'cord); b) nouns
and adjectives (cold; light).

1.1.1. Compound Nouns

In English there are nouns which are made up of two or more parts. These
compound nouns may be either single words or they may be made up of two or
more separate words. Single-word compound nouns may be made up of:
a) two nouns (butterfly ; classroom ; cupboard ; footprint; footstep;
raincoat; sau cepan; seaside ; typewriter);
b) an adjective and a noun (blackbird; blackboard; greenhouse;
heavyweight; longhand; redhead);
c) a verb and an adverb particle or preposition (breakdown; downpour;
income;
outcome; upkeep);
d) an adverb particle or preposition and a noun (outlaw; outlook ; upgrowth).
A large number of single-word compound nouns are built up with the help of
suffixes and prefixes. The suffixes may be added to:
a) verbs
to abolish - abolition
to accept - acceptance to choose - choice
to accompany - accompaniment to circulate - circulation
to accuse - accusation to clean - cleanliness
to acquaint - acquaintance to clear - clearance
to act - action/actor to collect - collection/collector
to admit - admission/admitance to combine - combination
to adopt - adoption to communicate - communication
to advertise - advertisment to compare - comparison
to allow - allowance to compel - compulsion
to appear - appearance to compensate - compensation
to applaud - applause to complete - completion
to apply - application to compose - composition
to approve - approval to confide - confidence
to arrive - arrival to confuse - confusion
to ascend - ascent to congratulate - congratulation
to assist - assistance/assistant to conspire - conspiracy
to attract - attraction to construct - construction
to begin - beginning/beginner to converse - conversation
to behave - behaviour to correct - correction
to bore - boredom to cover - coverage/covering
to calculate - calculation to create - creation
to cancel - cancellation to decide - decision
to declare - declaration
to defend - defence to descend - descendant
to defy - defiance to describe - description
to depart - departure to destroy - destruction
to depend - dependence to develop - development

6
 to discover - discoverer/discovery to manage - management
to disturb - disturbance to marry - marriageto mock -
to divide - division mockery
to employ - employee/employer/ to move - movement
employment to obey - obedience
to encourage - encouragement to obstruct - obstruction
to enter - entrance/entry to occupy - occupation
to exclaim - exclamation to occur - occurence
to exhaust - exhaustion to oppose - opposition
to exist - existence to organise - organisation
to expect - expectations to paint - painter/painting
to expel - expulsion to perform - performance
to explain - explanation to permit - permission
to explode - explosion to persuade - persuasion
to explore - exploration to please - pleasure
to expose - exposure to portray - portrayal
to extend - extention to postpone - postponement
to form - formation to prepare - preparation
to grow - growth to prescribe - prescription
to happen - happening to press - pressure
to hate - hatred to prevail - prevalence
to hinder - hindrance to proceed - procedure
to imagine – imagination to proclaim - proclamation
to imitate - imitation to produce - production
to inform - information to pronounce - pronunciation
to inhabit - inhabitant to propose - proposal/proposition
to inquire - inquiry to prosper - prosperity
to intend - intention to provide - provision
to interfere - interference to publish - publisher/publication
to introduce - introduction to punish - punishment
to invade - invasion to qualify - qualification
to invent - invention to rebel - rebellion
to invite - invitation to recognize - recognition
to judge - judgement to reduce - reduction
to know - knowledge
to laugh - laughter
to rely - reliance to reveal - revelation
to remain - remainder to revise - revision
to repeat - repetition to revive - revival
to resemble - resemblance to revolve - revolution
to reside - residence to satisfy – satisfaction
to resign - resignation to seize - seizure
to resist - resistance
to resolve - resolution
e) a gerund + a noun (dancing-shoes; frying pan ; boiling point; walking
stick).
It must be underlined that, when -ing + noun is a compound noun, only the
–ing form is stressed ('parking area), while when it is not a compound noun,
but a noun preceded by a Present Participle, both parts are stressed ('running
'water ; 'dancing 'bear);
f) other parts of speech (forget-me-not; merry-go-round).

7
1.2. TYPES OF NOUNS
Proper: England; John
concrete : a boy; a book
Nouns countable:
abstract: a dream; an idea
Common:
concrete: bread; milk
uncountable:
abstract: hate; advice
1.2.1. Proper Nouns
They are used for particular persons, things, places, ideas
considered to be unique and are spelt with a capital letter. They are
used to designate:
(first names: Deborah, Kerry
a) personal names <
(^ surnames: Smith, Craig
b) titles : Mr. Jackson; Miss Brown; Mrs. Sappleton; Dr. Johnson;
Queen Victoria; Lord Byron ; Sir Christopher Wren ; Sergent
Longfield; Professor Finocchiaro;
c) calendar items : Sunday ; January ; Christmas ;
d) geographical names:

- countries : Albania ; Britain ; Romania ;

- continents : Africa; Australia ; Europe ;
- lakes, oceans, rivers, seas : Lake Ontario ; The Pacific Ocean;
The Danube; The Black Sea;

e) titles of books, newspapers, institutions: Gone with the Wind, The

Guardian, The United Nations Organization;
f) names of nationalities and languages : English ; Greek; Italian ; Polish ;
Spanish.

1.2.2. Common Nouns

They are all those nouns which do not designate a particular person,
thing, place, idea. Such nouns may be either countable or
uncountable. In order to make the distinction between countable and
uncountable nouns, it must be shown that a noun is countable if:
a) it has a plural form (girls; schools);
b) it can be preceded by a/an (a dog; an apple);
c) it can be preceded by How many or (a) few (How many books have
you got ? ; Your friend has a few oranges);
it can be preceded by numbers (one pencil; three pencils);
to serve - service to train - trainer
to subscribe - subscription to translate - translation

8
 to tempt - temptation to transmit - transmission
to thrill - thriller to warn - warning
b) adjectives
active - activity free - freedom
absent - absence kind - kindness
democrat - democracy happy - happiness
c) other nouns
art - artist history - historian
behaviour - behaviourism impression - impressionism
Berlin - Berliner London - Londoner
boy - boyhood mouth - mouthful
child - childhood member - membership
Darwin - Darwinism owner - ownership
farm - farmer philosophy - philosopher
friend - friendship piano - pianist
hand - handful Romania - Romanian
village - villager
Some of the most frequent prefixes used in building up single-word nouns are the
following:
ante- anteroom
anti- antibody ; anticlimax ; anticyclone ; antithesis
dis- disability; disadvantage; disarray; disclosure; discomfort; discontent;
discourse; discredit; disfavour; disgrace; dishonour; disinclination;
disorder ; disparity ; disrespect; distaste ; disuse
im- impulse
in- inability ; indecision ; independence
inter- interview
non- nonsense
over- overcoat; overdose ; overdraft; overwork
super- superintendent; superman ; supermarket; superstructure; supertax
sur- surcharge ; surface ; surname ; surrealism
under- undercarriage ; underclothes ; undercurrent; underdog ; under-
garment ; undergrowth ; underskirt; undertone
Some compound nouns are made up of two or more separate words :
a) two nouns (chair-leg; department store ; grammar book);
b) an adjective and a noun (common sense ; blue print);
c) a possessive case and a noun (artist's model; traveller's check; lady's maid).
Sometimes the apostrophe is omitted from the first noun (a womens college; a
citizens bank);
a noun + a prepositional phrase (mother-in-law ; editor-in-chief; coat-of-arms);
and it is uncountable if:
a) it has not a plural form: (blood ; gold ; sugar);
b) it cannot be preceded by a/an (What fine weather!):
c) it can be preceded by How much or (a) little : (How much sugar do you want
? Your friend has little luggage);
d) it cannot be preceded by numbers.
However, there are some nouns that can be both countable and uncountable.

9
When they refer to single items they are countable and when they refer to an
object made from that matter they are uncountable :
I drink a coffee every morning.
Grandfather never drinks coffee.
I have corrected all your papers.
Paper is made from wood.
The most frequent uncountable nouns in English are:
accomodation courage cardboard grass

advice damage cash happiness

anger dancing cheese harm

applause dirt chess homework

assistance education china hospitality

behaviour evidence clothing housework

bread flu coal information

business food conduct jealousy

(= trade) fun cookery jewelery

capital furniture countryside knowledge

(= money) gossip

laughter seaside news timber

leisure shopping
lightening smoking nonsense toast
linen soap
luck spelling patience (= bread)
luggage steam
machinery strength permission traffic
meat stuff
money stupidity poetry transport
mud sunshine
music thunder

10
produce underwear rubbish vocabulary

progress violence safety wealth

scenery work

1.2.3. Partitives
They are those nouns which refer to : a) specific items or amounts :
a bar of chocolate/soap/metal a book of stamps
a blade of grass a breath of air
a block of marble/ice/wood a bar/cake of soap
a box of matches a cloud of dust

a board (of directors)

a choir (of singers) d) things
a class (of pupils/scholars) a bale (of cotton)
a company (of actors) a batch (of bread)
a crew (of sailors) a budget (of papers)
a gang (of labourers/thieves) a clutch (of eggs)
a horde (of savages) a collection (of pictures)
a commitee a fleet/flotilla/squadron (of
a congregation (of worshipers) ships)
a council a flight (of aeroplanes/steps)
crowd a forest (of trees)
enemy a hail (of fire)
family
b) animals, birds, insects :
a brood (of chickens)
a covey (of grouse)
a down (of hares)
a drove/herd (of cattle)
a fall (of woodcoks)
a flock (of birds/sheep)
a litter (of cubs/pups)
a nest (of mice/rabbits)
a pack (of rascals/wolves)
a plague (of insects/locusts) .
a padding (of ducks)
c) plants and fruit:
a bouquet/bunch (of flowers)
a bunch (of grapes) a crate
(of fruit)

11
folk a stud (of horses)
government a swarm (of bees/insects)
a host (of angels) a string (of horses)
a jury a team (of horses/oxen)
a mob (in a riot) a tribe (of goats)
nation a troup (of lions/monkeys)
orchestra
a party (of friends) a sheaf (of corn) a strack
public (of hay) a tuft (of grass)
a staff (of servants/teachers)
a team (of players) a library (of books)
a tribe (of natives) a pack (of cards)
a troupe (of dancers/minstrels) a peal (of bells)
a sheaf (of arrows)
a posse (of policemen) a set (of china)
a pride (of lions) a string (of pearls/beads)
a rag (of colts) a suit (of clothes)
a school (of whales) a suite (of furniture/rooms)
a shoal (of herring) a skein (of silk/wool)
a sloth Mil bears)

1.3. GENDER
There are four genders in English: masculine, feminine, neuter and common
(dual).
Referring to the first two ones, we must emphasize that there is a close
connection between the biological category of "sex" and the grammatical
category of "gender". Thus, masculine nouns will be all those nouns of
masculine sex (bachelor; father; king ; uncle) and feminine nouns will be
those nouns of feminine sex (aunt; queen ; sister ; widow). The
distinction between masculine and feminine can be made by:
1. Different words :
bachelor - maid/spinster father - mother
boar - sow fox - vixen
boy - girl friar - nun (monk)
brave - squaw gander – goose
brother - sister husband - wife
buck - doe king - queen
bull - cow lad - lass
cob - swan lord - lady
cock (rooster) - hen male - female
colt - filly man – woman
coster - donah nephew – niece
dad/daddy - mum/mummy papa - mam(m)a
dog - bitch ram - ewe
drake - duck
drone - bee sir - madam
earl - countess sloven – slut
son – daughter

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stag – hind tutor – governess
stallion – mare uncle – aunt
steer - herfer wizard – witch

2. Adding suffixes to the masculine form:

a) -ess
abbot - abbess manager - manageress
actor - actress mister - mistress
adventurer - adventuress mayor - mayoress
ambassador - millionaire - millionairess
ambassadress murder - murderess
author - authoress Negro - Negress (usually offensive
baron - baroness in
benefactor – benefactress meaning)
god – goddess ogre - ogress
heir - heiress patron - patroness
host - hostess peer - peeress
hunter – huntress poet - poetess
instructor - instructress priest – priestes
Jew – Jewess

prince - princess steward - stewardess

prior - prioress tailor - tailoress
prophet - prophetetess tiger - tigeress
proprietar - proprietress traitor - traitress
protector - protectress s waiter - waitress
hepherd - sheperdess warder - wardress
sorcerer – sorceress
b) -ine
hero - heroine landgrave – landgravine
Joseph - Josephine
c) -ix
administrator - administratrix executor - executrix (executress)
aviator - aviatrix (aviatress) prosecutor - prosecutrix
director - directrix (directress) testator - testatrix
d) -a
czar - czarina
don - donna
e) -el-enne
confidant - confidante protege - protegee
comedian - comedienne tragedian - tragedienne
fiance – fiancée
f) -ettel-use
usher - usherette

13
chaffeur - chauffeuse
3. Adding the suffix -er to the feminine :
widow - widower
4. Adding the suffix -groom to the feminine:
bride - bridegroom
5. The use of compounds in which the first element specifies gender :
a) nouns denoting persons
boy friend - girl friend male pacient - female patient
boy scout - girl scout man cashier - woman cashier
boy student - girl student man friend- lady/woman friend
brother-in-law - sister-in-law prince-consort - queen-consort
father-in-law - mother-in-law son-in-law - daughter-in-law
male child - female child

b) nouns denoting animals

he/male ape - she/female ape male/tom-cat - female/tabby-cat
he-boar - she-boar bull/male elephant - cow/female
he-bird - she-bird elephant
bull-calf - cow-calf he-/dog fox - she-/bitch fox
male camel - female camel he-/billy-goat - she-/nanny-goat

male/jack/buck-hare - female/ buck-rabbit - doe-rabbit

doe-hare he-/cock-sparrow - she-/
he-leopard - she-leopard hen-sparrow
dog otter - bitch otter he-swallow - she-swallow
cock-pheasant - hen-pheasant dog-wolf - bitch-wolf cock-pigeon
- hen-pigeon
6. The use of compounds in which the second element specifi|£gender:
chairman - chairwoman salesman - saleswoman
grandfather - grandmother shopman - shopwoman
grandson - granddaughter spaceman - spacewoman
juryman - jury woman spokeman - spokewoman
headmaster - head mistress statesman - stateswoman
halfbrother - halfsister turkey cock - turkey hen
landlord - landlady bulldog - bull bitch
milkman - milkmaid Englishman - Englishwoman
nobleman - noblewoman Frenchman – Frenchwoman
policeman - policewoman
Common (dual) gender denotes either sex and the same word may be used
both of male and female: adult, animal, artist, baby, child, companion,
comrade, cook, criminal, doctor, enemy, fool, foreigner, friend, guardian,

14
guest, infant, inhabitant, librarian, musician, neighbour, novelist, orphan,
owner, parent, partner, passenger, person, pig, professor, pupil, relative,
servant, speaker, student, teacher, writer, etc. Sometimes, for clarity, some
"gender markers" are used : boy-friend; woman-student; he ; him; his ; she;
her.
Neuter gender denotes things, ideas or beings whose sex we are not
interested in: book; house; horse; baby; thought.
For stylistic purposes, a few nouns that are neuter may become either
masculine or feminine. In this way such nouns as the following may become
masculine:
a) nouas denoting passions, violent actions: anger, crime, despair, discord,
fear,
fury, love, murder, terror ;
b) names of things that suggest power, dignity : death, grave, mountain, ocean,
river,
storm, stream, summer, sun, time, winter.
On the other hand there may be those spoken of as feminine :
a) nouns that suggest beauty, gentleness : affection; charity ; devotion; faith ;
hope ; justice; melancholy ; mercy ; modesty ; spring ; virtue;
b) nouns that denote negative traits of character: envy; jealousy; revenge;
stubbornness;
vanity;
c) nouns denoting elements from nature: darkness ; earth; evening; moon;
d) names of arts and sciences : art; drama ; painting; poetry ;
e) names of countries, localities : country; city ; London; Romania;
f) names of aeroplanes, boats, ships: balloon ; boat; bus; car; plane;
steamer;
submarine;
names of universities: Cambridge University; Oxford University; California
University.

1.4. NUMBER
In English, singular means one and plural means more than one. The general
rule of making up plurals is to add -s or -es to the singular form of the noun. The
suffix -s is pronounced /s/ after the sounds Ikl - books ; If I - laughs ; /p/ - cups
; HI - pets ; /9/- months, or /z/ after vowels - letters, eyes, taxis and the sounds
/b/ - pubs ; HI -heads ; /g/ - dogs ; /I/ - girls; I ml - rooms ; In/ - hens ; /rj/ -
mornings ; /v/ - waves. The suffix -es, pronounced /iz/ is used after the sounds
Is/ - dresses; /// - bushes; Idl - villages ; /t/ - benches ; l$l - garages; Izl -
vases, as well as after some nouns ending in -o: heroes.
The following rules concerning the plural of nouns in English must be
observed:
1. Nouns ending in -y preceded by a vowel simply add -s to the singular form:
day -days ; boy - boys, while those ending in -y preceded by a consonant
change the -yto -ie and then add -s: country - countries; enemy - enemies.
Mention must bemade of the fact that -qu- is reckoned as a consonant group,
so that such nouns ascolloquy or soliloquy will have the form colloquies and

15
 soliloquies, respectively, inthe plural.
Quotation words and proper names ending in -y get -s. So we must say:
I'm interested in all the whys and therefores.
There are three Marys in our family. However, we change y to ie in such
examples as : the two Sicilies ; the Ptolemies.
2. Nouns ending in -o get either -s or -es when turned into the plural. The suffix -
s willbe added to:
a) those nouns whose final -o is preceded by a vowel:
bamboo - bamboos kangaroo - kangaroos
cameo - cameos nuncio - nuncios
cuckoo - cuckoos oratorio - oratorios
curio - curios portfolio - portfolios
embryo - embryos radio - radios
folio - folios scenario - scenarios
studio - studios
b) some nouns ending in -o, of foreign origin:
albino - albinos magneto - magnetos
alto - altos merino - merinos
canto - cantos rondo - rondos
casino - casinos soprano - sopranos
dynamo - dynamos tango - tangos
c) abbreviations: kilos (< kilogramme); photos (< photograph);
pianos
(< pianoforte)
proper names : Filipino - Filipinos; Eskimo - Eskimos; Hindoo - Hindoos
Romeo - Romeos
When the final -o is preceded by a consonant, the suffix -es will be added:
domino - dominoes domino - dominoes
echo - echoes echo - echoes
embargo - embargoes embargo - embargoes
hero - heroes hero - heroes
mosquito - mosquitoes mosquito - mosquitoes

There are some nouns ending in -o that may have both -s and -es for the plural:
archipelago - archipelagos/archipelagoes ; banjo - banjos/banjoes ; bravo -
bravos/ bravoes; buffalo - buffalos/buffaloes; calico - calicos/calicoes;
commando - commandos/ commandoes; domino - dominos/dominoes ;
flamingo - flamingos/flamingoes ; fresco - frescos/frescoes ; ghetto -
ghettos/ghettoes ; grotto - grottos/grottoes ; halo -halos/haloes ; lasso -
lassos/lasoes ; manifesto - manifestos/manifestoes ; memento -
mementos/mementoes; motto - mottos/mottoes; portico -
porticos/porticoes; stiletto - stilettos/stilettoes ; tobacco - tobaccos/tobaccoes
; tornando - tornandos/ tornandoes ; volcano - volcanos/volcanoes ; zero -
zeros/zeroes.
3. Most nouns ending in -f or -fe get -s in the plural: belief - beliefs ; cliff -
cliffs ; fife - fifes ; grief - griefs; gulf - gulfs ; muff - muffs ; proof -
proofs ; roof - roofs ; safe - safes.
There are a few nouns that change -f or -fe into -ves when turned into the

16
plural: calf - calves ; elf - elves ; half - halves ; knife - knives ; leaf - leaves ;
life - lives ; loaf - loaves; self - selves; sheaf - sheaves; shelf - shelves; thief -
thieves; wife - wives; wolf - wolves. But we say "still lifes" (= pictures
representing inanimate objects).
At the same time, some nouns with the same ending may have either -s or -ves
in the plural: beef - beefs (kinds of beef)/beeves (carcasses of oxen); dwarf -
dwarfs/ dwarves ; handkerchief - handkerchifs/handkerchieves ; scarf -
scarfs/scarves ; turf - turfs/turves ; wharf - wharfs/wharves.
4. Nouns ending in -th get -s in the plural. The ending -ths is pronounced either
/8s/:
cloth - cloths; death - deaths ; faith - faiths; heath - heaths ; moth -
moths ; sloth - sloths; birth - births; hearth - hearths; length -
lengths; month - months, or (5z): bath - baths ; mouth - mouths; path -
paths. There are some nouns whose plural form -ths may be pronounced
either /6s/ or Idzl: broth (bn9) - brothes (bro:9)/(bro3z); cloths - clothes
(kb0s)/(klau3z); earth (3:9) – earths (3:0s)/(3:9z); lath (la:6) - laths
(la:9s)/(la:3z); oath (au8) - oaths (3u9z)/(3u3z); sheath (Ji:9) - sheaths
(Ti:0s)/(Ji:9z); truth - truths (tm:0s)/(tru:dz); wreath (ri:9) - wreaths
(ri:9s)/(ri:3z)
5. The noun house /haus/ has the form houses /hauziz/ in the plural.
6. Some of the nouns that have irregular plurals are : brother - brethren
(members of the same community); child - children ; foot - feet; goose -
geese ; louce - lice ; mouse - mice; man - men ; tooth - teeth ; woman -
women ; ox - oxen.
7. A number of nouns get "zero plural" that is they have the same form in both
singular
and plural:
a) nouns referring to hunting and fishing: carp; cod; game; grouse; hake ;
plaice; roe; salmon; sheep; snipe. However, when the idea of
"varieties" or "breeds of" is implied such nouns can be used in the
plural: deer - deer(s); buffalo -buffallo(s); herring - herring(s);
mackerel - mackerel(s); trout - trout(s).
b) nationality names: Ceylonese - Ceylonese; Chinese - Chinese;
Japanese - Japanese; Portuguese - Portuguese; Swiss - Swiss;
Vietnamese - Vietnamese.
c) nouns expressing number or measurement: two dozen boxes; five
hundred
dollars; three thousand people ; ten million books; two gross of stamps ;
five
score pencils ; three hundred weight of coal; four joke of cattle ; three
brace of partridges ; several head of cattle; five gross of nails.
These nouns may occur in the plural when they express an indefinite
number: hundreds of pages; millions of dollars; dozens of boxes.
Besides, when such indefinite indicators of number as a few, many, several,
some precede the nouns hundred; thousand; million, these nouns can have
either a zero plural or a regular form. But we must say : many thousand books
or many thousands of books. And, one must note the difference in meaning
between:
Some hundreds of people (= several hundred) and

17
 Some hundred people (= about a hundred)
8. Nouns that are part of compound adjectives denoting measure, quantity, etc.
also get zero plural when they precede another noun: a two-hour exam; a
ten-month
calendar; a three-day trip; a five-foot ladder; a four-cylinder car; a five-
minute
conversation; a two-minute pause; a three-mile walk; a five-year (old)
child ; a two-week vacation; a five-pound note; the eight-hour day.
9. The plural of compound nouns follows the patterns :

a) the final element is made plural, especially if it is a one-word noun

(armchair - armchairs; bedroom - bedrooms ; goldfield - goldfields;
horseman - horsemen; hoursewife - hoursewives; pickpocket -
pickpockets), but also when the elements of the compound are not
themselves nouns (breakdown - breakdowns; drawback - drawbacks ;
dugout - dugouts ; forget-me-not - forget-me-nots; grown-up - grown-
ups; good-for-nothing - good-for-nothings; ne 'er-do well - ne 'er-do-
wells; merry-go-round - merry-go-rounds; outbreak - outbreaks; outcome
- outcomes);
b) when the first element of a compound is a noun followed by a
prepositional phrase, adverb or adjective, it is the noun that takes the
plural form: brother- -in-law - brothers-in-law; commander-in-chief
- commanders-in-chief; editor-in-chief - editors-in-chief; father-in-
law - fathers-in-law; justice-of- -peace - justices-of-peace; looker-on -
lookers-on; man-of-war - men-of-war; mother-in-law - mothers-in-law;
passer-by - passers-by ;
c) when the compound is made up of a noun and an adjective, the noun
generally gets the plural form, although in everyday speech plurals with -s
are often met: attorneys-general - attorney-generals; knights-errant -
knight-errants; poets- -Iaureate - poet-laureates; sergents-major -
sergent-majors ;
when the first element of a compound is one of the words: man, woman, lord,
gentleman, knight, yeoman, both elements of the compound are made plural:
man-servant - men-servants ; woman-teacher - women-teachers ; gentleman
farmer - gentlemen farmers; Lord Justice - Lords Justices; Knight--
Templar - Knights-Templars; yeoman-farmer - yeomen-farmers.
10.A few nouns are used only in the singular being called Singularia Tantum
nouns. Such examples of nouns are: advice; barley; bread; business;
butter; clergy; copper; cotton; flour; furniture; happiness; intelligence;
income; information; knowledge ; luck ; luggage ; maize ; meat;
merchandise; milk; money ; nonsense ; nylon ; peace; police ;
progress ; remorse; rice; sand; tobacco ; wheat; weather; London;
Europe. None of these nouns can be preceded by the indefinite article a/an
and, as some of them have a collective meaning, when we want to refer to
the singular, we must use the words piece or item, etc : a piece of
advice/furniture/luck/nonsense, a piece/item of information; a loaf of
bread; a flash of lightening.
11.A number of nouns (Pluralia Tantum) have only a plural form:

18
 a) articles of dress: braces; breeches; drawers; jeans; knickers;
pants; pyjamas ; shorts ; tails ; tights ; trousers ;
b) parts of the body : entrails; genitals; thews; vitals;
c) names of diseases or illnesses : measles ; mumps ; rheumatics ;
hysterics; rickets;
d) tools and instruments consisting of two parts : bellows ; binoculars;
glasses ; pliers; scales; scissors; spectacles; tongs;
e) names of some games : billiards ; cards ; bowls ; dominoes ;
draughts ; marbles ; ninepins ; skittles;
f) names of sciences or subjects: astrophysics; aesthetics ; ballistics;
civics ; cybernatics ; diplomatics; dynamics ; economics ;
electronics; ethics; gymnastics ; hidrostatics; informatics;
kinematics; kinetics; linguistics ; mathematics ; optics ; phonetics;
physics ; politics; sonics; statistics; tactics; therapeutics;
g) geographical names : the Alps; the Carpathians; the Highlands; the
Indies; the Netherlands;
h)some nouns ending in -ing + s :diggings; doings; savings; surroundings
;
sweepings ; takings ; winnings ; i) some adjectives turned into nouns by
adding the suffix -(e)s: antics; chemicals;
commons; necessaries; news ; odds; Olympics; riches ;
theatricals ;
valuables; j) miscellaneous: alms; annals; auspicies; barracks;
clothes; colours
(=flag); contents; corps; customs; fireworks; funds;
gallows;
headquarters ; innings ; manners ; means; remains ; sands;
spirits ;
thanks; works.
12.Some of the foreign nouns have been absorbed into English having a normal
English plural, others have preserved their foreign plural, and others have both
English and foreign plurals:

The Origin Singular English Foreign

Language Noun Plural Plural
Latin

a) -us - -i/-ora/-
era
bonus bonuses
campus campuses
circus circuses
genius geniuses genii

19
 cactus cactuses cacti
focus focuses foci
fungus funguses fungi
nucleus nucleuses nuclei
radius radiuses radii
syllabus syllabuses syllabi
terminus terminuses termini
alumnus alumni
bacilus bacili
stimulus stimuli
genus genera
b) -a - -ae
arena arenas
dilemma dilemmas
idea ideas
era eras
sonata sonatas
antenna antennas antennae
larva larvae
vertebra vertebras vertebrae
c) -um - -a
album albumus
aquarium aquariums aquaria

20
 curriculum curriculums curricula
forum forums (fora)
medium mediums media
memorandum memorandu memoranda
ms
stadium stadiums stadia
addendum addenda
bacterium bacteria
erratum errata
ovum ova
stratum strata
d) -ex/-ix - -ices
apex apexes apices
index indexes indices
appendix appendixes appendices
matrix matrixes matrices

21
The Origin Singular Noun English Foreign
Language Plural Plural
Greek
a) -is/is/ - -es/i: z/ analysis axis demons analyses
b) -on - -a basis crisis automatons axes bases
diagnosis crises
ellipsis diagnoses
hypothesis ellipses
oasis hypotheses
paranthesis oases
thesis parantheses
demon theses
automaton automata
criterion criteria
phenomenon phenomena
French Singular Noun English Foreign
Plural Plural
a) -eau - -eaux/-ieu plateau plateaus plateaux
-ieux portmanteau portmanteau portmantea
bureau s bureaus ux bureaux
tableau adieu tableaus tableaux
adieux
-s - zero plural (in writing) and regular plural in speech: chamois
/' Jaemwa:/ -/Jasmwa:z/; chassis /'Jassi/ - /'Jxs\z/; corps /ko:/ -
/ko:z/.
Italian Singular Noun English Foreign
Plural Plural
-o - -i soprano sopranos (virtuosi)
virtuoso virtuosos libretti (soli)
libretto solo librettos tempi
tempo solos tempos
13.Sometimes, the two plural forms of nouns have different meanings:
dies (= metal stamps for making money)

dice (= small cubes of bone or wood used in games of chane)

die
formulas (= forms of words)
formula
formulae (= mathematical term)

22
 geniuses (= persons of unusually great mental powers)
genius
genii (= good or evil spirits)
indexes (= tables of contents) \ indeces (= algebrical signs)
index
mediums (= people claiming communication with spirits)
medium
media(= means; agencies)
penny
pennies (= individual coins) pence (= collective value)
staff
staffs (= a body of persons; sticks, poles)
cloth
staves (= a set of five horizontal lines used in music)

14. There are some nouns whose plural form has different meanings: age
- The Middle Ages
air - airs (= affected manners: to give oneself airs)
instruments for navigation
compass - compasses
(instrument for instruments for drawing circles
navigation)
a) hues
colour - colours
(hue) b) regimental flag

content - contents (the list of chapters)

(that which is contained)
a) habits
custom - customs
(habit) b) import duties; also the body of
people who collect these and their
place of activity

damage - damages (compensation for injury or loss)

(injury or harm that
impairs value of usefulness)
a) currents of air
draught - draughts

23
(current of air) b) a game played on a board
with twenty four pieces

a) sliding compartments
drawer - drawers
(sliding compartment as b) a garment for the lower part of the
body
in a piece of furniture) with separate portion for each leg
a) results
effect - effects
(result, consequence) b) goods, personal property

a) enclosed land attached to a house

ground - grounds
(the solid surface b) dregs, especially of coffee
of Earth)

a) sign of the alphabet a) signs of alphabet

letter - letters b) epistles
b) epistle c) learning and literature ("a man of letters")

manner - manners a) ways; customs

(way) b) behaviour

minute - minutes a) spaces of time

(space of time) b) secretary's record of proceedings at
a meeting

pain - pains a) sufferings

(suffering) b) trouble, effort

premise - premises a) things assumed as basis for an

agreement
(a proposition from b) buildings
which a conclusion is drawn)

quarter - quarters a) fourths

(one fourth) b) alloted place or station, especially
for troops

24
sand - sands (beach)
(tiny particles of crushed rock)

spectacle - spectacles a) public shows

(public show) b) eye-glasses

a) souls
spirit - spirits b) alcoholic drinks
(soul; God) c) state of mind, temper

15. Letters, figures and abbreviations as well as other substantivized parts of speech
are made plural by adding the suffix -s:
You must cross all your t's.
Her d's are too small.
Such hats were in fashion in the 1950's.
The children were walking in twos or in threes (= two by two/three by three)
All the M.P.s (= Members of Parliament) were present.
There were a lot of V.I.P.s (= very important persons) on the plane.
We'll listen to all your pros and cons.
She knows I have had many ups and downs in my life.
But the abbreviations made up of isolated letters make the plurals by
doubling that letter:
c. (= chapter) - cc. p. (= page)
- pp.

1.4.1. Concord between Subject and Predicate

1. The general rule is that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural
subject
takes a plural verb:
This girl speaks English. These girls
speak English.
2. Collective nouns may be followed either by a singular verb or a plural one.
When
such a noun is regarded as a whole it takes a singular verb:
My family is called Smith.
but when it is thought of as a group of individuals, it takes a plural
verb: My family are at home.
However, such collective nouns as: cattle, clergy, people, police, public are
always followed by a plural verb.
The cattle were grazing in the field.
The police are investigating this case.
3. Two singular subjects connected by either ... or; neither ... nor ; not only ...

25
 but
also; no less than ...; and not are followed by a singular verb:
Either the boy or the girl knows the answer.
But when one subject is singular and the other one plural, the "rule of
proximity" must be observed:
Neither the teacher nor the pupils are in the classroom.
Neither the pupils nor the teacher is in the classroom.
4. Two or more subjects connected by and take a plural verb:
The cat and the dog are under the table.
However, when the two subjects are regarded as a whole, a "single idea",
they are followed by a singular verb:
Fish and chips is a traditional English food.
Whisky and soda is Tim's favourite drink.
My neighbour and friend comes here every day. (one person)
My neighbour and my friend come here every day. (two different
persons)
The same thing happens to nouns denoting units of measurement which
take a singular verb when they are preceded by a numeral:
Fifty pounds is a lot of money. (= sum)
Five years is a long time. (= period)
Twenty miles is a long distance.
5. A singular noun preceded by each, either, every or neither takes a
singular verb:
Each boy tells us a joke. Either book is
interesting. Every student knows this answer.
Neither solution was good.
When a plural noun is preceded by neither of, it can be followed either by a
singular or a plural verb :
Neither of the girls lives/live in this house.
6. The nouns body, heart, life, mind, soul are used in the plural whenever they
refer
to more than one person:
Many people lost their lives in World War II.
7. The plural must be used with anything greater than one unit: one and a half
years.
8. The words with, together with, as well as, in addition to, including
following a subject do not affect the number of the subject:
The woman with a large hat is very pretty.
Tom, together with his sister, goes to the concert every Friday.
Jane, as well as her brother, drinks a lot of milk.
9. When the "formal subject" of a sentence is there, the predicate must agree
with the "real subject" :
There is a book on the table. There are
many trees in the garden.
10. The noun number takes a singular verb when it is preceded by the definite
article the and a plural verb when it is preceded by a:
The number of mistakes is very large. A

26
 number of people were waiting for me.
11. When the pronoun it is used in identifying or emphatic constructions, it is
followed by a singular verb :
It is these boys who broke my window.
12.The relative pronoun takes the same number and person as the word it
modifies: This is one of the most interesting books that have ever been
written.
13. Singularia Tantum nouns (advice ; information; furniture; damage;
luggage; knowledge, machinery, etc.) are followed by a singular verb: Your
information is very interesting. Kerry's luggage was very heavy.
14Pluralia Tantum nouns will be followed either by plural verbs when they
name things made of two parts (glasses ; scissors ; trousers), or when they are
one of these : chemicals; contents; ashes; riches; surroundings, etc., or by
singular verbs when they name diseases (measles ; mumps), games (billiards;
draughts ; cards) or when they are one of these : news ; works, etc.; either by
singular or by plural verbs after names of sciences, subjects (acoustics - the
singular verb refers to the science, the plural verb refers to the acoustic features;
phonetics - the singular verb refers to the science, the plural verb refers to the
phonetic features; physics, mathematics, etc.), or after such nouns as : means ;
series ; species.
His trousers are very smart. Mumps is a very
common illness with children. Her news is extremely
interesting. Acoustics is the scientific study of sound.
The acoustics of this room are very good.

1.5. CASE
English nouns have the following cases: Nominative; Genitive (Possessive),
Dative
and Accusative. There is no distinction in form between nouns that are in different
cases, except in the Genitive.

1.5.1. The Nominative Case

A noun is in the Nominative when it is:
1. the subject of the sentence:
The teacher asks us a lot of questions. A
strong wind is blowing.
2. the predicative (the complement) of the verbs: to appear; to be; to look;
to
seem:
That woman is a singer.
3. the apposition of a noun:
Our friend, a funny fellow, will tell us a lot of jokes.

27
4. the subject of a non-finite verb, as part of the Absolute Nominative :
Mother being very tired, I gave up asking her to help me.
The Nominative of Address, also called The Vocative Nominative,
designates a being or a thing to which we are addressing ourselves:
Boy, come here!
Mother, look at me!

1.5.2.The Genitive (Possessive) Case

The Genitive expresses both possession and origin, material, composition,
measure. There are four Genitive forms in English:

1.5.2.1. The Synthetical/Saxon/'s Genitive

This genitive is formed as follows:
a) singular noun + 's
My mother's blouse. The teacher's
desk.
b) plural noun + '
The boys' ball was new. The parents' bedroom.
c) irregular plural noun + 's
The women's society.
The children's toys.
Proper names ending in -s usually get only the apostrophe, although 's may
also be used, in either case the ending of the noun being normally
pronounced /iz/:
Dickens' novels /'dikinziz/
Dickens's novels /'dikinziz/
The Synthetic Genitive is used with:
1. Proper names:
Deborah's native town
2. Names of persons :
My sister's doll Your neighbour's
car
When the "possessor" is represented by several words, the possessive ending is
added after the last one only :
The boy and the girl's toys (they have the same toys)
If each "possessor" is followed by 's, this means that the possessed objects
differ: The boy's and the girl's toys (the boy has some toys and the girl
has others)
Similarly, 's can also be added to a whole phrase: My
brother-in-law's job The woman next door's
husband

28
3. Collective nouns:
The government's decisions Our
company's success
4. Names denoting other beings than persons:
Pussy's kittens A spider's
web
5. Personifications:
a) abstract nouns:
Liberty's defence
b) names of countries, towns:
Romania's mountains London's
parks
c) names of celestial bodies :
The Sun's rays
6. Names of vessels, boats, ships:
Our ship's crew
7. Names of chronological divisions or nouns denoting measurements, distance,
weight,
worth, etc.:
You must come to tomorrow's meeting. Have you read today's newspaper?

She came back after a year's absence. We have got a week's holiday. The patient
needs eight hours' sleep every night. They had a ten minutes' conversation.
Also:
a foot's distance two dollars' worth
a stone's throw within arm's reach a hair's bredth

8. Idiomatic expressions:

for God's sake to get one's money's worth

for goodness' sake a needle's eye
for heaven's sake one's heart's desire
out of harm's way at one's wit's end
to be at death's door a pin's head
to our heart's content at swords' points
in my mind's eye on a razor's edge
at one's finger's end the journey's end

Sometimes the Genitive is used elliptically, that is without the "possessed

object" :

29
a) when the "possessed object" has already been mentioned and we want to
avoid
repetition:
Mary's blouse is more beautiful than your sister's.
b) when one of the following words : church, department store, hotel, shop,
theatre,
a person's house, etc. is understood :
We visited St. Paul's.
She is going to the grocer's/butcher's/baker's.
I will stay at my aunt's.

1.5.2.2. The Analytical/Prepositional/Periphrastic Genitive

It is made up with the help of the preposition of and it is used:
1. When the "possessor" is a thing :
The roof of the house The garden
of the school
2. In some geographical names :
The Isle of Man The city of
London
3. Before substantivized adjectives :
The needs of the poor
4. When we want to underline the importance of a proper name :
We discussed about the wars of Napoleon.
5. Before proper names followed by an apposition:
This is the house of Mr. Brown, the architect.
6. When the "possessor" is a small animal, insect, etc. With bigger animals,
the
Synthetical Genitive is used :
The wings of the fly The egg of a
robin but
The elephant's trunk
7. When the "possessed object" is preceded by a demonstrative adjective or by
the
indefinite article:
Those toys of the children Tom is a
cousin of my friend.
8. In some idiomatic expressions :
all of sudden in place of
of a size in sight of
as a matter of fact by means of
in front of a drunkard of a father
in order of a devil of a child
in place of a mountain of a wave
beyound reach of a monster of a wave

30
 a devil of a sea
Although the Analytical Genitive is generally regarded as an alternative to
the Synthetical Genitive, diis is no longer possible when the latter is a "Classifying
Genitive", that is it has an adjectival value:
John is a ship's doctor, (not: "a doctor of a ship")
She is a lady's maid, (not: "a maid of a lady")
You have a doctor's degree, (not: "a degree of a doctor")
This is a man's work, (not: "a work of a man")
or with the nouns Aunt, Father, Grandmother, Mother, Nurse, regarded as
proper names, when they are not preceded by a possessive adjective:
Aunt Martha's present
Father's free day
or when it denotes proper names of localities, squares, institutions, shops,
etc. St. Albans (= St. Alban's town) Lincoln's Inn Hall Hollywood's
Studios St. James' Palace
or when the noun in Genitive is followed by a Gerund:
Jane's going there was very surprising. I count on
Kerry's arriving here on time.
1.5.2.3. The Double Possessive
It consists of the combined Analytical and Synthetical Genitives, usually
having a
partitive meaning. Notice the difference:
A portrait of Turner (one portraying him)
A portrait of Turner's (one painted by him or belonging to him)

1.5.2.4. The Implicit Genitive

The Genitive relation is indicated, in this type of construction, only by word
order, having no other genitive markers:
Sun-rise (= the rise of the Sun)
The United Nations Organization (= The Organization of the United
Nations)
Student Hostel (= the hostel of the students)
The Union Square (= The Square of the Union)
1.5.3. The Dative Case
The Dative Case is that case that indicates to whom the action of a verb is
directed. It is in fact the case of the indirect object and it is marked either by the
prepositions to or for or by word order.
I gave Kerry a good book, (the stress is on "a good book")
I gave a good book to Kerry, (not to any other person)
Get the room ready for our guest.
Although the preposition to does not occur when the indirect object follows
immediately after the verb, there are some verbs that always require the use
of to: to address; to announce; to attribute; to communicate; to declare;
to describe; to explain; to introduce; to mention; to read; to relate; to
repeat; to suggest.

31
 The teacher explained the new words to the students.
The teacher explained to the students the new words.
Besides the two prepositions mentioned above, of and from may also,
sometimes, precede a noun in the Dative case :
I inquired of Alice what our programme was.
He stole that toy from the little girl.
The preposition for is also required by such verbs as : to bring; to buy ; to
do; to get; to leave; to make; to order; to procure, etc., the preposition of - by
to ask something; to beg something and the preposition from - by to
require; to snatch; to take; to tear, etc.
The Dative Case is generally used:
a) after such intransitive verbs as: to happen, to occur, to propose, to
submit,
to surrender, to yield, followed by the preposition to:
It happened to my friend to be there.
b) after such transitive yerbs as: to deny; to give; to hand; to lend; to offer; to
pay;
to read; to tell; to show; to write followed by a direct object and the
preposition to:
I offered a bunch of flowers to that pretty girl.
c) after such transitive verbs as: to buy; to choose ; to do ; to leave; to
make ; to order; to save; to span followed by a direct object and an
indirect object preceded by the preposition for:
I chose a hat for my father.
d) after such adjectives as: adequate; corresponding; cruel; kind; superior,
etc.
followed by the preposition to:
She was very kind to the boys.
1.6. Exercises:
I. Give the nouns derived from verbs, adjectives or other nouns with the help
of the suffixes -acy; -age; -al; -ation; -ency; -(er)y; -ety; -fill; -hood; -ion; -ing; -
ity; -ism; -ment; -ness:
1. They tried the murderer. His wife was at ... 2. Everybody wants to be happy, so
we all seek ... 3. They decided this thing yesterday, so it's their ... 4. You shouldn't
be so anxious ... ? Why don't you control your ... ? 5. I refused their help and my ...
is final. 6. Sue is absent again. I wonder how she will explain her ... this time. 7.
This thing happened to him when he was a child, that is in his ... 8. You will be
able to post this letter after you have paid its ... 9. She is a very curious person. Her
... is well-known. 10. Grannie will arrive at 10 o'clock and she will be met at ... by
my brother. 11. The scientists have discovered a new type of fuel. Their ... is
extremely valuable. 12. They warned me but I didn't want to take into account their
... 13. You must try and be a little more efficient. When you improve your ..., you
will be better paid. 14. They agreed to meet again the next day. It was the first time
for them to be all in ... 15. This man is a socialist and so he believes in ... 16. I must

32
put this medicine in my mouth, so I'll take one ... 17. Only a lunatic would do such
a thing so it was her sheer ... to lend him so much money. 18. She tried to explain
that thing to us, but her ... was naive. 19. She was very happy, but her ... did not last
long. 20. I want to iron your shirt because it is full of creases after being in your
suitcase. Now I want to give it an ...
II. Make up compound nouns with the help of suffixes from the following
verbs, adjectives or nouns:
to depart; democrat; to accuse; to compare; to satisfy; active; to defend; to
prescribe; to portray; to assist; absent; to allow; boy; to admit; to combine; to
qualify; to postpone; to thrill; to arrive; free; to begin; to confuse; art; to clear; to
seize; to reveal; to clean; kind; to acquaint; to resign; to rely; to approve; to
prevail; to cover; to confide; to prosper; to cancel; to punish; behaviour; to
choose; mouth; to defy; farm; happy; to produce; member; to pronounce;
friend; to resolve; philosophy; to act; piano; to advertise; village; to
resemble; spoon.
III. What are the compound nouns indicated by the meanings below:
1. A man who sells milk. 2. A place where roads cross. 3. A man who makes
shoes.
4. A shelf on which books are kept. 5. A house in which coal is stored. 6. The
lines at the head of a newspaper. 7. A man who keeps a shop. 8. A cloth that
covers the table. 9. A man who repairs watches. 10. A man who lays bricks.
IV. Make up single-word compound nouns adding the prefixes ante-;
anti-; dis-; im-; in-; inter-; non-; over-; super-; sur-; under-, to the
following words:
structure ; course; dependence; skirt; ability ; face ; order; pulse ; work;
growth; realism; grace; cyclone; market; decision; current; name; content;
coat; body; man; room; honour; view ; comfort; dose ; charge ; tax;
inclination; parity ; garment; respect; draft; taste ; carriage ; advantage;
clothes; array ; climax; dog ; thesis.
V. Supply a compound noun in place of the phrase in italics :
1. We have bought a new lamp for reading. 2. You must repair the leg of the
chair. 3. Put this basket on the table in the kitchen, please. 4. The surface of the
road is wet.
5. I remember that the cover of the book was red. 6. Here's the key to the car. 7'.
He has just repaired the keyboard of the computer. 8. Not all of us agree to the
policy of the party. 9.Have you locked the door of the garage ? 10. Margaret was
very much interested in what the critic of the film was saying. 11. When we got
there the door of the cellar was open. 12. You'll have to replace the handle of the
suitcase. 13. There were a lot of people at the gate of the factory. 14. I will ring
you up from the phone in the office.
VI. Translate into English using compound nouns:
1. Pantofii tai de dans sunt foarte frumosi. 2. Bebelusii au foarte pufini anticorpi
impotriva infectiei. 3. Acesta este un vagon pentru nefumatori. 4. Gara este la o

33
distanta de cinci minute de aici. 5. Eram in fata liceului cand am zarit curcubeul.
6. Fiica mea vitrega este pasionata de cuvinte incrucisate. 7. Sindicatele au luat
atitudine impotriva somajului. 8. Subsecretarul de Stat ne-a promis si alte detalii
in curand. 9. Dupa ce mi-am pus salopeta, m-am apucat sa repar masina de spalat.
10. Zborurile de noapte sunt foarte rare. 11. Ultimul cutremur a produs multe
stricaciuni. 12. si-a cheltuit toate economiile la magazinul universal. 13. Trebuie
sa adaugi doua linguri de ulei la ghiveciul din cratita. 14. Conceptiile lui despre
viata se deosebesc de ale noastre. 15. Mi-am scos haina de ploaie cand am intrat
in sera. 16. Camerista plangea mereu fiindca avea o depresie nervoasa. 17. Pe
camp erau o mulfime de flori de nu-ma-uita. 18. Baietelul a fost foarte
impresionat de calusei. 19. Nu credeam ca potopul de ploaie se va opri vreodata.
20. Redactorul-sef m-a rugat sa nu folosesc masina de scris in acea dimineata. 21.
Soacra mea a trebuit sa-si plateasca calatoria cu cecuri de calatorie. 22. Elevul a
scris pe tabla punctele de fierbere ale celor doua elemente. 23. Haiducul se uita la
camasa din zale a cavalerului si sufla din corn. 24. Cand mergeam la mare am
vazut o multime de mierle. 25. Este o mare discrepanta intre vorbele si faptele
tale. 26. Comportarea ta poate fi considerata o lipsa de respect fata de noi. 27.
In copilarie imi placea sa alerg dupa fluturi. 28. Am observat urme de pasi pe
prag.

VII. Write after each word one of the letters M, F, C, N which stand for
masculine,
feminine, common, neuter:
1. school 16. cook
2. husband 17. vixen
3. adult 18. ewe
4. son 19. gander
5. fox 20. child
6. ball 21. bull
7. witch 22. aunt
8. enemy 23. tiger
9. nephew 24. bird

10. nun 25. novelist

11. drake 26. queen
12. basket 27. tree
13. lad 28. neighbour
14. student 29. mare
15. book 30. sultan
VIII. The nouns which denote the following beings belong to the masculine
gender.
What are they ?
1. a man whose wife is dead; 2. an unmarried man; 3. a man to whom a woman
is married; 4. the son of a king; 5. the male of a deer; 6. a fully-grown male
horse;

34
7. a person who cuts and make suits, overcoats ; 8. a man who, by law, receives
wealth,
property when somebody dies; 9. the writer of a book, play, etc.; 10. a man
who
changes to the enemy's side or gives away information to the enemy; 11. a
man who looks after sheep; 12. a man who writes poems; 13. a person who
hunts ; 14. a person who enchants; 15. a man who seeks adventure; 16. a man
who serves people with food, etc. at table in a restaurant; 17. in fairy stories,
a frightening, cruel and ugly giant; 18. a performer who tells jokes, or acts in
comedies; 19. a man who shows people to their seats in a theatre; 20. a man
who works in (an) administration.
IX. Change the feminine nouns to the masculine gender:
1. Mother got up early yesterday morning. 2. The doe-rabbit started to eat a
carrot. 3. The poetess read some nice poems. 4. My niece has passed a very
difficult exam. 5. The goose looked at us. 6. The wife is not at home. 7. The girl
wanted to talk to me.
8. That vixen was very sly. 9. The lady smiled at us. 10. The waitress served us
some
good wine. 11. My aunt sent me a nice present. 12. The bride arrived at the
church.
13. The young widow decided to marry again. 14. The old duck led the
procession down to the pond. 15. The cow was grazing on the bank of the river.
16. Your grandmother is very old. 17. The fiancee didn't know what to say. 18.
The woman-servant was not in the room. 19. The milkmaid brought us some
fresh milk. 20. The schoolmistress has just entered the school.
X. The nouns which denote the following beings belong to the feminine
gender. What are they ?
1. a woman who has never been married; 2. a female horse; 3. the daughter
of a brother or a sister; 4. an actress of tragic roles ; 5. the female of the
dog/wolf/fox; 6.a passenger's female attendant on a ship or an
airoplane; 7. a woman who is about to be married; 8. a female deer; 9. a
woman who teaches children in their home; 10. a female person who
entertains someone else as her guest; 11. an insect that makes honey ; 12. the
sister of one's father or mother, or the wife of one's uncle; 13. a female sheep;
14. young female horse; 15. a woman who is supposed to have magic powers ;
16. a female parent; 17. a large, white water-bird of the duck family; 18. a
member of a female religious community.
XI. Change each masculine noun into the feminine form:
1. Our grandson is a student. 2. My children love the hero of this story. 3. There
was a tom-cat under the table. 4. My brother-in-law was in the garden. 5. The
male patient has just taken some medicine. 6. The tiger snarled as the natives
approached his cubs.7. The king was mourned by thousands of loyal subjects. 8.
The ram raised its head when we entered the garden. 9. The heir didn't know what
to do with so much money. 10. This sportsman won another medal. 11. The
prince appeared at the palace window. 12. The piglets kept close to the boar. 13.
The gander hissed angrily. 14. The headmaster was very pleased with the
examination results. 15. The postman brought me a letter. 16. The monk spoke
about that monastery. 17. My uncle is coming here tomorrow. 18. Her brother
studies at Cambridge. 19. My friend is an adventurer. 20. The wizard entered
the cave.

35
 În acest capitol se va face o descriere amănunţită a principalelor probleme
legate de articol în limba engleză şi conţine mai multe subcapitole.
Cea de-a doua parte a acestui capitol conţine exerciţii menite să contribuie la
aprofundarea teoriei din prima parte.
ChapterII:

THE ARTICLE
There are three articles in English: The Definite Article, The Indefinite Article
and The Zero Article.
2.1. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
The Definite Article the has the same form for singular and plural, and for all
genders: The boy is not at home; The windows are open. The is pronounced /6s/
before consonant sounds : the book; the hat; the train, or /9i: / before vowel sounds
or before a mute h : the apple; the eye; the honour; the heir. Sometimes, if we
want to draw attention to the noun that follows, the is pronounced /8i: / even before
consonants: Is he the singer you were telling me about ?
The Definite Article is used :
1. When the noun has already been mentioned or it is well known:
Yesterday I saw a film. The film was very interesting. Open the door, please! (The
door of the room we are in)
2. Before nouns which are considered unique, "the only one" : the earth; the
Bible; the sky ; the sun.
3. Before a noun that is particularized by a relative clause:
This is the boy who broke my window.
4. Before a noun followed by a prepositional phrase:
The capital of France
The house with large windows
This is the road to Swansea.
5. Before a singular noun used as a representative of a class:
The elephant is a big animal.
When such nouns are turned into the plural, the definite article is no longer used:
Elephants are big animals.
6. Before a common noun followed by a proper noun which identifies it: the
novelist Hemingway, the play Macbeth. But, nouns expressing professions usually
follow the proper names and are preceded by the: Brown, the lawyer; Fanny, the

36
milkwoman; Jackson, the singer. Similarly, nouns in apposition take the before
them: Bucharest, the capita] of Romania; Lucy, the girl we met yesterday.
7. Before the name of a country made up of smaller entities or which has a plural
form: The United Kingdom; The Netherlands. In a few cases the common noun
that accompanies the geographical name has been dropped, being easily
understood, and then the geographical name is preceded by the: The Sahara
(desert), The Mississippi
(river).
8. Before names of rivers, seas, oceans, chains of mountains, group of islands or
islands in of-phrase: The Thames, The Black Sea; The Pacific (Ocean); The
Carpathians ; The Rocky Mountains ; The Hebrides ; The Isle of Man.
9. Before names of ships, trains, aeroplanes : The Titanic; The Flying
Scotsman.
10. Before names of shops, hotels, buildings, institutions: The Ritz
Hotel; The University of Florida; The White House.
11. Before names of persons to particularize a certain person:
The John I'm talking about is not your friend.
12. Before plural names to refer to a group as a whole : The Browns (= the
family); The Tudors ( = the dynasty).
13. Before adjectives, Past Participles or Gerunds used to represent a whole class:
the rich ; the poor; the dead ; the accused ; the grayhaired ; the missing
(= the ones that are missing).
14. Before names of nationalities to refer to a group as a whole: The English;
The French.
15. Before superlatives and ordinal numbers : the best; the longest; the most
interesting; the first; the second ; the tenth ; the last.
16. Before names of musical instruments : to play the piano/violin/guitar.
17. Before names of publications : The Guardian ; The Times ; The Long Beach
Press Telegram.
18. Before names of days, months, seasons, when the reference is made to a
special day, month, season, or when these names are preceded by the prepositions
in or during :
I remember the Sunday we left London.
The winter of 1954 lasted five months.
I think I met her in the January of 1980.
She visited us several times during the spring of that year.
19. Before historical epochs or documents : The Stone Age ; The Middle Ages ;
The French Revolution ; The Magna Carta.
20. In a number of phrases : by the way ; on the one hand/on the other hand; in
the country; in the mountains ; at the seaside; for the time being; in the

37
meanwhile; on the whole ; in the morning ; in the afternoon ; in the evening ;
the more ... the merrier ; to tell the truth.

2.2. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

The Indefinite Article a/an is, historically, an adjective, being a weak form of one.
A is pronounced /a/ in fluent speech and is used before consonant sounds : a book;
a new umbrella; a forgotten story. Sometimes, when speaking with special
emphasis, a is pronounced leil, with or without a pause :
And do you call this a /ei/ car ?
An, pronounced /an/, Inl or /sen/ (when emphasized), is used before vowel sounds
or before a mute h : an elephant; an apple; an hour ; an heir; an honest man.
Some words beginning with h may be preceded either by a or by an, at the
discretion of the speaker : a habit; a hotel; a historian, or an habit; an hotel; an
historian. When such words are preceded by an, their initial h is not pronounced
or is pronounced softly. The Indefinite Article can be used only with singular
countable nouns, irrespective of their gender: a boy ; a girl; an egg. A few pluralia
tantum nouns can also be preceded by a/an:
A barracks was seen in the distance.
A gallows was erected in the centre of the town.
A headquarters was established near the city.
A steel-works has just been closed.
The Indefinite Article is used:
1. When a countable noun is mentioned for the first time:
I looked out of the window and I saw a big dog.
2. Before a singular countable noun used as a representative of a whole class:
A driver is a person who drives a car.
3. When we want to classify people in terms of:
a) their origin:
He is a Mexican. She is an American.
b) their occupation:
I am a doctor. You are a teacher.
But, if the noun denotes a title or office that can only be held by one person at a
time,
the Indefinite Article is no longer used:
Jack was elected captain of the team, (not: "a captain")
As chairman of the society, he took the floor first, (not: "a chairman")
Besides, the Indefinite Article is not used after the verb to turn when it means to
become:
She used to be a teacher, but then she turned singer.
c) their religion:

38
She's a Catholic. He's an Orthodox.
d) their politics:
Tom is a Republican.
4. With the meaning "one", "no matter which" :
Mother, can I have an apple ?
A cube is a solid body having six equal square faces.
Although a/an and one are interchangeable when referring to:
a) whole numbers : a/one hundred/thousand/million ;
b) fractions : a/one quarter/third/half;
c) money : a/one dollar/pound ;
d) weight/measure : a/one kilo ; a/one foot/metre,
they are not interchangeable when:
a) we count and we want to oppose one to two or more:
The old man has only one leg.
b) we want to denote any one. In this case a/an and not one must be used:
Can you lend me a pen, please?
5. Before Miss/Mr./Mrs. + surname, to denote a person known only as a name :
A Mrs. Williamson is waiting for you.
6. In expressions of measurements, when we refer to one unit of measurement in
terms of another. In this case, when we want to emphasize each, we use per instead
of a/an:
a) price in relation to weight: 90 p a/per kilo;
b) distance in relation to speed: 80 km an/per hour;
c) distance in relation to fuel consumption: 50 miles a/per gallon;
d) frequency in relation to time: twice a/per week.
7. With the meaning "the same" :
Birds of a feather flock together, (the same feather) The two dogs are much of a
size, (the same size)
8. Before a noun in apposition, when the person or thing is considered to be
unfamiliar:
John, a friend of mine, saw this film.
9. With little and few :
She has a little money to spare. We have a few friends here.
10. In exclamatory sentences beginning with what, such or so :
What a difficult problem!
What a day!
My boss is such an ass!
The news gave me such a shock.
Mention must be made of the fact that the Indefinite Article precedes the adjective
when used with such and it follows the adjective when used with so:

39
He was such a good worker!
He was so good a worker!
But if the noun following what or such is uncountable, the Indefinite Article is not
used: What weather we are having at the moment! He had never before met such
kindness as theirs.
However, it is correct to say what a pity, although pity is an uncountable noun.
11. Before a noun preceded by as:
He came to the ball dressed as a pirate. She gave me a camera as a present.
12. In a number of phrases:
as a rule to be in a temper
as a reward to be in a position
as a matter of fact to have an appetite for
at a distance to have a head for
at a blow to have an opportunity/a chance
at a discount/premium to have a fancy for
at a bargain to have a right to
at a time to have a talent for
a long/short time to have a headache/a pain/a cough/
all of a sudden (but: to have toothache/earache/
in a loud/low voice rheumatism/influenza)
on an average to have a mind to
on an equal footing to give a hand
of a size just a moment
once upon a time to put an end to
once in a blue moon to make a fire
three times a week to make a fool of oneself
with a view to to make a fortune
on a large/small scale to make a noise
it's a pity to make a fuss
it's a shame to take an interest in
to keep a secret to take a pride in
to keep an eye on to take a dislike to
to be in a hurry to take a seat
2.3. THE ZERO ARTICLE
It is used:
1. Before abstract nouns used in a general sense (life; death ; freedom; liberty ;
love; hate etc.):
Most people fear death.
But, if the reference is made to certain abstract nouns, they are preceded by the:
The death of this child saddened us very much.

40
2. Before names of materials used in a general sense (milk; bread; butter;
coffee; gold; iron; snow; cotton; wool etc.)
Coffee is rather expensive.
But:
The coffee you bought yesterday is very good.
3. Before plural nouns used in a general sense :
Books are silent friends. But:
The books you lent me are very interesting.
4. Before names of meals used in a general sense :
We have breakfast at 7 o'clock every morning. But:
The breakfast we had yesterday morning was delicious.
5. Before names of persons, names of towns, countries (made up of a single
word):
Robert; Bucharest; Romania. But:
The Hague; The Congo ; The Gambia; The Yemen ; The Sudan.
6. Before the nouns Cape, Lake, Mount: Cape Cod; Lake Windermere;
Mount Everest.
7. Before nouns in the possessive case or before a possessive adjective : Jane's
blouse ; my hat.
8. Before names of languages :
Mike speaks English.
9. Before titles followed by a proper noun: Queen Elizabeth ; King Richard ;
Doctor Brown ; Lord Byron; President Bush.
10. Before such nouns as cook, nurse, teacher, gardener, milkman, etc. when
they have the meaning "our cook/teacher/etc."
Teacher is going to give us a test today.
11. Before words like church, school, prison, hospital, market, bed, etc. when
they are used for their primary purpose :
to go to church (to a service)
to go to school/university (as a student)
to go to prison (as a prisoner)
to go to hospital (as a patient)
12.Before names of days, months, seasons, holidays:
Monday is the first day of the week in Romania. February is the shortest month of
the year. Children always look forward to Christmas.
13.Before names of subjects, sciences : Physics ; Chemistry, etc.
My sister studies Music.
14.Before means of transport: by air; by bicycle; by boat; by bus; by car; by
coach ; by land ; by plane ; by sea ; by ship ; by train; by tube ; on foot.
15.In a number of stock phrases : arm in arm ; face to face ; from top to bottom;

41
hand in hand; to come to light; to keep in mind; to make fun of; to make
friends ; at dawn/dusk/night; by day/night; in the face of danger; at anchor; to
be in debt/trouble; to catch fire; to set sail; in place of; in sight of; in order of;
beyond reach ; beyond hope ; to shake hands with ; in case of; under cover of;
by way of; in place of; in front of; in order of; to set foot on; to stay at home ;
from time to time; by means of; at random; on sale; to live from hand to
mouth.
2.4. EXERCISES
I. Add the before the following words and read them aloud:
I. shop; 2. open door; 3. uniform; 4. aspirin; 5. cup; 6. Indian boy; 7. uncle; 8.
holiday; 9. record; 10. house; 11. hour; 12. umbrella; 13. M.P.; 14. week; 15.
exam; 16. B.B.C. ; 17. heir; 18. comedy ; 19. old woman; 20. youth; 21. U.F.O. ;
22. engineer.
II. Turn the following sentences into the singular. Use the according to the
model:
Roses are flowers.
The rose is a flower.
1. Carrots are vegetables. 2. Women are more careful drivers than men. 3. Birds
can fly. 4. Locusts are harmful. 5. Rabbits run very fast. 6. Whales are the biggest
mammals. 7. Elephants never forget. 8. Flies are insects. 9. Wolves are cruel
animals. 10. Plums are very sweet.
III. Work on the model:
I have a letter and some postcards, (from my family)
The letter is from my family.
1. John has a pear and an orange, (in his hand)
2. You have a car and a bicycle, (in the car-park)
3. Jack has a cigarette and a glass of whisky, (in the ashtray)
4. Mary has a dress and a doll, (modern)
5. You have a dictionary and a bag. (useful)
6. We have a cat and two dogs, (under the table)
7. I have a house and a flat, (in the country)
8. Father has an umbrella and a hat. (on his head)
9. I have a son and two daughters, (at home)
10. Your friend has a brother and two sisters, (younger)
IV. Work on the model:
Tea can be refreshing, (grown in China)
The tea grown in China is refreshing.
1. Music can be inspiring, (of ABBA)
2. Roads can be dangerous, (in this region)
3. People can be difficult to please, (in our office)

42
4. Architecture may be impressive, (of the Houses of Parliament)
5. Money may be helpful, (you give me)
6. Stamps may be valuable, (in my collection)
7. Houses can be expensive, (in this district)
8. Ideas can be ridiculous, (of this boy)
9. Bread may be very fresh, (we have eaten) 10. Pudding can be delicious,
(mother has made)
V. Complete the following sentences by putting the into the spaces only where
necessary:
1. "Excuse me, can you tell me where ... theatre is?" "It's on ... left, just after ...
museum."
2. This thing proves once again that ... honesty is not ... best policy. Sometimes ...
diplomacy is ... more successful.
3. "Do you know who put... first man into ... space ? ... United States of America
or ... Russia?"
"... Russia, but ... Americans were ... first on ... moon."
4. "What is on ... TV this evening?"
"It's a comedy and I don't like ... comedies very much."
5. "What... present Government has done up to now is that it has made ... rich
richer and ... poor poorer."
6. "Who is ... man over there talking to ... woman with ... grey hair?"
"Oh, that's Mr. Williams. He's one of ... teachers in our school. He came to our
town ... month before last."
7. "My sister believes that ... women are better drivers than ... men." "Not
necessarily. Some of ... worst drivers I know are women."
VI. Complete the sentences below using the with these adjectives: accused;
aged; blind; dead; deaf; disabled; grey haired; injured; old; poor; rich;
sick; unemployed; young.
1. ... can read with their fingers.
2. ... shoud be held in great respect by everyone.
3. They say one should never speak ill of ...
4. The numbers of ... are still increasing.
5. Only ... can buy such expensive cars.
6. He gave away a lot of his money to ...
7. ... were permitted to make their last wishes.
8. She spent her life visiting ... in the hospitals.
9. ... have to wear hearing aids.
10. One ought to help ...
11. This is a hospital for ...
12. ... usually don't understand the present-day problems of ...

43
VII. What do you call the people living in these places ? Work on the model:
Britain
The British
1. Ireland; 2. China; 3. England; 4. Switzerland; 5. The Netherlands; 6. Japan; 7.
France; 8. Wales; 9. Malta; 10. Portugal; 11. Spain.
VIII. Use the following phrases containing the in sentences of your own:
in the end; by the way ; for the time being ; on the whole; at the beginning ; in the
morning ; in the afternoon; in the evening ; on the other hand; on the verge of; to
tell the time; to run the risk; to tell the truth; in the middle of; on the contrary ;
many happy returns of the day ; behind the scenes; the day after tomorrow; in the
seventh heaven.
IX. Translate the following sentences into English using the where necessary:
Noi, cei din Vest, suntem cu adevarat norocosj. Cat de des am cunoscut noi saracia
adevaratS, oprimarea sau dezastrele naturale ? Viata, pentru noi, este destul de
usoara in comparatie cu viata dusa de milioane de oameni din intreaga lume. Am
calatorit in lung şi-n lat şi saracia pe care am vazut-o in unele Jari este de
neimaginat. In fiecare zi oamenii mor de foame si de bolile cauzate de foamete.
Oamenii din aceste tari au nevoie urgenta de alimente si medicamente si ne cer
ajutorul. Iar noi avem nevoie de bani: banii dumneavoastra. Nu putem cumpara
alimentele si medicamentele de care au ei nevoie fara banii pe care ii dati
dumneavoastra astazi. Asa ca va rugam, fiti generosi. Va multumim.
X. Put a/an before count nouns and some before mass nouns:
1. bag; 2. egg; 3. car; 4. luggage; 5. pen; 6. apple; 7. hour; 8. butter; 9.
bread; 10. water; 11. flour; 12. orange; 13. electricity; 14. boy; 15.
furniture; 16. bone; 17. pencil; 18. chalk; 19, niece; 20. army; 21.
sugar; 22. shoe; 23. advice; 24. flower; 25. icecream; 26. dollar; 27.
milk; 28. country; 29. heir; 30. carrot; 31. money; 32. ox; 33.
information; 34. picture; 35. rice; 36. child; 37. window; 38. airport;
39. blood; 40. question.
XI. Supply a-an if they are necessary:
1. ... Lake Ontario is one of ... five Great Lakes in ... North America. 2. Andrew
and Alice went to ... school yesterday and then studied in ... library before returning
home. 3. There are only ... few seats left for tonight's musical at ... university. 4.
When you go to ... supermarket, please buy ... bottle of ... chocolate milk and ...
dozen oranges. 5. Your ... car is five years old and it still runs well. 6. No one in ...
German class knew... correct answer to ... Mr. Gruber's ... question. 7. ... red books
on ... table are for our Geography class. 8. Please give me ... cup of coffee with ...
cream and ... sugar.
9. ... judge asked ... witness to tell ... truth. 10. Margaret is studying ... Physics and
... Chemistry this term. 11. ... Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from ...

44
France to ... United States. 12. Peter's father bought him ... ball that he had wanted
for his birthday. 13. Our cousin is in ... hospital so we went to visit him ... last
night. 14. ... Queen Elizabeth II is ... monarch of ... Great Britain. 15. On our trip to
Brazil, we crossed ... Atlantic Ocean. 16. While Ted was in Alaska, he visited ...
Eskimo village. 17. ... Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776. 18. ...
armchair she is sitting in is broken. 19. ... Civil War was fought in ... United States
between 1861 and 1865. 20. Two nights ago there was ... bird singing outside our
house. 21. George can't go to ... cinema tonight because he has to write ... essay. 22.
Scientists hope to send ... expedition to ... Mars during ... 1990s. 23. John has been
admitted to ... School of Medicine at ... Cambridge University. 24. Emma plays ...
guitar and her brother plays ... violin.

Cea de-a treia parte a cursului este alcătuită dintr-o explicare detaliată a
timpurilor modului indicativ, de la Present Tense Simple and Continuous şi
încheind cu viitorul.
Pentru o mai bună însuşire a teoriei prezentate s-au alcătuit exerciţii, care să
faciliteze învăţarea pentru studenţi.
CHAPTER III:

THE INDICATIVE
It is generally accepted that the word TIME stands for the concept with which all
mankind is familiar, divided into past, present and future. And, one must also
underline that it is something independent of language.
By TENSE we understand the correspondence between the form of the verb and
our concept of time.
ASPECT is the manner in which a verbal action is experienced or regarded. If the
action is complete, the simple/common/indefinite aspect is used. If it is in
progress at a given moment, the continuous/progressive/expanded aspect is used.
Some grammarians hold that, in English, there is also a third aspect of the verb
showing that an action is repeated. They call this aspect the frequentative form. It
is made up of will, for the present: Children will be children. When the cat is away,
the mice will play.
and of would/used to, for the past:
When my brothers were on holiday, they would/used to get up at nine o'clock.
It must be shown that TIME is not the only concept rendered by the tense of the
verb. TENSE may also express the completeness or incompleteness of an action
which is or was still on its way :
We are spending next week-end in the mountains, (we'll spend)

45
3.1. THE SIMPLE PRESENT
3.1.1. Form
Affirmative Interrogative
I/you/we/they speak Do I/you/we/they speak ?
He/she/it speaks Does he/she/it speak ?

Negative Negative-Interrogative
I/you/we/they do not speak Do I/you/we/they not speak ?
I/you/we/they don't speak. Don't I/you/we/they speak?
He/she/it does not speak. Does he/she/it not speak ?
He/she/it doesn't speak. Doesn't he/she/it speak?
3.1.2. Use
1. To express "eternal'7"general" truths, or to make statements of general validity :
Ice melts in the sun.
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
2. To express repeated/habitual/permanent actions. Such actions are usually
accompanied by the adverbs: every (day/week/month/year/, etc.), never,
occasionally, often, sometimes, seldom, twice a week, usually, etc.
We go to school every morning, (repeated) Father smokes too much.
(habitual)
Jane works in a big factory. (permanent)
3. In Direct Speech, to introduce quotations :
Shakespeare says:
"Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme". (Sonnet 55)
4. Sometimes in giving the summary of a story, being called "Narrative'V'Historic"
Present:
I went into the dark room and, suddenly, I hear a strange noise.
But, in telling stories, both Simple Present and Present Continuous can be
employed, although there is a difference between their uses. While the Simple
Present is used for the events that happen one after another (sees, meets, says,
goes, etc.) the Present Continuous occurs with "background situations", that is with
the things that are already happening when the story starts or at a certain moment of
the story :
The Prince enters the cave and there he sees a witch. The witch is boiling
something and is talking to a huge black cat that is looking at itself in a mirror.5.
In step-by-step instructions or demonstrations :
First, I take the potatoes and slice them. Then, I slice the tomatoes, fry the onion

46
and parsley in a little fat until the onions are translucent...
6. In sports commentaries. In this case the Simple Present refers to quicker actions
(which are finished before the sentences that described them). The Present
Continuous is used for longer activities :
The goal-keeper passes to Maradona, but Hagi intercepts; Hagi to L5c2tu§ and
he shoots and it's a goal! The Romanians are leading by three goals to nil in the
second half.
NSstase serves ! (this very moment)
NSstase is serving in the game we are watching now. (the service is a continuing
activity)
7. To express an officially planned action or an action belonging to a settled
programme:
The championship starts next Saturday, (will start)
The tourists visit the British Museum on Friday morning, (will visit)
8. To express a future action
a) in a conditional clause :
If your cousin comes here tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.
b) in a time clause whose action is simultaneous with another future action:
Tom will like English grammar when he understands it.
9. In proverbs, sayings :
Despair gives courage to a coward.
10. In certain contexts, especially in interrogative sentences, to render a modal
hint:
Why do you move so slowly ? (reproach)
11. In exclamatory sentences beginning with here or there :
Here they come! There goes the train!
But, if these statements are not exclamatory, the progressive aspect must be used :
They're coming.
The train is going now.
12. With the verb to continue and its equivalents (to go on, to keep on, etc.) as
they contain in themselves the idea of continuity, and so, it is not necessary to use a
continuous form:
The children continue to write. The pupils go on reading.
But, when to go on means to happen, the continuous aspect must be used: What is
going on there ?

3.1.3. Exercises
I. Fill in the blanks with -s or -es if they are necessary:
1. I like_ jam. 2. My brother like_ honey. 3. We go_ to school in the morning. 4.
The girl go_ to the cinema on Saturday. 5. The teacher read_ the lesson every day.

47
6. The pupils read_ the lesson, too. 7. The bus stop_ at the traffic lights. 8. Tom
watch TV in the evening. 9. We stop_ in front of this house. 10. I dress_ quickly
every morning.11. My sister want_ to read that book. 12. Alice wear_ this blouse
every Sunday. 13. You want_ to see a good film. 14. We watch_ TV every
afternoon.
II. Work on the model:
You are singing now.
You sing every day/every evening/often/seldom, etc.
1. I am learning a long poem now. 2. Jane is running in the street now. 3. You are
drinking tea now. 4. We are waiting for your friend now. 5. You are dreaming now.
6. The girl is writing with her left hand now. 7. I am leaving home now. 8. You are
cutting the bread now. 9. Father is opening the door now. 10. You are smoking
now. 11. We are visiting a museum today. 12. The children are playing in the
garden at the moment. 13. Ann is making a new dress now. 14. Grannie is telling us
an interesting story now. 15. The rabbits are eating carrots now. 16. The girl is
hurrying.
III. Work on the model:
Is the cat sleeping under the table ?
Yes, it often/usually/generally sleeps there.
1. Are the children listening to a record? 2. Are you having a party next week?
3. Am I eating a cake? 4. Is Tom crossing the street? 5. Are you wearing a sweater
today? 6. Are the boys drinking milk now? 7. Is mother making the bed? 8. Am I
writing a letter? 9. Are the girls talking? 10. Are you looking out of the window?
IV. Complete the following sentences using the Simple Present :
1. You always ... 2. We only ... occasionally. 3. Whenever she comes to see us, she
...
4. Nobody ever ... nowadays. 5. Those girls never ... 6. You usually ... 7. His
brother often ... 8. These birds always ...
V. Fill in with do or does:
1. ... you speak English? 2. ... Lucy clean the blackboard? 3. ... father work in a
factory ? 4. ... I go there every morning ? 5. ... we help mother at home ? 6. ... you
read French books? 7. ... children like fruit? 8. ... you live in a village? 9. ... the girl
eat in the dining-room? 10. ... we walk in the park?
VI. Turn the following sentences into the interrogative:
1. We live in a big house. 2. Albert jumps high. 3. I work hard at my office. 4.
You go to bed late. 5. This boy greets me in the morning. 6. We like
storybooks. 7. You cook in the evening. 8. I know very many jokes. 9. We
help her in the garden. 10. Susan dresses beautifully on Sundays.

48
VII. Work on the model:
Are you reading now ?
Do you read every day/every evening/etc. ?
I. Is Ann working now ? 2. Am I doing an exercise now ? 3. Are you singing an
English song now ? 4. Is it raining heavily now ? 5. Are the children waving to us ?
6. Is father smoking now? 7. Am I walking in the park now? 8. Is June cutting the
bread now? 9. Are you carrying a suitcase now? 10. Are the tourists lying on the
beach now?
II. Am I travelling by train now? 12. Is the car making a strange noise now? 13.
Are you leaving the house now? 14. Am I borrowing a book now?
VIII. Complete the following sentences by supplying the correct form of the
verb given in brackets. Use the Simple Present:
1. ... the doctor ... to see his patient every evening? (to come) 2. ... these girls ...
playing tennis? (to like) 3. ... Mr. Smith ... that house? (to own) 4. Where ... your
friends ... when they go to Paris? (to stay) 5. ... you ... milk or tea? (to prefer) 6. ...
the museums ... on Monday in your town? (to open) 7. How often ... Mary ... to the
theatre? (to go) 8. ... the children ... in that room? (to sleep) 9. ... anyone ... when
the manager left? (to know) 10. ... you ... how far it is? (to imagine)
IX. Work on the model:
Jane sleeps in a large bedroom. (Where)
Where does she sleep?
1. I drink a glass of water. (What) 2. You wash your hands in the morning. (When)
3. Lucy lives in a new house. (Where) 4. We work in a hospital. (Where) 5. Mrs.
Smith likes spring. (What) 6. We read stories in the evening. (What; When) 7. The
children run in the fields (Where) 8. You want a new car. (What) 9. We eat oranges
in winter. (What; When) 10. Jack plays tennis well on Saturday. (What; How;
When)
X. Answer these questions referring to Thomas using the words given in
brackets. Then ask and answer the same questions about his sisters:
1. When does he get up? (usually) 2. What does he do on Sunday mornings? (often)
3. Where does he spend his summer holidays ? (usually; occasionally) 4. What
sorts of radio programmes does he listen to? (usually; always; never) 5. How does
he get to school? (always) 6. What does he take if he has a headache? (usually;
never) 7. What sort of books does he read ? (generally) 8. What kind of films does
he enjoy ? (nearly; always) 9. What does he keep in his handbag? (usually) 10.
What time does he go to bed? (almost always; never).
good films on Sunday./They

49
3.2. THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS
3.2.1. Form
Affirmative Interrogative
I am/I'm speaking Am I speaking ?
You are/You're speaking Are you/we/they speaking ?
We are/We're speaking Is he/she/it speaking ?
They are/They're speaking
He is/He's speaking
She is/She's speaking
It is/It's speaking
Negative Negative-Interrogative
I am not/I'm not speaking Am I not speaking ?
You /we/they are not/aren't Are you/we/they not speaking ?
speaking
He/she/it is not/isn't speaking Aren't you/we/they speaking ?
Is he/she/it not speaking ?
Isn't he/she/it speaking ?
3.2.2. Use
1. To express an action which started before the present moment, which is in
progress at the moment of speaking, and which will terminate in the future. This
form of the verb indicates that the duration of the action is limited. The feeling of
immediate present is often emphasized by just and now :
The sun is shining in the sky now. The pupil is just writing the exercise.
The words just and now are no longer mentioned when their meaning is
understood: Look, the children are sleeping!
2. To express a temporary action:
We usually go to work by bus, but today we are going by cab.
3. To express a definite arrangement in the near future. It is, perhaps, the most
usual way to present somebody's immediate plans:
What are you doing tomorrow ? The time of the action must be given in this case
in order to avoid confusion.
4. To express futurity, especially with verbs of movement like: to come, to
arrive, to go, to leave :
Our friends are arriving tomorrow. He is going to London on Friday.5. To
express a frequent repetition of an activity which has a distinct meaning of
annoyance, irritation, sarcasm. In this case the verbs are usually combined with
such adverbs as : always, constantly, continually, for ever :

50
He is always borrowing money from his friends but never gives it back.
Why are the children being so noisy today ?
It is to be noted that with the verbs expressing physical feelings (to ache, to feel, to
hurt, etc.) and the construction to look forward to there is no great difference
between simple and continuous forms :
How do you feel /How are you feeling today ?
My finger aches/is aching.
We look forward/are looking forward to their arrival.
6. Sometimes, in subordinate clauses of time or condition:
The boy will play in the park while his mother is making a cake. I will not disturb
her if she is watching TV.
7. With the verbs to get or to grow to express a transition from one state to
another:
It is getting dark.
Our parents are getting older and older.
Verbs not used in the continuous aspect
1. Verbs of perception : to feel, to hear, to notice, to see, to smell, to taste:
The hay smells nice today.
Do you see the birds now ?
The soup tastes delicious.
If one means to emphasize the idea of continuity of these words, can/could must be
used:
I can see the plane now.
We can hear the waves at last.
However, the verbs to smell, to taste and to feel may be found in the continuous
aspect when they imply a voluntary action on the part of the subject:
The cat is smelling the bush now.
Mother is tasting the soup to see if it is warm enough for the baby. When verbs of
perception are used with meanings which are different from their "basic" ones, they
may be used in the continuous aspect:
TO SEE
a) to meet by appointment, to interview:
I am seeing my dentist on Friday. Jane is seeing her manager now.
b) to visit (generally used in connection with tourists):
Mary is seeing the sights so she will be a little late.
c) to see about (to make arrangements or inquirements):
Our form master is seeing about the trip to the mountains.
d) to see to (to put right, to deal with):
The mechanic is just seeing to the engine of our car.
e) to see somebody off/up/down/out:

51
Tom is seeing his grandfather off at the railway station now.
f) to see hallucinations:
I'm seeing things.
TO HEAR
a) to receive news of or from:
I'm hearing interesting things about our new neighbour, (you are just telling me)
b) when referring to legal cases, meaning to try:
The judge is just hearing the witnesses.
TO FEEL
It is usually employed in the simple aspect. Its continuous form suggests that the
state is temporary:
Mary felt well yesterday but she is not feeling well today.
By way of conclusion to the verbs to feel, to smell and to taste we shall say that
they are generally used in three different ways, with three slightly different
meanings:
a) to experience a particular sensation. In this case the simple aspect is to be
found. The idea of continuity may be given by the verbs can/could:
Jane feels/can feel a pain in her shoulder.
I (can) smell a perfume in here.
The children (can) taste something strange in the cake.
b) to cause somebody to have a particular sensation. The simple aspect must be
used under such circumstances:
We know that silk feels soft. The mountain air smells fresh. This pear tastes sweet.
c) to try to get a particular sensation. In this case both the simple and the
continuous aspect may be employed according to the meaning of the context:
The doctor is feeling the patient's foot.
Father feels the edge of his penknife before starting to sharpen his pencils.
The girl smells the flowers in the garden at this time every morning. That is why
she is smelling them now.
Mother tastes the milk before giving it to the baby. As she wants to feed the baby
now, she is tasting it again.
2. Verbs expressing mental activities: to agree, to believe, to distrust, to doubt, to
find, to foresee, to forget, to guess, to imagine, to know, to mean, to mind, to
remember, to recognize, to recollect, to regard, to suppose, to think (that), to
trust, to understand, etc.:
She knows what you mean.
Do you mind if I give her this book ?
Does she think that he will be able to come ?
I'm sure she understands the lesson now.
But, some of these verbs may appear in the continuous aspect, having a different

52
meaning:
TO FORGET
I forget her address now. (I don't remember/fail to remember it) I'm forgetting
figures, (it expresses a gradual loss of memory as to figures) Are you forgetting
your manners? (usually said to a child who has failed to perform a conventional act
of politeness)
TO THINK
When it means to imagine, or an opinion is asked for, the common aspect is used :
I think (imagine) they have already arrived.
What do you think of the new prices ? (What is your opinion about these prices ?)
But, when no opinion is given or asked for, the continuous form is used:
What are you doing ?
I'm thinking. or:
What are you thinking about?
I'm thinking about our new teachers.
TO MIND
When meaning to object to or to dislike, it is to be found in the common aspect:
Maggie doesn't mind if her husband comes home late.
It's rather cold today, but I don't mind it. This verb may be used in the continuous
aspect when it means to look after:
At the moment Ann is minding her sick mother.
It has already been shown that some verbs which are not normally used in the
continuous aspect, may occur in the progressive form whenever irritation, sarcasm,
annoyance, reproach are implied :
We foresee no difficulty in solving that problem, (neutral)
She is always foreseeing difficulties which never occur, (irritation)
I doubt whether they will arrive here on time.
He is always doubting his friend's words.
We distrust our new classmate.
Juliet is always distrusting her own judgement.
3. Verbs expressing wish: to desire, to intend, to want, to wish, etc.
I want that book now.
4. Verbs expressing attitudes, feelings, emotional states: to abhor, to adore, to
detest, to dislike, to displease, to like, to love, to hate, to please, to prefer, etc.
I think she loves you very much now.
5. Verbs expressing possession: to belong to, to have, to hold, to keep, to owe,
to own, to possess :
How many friends have you (got) here ?
But, to have may be used in the continuous aspect when it belongs to different
constructions: Jane is having breakfast. We are having a bath now.

53
6. Verbs expressing a state, a condition : to appear, to be, to consist (of), to
contain, to differ, to deserve, to equal, to exist, to resemble, to seem, to suit, etc.
But, to be may turn up in the continuous aspect:
a) in passive constructions :
A new block of flats is being built near our house.
b) to imply that the subject is temporarily exhibiting some quality:
Look, how kind our aunt is being to us today!
c) sometimes to express reproach:
Why are you being so mean?
d) with adjectives such as : absurd, careless, clumsy, lazy, rude, sentimental,
silly, stupid, etc., to express a temporary behaviour:
I'm not being sentimental, whatever you may think.
7. Miscellaneous verbs: to compare, to expect, to matter, to result (from), to
suffice, etc.:
I expect (suppose) you know him. But:
I'm expecting (waiting for) an important guest now.
8. Modal verbs:
I can drive a car now.
She may go to the cinema now.
You must learn the new words now.
3.2.3. Exercises
I. Fill in the blanks with am, are or is :
I. You ... talking to a stranger. 2.1 ... reading a good book. 3. Our teacher ...
explaining the new words. 4. We ... running to the bus stop. 5. The boys ... playing
football. 6. It ... snowing. 7. I ... drinking a cup of milk. 8. The little girl ... clapping
her hands.
9. We ... listening to the radio. 10. You ... learning a poem.
II. Fill in the blanks with the Present Continuous forms of the verbs in
brackets:
1. Tom and John ... in the garden, (to work) 2. The little girl ... (to cry) 3. I ... to go
there, (to plan) 4. I'm sure he ... to me now. (to lie) 5. Why ... you ... this old hat?
(to put on) 6. Our friends ... to New York now. (to travel) 7. Jane ... a letter to her
sister, (to write) 8. Mary ... just ... the flowers on the table, (to put) 9. I ... my
favourite dog. (to pat) 10. The boys ... the carpets in the garden, (to shake) 11. The
girl ... in the sun. (to lie) 12. You ... your shoes, (to take off) 13. A young man ...
for you. (to wait) 14. Why ... you ... so pessimistic today? (to be) 15. What ... her
friends ... this afternoon? (to do)
III. Work on the model:
You are playing football./He
He is playing football, too.

54
1. She is reading a book./I; 2. The girls are making a cake./We ; 3. I am coming
from school./Tom; 4. We are listening to the teacher./You; 5. Mother is dusting the
furniture./Her daughter; 6. The cat is sleeping./The dog ; 7. You are opening the
window./I; 8. She is studying French./You 9; We are eating grapes./Your sister; 10.
You are watching TV./I.
IV. Work on the model:
I wash every morning.
I'm washing now.
1. Father conies home in the evening. 2. We go to the theatre on Sunday. 3. You
clean your shoes every day. 4. I speak English at school. 5. The sun rises in the
morning. 6. The pupils read the lesson. 7. You sing English songs. 8. I write letters
every Saturday. 9. The children learn a poem. 10. We open the book.
V. Work on the model:
Is Peter fishing in the river ?
No, he is fishing in the lake.
1. Is Tom drinking a glass of water? 2. Are you eating an apple? 3. Am I opening
the door? 4. Is father smoking a cigar? 5. Are the boys running in the street? 6. Are
you driving slowly ? 7. Am I sitting on a bench? 8. Is the girl going to the window
? 9. Are we writing a composition? 10. Am I reading a newspaper?
VI. Work on the model:
Please, speak! /I/you
I'm speaking and you are speaking, too.
1. Please, read the new lesson! /I/Tom; 2. Please, drink the coffee ! /we/you ; 3.
Please, wash your hands ! /we/they ; 4. Please, write this exercise ! /I/my friend; 5,
Buy some bananas, please ! /we/they ; 6. Drive faster, please ! /I/they; 7. Sweep the
floor, please ! / I/Alice; 8. Play in the garden, please!/we/the other children; 9.
Hurry to school, please! /I/you; 10. Please, sing an English song! /we/the teacher.
VII. Work on the models:
Sit down! 11 Go to the door! /we
I'm sitting down! We are going to the door!
Look, he is sitting Look, they are going to
down! the door!
1. Speak more slowly ! /we; 2. Read this passage again! /we; 3. Open the door! /I;
4. Drink this glass of milk!/I; 5. Eat some sweets!/we; 6. Help Jane with her
homework! /I; 7. Cut some flowers!/we; 8. Shut the doors!/we; 9. Clean the
blackboard! /I; 10. Take this medicine ! /we.
VIII. Turn the following sentences into the interrogative:
1. The dog is running after the cat. 2. I am crossing the street. 3. The children are
playing happily. 4. We are walking in the park. 5. My friend is listening to a new
record. 6. I am having supper. 7. We are talking about the film. 8. It is raining now.

55
9. You are working hard today. 10. The girls are sitting under a tree.
IX. Work on the model:
Arthur is smoking.
Is he smoking a cigarette ?
1. Jack is learning. 2. The boys are drinking. 3. The cat is running. 4. You are
singing. 5. I am speaking. 6. We are writing. 7. The girl is cooking. 8. You are
reading. 9. The child is eating. 10. I am drawing.
X. Work on the model:
Do you go to school by tram every day ?
Are you going to school now ?
1. Does father buy bread every day? 2. Do we clean our clothes every week? 3. Do
I do difficult exercises every day ? 4. Do the children brush their teeth every
morning ? 5. Does George get up early every morning ? 6. Do you go to bed at ten
o'clock at night ? 7. Do I learn at Maths every day? 8. Does the cat play with the
dog every day? 9. Do the pupils listen to the teacher every day? 10. Do we walk in
the park every Sunday?
2. Does Tom often lose his pen? 2. Do your parents often ask you about your
marks? 3. Do these boys ever break that window? 4. Does this man often ring you
up late at night? 5. Do your neighbours often quarrel ? 6. Does your sister often
tease you? 7. Do these men often drink whisky? 8. Does your brother often come
home late? 9. Does your car usually make so much noise? 10. Do your children
often eat sweets?
The Simple Present and Present Continuous
I. Choose the right form of the verbs given in brackets :
I. I (speak ; am speaking) English at school. 2. You (understand; are
understanding) me well now. 3. The children (drink; are drinking) milk in the
morning. 4. Grannie (tells ; is telling) us a nice story now. 5. You (say; are saying)
"Good-night" now. 6. I (buy; am buying) flowers at this moment. 7. The boy
(greets ; is greeting) me every morning. 8. We (see; are seeing) the birds now. 9.
You (drive; are driving) too fast. 10. We (listen; are listening) to the news now.
*
II. Supply the correct present tense of the verb and then change the sentences
into the interrogative and negative :
1. They (to learn) English now. 2. The girl (tamake) a cake at the moment. 3. I (to
get up) at 6.30. 4. I (to read) a new chapter now. 5. We (to live) in a big house. 6.
You (to write) to Mary now. 7. My sister (to kiss) her son every morning. 8. We (to
translate) the lesson now. 9. I (to fly) a kite just now. 10. You (to remember) my
address.
III. Complete the following sentences with the given alternative(s):
1. I am going to the theatre.

56
a) on Friday c) seldom
b) now d) often
2. She asks you many questions.
a) now c) often
b) at the moment d) at present
3. We watch TV.
a) seldom c) at this moment
b) now d) in the evening
4. The boy is opening the window.
a) often c) usually
b) in the morning d) now
5. You are sweeping the floor.
a) at this moment c) now
b) never d) seldom
6. You knock at this door.
a) at present c) once in a while
b) every day d) now
7. We are typing very fast.
a) never c) seldom
b) often d) today
8. You cook cabbage.
a) every week c) often
b) now d) at this very moment
9. I am selling fresh fish.
a) now c) when I catch
b) at this moment d) usually
10. The telephone is ringing.
a) every morning c) on Sundays
b) now d) always
IV. Make up sentences of your own with the following words using the Present
Tense Simple or the Present Tense Continuous: today, at present, at the momefft,
now, this week, this month, this year, usually, often, never, every day, every week,
every month, every year.
V. Supply the correct present tense and explain your choice:
1. My cousins (to work) very hard: Thomas (to study) for an exam and Lucy (to
practise) the piano for her first concert. 2. "What your father (to read) when he is on
holiday?" "He (to read) detective stories, but now he (to read) a science-fiction
book." 3. The pupils (to understand) now the use of the two present tenses ? 4. As
soon as Mary (to find) Michael's address, she will write a long letter to him. 5.
Everybody (to know) that the Danube (to flow) into the Black Sea. 6. You can't talk

57
to Jimmy now. He just (to see) some specialists at the moment. 7. Grandmother (to
cook) in the kitchen now; she always (to cook) in the afternoons. 8. Four times
twenty (to equal) eighty. 9. Look out! Something (to burn) over there ! 10. The
teacher generally (to sing) in English, but today she (to sing) in French. 11. That
little boy who (to walk) past our gate (to live) next door. 12. We (to spend) this
week-end in the mountains. We (to go) to the mountains nearly every week. 13.
You always (to forget) where your keys are! 14. My aunt (to wear) that large hat
because the sun (to shine) brightly today. 15. Trains (to travel) from Jassy to
Bucharest in about five hours. 16. On her way to work mother generally (to meet)
many children who (to hurry) to school. 17.1 (not to know) why now you just (to
be) silly. 18. "I (to see) that you (to wear) your best clothes. You (to go) to a party ?
" "No, I (to go) to a wedding." "And who is the unhappy man who (to throw) away
his freedom? You must tell him I (to feel) sorry for him! " "He (to speak) to you
now! " (Stannard Allen, Living English Structure) 19. "What music the girl (to
sing) next ?"' "She (to sing) an old Scottish song. She (to sing) it very well." 20.
Mother (to think) this meat has gone bad. 21. This rule (to apply) to any person
who (to apply) for this job 22. Tell me if the coffee (to taste) sweet enough. 23. I
(to weigh) your suitcase again since you say it (not to weigh) more than 10 kilos.
24. Mary (not to be) here because she just (to have) a bath. 25. As you see, nothing
else can be done. So, it (not to matter) if you (to hurry) or not. 26. Call the doctor
quickly ! This patient (to die). 27. The child just (to taste) some plums. He (to
know) that plums (to taste) sweeter than apples. 28. Alice just (to see off) one of
her classmates and then she will be able to talk to you. 29. Mike (to leave) his
workshop at three o'clock in the afternoon, but this week he (to work) later. 30.
Whenever Cathy (to go) to London, she (to stay) with her cousin who (to be)
married to an Englishman. 31. We (not to like) onion when we (to smell) it, but we
(to love) it when we (to taste) it. 32. Water (to consist) of Hydrogen and Oxygen.
33. That student (to walk) very slowly because the bottle which he (to carry) (to
contain) nitroglycerine and nitroglycerine (to explode) if it (to be) shaken. 34.
Children always (to look forward) to Christmas. 35. They say that Richard (to play)
the piano very well now. 36. We usually (to get up) at 6.30, but this week we (to
be) on holidays and so we (to get up) later. 37.1 (to smoke) a lot these days because
I (to study) for my final exams. I always (to smoke) much when I (to study). 38. It
(not to matter) how often I (to fail). But, if I (to persevere), I will succeed sooner or
later. 39. My son (to have) his birthday party tomorrow and he (to look forward) to
it very much. 40. Our house (to smell) pleasant now because we have just had it
repainted. 41. "Father (to want) to speak to my brothers at once. You (to know)
where they (to be) now ? " "Yes, Tom (to cut) some flowers in the garden and I (to
think) that Richard still (to repair) his bicycle." 42. If William (to drink) one glass
of wine, he (to get) drunk. It (to be) curious because he (not to get drunk) when he

58
(to drink) whisky which (to be) much stronger. 43. Our dog usually (to bark) at the
neighbour's children. But look at that! Now it (to be) friendly to them. 44. Jack (to
be) sure that his new tie (to suit) his grey costume. 45. It (to seem) that our new
classmate (to see) only enemies all around. 46. I (not to know) why I (to see)
strange things, although my doctor continuously (to assure) me that I (to get) better.
47. My brother and I (to go) to the concert every Friday, but this Friday we (to go)
to some friends. 48. I (to be) sure they left Paris two hours ago. I (to wonder)
whether they (to travel) by air or by car. 49. Margaret (not to come) here this
afternoon because her father (to be) very ill and she (to mind) him.
3.3. THE PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE
3.3.1. Form
Affirmative Interrogative
I/you/we/they have played/seen Have I/you/we/they
played/seen ?
He/she/it has played/seen Has he/she/it played/seen ?

Negative Negative-Interrogative
I/you/we/they have not Have I/you/we/they not
played/seen played/seen ?
I/you/we/they haven't Haven't I/you/we/they
played/seen played/seen?
He/she/it has not played/seen Has he/she it not played/seen ?
He/she/it hasn't played/seen Hasn't he/she/it played/seen?

3.3.2. Use
An action or state prior to the moment of speaking may be expressed both by the
Past Tense and by the Present Perfect. But, while the Past Tense presents the action
without referring to the present moment, the Present Perfect links that past action
with the present. This means that when we have the Past Tense, we think of the
time when something happened or we narrate a sequence of events at a given time.
So, the Present Perfect is used:
1. When we are no longer interested in the time when the past action took place,
but in its result into the present:
I have visited an interesting museum. (I still remember the things seen there.)
2. When the past action continues in the present and, perhaps, it will go on into the
future, too :
Many pupils have learnt in this school. (In the past, some children learnt here, in
the present others are learning and, of course, in the future, other pupils will learn

59
here, too.)
3. To express completed activities in the immediate past. In this case, the verb is
generally accompanied by just, lately, recently, of late, latterly, till now, up to
now, so far, up to the present, during the last week, the last few days, these
twenty minutes, etc.:
The train has just left. (It left a little time ago.)
We have not seen Jack lately.
One should not confuse this use of just with the use of the adverb just meaning
"barely" or "nearly". When having these meanings, it can occur with different
tenses:
Mike just wanted to help us.
4. With words denoting an incomplete period of time: today, this week, this
month, this year, all day, all night, this morning, etc. :
Last week we wrote three letters, but this week we have written only one. Mention
must be made of the fact that this morning, all night, all evening come with the
Past Tense if they express a complete period of time. Thus, we shall say : I have
seen a good film this morning. (We are before 12 o'clock at noon.) I saw a good
film this morning. (We are in the afternoon or in the evening.)
5. How long, when concerned with a period of time extending into the present,
requires the Present Perfect:
How long have you been ill? (You are still ill.)
But, when it refers only to a past period, the Past Tense or the Past Perfect are to be
employed:
How long did you stay in London last year?
How long had you known him when he died?
6. With adverbs of indefinite time or expressin > frequen. y : ever, never, often,
seldom, always, several times:
We have never visited New York. Have you ever been to the North Pole ? In this
case ever and never mean "at any (no) time up to the present". But, when ever
means "at any time during a period of time completely past" or "at any time in the
future," it can be used with other tenses, too :
Did you ever meet his sister ? (When you spent your holiday in that town, etc.)
When always covers a certain period of time in the past, the Past Tense is to be
found here:
She always loved him. (As long as he lived, etc.)
Ever may also be an intensive adverb approaching the meaning "whatever" or "at
all". Under such circumstances the Past Tense is employed:
Nobody ever helped David Copperfield when he worked in London. Rhetorical
questions referring back to the past often contain ever:
Did you ever see a more beautiful landscape ?

60
7. With the adverbs already and yet. Both of them may appear in interrogative
sentences with one difference though: while yet indicates that the question is
supposed to find out whether the action is finished or not, already shows that we
are surprised that the action is over:
Tom usually gets up at seven o'clock in the morning.
a) It is 7 o'clock. Mother gets into Tom's bedroom and asks: Have you got up yet
?
b) It is 6.30 in the morning. Mother sees that the light is on in Tom's bedroom.
She opens the door and asks him:
Have you got up already ? Already may also occur in affirmative sentences:
The student has already translated the lesson. In negative sentences yet has the
meaning of (nu) inca:
Albert has not learnt the poem yet.
8. With since and for.
Since denotes the beginning point of a period of time that extends up to the present.
It is translated into Romanian by din, de la, de cand:
They have not seen Alice since 1989/Christmas/she went to London. When the
action of the time clause introduced by since is parallel to the one expressed by the
Present Perfect, the Present Perfect occurs in the time clause, too:
I have known Maggie since she has been working in our factory. For refers to a
period of time that continues up to the present. Its meaning is of de atata ... timp.
The Present Perfect in a sentence containing for may be translated into Romanian
either by Prezent (Present):
These boys have been here for half an hour.
(Ace§ti bSieJi sunt aici de jumatate de ora.) or by Perfectul compus (The
Compound Perfect):
My neighbour has not repaired the roof of his house for a long time.
(Vecinul meu nu §i-a reparat acoperisul casei de mult timp.) When for concerns a
terminated period of time, the verb must be in the Past Tense :
My uncle lived in London for five years and then he moved to Paris.
9. For past actions whose time is not mentioned:
Has Peter had lunch?
10. In newspapers and broadcasts to introduce an action which will be described in
the Simple Past Tense. The time in the second sentence is often given:
A terrible accident has happened; a car ran into a group of children and killed three
of them.
11. To express a future action, in a time clause, prior to another one represented by
a future tense. The Present Prefect is usually accompanied in this context by: after,
when (=after), as soon as, till/until, by the time (that), the moment (that):
I shall ring you up as soon as/after mother has come back.

61
12. In conditional clauses:
Little Paul will come here at once if Grannie has made a cake.
Mary will not be permitted to go for a walk in the park unless she has done her
homework.
13. To describe a past action that has present consequences:
Jane has not eaten anything and so she is hungry now.
3.3.3. Exercises
I. Fill in the blanks with have or has:
I. We ... seen an interesting film. 2. My sister ... finished school this month. 3. You
... finally understood him. 4. George ... not driven his car for three months. 5.1...
written all the exercises. 6. We ... drunk a lot of coffee this morning. 7. You... just
told me a good joke. 8. Our friend ... never visited New York. 9.1... travelled by
car. 10. We ... picked all the ripe apples.
II. Build up sentences with the following words using the Present Perfect
according to the model:
Christine/to speak/English.
Christine has spoken English.
1. Mr. Parker/to buy/a new hat; 2. We/to open /the window; 3. The children/to
wash/ their hands; 4. You/to say/good morning; 5. I/to meet/my former deskmate;
6. The teacher/to explain/another problem; 7. You/to understand/this rule at last; 8.
The Browns/to plant/a lot of trees; 9. You/to play/cricket very well; 10. The
children/ to drink/a lot of orange juice; 11. We/to swim/to the shore; 12. I/to ring
up/my friend; 13. Little Tom/to eat/all the cakes ; 14. Our grandparents/to arrive;
15. You/to have/ your lunch; 16. I/to hear/that noise again; 17. We/to show/you our
reports; 18. The girl/to lend/me an interesting book; 19. The farmers/to pick/the
fruit in the orchard; 20. The pupil/to clean/the blackboard.
HI. Turn the following sentences into the Present Perfect Simple:
1. I go to school. 2. We draw some red flowers. 3. Jane spends three weeks in the
mountains. 4. You find many mistakes. 5. She changes her clothes. 6. The sun rises.
7. You sweep the floor. 8. We work hard at school. 9.1 eat some grapes. 10. We
help our mother. 11. All the children are present. 12. I try to understand him. 13.
You have breakfast. 14. Peter does a lot of exercises. 15. We cross the street. 16.
The children come home. 17. The teacher repeats the sentence. 18. I give her some
flowers. 19. You wash your face. 20. We make our beds.
IV. Work on the model:
Are you having dinner ?
No, I have just had it.
1. Is John writing the exercise? 2. Are you reading this book? 3. Am I drinking a
cup of tea now? 4. Are the pupils singing the new song? 5. Is Mary making a new
dress? 6. Are you explaining a problem to your brother? 7. Am I opening the

62
English book now ? 8. Are we playing volleyball now ? 9. Are you ironing the
shirts now ? 10. Is your friend crossing the street now ?
V. Work on the model:
John lives in a village now. He ... here for one year.
John lives in a village now. He has lived here for one year.
1. We skate in winter. We ... several times this winter. 2.1 repair cars. I... their car
three times this year. 3. You write good poems. You ... just ... a new one. 4. They
publish many books every year. They ... the tenth one this year. 5. Alice sings
beautifully. She ... in many performances. 6. You often cut flowers. You ...
beautiful ones today. 7. I catch fish in summer. I ... several big ones. 8. Mike often
meets us in the morning. He ... us several times lately. 9. My sister often breaks
things. She ... two glasses this week. 10. You eat many cakes. You ... mine, too.
VI. Work on the model:
Another ship sank on the reef last week. A lot of ships ... on that reef.
A lot of ships have sunk on that reef.
1. The dog bit the milkman yesterday. It... my friend, too. 2. I took a picture of my
little son in the park last week. I ... a picture of him today, too. 3. We felt the cold
yesterday. We ... the cold a lot this winter. 4. The teacher drew the pupils' attention
to those mistakes. He ... just ... their attention to another one. 5. The thieves stole
Mr. Brown's car on Friday night. They ... a lot of cars this summer. 6. You gave the
children sweets in the morning. Now, you ... them some chocolate, too. 7. Martin
woke up late yesterday morning. He ... late this morning, too. 8. We heard strange
noises last night. We ... just ... them again. 9. The farmer grew a lot of vegetables
last year. He ... many vegetables this year, too. 10. The girls wove a beautiful
carpet in the school workshop last year. They ... another one this year, too.
VII. Work on the model:
I am going to speak to her.
Have you ever spoken to her before ?
Yes, I have/No, I haven't
1. Jane is going to play tennis. ... she ... tennis before ? Yes, she ...
2. They visit many museums.
... they ... the Art Museum, too? No, they ...
3. I am going to write to the school master. ... you ... to him before ?
Yes, I ...
4. You often forget your book there. ... I ... it today, too ?
No, you ...
5. My parents drink coffee every day. ... they ... coffee today, too ? Yes, they ...
6. I tell my daughter stories every evening. ... you ... her a story this evening ?
Yes, I ...
7. We spend a lot of money on books. ... you ... a lot recently ?

63
Yes, we ...
8. You show us many good paintings. ... I ever ... you bad paintings ? No, you ...
9. I know a lot of details about this accident. ... you ... them before ?
No, I ...
10. The girls make good cakes.
... they ... a good cake today, too ? Yes, they ...
VIII. Turn the following sentences into the interrogative:
1.1 have remembered her address. 2. We have come in time. 3. You have told me a
secret. 4. Lucy has worked hard today. 5. We have thought about that. 6. I have
forgotten her name. 7. Tom has known her for a long time. 8. You have had a
swim. 9. The children have bought many sweets. 10. I have written a long
composition. 11. You have discovered the mistake. 12. They have met their friends.
13. We have asked the policeman about this address. 14. Robert has stopped in
front of the gate. 15. Mary and Tom have laid the table. 16. You have opened all
the windows. 17. Martin has repaired the toy. 18. The children have laughed a lot.
19. I have noticed the change. 20. You have thanked them.
IX. Make up questions with the following words using the Present Perfect
according to the model:
Grannie/to arrive
Has Grannie arrived ?
1. You/to do/a difficult exercise; 2. I/to say/such a thing; 3. The dog/to bite/the old
woman; 4. The pupils /to write/the composition; 5. You/to look/at this picture; 6.
We/ to study/this lesson; 7 You/to visit/all the museums; 8. The boy /to see/that
film; 9. I/to know/her before; 10. The workers/to work hard today; 11. You/to
hear/the rain; 12. Anyone/to find/my umbrella; 13. Father/to catch/a bad cold; 14.
You/to be/here for a long time.
X. Work on the model:
Did you see her yesterday ?
No, I didn't. I... her for ages.
No, I didn't. I haven't seen her for ages.
1. Did your aunt speak to you ? No, she didn't. She ... to me yet.
2. Did you shake the carpets last week? No, I didn't. I ... them for three weeks.
3. Did I tell you anything ?
No, you didn't. You ... us anything this time.
4. Did the children drink their milk? No, they didn't. They ... it yet.
5. Did the sun shine yesterday ? No, it didn't. It ... since Sunday.
6. Did you break their window ?
No, I didn't. I ... any windows lately.
7. Did we go to the circus last week? No, you didn't. You ... there yet.
8. Did you wear your new dress? No, I didn't. I ... it yet.

64
9. Did I forget the book?
No, you didn't. You ... it this time.
10. Did the tourists fly to Egypt ? No, they didn't. They ... to Rome.
to them, please! 8. Wear a red dress tonight, please ! 9. Draw a big house, please !
10. Plant an apple tree, please !
3.4. The Present Perfect Continuous
3.4.1.Form
I/you/we/they have been Have I/you/we/they been
playing playing ?
He/she/it has been playing Has he/she/it been playing ?

Negative Negative-Interrogative
I/you/we/they have not been Have I/you/we/they not been
playing playing ?
I/you/we/they haven't been Haven't I/you/we/they been
playing playing ?
He/she/it has not been playing Has he/she/it not been playing
?
He/she/it hasn't been playing Hasn't he/she/it been playing?

3.4.2. Use
1. While the Present Perfect Simple implies that the attention is focused on the
repetition or on the completion of an action, the Present Perfect Continuous
emphasizes the duration, the continuity of the action in the present:
Mother has watered the flowers. (Her job has just been done)
Mary has been watering the flowers for half an hour. (She is still doing the job)
2. The Present Perfect Continuous is also found in subordinate clauses of time, to
show that an action which began in the past is still under way:
While Nick has been watching Judith, she has been drinking her glass of milk.
3. Since the Present Perfect Continuous describes an action which is apparently
uninterrupted, it will not be employed when we mention the number of times a
thing has been done or the number of things that have been done :
I've been drinking tea since 5 o'clock. But:
I've drunk three cups of tea since 5 o'clock.
However, sometimes, there is not a great difference between the Present Perfect
Simple and the Present Perfect Continuous, and either form can be used :
Jack has lived in this house for two years.

65
Jack has been living in this house for two years, or:
How long have you studied German?
How long have you been studying German?
But this is not possible with those verbs that are not generally used in the
continuous aspect. This is the case of examples like:
I have known Jim for five years.
She has loved you since that day. Here only the Present Perfect Simple is possible.
3.4.3. Exercises
I. Put'the verbs in brackets in the Present Perfect Continuous:
I. Johnny (to live) here since 1986. 2. The dog (to lie) under the table for two
hours. 3. You (to watch) TV since you came home. 4. We (to talk) about this novel
for an hour. 5. How long you (to wait) for her? 6. That man (to stand) in the rain
since 9 o'clock. 7. I (to learn) English for two years. 8. You (to work) in this factory
since your son was born. 9. My daughter (to do) exercises since she finished her
lunch. 10. I (to explain) this problem to them for half an hour, but they don't seem
to have understood it yet.
II. Use the Present Perfect Continuous of the verb in the first sentence to
complete the second sentence of each pair :
1. Jane is typing. She ... since 8 o'clock. 2. We are reading in the library. We ... for
two hours. 3. You are painting a portrait. You ... portraits for many years. 4. I am
making a cake. I ... it since mother left home. 5. The children are writing greeting
cards. They... for an hour. 6. You are working now. You ... since your brother
arrived. 7. I live in a big house. I ... here for ten years. 8. Tom is driving his new
car. He ... it for three hours. 9. We are collecting stamps. We ... them for ten years.
10. I am repeating the new words. I ... them for ten minutes.
III. Work on the model:
Do you usually speak English ?
Well, we've been speaking English a lot lately.
1. Does Agnes usually write many letters? 2. Do you generally spend much money
on books ? 3. Do I usually answer all your questions? 4. Does Nick usually paint
flowers ? 5. Do we usually do many exercises? 6. Does it generally snow much
here? 7. Do I usually swim much? 8. Do you usually practise the piano? 9. Do we
generally drive fast? 10. Does Alice collect many plants?
IV. Add since or for to the following sentences containing Present Perfect
Continuous:
1. We have been repairing our car ... Wednesday. 2. They have been dreaming of
this trip ... a long time. 3. These two women have been waiting for you ... half an
hour. 4. My brother has been translating Shakespeare ... 1989. 5. His aunt has been
lying in bed ... that day. 6. The children have been drinking milk ... five minutes. 7.
It has been snowing... yesterday afternoon. 8. You have been explaining this

66
problem ... a quarter of an hour. 9. Mother has been dusting the furniture ... half an
hour. 10. We have been watching TV ... 7 o'clock.

V. Translate the following sentences into English using the Present Perfect
Simple or Continuous:
1. Surorile mele tocmai au venit de la scoala. 2. De cat timp dorm copiii? 3. Jack a
terminat deja exercitiul ? Au trecut doar zece minute de cand i 1-am dictat. 4. Ai
incercat vreodata sa-1 ajuti ? 5. Arthur exerseaza la pian de la ora 8. 6. Ce vor face
frajii tai dupa ce vor termina scoala ? 7. Noi muncim in gradina de mai bine de trei
ore si nu am obosit inca. 8. Nu am auzit nimic de ei in ultima vreme. 9. Ai citit
ultima poezie a colegului meu de banca? 10. Voi jucati carti de vreo doua ore, dar
nu v-ati terminat inca temele. 11. Harry nu i-a oferit flori sotiei de foarte mult timp.
12. De cand stie David adevarul despre bunicul sau? 13. Ma gandesc la cele spuse
de ea de mai bine de doua ore si tot nu pot intelege ce s-a intamplat acolo. 14. Am
incercat adesea sa-i spun adevarul. 15. Ea nu 1-a inteles niciodata. 16. Ei si-au
imbunatatit mult pronuntia anul acesta. 17. Ce muzee importante ale lumii ai vizitat
pana acum? 18. De cat timp n-a mai fumat Christine? 19. Supa fierbe de la ora
zece, dar nu este inca gata. 20. Prietenii mei vor pleca in strainatate de indatia ce isi
vor cumpara masina.
The Present Perfect and The Past Tense I. Put the verbs in brackets in the
Present Perfect or the Past Tense:
1. I (not to play) football since I (to break) my leg.
2. Tom (to play) football when he (to be) at school.
3. We (not to see) them for ages ! Where they (to be) ?
4. "I just (to hear) that Emily is in Spain." "Oh, don't you know she (to leave) our
town at the end of July ? I (to receive) a letter from her the other day."
5. "My brother (not to start) work yet. He's still at the University." "How long he
(to be) at the University ? " "He (to be) there for three years ; before that he (to
spend) four years at the high school."
6. "You ever (to eat) snails ? " "No, I never (to eat) snails and, if I (to be) you, I
should not eat them either."
7. When George (to come) into the room, Lucy (to sit) in an armchair in a corner
of the room. George (not to see) Lucy and he (to go) to the bookcase and (to
choose) a book. Then, Lucy (to cough) and George (to turn) round quickly and (to
say): "Excuse me, I (not to see) you."
8. This car (to be) in our family for more than eleven years. Father (to drive) it for
the first six years, my sister (to use) it for the next two years, and I (to have) it for
the last three years.
9. "Mother (not to come) back yet ? " "Yes, she (to come) half an hour ago. She

67
(to go) straight to the kitchen." "Funny ! I (not to hear) her."
10. "I hear that your secretary (to leave)." "Yes, she (to leave) two weeks ago."
"Anybody (to be) appointed to take her place ? " "I think several women (to apply)
to the job, but so far nothing (to be) decided."
11. "You (to see) any good plays lately?" "Yes, I (to go) to the theatre last week
and I (to see) a French comedy." "You (to like) it? " "Yes, I (to love) it. But, of
course, I (not to understand) very many words."
12. "Harold (to book) the hotel room yet? " "Well, he (to write) to the hotel ten
days ago, but they (not to answer) him yet."
13."Your friend (to know) any English when she first (to arrive)?" "No, she (not to
know) a word, but she (to work) hard since then and so, she understands almost
everything."
14. At 6 o'clock p.m. Mr. Brown (to ring) me up and (to say): "Is Hob with you ? ".
Hob is his son and he (to come) to my place almost every day last week. "I (not to
see) him today," I (to answer) him. "But my sons (to go) to the cinema this
afternoon and they (not to come) back yet. Perhaps Hob (to go) with them."
15. Peter (to meet) Robert at school yesterday morning and (to tell) him: "I (not to
see) you at the bus stop this morning. You (to miss) the bus?" "I (not to miss) it,"
(to answer) Peter. "I (not to miss) the bus for months. But this morning my
neighbour (to give) me a lift."
16. Mr. Williams, Peggy's employer, (to dictate) four letters and (to tell) Peggy to
type them quickly. About an hour later he (to ring) Peggy's office. He (to say):
"You (to finish) all the letters ? " "I (to type) the letters to the Oil Company and to
Mr. White. Now I'm typing the letter to Mr. Sullivan, but I (not to begin) the one to
Mr. Jackson yet."
17. "How long Lucy (to be) in her present job?" "I think she (to be) there for three
years." "And what she (to do) before that?" "She (to work) in a shoe factory, I
suppose."
18. "How long Peter (to work) in that office?" "He (to work) there for two years."
"He (to enjoy) working there ? " "No, he (not to enjoy) it at all. That is why he (to
come) to our factory where he (to work) for more than a year now."
19. "Where else Mr. James (to be) since he (to arrive) in Romania?" "Oh, he (to
be) to the monasteries in Northern Moldavia, but he (not to visit) Jassy yet."
II. Work on the model:
Michael/to sing a song/five minutes ago
What has Michael done ?
He has sung a song.
When did he sing it ?
He sang it five minutes ago.
1. Lucy/to break a cup/half an hour ago; 2. We/to find an umbrella/yesterday; 3.

68
I/to eat a cake/in the morning; 4. You/to draw a cat/two days ago; 5. The girls/ to
play in the garden/on Sunday; 6. Cathy/to meet her friend/yesterday afternoon; 7.
I/to show the pupils a picture/a few minutes ago; 8. You/to speak English to
him/last Monday; 9. We/to tell funny jokes/ten minutes ago; 10. The boy /to get
up/at 7 o'clock.
III. Fill in the blanks with the Present Perfect or the Past Tense form of the
verbs in brackets, according to the meaning:
1. They ... to us several times till now. (to speak) 2. We ... to a good concert last
evening, (to listen) 3. Their baby ... out of bed yesterday, (to fall) 4. Our friends ...
to London this week, (to go) 5. I ... several letters to her till now. (to write) 6. We ...
along letter a minute ago. (to receive) 7. You ... us a nice song last week, (to teach)
8.1... a funny joke today, (to hear) 9. They ... in a village for a year during the war.
(to live) 10. John just ... to his new house, (to move)
IV. Make up sentences with the following time expressions, using either the
Present Perfect or the Past Tense according to the meaning:
1. the other day; 2. lately; 3. for five years ; 4. so far; 5. in 1987 ; 6. last summer; 7.
often; 8. as soon as; 9. last January; 10. never; 11 s once; 12. today; 13. this
morning; 14. when; 15. recently; 16. then; 17. just; 18. this week; 19. on Sunday ;
20. for ages.
V. Translate into English:
1. Peter a venit de la scoala la ora 2 p.m., iar acum vorbeste la telefon de mai bine
de zece minute. 2. Nici unul dintre prietenii nostri nu a auzit vreodata de un lucru
atat de ciudat. 3. E timpul sa intelegeti importanta limbilor straine. 4. Anul trecut ai
vizitat Londra, iar anul acesta ai vizitat Parisul. 5. Am dori sa fim la mare acum. 6.
Dupa ce vor cumpara biletele, vor intra in sala de spectacole. 7. Mary nu ne-a
telefonat de cand a plecat din orasul nostru. 8. Am aflat multe lucruri interesante
despre acest actor in ultima vreme. 9. Verisorul meu a locuit in Canada timp de opt
ani, iar apoi s-a mutat in Argentina. 10. De cat timp patineaza nepotelul tau? 11.
De-ar sti Harry unde suntem, cu siguranta ar veni aici. 12. Vecinul nostru ar fi de
parere sa nu plantam toti acesti pomi in gradina. 13. Turistul tocmai ne-a explicat
ca a luat trenul ieri dupa-amiaza si ca a ajuns aici in aceasta dimineata. 14. L-ai
intrebat vreodata ce facultate a urmat cat timp a stat la Londra? 15. Ai vazut
ultimele picturi ale surorii mele? 16. Cand au fost aici, ei ne-au promis o multime
de carti, dar nu am primit nimic pana acum. 17. Imi spunea odata prietenul tau ca
nu-fi gaseai carnetul de conducere. Ce-ai facut in cele din urma ? 18. Daca as. fi in
locul tau, as cumpara pe data apartamentul. 19. Cand vei fi citit toata cartea, vei
intelege mai bine intrebarile mele. 20. Ascultati! El vorbeste englezeste ca si cum
ar fi limba lui materna.
3.5. FUTURITY
There are several different ways of expressing future actions in English and the

69
choice among them is on whether the action is planned, intended, scheduled,
expected, imminent, etc. So, future actions can be expressed by :
3.5.1. The Simple Future
3.5.1.1. Form
Affirmative Interrogative
I/we shall/will go Shall/will I/we go ?
I'll/we'll go Will you/he/she/it/they go ?
You/he/she/it/they will go
You'll/he'll/she'll/it'll/they'llgo

Negative Negative-Interrogative
I/we shall not/shan't go Shall I/we not go ?
I/we will not/won't go Shan't I/we go ?
You/he/she/it/they will not go Will I you/he/she/it/we/they not
go ?
You/he/she/it/they won't go Won't I/you/he/she/it/we/they
go ?
3.5.1.2. Use
As a rule, shall is used with the first person (singular and plural) and will with the
second and the third person, this form being also called Pure Future or Uncoloured
Future. It usually occurs in formal style, although in normal speech, the forms I'll
and we'll will probably be used. Due to the natural desire for uniformity, in speech,
will is used for all the three persons. The Pure Future is said to express:
1. A "neutral" future event, a prediction about the future, without any colouring of
volition, promise, etc.:
I shall go on an interesting trip next week. My friend will see a good film in the
afternoon.
2. A future action in the main clause of conditional sentences :
I shall read this book if she gives it to me.
If the rain stops, the boys will play in the garden.
In certain contexts, the interrogative forms shall I/we... ? and will you... ? may have
different meanings. So,
Shall I/we open this window ?has the meaning:
Would you like me/us to open this window? and:
Will you help me with this translation ? has the meaning:
Are you willing to/would you like to help me with this translation? It usually
happens that in addition to futurity, the constructions with shall and will may also
express some other feeling of command, determination, promise, threat,

70
willingness, etc. Here we speak about the so-called Coloured Future. In this case
shall and will may have the following meanings:
SHALL
a) Determination, resolution:
We shall speak when we think fit. The enemy shall not pass!
b) Promise:
If you repair this car, you shall have a three days' holiday.
c) Refusal:
As you have not taken care of the book you borrowed, you shall not have another
one!
d) Threat:
If Mary has done such a thing, she shall pay dearly for it.
e) Prophetic utterances:
"...But thy eternal summer shall not die." (Shakespeare, Sonnet XVIII)
f) Constructions with shall may also occur in that-clauses, as well as in legal
documents :
I have decided that she shall go there at once. Payment shall be made in due time.
WILL
a) Willingness, determination:
I will pay you as much as you ask for.
I will do this problem even if I have to stay up the whole night.
b) Promise:
I won't make such a mistake again.
c) Possibility, assumption:
That girl under the tree will be his sister.
d) Estimation of capacity :
This school will hold more than one thousand pupils.
e) Something unavoidable or that recurs very often:
Boys will be boys.
Sometimes she will look out of the window for hours without hearing anything
around her.
A clear-cut distinction must be made between the construction with and without
will in conditional clauses, the former implying volition on the part of the subject:
If you will help us ( = if you want to help us), we shall be grateful to you. If you
help us, we shall finish our work in time.
3.5.1.3. Exercises
I. Fill in the blanks with shall or will:
I. He ... play tennis tomorrow. 2. We ... see a good film next week. 3. You ...
understand this soon. 4. The children ... eat icecream at the party. 5. I ... talk to
them on Sunday. 6. You ... go on a trip next week. 7. We ... ask them a lot of

71
questions. 8. They ... be fifteen next month. 9. I ... give her a good book to read. 10.
It... to rain in the afternoon.
II. Replace shall or will by 'II:
1. They will arrive at 7 o'clock. 2. I shall translate the new lesson. 3. You will help
them. 4. We shall carry our luggage. 5. You will lend her your dictionary. 6. They
will go to the theatre on Thursday. 7. I shall read that poem. 8. You will cook in the
afternoon. 9. They will wear white blouses. 10. I shall cross the road.
III. Turn the following sentences into the interrogative :
1. He will leave tomorrow. 2. We shall open all the windows. 3. You will think
about this. 4. The dog will run after the cat. 5. I shall sing that song again. 6. You
will paint another portrait. 7. They will build a new house. 8. We shall meet him. 9.
You will sell your car. 10. I shall write many letters.
IV. Turn the following sentences into the negative according to the model:
I shall go to Leeds tomorrow. (Paris)
I shall not go to Paris tomorrow.
1. You will read a poem, (a play) 2. We shall go to school by tram, (by bus) 3. It
will snow in the mountains, (at the seaside) 4. The boys will play football, (tennis)
5. I shall write a letter, (an exercise) 6. You will speak English. (French) 7. The girl
will clean the blackboard, (the window) 8. I shall open the book, (the notebook) 9.
You will see a monkey, (an elephant) 10. They will come here in the morning, (in
the afternoon)
V. Work on the model:
They will go to London. (Rome)
Won't they go to Rome ?
1. I shall sleep in the bedroom, (in the garden) 2. They will play the piano, (the
violin) 3. You will spend the week-end at the seaside, (in the mountains) 4. Father
will drive the car fast, (slowly) 5. I shall water the flowers, (the trees) 6. You will
drink water, (milk) 7. She will tell us many jokes, (stories) 8. You will go to the
cinema, (to the circus) 9. We shall invite the Browns, (the Smiths) 10. They will
arrive in the morning, (in the evening)
VI. Ask questions according to the model:
I shall read a book in the garden, (what; where)
What shall I read in the garden ?
Where shall I read the book ?
1. They will move to a new house next month, (who; where; when) 2. Mother will
make a good cake, (what; what kind of) 3. I shall go to school tomorrow, (where;
when) 4. You will catch some fish, (who; what) 5. They will come here on Sunday,
(who ; when) 6. I shall watch TV tonight, (what; when) 7. Your sister will help you
next week, (whom, when) 8. I shall open the red book (who; which) 9. The boys
will translate a difficult text in the morning, (what; when; what kind of) 10. We

72
shall go for a walk in the park in the afternoon, (who ; where ; when)
VII. Work on the model:
You/to eat/an apple/a pear
What will you eat ?
I'll eat an apple.
I shan't eat a pear.
1. The boy/to drink/milk/tea; 2. We/to open/the book/the box; 3. You/to speak/
English/Russian; 4. I/to buy/a bag/a hat; 5. The children/to eat/cakes/pears ; 6.
Mother/ to make/a pie/icecream; 7. You/to give the teacher/five flowers/a piece of
chalk; 8. I/to take/the book/the pencil; 9. We/to catch/the bus/the train; 10. You/to
see/a play/ a film.
VIII. Respond to the statements according to the model:
I can't read in the dark, (to switch on the light)
Shall I switch on the light ?
1. I want to go to the cinema today, (to buy tickets) 2. I'm afraid we'll be late,
(to take a taxi) 3. We like music, (to listen to this new record) 4. I don't
remember the way to the station, (to show you the way there) 5. There is no
bread on the table, (to bring some) 6. I've got no time to post my letters
today, (to do it for you) 7. We want to listen to the news, (to turn on the
radio) 8. It's very stuffy in the room, (to open the window) 9. It has started to
rain, (to open the umbrella) 10. I'm sure Fred is hungry, (to give him some
sandwiches)

3.5.2. The Future Continuous

3.5.2.1. Form
Affirmative Interrogative
I/we shall/will be walking Shall/will I/we be walking ?
You/he/she/it/they will be Will you/he/she/it/they be
walking walking ?
Negative Negative-Interrogative
I/we shall not be walking Shall I/we not we be walking ?
I/we shan't be walking Shan't I/we be walking ?
I/you/he/she/it/we/they will Will I/you/he/she/it/we/they not
not be walking be walking ?
I/you/he/she/it/we/they won't Won't I/you/he/she/it/we/they be
be walking walking ?
3.5.2.2. Use
1. To express a future activity or state that will begin before and will continue

73
after a certain moment in the future:
This time tomorrow we shall be watching TV.
2. To indicate that an activity or state will extend over a whole future period:
Lucy will be writing letters all day long.
3. To express future events that are planned :
We shall be spending our next holiday in the mountains.
3.5.2.3. Exercises
I. Use the verbs in brackets in the Future Continuous:
I. This time next week we (to travel) to Los Angeles. 2. If she comes at one
o'clock, you (to have) lunch. 3. It probably (to snow) when they come back. 4. This
time next week I (to study) at the University. 5. At 5 o'clock they (to listen) to
music. 6. When we go to the Zoo, they (to feed) the animals. 7. Don't call him up
now. He (to take) his afternoon nap. 8. Tomorrow afternoon at this time they (to
fly) over the Rocky Mountains. 9. If you come before 7, we (to work) in the
garden. 10. I (to wait) for you in the park at this time tomorrow.
II. Translate the following sentences into English using the Future
Continuous:
1. Sunt sigur ca la ora aceea fratii tai vor dormi. 2. Probabil ca elevii vor scrie inca
exercitiile cand va suna clopotelul. 3. Maine pe vremea asta sora mea va canta la
pian.
4. Voi va veti juca in gradina toata dimineata. 5. Aproape ca nu-mi vine sa cred ca
vinerea viitoare ne vom plimba pe malul Tamisei. 6. II voi anunta pe Tom de
invitatia voastra, pentru ca il voi vedea la teatru in seara aceasta.
3.5.3. To Be Going To ("The Near Future")
3.5.3.1. Use
The going to-construction is used to express :
1. Intention (the future fulfilment of present intention):
What is Jane going to tell us ?
There is a difference between the intention expressed by will and the one expressed
by be going to. This is because the going to-construction expresses not only
intention, but also premeditation. Therefore to be going to is not used where
premeditation is not employed:
A: "John cannot do this exercise."
B: "I'll help him." (not: "I'm going to help him.")
2. Prediction - when we know that something will take place in the future:
My sister is going to graduate from the faculty in May. or when we see that
something is about to happen: It is going to rain in a few minutes.
3. Planned actions:
My uncle is going to buy a boat next year.

74
3.5.3.2. Exercises
I. Replace the Simple Future by the going fo-construction. Work on the model:
We'll leave this afternoon.
We are going to leave this afternoon.
I. I'll speak English. 2. You will travel by plane. 3. Jane will eat an orange. 4. The
pupils will recite poems. 5. You will give her some good advice. 6. We will repeat
the new words. 7. Tom will draw a train. 8. They will do many exercises. 9. I'll buy
a white blouse. 10. You will finish your homework today.
II. Work on the model:
We are going to leave next week.
Are we going to leave next week?
1. Jack is going to learn German. 2. You are going to write a letter. 3.1 am going to
help them. 4. They are going to look for the dog. 5. It is going to rain. 6. We are
going to sing that song again. 7. You are going to decorate the room. 8. I'm going
to wait for her. 9. Mary is going to ask a question. 10. We are going to build a new
house.
III. Work on the model:
She is going to choose a new dress, (a new blouse)
She isn't going to choose a new blouse.
1. We are going to speak to them, (to her) 2. You are going to read a story, (a
poem) 3. I am going to buy a new hat. (a new coat) 4. They are going to visit a
museum. (a church) 5. T am going to cut the grass in the afternoon, (in the
morning) 6. He is going to spend two weeks in this village, (in the mountains) 7.
We are going to get there before noon, (before the sunset) 8. You are going to see
them on Sunday, (on Monday) 9. The boys are going to play tennis, (rugby) 10. I
am going to tell you the truth, (a lie)
IV. Put the verbs in brackets in the Simple Future or in the be going to-form
according to the meaning:
1. "Why are you holding that pen in your hand?" "I (to write) a letter to my
cousin."
2. If you take a taxi, you (to get) to the station in less than ten minutes. 3. I wonder
when this storm (to end). 4. "Why has mother gone to the kitchen? " "She (to make)
a birthday cake for our sister." 5. I am sure she (to recognize) you. 6. "Why is Bob
carrying that hammer?" "He (to hammer) a nail." 7. What your mother (to say)
when she sees you dressed like that? 8.1 hope the train (to arrive) here on time. 9.1
(to wear) my new dress at the party tomorrow. 10. My sister (to have) her hair cut
this morning.
3.5.4. The Future Perfect Simple
(shall/will + have + Past Participle)

75
3.5.4.1. Use
The Future Perfect Simple is used to indicate :
1. An action which will be finished before a certain moment or another action in
the future. In this case it is usually associated with the preposition by in such
constructions as by Monday/by that time/by the end of/, etc.:
It is nine o'clock. I'm sure my sister will have written her composition by eleven
o'clock.
2. The duration up to a certain time in the future:
Tomorrow we shall have been on holiday for one month.
Mention must be made of the fact that the Future Perfect does not occur in a time
clause, in which case the Present Perfect is used:
You will be able to translate such a difficult text only when/after you have learnt
(not: will have learnt) all the new words.
3. Possibility or assumption:
If Jack has taken a taxi he will have arrived at the railway station in time. (I
assume that he has arrived/It is likely that he has arrived.)
3.5.4.2. Exercises
I. Use the verbs in brackets in the Future Perfect Simple according to the
model:
When you arrive there, she (to leave)
When you arrive there, she will have left.
1. By the end of September, the flowers (to die). 2. Before she leaves, she (to visit)
every museum in the town. 3. By Friday, you (to finish) the book. 4. By 12 o'clock
your brother (to come) back home. 5. I'm sure they (to complete) the new bridge by
August. 6. By this time next year, he (to forget) all about this. 7. By the time Alice
leaves the town next week, she (to make) a lot of friends here. 8. By 8 o'clock, my
brother (to write) his homework. 9. By the end of June, father (to repair) the roof of
our house. 10. When you get there, the sun (to rise) for a long time.
II. Translate the following sentences into English using the Future Perfect
Simple:
1. Pana la sfarsitul trimestrului vom fi invatat corespondenta timpurilor in limba
engleza.
2. Piesa va fi inceput inainte de a ajunge noi la teatru. 3. Pana la ora 5 Mary va fi
scris toate scrisorile. 4. Sper ca pana maine dimineata sa se opreasca ploaia. 5. Ma
tem ca toate magazinele se vor inchide inainte ca eu sa plec de la birou. 6. Daca nu
va grabiti, avionul va fi decolat cand veji ajunge la aeroport. 7. Sunt sigur ca aceste
carti se vor vinde pana saptamana viitoare. 8. Vei fi auzit de ultimul roman al
acestui mare scriitor.

76
3.5.5. The Future Perfect Continuous
(shall/will + have + been + Present Participle)
3.5.5.1. Use
The Future Perfect Continuous is used to express the duration of an action up to a
certain moment in the future :
At 6 o'clock your sister will have been sleeping for two hours.
3.5.5.2. Exercises
I. Use the verbs in brackets in the Future Perfect Continuous according to the
model:
This girl (to sing) for half an hour when her mother comes home.
This girl will have been singing for half an hour when her mother comes home.
I. By 10 o'clock my brother (to write) letters for one hour. 2. You (to study)
English for ten years when you graduate from this school. 3. By September I (to
teach) in this school for twenty years. 4. We (to listen) to music for one hour when
father opens the door. 5. By the end of July Nick (to take) swimming lessons for
five months.
II. Translate the following sentences into English using the Future Perfect
Continuous:
1. De cat timp vei lucra in acest birou cand vei iesi la pensie ? 2. La sfarsitul acestui
an scolar fiica mea va invata englezeste de patru ani. 3. In septembrie John va locui
in aceasta casa de sapte ani. 4. Pe la sfarsitul acestei saptamani voi astepta de doua
luni sa mi se repare masina. 5. Maine pe la ora unsprezece ne vom plimba prin
acest parc frumos de eel putin o ora. 6. Prietenii nostri vor fi calatorind de trei luni
inainte de a ajunge in Australia.

3.5.6. The Future-In-The-Past Simple

(should/would + Short Infinitive)
3.5.6.1. Use
This tense is used to express a future action or state seen from a viewpoint in the
past. It occurs in object clauses:
She told me that she would go there soon.
3.5.6.2. Exercises
I. Use the verbs in brackets in the Future-in-the-Past Simple:
I. The pupil promised he (to come) to school on time. 2.1 didn't know that you (to
leave) so soon. 3. You told me that she (to understand) this later on. 4. We assured
them that we (to help) them. 5. Why didn't you tell him that you (to go) to London
the next week?
II. Translate the following sentences into English using Future-in-the-Past

77
Simple:
1. John spera ca toti prietenii lui vor veni la petrecere. 2. Paula ne-a anuntat ca
trenul va sosi in zece minute. 3. Eram sigur ca o vei gasi acasa. 4. Thomas mi-a
promis ca imi va imprumuta cartea aceea a doua zi. 5. Unde ai spus ca isi vor
petrece ei vacanja de iarna? 6. Nimeni nu stia ca in curand, acest cantaret va fi
renumit in toata lumea. 7. Lucy a promis ca va veni cu noi de indata ce va fi libera.
8. Am inteles atunci ca vei incerca sa o ajuti.
3.5.7. The Future-in-The-Past Continuous
(should/would + be + Present Participle)
3.5.7.1. Use
This tense expresses a Future Continuous seen from a past viewpoint:
The woman assured us that, in less than half an hour, her baby would be sleeping.
3.5.7.2. Exercises
I. Use the verbs in brackets in the Future-in-the-Past Continuous according to
the model:
Mary reminded us that at that time she (to travel) to New York.
Mary reminded us that at that time she would be travelling to New York.
1.1 was sure that my sister (to sleep) at that time. 2. You thought I (to watch) TV at
that time on Friday. 3. She didn't believe that they (to learn) the lesson then. 4.
They understood that she (to play) the piano at 7 o'clock. 5. Peter let me know that
he (to do) an interesting experiment at 10 o'clock the next day.
II. Translate the following sentences into English using the Future-in-the-Past
Continuous:
1. Ne-am amintit ca, a doua zi la ora unsprezece, vom lucra inca in gradina. 2.
Eram sigur ca fiii mei se vor uita la televizor la ora aceea. 3. Sora mea nu credea ca
eu voi scrie inca scrisori la ora unsprezece noaptea. 4. Mary mi-a explicat ca va
purta o rochie verde. 5. I-am spus lui Patrick ca, a doua zi la acea ora, el nu va juca
fotbal deoarece va calatori spre Londra. 6. Nu am stiut ca ei vor dansa toata
noaptea.

78
Conclusions :
Acest curs a fost redactat pentru a veni în ajutorul studenţilor anului I,
specializarea CIG, ca bază servind cărţile prezentate în bibliografie.
Este alcătuit din trei capitole, fiecare dintre ele conţinând atât o parte de
teorie cât şi o parte de aplicaţii, concepută cu scopul de a uşura înţelegerea regulilor
gramaticale prezentate anterior.

Bibliography :
Leviţchi, Leon, Gramatica Limbii Engleze, Ed. Mondero, Bucureşti, 1992
Miroiu, Mihai, English Business Letters, Corespondenţa în Afaceri în Limba
Engleză, Ed. Andreescu, Alexandria.
Paidos, Constantin, English Grammar- Theory and Practice,
Editura Polirom, Iaşi,2001.

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