LANGUAGE REFERENCE
140
8
GRAMMAR
G1
PAST CONTINUOUS
Form the past continuous with
was
/
were + verb +
-ing
.
I
was working
on a project for six months.
The children
weren’t working
very hard.
Use the past continuous:
•
to talk about background actions
It was a beautiful day – the sun
was shining
and the
birds
were singing
.
•
to talk about a longer background action in the past
when a shorter action interrupts it or happens during it.
We
were talking
about you when you rang.
(the background action is interrupted and stops)
I
was having
a staff meeting when Julia arrived
five minutes late.
(the action happens during the background action
)
•
to talk about repeated actions in the past that take
place over a temporary period of time.
People
were coming in
all day to buy this item.
•
to emphasise the duration or continuity of a past
action.
For the whole of last month we
were trying
to solve
this same problem.
!
We rarely use state verbs such as
be
,
like
,
know
,
believe
,
understand
in the continuous form.
I was liking the fish soup.
û
I liked the fish soup.
ü
G2
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
Form the past perfect simple with
had
+ past
participle.
I called but he
’d
already
left
.
When I checked, it was obvious they
hadn’t
understood
the instructions.
Use the past perfect simple to emphasise that one
action happened before another in the past.
The film
had
already
started
when we arrived at the
cinema.
The past perfect simple is often used with the
conjunctions
when
,
before
,
after
and
by
.
I had left
when
he called.
She had been to Australia twice
before
we went
together.
We went out
after
we had eaten breakfast.
By
the age of 80, he had written over a hundred
books.
If the sequence of events is clear, we can also use the
past simple.
I called my friend after I finished work.
KEY LANGUAGE
KL
THE LANGUAGE OF NEGOTIATION
How many would you like to order?
We are thinking of placing a large order.
I’m afraid that would be a bit/very difficult.
What about if we paid earlier? Would you be able
to … ?
Let me check if I understand you.
How do you feel about that?
That sounds fine.
VOCABULARY
V1
BUSINESS TERMS AND ROLES
business, charge (v), community, competitor,
customer, entrepreneur, invest, investor, law, loss,
manufacturer, manufacturing, owner, partner, prices,
profit, retail, retailer, staff, supplier, taxes, wages,
wholesaler
V2
COLLOCATIONS
BEFORE
do some market research, make a business plan
START
do the first year accounts, go into partnership, set up
a company
DURING
launch a new product range / an advertising
campaign, make money / a profit, recruit a new
manager / talented employees, reduce production
costs, run a factory, set up an overseas branch
END
go out of business, reduce the number of staff,
run the business badly
Julia arrived
NOW
having a meeting
people coming in
NOW
NOW
all day
last month
trying to solve problem
you rang
NOW
talking
arrived at the cinema
film started
NOW
NOW
sun was shining, birds were singing
