English Grammar Intermediate (B2)
Class Exercise Book
Ross Clark M.A.
1
Contents
Unit
Grammatical theme
Focus
Page
N/A
N/A
Course information
3
1
Tense review part one
The most common tenses
6
2
Tense review part two
The ‘other‘ tenses
9
3
Active Vs passive
Active Vs passive in academic
14
writing
4
Quantifiers: countable and uncountable nouns
Discovery learning and
17
discussion
5
Gerund Vs infinitive
Refreshing and practicing
21
knowledge
6
Conditional sentences
The first, second, third, and
24
zero conditionals
7
Relative pronouns and relative clauses
Frequently asked questions
28
8
Punctuation
Frequently asked questions
32
9
Phrasal verbs
Transivity, ambiguity,
37
formality, and redundancy
10
The definite article
Common mistakes
40
11
Building sentences
Sentence structure
44
12
Exam revision
Practice exam
47
2
Course information
Contact details:
Course leader

Ross Clark M.A.

e-mail: clark@zv.tum.de
Course description
English Grammar Intermediate delivers not only grammatical rules but practical, real-life use of grammatical
constructions combined with independent learning. The syllabus has been established through a
combination of student needs analysis and common grammatical constructions required by B2-level
learners.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course students will have:

increased their knowledge of English grammatical rules;

practiced a variety of B2-level grammatical constructions;

improved their English speaking and skills; and

built a solid foundation for professional communication in the English language.
Online placement test
All participants should complete the Sprachenzentrum’s online English placement test at the beginning of
the course.
3
Assessment
Assessment is according to two criteria. Each assessment is equally weighted in terms of the grade.
Assessment
Percentage of the grade
Short weekly homework tasks
50%
Exam
50%
Weekly homework tasks
Students must complete 10 short weekly homework tasks on Moodle. Each homework task is worth 5% of
the total course grade.
N.B. You must submit the homework on time each week. As the tasks are short and you will receive
reminders to do them, there is no tolerance on late submissions. If you submit a homework task late, you
will not receive feedback on the task and you will lose the 5% of the grade.
Exam
There is a 90-minute written exam in the last class of the semester. This will take place in the same room,
at the same time, as the usual classes. The date is the last class listed for this course on TUMonline.
N.B. You must register for the exam in order to take it. Registration is very easy to complete. However, if
for any reason you have problems registering, contact a classmate who has already registered or get in
touch with the Sprachenzentrum Servicebuero at sprachenzentrum@zv.tum.de.
Bear in mind that lecturers are not allowed to register students for exams, so please do not e-mail your
teacher asking him to register you. Note also that lecturers cannot see the pathways on TUMonline that
students take in order to register for the exam, so it is no use asking your teacher to give you directions on
how to register. This is why you should ask either a classmate or the Sprachenzentrum Servicebuero.
Please note that registration for the exam is each student’s own responsibility. If you do not register for
the exam, you cannot take it and you cannot pass the course. No exceptions!
4
Literature
You do not need to obtain any books for the course other than the Class Exercise Book. Make sure you
have access to the Class Exercise Book in every lesson; you may obtain this access however you like, for
example by printing a copy or downloading it to a laptop, tablet, or phone, but you must be able to access
the Class Exercise Book in every lesson.
Students wishing to purchase a book for reference or independent study may find the following publications
useful, though they are not mandatory for our course:
English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy. This is designed for independent study and comes with clear
explanations and activities. English Grammar in Use has long been the world's best-selling English grammar
book and is available these days as an app as well. Info here:
http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/grammar-vocabulary-and-pronunciation/englishgrammar-use-4th-edition
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. This is more advanced, dealing a lot with specific problems and
common mistakes that learners encounter, and works best as a reference book. Info here:
https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/grammar_vocabulary/practical_english_usage_4th_edition/?c
c=de&selLanguage=de
5
Unit 1
Tense review part one
Focus:
The most common tenses
“You may delay, but time will not.”
― Benjamin Franklin.
Contents:


Structures and meanings
Controlled practice
Unit goals:



Refreshing knowledge of the most commonly used English tenses
Controlled practice to consolidate knowledge
Freer practice to use tenses in more a more realistic manner
6
Tense review: structures and meanings
Discuss in your groups: How does the meaning change from one sentence to the other? Can you name the
tenses?
1a) The company maintains dams.
1b) The company is maintaining a huge dam.
2a) When we arrived, they showed the new designs.
2b) When we arrived, they were showing the new designs.
2c) When we arrived, they had shown the new designs.
3a) I have worked on several projects.
3b) I worked on several projects.
4a) She’s been working on the new designs all day
4b) She’s finished the designs.
5a) Do you think he’ll approve the new design?
5b) Yes. Look at the smile on his face. He’s definitely going to give us the green light!
6a) We’re launching the new treatment system on Tuesday.
6b) We’re probably going to launch the new treatment system in 2017.
6c) I’ve just heard marketing isn’t ready yet so we’ll move the launch back until May.
7
Tense review: controlled practice
Fill the gaps by putting the verbs in brackets into the appropriate tenses.
1. Construction of the dam _______________________________ (last) from 1973 to 1978.
2. So far, the measures _______________________________ (reduce) emissions significantly.
3. The summit _______________________________ (take place) in June 2023.
4. I _______________________________ (never work on) a project like that before my first day on this job.
5. The oil crisis famously _______________________________ (occur) in the 1970s.
6. This country _______________________________ (still be able) to produce carbon emissions at the
current rate until 2025.
7. Environmental workers _______________________________ (conduct) a major investigation when the
new administration suddenly put a stop to their activities.
8. Parliament _______________________________ (debate) the new Energy Act for months now without
making any significant progress.
9. The local government _______________________________ (begin) to allow limited hydraulic fracturing
in 2011.
10. This report _______________________________ (outline) results of the major research on geothermal
energy from the last five years.*
*Sentence taken from the introduction of a report.
8
Unit 2
Tense review part two
Focus:
The ‘other’ tenses
“How did it get so late so soon?”
– Dr. Seuss
Contents:




Review of last week’s topic: the most common tenses
Controlled practice: Partner A
Controlled practice: Partner B
Your ideal job after graduation: Interview questions
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of the most commonly used English tenses
Controlled practice of the less commonly used English tenses
Freer practice via role play job interviews
9
Review of last week’s topic: the most common tenses
Fill the gaps by putting the verbs in brackets into the appropriate tenses.
1. The project _______________________________ (last) from May to September 2018.
2. Thus far the Trump presidency _______________________________ (result) in major shake-ups of several
agencies.
3. The project ________________________________ (finish) in June 2018.
4. I _______________________________ (never experience) a flood first-hand before I arrived in the area.
5. The most recent earthquake in the area _______________________________ (happen) in the 1980s.
6. The government _______________________________ (cut) plastic production and consumption by 2016.
7. A dam repair project _______________________________ (take place) when an outburst occurred.
8. Engineers _______________________________ (work) on the project for a month last year.
9. Solar power _______________________________ (be) the major energy source in the region from 2011 to 2015.
10. The previous chapter _______________________________ (outline) the arguments for and against fracking.
10
Controlled practice: Partner A
Task A: Fill in the gaps so that the sentences are true for you.
1. At 10pm this evening, I will be _______________________. What will you be doing at 10pm this evening?
2. By the end of this year, I will have lived in Munich for ____ years. How long will you have lived in Munich by
the end of this year?
3. Before I registered for this course, I had already taken ______ courses in English. How many English courses
had you already taken before this one?
4. At the end of this course, I will have been learning English for ____ years. How long will you have been
learning English when this course ends?
5. I had been learning about my subject for ______ years before I began my current course at this university.
How long had you been learning about your subject before you began your current course?
6. I will be spending my next vacation in _______. Where will you be spending your next vacation?
7. By the end of this week, I will have attended _______ classes. How many classes will you have attended?
8. On Saturday, I will be _______________________. What will you be doing on Saturday?
9. By the age of 40 I will have _________________________________________. What will you have done by
the age of 40?
10. Even when I was 18 I had already been _______________________ for a long time. What had you been doing
for a long time by the age of 18?
Task B: Take turns with your partner to read out your statements and ask/answer one another’s questions.
11
Controlled practice: Partner B
Task A: Fill in the gaps so that the sentences are true for you.
1. At this time on Saturday, I will be _______________________. What will you be doing at this time on
Saturday?
2. By the end of this semester, I will have studied at university for ____ years. How long will you have studied by
the end of this semester?
3. Before I turned 18, I had been to ___________________________ at least 3 times. Where had you been at
least 3 times before you had turned 18?
4. By the time this class ends, I will have been studying for ____ hours today. How many hours will you have
been studying today when this class ends?
5. I had been thinking about studying _______________ before I decided on my current course at this
university. Had you been thinking about studying anything else before you decided on your current course of
studies?
6. I will be spending the Christmas break in _______. Where will you be spending the Christmas break?
7. By the time I turn 50, I will have __________________________________. What will you have done by the
time you turn 50?
8. At this time next week, I will be _______________________. What will you be doing at this time next week?
9. By the time I retire, I will have _________________________________________. What will you have done by
the time you retire?
10. I had been living in _______________________ for _____________________ years/months when I decided
to move to my current place. How long had you been living in your last place when you decided to move to
your current one?
Task B: Take turns with your partner to read out your statements and ask/answer one another’s questions.
12
Your ideal job after graduation: Interview questions
1. How did you hear about our company?
2. Why do you want this job?
3. If we offer you this job, what do you think you will be doing in five years’ time?
4. What has been your greatest professional achievement thus far?
5. How long do you imagine you will have been working for us before you move on from the company?
6. What had you been doing prior to your last job?
7. How many jobs had you worked in before your last one?
8. What will you have achieved within a year of working for this company?
9. Tell me about a professional conflict you have faced and how you resolved it.
10. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
11. Tell us about a project that you have enjoyed working on.
12. If you had been working in a secure and well-paid job that did not match with the interests you have passion
for, would you still have applied for this job?
13. Tell us about a point in your career when you realized you had made a mistake.
14. Which methods of motivating yourself will you be using to ensure you retain passion in your work?
15. Why should be hire you?
16. Why will we have made a mistake if we don’t hire you?
17. By the time this meeting is over, how many job interviews will you have had?
18. Tell us about yourself.
19. Why do you want this job?
20. What do you think you will have learned in your first 30 days on this job?
13
Unit 3
Active Vs passive
Focus:
Active Vs passive in academic writing
“Active verbs merit effort and attention for at least three reasons. First, they supply a sense of agency and urgency to
your writing by telling you who did what to whom. A scientist’s passive locution, “The research was performed,” lacks
the honesty and directness of “We performed the research.”
Second, active verbs add force and complexity to otherwise static sentences. When you write, “The pandemic
swept through South America,” you implicitly liken the pandemic’s effect to that of a fire sweeping through a forest or a
broom sweeping clear a cluttered floor. “The pandemic was very serious” simply doesn’t spark our imagination in the
same way.
Third, active verbs demand economy and precision, whereas be-verbs invite sloppy syntax...”
– Helen Sword, The Writer’s Diet
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: the ‘other’ tenses
Active Vs passive review
Unit goals:




Reviewing active and passive sentence structures
Introducing students to English academic writing conventions regarding active Vs passive
Controlled practice: rewriting from passive to active
Freer practice: speaking
14
Review of last week’s topic: the ‘other’ tenses
Identify which tense each sentence is in. Check your answers with a partner.
1. This time next week we will be finishing up with the project.
2. How long had you been learning English by the time of your graduation?
3. I hope I will have retired by my 65th birthday.
4. At the end of January the government will have been debating this issue for an entire
year.
5. Before getting this job she had worked as a freelancer for a number of years.
15
Active Vs Passive Review
Read the abstract and discuss the questions below with your group.
User motivation, energy prosumers, and regional diversity:
sociological notes on using shallow geothermal energy.
In this paper, we shed light on some sociocultural aspects underlying the use of shallow geothermal energy and
point to relevant research on the utilization and public understanding of geothermal energy. We show how
societal components such as user preferences in heating and cooling, users’ involvement in co-designing
technology and producing energy, or country-specific administrative procedures influence the development of
the technologies. We rely on existing studies and statistics and also on our own fieldwork (expert interviews)
that has been carried out in 2013 and 2014 in Germany. Although we will focus on the cases in Germany, where
shallow geothermal technologies have spread in a short time and evoked diverse forms of engagement from
social actors, we also include comparative information from other countries.
Alena Bleicher and Matthias Gross. 2015. User motivation, energy prosumers, and regional diversity: sociological notes on using shallow geothermal energy. Geothermal
Energy 3:12. DOI: 10.1186/s40517-015-0032-6. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution. © Bleicher and
Gross. 2015. License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).
• How many passive verbs are there?
• How many instances of the first person are there?
• Why do you think the first person has been used in each case?
16
Unit 4
Quantifiers: countable and uncountable nouns
Focus:
Discovery learning and discussion
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
The answer is blowing in the wind.
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: active Vs passive
Quantifiers
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of active Vs passive
Controlled practice and discovery learning with quantifiers
Freer practice via speaking tasks
17
Bob Dylan, Blowin’ in the wind
Review of last week’s topic: active Vs passive
Change the passive sentences into active and vice versa. In cases of passive to active, you may have to add a
subject or rewrite parts of some sentences.
1. The New Town area was constructed between the 18th and 19th centuries.
2. The government has not yet announced a referendum on the issue.
3. The effectiveness of the HR department’s plan will likely be called into question.
4. Police will interview a number of witnesses.
5. The findings were hailed as a major scientific breakthrough.
18
Quantifiers
Work through the tasks below in your groups. N.B. This task continues onto the next page!
some vs any
Complete the gaps with either some or any.
1. Do you have ____________ ideas for your project topic?
2. I’ve got ____________ work to do at the moment, so I’ll dine with you another time.
3. I wasn’t in the mood to do ____________ work because I was so tired.
4. Would you like ____________ coffee?
5. If there are ____________ calls for me, let me know.
6. Did ____________ books just fall in the other room? I thought I heard something.
Discuss: What are the rules for some and any?
much vs many
Complete the gaps with either much or many.
1. Do you have ____________ work to do?
2. There isn’t ____________ time left for us to complete the project.
3. How ____________ sources does your paper have?
4. There will be ____________ more people at the conference than we originally thought.
5. How ____________ money did the new building cost?
6. Did ____________ people answer the job advertisement?
Discuss: What are the rules for much and many?
Discuss: Which of the gaps in the previous gap-fill task could you have filled with a lot of? What does this tell you?
Discuss: When can you use plenty?
19
little, few, a little, a few, less, and fewer
Complete the gaps with little, few, a little, a few, less or fewer.
1. Sure, I can spare a couple of minutes. My meeting got cancelled so I have ____________ time.
2. Sorry, I have very ____________ time at the moment because I have so many meetings.
3. She’s been working here forever, so there are very ____________ questions she doesn’t have the answers to.
4. She’s only been on the job a few days so there are ____________ questions she still doesn’t know the answers
to.
5. I just moved here so I know ____________ people in the area.
6. He just moved here, but he already knows ____________ people through work.
7. Sales are down, so we have ____________ more money than last year to spend on new projects.
8. Some of our staff have recently retired, so we have ____________ people available to work on the project.
9. We really have to start working. We have ____________ time to spare.
10. There is ____________ point in arguing with people on the internet.
Discuss: What is the difference between little and a little?
Discuss: What is the difference between few and a few?
Discuss: What is the difference between little and a few?
Task: Go on the internet, go to Youtube, search for "Stannis fewer", and watch one of the videos you think is relevant to
quantifiers. What does Stannis Baratheon have to tell us about the difference between less and fewer?
20
Unit 5
Gerund Vs infinitive
Focus:
Refreshing and practicing knowledge
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
-
William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: quantifiers
Gerund Vs infinitive
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of quantifiers
Working out a rules for the gerund and the infinitive
Controlled and freer practice of gerund and infinitive
21
Review of last week’s topic: quantifiers
Fill the gaps with appropriate quantifiers.
1. How____________ studying have you done for the exam?
2. There are ____________ students at this campus because there aren’t many lecture halls.
3. We have too ____________ students in our class, so some people have to stand during lectures.
4. Do you have ____________ minutes to talk about our group presentation?
5. How ____________ do you have to pay in tuition fees?
6. It’s a positive sign that far ____________ students have dropped out of the course in recent years.
7. How ____________ exams do you have this week?
8. The semester is over now, so there’s ____________ I have to do.
9. There were ____________ questions I wasn’t sure about, but overall the exam went fine.
10. Do you want to meet us at the student union for ____________ pints?
22
Gerund Vs infinitive
Put the verb in brackets into either the gerund or the infinitive. Partner A, do numbers 1-10. Partner B, do numbers 11-20.
When you are both finished explain your answers, and the reasons you gave these answers, to each other.
Partner A:
1. We’re thinking of _____________ (spend) Christmas in New York.
2. I’m not sure about _____________ (accept) this job offer.
3. Do you have enough _____________ (eat)?
4. _____________ (Move) to a new flat is always stressful.
5. I would suggest _____________ (revise) grammar for short periods a number of times is better than
_____________ (study) only once for a long time.
6. She’s studying _____________ (prepare) for her exam next week.
7. The permissions for this app are really difficult _____________ (understand).
8. If a job is worth _____________ (do), it’s worth _____________ (do) well.
9. They invested a lot of money in _____________ (start) their business.
10. I can’t wait _____________ (see) the new film.
Partner B:
11. He was disappointed _____________ (find out) that he didn’t get the job.
12. Marketing has sent too few people _____________ (represent) us at the conference.
13. It’s no use _____________ (call) her at work. She never seems _____________ (answer).
14. We were too late _____________ (catch) the train.
15. You can’t make an omelet without _____________ (break) a few eggs.
16. There’s no sense in _____________ (cry) over spilled milk.
17. I asked them _____________ (help) us.
18. She’s leaving _____________ (start) a new job.
19. There’s no shame in _____________ (lose) if you gave it your best shot.
20. Appetite comes with _____________ (eat).
23
Unit 6
Conditional sentences
Focus:
The first, second, third, and zero conditionals
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
-
Jane Austen, Emma
Contents:



Review of last week’s topic: gerund Vs infinitive
Controlled practice: conditionals
Freer practice: Election Night Special
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of gerund Vs infinitive
Reviewing and using rules for conditional sentences
Freer practice with conditionals
24
Review of last week’s topic: gerund Vs infinitive
Task A: WITHOUT LOOKING AT YOUR NOTES FROM LAST WEEK, work with your group to brainstorm as
many reasons as you can for using A) the gerund and B) the infinitive.
Reasons to use the gerund
Reasons to use the infinitive
Task B: Complete these sentences using either the gerund or infinitive form of the verb given in brackets.
1. We recommend ____________________ (install) a wireless system.
2. The company agreed _________________ (provide) a network for the system.
3. The website suggests ______________ (add) a ten-year warranty.
4. The top brass wants ________________ (ensure) the rules are followed.
5. Our engineers intend __________________ (overhaul) the current system.
25
Controlled practice: Conditionals
With a partner, take turns to ask and answer the questions below. When you answer, make sure you do so
using the grammatical structure which correctly corresponds to the question.
1. What will you do at the weekend if it rains?
2. If someone messages you while you’re in bed, do you check the message?
3. What would you have done if you had not been accepted for your current course of studies?
4. If you met your idol, what would you say to them?
5. How do you react if you urgently need to look something up online but the internet connection is
really slow?
6. If you had known everything that you now know when you were five years younger, how would
you have behaved differently back then?
7. What would you do if you won the lottery?
8. If you could have chosen to witness any event in history, which event would you have chosen?
9. If you were offered a job in a country on the other side of the world, would you take it?
10. What will you do if you feel overwhelmed by exam preparation at the end of this semester?
11. If you could have cast a vote in the Brexit referendum, how would you have voted?
12. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
13. If you could choose to have one superpower, what would it be?
14. What will you do if you don’t get your ideal job after graduation?
15. If you had a time machine, which three times would you visit?
26
Freer practice: Election Night Special
Work with your group to create an election manifesto using the first, second, and third conditionals.
N.B. You must use entirely new election promises with each conditional, i.e. you CANNOT just recycle your
existing promises in the first conditional into the second or third conditionals and so on.
Name of your party:
Promises in the first conditional:
1. On the economy: If we win this election, we will…
2. On education: If we win this election, we will…
3. On international affairs: If we win this election, we will…
Promises in the second conditional:
4. On the legal system: If we won this election, we would…
5. On the EU: If we won this election, we would…
6. On homeland security: If we won this election, we would…
Promises in the third conditional:
7. On cultural issues: If we had won the last election, we would have already…
8. On sport: If we had won the last election, we would have already…
9. On transport: If we had won the last election, we would have already…
27
Unit 7
Relative pronouns and relative clauses
Focus:
Frequently asked questions
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.”
-
Robert Louis Stevenson, An apology for idlers
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: conditionals
Relative pronouns and relative clauses
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of conditionals
Reviewing and using rules for relative pronouns and relative clauses
Freer practice: speaking
28
Review of last week’s topic: conditionals
Work on the tasks below in your groups.
Task A: Complete the sentences in either the first or the second conditional.
1. If we all go on the trip, we ____________ a great time.
2. If you ____________ to the lecture late, you’ll miss the exam tips.
3. If I ____________ before you leave, have a great time on holiday!
4. What ________________________ if you were offered your dream job before you graduated?
5. You’ll catch a cold if you ____________ outside without a coat in this weather.
6. I would study a little more if I ____________ you.
7. I ____________ more time abroad if I had the money.
8. If I can’t get a ticket, ________________________ on TV.
9. If you haven’t studied by now, you ________________________ going to learn the material.
10. I would meet up with you in town if ____________ have to work.
Task B: Write three questions in the third conditional.
1.
2.
3.
Task C: Write one sentence in the zero conditional.
29
Relative pronouns and relative clauses
Work through the tasks below. Check your answers with your group after each section.
N.B. This task continues onto the next page!
Relative pronouns
Complete the gaps with an appropriate relative pronoun.
1. That’s the building ____________ I used to work.
2. He was the one ____________ originally posted the video before it went viral.
3. To ____________ should I give the message?
4. I contacted the representative ____________ is responsible for sales in this region.
5. She’s speaking to someone ____________ PC you can use.
Relative pronouns: In or out?
In cases where a relative pronoun is grammatically necessary, complete the gaps with an appropriate relative pronoun. In
cases where a relative pronoun is possible but not necessary, mark the gap with a dash (-).
1. Can I speak to the same person ____________ I spoke to yesterday, please?
2. There are a few things ____________ I need to tell you.
3. The paper ____________ we submitted has been accepted for publication.
4. The university ____________ she chose for her master’s studies is highly regarded.
5. The research ____________ he published in his PhD thesis was groundbreaking.
What or not?
If it is grammatically possible, complete the gaps with what. If what is not a grammatically correct answer, use a
different relative pronoun.
1. OK, that’s everything ____________ I wanted to talk about in my presentation.
2. This is the written assignment ____________ we need to complete for this course.
3. You can take the bus ____________ runs from Garching to Weihenstephan.
4. I’ll tell you ____________ we discussed in the class last week.
5. The book ____________ we need to buy for this course is really expensive.
30
Who or whom ?
Complete the gaps with either who or whom. Use whom every time it is grammatically possible.
1. That’s the engineer ____________ I was telling you about.
2.
____________ conducted your interview?
3. With ____________ are you going to the conference?
4. I’m not sure ____________ booked the room but I can check.
5. She’s one of the students ____________ was on my Spanish course last semester.
Defining or non-defining?
Either add a comma before the relative pronoun or leave the sentence untouched, depending on whether or not the
relative clause is defining or non-defining.
1. They said the style of my CV was old-fashioned which came as a bit of a surprise.
2. She graduated with the highest GPA in her class which was one of the reasons we hired her.
3. There are several paths which you can take as a graduate recruit with our company.
4. This is the room which we use for interviews.
5. What are the strengths which set you apart from the other candidates?
31
Unit 8
Punctuation
Focus:
Frequently asked questions
“The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.”
-
Lynne Truss, Eat Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
-
Contents:


Mid-course review
Punctuation essentials
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of course content so far
Reviewing and practicing punctuation essentials
Introducing and practicing comma rules
32
Mid-course review (group A)
Revise the content from the course as indicated below. Later you will teach these points to your classmates.
1. When do you use the present simple and when do you use the present progressive?
2. What are the differences between the past simple and the present perfect?
3. What are the differences between the past perfect and the past simple?
4. How is the passive voice formed?
5. Which form of the passive voice is too informal for academic writing?
6. How is the second conditional formed?
7. What are the differences between the first and second conditionals?
8. What are relative pronouns?
9. What are the characteristics of defining relative clauses?
10. When should you use ‘much’ and when should you use ‘many’?
11. What is the difference between ‘few’ and ‘a few’?
12. When can you use ‘plenty’?
33
Mid-course review (group B)
Revise the content from the course as indicated below. Later you will teach these points to your classmates.
1. When do you use the past simple and when do you use the past progressive?
2. What are the differences between the present perfect simple and the present perfect progressive?
3. What are the differences between ‘will’ and ‘going to’?
4. What are some alternative ways of forming the passive voice?
5. What are some of the reasons that English usually prefers the active voice in scientific writing?
6. How is the third conditional formed?
7. What are the differences between the second and third conditionals?
8. What are interrogative pronouns?
9. What are the characteristics of non-defining relative clauses?
10. When should you use ‘little’ and when should you use ‘few’?
11. What is the difference between ‘little’ and ‘a little’?
12. When can you use ‘a lot of’?
34
Punctuation essentials
Work through one section at a time. Pause to compare your answers with your group’s after each section.
The full stop: Are the statements below true or false?
1. When abbreviating ‘approximately’ to ‘approx’, there should be a full stop after the ‘x’.
2. When abbreviating ‘Mister’ to ‘Mr’, there should be a full stop after the ‘r’.
3. The abbreviated form of the Latin term exempli gratia, meaning ‘for example’, should be written with two full
stops.
4. When ending a sentence with ‘etc.’, you must use two full stops in a row, one to abbreviate ‘etc.’ and one to end
the sentence.
The apostrophe (‘): Which uses of the apostrophe below are correct and which are incorrect?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pear’s half price!
Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
The student’s flat is too small for them.
She was born in the 1990’s.
Penzias and Wilson’s discovery of the Cosmic Background Radiation won them the Nobel Prize.
Colons (:) and semicolons (;): In each of the sentences below, place either a colon or a semicolon where the
appears.
1. The price includes all of the following the flight, the accommodation, and transfers to and from the hotel.
2. In 1964 Penzias and Wilson proved that the Cosmic Microwave Background existed consequently, the Big Bang
model gained credence.
3. The headline read ‘Chancellor squanders millions’.
4. That is my main tip for presentations don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.
5. The study showed the following
83% of employees admitted to checking personal social media accounts on
their work computers, with 37% of those saying they did so ‘often’ over one-third of those respondents
‘sometimes’ log into social media accounts at work less than half of workplace social media users have been
reprimanded by their bosses for using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at work.
Colons (:) and semicolons (2): Based on your answers to the previous task, what do you think are the main rules for using
colons and semicolons?
35
Unit 9
Phrasal verbs
Focus:
Transivity, ambiguity, formality, and redundancy
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
-
Bob Marley and the Wailers, Get Up Stand up
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: commas
Phrasal verbs practice
Unit goals:




Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of comma use
Phrasal verbs: introducing transivity
Phrasal verbs: highlighting formality, redundancy and ambiguity
Phrasal verbs: controlled practice
36
Review of last week’s topic: commas (1)
Work through one task at a time with your partner.
Task A: Match the reasons to use a comma with an example of this use.
No
Reason to use comma
Letter
Example
A
2
to separate independent
clauses in a compound
sentence
for insertions of extra
information (these act like
abbreviated versions of nondefining relative clauses).
This impacts a number of fields, e.g.
environmental engineering, civil engineering and
geodesy.
The dealership sells hatchbacks, SUVs, minivans,
etc.
3
before ‘e.g.’ and ‘i.e.’
C
4
before ‘etc.’ when it appears at
the end of a list
after dependent clauses that
begin complex sentences
D
6
for non-defining relative
clauses, i.e. those which add
non-essential information
F
7
in lists
G
8
after certain words when they
begin a sentence.
H
9
before ‘and’ in lists to avoid
ambiguity
I
10
in place of ‘and’ when two or
more consecutive adjectives
modify the same noun
J
1
5
Solution
B
E
The new product, which has been on the market
for several weeks now, is selling well.
I’d like to thank my parents, Steve Jobs, and Bill
Gates.
The results at first appeared to be nothing
unusual. However, on closer inspection we
found something extraordinary.
We had our results, but we were unsure how to
interpret them.
Respondents were mainly young, highly-skilled
professionals.
The affected areas are highlighted in yellow,
green and red.
Katie Taylor, an Olympic and world champion in
boxing, has played for Ireland’s national football
team a number of times.
Although there had been rumours of an upset,
the referendum result came as a shock to many.
Task B: How do the two sentences below differ in meaning?
1. Students, who copy online texts, are cheaters.
2. Students who copy online texts are cheaters.
Task C: Which of the sentences below use commas correctly and which use commas incorrectly?
1. We can state with some certainty, that the results were reliable.
2. I decided to use a convenience sample, this was the most viable option.
3. The highly contested issues of water availability and water access rights, have further complicated the construction
of the dam.
4. Each of our surveys had a sample size of 1,007 people.
5. The government ran out of funding, therefore it had to cancel the research.
37
Review of last week’s topic: commas (2)
The commas have been removed from the extracts below. Read ONLY ONE of the extracts and add commas where
you think them appropriate - your teacher will tell you which extract to work on. Once you are finished adding
commas, check your answers with a partner.
Extract 1
In 2030 5 billion people will live in cities. Urban land cover is projected to increase 200% between 2000 and 2030
meaning that roughly 60% of urban areas existing in 2030 will have been built within this period (Elmqvist and
others 2013). These trends imply massive investment in urban infrastructure and profound transformations in
urban ecosystems and landscapes. The increased frequency and intensity of environmental extremes expected
with climate change will increase the risk of disruptions in ecosystem capacity to sustain the delivery of
ecosystem services posing new adaptation challenges to cities (Wamsler and others 2013).
Extract 2
Auspiciously civic authorities around the world are increasingly interested in investment in green infrastructure
as an adaptation strategy to cope with environmental extremes (Tzoulas and others 2007; Elmqvist and others
2013; Horizon 2020 Expert Group 2015). For example, urban forests are increasingly recognized for their
capacity to reduce the health impacts experienced by urban residents during heat waves and increasing
attention is being paid to ensuring that green areas can absorb sudden flows of stormwater (Depietri and others
2012; Farrugia and others 2013).
Extracts from: Green, T.L., Kronenberg, J., Andersson, E. et al. 2016. Insurance value of green infrastructure in and around cities. Ecosystems. 19: 1051.
doi:10.1007/s10021-016-9986-x. © The Author(s) 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
38
Phrasal verbs: controlled practice
Task A: Complete each sentence using a verb in the correct form.
1. He’s a bit sensitive about it, so I wasn’t sure how to ____________ the topic up.
2. We’ll have to stop soon because we’ve almost ____________ up all our petrol.
3. Have you ____________ up for the exam yet?
4. I’m forever losing my phone, but it always ____________ up in the end.
5. She only ____________ up tennis last year, but she’s already really good.
Task B: Complete each sentence using a verb in the correct form plus either ‘on’ or ‘off’.
1. They had to ____________ the match due to the severe weather.
2. Do you have a changing room where I can ____________ this ____________ ?
3. We weren’t ready so we had to ____________ the product launch for another couple of weeks.
4. The conditioning training was so tough that I felt as if I couldn’t ____________ towards the end.
5. The technology wasn’t very popular at first, but it’s really ____________ in the last few years.
Task C: Complete each sentence using a verb in the correct form plus ‘out’.
1. The professor ____________ several flaws in the theory.
2. She’s not easily offended, but she was really ____________ by his comments.
3. We haven’t been scuba diving before, but we’re going to ____________ it ____________ on holiday.
4. I didn’t ____________ about the deadline until it was too late.
5. Make sure you ____________ the entire form and don’t leave any blanks.
39
Unit 10
The definite article
Focus:
Common mistakes
“If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions,
great is our sin.”
-
Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: phrasal verbs
The definite article
Unit goals:



Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of phrasal verbs
Reviewing and using rules for the definite article
Freer practice: speaking
40
Review of last week’s topic: phrasal verbs
Complete each sentence by putting one of the phrasal verbs below into the correct form.
blow up
drop by
read over
fill up
call off
hold up
give away
take down
make up
make up
1. My phone has been ____________ ever since I posted the backstage photos from the concert.
2. I’m really looking forward to your wedding. Who is ____________ you ____________ at the altar?
3. We had to ____________ the meeting because not enough people could attend.
4. They had a huge fight years ago and they still haven’t ____________ .
5. I really wish she’d ____________ all those stupid photos she posted of us.
6. If you ____________ around six, we can go for drinks before dinner.
7. The guy in front of me ____________ the queue forever by asking the cashier a ton of questions.
8. If you have time, ____________ your answers before you hand in your exam.
9. Don’t ____________ on bread or you won’t have enough room for the main course.
10. I can’t tell whether he’s telling the truth or if he’s just ____________ it all up.
41
The definite article
In your groups, decide whether the gap should A) be filled with ‘the’ or B) be left blank. Check your answers with your group
after each section.
N.B. This task continues onto the next page!
Section 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have you ever travelled below ____________ equator?
Earth orbits ____________ sun.
My WiFi is down so I can’t get on ____________ internet.
____________ weather is very bleak this evening.
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
Section 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
Daniel, ____________ book you ordered is here.
Remember how we were talking about ____________ copier never breaking down? Well, it just has.
Could you send me ___________ report I asked for?
This report discusses a political dispute in my home country. ____________ dispute has been raging for
decades…
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
Section 3
7.
8.
9.
10.
I study at ____________ TUM.
She studies at ____________ TUM school of management.
Britain voted to leave ____________ EU.
The president has had disagreements with ____________ NATO.
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
Section 4
7.
8.
9.
10.
He was sick and didn’t go to ____________ school today.
They attend ____________ school that’s next to the lake.
I’ve got to get back to ____________ work.
The defendants were found guilty and sent to ____________ jail.
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
42
Section 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
One of the greatest issues facing humanity today is ____________ climate change.
An educated workforce is essential for ____________ industry to progress.
Until relatively recently, ____________ society viewed mental illness as a taboo subject.
We must do more to combat ____________ global warming.
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
Section 6
1. She works in ____________ automotive industry.
2. Scientists argue that ____________ climate change of today is different from that of the past in that the former
is caused by humans.
3. They are members of____________ Royal Society.
4. ____________ global warming we have witnessed in the last decade alone has been terrifying.
Discuss: Based on these examples, what patterns can you spot as regards whether or not to use the definite article?
43
Unit 11
Building sentences
Focus:
Sentence structure
“The structure of every sentence is a lesson in logic.”
-
John Stuart Mill
Contents:


Review of last week’s topic: the definite article
Sentence structure
Unit goals:


Reviewing and consolidating knowledge of the definite article
Sentence structure
44
Review of last week’s topic: the definite article
Either enter the definite article into the gap or leave it blank as grammatically appropriate. Then check your
answers with a partner.
1. How long have you been studying at ____________ TU?
2. Is your country a member of ____________ NATO?
3. The transport secretary stated that ____________ industry as a whole must learn to work with the public sector.
4. Is that ____________ printer paper I ordered?
5. The film illustrated how discrimination is still prevalent in ____________ society.
6. A primary task of science is to discover the laws of ____________ nature.
7. The environment secretary argued that this would exacerbate ____________ climate change.
8. She works in ____________ IT industry.
9. Does he go to ____________ university?
10. What is ____________ weather like today?
45
Sentence structure
Task A: Identify whether each of the sentences below is A) simple, B) compound, or C) complex.
1. At the beginning of 2015, he completed his PhD dissertation.
2. She began her studies in 2018, but illness caused her to drop out.
3. The causes of economic and ethnic inequality in US society stretch back centuries.
4. We can’t complete the project because we’re underfunded.
5. The film, which came highly recommended, turned out to be a disappointment.
Task B: In pairs, choose ONE of the sentences above and rewrite it as a different type, i.e. if the sentence is simple, change it
to compound or complex; if the sentence is compound, change it to simple or complex; if the sentence is complex, change it
to simple.
46
Unit 12
Exam revision
Focus:
Practice exam
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe
Contents:

Full practice exam
Unit goals:



Familiarising students with the layout of the final exam
Revision
Practical exam preparation
47
Grammar knowledge (25 points)
Write explanations to answer the following questions about grammar.
1. Give at least one reason why we would use the past perfect.
2. Why do we often avoid phrasal verbs in academic writing? Give at least one reason.
3. When do we use the second conditional?
4. When should you write ‘fewer’ instead of ‘less’?
5. What is a defining relative clause?
6. In which of the cases below should you give a comma?
a) defining relative clauses
b) non-defining relative clauses
c) before ‘that’
d) before ‘e.g.’
7. When do we use the zero conditional?
8. Is the passive or the active usually encouraged more in English-language scientific writing? Give at least one reason for
your answer.
9. Which form of the passive is too informal for academic writing?
10. Give at least two reasons to use the definite article.
48
Grammar production (25 points)
Write sentences based on the prompts below.
1. Write one sentence using the present perfect.
2. Write one sentence with a non-defining relative clause.
3. Write one question using the present progressive.
4. Write one sentence in the subjunctive.
5. Write a compound sentence.
6. Write one sentence using the future perfect progressive.
7. Write one sentence using an adverbial of time and an adverbial of place.
8. Write a complex sentence.
9. Write one sentence using a phrasal verb.
10. Write one sentence using ‘a little’.
49
Grammar drills (50 points)
Tense review (10 points)
Fill the gaps by putting the verbs in brackets into the appropriate tenses.
1. The study ___________________ (last) from 2015 to 2016.
2. Thus far GPS ___________________ (enable) tech companies to harvest huge amounts of geodata.
3. The CEO ___________________ (make) a statement yesterday in regards to the controversy.
4. Following the flood, engineers ___________________ (use) online aerial photographs to detect property damage.
5. Pilots regularly ___________________ (use) this data from remote sensing to land in difficult weather.
Gerund Vs infinitive (10 points)
Fill the gaps by putting the verbs in brackets into either the gerund or the infinitive.
1. She’s thinking about ___________________ (quit) her job.
2. I’m considering ___________________ (buy) a new laptop.
3. I’ve been studying really hard ___________________ (get) a good grade.
4. We were running low on gas so we stopped ___________________ (fill up).
5. There’s no point in ___________________ (call) him now because he’s in a meeting.
50
Quantifiers (5 points)
Fill the gaps by putting appropriate quantifiers into the gaps.
1. How____________ work do you have to do?
2. There aren’t ____________ reasons for us to continue this project.
3. We have too ____________ sources to support our claims.
4. There will be ____________ people at the convention.
5. How ____________ money did they waste on the project?
Active Vs passive (10 points)
Change the passive sentences into active and vice versa. In cases of passive to active, you may have to add a subject or
rewrite parts of some sentences.
1. The canals were built in the 18th century.
2. A new law to curb CO2 emissions has been brought in by the government.
3. We conducted the survey over a period of two weeks.
4. Critics have questioned the effectiveness of congestion charges.
5. The number of green spaces in the area has been markedly increased.
51
The definite article (5 points)
Either enter the definite article into the gap or leave it blank as grammatically appropriate.
1. My friend is studying in ____________ Turkey.
2. I’ll graduate from ____________ TUM in two years.
3. Her visa means she can travel anywhere in ____________ EU.
4. Do you want a loan of ____________ book I told you about?
5. We wanted to go hiking, but ____________ weather was terrible.
Commas (10 points)
All the commas have been removed from the extract below. Add commas to the extract where you think them
appropriate. N.B. There are 5 sentences and two points will be given for each sentence which is correctly punctuated. The
10 points for the task DO NOT simply mean that you are looking for 10 commas.
Americans show record concern about global warming
Although the election of a climate change denier as US President may indicate the contrary citizens of the United States
are in fact more concerned about global warming than ever before. A 2017 poll found that the number of Americans who
described themselves as worrying “a great deal” about global warming was at 45% which is an increase of 8% on 2016. In
addition 68% of Americans believe that global warming is caused by human activity. However American views on climate
change appear to remain largely partisan. For example a 2016 Pew Research poll found that 55% of self-identified liberal
Democrats agree that scientists near-unanimously believe that human activity is causing climate change whereas only 13%
of self-identified conservative Republicans agree.
52