Basic requirements
1. Confirm internet connection
2. Check speakers and microphone
3. Be ready to participate and answer
4. Have pen and paper at hand
5. Get ready to learn
TRADING
AND
COMMERCE
Would you like to have
your own business?
Organize
/ ˈɔr gəˌnaɪz /
To form as or into a whole consisting of
interdependent or coordinated parts,
especially for united action
She organizes the files of an office.
I organized all my books by category.
Expand
/ ɪkˈspænd /
To increase in extent, size, volume, etc.
Heat expands most metals.
He hopes to expand his company.
Clause
/ klɔz /
A distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty,
will, or other formal or legal written document.
The contract clause had an end date that was
slowly approaching.
The document in both cases includes the
same clauses placing the burden on the city if
things don’t go as planned.
Null and void
/ nʌl / /ənd/ / vɔɪd /
Canceled, invalid.
If the aforementioned conditions are not met,
the contract shall be considered null and
void.
We must declare null and void indictments
based on false linkages.
Invoice
/ ˈɪn vɔɪs /
An itemized bill for goods sold or services
provided, containing individual prices, the
total charge, and the terms.
As a secretary, your duty will be sorting
and checking the invoices.
I have invoiced the legal fees already and
expect payment by next week.
Counteroffer
/ ˌkaʊn tərˈɔ fər /
An offer or proposal made to offset or
substitute for an earlier offer made by
another.
Mario didn't like the contract and made a
counteroffer.
Well, that's really tempting, but I got a
counteroffer.
Trademark
/ ˈtreɪdˌmɑrk /
Any name, symbol, word, or mark adopted and
used by a manufacturer in order to designate
specific goods and to distinguish them from
those sold by others.
One of the most important steps for our business
plan is the creation of a memorable trademark.
Collin owned the rights to the trademark, which he
took with him when he left the company.
Consensus
/ kənˈsɛn səs /
General agreement, majority of opinion.
The consensus of the group was that they
should meet twice a month.
The consensus is growing that a devastating
earthquake will happen sooner rather than
later
Visual aids
/ ˈvɪʒ u əl / / eɪdz /
These are things that you can look at, such
as a film, model, map, or slides, to help you
understand something or to remember
information.
The teacher uses verbal descriptions along
with visual aids to teach.
Strategy
/ ˈstræt ɪ dʒi /
A plan of action or policy designed to
achieve a major or overall aim.
Our strategy is to do the opposite of what
everyone else is doing.
The general is an expert in military strategy.
Estimate
/ ˈɛs təˌmeɪt
An approximate judgment or calculation, as of
the value, amount, time, size, or weight of
something.
I estimate the value of the house is around
two million dollars.
The finance department estimates that there
will be a 10% loss this year.
Branch
/ bræntʃ, brɑntʃ /
A local operating division of a business.
The bank has a new branch in our area.
She works at the branch office downtown.
Dress code
/ drɛs / / koʊd /
A set of rules specifying the type of clothing to
be worn by a group or by people under specific
circumstances.
What's the party dress code? - The fifties.
You can't go to the club like that. They have a
dress code.
Guarantee
/ gær ənˈti /
A formal assurance or promise, especially that
certain conditions will be fulfilled relating to a
product, service, or transaction.
"We offer a 10-year guarantee against
rusting"
The television has a five-year guarantee.
Headquarters
/ ˈhɛdˌkwɔr tərz /
The chief administrative
organization.
office
of
A meeting will be held with union members
at their headquarters on Thursday.
A ceremony to honor fallen police officers
was held at headquarters today.
an
Penalty
/ ˈpɛn l ti /
A punishment imposed or incurred for a
violation of law or rule.
The contract says here's a penalty for
early withdrawal.
There was a penalty clause which said
you had to pay half the cost if you
cancelled your booking.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
null and void
1. The change in the law makes the previous agreement _______________.
organized
2. They ________________
a meeting between the teachers and students.
penalty
3. I had to pay a ______________fee
when my cheque bounced.
consensus
4. They’re trying to build a ______________
on the need to improve the city’s schools.
expanded
5. They _____________their
number of stores significantly in the 1990s.
6. Google is a ______________
trademark of Google Technologies.
§
§
§
§
§
§
Consensus
Trademark
Null and void
Expanded
Organized
penalty
General agreement, majority of opinion.
An approximate judgment or calculation of
value, amount, size, or weight of something.
A plan of action or policy designed to achieve
a major or overall aim.
A local operating division of a business.
The chief administrative
organization.
office
of
an
CREATING
SENTENCES
WITH
BUSINESS
VOCABULARY
CREATING
SENTENCES
WITH
BUSINESS
VOCABULARY
IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS
STRETCH THE TRUTH
To communicate something that is
basically true but causes others to
believe something that is not true.
He was stretching the truth to make
the story more interesting.
WORD OF MOUTH
The informal, verbal passing of
information from one person to another.
A: "How did you hear about our
bakery?"
B: "Oh, word of mouth. My dad told
me about it."
GET DOWN TO BUSINESS
To begin doing something with the..
seriousness or determination the action
requires; to begin doing what needs to be
done.
OK, let's quit fooling around and get
down to business.
1. Everyone _____________________about
their skills and
stretches the truth
experiences when they apply for new jobs.
2. We don't have the budget for a big marketing campaign, so we'll just have
word of mouth
to hope that buzz about our shop gets spread by ____________________.
get down to business
3. Stop arguing about procedure and let’s _______________________.
get down to business
4. With the election out of the way, the government can ___________________.
stretching the truth
5. It would be ____________________
to say that our company
has been very successful, but we've managed to get by for the
past few years.
Idioms
truth.
e
h
t
h
c
t
- Stre
uth.
o
m
f
o
d
r
- Wo
n to
- Get dow .
business
Create examples with idioms!
1. Talking in the office.
2. Talking about someone.
3. Telling an anecdote.
Idioms
th.
u
r
t
e
h
t
h
- Stretc
outh.
m
f
o
d
r
o
-W
s.
s
e
n
i
s
u
b
n to
- Get dow
PRACTICE THE
DIALOGUE
A: We are going to throw a party on Saturday night after we finish the
project!
B: That’s great so we better hurry to finish on time and we need to tell
our coworkers so they can come.
A: Let's just tell some of our friends in the office and they can spread
it by word of mouth.
B: Great! Just make sure they do not stretch the true about the party
because it will be small just between people in the office.
A: He is right. So now let’s get down to business so we can fix this
problem and finish the project on time.
Speaking
The correlative conjunctions are:
either... or, neither... nor, both... and, not only... but also.
(a) Both my mother and my sister are here.
• Cats and dogs make good pets.
Both cats and dogs make good pets.
Two subjects connected by
(both… and) take a plural verb.
Correct verb agreement:
•Both the captain and the soldiers run two miles every day.
Incorrect verb agreement:
•Both the captain and the soldiers runs two miles every day.
In this example, the
plural word soldiers is
closest to the verb, so
the plural verb run must
be used.
Ensuring pronoun agreement with correlative conjunctions
Singular antecedents use singular pronouns, plural antecedents use plural
pronouns, and when both a singular and plural antecedent are used, the
pronoun is based on the second antecedent, or the antecedent closest to
the pronoun.
- Both Joey and Sam completed his part of the project.
- Either the doctors or the nurses will visit their patients at least once a day.
- Not only the painting but also the sculptures show their unique style when put on
display.
When two subjects are connected by not only… but also,
either… or, or neither… nor, the subject that is closer to the
verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
(a) Not only my mother but also my sister is here.
(a) Not only my sister but also my parents are here.
(b) Neither my mother nor my sister is here.
(c) Neither my sister nor my parents are here.
Examples
Either / or
• I will either go to Costa Rica or Panama for vacation.
• You must either bring in your permission slip or stay home
Neither / Nor
• Neither the dogs nor the wild racoons would eat the stew he made.
Not only / But also
• My new supervisor not only has exciting new ideas but also helps to bring
them to life.
• Jeremy won not only a trophy but also money.
• The movie was not only long but also exciting.
Both..and indicates that the two elements are involved in the action.
Neither…nor indicates that none of them play a role in the action.
• Both rock and jazz are music genres.
• Neither my beloved aunts nor my best friends visited me on my birthday.
• When I went to Europe I could both visit the Colosseum and climb the Eiffel Tower.
Note that neither..nor is already negative, so another negative form cannot be used:
• I can’t neither draw nor take good photos. X
• I can neither draw nor take good photos. ✓
Parallel structure
Notice the parallel structure in the examples. The same gramatical form
should follow each part of the paired conjunctions.
In (a): both + noun + and + noun
In (b): not only + verb + but also + verb
In (h): either + noun+ or + noun
In (i): neither + adjective + nor + adjective
(a) The research project will take both time and money.
(b) Yesterday it not only rained but (also) snowed.
(c) I’ll take either chemitry or physics next quarter.
(d) That book is neither interesting nor accurate.
Tell sentences with both ... and / neither ... nor / either ... or
0. Chris was late. So was Pat.
Both Chris and Pat were Late
1. He didn't say hello, and he didn’t smile.
He neither said hello nor smiled.
2. We can leave today, or we can leave tomorrow - whichever you prefer.
We can leave either today or tomorrow.
3. Joe is on holiday and so is Sam
Both Joe and Sam are on holiday.
4. Joe doesn't have a car. Sam doesn't have one either.
Neither Joe nor Sam has (got) a car.
5. Brian doesn’t watch TV and he doesn't read newspapers.
Brian neither watches TV nor reads newspapers.
6. It was a boring movie. It was long too.
The movie was both boring and long.
7. Is that man's name Richard? Or is it Robert? It's one of the two.
That man's name is either Richard or Robert.
8. I haven't got time to go on holiday. And I don't have the money.
I have neither the time nor the money to go on holiday.
Complete the sentences with the missing correlative conjunctions
and football are popular in France.
1. _______
Both rugby ________
but also he’s a successful businessman.
Not only is he a professional footballer, _________
2. _________
either
or
3. We can go to _________
Greece _______Spain
for our holiday.
4. _________Norway
Neither
______
nor Switzerland is in the European Union.
and
5. _______
English ________
Welsh are spoken in Wales.
Both
6. It’s my final offer – you can _________
either take it ________
leave it.
or
neither heaven ________
nor
7. Marriage is ________
hell, it is simply purgatory. (Abraham Lincoln)
Paired conjunctions: add is or are to
each sentence
are
1. Both the teacher and the student __________
here.
is
2. Neither the teacher nor the student ________
here.
is
3. Not only the teacher but also the student _______
here.
are here.
4. Not only the teacher but also the students _______
is
5. Either the students or the teacher _________
planning to come.
are
6. Either the teacher or the students _________
planning to come.
are
7. Both the students and the teachers ________
planning to come.
are
8. Both the students and the teacher _________
planning to come.
ERROR
CORRECTION
Read the sentence and find the error.
Note: some sentences don’t have any error.
1. I would like both the cake but the cookies for dessert.
2. The young boy would eat neither the soup or the vegetables for lunch.
3. Either you clean your room and you do not get to go outside.
4. Could you ask either Mrs. Jones or Mr. Louis to come to the office, please?
5. When we go to the beach let's pack both the beach umbrella or the tent.
6. Neither the president or the Congress likes the outcome of the investigation.
7. Either Lisa or the coach will bring the bag of gear to the game.
Listen and complete with correlative conjunctions
Conversation #1
Man: Is Bob coming to the party?
both he ______
and his wife are coming.
Woman: Yes, ______
Man: What about Joe and his wife?
Neither Joe ______
nor his wife can make it.
Woman: _______
Man: Oh, that’s too bad.
Woman: Yeah, it is rare when all of us are together.
Either… or.
Neither… nor.
Both… and.
Whether… or.
Conversation #2
Woman: What can I use to make a website?
Man: I would use _______
either Blogger ____
or Wordpress.
Woman: Which one is better?
Man: It depends on _________
whether you are making a simple site ____
or a complex site.
Woman: I am making a simple site.
Man: Then I would use Blogger.
Listen and complete with correlative conjunctions
Conversation #3
whether Jack _____
or Sally will give the next presentation?
Man: Do know ________
Woman: It will be Sally I think.
Man: Why not Jack, or Jim for that matter?
Both Jack _____
and Jim are not as experienced as Sally.
Woman: ______
Either… or.
Man: True, they are both newbies.
Neither… nor.
Woman: Yeah, they will be ready to do it soon.
Both… and.
Whether… or.
Conversation #4
Man: I hear _____
both Jill _____
and Sue will quit soon.
Woman: What will they do?
either get a new job _____
or go back to school.
Man: I am not sure. I think they will ______
Woman: I am really going to miss Jill.
neither the office ____
nor the company outings will be the same without her.
Man: Yeah, _______
Woman: So true!
Now, it’s your
turn.
Create a conversation
with your partner using
correlative conjunctions.
MATCH THE DEFINITIONS WITH THE
VOCABULARY
3
a. not used a lot or enough ____
8
b. something you own that has value if sold ____
1
c. to make a process or action easier ____
5
d. to make money quickly ____
e. to not want to do something because it’s too much
6
trouble ____
4
f. something that can make you a lot of money ____
2
g. something that keeps and is not always the same ____
h. a society where people who love owning things and are
7
always buying new goods ____
1. to facilitate
2. inconsistent
3. underutilized
4. lucrative
5. to make a quick buck
6. to not bother with
7. something
8. consumerist society
9. an asset
THE SHARING ECONOMY
If we look around us at the things we have purchased at some point in our lives, we would
no doubt notice that not everything we own is being put to good use: the thick woolen coat
which we thought looked trendy despite the fact that we live in a tropical country, the
smartphone that got put away when we bought ourselves the newest model, the car that
only gets used at the weekends, or even the guest room in our house that somehow got
turned into a storeroom.
Those underutilized items may seem useless to some but could be an asset to others. With
the advent of the internet, online communities have figured out a way to generate profit
from the sharing of those underused assets. Using websites and social media groups that
facilitate the buying and selling of second-hand goods, it is now easier than ever for peerto-peer sharing activities to take place. And this is known as the sharing economy.
These democratized online platforms are providing a chance for people to make a quick
buck or two. To give an example, busy parents previously might not have bothered with
setting up a stall at the local market or car boot sale to sell their children's old equipment,
but with online marketplaces, parents are now able to sell on those hardly worn baby
clothes that their children have outgrown and the expensive pushchairs and baby
equipment they have invested in, to put some cash back into their pockets.
Businesses have also caught on to the profitability of the sharing economy and are
seeking to gain from making use of those underutilized resources. A business model that
has rapidly risen in popularity sees companies providing an online platform that puts
customers in contact with those who can provide a particular product or service.
Companies like Airbnb act as a middleman for people to cash in on their unused rooms
and houses and let them out as lucrative accommodation. Another example is Uber, which
encourages people to use their own personal cars as taxis to make some extra cash in
their free time.
This move towards a sharing economy is not without criticisms. Unlike businesses,
unregulated individuals do not have to follow certain regulations, and this can lead to
poorer and inconsistent quality of goods and services and a higher risk of fraud.
Nevertheless, in the consumerist society we live in today, the increased opportunities to
sell on our unwanted and underused goods can lead to a lesser impact on our
environment.
TRUE OR FALSE?
1. We don’t always use everything we buy.
TRUE
FALSE
2. By offering our goods and services online, we can make a
profit.
TRUE
FALSE
3. Things that are useless to you will also be useless to others.
TRUE
FALSE
4. Businesses have realized that they can make money by
buying people’s unwanted goods.
TRUE
FALSE
5. Airbnb is a company that sells people’s unwanted houses.
TRUE
FALSE
6. The chance to buy other people’s unwanted goods can lead to
a greener lifestyle.
TRUE
FALSE
Reading comprehension
1. The sharing economy does not involve…
a. people selling their used things to others.
b. people offering their services to others.
c. businesses selling their goods to people.
d. businesses acting as a middleman for people who want to sell a product and
people who want to buy it.
2. People can now sell things more easily because…
a. people nowadays buy more things.
b. businesses want to buy the things they don’t use.
c. there are now more marker stalls and car boot sales.
d. there are now online platforms where they can meet people who want to buy their
goods and services.
Reading comprehension
3. Parents might want to sell their baby clothes and baby equipment because…
a. they want to make back some of the money some of the money they spent on
those baby purchases.
b. they don’t like the baby items they have bought.
c. the baby clothes and equipment are old and worn out.
d. they need the money for other investments.
4. Which of these is something that the author says we might underutilize?
a. A thick coat in a cold country
b. The latest smartphone
c. Clothes our babies don’t or can’t wear any more
d. The storeroom in our house
Reading comprehension
5. It might be a problem for unregulated individuals to sell to others because…
a. they have to follow certain regulations.
b. what they sell might be of a lower quality.
c. they don’t have a business license.
d. they like to criticize their buyers.
6. What might be a good title for this article?
a. The consumerist society
b. Parents who need money
c. The rise of the sharing economy
d. Why we buy things we don’t need
WRITING A
BUSINESS EMAIL
Write a business email:
-Offering your products or services to your
customers
OR
-Negotiating a project with a freelancer or
small company asking them to work with
you on a particular job.
Try to use of correlative conjunctions:
both/and, either/or, neither/nor,
whether/or, not only/but also.
Discuss with a partner:
1. What, if anything, changed for you financially during the Covid-19 pandemic? Did your
situation improve or get worse? Why?
2. What difficulties did people in your country face generally?
3. Did anyone find new ways of making money during the pandemic in your country?
4. How do you think the pandemic will have changed working life in your country when it is
all over?
MATCH THE DEFINITIONS WITH THE
VOCABULARY
a. an amount of money borrowed from someone that has to be
5
returned ____
b. in a manner that is noticeable and has an effect on
2
something ____
c. in a negative way that causes problems or difficulty ____
3
4
d. in a way that is obvious and true ____
6
e. the act of making something smaller in size or amount ____
f. valuable property or a large amount of money owned by
1
someone ____
1. wealth
2. significantly
3. adversely
4. undoubtedly
5. debt
6. reduction
Listen to the news report and write down the
figures for the following statistics:
5.2 million
1. The increase in the number of millionaires during the pandemic ____________
56.1 million
2. The number of millionaires in the world after the pandemic ________________
3. The increase in the number of people globally with more than $30 million in
assets _______________
24%
7.4%
4. How much global wealth has increased ____________________
20%
5. How much public debt has increased ______________________
Listening comprehension
1. What was the main cause of the increase in wealth?
a. a large increase in house prices and an improved stock market
b. a large increase in online sales
c. the increase in demand for entertainment and medical supplies
d. the general public were spending more money
2. What helped to decrease household debt?
a. Lower household spending
b. Banks cancelling fees
c. Lower prices in supermarkets
d. Government support programmes
Listening comprehension
3. When was the last time global wealth increased this quickly?
a. 1997
b. 2003
c. 2008
d. 2012
4. What have banks done to improve the situation?
a. got rid of banking charges for customers
b. allowed employees to work from home
c. given money to charities
d. reduced interest rates
Listening comprehension
5. What have been the negative results of the actions taken?
a. a serious increase in unemployment
b. the increase of public debt
c. unaffordable housing
d. an increase in businesses shutting down
6. Which countries have seen an increase in individual wealth during the
pandemic?
a. The United Kingdom, France and Canada
b. Saudi Arabia, Chile and the United Arab Emirates
c. Sweden, Australia and Switzerland
d. The United States, Mexico and New Zealand
• Do you run your own business, or would you like to do so?
• Customer service is important for successful companies. Can
you think of any companies with good or bad customer
service? What is good or bad about their service?
• If you had to start your own business right now, what type of
business would you start? Why?
What is a trade fair?
A trade fair is an exhibition at
which members of a specific
industry exhibit or demonstrate
their products to prospective
customers and to each other.
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