37972430 English for Professional Development I

INDEX W hat are nouns? Countable Nou ns Uncountable Nouns Proper Nouns Possessive´s Nouns as Adjective English Presentation Illu strated Vocabulary Vocabulary Computer Vocabulary Basic Tense BE

I. Introduction Nouns It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb). What are Nouns? The simple definition is: a person, place or thing teacher, school, book Countable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns Why is this important? Why do some nouns have no plural? dog/dogs, rice, hair(s) Proper Nouns (Names) Do we say "Atlantic Ocean" or "the Atlantic Ocean"? Should I write "february" or "February"? Shirley, Mr Jeckyll, Thailand, April, Sony Possessive 's Adding 's or ' to show possession. John's car, my parents' house Noun as Adjective Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun is "acting as" an adjective. love story, tooth-brush, bathroom

Msc. Jennifer Zapata – English for Professional Development EPDI

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I. Introduction Nouns It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb). What are Nouns? The simple definition is: a person, place or thing teacher, school, book Countable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns Why is this important? Why do some nouns have no plural? dog/dogs, rice, hair(s) Proper Nouns (Names) Do we say "Atlantic Ocean" or "the Atlantic Ocean"? Should I write "february" or "February"? Shirley, Mr Jeckyll, Thailand, April, Sony Possessive 's Adding 's or ' to show possession. John's car, my parents' house Noun as Adjective Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun is "acting as" an adjective. love story, tooth-brush, bathroom


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II . W hat are are Nouns? The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples: • • •

person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary place: home, office, town, countryside, America thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb. Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its: 1. Ending 2. Position 3. Function 1. Noun Ending

There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example: • • • • •

-ity > nationality -ment > appointment -ness > happiness -ation > relation -hood > childhood

But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful. 2. Position in Sentence

We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence. Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such): • • • • • •

a relief an afternoon the doctor this word my house such stupidity


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Nouns often come after one or more adjectives: • • • • • •

a great relief a peaceful afternoon the tall, Indian doctor this difficult word my brown and white house such crass stupidity

3. Function in a Sentence

Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example: • • •

subject of verb: Doctors work hard. object of verb: He likes coffee. subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.

But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".


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II I. Countable and Uncountable Nouns English nouns are often described as "countable" or "uncountable".

Countable Noun s Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns: • • • • •

dog, cat, animal, man, person bottle, box, litre coin, note, dollar cup, plate, fork table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural: • •

My dog is playing. My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns: •

A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it: • •

I want an orange. (not I want orange.) Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone: • •

I like oranges. Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns: • •

I've got some dollars. Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns: • •

I've got a few dollars. I haven't got many pens.


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"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people: • •

There is one person here. There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns: • • • • • •

music, art, love, happiness advice, information, news furniture, luggage rice, sugar, butter, water electricity, gas, power money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example: • •

This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of : • • •

a piece of news a bottle of water a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns: • •

I've got some money. Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns: • •

I've got a little money. I haven't got much rice.


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Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns". Countable Uncountable

dollar

money

song

music

suitcase

luggage

table

furniture

battery

electricity

bottle

wine

report

information

tip

advice

journey

job

view

travel work scenery

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. Countable

Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair

I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light

Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

noise

It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)

paper

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

Our house has seven rooms.

room Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

time

Have you got time for a coffee?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

work

I have no money. I need work!

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example): Two teas and one coffee please.


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IV. Proper Nouns (Names) A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun—a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules. common noun

proper noun

man, boy

John

woman, girl

Mary

country, town

England, London

company

Ford, Sony

shop, restaurant

Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week January, Sunday book, film

War & Peace, Titanic

4.1 Using Capital Letters w ith P roper Nou ns We always use a Capital Letter for the first letter of a proper noun (name). This includes names of people, places, companies, days of the week and months. For example: •

•

•

•

•

They like John. (not *They like john.) I live in England. She works for Sony. The last day in January is a Monday. We saw T itanic in the Odeon Cinema.


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4.2 Proper Noun s w ithout THE We do not use “the” with names of people. For example:

first names

Bill (not *the Bill) Hilary

surnames

Clinton Gates

full names

Hilary Gates

We do not normally use “the” with names of companies. For example: • • •

Renault, Ford, Sony, EnglishClub.com General Motors, Air France, British Airways Warner Brothers, Brown & Son Ltd

We do not normally use “the” for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other person (with -’s or -s). For example: shops

Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys

banks

Barclays Bank

hotels, restaurants

Steve’s Hotel, Joe’s Café, McDonalds

churches, cathedrals St John’s Church, St Peter’s Cathedral We do not normally use “the” with names of places. For example: towns

Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo

states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe countries

England, Italy, Brazil

continents

Asia, Europe, North America

islands

Corsica

mountains

Everest

Exception! If a country name includes “States”, “Kingdom”, “Republic” etc, we use “the”:


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states

the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA

kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK republic

the French Republic

We do not use “the” with “President/Doctor/Mr etc + Name”: the president, the king

President Bush ( not *the President Bush)

the captain, the detective Captain Kirk, Detective Colombo the doctor, the professor

Doctor Well, Dr Well, Professor Dolittle

my uncle, your aunt

Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill Mr Gates (not *the Mr Gates), Mrs Clinton, Miss Black

Look at these example sentences: • • •

I wanted to speak to the doctor. I wanted to speak to Doctor Brown. Who was the president before President Kennedy?

We do not use “the” with “Lake/Mount + Name”: the lake

Lake Victoria

the mount Mount Everest Look at this example sentence: •

We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.

We do not normally use “the” for roads, streets, squares, parks etc: streets etc

Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue

squares etc Trafalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus parks etc

Central Park, Kew Gardens


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Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy Airport). If the first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use “the”: people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral places

Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station, Edinburgh Castle

4.3 P roper Nouns w ith THE We normally use "the" for country names that include “States”, “Kingdom”, “Republic” etc: States

the United States of America/the USA

Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK Republic

the French Republic

We normally use “the” for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans: canals

the Suez Canal

rivers

the River Nile, the Nile

seas

the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean

oceans the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific We normally use “the” for plural names of people and places: people (families, for example) the Clintons countries

the Philippines, the United States

island groups

the Virgin Islands, the British Isles

mountain ranges

the Himalayas, the Alps

Look at these sentences: • • •

I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill’s birthday. Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies. Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.


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We normally use “the” with the following sorts of names: hotels, restaurants the Ritz Hotel, the Peking Restaurant banks

the National Westminster Bank

cinemas, theatres

the Royal Theatre, the ABC Cinema

museums

the British Museum, the National Gallery

buildings

the White House, the Crystal Palace

newspapers

the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Post

organisations

the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union

We normally use “the” for names made with “…of…”: • • • • • •

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

the Tower of London the Gulf of Siam the Tropic of Cancer the London School of Economics the Bank of France the Statue of Liberty

Let's have lunch at McDonalds

.

There are 12 months My favourite movie is

in a year. Greece

.

Lisa works as a programmer at Microsoft I live in a small town

common noun

My cousin lives in I want to visit Call me when you arrive at

.

in England.

. when I finish school. .


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V. P ossessive 's When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example: •

•

the boy's ball (one boy) the boys' ball (two or more boys)

Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the possessed. one ball

more than one ball

one boy

the boy's ball the boy's balls more than one boy

the boys' ball the boys' balls The structure can be used for a whole phrase: • •

the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door ) the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England )

Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural: 1. the boyfriend of my sister 2. my sister's boyfriend

VI. Proper Nouns (Names) We very often use possessive 's with names: • • •

This is Mary's car. Where is Ram's telephone? Who took Anthony's pen?

When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's: •

This is Charles's chair.


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6.1 Irregular Plurals Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun

plural noun

my child's dog

my children's dog

the man's work

the men's work

the mouse's cage

the mice's cage

a person's clothes people's clothes


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I . English Speaking

1. Telepho ne English If the phone rings in English, don't be afraid to answer it! The fear of talking on the phone in a second language will disappear if you practise often. The hardest part about using the phone in a language that is not your own is the fact that you cannot see the other person's eyes, mouth and body movements (body language). Although you might not be aware of it, in face-to-face conversation you lip-read and watch for smiles, frowns and moving hands. Listening to someone on the telephone is like doing a section from a taped recording in class. The only difference is that you have to talk back!

In this lesson we look at some of the words and expressions that we use for telephoning. There are also some practice sessions and a quiz for you to check your understanding. And remember, practice makes perfect! Ring, ring...


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2. Telephone Terms Here are some of the words and terms that we use to talk about telephoning. answer

to say "hello" into the phone when it rings

answering machine

something that you can record a message on if the person you are calling isn't home

busy signal

a beeping sound that tells the caller that the other person is already on the phone with someone else

call

a telephone conversation; to telephone

caller

the person who telephones

call back/phone back to call someone who called you first call display

a screen that shows you who is calling

cellular phone/cell phone

a telephone that you can take with you away from your house; mobile phone

cordless phone

a phone that is not attached to the wall (you can walk short distances with it at home or in the garden)

dial

to press the buttons on the phone

dial tone

the sound the phone makes when you pick it up

directory/phone book a book that alphabetically lists local phone numbers of people and businesses hang up

to put the receiver down and end a call

operator

a person who answers telephone-related questions when you dial "0"

pager

a small machine you wear that makes a noise (or vibrates) when someone wants you to call them

phone

a telephone; to telephone

phone booth/pay phone

a place where you can pay to use a telephone in public

pick up

to answer the phone

receiver

the piece on the phone that you speak into and listen from

ring

the sound a phone makes when somebody calls; to make that sound

ringer

the sound-piece that alerts a person that a call is coming through


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3. Telephone Language Here are some typical phrases that you can use in a telephone conversation. Answering the phone

• •

•

Introducing yourself

• • • • •

Hello? (informal) Thank you for calling Boyz Autobody. Jody speaking. How can I help you? Doctor's office. Hey George. It's Lisa calling. (informal) Hello, this is Julie Madison calling. Hi, it's Gerry from the dentist's office here. This is she.* Speaking.*

*The person answering says this if the caller does not recognize their voice.

Asking to speak with someone

• • • • •

Connecting someone

• • • • •

Making special requests

• • • • • •

Taking a message for someone

• • • • • • •

Is Fred in? (informal) Is Jackson there, please? (informal) Can I talk to your sister? (informal) May I speak with Mr. Green, please? Would the doctor be in/available? Just a sec. I'll get him. (informal) Hang on one second. (informal) Please hold and I'll put you through to his office. One moment please. All of our operators are busy at this time. Please hold for the next available person. Could you please repeat that? Would you mind spelling that for me? Could you speak up a little please? Can you speak a little slower please. My English isn't very strong. Can you call me back? I think we have a bad connection. Can you please hold for a minute? I have another call. Sammy's not in. Who's this? (informal) I'm sorry, Lisa's not here at the moment. Can I ask who's calling? I'm afraid he's stepped out. Would you like to leave a message? He's on lunch right now.Who's calling please? He's busy right now. Can you call again later? I'll let him know you called. I'll make sure she gets the message.


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Leaving a message with someone

• • •

• • •

Confirming information

• • • • •

Listening to an answering machine

•

•

•

Leaving a message on an answering machine

• •

•

Finishing a conversation

• • • • • •

Yes, can you tell him his wife called, please. No, that's okay, I'll call back later. Yes, it's James from CompInc. here. When do you expect her back in the office? Thanks, could you ask him to call Brian when he gets in? Do you have a pen handy. I don't think he has my number. Thanks. My number is 222-3456, extension 12. Okay, I've got it all down. Let me repeat that just to make sure. Did you say 555 Charles St.? You said your name was John, right? I'll make sure he gets the message. Hello. You've reached 222-6789. Please leave a detailed message after the beep.Thank you. Hi, this is Elizabeth. I'm sorry I'm not available to take your call at this time. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for calling Dr. Mindin's office. Our hours are 9am5pm, Monday-Friday. Please call back during these hours, or leave a message after the tone. If this is an emergency please call the hospital at 333-7896. Hey Mikako. It's Yuka. Call me! (informal) Hello, this is Ricardo calling for Luke. Could you please return my call as soon as possible. My number is 334-5689. Thank you. Hello Maxwell. This is Marina from the doctor's office calling. I just wanted to let you know that you're due for a check-up this month. Please give us a ring/buzz whenever it's convenient. Well, I guess I better get going. Talk to you soon. Thanks for calling. Bye for now. I have to let you go now. I have another call coming through. I better run. I'm afraid that's my other line. I'll talk to you again soon. Bye.


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I. Business Presentations & P ublic Speaking in English A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that "presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way. People are sometimes afraid of speaking in public, but if you follow a few simple rules, giving a presentation is actually very easy. This tutorial guides you through each stage of giving a presentation in English, from the initial preparation to the conclusion and questions and answers. This tutorial is itself set out like a mini-presentation. You can follow it logically by starting at the Introduction and then clicking on the link at the foot of each page, or you can jump direct to the section you want from the list of contents on each page.

1. Signpo sting When you drive on the roads, you know where you are on those roads. Each road has a name or number. Each town has a name. And each house has a number. If you are at house N° 100, you can go back to N° 50 or forward to N° 150. You can look at the signposts for directions. And you can look at your atlas for the structure of the roads in detail. In other words, it is easy to navigate the roads. You cannot get lost. But when you give a presentation, how can your audience know where they are? How can they know the structure of your presentation? How can they know what is coming next? They know because you tell them. Because you put up signposts for them, at the beginning and all along the route. This technique is called ' signposting' (or 'signalling'). During your introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of your presentation will be. You might say something like this:

"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."


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A member of the audience can now visualize your presentation like this: Introduction

• •

Body

• • •

Conclusion

• •

Welcome Explanation of structure ( now)

Europe Asia Africa

Summing up Recommendations

He will keep this image in his head during the presentation. He may even write it down. And throughout your presentation, you will put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:

"That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia." When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say: "Well, we've looked at the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now." And when you finish summing up and want to give your recommendations, you might say: "What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend..."


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The table below lists useful expressions that you can use to signpost the various parts of your presentation. Signposting Function

Introducing the subject

Language • • • • •

Finishing one subject...

• • • •

...and starting another

• • • • • •

Analysing a point and giving recommendations

• • • •

Giving an example

• • • • •

Dealing with questions

•

• • •

I'd like to start by... Let's begin by... First of all, I'll... Starting with... I'll begin by...

Well, I've told you about... That's all I have to say about... We've looked at... So much for...

Now we'll move on to... Let me turn now to... Next... Turning to... I'd like now to discuss... Let's look now at...

Where does that lead us? Let's consider this in more detail... What does this mean for ABC? Translated into real terms...

For example,... A good example of this is... As an illustration,... To give you an example,... To illustrate this point...

We'll be examining this point in more detail later on... I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may... I'll come back to this question later in my talk... Perhaps you'd like to raise this point at the end...


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•

Summarising and concluding

• • • • •

•

Ordering

• • •

I won't comment on this now...

In conclusion,... Right, let's sum up, shall we? I'd like now to recap... Let's summarise briefly what we've looked at... Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we've covered... If I can just sum up the main points...

Firstly...secondly...thirdly...lastly... First of all...then...next...after that...finally... To start with...later...to finish up...

2. The Presentation Most presentations are divided into 3 main parts (+ questions):

1

INTRODUCTION

2

BODY

3

CONCLUSION

Questions

Questions

As a general rule in communication, repetition is valuable. In presentations, there is a golden rule about repetition:

Say what you are going to say, 2. say it, 3. then say what you have just said. 1.

In other words, use the three parts of your presentation to reinforce your message. In the introduction, you tell your audience what your message is going to be. In the body, you tell your audience your real message. In the conclusion, you summarize what your message was. We will now consider each of these parts in more detail.


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3. Introduction The introduction is a very important - perhaps the most important - part of your presentation. This is the first impression that your audience have of you. You should concentrate on getting your introduction right. You should use the introduction to: 1. 2. 3. 4.

welcome your audience introduce your subject outline the structure of your presentation give instructions about questions

The following table shows examples of language for each of these functions. You may need to modify the language as appropriate. Function 1 Welcoming your audience

Possible language • • • •

2 Introducing your subject

3 Outlining your structure

4 Giving instructions about questions

• •

•

• • •

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen Good morning, gentlemen Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman Good afternoon, everybody

I am going to talk today about... The purpose of my presentation is to introduce our new range of...

To start with I'll describe the progress made this year. Then I'll mention some of the problems we've encountered and how we overcame them. After that I'll consider the possibilities for further growth next year. Finally, I'll summarize my presentation (before concluding with some recommendations).

Do feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions. I'll try to answer all of your questions after the presentation. I plan to keep some time for questions after the presentation.


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4. Body The body is the 'real' presentation. If the introduction was well prepared and delivered, you will now be 'in control'. You will be relaxed and confident. The body should be well structured, divided up logically, with plenty of carefully spaced visuals. Remember these key points while delivering the body of your presentation: •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

do not hurry be enthusiastic give time on visuals maintain eye contact modulate your voice look friendly keep to your structure use your notes signpost throughout remain polite when dealing with difficult questions


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5. Conclu sion Use the conclusion to: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Sum up (Give recommendations if appropriate) Thank your audience Invite questions

The following table shows examples of language for each of these functions. You may need to modify the language as appropriate. Function 1 Summing up

Possible language • • • • •

2 Giving recommendations

3 Thanking your audience

4 Inviting questions

• •

• •

• • • • •

To conclude,... In conclusion,... Now, to sum up... So let me summarise/recap what I've said. Finally, may I remind you of some of the main points we've considered.

In conclusion, my recommendations are... I therefore suggest/propose/recommend the following strategy.

Many thanks for your attention. May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience.

Now I'll try to answer any questions you may have. Can I answer any questions? Are there any questions? Do you have any questions? Are there any final questions?

6. Question s Questions are a good opportunity for you to interact with your audience. It may be helpful for you to try to predict what questions will be asked so that you can prepare your response in advance. You may wish to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to keep a time for questions after your presentation. Normally, it's your decision, and you should make it clear during the introduction.


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Illu strated Vocabulary Clothes coat

trousers (UK) pants (US)

hat

casual jacket jacket

shorts

cap

sports jacket jacket

dress

tie necktie

jumper

skirt

bow tie

shirt

pants panties

socks

tee-shirt

bra brassiere

shoes

waistcoat

dressing gown

trainers


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Clothing Accessories hair ribbon

scarf

wallet

glasses

ring

purse

sun glasses

bracelet

handbag

ear-rings

belt

keys

necklace

watch

umbrella


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Transport bicycle, bike

van

submarine

motorbike, motorcycle

lorry (UK), truck (US)

balloon

car (UK), auto, automobile (US)

train

plane, airplane

bus

ship

helicopter


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Computer Vocabulary


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Computer Vocabulary Anti-virus software - A program that finds and removes viruses from a computer. Backup - A copy on floppy disk or tape of files on a PC's hard disk. A backup is used in case the hard disk file(s) are erased or damaged. Bit, bytes - A bit is the smallest piece of information that computers use. For simplicity, a PC uses bits in groups of 8 called bytes (8 bits = 1 byte). Boot, boot up, boot disk - You boot (or boot up) your computer when you switch it on and wait while it prepares itself. Instructions for startup are given to the computer from the boot disk, which is usually the hard disk . Browser, to browse - A browser is a program like Netscape or Internet Explorer. You use it to view or browse the Internet. Bug - A (small) defect or fault in a program. Cache - A kind of memory used to make a computer work faster. CD-ROM - A disk for storing computer information. It looks like an audio CD. CPU - Central Processing Unit. This is a PC's heart or 'brains'.


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DOS - Disk Operating System. The original system used for PCs. You type in commands instead of pointing and clicking. Driver - A small program that tells a PC how a peripheral works. Electronic mail (email, e-mail) - Messages sent from one computer to another. You can see email on the screen or print it out. Floppy disk - A cheap, removable disk used for storing or transferring information. It is floppy (soft) because it is plastic. See hard disk . Floppy drive - The device used to run a floppy disk (usually drive 'A'.) Folder (directory) - A sub-division of a computer's hard disk into which you put files. Font - A particular sort of lettering (on the screen or on paper). Arial is a font. Times New Roman is another. Format - All hard disks and floppy disks have to be electronically prepared for use by a process called formatting. Hard disks are pre-formatted by the computer manufacturer. If you buy a floppy disk that is not pre-formatted, you format it yourself, using a program that comes with your PC. Graphics card - The equipment inside a computer that creates the image on the screen. Hard disk - The main disk inside a computer used for storing programs and information. It is hard because it is metal. See floppy disk . Icon - A small image or picture on a computer screen that is a symbol for folders, disks, peripherals, programs etc. Internet - International network of computers that you connect to by telephone line. Two popular services of the Internet are the World Wide Web and electronic mail. Kb, Mb, Gb - Kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes. Used to measure computer memory and storage. Memory - Memory is for the temporary storing of information while a computer is being used. SeeRAM, ROM and Cache. MHz - Megahertz. This describes the speed of computer equipment. The higher the MHz the better the performance. Modem - Equipment connected to a computer for sending/receiving digital information by telephone line. You need a modem to connect to the Internet, to send electronic mail and to fax. Operating System - The basic software that manages a computer.


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OCR - Optical Character Recognition. OCR lets a PC read a fax or scanned image and convert it to actual lettering. Parallel port - A socket at the back of a computer for connecting external equipment or peripherals, especially printers. PC card - A device that is the same size as a thick credit card, for plugging into a slot on notebook computers. You can buy memory, modems and hard disks as PC cards. Peripheral - Any equipment that is connected externally to a computer. For example, printers, scanners and modems are peripherals. Pixel - The image that you see on the screen is made of thousands of tiny dots, points or pixels. Program Software that operates a PC and does various things, such as writing text (wordprocessing program), keeping accounts (accounts program) and drawing pictures (graphics program). QWERTY - The first 6 letters on English-language keyboards are Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The first 6 letters on French-language keyboards are A-Z-E-R-T-Y. RAM, ROM - Two types of memory. RAM (Random Access Memory) is the main memory used while the PC is working. RAM is temporary. ROM (Read Only Memory) is for information needed by the PC and cannot be changed. Resolution - The number of dots or pixels per inch (sometimes per centimetre) used to create the screen image. Scanner - Equipment for converting paper documents to electronic documents that can be used by a computer. Serial port - Socket at the back of a PC for connecting peripherals. Taskbar, Start button - Two areas of the screen in Windows 95. The taskbar, at the bottom of the screen, shows the programs in use. The start button, in the bottom left corner, is for opening new programs. TFT - Thin Film Transistor, a type of high quality screen for notebook computers. Virus - A small, unauthorized program that can damage a PC. Windows - An operating system used by the majority of PCs.


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World Wide Web, WWW, the Web - WWW are initials that stand for World Wide Web. The Web is one of the services available on the Internet. It lets you access millions of pages through a system of links. Because it is 'world-wide', it was originally called the World Wide Web or WWW. WYSIWIG - 'What You See Is What You Get.' With a WYSIWIG program, if you print a document it looks the same on paper as it looks on the screen.


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Basic Tenses: Be This page shows the basic tenses with the verb be. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?). The basic structure is:

+ negative: question: ? positive:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure:

+ negative: question: ? positive:

subject + main verb subject + main verb + not main verb + subject

These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses: base

past simple

past participle

present participle

present simple

be

was, were

been

being

am, are, is


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past

SIMPLE present simple or past simple (except future: will + be)

SIMPLE PERFECT have + been

CONTINUOUS be + being

CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + being

present

future

+

I was

I am

I will be

-

I was not

I am not

I will not be

?

Was I?

Am I?

Will I be?

+ I had been

I have been

I will have been

-

I have not been

I will not have been

? Had I been?

Have I been?

Will I have been?

+ I was being

I am being

I will be being

-

I am not being

I will not be being

? Was I being?

Am I being?

Will I be being?

+ I had been being

I have been being

I will have been being

I have not been being

I will not have been being

Have I been being?

Will I have been being?

-

I had not been

I was not being

I had not been being

? Had I been being?

In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses. SIMPLE

singular

plural

past

present

future

I

was

am

will be

you

were

are

will be

he/she/it

was

is

will be

we

were

are

will be

you

were

are

will be

they

were

are

will be


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PERFECT

singular

plural

past

present

future

I

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

he/she/it

had been

has been

will have been

we

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

they

had been

have been

will have been

past

present

future

I

was being

am being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

he/she/it

was being

is being

will be being

we

were being

are being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

they

were being

are being

will be being

past

present

future

I

had been being

have been being

will have been being

you

had been being

have been being


he/she/it

had been being

has been being


we

had been being

have been being


you

had been being

have been being


they

had been being

have been being


CONTINUOUS

singular

plural

CONTINUOUS PERFECT

singular

plural


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Basic Tenses For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses. 24 Tenses

simple tenses

ACTIVE

complex tenses formed with auxiliary verbs PASSIVE

past

present

future*

past

present

future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

past

present

future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.


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37972430 English for Professional Development I

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