A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (39 page)

1.
My car is still being repaired so I’m commuting by train this week.

2.
I assure you the situation is getting out of hand very quickly.

3.
Lions hunt by night and feed on any animals they can pull down.

4.
Bob, you are (being) very rude again to the very person who loves you most.

5.
It says in the newspaper that new measures are being considered to fight organized crime.

6.
Why are you continually interrupting the speaker? He deserves your undivided attention, you know.

7.
I wonder if you could possibly help me. I’m trying to fix the ventilator but it isn’t working yet.

8.
Millions of people in Britain get their paper early in the morning because many newsagents organize ‘paper rounds’.

9.
I’m making a mess of this job but I promise to do better next time.

10.
Are you still thinking of moving to the Seychelles or do you prefer to stay in our northern hemisphere after all?

11.
Dad keeps telling me that the early bird catches the worm.

12.
This tropical disease is spreading fast in Central Africa, where people don’t earn enough to buy expensive medicines.

–  
was shot
: definite time in the past; simple past

–  
has been awarded
: past indefinite event; simple present perfect

–
was seriously injured
: definite time in the past; simple past

–  
disturbed
: definite time in the past; simple past

–  
was staying
: past activity in progress; past progressive

–  
lost
: definite time in the past; simple past

–  
needed
: definite time in the past; simple past

–  
had perforated
: time in the past as seen from a definite time in the past; past perfect

–  
(…..) nicked
: time in the past as seen from a definite time in the past; past perfect

1.
Rural communities felt their traditions were threatened as English people bought property at prices that were out of the reach of locals.

2.
Police officers approaching retirement were to be offered more money to stay on for a further five years under new Home Office plans to retain experienced staff.

Supporters of the proposals hoped they would encourage long-serving constables and sergeants in their 50s to stay on. Under the rules existing then, police in the lower ranks had to retire at 55, and many chose to take their pension after 30 years’ service. As a result, forces across the country were facing a retirement “timebomb”, with many officers due to leave the following decade.

3.
Top scientists believed that global warming had caused an unexpected collapse in the number of the world’s most hunted whale.

They thought that a sharp contraction in sea ice in the Antarctic was the likeliest explanation behind findings which suggested that the numbers of minke whales in the surrounding seas had fallen by half in less than a decade. The findings greatly strengthened the arguments of conservationists who were resisting moves to lift a 15-year-old official ban on the hunt. (…)

Commercial whaling had been banned officially since 1986, but Japan and Norway each continued to kill about 500 minke whales a year. Japan did so under the guise of “scientific research”, allowed under the IWC’s treaty; Norway by exempting itself from the ban, which was also permitted under the agreement.

1.
Harry Trotter is suspected of having killed his aunt.

2.
60 per cent of viewers appear to have watched the Cup Final yesterday.

3.
Edith is very pleased to have been given a second chance.

4.
Millions of euros are rumoured to have been stolen from a local bank last night.

5.
The police are unlikely to have identified the culprits.

6.
I’m so sorry to have drawn everyone’s attention to the flaws in your project.

7.
We are very much aware of the authorities having been forced to accept this questionable deal.

8.
All three candidates are certain to have been screened.

9.
Some people are worried about not having been informed at all.

10.
Mr Bunker is the first man to have swum across the lake in winter.

11.
Some politicians are alleged to have accepted bribes from lobbyists in the early 90s.

12.
Dozens of drivers were fined for having exceeded the speed limit.

–  
resembles
: simple present – A1

–  
stretch
: simple present – A1

–  
are hoping
: present progressive – A4

–  
will … grow
: neutral future – C15

–  
will stay
: neutral future – C15

–  
are getting
: present progressive – A5

–  
says
: simple present – A2

–  
are saying
: present progressive – A5

–  
don’t have
: simple present – A1

–  
imposed
: simple past – B10

–  
ended
: simple past – B9

–  
was
: simple past – B8

–  
have risen
: present perfect – B4

–  
doubled
: simple past – B9

–  
is seeking
: present progressive – A4

–  
is encouraging
: present progressive – A5

–  
have … seen
: present perfect – B1

–  
are expected
: simple present – A1

–  
have … stopped
: present perfect – B4

–  
are
: simple present – A1

–  
has risen
: present perfect – B4

–  
represents
: simple present – A1

–  
spend
: simple present – A3