A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (48 page)

6.
There may be better teachers but I rather like him.

7.
I think some, not all, are quite good.

8.
Well, perhaps he was rather technical. But he did make a number of points that were fairly clear to me.

9.
I’m not so sure that this is the best time to invest.

10.
Well, he IS very rich, but I know of at least half a dozen people who are richer.

15.2. Fact, hypothesis and neutrality

Sections
274–282;
416; 493; 589; 609

Task one **

1. F; 2. H; 3. F; 4. N; 5. H; 6. H; 7. F; 8. H; 9. M; 10. N

Task two **

1. Should you get the job; 2. Do you know whether; 3. I’d be surprised if; 4. It’s time; 5. Suppose; 6. Did you know that; 7. I’m glad; 8. Had you known; 9. They were surprised; 10. I doubt whether

Task three **

15.3. Degrees of likelihood

Sections
283–292;
461–463; 483; 501; 542

Task one ***

1. hypothetical possibility; 2. tentative possibility; 3. certainty or logical necessity; 4. probability; 5. hypothetical necessity; 6. tentative possibility; 7. possibility of the fact; 8. hypothetical ability; 9. prediction and predictability; 10. certainty or logical necessity

Task two **

1. can’t; 2. must; 3. should – may; 4. must; 5. can’t; 6. can; 7. It is possible; 8. could; 9. can; 10. must

Task three ***

1.
Well, it is possible that she will get the grades she needs for university entrance.

2.
It is necessary for jobs to go. There is a need for the company to restructure itself.

3.
Don’t worry. They are certain to give in in the end.

4.
It is (very) likely the play has started by now.

5.
John would be able to make that business work if he wanted to.

6.
It is just possible / There is a remote possibility that there was an accident. You don’t know.

7.
After all these years, it’s impossible that she’s still living in Brook Street.

8.
I assume there will be a bus home after the concert. After all, the concert finishes at 9.30.

9.
It is possible that she’s not the best 400-metre runner in the world, but she deserves a place in the team.

10.
I’m bound to be dreaming. It is impossible that it’s you after all these years.

Task four **

1.
Someone had to tell him to stop; otherwise we’d have had a lot of trouble from the management.

2.
Right from the beginning, they couldn’t have selected her for the team.

3.
By mid-century people may be taking holidays on the moon.

4.
The financial director must have been in deep trouble and must have chosen to disappear.

5.
You don’t have to finish the project by the end of the week. The boss told you …

6.
It’s a pity for the old people, but the bus service will have to be cancelled. Hardly anybody uses it.

7.
Can you/are you able to increase the fonts available on this computer?

8.
They can order a review of the way the money was spent.

9.
They must have questioned her about the missing documents.

10.
If you had to choose, would you want to do research or teach?

15.4. Attitudes to truth

Sections
293–297;
508; 587; 733

Task one **

1. feeling of certainty (or: firm belief); 2. feeling of certainty, expressed by a double negative; 3. assumption; 4. certainty; 5. confident assumption

Task two **

1. take it; 2. it seems to me that; 3. in my view; 4. conviction; 5. presumably; 6 seems; 7. thought; 8. don’t you think; 9. supposes; 10. don’t believe

Task three **

1.
In my opinion, the newspaper report suggested she had committed suicide. (belief or opinion)

2.
He’s convinced the world revolves around him. (belief or opinion)

3.
Apparently, she never had the ring in the first place. (appearance)

4.
Presumably you knew exactly what the results of such an action would be. (assumption)

5.
I think we should give in now and take what we have. (belief or opinion)

6.
It seems he’s not coming. (appearance)

7.
I’m of the opinion that during this century overhead cables will disappear … (belief or opinion)

8.
You do know, presumably, that this work must be completed within two weeks. (assumption)

9.
I think you behaved rather stupidly. Telling him … (belief or opinion)

10.
He should have got there by now. (assumption)

15.5. Volition

Sections
319–324

Task one ***

1.
The government is going to press ahead with the new security bill in spite of strong opposition.

(prediction ⇒ intention or speaker’s feeling of certainty)

2.
Are we going to work together on this new project?

(mild exhortation ⇒ more neutral question about (possibly) shared intention)

3.
She’d rather not spend time watching programmes like
Coronation Street
. She considers them to be trivial and no more than a fantasy world.

(purely hypothetical ‘would’ ⇒ preference)

4.
The chairman isn’t going to postpone the shareholders’ meeting just because the venue is considered to be too small.

(prediction ⇒ intention or speaker’s feeling of certainty)

5.
They are going to help you in the garden. They enjoy doing that.

(prediction ⇒ intention or speaker’s feeling of certainty)

6.
I’d be willing/prepared to put money into it if they could guarantee a minimum return for the investment.

(purely hypothetical ‘would’ ⇒ hypothetical ‘would’ in combination with explicit willingness)

7.
Do you want to be rich and famous like Cliff Richard?

(more tentative ⇒ more direct)

8.
I hope she succeeds. She’s worked very hard.

(tentative wish ⇒ even more tentative wish or preference / hypothetical)

9.
The minister refuses (or: is unwilling) to admit he was wrong about the Sports stadium.

(very little difference)

10.
Ivan wants Tim to teach with him in Hungary.

(more tentative ⇒ more direct)

Task two **

1. ’ll; 2. intends to; 3. want; 4. would like; 5. wish; 6. I wish; 7. want; 8. shall; 9. are going to; 10. always WILL

15.6. Permission and obligation

Sections
325–329; 483

Task one **

–
Permission: 2, 8

–
Hypothetical permission: 1

–
Obligation or compulsion: 3, 4

–
Hypothetical obligation: 5

–
Prohibition: 6, 7, 10

–
Exemption: 9

Task two **

1. C; 2. F; 3. E; 4. A; 5. C; 6. E; 7. C; 8. A; 9. E; 10. F; 11. C; 12. C

Task three **

1.
You should write to the head teacher of a school at once.

2.
You will have to pay your travelling costs to Britain.

3.
You don’t need to register with the police.

4.
You mustn’t take any disciplinary action yourself against unruly pupils.

5.
You can take your car to Britain if you want.

6.
You may (or: are allowed to) contact anyone who has done this before.

7.
You must arrive in Britain at least three weeks before the beginning of the term.

8.
You mustn’t live more than four miles from the school.

9.
You don’t need to attend any special induction courses.

10.
You mustn’t take pupils out of school without special permission.

15.7. Influencing people 1

Sections
330–335
& 339; 417

Task one **

1.
request:
lunch

2.
request:
doing

3.
invitation:
down

4.
command:
home
–
home(work)

5.
advice:
out

6.
suggestion:
(A)ca(demy)

7.
warning:
care(ful)

8.
promise:
post
–
morn(ing)

9.
warning/threat:
(a)gain
–
(re)gret

10.
threat:
shoot

Task two **

1.
(Be) careful! …

2.
… or I’ll send the bailiff.

3.
Would you be kind enough to …

4.
You must (definitely) …

5.
Could you …

6.
You should (go and) see
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
….

7.
… You may/can depend on it.

8.
Shall we go …

9.
If I were you, I would have …

10.
Would/Will you join …

Task three **

15.8. Influencing people 2

Sections
336–338 & 340;
608; 730

Task one *

1. E; 2. J; 3. G; 4. A; 5. H; 6. I; 7. F; 8. C; 9. B; 10. D

Task two **

1.
Mary, let’s invest in the new company (together). (or: Why don’t we invest … ?)

2.
David, don’t go near the station after dark. (or: It’s not at all safe to go …)

3.
Mrs Johnson, would you please stand for President of the society? (or: Mrs J., we invite you to …)

4.
Jane, you should do more exercise. (or: I strongly advise you to do more exercise.)

5.
I won’t support this government on the matter of lowering taxes. (I refuse to support …)

6.
We are going to sue the newspaper (or: you) if you don’t publish an apology.

7.
I promise to give back all the money I(‘ve) borrowed by March. (or: I will give back all the money …)

8.
You mustn’t come into the club until you’ve paid your debts. (or:You are not to enter the club …)

9.
You should spend at least four weeks travelling round Australia. (If I were you, I would spend …)

10.
Flights will be delayed because of a strike in France.

Task three ***

1.
Staff were told (by management) there would have to be some redundancies.

2.
My boss promised me I was definitely being considered for promotion.

3.
Rob suggested finishing the work that evening/night so as to be able to have the next day off.

4.
Shirley asked Mary if she could possibly lend her £50.

5.
I advised X not to invest in a dot com company.

6.
I was told to finish this by nine o’clock.

7.
We were told to finish this quickly or else we would have to stay here/there all night. (or: … if we were not to stay here/there all night.)