Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for English for University

Past Perfect Simple

The past perfect simple expresses an action taking place before a certain time in the past.

Use of Past Perfect

It describes an action taking place before a certain time in the past, putting emphasis only on the fact, not the duration.

Example: Before I came here, I had spoken to Jack.

• Susan turned on the radio after she had washed the dishes.
• When she arrived, the match had already started.
• After the man had come home, he fed the cat.
• Before he sang a song, he had played the guitar.

Past Perfect Progressive

The past perfect progressive (or continuous) indicates a continuous action that was completed at some point in the past. This tense is formed with had + been + the present participle (verb + -ing).

Examples:

• I had been working in

Agreement: Too and Either

• También (Affirmative):
  • I go to class, resp. I do too.
  • I went to the beach, resp. I did too.
  • I'm a student, resp. I am too.
• Tampoco (Negative):
  • I don't go to class, resp. I don't either.
  • I didn't go to the beach, resp. I didn't either.
  • I'm not a student, resp. I'm not either.

Health Problems and Remedies

• The flu: See a doctor.
• A toothache: See a dentist.
• Stomachache: Drink herbal tea.
• Headache: Take an aspirin.
• A backache: Put on a heating pad.
• Itchy eyes: Use eye drops.
• A cold: Drink lemonade or lemon and honey.
• A sore throat: See a doctor or drink lemon and honey.
• Allergies: Take an anti-allergy medication.
• A cough: Drink cough syrup.

Giving Advice

• You should...
• It's important to...
• It's a good idea to...
• It's sometimes helpful to...

Modal

My First Hiking Adventure

To a certain extent, hiking is a dangerous but interesting activity. My first hike was full of breathtaking scenes and interesting incidents. The reason I hiked was that my secondary school organizes a leadership training camp for Secondary 6 students every year, which includes hiking. When I knew that I had to hike with my buddies, mixed feelings sprang up in my mind. We usually have indoor activities together but rarely participate in outdoor activities. It was a truly memorable experience for us.

The Beginning of the Journey

We started our journey at 9:00 AM. Many of my buddies, including myself, were very excited about our hiking journey. Few of us had tried hiking before; therefore, we formed a group to complete...

The Bear Came Over the Mountain: Identity and Loss

The Themes: Loss of identity when entering the care home. Fiona's memory loss is serious and dangerous (using sticky notes, calling Grant for directions). Meadowlake is seen as comfort and renewal but contrasts with the emotional reality inside the institution, which lacks good emotional care. Kristy compares Fiona to a child, suggesting the elderly are viewed as children. Grant dreams about a letter, reflecting guilt and unresolved remorse; her illness forces him to confront his unfaithfulness and the need to repair. He promises her a new life, yet there is a pervasive fear of aging and loss of dignity.

Grant's Emotional Disorientation and Aubrey

Grant gets lost in the corridors of the residence,...

Historical Changes in the English Language

Analyzing historical changes contributes to our understanding of both regularities and irregularities in the English language. English is characterized by a large vocabulary and a reduced inflectional system, and it remains in a state of constant change.

Lexis and Etymology

Lexis refers to the total vocabulary of a language. Etymological shifts often reveal how meanings evolve over time:

• Awesome: Originally (1598) meant dreadful or weird.
• Awful: Historically meant terrible or dreadful.
• Man: Old English for a human being, regardless of sex or age.
• Girl: Originally referred to a child of either sex.
• Wife: Old English for a woman, regardless of marital status.
• Gay: (1225) Meant bright, lively, or brilliant.
• Nice:

Professional Correspondence: Project Updates

Email to Scott

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the email. It is always nice to hear from people, especially from you. I have not received any reply, positive or negative, from Seibido yet. Let's wait and hope that it will make a book.

Have you finished your paperwork for KAKEN and writing academic articles?

If you have some free time in the near future, I want to meet you and explain our next project to you.

Why not drink out in Hiroshima if we are accepted? We need to celebrate ourselves, don't we? Let's have a small end-of-the-year party!

Sincerely,

K. Nakagawa

Personal Letter: Summer Activities

Dear Susan

It feels like such a long time since the last time I saw you. I know it's only been several weeks since I saw you....

Modern Family Dynamics: New Understandings

These results characterize a new way of understanding and experiencing relationship, marriage, and family life, marked by the following peculiarities:

1. The Centrality and Fragility of Love

It is time that love serves as the fundamental reason and framework of a relationship or marriage. All elements of family life should be bound by the mortar of love:

• Mutual respect
• Cooperation
• Emotional and sexual understanding
• Economic stability
• The children

BUT: Love is a fragile thing. If you are not careful, it goes out, becomes stiff, often disappoints, fails to mature, and dissipates. The marriage and family unit is sustained by something that depends entirely on its members: spouses, and parent-child relationships....

Professional Fulfillment: Voices on Career Satisfaction

What Motivates Professionals in Diverse Fields?

Jane Milton: The Joy of Food Product Development

I love being able to work out what a client needs and do it. I love having an idea for a new food product for them and then seeing it in a supermarket. Other joys include:

• Writing something and then receiving loads of emails from people because they’ve used that recipe so much and can’t believe how easy it was.
• A whole lot of different things related to client success and product realization.

Amanda Hamilton: Freedom and Fulfillment in Work

I absolutely thrive on the freedom, just being able to make my own choices. It is, as you said, a lifestyle choice. Although you probably end up working slightly...

Reported Speech and Backshifting

Reported speech is used to report or repeat what other people have said. To do this effectively, we often use backshifting.

Backshifting occurs when you change the tense in a sentence to reflect that the statement was made in the past.

• Example: "You have to pay back." → She said that you had to pay me back.
• Example: "Can I speak to Roger?" → He asked me if he could speak to Roger.
• Example: "Open your book to page 70." → She told us to open our books.

Understanding Gerunds and Their Functions

A gerund is a verb ending in -ing. It can function in several ways within a sentence:

• As a noun: "I like playing."
• As an adjective: "He is in the playing ground."
• In progressive forms: "He is playing."
• As a subject: "Playing