Grammar – Cortando Caminhos

Wish

Situation in the present = wish + simple past

It is used to express regret for a present situation and also used when the speaker wants reality to be different, to be exactly the opposite.

I don’t have a lot of money (I)

I wish I had a lot of money

He isn’t here now (I)

I wish he were here

She has to work overtime

She wishes she didn’t have to work overtime

Note: When using to be, both forms are accepted was or were, but were is standard English and was is more informal.

Situation in the past = Wish + past perfect

To express regret for a past situation

I didn’t go to San Francisco last year

I wish I had gone to San Francisco last year

She saw a horror movie on TV last night

She wishes she hadn’t seen a horror movie on TV last night

Situation in the future = Wish + would/could

He won’t play better in the next game (they)

They wish they would play better in the next game

You will talk all the time (I)

I wish you wouldn’t talk all the time

Note: to express criticism of other’s people behavior or show a desire for an action to take place – for somebody else to do something

I wish he wouldn’t smoke here. This room is stuffy already. (but he probably will)

Grammar note:

We use wish + would to show dissatisfaction with a present situation; when you want something to change or somebody else to do something and feel annoyed or disappointed because they haven’t done yet so we cannot say “I wish I would” or “He wishes he would”

Wish + object

To express a greeting or a kind of blessing

I wish you a merry Christmas

Wish + Infinitive

To express a desire to do something; formal

We wish to establish new criteria for selecting candidates

Relative Pronouns – Part 1

Relative pronouns are used to join clauses (like conjunctions) and, at the same time, to replace the subject or object of verbs (like other pronouns).

Who – Used for people. Refers to the subject.

A gardener is a person. He takes care of plants and flowers.

A gardener is a person who takes care of plants and flowers

Which – Used for things and animals. Refers to the subject or object.

The cat eats meat every day. It lives in the house.

The cat which lives in the house eats meat every day.

The perfume was very expensive. She bought it in France.

The perfume which she bought in France was very expensive.

When which refers to the object of the sentence it can be left out.

The perfume she bought in France was very expensive.

That – Used for things, people and animals.

The perfume that she bought in France was very expensive.

A gardener is a person that takes care of plants and flowers

The cat that lives in the house eats meat every day.

When that refers to the object it can be left out.

The perfume she bought in France was very expensive.

Whose – Used for things, people and animals. Refers to possession.

He read a book whose author was Sidney Sheldon.

Continue lendo

Participles as adjectives – Unit 13 – Interchange 2

Interested and interesting etc

…ed – Interested, bored, excited, amazed etc say how people feel, so it is connected to people.

…ing – Interesting, boring, exciting, amazing etc describe the people or things that cause the feelings.

The party was surprising.

I was surprised by the party.

The book is interesting.

I’m interested in the book.

The movie Avatar is amazing.

Angelina Jolie is an amazing actress.

Source: Practical English Usage – Michael Swan

Present Perfect Continuous – Unit 12 – interchange 2

1) We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about actions that started in the past and continue into the present.

The structure:

Have/has (not) + been + …Ing

What have you been doing lately?

I’ve been working two jobs for the last six months.

How long has she been studying English?

She’s been studying English for 2 years.

2) The present perfect continuous can also be used without a time expression to describe an activity that started in the past but it is still in progress:

I’ve been thinking about taking a trip.

Passive Voice

Passive voice is really easy when you understand its rules.

You are going to use passive voice when the focus is not in the agent, but in the action.

Those pyramids were built around 400 AD.

Too many books have been written about the Second World War.

The structure for the passive voice is:

To be + Past Participle of the main verb.
The object of the sentence becomes the subject of it.
To be is going to be in the same tense of the main verb.
If you want to mention the agent of the action you can usually use by to introduce it.
And remember that Portuguese can help you with this subject.

Active Voice = AV Passive Voice = PV

AV: I made a cake. PV: A cake was made (by me).

The main verb (made) is in the past, so to be is going to be in the past.

Past Participle of the main verb: make = made.

AV: She writes books. PV: Books are written (by her).

The main verb (write) is in the present, so to be is going to be in the present.

Past Participle of the main verb: write = written.

and so on…

AV: She is going to write a book. PV: A book is going to be written (by her).

AV: She will write a book. PV: A book will be written (by her).

AV: She would write a book. PV: A book would be written (by her).

AV: She has written a book. PV: A book has been written (by her).

AV: She can write books. PV: Books can be written (by her).

AV: She could write books. PV: Books could be written (by her).

Conditional Sentences with if Clauses

This is a post about the basics of if clauses.

In clauses after if, we usually talk about uncertain events and situations: things which may or may not happen, which may or may not be true, etc.

If you’re free later, we can go for a walk.

If they’re hungry, I’ll make some sandwiches.

First Conditional (it’s a real conditional)

We use the first conditional to talk about a realistic situation in the present or future.

If + present + will/may/must/imperative/can + verb

If we play tennis, I’ll win.

If you’re not back by 5pm, give me a ring.

Second Conditional (Unreal, imaginary situations in the present or future)

We use the second conditional to talk about unreal or imaginary situations in the present or future.

If + past + would/could + verb

If I had more time, I’d exercise more. (But I don’t have more time so I don’t.)

*If I were rich, I’d spend all my time travelling. (But I’m not rich so I can’t.)

If she saw a snake, she’d be terrified.

If I knew her name, I would tell you.

* if I were

After if we often use were. This is common in both and formal styles

If I were taller, I’d be happier.

Third Conditional (Unreal, imaginary situations in the past)

We use the third conditional to talk about unreal or imaginary situations in the past.

If + past perfect + would have/could have + Past Participle

If you had asked me, I would have told you.

If you hadn’t forgotten her birthday, she wouldn’t have been upset.

Zero Conditional

We use the zero conditional to talk about permanent truths, such as scientific facts, and general habits. The structure is simple:

Here are some examples:

If you heat water to 100°, it boils.

If you eat a lot, you put on weight.

If it doesn’t rain for a long time, the earth gets very dry.

If we go out with friends, we normally go to a restaurant.

If I’m tired, I go to bed early.

Sources:

Book: Practical English Usage – Michael Swan e www.wallstreetenglish.com

Used to x to be used to

MEMORIES - USED TO — FONTE: https://meditatiienglezaploiesti.files.wordpress.
com/2014/07/i-used-to-exercise-but-im-fine-now_25291.jpg

Trecho do livro: Como Não aprender inglês – Michael A. Jacobs

Este livro é muito didático, aprendi muito com ele quando comecei a estudar inglês. Quando coloco DB é porque eu fiz a tradução.

Used to

Used to é uma expressão, uma forma e um phrasal verb. Cuidado para não confundi-la com o verbo to use (usar). Veja os seguintes exemplos com o verbo to use:

Brazilians usually use a knife and fork to eat pizza. (Brazileiros normalmente usam garfo e faca para comer pizza)
Americans usually eat pizza using their fingers. (Os americano normalmente comem pizza com as mãos) . Chamamos os pratos assim consumidos de finger food.
Mr. Jones sometimes uses a three-piece suit for work in the cold weather. (O Sr. Jones às vezes usa um terno de três peças quando o tempo está frio)

O verbo to use no passado é used.

I used a sweater because it was so cold. (Eu usei um suéter, pois estava tão frio).

Agora, caro leitor, esqueça o verbo to use, pois ele nada tem a ver com a expressão used to.

Used to tem dois sentidos totalmente diferentes. Eis aqui o primeiro.

Used to (I)

Coloca uma ação no passado. Descreve algo que você, alguém ou algo fazia no passado regularmente, durante algum tempo, mas já não faz mais.

I used to live in England (eu morava na Inglaterra, não moro mais)

DB: Eu costumava morar na Inglaterra

I + used to + verb

Nesse caso, used to pode ser:

Um hábito – Mary used to bite her nails. Thank God she’s stopped that disgusting habit. (Mary roía as unhas. Graças a Deus ela deixou esse hábito nojento).
Uma atividade – Guilherme used to play a lot of tennis: now that he is older he plays golf.
Uma situação – Dinosaurs used to exist 60 million years ago

Então used to + o verbo descreve uma atividade que não acontece mais.

Used to (II)

To be used to – quando utilizamos essa forma de used to (com o vebo to be), afirmamos que agora estamos acostumados com uma nova situação.

Michael is now used to living in Brazil (Michael agora está acostumado a viver no Brazil).
Mary is now used to having beautiful nails (Mary agora costuma ter unhas lindas).
Guilherme is used to playing golf with his friends (Guiherme está acostumado a jogar golfe com seus amigos).
I was used to living in France, but I had to move (eu estava acostumado a morar na França, mas tive de me mudar) .
He has been used to cooking for his friends for many years (ele está acostumado a cozinhar para seus amigos há muitos anos).

Você percebeu que used to + verbo é exclusivo para o passado, to be used to pode variar de tempo verbal.

Agora, mais exemplos para reforçar as diferenças:

USED TO

Larry used to study very hard at college (DB: Larry costumava estudar muito na faculdade)
Jane used to eat lots of red meat (Jane comia muita carne vermelha)

TO BE USED TO

Now he is used to working very hard at his company (Agora ele está acostumado a trabalhar muito na sua empresa)
Today she is used to eating only vegetables (Hoje ela está acostumada a comer apenas legumes).

As diferentes formas do used to parecem mais difíceis para o estudante brasileiro porque em português os verbos “costumar/acostumar” são empregados com flexibilidade para descrever situações passadas. A frase “Jane comia muita carne vermelha”, por exemplo, pode ser substituída por “Jane costumava comer muita carne vermelha”. Em inglês, qualquer alteração pode mudar completamente o significado ou o tempo em que a ação ocorre. O melhor é parar com as traduções mentais.