Homework: reading p.120
(1, 2, 3 and 4)
p.118-19
You and I go together like cookies and milk
have/play
a part in sth
to
be one of the people or things that are involved in an event or situation.
Did
you have any part in this production?
Alcohol
plays a part in 60 percent of violent crime.
probable /ˈprɒbəbl/ adjective
likely
to be true or to happen
The probable cause of death was heart failure.
[
+ (that) ] It's highly probable that he'll lose his job.
/ˈveəri/
reprimand [transitive]
to tell someone officially that something they have
done is very wrong [↪ scold, tell off]
reprimand somebody for (doing)
something
The military court reprimanded him for failing to do
his duty.
tread past tense trod
, past
participle trodden
1
step in/on
[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] British
English to put your foot on or in something while you are walking [= step]
tread in/on
Sorry, did I tread on your foot?
She trod barefoot on the soft grass.
2
tread
carefully/warily/cautiously etc
to be very careful about what you say or do in a
difficult situation:
If I wanted to keep my job, I knew I'd have to tread
lightly.
David Attenborough
tolerant
1 allowing people to do, say, or believe what they
want without criticizing or punishing them [≠ intolerant; ↪ tolerate]
tolerant of/towards
Luckily, my parents were tolerant of my choice of
music.
a tolerant society
worse off [not before noun]
1 if you are worse off, you have less money [≠ better
off]:
The rent increases will leave us worse off.
worse off than
I don't think we're any worse off than a lot of other
people.
well-off /ˌwelˈɒf/ adjective
having
a lot of money
His parents are very well-off.
clear-cut /ˌklɪəˈkʌt/ adjective
very
certain or obvious
The issue is not very clear-cut.
wavelength [countable]
1 the size of a radio wave used to broadcast a radio
signal
2 technical the distance between two points on energy
waves such as sound or light
3 be on the same/a different wavelength
informal to have the same or different opinions and
feelings as someone else:
Dad is just on a different wavelength from me.
/ˈʃʊəlɪ//ˈʃʊrli, ˈʃɝ-/
Ex. 9
I’m disturbing you, aren’t I?
Nothing bad happened, didn’t it?
Let’s go, shall we?
Don’t be late, will you?
A TAG QUESTION is a question we can add to the
end of a statement.
The basic rules for forming the two-word tag questions
are as follows:
* the subject in the statement matches the subject in
the tag
* the auxiliary verb or verb to be in the statement
matches the verb used in the tag
* if the statement is positive, the tag is usually
negative and vice versa
Compare the following:
You've posted my letters, haven't you?
You won't forget to check my emails, will you?
You're sad that I'm going, aren't you?
You aren't going to cry when I leave, are you?
When present and past simple tenses appear in positive
statements, normally no auxiliary verb is used, but we use the auxiliaries
does, do or did in the tag. In negative statements in the present or past
simple, the auxiliaries doesn't, don't or didn't are, of course, already
present. Compare the following:
You play tennis on Thursdays usually, don't you?
And Jack plays with you, doesn't he?
You didn't play last Thursday, did you?
When we use the there is structure, there is reflected
in the tag:
There's nothing wrong, is there?
There weren't any problems when you talked to Jack,
were there?
Something / nobody /etc
When no one, somebody, something, etc is the subject
in the statement, we use it for something
or nothing and they for someone
or nobody:
Something happened at Jack's house, didn't it?
No one phoned, did they?
Somebody wanted to borrow Jack's bike, didn't they?
Who was it?
When to use tag questions
We use tag questions, Ahmad, to check information or
to ask for agreement. If we use a rising intonation
in the tag, we do not know or are not quite sure of
the answer. If we use a falling intonation
in the tag, we are seeking the agreement of the
person we are talking to.
We can reply to tag questions either with simple
yes/no answers (negative tags normally expect a yes answer and positive tags
normally expect a no answer) or by using yes/no + auxiliary verb.
In these examples, use a rising intonation in the tag.
It is a genuine question. You are not sure what the answer will be.
You haven't seen my tennis shoes, have you? ~ No, I'm
sorry. I haven't.
I couldn't borrow yours by any chance, could I? ~ No.
They wouldn't fit you.
In these examples, use a falling intonation in the
tag. You are simply seeking agreement.
It's been a lovely day today, hasn't it? ~ Yes, it
has. Gorgeous.
It was a lovely wedding, wasn't it? ~ Wonderful!
I thought Sue looking stunning in her wedding dress,
didn't she? ~ Yes, she did. Absolutely stunning.
It's a shame the day is over, isn't it? ~ Yes, it is.
tag questions - special features
positive statement - positive tag
We sometimes use a positive tag with a positive
statement when we want to express surprise or particular interest:
I shall be
staying at my favourite hotel - the five-star hotel in Windsor. ~ Oh, you've
stayed there before, have you?
And I'm
having supper there with the Australian tennis ace, Lleyton Hewitt. ~ Oh, so
you know Lleyton Hewitt, do you?
imperative sentences and let's
After imperatives, we sometimes add will you? or won't you? when we want people to
follow our advice:
Don't stay there long, will you?
And do take care, won't you?
After let's we
sometimes add shall we? when we are making a suggestion:
Let's have buttered scones with strawberry jam for
tea, shall we?
Omission of pronoun subject and auxiliary
verb
In very informal speech, we sometimes leave out
pronoun subjects, auxiliary verbs and verb to be in the statement. Compare the
following:
Awful weather, isn't it? (= It's awful weather, isn't
it?)
Keeping well, are you? (=You're keeping well, are
you?)
Nobody at home, is there? (=There's nobody at home,
is there?)
