Tuesday, March 14, 2017

C1 13-14/3/17


Homework: Reading activity p. 86

p. 83

AS WELL AS is one of the most frequent, still most misused, conjunction in administrative and academic texts. There are two mistakes commonly made regarding its use.
Two common problems
There are two common problems with the use of as well as. The first one relates to its meaning — as well as is often used as a synonym for and, which it is not.
Swedish is spoken in Sweden, as well as in parts of Finland. [incorrect]
The second problem concerns the form of the verb following as well as.  Can you find the mistakes in the following sentences?
John, as well as Mary, want to drop the course. [incorrect]
Running is healthy as well as it makes you feel good. [incorrect]
Sarah draws as well as designs clothes.
[incorrect]
As well as is not a synonym for and
As well as cannot be used to mean and. The expression X as well as Y  means not only Y but also X (note that X and Y are reversed). While and simply conjoins two (or more) expressions, as well as places unequal emphasis on the two expressions — the expression preceding as well as carries a stronger emphasis than the expression following it.
John, as well as Mary, came to the party. [not only Mary but also John; emphasis on John]
The programme aims to recruit Sami students as well as students from other countries. [not only students from other countries but also Sami students; emphasis on Sami students]
Now you see that the sentence:
Swedish is spoken in Sweden, as well as in parts of Finland. [incorrect]
means:
Swedish is spoken not only in parts of Finland, but also in Sweden. [Imagine! What a surprise!]
It is therefore wrong to use as well as simply in order to avoid a repetition of and, as in the sentence below.
The university focuses on education, research and development, as well as dissemination. [incorrect if all three areas are equally important and none is to be emphasized]
as well as does not make subjects plural
In the sentence
John, as well as Mary, want to drop the course. [incorrect]
the verb want must agree with the noun preceding as well as in this case.
John, as well as Mary, wants to drop the course. [correct]
In other words, when as well as is part of the subject, the verb must agree with the noun before as well as.
Verbs after as well as come in –ing form
When we put a verb after as well as, we use the -ing form of the verb. (This might sound really strange to a non-native speaker, but the grammar books agree on this.)
Running is healthy as well as making you feel good.
He broke the window, as well as destroying the wall.
She draws as well as designing clothes.
Note the difference between the last sentence and the next one:
She draws as well as she designs clothes.
[Her drawing is as good as her designing]

DESPITE /dɪˈspaɪt/ ●●● S3 W1 AWL preposition  
1 used to say that something happens or is true even though something else might have prevented it
syn in spite of 
Despite all our efforts (N) to save the school, the authorities decided to close it.
despite the fact (that) 
She went to Spain despite the fact that her doctor had told her to rest (CL).
2 → despite yourself
GRAMMAR: Patterns with despite
• You say despite doing (–ING V) something:
He won despite being injured.
• You say despite the fact that:
He won despite the fact that he was injured.
Don’t say: He won despite he was injured.
• Don’t confuse despite and in spite of.
Don’t say: despite of

down the drain
informal
if time, effort, or money goes down the drain, it is wasted or produces no results
Well that’s it. 18 months’ work down the drain.

ˈOWING TO ●○○ preposition  formal because of something
Owing to a lack of funds, the project will not continue next year.
Flight BA213 has been delayed owing to fog.
Examples from the Corpus
owing to•
The new resource represented welcome revenue for a local government feeling a financial pinch owing to a temporary local economic downturn.
• The Springboks had to make a major alteration at half-time owing to an injury to Van Straaten.
• Wild fluctuations in brain activity owing to changing environmental conditions would thus put the rest of the body at severe risk.
• The stellar sphere, owing to its vast distance from earth, needed no epicycles because its movement appeared regular and unchanging.
• The elements may also be transformed from one into another, owing to the fundamental qualities inherent in each.
• Cyanosis and flushing occur during the tonic phase, owing to the sustained contraction of respiratory muscles and cessation of breathing.

com‧ple‧tion /kəmˈpliːʃən/

mass –

Harold Shipman

We’ve been talking with Nathan about History. One of the things we mentioned was Jack the Ripper. For more about it check the paper on the Moodle Platform.

south‧ern, Southern /ˈsʌðən $ -ərn/

jinxed /dʒɪŋkst/ adjective 
often having bad luck, or making people have bad luck
They seem to be jinxed when it comes to playing in the UK.
Who was Jimmy Savile?
In his lifetime, millions knew Jimmy Savile as an eccentric TV personality.
He was one of Britain's biggest stars, a larger-than-life character who was known for tea time TV favourites such as Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It, as well as stints on BBC Radio 1.
He was also, to some, Saint Jimmy, a diligent fundraiser who raised £40m for charity.
But, a year after his death in 2011, allegations of abuse surfaced.
It transpired that he was, in fact, one of the UK's most prolific sexual predators.
He had been exploiting his status to prey on hundreds of people - girls and boys, men and women, but mostly vulnerable young females.

scapegoat /ˈskeɪpgəʊt/ noun [ C ]
someone who is blamed for a bad situation, although they have not caused it
He was made a scapegoat for the disaster.

Hartlepool


  algorithm     /ælgərɪð ə m/   noun   [ C ]
[ MATHEMATICS ]  a set of rules used to calculate an answer to a mathematical problem

p.88

Affected the Roman Empire so badly
Right in thinking
Plague
Drought
Grew much more quickly
Mice
Caused a lot of animals to die
The decline of the
Precisely
chain /tʃeɪn/ noun
EVENTS [ C ] a series of things that happen one after the other
His arrival set off a surprising chain of events.
As a proper Ice Age
Crops failed
Trouble maker




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