Risposte domande aperte Lingua e traduzione inglese 3 aggiornate al 2023

SCRIVERE) PROF.DINDELLI BARBARA

Lezione 13

11. Third conditional: use, functions and examples.

Third conditional expresses impossibility: it is used when the time is in the past and the condition cannot be

fulfilled because the action of the if-clause didn’t happen. The structure of the third conditional requires

past perfect in the if-clause, perfect conditional in the main clause, e.g. “If I had known you were coming, I

would have bought some wine”. In the main clause it is possible to use “could” or “might” instead of

“would”, with a subtle difference: “If we had known they were in danger, we might have saved their life”.

The use of present conditional in the main clause is also permitted: “If I had invested in cryptocurrency, I’d

be rich now”. Past perfect continuous can be used in the if-clause, as in the example: “If you hadn’t been

working all day, you could have come to visit us”.

13. First conditional: use, functions and examples

First conditional implies that the action in the if-clause is quite probable. It is formed using simple present in

the if-clause and future simple in the main clause: “If you study, you will pass the exam”. In the main clause,

it is possible to use a modal verb in the simple present, or an imperative: “You can come with us if you

want”, or “If you see her, tell her to call me”. The verb in the if-clause can be a present continuous or a

present perfect: “If you are looking for a good book, you will find it here”, and “If he’s finished his work, I’ll

tell him to go home”.

14. Second conditional: use, functions and examples.

Second conditional is used to express improbability either when the supposition is contrary to known facts

(“If I lived near you, I would come every day”), or when we don’t expect the action in the if-clause to take

place (“If I found a bear in my garden, I would scream”). The verb in the main clause can be a present

conditional continuous: “If he had a passport, he would be leaving tomorrow”. In the if-clause, it is possible

to use a past continuous, e.g. “If I wasn’t working we could go to the pub”, or a past perfect: “If he had

taken my advice, he would be a happier man now”. “Might” or “could” can make a subtle difference in the

meaning.

Lezione 15

09. The Simple Present Perfect: use, functions and examples.

The present perfect is formed with the present tense of the verb ‘to have’ + past participle. In the

interrogative form the verb to have goes in first position, followed by the subject, and then the past

participle. For the negative form the verb to have, which goes after the subject, must be followed by ‘not’

(or –n’t), then the past participle. Present perfect is used for recent actions when the time is not

mentioned, or when the action occurred in an incomplete period of time (“I have read the newspaper”, “I

have seen your father today”), and whose results are still ongoing in the present (“Peter has had a car

crash”). It is possible to use present perfect when the action took place further back in the past, but it can

be repeated (“I have seen tigers in the jungle”). The present perfect is often used with ‘lately’ and ‘recently’

(“I haven’t seen you around recently”). It is also used with frequency adverbs such as ever, never, often,

occasionally, several times etc. Using the present perfect with ‘for’ indicates a period of tome which lasts to

the present (“We’ve been friends for ten years”). Using the present perfect with ‘since’ indicates a moment

when the action, which is still ongoing in the present, has begun (“Mike has worked here since 1986”).

Lezione 16

04. Who was Curtis Charles Ebbesmeyer ? Why did he come to public attention ?

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RISPOSTE DOMANDE APERTE LINGUA E TRADUZIONE INGLESE 3

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Lezione 19

07. Who was Jane Austen? Describe her life and works

08. Use to vs to be used to: use, functions and examples

If we want to describe a habit we need the construction subject + use to + infinitive (if in the past, we need

‘used to’). It describes habits or conditions, e.g. ‘I used to smoke, now I stopped’, or ‘I use to wake up early

on Sundays’. In formal English, ‘used to’ can be used as an auxiliary, thus the construction in interrogative or

negative forms will be ‘Used you to play tennis?’ (vs. informal ‘Did you use to play tennis?’). ‘To be used to’

has a completely different meaning. It is a psychological statement, e.g. ‘She is used to loud neighbours’. If

‘to be used to’ is followed by a verb, it must be in the –ing form: ‘I am used to eating spicy food’.

Lezione 20

02. Summarize the article about drug and alcohol abuse in 120-150 words

03. Future in the Past: definition and examples

The ‘Future in the past’ is a construction which describes an action or event which was in the future in a

particular point in the past. It can be expressed with would to imply a possibility or expectation, e.g. ‘I

thought I would look good in a grey suit’. We can use ‘would’ for reported speech, when the main verb is

simple past, and in indirect if-clauses: ‘They said they would wait until she came back’, and ‘He said he

would have bought a bigger house if he had found the money’. Future in the past can be expressed with the

past continuous if describing an arrangement: ‘I didn’t call her because we were meeting the following day’.

An action which was a future plan or intention can be expressed with was/were going to: ‘I thought we

were going to have lunch together’. Was/were to + infinitive describes an event which actually took place:

‘The author knew it was to be a best-selling novel’. If the event didn’t happen, we need was/were to have +

past participle: ‘The meeting was to have taken place on March’. Was/were about to + infinitive expresses

an immediate future in the past, and it’s often used with ‘just’: ‘They were just about to flee when the

police broke in’.

Lezione 23

1. Modal verbs: use, functions and examples.

The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, should, ought to, shall, will, and would. Can, could, may

and might express possibility: can indicates ability or capability(e.g. ‘I can play the piano’); can’t or couldn’t

are used to express impossibility (‘The plane can’t land with such a bad weather’). In order to make a

request, we can use can, could, may, will, would, with a slightly different meaning: ‘can you help me?

(informal) vs. ‘could you help me’ (formal – kind), ‘may I go out?’ (formal), and so on. ‘Must’ is used to

express an obligation, prohibition or strong necessity: ‘All the passengers must fasten their seatbelts’, ‘You

mustn’t smoke here’, ‘You must see a doctor’. ‘To have to’ has a different meaning. In the affirmative form, it

can express either a prescription or a necessity: ‘You have to sleep at least 8 hours’. In the negative form, it

indicates that an action is not required: ‘You don’t have to translate the whole essay’. Obligations can be

expressed also with had better, should, ought to, could. Had better indicates a strong advice: ‘You’d better

leave before she finds out’. Should, could, and ought to express suggestions.

2. Write some basic grammatical rules applying to modal verbs

Modal verbs are also called ‘defective’ verbs because they lack past, infinitive, continuous and participle

tenses. They can be considered auxiliaries, consequently they follow the same constructions: they precede

an infinitive without ‘to’; in interrogative forms, they are put before the subject; in the negative form, they

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RISPOSTE DOMANDE APERTE LINGUA E TRADUZIONE INGLESE 3

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are followed by ‘not’. Modal verbs do not have the –s ending for the third person singular. Other tenses of

these verbs must often be replaced by other verbs.

Lezione 24

10. Summarize the Story of Helen Keller in 120-150 words

Lezione 25

1. "Could Vs Was/Were able to". Explain the difference in meaning and write some examples

“Could” and “was/were able to” are two ways to express capability in the past. There are some differences

in their use and meaning in an affirmative clause. “Could” is the past tense of the verb “can”, and is used to

express a general ability or capability in the past, e.g. “When I was young I could walk 10 miles”. “Was/were

able to”, expresses a possibility or capability in a specific situation, but not a personal ability: “I was able to

write the whole paper because there were no distractions”. In a negative clause, the difference in meaning

almost disappear: “I couldn’t/wasn’t able to swim, so I kept out the edge of the swimming pool”.

2. What are defective verbs? Write some basic grammatical rules applying to defective verbs

See 23 .02

Lezione 26

05. There is a global youth unemployment crisis. Write your opinion about it in 100-150 words

06. Which are the structures to talk about the future in English?

Lezione 027

1. "Dare": use, definition and examples.

“Dare” is a verb very similar to “need”, not in its meaning but because both can be used either as auxiliary-

modal verbs or as ordinary verb. In the affirmative form, “dare” is conjugated as a regular ordinary verb (-s

for the third person singular, -ed for past tenses and past participle), although its use in the affirmative is

very rare. In the negative, the ordinary conjugation is more commonly used (“She doesn’t dare to go out at

night”). The conjugation as a modal verb is used to express fear to do something. It takes the bare infinitive

(without to), as in “They daren’t speak” or “I dared not look outside”. In interrogative, it uses the inversion

subject-verb: “Dare we interrupt?”. The use of “dare” in affirmative can only be found in the expression “I

daresay”, which expresses either a supposition or that a statement won’t make any difference to the

speaker (“I daresay you didn’t know it, but I must fine you for speeding”). The expression “How dare/s/d +

subject + infinitive” expresses indignation. &l