UNIT 1

Grammar: verb “to be”, there is/are. Possessive and Personal Pronouns.

Pronouns

Personal		Possessive
Nominative	Objective	Dependent	Independent
I you he she it we they	me you him her it us them	my your his her noun its our their	mine yours his hers its ours theirs

Ex. 1. Analyze the following sentences and translate them into Russian.

1. They live together with their parents. 2. Oxford is famous for its University. 3. I didn’t have an umbrella, so Ann gave me hers. 4. Are those people friends of yours? 5. Michael had an argument with a neighbour of his. 6. We went on holiday with some friends of ours. 7. I am meeting a friend of mine this evening. 8. He wants to see us at his place. 9. I can’t find my keys. Where are they? 10. We want the photographs. Can you give them to us?

Ex. 2. Put in my/our/your/his/her/their/its/mine/yours/ours.

1. We want to go to the cinema after the exam. Do you like … idea?

2. I know Mr Watson but I don't know … wife.

3. Mr and Mrs Baker live in London. … son lives in Australia.

4. We're going to have a party and invite some friends of ….

5. This is a nice camera. Is it … ?

6. I like tennis. It's … favourite sport.

7. “Is that … car?” “No, I haven't got a car.”

8. I want to phone Ann. Do you know … phone number?

9. Do you think most people are happy in … jobs?

10. “Whose books are these?”- “They are … .”

11. This is a beautiful tree. … leaves are of green colour.

12. On Sunday John usually has dinner with a friend of … .

Pronoun “it”

Ex. 3. a) We use a personal pronoun “it” as a subject or an object

1. Where is your pen? – It is in the bag. 2. Your translation is good. I like it. 3. This is our classroom. It is large. 4. Where is my ticket? I can’t find it. 5. Your new car is nice. Is it expensive? 6. I want that book. Please give it to me.

b) We use “it” as a subject with expressions that refer to time, weather, day temperature or distance.

1. It is ten miles to the nearest petrol station. 2. It is Monday again. 3. It is thirty degrees. 4. It is half past ten. 5. It is a nice day today. 6. It was very windy yesterday. 7. It was my birthday yesterday. 8. How far is it to the nearest restaurant?

c) Preparatory “it”.

It

is was will be

easy/difficult/impossible/dangerous/safe/ expensive/interesting/nice/wonderful/ terrible/a pleasure

to do

1. It is nice to talk to you. 2. It was good of you to phone me. 3. It is impossible to understand her. 4. It wasn’t easy to find your house. 5. It is difficult to get up early in the morning. 6. It was a pleasure to listen to her.

The verb “to be”

Present			Past			Future
I	am		I he she it	was		I we	shall be will be
he she it	is
we you they	are		we you they	were		he she it you they	will be

Analyze the interrogative and negative forms.

1. Jane is at home at the moment, but her mother isn’t. Where is Jane’s mother? Is her brother at home?

2. When I was a child, I was afraid of dogs and my sister wasn’t. Why were you afraid of that little dog yesterday?

3. Today Sue is in Madrid. Tomorrow she will be in Rome. She won’t be in Tokyo on Friday. Where will Sue be on Saturday?

Ex. 4. Make the following sentences interrogative and negative.

a) 1. Twenty miles is a long way to walk. 2. My native city is very large. 3. The pair of black trousers is cheap.4. Phonetics is a branch of linguistics. 5. The family are fond of their house. 6. The students’ books are on their desks. 7. The capital of my homeland is Minsk. 8. We are at the English lesson now. 9. The man in this photograph is my brother. 10. My father is interested in politics.

b) 1. The boy was at home three days ago. 2. My lessons were over at 2 yesterday. 3. She was ready for the seminar last week. 4. Their plans for the holiday were clear. 5. The girl’s family was very large. 6. The film at the Odeon was long and dull. 7. We were at the university yesterday. 8. Kate and Olga were pupils last year. 9. A nice play was on at the theatre last week. 10. My favourite subject at school was mathematics.

c) This book will be interesting. 2. I shall be late for the lesson tomorrow. 3. The house will be ready soon. 4. The text of the next lesson will be short. 5. Mike will be a student next year. 6. My sister will be a post-graduate in two years. 7. She will be present at the meeting on Monday. 8. It will be a nice block of flats here. 9. The students will be free in some minutes. 10. I shall be ready for the next seminar.

Ex. 5. a) Say the following sentences in the past.

1. The facts from the newspaper article are old. 2. The boy’s family is at home. 3. The students from group 2 are in the next room. 4. He is ready to read this text. 5. Their plans are simple and short. 6. The weather is good at this time of the year. 7. Bob and James are foreign students. 8. A city is a place with big industry and busy streets. 9. The article in the newspaper is interesting. 10. Sport is an essential part of Mike’s life.

2. Say the following sentences in the future.

1. Our street is very green in spring. 2. Children are already in bed at 9 o’clock. 3. Saturday morning is a very busy time for shopping. 4. It is not hot in winter. 5. The chief method of teaching is the lecture method. 6. Travelling by sea is very interesting. 7. The leaves are not green in autumn. 8. Our trip to Moscow is very tiring. 9. The workers are at the meeting at this time of the day. 10. At the end of the lecture she is very tired.

The Construction there is … , there are …

Read the sentences and compare the information given.

1. The teacher’s desk is in the room. Стол учителя стоит в комнате. 2. The film on TV was very interesting last night. Фильм по телевизору был вчера интересный. 3. A lot of people will be present at the party on Saturday. Много людей придет на вечеринку в субботу.

There is a teacher’s desk in the room. В комнате стоит стол учителя. There was an interesting film on TV last night. Вчера по телевизору шел интересный фильм. There will be a lot of people at the party on Saturday. В субботу на вечеринке будет много людей.

Ex. 6. Analyze the following sentences and translate them into Russian.

a) 1. There are some big trees in the garden. 2. There is a seminar on philosophy today. 3. There are comfortable apartments in this block of flats. 4. There are a lot of accidents on this road. 5. There is something in my eye. 6. There are 11 players in a football team. 7. There is a book and two pens on the desk.

b) 1. There were a lot of children in the yard an hour ago. 2. There was an important meeting of students with the Dean last week. 3. I know there were some letters for me yesterday. 4. When I got home, I was hungry but there wasn’t anything to eat. 5. There was a swimming pool at our hotel last summer.

c) 1. There will be one more department at the University next year. 2. When you arrive tomorrow, there will be somebody at the station to meet you. 3. I don’t think there will be any problems at the exam. 4. There will be dictionaries on every table. 5. There will be no underground service between Vostok and Kupalovskaya stations tomorrow.

Ex. 7. Make the sentences interrogative and negative. Follow the models.

a) Are there any new messages for me today?

Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.

There are no (not any) new messages for you today.

How many new messages are there for me today?

1. There are twelve students in my group. 2. There are twenty six letters in the English alphabet. 3. There is only one chair in this room. 4. There are thirty days in September. 5. There is one button on my jacket.

b) Was there little time for this work?

Yes, there was. / No, there wasn’t.

There wasn’t much time for this work.

How much time was there for this work?

1. There was little water in the bottle. 2. There was only one circus in the city 50 years ago. 3. There were a lot of lights in my Christmas-tree last year. 4. There was a shop at the end of the street. 5. There were seven flowers in the vase. 6. There were three pictures on the wall near the door. 7. There was little food in the fridge.

c) Will there be a new tube station in our street?

Yes, there will. / No, there won’t.

There won’t (will not) be a new tube station in our street.

What will there be in your street?

1. There will be a meeting in the hall. 2. There will be a bridge across the river. 3. There will be one more flight to London next month. 4. There will be four seatbelts in my car. 5. There will be a traffic jam in your area.