Unit 4. Matter, Elements and Atoms. Language Work

Past Simple

Affirmative

I/we/you/they/he/she/it

carried out turned off  left

For example:

• Alex carried out the experiment yesterday.

• They turned the gas off several hours ago.

The past of be (am/is/are) is was/were: 

I/he/she/it      was/wasn’t we/you/they      were/weren’t

was      I/he/she/it? were      we/you/they?

For example:

• Physics was my favourite subject at school.

• In the 19^th and early 20^th century electricity wasn’t a part of the everyday life of many people.

• Were you interested in electronics earlier?

• There were a lot of electrical devices in the laboratory.

Negative (with the auxiliary verb)

I/we/you/they/he/she/it

didn’t

carry out turn off leave

For example:

• Alex didn't carry out her instructions precisely.

• The student left the laboratory, but he didn’t turn off the light.

Negative (with NO auxiliary verb)

I/we/you/they/he/she/it	could/might	not	carry out/ turn off/ leave
I/we/you/they/he/she/it	was/were	not	(a) specialist(s)
I/we/you/they/he/she/it	had	no/hadn’t or didn’t have	time

For example:

• We could not carry out more research.

• I had no time to finish my test.

• You were not a specialist when you studied at the University.

Questions (with the auxiliary verb)

did

I/we/you/they/he/she/it

carry out? turn off? leave?

For example:

• Did Alex carry out the experiment yesterday?

• Did you turn off the water supply before carrying out repairs?

Questions (with NO auxiliary verb)

could/ might	I/we/you/they/he/she/it	carry out? turn off? leave?
was/were	I/we/you/they/he/she/it	(a) scientist(s)?
had	I/we/you/they/he/she/it?	a lab class yesterday?

For example:

• Could you work under these circumstances?

• Was your grandfather a scientist?

• Had you any problems while testing a new device?

Spelling

The verb ending	Changes	Examples
-e	only –d is added	to measure - measured
-y, preceded by a consonant	-y is changed into –i and -ed	to apply - applied
a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant (except c, w, z), preceded by a short vowel	the final consonant is doubled and –ed is added	to stop – stopped

Remember:Irregular past tense forms must be memorized because they are not related to simple forms in any predictable way. For example:

leave become make spend

→ → → →

left became made spent

He left the battery on charge an hour ago. The object became positively charged. A.Volta made a battery from alternating layers of zink and copper. Last week Alex spent a lot of time in the laboratory.

1. Fill in the table:

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb	Translation	Transcription
electricity
charge	charge				n, v
(in) isolation (from), (U)		isolated			n
development(of), (U)					n
		nuclear		ядро	adj
insulator					n
	transmit
				изобретение
amount	amount to
	include
	provide
shell				оболочка
		inner
			particularly		adv
		outer
		average			adj
power
	enable (smb/smth to do smth)				v
		flexible
	transform
phenomenon (sing.) phenomena(pl.)					n

2. Read and translate the following international words:

Nouns (n): association, centre, characteristic, colleague, conference, contact, cooperation, fundamentals, international, mass, neutron, orbit, proton, reaction, reactor, specialist, sphere, synthetics, system, technician, theory, university, valency = valence.

Adjectives (adj): characteristic, chemical, electrical, electronic, elementary, experimental, fundamental, official, practical, socialist, theoretical, unique.

Adverbs (adv): experimentally, fundamentally, officially, practically, theoretically.

Verbs (v): cooperate, orbit, theorize, contact.

3. What does the ‘-ed’ sound like? If you are not sure, consult the table from Unit 3.

amplified, attracted, described, rectified, employed, obtained, compared, emitted, conducted, occurred, showed, switched, produced, developed, heated, increased, tested, added, charged, explained, limited, insulated, placed.