Bonjour !Bonjour ! Bienvenu ! Bienvenu !

Common mistakes in SECommon mistakes in SEIn Chinese:• The word order differs from that in English.

E: How are you?

C: You good? You how?

• Time and place adverbs usually come before the verb.

E: I will go to Taipei tomorrow.

C: Tomorrow I go to Taipei.

• There are few or no articles.E: He is a clever boy.C: He is clever boy.

• The verb doesn’t change tense.E: I saw a movie last night.C: I see a movie last night.

• The verb “be” is dropped.E: She is five years old. (Fr., Elle a 5 ans = she has 5

years)C: She five years old.

• The infinitive “to” is dropped.E: I love to swim.C: I love swim.

• The pronoun “that” is dropped.E: That the earth is round is known to everyone.C: The earth is round is known to everyone.

Special Problems with VerbsSpecial Problems with Verbs

• Passive Voice– Passive voice of the verb is used when the subject

receives that action instead of doing it.

• This book is not written by Dr. Lee.

• Mary was born on the fourth of July, 2000.

• The letter has been received by the King.

• They were served by that waiter.

– Be careful when using passive voice.

• Transitive & Intransitive Verbs– Transitive verbs require an object.

• You must answer me when I ask you a question.

– Intransitive verbs do not have an object.• Let’s talk in English.

– Intransitive verbs (occur, happen, sleep) cannot be used to form the passive voice.

• The earthquake [was] occurred at 11PM.• The tragedy [was] happened last night.• The students [were] slept until noon.

• Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives

– A gerund ends in –ing and is used as noun.

• I love swimming

• I enjoy watching cartoons.

– An infinitive is the base form of a verb and is preceded by to.

• She wants to eat ice-cream

• He plans to visit France next year.

– Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive:

• begin, continue, like start, hate, love, etc.

– Verbs followed with a gerund only:

• admit, appreciate, avoid, discuss, enjoy, finish, imagine, miss, practice, quit, risk, suggest, etc.

– Verbs followed with an infinitive only:

• agree, ask, beg, decide, expect, have, hope, manage, mean, offer, plan, pretend, want, etc.

Exercise 1: Correct the sentencesExercise 1: Correct the sentences

• He keeps swim every day.

• He likes play violin.

• He can swimming.

• Sam does not goes to work.

• They will start test the specimens this afternoon.

• This letter has never finished.

• The tsunami was occurred in South Asia.

• This house is built in 1913.

Subject-Verb AgreementSubject-Verb Agreement

• Neither the lab assistant nor the students were able

to download the program.

• Either a driver’s license or a credit card is required.

• Either a driver’s license or two credit cards are

required.

• There are surprisingly few children in this school.

• At the back of the room are a testing machine and a

balance.

Exercise 2: Select the correct verbExercise 2: Select the correct verb

• Neither the professor nor his assistant

(was/were) able to solve the mystery.

• Each of the speakers (was/were) given twenty

minutes.

• No one who has ever seen the northern lights

(has/have) forgotten them.

• Thirty percent of the testing (is/are) completed.

• Thirty percent of the tests (is/are) completed.

Conditional SentencesConditional Sentences• Factual conditional sentences are used to

express:– Scientific truth, in which case both verbs are

present tense.

• If water cools to 0°C, it freezes.

– A relationship that is habitually true, in which case both verbs are the same tense.

• Whenever the coach needed help, I volunteered.

• Predictive conditional sentences – Predict a future possibility as a consequence of a present action.

• If you practice regularly, your English will improve. • Unless you study carefully, you will receive a poor grade.

• Speculative conditional sentences – Express an unlikely possibility, describe events that did not

happen, or refer to conditions contrary to fact.• If I had the money, I would travel to France.

(I don’t have money now.)• If you had studied harder, you would have received a higher

grade.

(You did not study hard.)• If I were President, I would reduce taxes.

Exercise 3: Correct the sentencesExercise 3: Correct the sentences

• If I live in northern Alaska, I would need to buy a winter coat.

• If my father is here now, he would tell me what to do.

• We will miss our class unless we could hurry to school.

• I don’t think you will believe me even if I told you the truth.

• If the sun is to rise in the west, I will change my mind.

Quiz 1 - The Grander CanyonQuiz 1 - The Grander Canyon(from Newsweek, May 24 & 31, 2010)(from Newsweek, May 24 & 31, 2010)

• Read the text

• Answer the following questions:Q1 – Is the canyon well-known to the general public?

Where is it located?

Q2 – How could we get to the canyon’s horseshoe bend?

Q3 – Who is Mr. Zhang Ke? What has he done to the canyon?

Q4 – Are there any future plans to develop the canyon’s tourism?

Au revoirAu revoir