Reported speech 1

When we report someone’s words we can do it in two ways. We can use direct speech with quotation marks (“I work in a bank”), or we can use reported speech (He said he worked in a bank.)

In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence.

Present simple and present continuous tenses

• Direct speech: “I travel a lot in my job” Reported speech: He said that he travelled a lot in his job.

The present simple tense (I travel) usually changes to the past simple (he travelled) in reported speech.

• Direct speech: “Be quiet. The baby’s sleeping.” Reported speech: She told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping.

The present continuous usually changes to the past continuous.

Repaso oraciones condicionales

Oraciones condicionales con unless

Frecuentes son también las oraciones condicionales con unless (a no ser que/a menos que), que denotan una condición sin cuyo cumplimiento el hecho expresado en la principal no puede realizarse.

Equivalen, por tanto, generalmente, a las introducidas por if + el verbo en forma negativa:

She won't go to sleep unless you tell her a story = she won't go to sleep if you don't tell her a story - no se quedará dormida a menos que le cuentes una historia

We'll have dinner out tonight unless you're too tired = we'll have dinner out tonight if you're not too tired cenaremos fuera esta noche, a no ser que estés demasiado cansada/si no estás demasiado cansada

pero conviene tener en cuenta que if....not y unlessno son siempre intercambiables:

I think Steve would be happier if he didn't work so hard - creo que Steve sería más feliz si no trabajara tanto (en este caso, no puede usarse unless, porque es un hecho, no una suposición, que Steve trabaja mucho).

Otras conjunciones empleadas en la oración subordinada

Además de if y unless, pueden usarse otras conjunciones condicionales, como: provided (that)/providing (that)/as long as/on condition that - siempre que/con tal que/a condición de que:

I'll let you in on the secret, provided/providing/as long as/on condition (that) you don't tell anybody - te contaré el secreto, con tal de que/siempre que/a condición de que no se lo digas a nadie.

Verbs and prepositions

Vamos a estudiar los verbos + preposición. No se trata esta vez de los verbos frasales, sino de saber con qué preposición se construyen los verbos ingleses, sin que dicha preposición modifique su significado. En la mayoría de los casos, no hay grandes problemas, al coincidir la preposición en inglés y en español: to accuse of (acusar de), to agree with (estar de acuerdo con; puede ser también verbo frasal con el significado de 'sentar bien un alimento'), to arrive at/in (llegar at con lugares, pueblos o ciudades pequeñas; in con ciudades grandes o países), to benefit from (beneficiarse de), to escape from (escaparse de), to lend to (prestar a), to rescue from (rescatar de), to suffer from (padecer de), etc. Hay, sin embargo, un buen número de verbos cuyo régimen preposicional no coincide en los dos idiomas. Pueden darse varios casos:

1.- Verbos con distinta preposición en inglés y en español. He aquí algunos de los más comunes:

to answer for - responder de

to be married to - estar casado,-a con

to charge with - acusar de

to count on - contar con

to dream of/about - soñar con

to feed on - alimentarse de

to fill with - llenar de

to laugh at - reírse de

to live on - vivir de

to settle for - contentarse con, aceptar

to settle on - decidirse por

to smell of - oler a

to taste of - saber a

Passives

We make the passive using ‘be’ – in a suitable tense – and the past participle (‘done’, ‘played’ etc.). We use the passive:

1) … when we don’t know, or we are not interested in, who does an action.

• My car was stolen yesterday.

         We don’t know who stole the car.

• A lot of wine is produced in France.

         It’s not important who produces the wine.

2) … when the main topic of the sentence isn’t who did the action.

• Television was invented in the 1920s by John Logie Baird.

         The main topic here is television – we aren’t particularly interested in ‘who’.

• Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

         In English we tend to put the most important thing at the start of the sentence.

3) … more in written English than in spoken English.

• War and Peace was written by Tolstoy.

         You often see the passive in textbooks.

• The mixture is heated to 500˚C.

         Scientific texts especially use the passive.

Easter

In the UK,  schools close for two weeks at Easter time. Read on to find out more about how Easter is celebrated in Britain.

What does it mean?

Easter is a spring festival of new life. As a pagan tradition it is the beginning of growth and new life after the cold, winter months. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring - Easter. For Christians, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and practising Christians attend special church services at Easter time. Easter celebrates life and rebirth, which is why we see lots of symbols of new life and fertility at Easter, like eggs, chicks and rabbits.

When is it?

Unlike Christmas, Easter isn't on the same date each year. It takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Schoolchildren and students in the UK have a two-week holiday at Easter time which is almost as long as the Christmas holiday. It's also the first public holiday after Christmas and everyone looks forward to their Easter break as a moment to relax, have a short holiday or visit family and friends.

Chocolate eggs

For most British children Easter means chocolate Easter eggs. The shops are full of bright Easter displays decorated with chicks, rabbits and flowers, all with the objective of selling chocolate eggs in huge numbers. And it works! Ninety million chocolate eggs are sold in the UK each year, and each child receives on average eight chocolate eggs. The eggs are sold in cardboard boxes and sometimes there's more packaging than chocolate!

Some people believe that too much chocolate is eaten at Easter time and most doctors and dentists would advise people to eat Easter eggs in moderation.

Other "egg-straordinary" traditions

In the UK, chocolate is definitely the most popular way to enjoy eggs at Easter. But there are some less sugary traditions, too. Chickens' eggs are painted and decorated to give as presents, and eggs are also hidden for children to find as part of an "egg hunt". Some places even hold competitions to see who can roll an egg down a hill without it breaking! Hot cross buns are typical cakes that are made at Easter time. They are like spiced bread rolls with raisins and they alway have a cross shape on top. They are delicious served hot with butter.