Giovanni

Cambridge ESOL Examinations

CELTA

Assignment 2: Language-related Tasks.

Part A: grammar items.

Her coat isnt in her office-she must have gone home.
1. Possible context: an office.
Someones looking for a colleague in her office. He/she deduces she has probably already
left to go back home. The deduction is based on the fact that her coat is not in her room
possibly at the end of the working day. This provides good evidence to believe that she
has left to go home.
2. Grammar structure: modal auxiliary verb must used to express deduction.
Other possible contexts are:
a) A: We went to the Maldives for our honeymoon! B: That must have been a
fantastic trip. Context: two friends at dinner. A is telling B about his/her trip to
the Maldives and B deduces that the trip was fantastic since the Maldives are
known to be a great vacation resort.
b) A: This cake did not rise at all- it looks terrible!- B. You must have forgotten to
add baking powder. Context: two friends in the kitchen. They are talking about
the cake A has made. The cake hasnt risen as expected and therefore B is
reasonably assuming that A has forgotten to add the essential ingredient for the
cake to rise properly.
3. must have gone: elements of meaning and use.
The modal verb must is frequently used to express deduction.
In other words, it is used to express that something is considered certain or highly
probable because excellent arguments are there to prove our statement/assumption.
When one expresses his/her deductions about something must conveys the highest
degree of certainty. In questions and in negative clauses can and cant are used instead of
must, although mustnt can be used in this meaning in informal British English and in
American English.
4. MCQs
1) Is she still in the office now? (No)
2) Does the speaker think she has already gone home? (Yes)

3) Is the speaker almost sure about it? (yes) Why? (Her coat is not in her office)
4) Did she leave some time in the past? (Yes)
5) Was she obliged to go home? (No)

5. Form
FORM: must+ have+ past participle (must+ perfect infinitive)
USE: MUST as modal of deduction

subject

Affirmative

She

subject

Negative

She

Modal
auxiliary verb:
must (all
persons)

Auxiliary verb:
Have

Past participle
of lexical verb

must

have(ve)

gone

weak form
/ms(t)/

weak form
/hv/

Modal
auxiliary verb:
can + not(
cant- all
persons)

Auxiliary verb:
Have

Past participle
of lexical verb

cant

have

gone

strong form

weak form
/hv/

/knt/
/knt/

Question

Modal
auxiliary verb:
can (all
persons)

subject

Can

she

/kn/ /kn/

Auxiliary verb:
Have

Past participle
of lexical verb

have

gone?

/hv/

Short answers

Yes, she must

have

No, she cant

have

6. Anticipated problems
a) Students may confuse the meaning of the form since they will be more familiar with the
use of must as a modal verb to express obligation (must cant be used to express
obligation in the past).
MCQ n. 5 checks what the form does not mean.
b) Must is used for all persons: students might add an s for the third person singular.

Must is always followed by the base form of the verb. Students might add to (must to
have gone).
c) Students may have difficulties understanding that the form expresses deduction about
the past since the use of the perfect infinitive puts the proposition, and not the modality
in the past.
d) Students may assume that must is also used in the negative and question clauses of
the form.
e) Pronunciation problems will arise with speakers of those languages whose phonology
does not have weak forms: must and have will be both stressed instead of the lexical
verb.
7. Consulted Grammar Books
a) Cambridge Grammar of English by Ronald carter, McCarthy, p654-657.
b) Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, p. 394-395, p. 622-623.

Come and sit down Jim-youve been working in the garden all day.
1. Possible context: husband and wife at home.
The wife is telling her husband to stop working in the garden, because he seems to have
been working for a long time, in fact the whole day. We may assume the conversation
takes place at the end of the day.
2. Grammar structure: Present Perfect Continuous(progressive)- Affirmative- Contraction
form.
Other possible contexts are:

a) A- on the phone: Where are you? Ive been waiting for you for an hour!-Context:
A is calling his/her friend on the phone because theyre an hour late and A is still
waiting.
b) A: Ive been crying for half an hour! I have to stop: my mascara is already all over
my face- Context: Two girls at a party. A has been crying and is still crying and
wants to stop because her make-up is ruined.
3. ve been working: elements of meaning and use.
The Present Perfect Continuous(Progressive) is in this case used for an action which
started in the past and is still going on now.
The action has started in a time frame that is not over yet (today).
We use the continuous form of the Present Perfect to stress the continuous (non-stop)
nature of the action.
This tense can also be used to talk about events that have stopped, but whose effects are
still continuing. Yet, the emphasis is on the event itself as a progressive, extended
activity, not on the results.
4. MCQs
1) Did Jim start working earlier today? (Yes)
2) Is Jim still working now? (Yes)
3) Did he have a break? (No)

5. Form
FORM: have/has + been + -ing form
USE: Present Perfect Continuous for actions that started in the past and are still going on
now.

subject

Auxiliary:
have- base
form, except
for 3rd person
singular(has)

Auxiliary: bepast participle,

i.e. been

-ing form of
lexical verb

have (ve)

been

working

(weak form)
/hv/

/bn/

has (s)

been

(weak form)
/hz/

/bn/

Affirmative
You

3rd person
singular

She, he ,it

working

subject

Negative

3rd person
singular

You

She, he ,it

Auxiliary:
have- base
form, except
for 3rd person
singular(has)
Question

Have

Auxiliary: have
have (has)
+not

Auxiliary: bePast participle,

i.e. been

-ing form of
lexical verb

have not
(havent)
(strong form)
/hvnt/

been

working

has not
(hasnt)
(strong form)
/hznt/

been

Has

working

/bn/

subject

Auxiliary: bepast participle,

i.e. been

-ing form of
lexical verb

you

been

working?

/hv/
/hv/
3rd person
singular

/bn/

/bn/

she, he, it

/hz/-/hz/

been

working?

/bn/

Short answers

Yes, I have
/hv/

No, I havent
/hvnt/

3rd person
singular

Yes, he, she, it

has
/hz/

Yes, he, she, it

hasnt
/hznt/

6. Anticipated problems
a) Students may confuse the use of the Simple Present Perfect and the Present Perfect
Continuous.
They may fail to understand how the two forms focus on different aspects of an action:
the result and the continuity.

b) Speakers of romance languages may

find it difficult to produce the Tense since

English is unique in using a Tense to talk about actions that started in the past and
continue into the present time. Mistakes such as Hes working for the whole day or He

works for the whole day are very common.

c) Learners may overgeneralise the rule and use the continuous form of the Present
Perfect with state-verbs such as know or believe.
d) Pronunciation problems may stem from the two weak forms (have and been) which
most romance language speakers will pronounce as strong forms.
7. Consulted Grammar books
a) Cambridge Grammar of English by Ronald carter, McCarthy, p. 617.
b) Practical English Usage by Michael Swan: NEW EDITION, p. 424-428, p. 617-618.

Part B: lexical items.

That hat really suits you.
1. Possible context : two friends in a shop.
The speaker is telling his/her friend that the hat they have tried on looks really good
on them and it is right for their features, style and looks.
2. Other possible contexts.
a) A: I dont think that hair color really suits you: it makes you look so serious!.
Context: A and B meet after some time. A is telling his/her friend that the new hair
color B has chosen doesnt look good on him/her.
b) A: The new position I have been offered really suits me fine. Context: two
colleagues at work-one has been promoted. A is saying that the new position really
meets his desires/needs.
3. suit: elements of meaning and use.
Suit /su:t/: transitive verb/regular.
Suit: to be right for, to meet the needs of, to befit (from Websters Collegiate
Dictionary, p. 1178 and Websters Dictionary for Young Readers, p. 744).
The verb suit also has an intransitive usage (suit + with= to be in accordance with).
The verb suit is used to indicate how appropriate a chosen attire/ a decision weve
made/ an unexpected event is for us.

4. MCQs
That hat really suits you- A told B.
1) Does A think the hat looks good on B? (Yes)
2) Does A think the hat is the right style for B? (Yes)
3) Is the hat the right size for B?(We dont know)

5. Anticipated problems
a) Students very often confuse suit and fit. The meaning of fit is referred to size and

shape and not to style or ones needs. MCQ n. 3 is meant to check the confusion
between the two verbs.
Mistakes such as These pants dont suit me anymore, because Ive gained weight are
common.
b) The verb suit is not used in the progressive form because its a state verb. Mistakes
like The hat is suiting you are common.
c) Suit is also very often mispronounced. Students may pronounce it /su:t/ or /ut/.
Learners fail to recognize it in listening texts.
6. Consulted Dictionaries
a) Websters Collegiate Dictionary- tenth edition, p. 1178.
b) Websters New World Dictionary for Young Readers, p. 744
c) Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary- online.

That was a very moving film

1. Possible context: two friends leaving the movie theatre.
The speaker is expressing his/her feelings regarding the movie he/she just saw. The
movie aroused a strong emotional response in him/her.
2. Other possible contexts.
a) A: Marks story about the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia was really moving.
Context : husband and wife leaving their friend Marks house.
A is saying that Marks story about the victims of the tsunami really stirred his
feelings.
b) A: Have you ever read Of mice and men by John Steinbeck? Its such a moving
story about the Great Depression! Context: Two friends discussing contemporary
literature. A expresses his opinion on John Steinbecks novel: he thinks its a story
that really triggers feelings of pity or sorrow in the reader.

3. moving: elements of meaning and use.

Part of speech: adjective.

Moving is the adjective used to describe something that arouses or stirs the feelings
( Websters New World Dictionary for Young Readers, p. 481), thus evoking a strong
emotional response( Websters Collegiate Dictionary- tenth edition, p. 762). The
adjective is generally referred to stories we are told, films we see, books we read and
is used when we want to emphasize the effect something has on our feelings.

Moving can also have other meanings which may be confused by the learner (s. point
6 below).

4. MCQs
That was a very moving film.
1) Did the film cause strong emotions and feelings in us? (Yes)
2) Did it make us sad, upset, sorrowful? (Yes)
3) Was it an action film? (Probably not- we dont know)

5. Anticipated problems
a) Students may confuse the adjective moving with the ing form of the verb move.
Students may not apply the standard English adjective-noun word order.
b) They may assume moving always connotes things that are capable of movement.
They may think the film was a film with a lot of action.
c) Speakers of those languages whose phonology does not include the sound /v/ will
find it difficult to pronounce this adjective.

Instead of pronouncing /muv/,

Spanish speakers will pronounce /mubng/ and Arabic speakers /muf/.

d) Moving, touching, poignant can be synonyms but their meanings dont always
overlap. Advanced learners will have to be guided in order to be able distinguish the
different connotation and collocation of these adjectives.
6. Consulted Dictionaries
a) Websters Collegiate Dictionary- tenth edition, p. 762.
b) Websters New World Dictionary for Young Readers, p. 481
c) Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary- online.

Bibliography
Websters Collegiate Dictionary- tenth edition.
Websters New World Dictionary for Young Readers.
Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary- online.
Cambridge Grammar of English by Ronald carter, McCarthy: Cambridge University Press.

Practical English Usage by Michael Swan: NEW EDITION: Oxford University Press.
Checking Understanding by Steve Dam and Ian White, Izmir University of Economics,
Turkey- Article published 8th June 2006.