Engish Future Forms: Round-Up

Here is a round up of how future actions can be expressed in English. There are five ways of talking about predictions, two options for intentions, three for arrangements and some other future meanings such as statements of fact, promises, hopes, warnings, timetables and so on.

Use	Form	Example
PREDICTION
predictions based on guesswork, analysis and judgement	Future Simple	He probably won’t be in prison for a long time. The war will definitely be over next month.
prediction with present evidence	be going to	Look at those clouds. It’s going to rain.
prediction of an action in progress	Future Continuous	This time tomorrow we’ll be sitting  in a cafe.
prediction of an action completed by a point in the future	Future Perfect	I’ll have finished the report by 3.30
prediction of an action still ongoing at a point in the future	Future Perfect Continuous	She’ll have been working here  for 25 years next month.
INTENTION
on-the-spot decision	Future Simple	Did you call Peet? I forgot! I’ll do it now.
intention	be going to	They are going to travel together.
ARRANGEMENTS
Arranged events	Present Continuous	We are seeing a musical at the theatre next week.
Events arranged in the past	Future Continuous	We’ll be coming back from London on Sunday
Tactful queries / reasons for rejections	Future Continuous	Will you be eating with us? Sorry, I can’t I will be studying.
OTHER FUTURE MEANINGS
Timetable future	Present Simple	The train arrives at 5.55 pm
Routine events	Future Continuous	We’ll be having our weekly meeting tomorrow. So I’ll present your report.
Statements of fact /	Future Simple	Next week I’ll be 21.
Promises / Hopes	Future Simple	I’ll call you as soon as I get to the hotel. I hope you’ll be OK.
Warnings / Threats	Future Simple	If you don’t revise, you’ll fail your exam. If you fail the exam, you’ll be punished.
Requests / Offers	Future Simple	Will you give me a hand with this? You look tired. I’ll help you with this.
In time clauses	Present Simple	He’ll stay until you get here.
FUTURE EXPRESSIONS
official arrangements	be to	The President is to hold an official reception for the visitors.
timetables	be due to	The train is due to arrive at 5.30, but it may be delayed.
immediate future	be about to be on the point / verge of	Come on! The check-in desk is just about to close.
probability / certainty	be (un)likely to be sure / bound / certain to	The payment is likely to take ten days.

Source:
1. M Foley, D. Hall. Advanced Learner's Grammar. Pearson Education Limited.

CAE Writing: Grammatical Structures to Use

One of  the four criteria on which your CAE writing papers are going to be assessed is Language. Not only does it evaluate how accurate you are (that is if there are any mistakes in the texts) but also, and it's even more important, how wide the range of  your vocabulary and grammar is. Accuracy and vocabulary range are topics for further posts. What I am going to talk about today is how you can be successful in showing a rich enough range of grammatical structures in your CAE writing papers.

Having studied loads of materials for CAE preparation including such coursebooks as CAE Gold, CAE Objective, Complete CAE and CAE Result, I can say that there is a certain number of grammatical structures which are considered to be sophisticated enough for the advanced level writing. What it means is that you are very likely to get a high score for your range of grammar if you make a good use of these structure.

Here they are

1. Emphasis with Inversion

This is when we use inverted word order  AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT (generally characteristic of questions) in affirmative sentences to make them sound more emphatic.

You can use inversion after certain 'negative' expression at the beginning of the sentence:
- never / rarely / seldom / never before /
- not until /  not since / not for one minute / not even once / at no time
- on no account / under no circumstances/ in no way / on no occasion
- only when / only if / only in this way / only then / only after
- little
- not only ... but also
- scarcely / hardly / barely ...when
- no sooner ....than

Here are some example sentences with the inversion:
Never before had I seen such a professional performance.
Not until it was too late did they see the sign.
Under no circumstances should you let children play with fire.
Little did he realise that he was being watched.
Scarcely had she got home when the phone rang.

You can also use inversion in conditional sentences, which is very common in formal pieces of writing such as a letter of complaint or apology. What we do is omit 'if' and change the places of the subject and the predicate.

Should  I receive no satisfaction, I will be forced to take matters a step further.
Had he known, he would have made arrangements. 

You can find a good presentation on Inversion here

2. Cleft Sentences

This is certain structures that help us emphasise a particular part of a sentence.

- IT IS / WAS + SUBJECT / OBJECT + [THAT / WHO ...]
It is the principal who is responsible for the school budget.
It is for the school budget that the principal is responsible.

- WHAT + SUBJECT + VERB + INFINITIVE

What we need is to address the road congestion issue.

- ALL / THE LAST THING + SUBJECT + VERB + IS / WAS

The last thing people want is encroaching on the suburbs.

3. Participial Clauses

They may be used for the following reasons:

- to link two events in time
- to provide a reason
- instead of a conditional construction.

Opening the door, I saw ... (= when I opened the door...)
Being the richest of us, she paid the bill (= because she was the richest...)
Eaten in small quantities, chocolate is good for our health (= if you eat it in small quantities...)

4. Relative Clauses

Be sure you know how to use both identifying and non-identifying relative clauses.

The person to whom the letter is addressed lives is Moscow.
The roads in the inner city are heavily congested, which is why it may take hours to get to your workplace.

5. Comparative Structures (Double Comparatives / All the More)

The more absurd it appeared, the more appealing it became. 
The lack of any programme for changing the industry is all the more striking given the obstacles that the likes of John Davis persistently put in their way.

CAE 2015: Speaking : Part II

Part II of the CAE speaking test is an individual "long turn" for each candidate with a brief response from the other candidate. In turn, each candidate is given a set of three pictures (together with two written prompts in the form of direct questions) and has to talk about two of the pictures for a minute. After this, their partner will be asked a question related to the task as well. 

The part lasts  4 minutes in total: 1 minute for each candidate's individual speaking plus 30 seconds for the second candidate's response. 

The focus is on organising a larger unit of discourse: comparing, describing, expressing opinions and speculating. 

 In this speaking task it is not enough to merely describe what you see in the pictures. The candidates are supposed to compare two of the pictures, express their opinion and, most importantly, speculate. That's why it's essential to learn speculative vocabulary (may, might, must, could, might have, probably etc.) and practise guessing more than you see in the pictures.

The following questions might be useful to answer when workin with pictures.

- Who do you think the people in the pictures are? What are their relationships?

- What might they be talking about?

- What do you think could have happened just before the scene? Why?

- What do you think might happen next? Why?

The other thing which is absolutely vital for the task is organising and linking ideas. You will need to learn and practise a wide range of linking words and cohesive devices that help you move from one idea to the next one. 

Note: don't overestimate formal linkers which are more suitable for writing. Make a good use of simple linking words that sound natural in speaking.

 

CAE Content and Structure

Paper I. Reading and Use of English 

 

Состоит из 8 заданий и содержит 56 вопросов.

Время выполнения всех заданий - 1 час 30 мин.

Задание 1.  Текст с пропусками и вариантами ответа (multiple-choice cloze). В тексте сделано 8 пропусков. Для заполнения каждого пропуска предлагается 4 варианта ответа.

Задание 2.  Текст с пропусками без вариантов ответа (open cloze). Текст также как и в предыдущем задании содержит 8 пробелов, но вариантов ответа не предлагается.

Задание 3. Словообразование (word formation). Представлен текст с 8 пропусками, для заполнения которых необходимо изменить грамматическую форму слов, расположенных рядом с текстом.

Задание 4. Перифраз с использование ключевого слова (key-word transformation). 

Представлены 6 пар предложений. Предложения в каждой паре имеют одинаковое значение. Во втором предложении каждой пары сделан пробел. Необходимо заполнить пробел, используя от 3 до 6 слов, включая предложенное ключевое слово.

Задание 5. Текст с последующими вопросами и вариантами ответа (multiple choice). Представлен текст и 6 вопросов на его понимание. Для каждого вопроса предлагается 4 варианта ответа.

Задание 6. Соотнесение информации четырех коротких текстов (cross-text multiple matching). Представлены четыре текста и четыре вопроса на сравнение идей текстов. Например:  в каком из текстов автор выражает мнение по такому-то вопросу, противоположное мнению, представленному в тексте В.

Задание 7. Восстановление текста с выпущенными параграфами (gapped text). Из текста вырезаны 6 параграфов. Они представлены под текстом не по порядку. Необходимо определить в какой пробел вставить каждый параграф. 

Задание 8. Соотнесение высказываний с текстами (частями текста) (multiple matching). Представлены 10 высказываний и несколько коротких текстов (один текст, разделенный на части). Необходимо соотнести каждое высказывание с частью текста.

Paper II. Writing 

 

Состоит из двух заданий, одно из которых безвариантно, а второе предлагает выбор из трех вариантов. Обе работы оцениваются равным количеством баллов. 

Время на написание обоих заданий - 1 час 30 мин.

Задание 1. Сочинение. Предлагается написать сочинение на основе двух идей, представленных в сопровождающем тексте. Необходимо объяснить какая идея является приоритетной и почему. 

Длина текста: 220-260 слов.

Задание 2. На выбор одно задание из 3. Могут быть предложены:

- письмо (официальное или личное);

- отзыв (на книгу, фильм и т.д.);

- отчет;

- предложение.

Длина текста: 220-260 слов. 

Paper III. Listening

Состоит из 4 заданий и содержит 30 вопросов.

Примерное время на выполнение 40 мин.

Задание 1. Множественный выбор (multiple choice). Для прослушивания предлагается 3 не связанных друг с другом текста. К каждому тексту - по 2 вопроса с вариантами ответа. 

Задание 2. Закончить предложения (complete tsentences). Для прослушивания - трехминутный монолог. Задача - закончить 8 незавершенных предложений, используя информацию из текста.

Задание 3. Множественный выбор (multiple choice). Для прослушивания - разговор двух или более людей, длящийся примерно 4 минуты. Задача - ответить на 6 вопросов, к каждому из которых предложено 4 варианта ответа.

Задание 4. Соотнесение высказываний с текстами (multiple matching). Для прослушивания - 5 коротких монологов на одну тему, каждый примерно 30 сек. К каждому тексту нужно подобрать по одному подходящему варианту ответа из двух 8-вариантных списков.

Paper IV. Speaking

Состоит из 4 заданий.

Примерное время на все задания - 15 мин.

Задание 1. Интервью - 2 мин. 

Задание 2. Карточка с индивидуальным заданием - 4 мин. 

Задание 3. Обсуждение в паре и принятие решения - 4 мин. 

Задание 4. Высказывание собственного мнения по вопросам, связанным с темой третьего задания (5 минут).

CAE 2015: Speaking: Part I

Part I of the CAE speaking test is a short conversation between the examiner and each candidate individually. It lasts 2 minutes and the focus is on general social and interactional language. In the table below are some typical questions that you might be asked in this part of the exam.

Topics	Possible questions
Introductory questions	Where are you from? What do you do here?
Daily life	What’s your favourite time of day / time of year? What do you like to do at weekends? What do you do to relax? Do you prefer to follow a routine or do you like to do something different every day?
Past Experiences	Who do you think has had the most influence on your life so far? Why? Where is the most interesting place you have ever travelled to? What’s your happiest childhood memory / memory of school? What do you remember about your first school? Who is the best teacher you’ve ever had? What were the most useful things you learned at school? What were your favorite subjects? How has your life changed in the last year?
Studying languages / Learning	How long have you been learning English? Have you always been interested in languages? What do you most enjoy about learning English? If you had the opportunity to learn something new, what would you choose? What do you enjoy learning? Do you find it useful that you can speak English when you travel? Why?
Holidays / Travel	What kinds of holiday appeal to you most? Why? Which country would you most like to visit? Why? Would you prefer to spend your holidays with your family or your friends? What would you prefer: relaxing or adventurous holidays? Would you like to work in the travel industry? Why? What things do you most enjoy doing when travelling on holiday? Would you enjoy going on an adventurous, possibly dangerous journey? Why (not)? If you could choose something completely different from your usual type of holiday, what would it be?
Plans / ambitions	What would you like to be doing in five years time? What do you hope to be doing this time next year? How might you use your english in the future? Would you consider living abroad permanently? Are you someone who likes to plan for the future or do you prefer to let things happen?
Friends	What do you most enjoy doing with your friends? Have you ever had the opportunity to really help your friend? How? Tell me about a friend of yours and how you got to know him or her. How necessary is it to have good friends? How do you usually communicate with your friends?
Leisure / Entertainment	What are your main interests and leisure time activities? What types of TV programmes do you think are worth watching? What kinds of music do you like listening to? How important are sport and exercise in your life? Do you think having  a lot of free time is a good or bad thing?
Hometown / Home Country	What is the best way for visitors of your country to make friends? What part(s) of your country would you recommend to tourists? Why What’s the best time of year for people to visit your country? If sorne friends from abroad were visiting your region, which places would you take them to see? Why?
Jobs / Work	What’s your ideal job? What’s more important money or health?