COSTIN – VALENTIN OANCEA

ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY
WORKBOOK

Ovidius University Press

Constanţa, 2017
2
 COSTIN – VALENTIN OANCEA

ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY
WORKBOOK

Referenţi Ştiinţifici:
3
Prof. univ. dr. Diana Hornoiu
Conf. univ. dr. Camelia Bejan

Pe copertă:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Jean drawing, 1901.

CONTENTS

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PART ONE: NOMINAL CATEGORIES

1. Number 11
2. Gender 21
3. Case 27
3.1. Genitive Case 27
3.2. Thematic roles 30
4. Determiners 33

PART TWO: VERBAL CATEGORIES

The Indicative Mood

5. Present Simple and Present Progressive 43
6. Past Time 49
7. Present Perfect 55
8. Future Time 61

The Subjunctive Mood

9. The Subjunctive 69

Modality
10. Modal verbs 77

REVISION: tense and aspect 81

Glossary 89
Bibliography 93

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Preface

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This workbook is designed for students who study Contemporary English
Language (English Morphology) and also for those who want to study and
improve their English. As the title indicates, this workbook is for advanced
students studying English Morphology.
The workbook is divided into two parts. Part One: Nominal Categories
consists of four chapters (number, gender, case, determiners) which deal with
the noun. Part Two: Verbal Categories contains six chapters (present tense, past
tense, present perfect, the future, the subjunctive, modal verbs) which focus on
the verb.
Each chapter has different types of exercises: fill in the gaps, provide the
plural/singular form, rephrase, underline the correct form, translations, etc.,
meant to develop proficiency in various aspects of the language. At the end of
the workbook you will find a glossary of linguistic terms to help you understand
different concepts, as well as the key to the exercises.
I hope that you find the exercises stimulating and you will use the
workbook to improve your proficiency in English.

Good luck to all of you!

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8
 To the memory of my grandparents,

We will never forget, and you will never be forgotten...

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PART ONE: NOMINAL CATEGORIES

10
 1. NUMBER

1. Supply the plural form for each of the following nouns and group them
according to the type of plural (zero plural, -en plural, plural by ablaut, plural
by voicing, etc.):

cat; fish; species; louse; ox; brother; foot; people; worker; man; wife; deer; bird;
mouse; child; book; knife; witch; goose; boy; country; volcano; potato; mouth;
life; tooth; sheep; shelf; mosquito; echo; radio; spy; bus; box.

2. Underline the most suitable noun in each sentence. State the type of noun
(common noun, collective noun, quasi-count noun, pluralia tantum noun, etc.)
and comment on the agreement with the verb:

a) Not a great deal of studies/experiments/research has been done in this field.

b) They have such a terrible storms/weather/temperatures.
c) On what ground/grounds is your complaint based?
d) Do you have any mean/means of identification?
e) The police are investigating a serie/series of attacks in this area.
f) Their headquarter/headquarters is downtown.
g) Palaeontologists have discovered a new specie/species of dinosaurs.
h) These cattle/cattles are from Joe’s farm.
i) Roger, you are on the gallow/gallows and Clint Eastwood is not around to
shoot through the rope.
j) Mump/mumps vaccination is imperative for patients approaching adolescence
or adulthood.

3. Draw a table and divide the following nouns into sortals and non-sortals:

carrot; book; time; sugar; milk; pen; cherry; chair; meat; butter; pencil; bread;
apricot; friend; finger; flour; apple; cousin; oil; salt; house; dog; cheese; tea;
people; game; rice; tomato; cream; honey; gold; cat; iron; car; ice; corpora;
bacteria.

4. Rewrite each sentence using the word in capitals. Do not change the meaning
of the sentence. The first one has been done for you:
11
a) I think you should tell Mary what to do. ADVICE
You should give Mary a piece of advice.
b) John doesn’t know where his spectacles are. WHERE
...........................................................................................
c) There isn’t a lot of wine left for the party. MUCH
...........................................................................................
d) What was the price of John’s new bicycle? MUCH
...........................................................................................
e) After so much treatment he hasn’t got much hair left. LITTLE
...........................................................................................
f) Could you go and buy some bread? LOAF
...........................................................................................
g) Ian knows a lot of Swedish. KNOWLEDGE
...........................................................................................
h) I will need some information to fill in this form correctly. PIECES
...........................................................................................
i) I am glad to see she is recovering so fast. HEALTH
...........................................................................................
j) This factory needs some new machines in order to speed up productivity.
MACHINERY
...........................................................................................

5. Use “How much” or “How many” in the sentences below and account for
your choice:

a) .....................cheese did you buy?

b) .....................books are on the shelf?
c) .....................movies did John see yesterday?
d) .....................uncles does Tom have?
e) .....................salt do you need?
f) ......................potatoes are in the bag?
g) .....................meat do you need?
h) .....................milk did you drink?
i) ......................money do you earn?
j) ......................oranges are on the table?

6. Complete each sentence with the determiners a/an, some or leave the space
blank. Explain your choice:

12
a) Harry accelerated seeing ............crossroads ahead.
b) There is...........book on the table.
c) I can’t go out with you tonight. I have...............homework to do.
d) My sister found................money.
e) There is............orange on the table.
f) Allow me to give you..............advice.
g) You need...............luck to win this bet.
h) I can’t possibly fit this violin into...............suitcase.
i) I definitely need................furniture in this room.
j) I really ought to do.................housework.
k) I bought............apple and..............milk.

7. Provide the plural form for the following nouns of foreign origin. Pay
attention that some nouns have two plural forms:

alumnus; fungus; corpus; formula; medium; bacterium; stratum; index; matrix;

analysis; crisis; hypothesis; thesis; diagnosis; criterion; phenomenon; plateau;
bureau; virtuoso; solo; curriculum; datum; genius; codex.

Latin Origin Greek Origin Italian Origin French Origin

8. Fill in each gap using is, are, has, have, and then explain your choice:

a) Today’s youth............better-off than our parents used to be.

b) The committee...............decided that it will postpone its decision.
c) A coalition government..............now going to be established.
d) Measles..............extremely contagious.
e) Dominos............becoming more and more popular among adolescents.
f) You have to admit that the odds..............against us.
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g) The acoustics of this hall............impressed us all.
h) Governments in all countries.............trying to control the financial crisis.
i) The committee............decided that they will postpone their decision.
j) Acoustics...........the study of sounds.
k) Sociolinguistics........developed significantly.
l) Company politics............frequently vicious.

9. Complete each sentence with one suitable partitive from the list below. The
same partitive can be used more than once. The first one has been done for you:

bar, blade, clap, cube, dollop, flight, grain, head, hunk, item, loaf, lump, piece,
pinch, rasher, set, sheet, shred, slice, speck, squeeze, wad.

a) Let me give you a piece of advice.

b) There is not a.................of evidence to support your theory.
c) I was reading an interesting................of news in the paper.
d) A.................of stairs takes you to the top of the house.
e) Could you give another...............of paper?
f) Put another..................of coal on the fire.
g) Emma has a lovely...............of hair.
h) John wants another...................of toast.
i) I always wanted a...............of cutlery, so my husband bought me one.
j) There was not a single..............of grass left standing.
k) I think there is a..................of truth in what you said.
l) The lightning was followed by a..................of thunder.
m) I’ve got one or two useful..................of information to pass on to you.
n) Peter fried himself two eggs and a.................of bacon.
o) Mary saw her brother trying to press a.................of cash into his pocket.
p) I would like to buy a small..............of bread.
q) He cut off a.................of meat and handed it to the young lady.
r) You have to know that a.................of chocolate is loaded with fat.
s) She brushed a...................of dust from her jacket.
t) My mother put a..................of honey on the bread and spread it around with a
knife.
u) After you fry the fish you should add a................of lemon.
v) Just add a................of salt and the stew is ready.
x) There was not a single.............of soap in his bathroom.
y) Mary dropped a...............of sugar into her coffee and stirred it with a spoon.
z) This is smaller than a..................of rice.

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10. Choose a suitable noun that fits in each space. Take into account the
recategorization of nouns:

1. wine/wines
a)...................is healthy if you drink it in small quantities.
b) Four.................were served at dinner. They were dry..................... .
2. cheese/cheeses
a) It’s easy to make a fresh milk.....................at home.
b) It won’t be long before....................such as these become rarities.

3. coffee/coffees
a) The room smelt of stale sweat and strong....................
b) A variety of gourmet......................are on sale.

4. grass/grasses
a) All....................need light to grow well.
b) She enjoyed the feel of......................beneath her feet.

5. metal/metals
a) They traded gold and other precious...................... .
b) The gate is made of.................. .

6. fashion/fashions
a) Fur coats were considered to be the height of.......................and sophistication.
b) I always find it hard to keep up with the latest......................

7. tea/teas
a) I’d like two..................and a piece of chocolate cake, please.
b) We stopped for a.................on our way home.

11. Underline the correct word in each space and comment on the difference in
meaning between the two nouns:

a) All students must pass their paper/papers to the front.

b) We went to Paris but we couldn’t find cheap accommodations /
accommodation.
c) I went to the bookshop and bought a copy of the complete work/works of Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle.
d) Mark didn’t know that all the areas of the skin are covered in tiny hairs/hair.
e) Russia and Spain have different weather/weathers.

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f) I would like to order fried chickens/chicken.
g) Donald Trump is a billionaire and owns a lot of businesses/business.
h) They are looking for diamond/diamonds.
i) The tent was made of nylons/nylon.
j) John had written a poem about Emily, praising her charm and beauty/beauties.

12. Translate the following sentences into English:

a) Am vizitat Olanda anul trecut şi am rămas plăcut impresionat.

...........................................................................................

b) Sue a fost trimisă să studieze la Haga, unde a primit o educaţie excelentă.

...........................................................................................

c) Dacă nu poţi să desfaci nodul, taie aţa cu foarfecele.

...........................................................................................

d) Aş vrea să cumpăr nişte fructe. Strugurii aceia par proaspeţi.

...........................................................................................

e) Îmi plac pantalonii tăi. De unde i-ai cumpărat?

...........................................................................................

f) Consiliul local a fost de acord să repare drumul din faţa casei noastre.
...........................................................................................

g) Am nevoie de câteva informaţii despre această universitate.

...........................................................................................

h) Pojarul este o boală contagioasă aşa că ai grijă.

...........................................................................................

i) În acest lac trăiesc patru specii de crap.

...........................................................................................

j) Praful de puşcă a fost inventat de chinezi iar tiparul de Gutenberg.

...........................................................................................

k) Regatul Unit cuprinde următoarele ţări: Anglia, Scoţia, Ţara Galilor şi Irlanda
de Nord.

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...........................................................................................

l) Preşedintele Statelor Unite ale Americii este Barack Obama iar preşedintele
Franţei este Francois Hollande.
...........................................................................................

13. Fill in the gaps using the indefinite determiners some, any, the determiners
a(n), the, the quantifier a lot of, or ‘-‘:

a) I need...................information about this man.

b) Is there..............pizza left?
c) The tree was struck by.................lightning.
d) What’s.................weather like tomorrow? Can we go ..................fishing?
e) I want to buy...................cucumbers.
f) I’m exhausted. I’ve just done....................shopping.
g) I can’t go out and play. I still have...............homework to do.
h) I’ve just received..................letter from my girlfriend.
i) Mary has.........................work these days.
j) I was wondering if you could give me................advice.
k) You need................permission to park here.
l) I haven’t got................money so I can’t pay the rent.
m) Would you like.............fries with that shake?
n) Charles is................professor of Linguistics at...............university in New
York.
o) Pierce has.................information I need.

14. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. Pay attention to the nouns:

Economics (be)..................a difficult science but if you study hard you will
understand it. Recent studies (show).....................that the majority of students
study economics or something related to economics at university. It is also
revealed that mathematics (be)....................a subject which is studied more by
boys than by girls, as (be)....................engineering. Politics (play)................ an
important part in people’s lives and nowadays everybody thinks he/she
(be)...................a politician. Good manners (be)............... declining and not only
boys but also girls are extremely rude.

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15. Complete column B with a suitable word. Comment on the difference in
meaning. The first one has been done for you:

A (countable) B (mass)

pig pork
sheep ...............
calf ...............
deer ...............
cow ...............

16. Correct any errors in the sentences below. Explain your choice. Some
sentences are error-free:

a) Your reading glasses is on the table.

b) Negros used to be sold as slaves.
c) I have a great deal of experiences in dealing with a problem like this.
d) Did Mozart has an unhappy childhood?
e) I can’t say that statistics are a subject I’ve eve been interested in.
f) The kitchen scales is on the table.
g) That’s a very good idea. I totally agree.
h) This pair of trousers are dirty.
i) The scissors in the sewing box needs sharpening.
j) After interesting trip to London and Cambridge he wanted to live in England.
k) Can you explain why my trousers look like this?
l) Measles are very dangerous especially for a pregnant woman.

17. Some of the following sentences contain mistakes. Spot the mistakes, explain
your choice, and rewrite the sentences in correct English. Some sentences are
error-free:

a) The informations that I received were extremely useful.

b) She didn’t follow the doctor’s advices and now she is ill.
c) We had loads of work to do so that’s why I missed the party.
d) I love chocolate; I eat it all the time.
e) The sports centre has got some new equipments.
f) The wines of California are now of similar quality to many from France.
g) I love to go to the market and buy fruits.
h) There are three sheeps grazing in the distance.
i) Don’t forget that we have to put the rubbishes out today.

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18. Supply the plural form of the following compound nouns:

attorney general - .......................................

court martial - ............................................
notary public - ...........................................
grown-up - .................................................
gin-and-tonic - ...........................................
breakdown - ...............................................
standby - ....................................................
father-in-law - ...........................................
poet laureate - .......................................
summing-up - ............................................
looker-on - .................................................
toothpick - .................................................
cover-up - ..................................................
stepchild - ..................................................
consul general - .........................................

19. Use the following pluralia tantum nouns in sentences of your own to
illustrate their meaning. Pay attention that some nouns display mass noun
properties and some count properties:

mumps, skittles, phonetics, shingles, ninepins, binoculars, genetics, tantrums,

draughts, tongs, overalls, shears, pouts, bowls, electronics, spectacles, shivers,
ethics, dominoes, darts, dumps, tweezers, tonsillitis.

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 2. GENDER

1. Supply the feminine counterpart for each of the following nouns:

bridegroom - ...............................
duke - ..........................................
emperor - ....................................
god - ...........................................
hero - ..........................................
host - ..........................................
steward - .....................................
waiter - .......................................
widower - ..................................
lad - ...........................................
uncle - ........................................

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nephew - ....................................
lord - ..........................................
actor - ........................................
monk - .......................................
wizard - .....................................
bachelor - ..................................
friar - .........................................

What about?

inspector - ..................................
manager - ...................................
poet - ..........................................
nurse - ........................................

2. Supply the masculine counterpart for each of the following nouns that denote
higher animals:

doe - ...............................
hen - ...............................
bitch - .............................
goose - ............................
mare - .............................
ewe - ...............................
vixen - ............................
sow - ...............................
duck - ..............................
tabby-cat - .......................
jenny-ass - .......................

3. The category of gender is also marked on 3rd person pronouns. Replace the X
in the following sentences by either who or which, Y by either he, she or it, and
Z by either his, her, its or their. If two (or more) answers are possible give them
both (all):

a) I know a doctor X could help you. Y is very kind.

b) Mary has a neighbour X could help you. Y is Scottish.
c) I have a niece who could give you a hand, but I’m afraid Y is rather a bore.

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d) My neighbour, X is an expert on such matters, will tell you, but Y is out at the
moment.
e) The Committee, X meets every Tuesday, has not yet made up Z mind.
f) A ship is classed according to Z tonnage.
g) The bride was not pretty nor was Y very young.
h) They asked me to send them to the author if I should know who Y was.
i) The teacher praised Z students.
j) Japan, X was isolated from the rest of the world for nearly three hundred years,
has now taken Z place as a member of the world community.
k) The majority, X are in favour of the new measures, want to make Z voices
heard.
l) The poor bitch, with Z five puppies, lay shivering in the corner. Y showed no
inclination to move.
m) The baby, X had fallen out of the perambulator, continued to scream as
loudly as Y could.
n) The family, X were seriously worried, met to discuss the scandal. Y decided
to try to hush it up.
o) The group X dominated society then was the family. Y continued to do so for
centuries.
p) The Committee, X are very sympathetic, are giving the matter Z careful
consideration.

4. Discuss what each of the following nouns show concerning the formal
expression of gender in nouns:

e.g. George/ Georgina

Answer: separate words for masculine/feminine, but also derivationally related
(i.e. from George we get Georgina, by means of suffixation).

1. count/ countess
2. dog/bitch
3. male nurse
4. king/queen
5. assistant

5. Some of the following sentences contain mistakes. Spot the mistakes and
rewrite the sentences in correct English. Some sentences are error-free:

a) The cheetah, who is a member of the feline family, runs very fast.
b) Is he a big eater, your dog?

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c) The audience is asked to take its seats.
d) The woman which lives next door is a teacher.
e) Every child loves its mother.
f) There’s a beautiful cat in the street; she looks lost.
g) That’s the view of Rebecca Thorne, chairman of the Institute of Linguistics.

6. For each of the following nouns denoting animals (higher animals and lower
animals), supply the appropriate gender marker to make explicit the masculine –
feminine distinction:

a) frog –
b) goat –
c) otter –
d) pheasant –
e) wasp –
f) pigeon –
g) bear –
h) hare –
i) horse –
j) turkey –
7. Read the nouns (they are all feminine) from the box below. Use the masculine
counterpart to fill in the gaps:

hostess; witch; jenny-ass; sow; spinster; lioness;

stewardess; bee-queen; empress; ewe; czarina; nun.

a) Our......................this week is Peter Ackroyd who will talk about his recent
book “The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein.”

b) A person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons on board a vessel is

called a............................. .

c) A...................develops from eggs that have not been fertilized, and they cannot
sting.

d) The first Russian ruler to openly break with the khan of the Golden Horde,
Mikhail of Tver, assumed the title of “Basileus of Rus” and....................... .

e) Jennifer had a fight with her boyfriend and he called her stupid. What
a............................ .

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f) Tony is getting married tomorrow and tonight is his............................party.

g) George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British
Commonwealth from11 December 1936 until his death. He was the
last.............................of India, and the first Head of the Commonwealth.

h) John, Michael and Peter went hunting and they managed to hunt a ................. .

i) A..................differs from a monk in that he is called to live the evangelical

counsels (vows of poverty, chastity and obedience).

j) Harry Potter is nowadays considered to be the most famous............................in

the world.

k) Everybody knows that the...............................is the king of the jungle.

l) Sheep follow a similar reproductive strategy to other herd animals. A group of

ewes is generally mated by a single........................, who has either been chosen
by a breeder or has established dominance through physical contest with
other......................... .

8. Read each sentence carefully and then fill in the gaps with an appropriate
noun that fits the context:

a) Peter’s brother is a police officer and his...................a teacher.

b) My aunt has a wonderful sense of humour and my.......................is serious.
c) My mother’s brother and sister have never married. He’s still
a..........................and she’s a....................... .
d) There is only one bull in the field, but there are dozens of........................ .
e) The rooster crows at dawn and wakes up all the..................... .
f) Brad Pitt is an actor and his wife, Angelina Jolie is an.......................... .
g) I enjoy being an aunt. I have two...................and three nephews.
h) Jane is the bride and Jonathan is the.......................... .
i) It is said that a widow often manages much better on her own that
a............................. .
j) The mare is in a separate stable from the..................... .

9. Supply the correct personal pronouns in the following sentences:

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a) Suzanne is a famous professor. ................ teaches Art at Cambridge.
b) My lawyer told me that..................would let me know when the trial starts.
c) Our visitor left...............book on the table as...................left in a hurry.
d) Did you know that Rembrandt lived with.................parents until he was forty?
e) The owner of the restaurant told us that.................is Italian.
f) Mrs Wellman, our Spanish teacher, really knows................... grammar.
g) The student went to the Dean’s office to collect......................diploma.
h) That English writer is famous for....................last novel.
i) The President of the United States of America is in Japan and next
week.................is going to China.
j) The British Prime Minister got elected again, because of..............popularity.

10. Comment on the following sentences containing nouns denoting higher

organisms:

a) The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage; she hit an iceberg.

b) I bought a new car. She’s a beauty.
c) France called on her allies to help fight the invasion.
d) Romania have improved their chances of winning the match.
e. Looking at the map we see Italy here. It is one of the most beautiful countries
in Europe.

11. List the feminine nouns in the second column and the dual nouns in the third
column so as to correspond to the masculine nouns listed in the first column:

MASCULINE FEMININE DUAL

Stallion mare horse
Rooster ............................ ............................
Hog ............................ ............................
He-bear ............................ ............................
Buck ............................ ............................
Hound ............................ ............................
Gander ............................ ............................
Stag ............................ ............................

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 Pigeon-cock ............................ ............................
Fox ............................ ............................
Drone ............................ ............................
Ram ............................ ............................

3. CASE

3.1. THE GENITIVE CASE

1. Write the possessive form (i.e. the inflected genitive or the periphrastic
genitive) which could be related to the following sentences. If two forms are
possible, give them both. The first one had been done as an example:

Model: John has a brother → John’s brother (inflected genitive)

The book has pictures → The pictures of the book (periphrastic genitive)

a) Michael has a sister.

b) Shakespeare wrote plays.
c) The cow gives milk.
d) Keats wrote poetry.
e) The captain made a mistake.
f) The ship has a siren.
g) The school has a history.
h) The world has problems.
i) Europe has art treasures.
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j) The holiday lasted a month.
k) My sister-in-law has a house.
l) My parents gave their consent.
m) The woman over there has a name.
n) This notebook has pages.
o) The magazine has been published this evening.
p) The work took a year.
q) I thought Charles told you to give me his address.

2. Rewrite these sentences using the inflected genitive:

Model: This ball is for a boy → This is a boy’s ball

a) This pen belongs to the professor.

b) Mary described the career of the actor.
c) This is a job for a nurse.
d) These books belong to the children.
e) This is a pub for men.
f) It’s a school for girls.
g) This coat belongs to James.
h) This is the library for residents.

3. Rewrite the following sentences using the inflected genitive:

a) The skirts of the women are black.

The women’s skirts are black.
b) The tail of the horse is not short.
.....................................................................................
c) The offices of the doctors are not interesting.
.....................................................................................
d) The toys of the babies are funny.
.....................................................................................
e) The hat of Mrs. Smith is yellow.
.....................................................................................
f) The books of the students are new.
.....................................................................................
g) The dress of my sister is old.
.....................................................................................
h) The leg of the chair is broken.

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....................................................................................

4. Use the inflected genitive where possible. Explain your choice. Follow the
model:

Model: a delay of an hour → an hour’s delay

a) the edge of the water →

b) an absence of a year →
c) the shade of the tree →
d) at the end of his journey →
e) the entrance of the hotel →
f) the MIT Linguistics Department →
g) the total solid weight of the brain →
h) the philosophy of language →
i) the surface of the Moon →

5. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word in bold. Do not alter the word in bold in any way:

a) There were a lot of survivors and most of them were in pain. majority
There were a lot of survivors,[RC the majority of whom were in pain].

Comment: the relative clause is introduced by a genitive construction

b) We are holding a meeting to acquaint the public with the facts. purpose
We are holding a meeting ................................................ to acquaint the public
with the facts.

c) When the fire spread, the theatre was cleared. point

The fire spread, ................................................the theatre was cleared.

d) You can borrow up to five books at any one time from the library. taken
There is a library, from............................................at any one time.

e) Although the robbery was seen by numerous people, they were unable to
identify the two men. witnessed
None who...................................................to identify the two men.

28
6. Explain the difference between the local genitive, the group genitive, the
elliptic genitive and the implicit genitive. Mention their uses and provide
relevant examples:

..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................
3.2. THEMATIC ROLES

7. Identify the thematic roles of the nouns in the sentences below. The first one
has been done for you:

a) The boy hit the window with a stick.

AGENT PATIENT INSTRUMENT

b) Mary sold the book to her friend.

c) He bought a book for Mary.
d) Anne admires the landscape.
e) He gave a tip to the waiter.
f) The lion killed the deer.
g) He bought a book.
h) The dog frightened the children.
i) Tim rolled the ball towards the fence.
j) Boys love adventure.

8. For each of the following sentences indicate the syntactic pattern (i.e. SV,
SVA, SVC, SVO, SVOO, SVOC, SVOA) and then specify the thematic roles of the
verb’s arguments. The first is shown as an example:

a) He opened the window. (SVO) [subject-verb-object]

AGENT PATIENT

b) The girl sold flowers to George.

29
c) Charlotte is writing a letter to John.
d) Judith hit Vanessa.
e) A falling rock hit Emily.
f) George accidentally broke the glass.
g) The window opened.
h) He left before the end of the lecture.
i) Alan loves Joanne.
j) The kitchen smells of onions.
k) The glass shattered.
l) The wind shattered the glass.
m) He removed the book from the shelf.
n) The arrow hit the apple.

9. Indicate the thematic role for each of the nouns/noun phrases underlined:

a) The path is swarming with ants.

b) He moved the stone.
c) The avalanche destroyed several houses.
d) John hit Tom.
e) John sold the book to Mary.
f) He surprised me with his theory.
g) Mary saw the monster.
h) This key will open the door.
i) She was lying on the grass.
j) They got news from home.
k) The dog chased the cat along the path and through the conservatory.
l) The plane flies to London in an hour.
m) She gave her spare change to the collectors.
n) He went to KFC for some take-away.
o) He did the shopping for his mother.
p) I cooked him dinned.
q) He ran for three miles.
r) The electric shock killed him.
s) The book lies on the table.

10. Identify the thematic roles of the nouns in the sentences below:

a) Jane had been cold all day.

b) The ball rolled towards the foot of the hill.
c) Love stories pleased John.

30
d) Mary bought the book from Christine.
e) Joey liked love stories.
f) John plays football in London.

11. Explain the difference between the following thematic roles:

a) agent and experiencer;

b) beneficiary and recipient;
c) instrument and cause;
d) source and goal.

12. Make sentences according to the pattern indicated:

Model: Agent and patient

John opened the door.

a) Agent and experiencer

b) Patient

c) Agent and theme

d) Agent, theme, goal

e) Location and source

f) Cause and patient

g) Patient and goal

h) Agent, theme, beneficiary

i) Agent, theme, recipient

j) Experiencer and theme

31
 4. DETERMINERS

1. Insert the definite determiner the if necessary:

a) ............white tiger is threatened with extinction.

b) I have never visited...........Netherlands because I don’t like...........Dutch.
c) Do you have..........time?
d) John lives on.............third floor of an old house. When...............wind blows,
all.................windows rattle.
e) In Mexico City.............Aztec past is never far away.
f) ...........violin is my favourite instrument.
g) He was sent to............prison for...........six months..............for shop-lifting.
h) ................. most of ........... stories that ............. people tell about ................
Scottish are not true.
i) When...............Titanic was crossing...............Atlantic she struck an iceberg and
sank.
j) You can fool some of.............people all...........time, and all.............people
some of............time; but you cannot fool all............people all..............time.

2. Insert the indefinite determiner a/an if necessary:

a) My brother is.........English teacher; let’s ask him for........advice about Jane

Austen’s novels.
b) We had............fish and..............chips for............lunch.
c) I have some money so let’s have dinner in...........restaurant.
d) .............friend in need is ...............friend indeed.
32
e) This powerful but simple.............Maya mask was fashioned from jade to be
worn as................ornament on the chest or..............belt.
f) During the 67-year reign of ...........Ramesses II, ............estimated 2½
million...........people lived in Egypt.
g) Use the following words to write .............. letter to ......... friend from .........
Sweden.
h) ............tortoise is ............sort of reptile.
i) .............seagull is ...........large white and grey........bird.
j) ...............happiness is not.............inevitable result of having..............money.

3. Insert a/an, the or leave the space blank:

Unlocking the secrets of Maya society1

In..................mid-20th century..................breakthrough in
...................interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs led to ...................major
reappraisal of...................very nature of Maya society. Earlier scholars thought
that.................. hieroglyphs combined...................picture-image (rebus)
and.................symbol representing..................word or idea (logogram). But in
1952.................Soviet language specialist Yuri Knorosov showed that Maya
hieroglyphs were also phonetic: different signs represented combinations of
vowels and.................consonants and were used to spell out.................words.
Phonetic signs, he argued, were written or carved alongside.....................
logograms. In..................early 20th century, scholars had recognised
that..................inscriptions contained.............. great deal of information
about................ritual calendar and astronomy.

4. Put the determiners a/an or the in each space, or leave the space blank:

a) John pulled the lorry into..........alley only........few blocks from.........open-air

café.
b) Relaxing a little, Bond kept his hand on.........pistol as............Mercedes slid
to.........stop behind.............lorry.
c) Without warning, Isabella turned and sprinted up......... steps of...........nearby
building.
d) At...........end of...........breezeway, she leaped from...... steps to her left and
took cover against the building’s side behind..........line of bushes.

1
This excerpt is taken from Charles Phillips, The lost history of Aztec and Maya, London:
Hermes House, 2007, p.16.
33
e) The judge, whose eyes had gone in..........general direction, recalled them,
leaned back in his seat and looked steadily at.........man whose life was in his
hand, as the attorney-general rose to spin.........rope, grind......... axe, and
hammer..........nails into...........scaffold.
f) It seems that there is...........big coal company which has..............office
in..............old building down in West Street, and in this office is..............safe,
and in this safe.............company payroll of twenty thousand dollars cash money.
g) Last week he hurled..............local blacksmith over..............parapet
into...............stream and it was only by paying over all...........money that I could
gather together that I was able to avert another public exposure.
h) The third night she fastened..............window with.............strong chain and,
with pounding heart, stood guard all be herself holding..............knife.
i) It was...............clever invention of.................diabolical mind. Young Peter was
suffering from some minor skin trouble; he had lived in...............South Sea
Islands, where.................disease is common enough.
j) We shall start with...............simple case. ..............enormous amount of loot had
been stolen from................store. ................criminal (or criminals)
took ...............heist away in...............car. Three well-known criminals A, B, C
were brought to...........Scotland Yard for questioning.
k) War isn’t good. But war is part of...............process of world civilisation. If we
didn’t fight...............wars, people would seldom learn anything
about..............other people. Everyone knows what.............impact..............
Crusades had on...............world at.............time, in food, mathematics and
science. But............few people know that................Chinese were mariners and
explorers and also invented................gunpowder.

5. Fill in the gaps using the determiners a, an, the or zero (-):

In the Kingdom of Osiris2

As head of.............Court of.............Dead and ruler over...................underground

kingdom sits Osiris, ................... “Lord of Eternity”. He was
originally.............fertility god: his face is................green, like...............primeval
mud, out of which all life comes, and like..............Nile, whose inundation
makes................ land fertile, year in, year out. He wears................insignia
of.................power: crown, crook, flail and sceptre, but his body is stiff,
immobile...................wrapped-up, artistically painted mummy. This means that
although he is...................mighty god, Osiris remains a subject to human fate.
2
This excerpt is taken from Rose-Marie Hagen and Rainer Hagen, EGYPT: People – Gods –
Pharaohs, Köln: Taschen, 2005, p. 168.
34
Like his subjects he must also die and..................great hope of mankind is based
on this common destiny. ..................good king Osiris, according
to...................Egyptian legend, was of divine origin and ruled.................land
wisely. However, he had...................hostile brother, Seth, who killed him,
dismembered.....................body and threw it in................ Nile. Isis,
................sister-wife of Osiris, looked for him.
“Sorrowfully she passed through..................land and did not rest until she had
found him.” Anubis joined all 14 parts of................body together and wrapped
them in bandages, thus making.................first mummy. Isis changed herself
into..............female hawk and “produced air with her wings”. Then...............dead
god began to come back to...................life, impregnating Isis with.................son,
Horus, his future heir to.................... throne. And though Osiris was not allowed
to lead his life on.................earth, he became effective again in
..............underworld. He became king of............kingdom of...............dead.
“Now................sadness is at.................. end, ....................laughter has returned”.

6. Complete the article below using the words from the box:
each most half the - these
the these This -

What we found

At.......................tourist attraction we bought a selection of sandwiches and other

food products. Our tests revealed specific food-poisoning bacteria in five
of...................sandwiches. High levels of other general bacteria were also found
in more than..................... of the sandwiches – while...................bacteria don’t
make you ill, they do point to.....................poor hygiene practices.
Five sandwiches contained food-poisoning bacteria at levels that are not
satisfactory according to guidelines. .....................could cause food-poisoning
- .......................children, elderly people and pregnant women are particularly
vulnerable. We’ve informed.......................food outlets and tourist attractions
concerned; ..................(but not all) have taken positive action as a result
of...............disturbing findings.

7. Correct the following sentences:

a) Much of the Belgium is below sea level.

b) Not many of people know much about that writer.

35
c) Harvey asked for an information.
d) The most of people complain about the weather here.
e) A quite few people came to his party.
f) He’s had very much good luck in his life.
g) I’ve been to visit him many the time.
h) We’ve put in good many hours to get this work finished.
i) She was wearing a fine gold chain on every ankle.
j) Ruthless poachers hunt an elephant for the valuable ivory of its tusks.
k) This parrots can live to over 70.
l) We worked all the day. I talked to all the people.

8. Fill each of the gaps with other, another, others or other’s:

Left-handedness is a fascinating phenomenon, unless you are trying to undo a

knot that a left-handed person has tied the....................way round. It is surprising
that left-handers have not protested more about how the physical world has been
constructed around the ‘....................lot’. Though the days have gone when
children were forced to change to the......................way, we still don’t make
enough concessions. Surely lefties should be encouraged to greet
one..................by shaking the...................left hand. Why don’t they always stick
out their left hand anyway and surprise all of us once in a while? I’ve seen some
lefties writing like crabs and producing handwriting from......................planet
I’ve seen...................who produce better writing than any...................person I
know. And..................thing: why don’t left-handed waiters tease us by laying the
table “back to front”? They have as much right as the right-handers.

9. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the
same:

a) Unfortunately, the meal was the same as usual.

Unfortunately the meal was no..........................................

b) All the cakes have been eaten.

The cakes...........................................................................

c) Both jobs were unsuitable for Helen.

Neither...............................................................................

d) All of the shops are closed.

36
None...................................................................................

e) All of us feel lonely sometimes.

We......................................................................................

f) We are all responsible for our own actions.

Each...................................................................................

g) These two pens don’t write properly.

None...................................................................................

h) Love is the only thing that you need.

All......................................................................................

i) This town doesn’t have any good hotels.

There are............................................................................

j) Everyone in the office was given a personal parking space.

Each...................................................................................

10. Write gen. or spec. to indicate whether the noun underlined has generic or
specific reference:

a) There is a pigeon on the roof.

b) The pencil I bought a few days ago has broken already.
c) The pen is mightier than the sword.
d) A cat is a small domestic animal.
e) Cats have been domesticated for centuries.
f) There were cats everywhere.
g) The Chinese work very hard.
h) The Chinese were listening patiently.
i) The Irish love to sing in chorus.
j) The Irishmen were singing lustily.

11. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word given in capitals, and so
that the meaning stays the same. Do not change the word in any way:

a) I only ate a sandwich for lunch. ALL

37
...........................................................................................
b) All the glasses are dirty. NONE
...........................................................................................
c) I read both books but I liked neither of them. EITHER
...........................................................................................
d) This is the only money I have left. ALL
...........................................................................................
e) Both sides of the street have parking meters. EITHER
...........................................................................................
f) There wasn’t anyone at the party. NO
...........................................................................................
g) Whenever I cross the channel by boat I feel seasick. EVERY
...........................................................................................
h) Everyone was cheering loudly. ALL
...........................................................................................
i) Both singers had wonderful voices. NEITHER
...........................................................................................
j) You both deserve a promotion. EACH
...........................................................................................

12. Fill in the gaps using one word from the box. The same word can be used
more than once:

the a this all my us any

“..................fifth trip was quite different from..............of ..................others.

In................first place, .................little gallipot of................boat that we were in
was gravely overloaded. Five grown men, and three of them – Trelawney,
Redruth, and.................captain – over six feet high, was already more than she
was meant to carry. Add to that.................powder, pork, and bread-
bags. ..................gunwale was lipping astern. Several times we
shipped..................little water, and..................... breeches and..................tails
of...................coat were..................soaking wet before we had
gone...............hundred yards. The captain made ...................trim................boat,
and we got her to lie...............little more evenly. ............. the same, we were
afraid to breathe.”3

3
This excerpt is taken from Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, Bucureşti: Prietenii Cărţii,
1995, p.117.
38
13. Choose the best answer (a, b, c, d) to complete the sentences below:

a) I found his commentaries offensive in the..................

a. intense b. most c. extreme d. whole

b) The escaped prisoner is still on the...................

a. free b. liberty c. loose d. open

c) This ward has been reserved for the..................ill.

a. terminally b. deeply c. terribly d. deathly

d) He’s a rumbustious character who always tries to live life to the...................

a. full b. extent c. fun d. end

e) This computer game is really out of the...................

a. normal b. usual c. average d. ordinary

14. Correct the errors in the following sentences. Some sentences are error free:

a) A painting I like best is the one not for the sale.

b) Don’t you work in record shop in Harley Street?
c) I spent very interesting holiday in Spain last summer.
d) A new campaign against the smoking is directed at the young men.
e) Some types of the seagull have red spots on the beak.
f) A man has always struggled with the dichotomy of the security of the
permanence and the quest for the change.
g) There is wonderful scenery in the eastern part of Greece.
h) In the times gone by, the marriage was often a matter of the luck.
i) The leader of the team is usually called captain.
j) At the half-time the both teams seemed in difficulty.
k) There were no drugs in those days.
l) You’ve got some interesting ideas, but have you got a money to back them?
m) It is impossible to live in the world without the hope.
n) I have never known a winter this cold before. So you think you’re that clever,
do you?
o) Some of the information is considered top secret.

15. Fill in the gaps using the words from the box. The same word can be used
more than once:

39
 a this an few the all - any some

“Bond took ............ chair across ........... desk from ............... Governor and sat
down. He said, ‘Good morning, sir,’ and waited. ...............friend
at.................Colonial Office had told him his reception would be frigid. ‘He’s
nearly at retiring age. Only...................interim appointment. We had to
find.................Acting Governor to take over at short notice when Sir Hugh Foot
was promoted. Foot was.................great success. ..................man’s not even
trying to compete. He knows he’s only got..................job for a................months
while we find someone to replace Foot. .................man’s been passed over
for.................. Governor Generalship of Rhodesia. Now...................he wants is to
retire and get.................dictatorship in............ city. ..................last thing he wants
is.................trouble in Jamaica. He keeps on trying to
take...................Strangways case of yours. Won’t like..............you ferreting
about.’ ”4

Background reading:
The following books provide detailed accounts of the nominal categories (i.e. number, gender,
case, determiners) in a comprehensive way:

Baciu, Ileana. 2004. Functional Categories in English. Bucureşti: Editura Universităţii din
Bucureşti.
Crăiniceanu, Ilinca. 2007. Elements of English Morphology. Bucureşti: Editura Fundaţiei
România de Mâine.
Hornoiu, Diana. 2009. An Introduction to English Morphology: Nominal Categories. Constanta:
Ovidius University Press.
Hornoiu, Diana. 2016. Nominal Categories in English. Theory and Practice. Constanta: Ovidius
University Press.
Huddlestone, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leech, Geoffrey et al. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Edinburgh:
Pearson ESL.
Quirk, Randolph and Sydney Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English. Harlow:
Longman Pearson, 1973.
Quirk, Randolph et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Harlow: Longman
Pearson, 1985.

4
This excerpt is taken from Ian Fleming, Doctor No, New York: The New American Library,
1958, p. 45.
40
41
 PART TWO: VERBAL CATEGORIES

The Indicative Mood

5. PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

1. Fill in the gaps using the present simple or present progressive:

a) It always.................(rain) this time of year.

b) It.......................(rain) at the moment.
c) The Sun.................(rise) in the East and.................(set) in the West.
d) They....................(live) in a very nice house in Cornwall.
e) He’s a photographer. He......................(take) lots of photos.
f) I.......................(watch) this programme.
g) Tom always..................(invite) friends here.
h) Look! That man................(take) a photo of you.
i) I....................(work) at a sport shop now.
j) I....................(watch) television most weekends.
k) At the moment they...................(live) in a very small flat.

2. Put in the present simple or present progressive. Indicate where both forms
are possible:

I...................(study) Astronomy at Oxford University. I’m on holiday at the

moment and I....................(work) in a pet shop. I’m lucky to have this job.
I........................ (not have to) get up early every morning. The shop.....................
(open) at 9:30 and.....................(close) at 18:30. It’s interesting work because
people always....................(come in) and....................(ask) me to help them, so
I..........................(talk) a lot and...................(help) them to make the right choice.

42
3. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence using the word given:

a) I am seeing how wide the door is. MEASURING

I..........................................................................the door.

b) Its ability to catch fish is the key to the polar bear’s survival. DEPENDS
The polar bear’s.............................................to catch fish.

c) In my reading group there’s Tina, Mary and Louise. CONSISTS

My....................................................Tina, Mary, Louise and me.

d) I am finding it really enjoyable to work here. ENJOY

I...............................................................................here.

e) John and his father are exactly alike in appearance. LOOKS

John................................................................his father.

f) What’s on your mind at the moment? THINKING

What.....................................................at the moment?

4. Translate the following sentences into English:

a) Mariei îi plac telenovele aşa că se uită la Pasiunea în fiecare zi.

...........................................................................................

b) Dau de mâncare pisicii vecinului meu cât timp el este în spital.

.........................................................................................

c) Bucătăria românească nu foloseşte condimente orientale.

..........................................................................................

d) În timpul vizitei sale în Elveţia, cancelarul german, Angela Merkel, stă la

hotelul Waldorf Astoria.
.......................................................................................

e) Apa fierbe la 1000 C, aşa că fii atent unde pui cratiţa.

.......................................................................................

f) Mihai desenează în camera lui iar Ioana se uită cu mine la televizor.

43
..........................................................................................

g) Cântăresc ingredientele pentru tort folosind cântarul de bucătărie.

........................................................................................

h) Acum, la cursul de limba engleză contemporană studiem substantivul.

...........................................................................................

i) Tatăl meu fumează un pachet de ţigări pe zi şi nu vrea să se lase de fumat.

.......................................................................................

j) Verişorii lui sunt foarte bogaţi. Au o casă în Madrid şi un avion.

........................................................................................

5. Underline the correct verb form in italics:

a) We are taking/take a one-week winter holiday in Austria every year.

b) Chinese cooking doesn’t use/isn’t using a lot of dairy food.
c) The cat sleeps/is sleeping on our bed!
d) Sally, I am depending/depend on you to win this flat for us.
e) British people are drinking/drink a lot of tea.
f) I am working/work in a large office with about fifty people, most of who I
know/am knowing quite well.
g) I notice/am noticing that your husband doesn’t come to the wine tastings.
Doesn’t he drink?
h) Mary is thinking/thinks of getting her house redecorated.
i) I usually go/am going to work by bus but today I am driving/drive.
j) I think/am thinking I will come to the party.

6. Put the verbs in brackets into a suitable verb form:

a) Every Monday, Jack...........................(drive) to work.

b) Mary, don’t forget to take your umbrella! It...................................(rain).
c) My father...............................(work) as a professor at the Institute of
Anthropology in Bucharest, but this spring he...................................(study)
Biolinguistics at MIT.
d) John, shut up! The baby................................(sleep).
e) I do apologise, but I can’t hear what you.............................(say).
Everybody...................(talk) so loudly.

44
f) David................................(currently/write) a textbook on language and society.
g) I would love to go out on a date with you but I can’t. I ..............................
(watch) my little brother.
h) Your kids.........................(eat) too much candy. They are going to be sick!
i) Sue (always/call)..................her parents when she.......................(travel)
abroad.
j) Ron and Hermione...........................(look) out the window at the squirrels.
k) Try as I might, I still can’t understand what she............................(say).
She...........................(speak) too fast!
l) Lilly and James...........................(always/play) poker on Saturdays.
m) At the moment I.............................(read) Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
and my younger sister.......................(play) in the garden.

7. Make any corrections necessary to the sentences below and account for them:

a) I am believing it is a real success.

b) This jacket is not belonging to me.
c) Oh my God, he really annoys me. He forever asks me the same question.
d) Carina is enjoying her work as a translator.
e) You are astonishing me.
f) I’ll come if I can. It’s depending on the project.
g) Are you knowing my sister?
h) Mary is always telephoning me.
i) I can’t come now. I cook the lunch.
j) Do you come with me and Michael?
k) I am usually taking the bus to school.
l) I have breakfast now. Talk to you soon.
m) I am thinking that is the correct answer.
n) In 1989 the Romanian Revolution is beginning.
o) I write this essay to get a good mark.
p) What shall we eat? Are you liking soup?

8. Translate the following letter into English:

45
Dragă Ioana,
Îţi scriu această scrisoare ca să îţi spun cât de mult mă bucură felicitarea pe
care mi-ai trimis-o şi să-ţi spun cum mă descurc în primul an de facultate. Învăţ
din greu, dar în momentul de faţă încerc să mă împrietenesc cu noii colegi. Încă
stau cu prietena mea Cristina până când găsesc un apartament convenabil.
Doar câţiva dintre colegii stau la cămin, iar eu pierd mult timp pe drum. Mă duc
în fiecare dimineaţă la cursuri iar după amiaza mă duc la bibliotecă sau ies în
oraş cu prietenii. Totul e foarte scump aici şi abia am strâns bani să-mi cumpăr
nişte cizme şi o haină de blană pentru iarnă. Era să uit, am luat permisul de
conducere. Sper să ne auzim cât mai curând.

Toate bune,

Miranda

9. Complete the following sentences using present simple or present progressive.

Indicate any places where both tenses are possible:

The increasing use of pesticides and other chemicals by farmers in recent years,
(currently/cause) IS CURRENTLY CAUSING birds of prey to leave the countryside
for urban areas. Birds of prey (feed).................................on small mammals, so
in the countryside they (pick up)....................................pesticides through eating
poisoned prey. In towns they (eat)................................different things, but the
most important reason they (thrive).................................in our streets is simply
less pollution. Their presence (emphasize)....................................the trend of wild
life to move from the harrassment of rural areas into cities and towns – a trend
which (be shown)......................................also by the increasing number of foxes
in London.
It (appear)...................................that there are now considerable numbers
of sparrowhawks in the well wooded areas of London. But as a rule these birds
(not attack)...............................the more familiar birds which (nest).......................
close to them.
At the same time tawny owls, which normally (nest).................................
in trees in the countryside (adapt)...................................to crevices in tall
buildings. The London Wildlife Trust (say)................................. that Birds of
prey have increased in such numbers that we (now ask)......................................
for volunteer observers to help us get some idea of the size of this new
population.

46
10. Complete the following using present simple or present progressive.
Remember that both tenses may also refer to the future:

Peter: Can you come and help? What (you/do) ARE YOU DOING?
Rebecca: I (watch)..............................TV. It’s Ellen DeGeneres. She
(give) ................................. a cookery demonstration. She
(make)................................... tacos.
Peter: But you (know)..........................how to do them. You (make)......................
tasty tacos.
Rebecca: Yes, but there are Mexican tacos, and you (know)................................
the Jetsons (come).....................................next Saturday, and I’d like to do
something special for them. Besides, I always (enjoy)............................ watching
her. I (promise)...................................I’ll come and help as soon as the
programme (end).................................... . It (finish)...................................at 2.15.
Please! You (interrupt)................................ . I (miss)...............................her.
Ellen DeGeneres: And now we (mix)...............................the beans with the
minced meat and then we (add).........................the tomato sauce, (cut)..................
some red peppers, (add).......................a pinch of salt and that’s it!

6. PAST TIME

47
1. Put the verb in brackets into a suitable verb form and then translate the text
into Romanian:

“It.......................(be) a very dark evening for summer; the

clouds...........................(appear) inclined to thunder, and I.........................(say)
we had better all sit down; the approaching rain would be certain to bring him
home without trouble. However, Catherine would not be persuaded into
tranquillity. She.........................(keep) wandering to and fro, from the gate to the
door in a state of agitation which permitted no repose; and at
length.........................(take up) a permanent position on one side of the wall, near
the road...”

Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights

2. Underline the most suitable verb form in each sentence:

a) Maybe you don’t know, but my sister missed the party because nobody was
telling/had told her about it.
b) While I had lunch/was having lunch, someone knocked on the door.
c) Maria ate/had eaten at the Red Dragon before, so she knew the menu by heart.
d) I walked/was walking down the street when I suddenly remembered/had
remembered that I forgot/had forgotten my wallet at home.
e) The final scene of the play had thrown/threw much of the audience in
confusion.
f) Jonathan was/used to be an archaeologist.
g) We rented/were renting a little cabin on the edge of a secluded lake.
h) I was taking/had taken a shower when the phone rang/was ringing.
i) The experience left/had left him with a deep hatred of politicians.
j) I wouldn’t do that if I were/had been you.

3. Fill in the gaps using past tense or past perfect:

a) Here’s the card I..........................(get) from Jane.

b) Suzanne............................(receive) an honorary degree from Harvard in 1990.
c) He ...................... (say) he ................ (feel) feverish and...................
(complain) of pains in his chest.
d) The cut on her leg......................(open) again and..............................(bleed)
heavily.

48
e) You could see someone...............................(look) after the garden even though
the house.........................(be) empty for years.
f) Police say radio signals......................(be) probably......................(use) to set
the bomb off.
g) The building....................still......................(evacuate) when the
bomb.............................(go off).
h) The hospital ...................... (refuse) to move her, implying she .......................
(be) at risk of committing suicide.
i) It soon.....................(become) clear that the ship.................(be) in grave peril.
j) They..........................(get) married the following autumn.
k) Einstein..............(be) a great scholar who...................(possess) a formidable
intellect.
l) While Mark......................(buy) a ticket, a man................(steal) his suitcase.

4. Translate the following sentences into English:

a) Olanda a fost invadată de către nemţi în 1940.

...............................................................................................
b) Ne uitam la film şi mâncam floricele.
...............................................................................................
c) La procesul de anul trecut, Mihai fusese la închisoare timp de opt luni şi
jumătate.
...............................................................................................
d) Locuiam în San Francisco când Maria a avut accidentul de maşină.
...............................................................................................
e) România a fost monarhie dar acum e republică.
...............................................................................................
f) Când ne-am întors de la cinema, bunica plecase deja acasă.
...............................................................................................
g) Eu mă uitam la serialul Prietenii tăi iar sora mea citea ziarul când mătuşa Ana
a sunat la uşă.
...............................................................................................
h) Tatăl meu obişnuia să mănânce la prânz iar apoi trăgea un pui de somn.
...............................................................................................
i) Mergeam spre şcoală când mi-am dat seama că am uitat să încui uşa de la
apartament.
...............................................................................................
j) Dacă ar fi să aleg între filme şi cărţi aş alege, cu siguraţă, cărţile.
...............................................................................................

49
k) Ieri am citit două cărţi subţirele şi am văzut şi un episod din noua colecţie de
dvd-uri Locuri celebre.
...............................................................................................
l) Am vrut să-ţi spun adevărul dar mi-a fost frică de reacţia ta.
...............................................................................................

5. Complete the gaps with suitable verbs from the box. Use the past simple or
past perfect simple. Then, translate the text into Romanian:

contract be reduce be take up leave

“Many years ago, I..........................an intimacy with a Mr. William Legrand.

He.......................of an ancient Huguenot family, and...........................once
wealthy; but a series of misfortunes............................him to want. To avoid the
mortification consequent upon his disasters, he...................... New Orleans, the
city of his forefathers, and........................... residence at Sullivan’s Island, near
Charleston, South Carolina.”5

6. Rephrase the following sentences using the word in bold. Do not change the
word:

a) The pilot crossed a runway during foggy conditions causing an accident.

occurred
..................................................................................................
b) Mary can’t go to work because of her leg. broke
.................................................................................................
c) Michael is the author of that letter. wrote
....................................................................................................
d) She checked her purse to see if she had the keys. leaving
....................................................................................................

e) We can’t tell her about our agreement. agreed

................................................................................................

7. Underline the best option in italics and account for your choice:

5
This excerpt is taken from the short story The Golden-Bug, included in: Edgar Allan Poe, Tales
of Mystery and Imagination. Bucureşti: Prietenii Cărţii, 1995.
50
a) They both drank so much that they had passed out/passed out in their hotel.
b) One civilian and one soldier were killed/had been killed during the night raid.
c) Michelle remembers the first time she had been holding/held the new baby.
d) I planned/had planned to stay longer, but something came up.
e) It had become obvious that Mrs Thatcher and the man she appointed/had
appointed as her deputy did not see eye to eye.
f) Peter had grinned/grinned at her, maddeningly.
g) Christina was reading/had been reading a mystery novel when my sister
called/had called.
h) I had been living/lived here for twenty years.
i) His suit was spattered/had been spattered with the eggs that the students
threw/had thrown at him.
j) She used to live/was living in Manhattan, but she moved/had moved to New
York.

8. Choose the correct option (a, b, c, d):

1) Peter told me the secret after Mary......................

a. was leaving; b. left; c. had left; d. had been leaving

2) When I was a child I never......................I would become a famous

archaeologist.
a. thought; b. had thought; c. was thinking; d. have thought

3) My brother remembered the day he first..................fishing.

a. gone; b. had gone; c. was going; d. went

4) Fleming........................penicillin a long time ago.

a. has discovered; b. discovered; c. was discovering; d. had
been discovering

5) When John saw his wife for the first time, she....................a green dress and
high heels.
a. wore; b. had worn; c. was wearing; d. had been wearing

6) We...................the lecture, when the police came in.

a. attended; b. had attended; c. attend; d. were attending

7) They last.....................Joanne is the winter of 1987.

51
 a. saw; b. see; c. had seen; d. were seeing

8) What you........................when the phone rang?

a. did; b. had done; c. were doing; d. had been doing

9) They..................for several hours when they reached the peak.

a. climbed; b. would be climbing; c. had been climbing;
d. had climbed

10) I saw Emily yesterday while she.......................shopping.

a. had been; b. was; c. was being; d. is

9. Translate the following excerpt into English:

“M-am dus la Sf. Ion să fac o vizită doamnei Maria Popescu, o veche prietină, ca
s-o felicit pentru onomastica unicului său fiu, Ionel Popescu, un copilaş drăguţ
de vreo opt anişori. N-am voit să merg cu mîna goală şi i-am dus băieţelului o
minge foarte mare de cauciuc şi foarte elastică. Atenţiunea mea a făcut mare
plăcere amicei mele şi mai ales copilului pe care l-am găsit îmbrăcat în maior de
roşiori în uniformă de mare ţinută. După
formalităţile de rigoare, am început să convorbim despre vreme, despre sorţii
agriculturii – d. Popescu tatăl este mare agricultor – despre criză, ş.a.”

I. L. Caragiale – Vizită

10. Put the following irregular verbs in the past tense, according to the model,
and then use them in sentences to illustrate their meaning:

Model: to bear – bore; to see – saw; to eat – ate; to spell – spelt

to bend →
to burn →
to cling →
to creep →
to dive →
to dwell →
to flee →
to forbid →
to grind →

52
to saw →
to sew →
to shrink →
to sling →
to sow →
to spill →
to sting →
to strive →
to tear →
to wake →
to weave →
to wind →
to wring →

11. Fill in the gaps with a suitable verb. Use the past tense or the past perfect:

Sherlock Holmes: an iconic figure

Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the one who.........................Sherlock

Holmes. He........................in publication in 1887 and..........................in four
novels and fifty six short stories. The first novel, A Study in Scarlet.....................
in 1887 and the second, The Sign of Four in 1890.
According to Conan Doyle, the character of Sherlock
Holmes............................by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Conan
Doyle...........................as a clerk. Holmes........................the majority of his
professional years with his good friend, Dr. Watson. The novels and short
stories............................to the big screen throughout the years and in the most
recent one the character of Sherlock Holmes is portrayed by Robert Downy Jr.

7. PRESENT PERFECT

1. Underline the most suitable verb form in each sentence:

a) I haven’t seen/didn’t see Kathie all day long.

b) Only one British woman was elected/has been elected Prime Minister in
England.
c) I’ve been ironing/was ironing my shirts all day.
53
d) I left/have left my keys in the car. I’m going back to get them.
e) I’ve just seen/just saw a ghost.
f) This was/has been my home for 10 years.
g) The bus fare has risen/has been rising by 10% over the past year.
h) I’ve been reading/have read all evening.
i) I’ve been cleaning/have cleaned the house but I still haven’t finished.
j) I have moved/moved to Birmingham three weeks ago and got a job.

2. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions FOR or SINCE and put the verbs in
brackets into the right tense:

a) I.......................(study) for the final exams...................three weeks.

b) That lady............................(read) the book..................she sat on the bench.
c) My mother.........................(sleep)................nine hours now.
d) My cousin and my aunt...........................(stay) with us.............October.
e) Dr Jones..........................(work) in this hospital..................he graduated.
f) I...............................(call) my sister.....................the last twenty minutes.
g) The Olsens...........................(save) money to buy a house ...............they got
married.
h) You........................(plan) this trip to Greece...............a long time, haven’t you?
i) I...........................(see) John...............high school.
j) My parents.........................(read).............they came back from work.

3. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word in bold:

a) The singers are all here now. arrived

..................................................................................................
b) Jenny has never been to London before. first
.................................................................................................

c) John started taking piano lessons three years ago. been

...................................................................................................

d) It’s over twenty five years since my parents got married. have
..................................................................................................

e) This is Price Charles’s tenth visit to Romania. visited

....................................................................................................

54
f) The last time I saw Elizabeth was in 1987. since
......................................................................................................

4. Use the verbs from the box to fill in the gaps. Each verb can be used once:

used make would have been call gave

called make used must have dragged
used made would require give add
lasts did not take

THE MAYA CALENDAR6

The Maya.........................the same combination of a 260-day ritual count with 13

20-day cycles and a 365-day solar count with 18 20-day months and a five-day
unlucky period at year’s end. The Maya.......................the 260-day calendar the
tzolkin, and the 365-day calendar the haab. Scholars sometimes.......................the
365-day measure the ‘Vague Year’ because
Mesoamericans............................account of the fact that a solar
year.......................slightly more than 365 days and......................an extra day
every four years. Nor did they....................any of the other sophisticated
adjustments of the Gregorian calendar now widely........................in the West.
Over time, their solar year....................................behind the movements of the
stars and sun.
Bishop Diego de Landa..........................a detailed description of the
Maya calendars and.............................careful note of the glyphs.......................by
the Maya for day-signs and months. To give a day its full Maya calendrical
date.................. the tzolkin date and the haab date. For example, 13 Ahau 18
Cumku. This date................................towards the close of the final month before
the unlucky five-day period (wayeb) at the end of the year.

5. Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect simple, present perfect
continuous, present tense simple, present tense continuous:

a) I............................(make) bread, that is why the kitchen looks like this.

b) I...........................(be) to The British Museum.

6
This excerpt is taken from The Lost History of Aztec & Maya by Charles Phillips. London:
Hermes House, 2007, p.121.
55
c) John............................(writes) a letter to his mother.
d) Mary’s phone..............................(ring) for five minutes. I don’t know where
she is.
e) My brother.............................(study) Chinese for nine months and he doesn’t
even know the alphabet.
f) We.............................(get) a lot of snow in these parts of the world.
g) You may not know, but that car.......................(stand) in front of our house for
the last three hours. Do you think we are under surveillance?
h) Where.....................(be) my sister? What...........................(do) in the last five
hours?
i) I.............................(read) Murakami’s new book yet, but I am going to.
j) I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. I..........................(try) to make a phone
call to Washington DC.
k) The Prime Minister of Great Britain...........................(arrive). He is in the
conference room and is ready to see you.
l) I...............................(sleep) on every sofa in your house and I love all of them.
m) It..........................(rain) for three hours and the roads are closed, so the fishing
trip........................(be) cancelled.
n) I............................(not hear) from Jenny. She.......................(is) in London for
the last four months.
o) Mr Jones, you............................(whisper) to your colleague on your left for
the last half hour. You...........................(help) her with her paper or
she............................(help) you?

6. Translate the following sentences into English:

a) Mihai predă în acest liceu de cinci ani.

......................................................................................................
b) De o săptămână te rog să repari uşa. Când ai de gând s-o faci?
....................................................................................................
c) Ţin dietă. În ultima lună n-am mâncat decât fructe şi legume.
...................................................................................................
d) Maria locuieşte aici din 2001 şi nu se gândeşte să se mute.
...................................................................................................
e) Nu sunt prea multe autobuze deoarece şoferii fac grevă.
.....................................................................................................
f) Ai citit romanul acesta publicat de editura Polirom?
...................................................................................................

56
g) Ai mâncat vreodată melci? Am auzit că sunt o delicatesă.
..................................................................................................
h) Fratele meu a scris trei romane de aventură. Doar ce l-a terminat pe al
patrulea.
....................................................................................................
i) Petru a săpat toată după-amiaza în grădină iar eu l-am ajutat.
.................................................................................................
j) Procesul a început de ceva vreme. Sunt tare curios care va fi verdictul.
....................................................................................................
k) De când s-a mutat aici, Maria a devenit mai studioasă.
.................................................................................................
l) Lucrez la acest birou de zece ani iar şeful meu nu mi-a spus niciodată „Bună
dimineaţa”.
....................................................................................................
m) Lucrurile s-au mai schimbat în acest oraş de când eram eu mic.
...................................................................................................
n) El s-a mutat la Paris in 1995 şi de atunci locuieşte acolo.
.................................................................................................

7. Fill in the gaps using the prepositions FOR or SINCE and then translate the
sentences into Romanian:

a) We’ve been eating................one hour.

b) Jack has been waiting in front of the school...............three o’clock.
c) Joe hasn’t eaten meat...................three months.
d) I have been living in this flat...................1999.
e) He’s been at the airport..................five hours.
f) Things have changed.................I was a little boy.
g) Mary has been awake.................a long time.
h) Peter has been married................five years.
i) They have been fighting ever.......................their mother died.
j) My father has been driving this Mercedes................twelve years.

8. Fill in the gaps using present tense simple, present tense continuous, present
perfect simple, present perfect continuous:

My brother.............................(learn) Chinese for several years at the Confucius

Institute, but....................................(only recently/start) to speak it fluently. Now
he ........................(leave) for China to participate in a summer school in Beijing

57
and Shanghai. He.........................(be) very excited about the trip
and ......................... (intend) to visit a lot of places. He...............................
(prepare) to take the HSK exam (advanced level) which will certify his level of
Chinese and ...........................(study) for three months. He..................(be) to
China and he...................(be) confident that everything will be OK.

9. Complete the following, using a suitable present tense – present or present

perfect:

Christina (learn) HAS BEEN LEARNING Spanish for several years now, but (only
recently/start).............................to work hard at it. Now she (make).......................
good progress, and (enjoy)...................................it. Ever since she started she
(always find).........................reading Spanish the easiest. She (like).......................
novels best, and now (belong).................................. to a Spanish library, and
(borrow)............................a new book every week. She (not look
up)................................all the words she (not know).................................. but
(try)......................................to guess the meaning and she
(say)............................she (get)...............................much better now at doing this.
Perhaps not surprisingly for such an avid reader, she (like)........................
spelling. ‘It (offer)............................you a challenge, she (declare)........................
She also (write)...............................Spanish quite well – unlike many students
who (find)...............................that is the hardest part and (forever
make) .................................... the same mistakes.
She (find).............................. a Spanish penfriend this year and she
(already write)............................. and (receive)............................two letters. ‘This
is the first time I (ever do)...................................this, although it is something I
(always want).................................. to do,’ she (say).............................. . As she
(just be invited)....................................... to visit Spain next year, she
(feel) .................................. she (need).............................. more conversation
practice. So nest week she (attend)...................................her first ‘conversation
workshop’. That (mean)..................................... practical conversation work, she
(say)..................................... ‘and I (look forward)........................................ to it.’

58
 8. FUTURE TIME

1. Underline the most suitable form in italics:

a) Look at those black clouds. It will/is going to rain!

b) By March they will have been building/will have being built the house for a
year.
c) I have to tell you that Mary will be being/will be in London this time
tomorrow.
d) The Council meets/will meet next Thursday.
e) I am having/will be having a cocktail party tomorrow.
f) What are you going to do/will you be doing with this room?
g) If Jack leaves tomorrow we will go/will be going to Paris.
h) This time next week I am going to swim/will be swimming in the
Mediterranean Sea.

59
i) My father won’t cut/shan’t cut the hedge for some time, because he’s very
busy.
j) Will you be studying/Are you going to study linguistics at college?

2. Rephrase the following sentences using the word given in bold. Do not change
the word:

a) Our son has got a minor role in the school production of Hamlet next month.
appearing
.....................................................................................................

b) Next week we are going to celebrate my parents’ 25th anniversary. married

...................................................................................................

c) Michelle told us that she is pregnant. having

.......................................................................................................

d) This novel will take John one year to write. written

..................................................................................................

e) Please do not disturb the animals during feeding time. disturbed

......................................................................................................
f) Scientists are about to make a vital discovery. verge
.......................................................................................................

g) Jack Nichols will receive an award for his entire career. given
.......................................................................................................

h) We have to drive six hundred miles to get there. have

.......................................................................................................

i) If she wants me to talk to her she must apologise. apologises

.......................................................................................................

j) I really don’t think you’ve heard the latest news. won’t

.......................................................................................................

3. Translate the following sentences into English:

60
a) O să ţi se facă rău dacă mănânci prea multă ciocolată.
.......................................................................................................

b) Ne întâlnim la gară. Vrei să vii şi tu cu noi?

.......................................................................................................

c) Trenul pleacă în cinci minute. Grăbeşte-te, atfel o să-l pierzi.

.......................................................................................................

d) Vom lucra la această copertă până la sfârşitul săptămânii.

.......................................................................................................

e) O să văd ce pot face, dar nu-ţi promit nimic.

.......................................................................................................

f) Mă duc să aduc maşina şi apoi plecăm în străinătate.

.......................................................................................................

g) Ne vedem în două săptămâni. Să mă ţii la curent cu tot ce se întâmplă la bursă.

.......................................................................................................

h) Dacă vrei îi dau eu cartea Dianei. Mă văd cu ea mai târziu.

.......................................................................................................

i) Anul viitor Crăciunul cade lunea.

.......................................................................................................

j) Toţi elevii sunt rugaţi să se adune în faţa şcolii imediat.

.......................................................................................................

k) Roxette va cânta la Bucureşti vara aceasta.

.......................................................................................................

l) O să aştept aici până se întoarce Emma de la toaletă.

.......................................................................................................

m) Eram pe puctul de a pleca din ţară, dar zborul a fost anulat.

.......................................................................................................

61
4. Choose the best option (a, b, c, d):

a) You know that Aubrey...........................a good wife.

a. was made b. will make c. is making d. make

b) John........................an interview on Friday. Wish him luck!

a. will have b. is having c. would have d. Had

c) When you......................this newspaper will you give it to me?

a. will read b. are going to read c. read d. have read

d) I’m not in the mood to go to Paris, so I............................. .

a. won’t go b. don’t go c. am not going d. will go

e) By the time we reach our destination we.............................for fifteen hours.

a. have been driving b. shall be driving c. will drive
d. will have been driving

f) Tomorrow there......................heavy snow in Wisconsin.

a. is b. will be c. will have been d. is going to be

g) I’m afraid I can’t come to the theatre with you tomorrow, I........................my
daughter to Disneyland.
a. am taking b. shall be taking c. am going to be
taking d. will be taking

h) Piggy......................all right in three or four days.

a. feel b. will be feeling c. shall feel d. will feel

i) If everything turns out OK, I.............................this summer.

a. shall be graduating b. would graduate
c. shall graduate d. will have graduated

j) It was weird to think that in a couple of days we....................... together again.

a. have been b. would have been c) are going to be
d. would be

5. Write the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete the sentences. Use
one of the following stuctures: will, shall, be going to, will be + -ing, will have +
past participle, will have + been + -ing, present progressive or present simple:

62
a) I have taken the 09:45 to Birmingham every Monday for two years and it’s
always empty. Believe me, you........................ (find) a seat.

b) The lawyer won’t defend you until you.........................(pay) him what you
owe.

c) Mary, I don’t want to be rude or anything, but....................... (you/stay) with

us for long when you come to Melbourne?

d) Jack is almost sixty years old, so he........................... (probably/sell) the

vineyard next year.

e) The train.....................(leave) at 7:23, so we’d better leave.

f) I’ve won the big pot and I.......................(spend) it all straingh away!

g) At our next wedding anniversary, Peter and I....................... (be/married) for

thirty four years.

h) According to the recent polls, the liberals.......................(win) the elections.

i) The takeover is going ahead, I’m afraid, so we.......................... (make) some

redundancies in 2013.

j) Dr Jekyll...........................(go) to London tomorrow, so you can catch him at

the train station.

k) ‘I love your British accent.’ ‘Thank you. It’s not surprising; I

.............................(live) in London for six years next week.

l) ‘Has your father decided whether you can come to Sweden next week?’ ‘Not
yet, but he can’t stop me. I............................ (come) with you.’

m) For your information sunrise.......................(be) as 5.55 a.m. tomorrow.

n) Melanie told me that your favourite singer............................... (come) to give a

concert in our town!

o) Diana, your driving test is next Wednesday, so......................... (we/have) a

four-hour session on Tuesday?

63
p) Look at those black clouds, Martin. It............................(rain) this evening.

q) I’ve been to the meeting and it looks like they.......................... (build) a new
theatre downtown.

r) Have a seat and watch TV. I............................(just/finish) this interview in a

minute.

s) I’m going to Greece tomorrow. This time next Sunday I ..............................

(swim) in the Mediterranean.

6. Fill each of the gaps in the following sentences with a suitable word or
phrase:

a) My company is..........................over by a multinational.

b) My father was on..........................of resigning when the news of his promotion
came through.
c) By the time my son qualifies, he........................law for five years.
d) You are advised to leave as soon as............................the bill.
e) Our builder told me he................................best to get the materials as soon as
he could.
f) If Jack carries on like that, he...............................accident before long.

7. Look at the passage below and decide which of the verb forms could be used
to complete it. More than one form may be possible:

a) are going to see/will see/are seeing

b) are going to be/will be/are being
c) are going to give up/will give up/are giving up
d) are going to exploit/will exploit/are exploiting
e) is not going to offer/will not offer/is not offering
f) are going to benefit/will benefit/are benefiting

I think in the next ten years we (a)..................................... further increases in the

difference in wealth between rich and poor nations. It is unlikely that present
trends (b)................................ reversed. Do you believe that the richer nations
(c)...............................their power so easily?

64
 For example, if new officials are discovered on the territories of poor
nations, the richer nations (d)........................... Even in the event of a poor nation
keeping control of its own health, it (e)................................ its ordinary citizens
more human rights. Only the citizens who are already rich
(f)...................................... .

8. Take another look at exercise 7 and choose rules which explain your choices.
All the rules are true:

a) Will (rarely shall) is used if you talk about a decision at the moment of
making it;

b) Shall is often used in suggestions, offers of help, or questions about what I/we
ought to do;

c) The shall/will future is used (but not going to) if a prediction depends on a
condition, even if the condition is only implied;

d) Going to is used when a decision has already been made, or a process has
begun, which will lead to a certain future result;

e) The simple present tense is used for future events which are part of a fixed
timetable;

f) The is/are –ing form is not formally used to predict the future.

9. Complete the following using will or going to (do):

a) I hear you..................................on a car tour, I thought you didn’t like road

journeys.
Well if I take travel sickness pills I..............................be all right.

b) What’s all that gear for? .......................you......................take up snorkelling?

Well, I..........................try.

c) My phone has broken.

Don’t worry, I...............................lend you mine.

d) Have you got traveller’s cheques?

65
Oh my God, I’d forgotten. I................................phone the bank tomorrow.

e) I’ve bought a phrase book, because I.................................try to speak French.

f) When you’re in Rome.............................you...........................do something for

me?

g) Why have you bought so many films?

I...................................take lots of pictures of everything.

h) We’re a bit worried about leaving the house empty.

We....................................keep an eye on it if you like.

i) ........................you..........................send me a postcard from Florence, please?

66
 The Subjunctive Mood

9. THE SUBJUNCTIVE

1. Use the formulaic subjunctive to fill in the gaps:

a) If.............................Jack were to die, who’d take care of us?

b) I don’t want to talk about it. ..............................my brother is coming to stay
with us after all.
c) If Mary really wants to go to the party, then.............................
d) .......................... I’m determined to finish cleaning my room before 8 o’clock.
e) .............................. to tell you how to behave, but that was really rude.
f) ‘This syrup tastes horrible!’ ................................, it will cure your sore throat.

2. Put the verb in brackets into an appropriate verb form:

a) At yesterday’s hearing judge McArthur insisted (that) Dr

Jones...............................(give) evidence despite his background.
b) I’d rather Tom...........................(not/watch) television while doing his
homework.
67
c) I just wish the world.......................(be) a safer place.
d) Your mother is so bossy. She acts as if she.....................(own) the place.
e) I wish we could.........................(see) the band play.
f) Members of the committee suggested Spain........................... (be/exclude)
from the Olympic Games.
g) It’s time we...............................(leave).
h) Suppose someone.........................(tell) you that I.................... (was) a spy.
i) The President demanded that the press..........................(leave).
j) I want to go to Italy. I wish I.........................(be) like you.
k) It’s about time Michael...........................(pay) a visit to his sister who lives in
Madrid.
l) If only he.....................................(drive) so fast!
m) If he.................................(not be) so selfish, he’d realised what he did.
n) I’d rather you........................(not talk) so loudly, if you don’t mind.
o) The Prime Minister demanded that the German ambassador ...........................
(be) recalled.
3. Rewrite the following sentences using the word given. Do not change the word
in any way:

a) I would love to be scuba diving in the Mediterranean Sea right now! wish
..................................................................................................

b) It is necessary for Jack to take his pills on a regular basis. should

...................................................................................................

c) I regret not taking an M.A. when I was in my twenties. gone

.....................................................................................................

d) The teacher doesn’t know all the answers, though she pretends to. acts
....................................................................................................

e) Lisa wishes she had taken her brother’s advice and gone on to university.
regrets
.......................................................................................................

f) His constant criticism of me is really irksome. stop

.......................................................................................................

g) What would you do if you couldn’t look after your kid? incapable
.......................................................................................................

68
h) ‘If only the murdered hadn’t escaped’, thought Poirot. wish
.......................................................................................................

i) The headmaster said that it was important for the teachers to wear dark suits to
the gathering. insisted
.......................................................................................................

j) Jack, please don’t let Mary sit in the front of the lorry. I’d
.......................................................................................................

k) Are you saying you don’t want me here? sooner

.......................................................................................................

l) I wish Peter had been honest with his sister. only

.......................................................................................................
m) It’s a pity you gave up your academic career. wish
.......................................................................................................

n) Sophia wishes she hadn’t sold that old painting. It’s worth a fortune. pity
.......................................................................................................

o) Nicole asked her fiancé to show her a little respect if not love her. should
.......................................................................................................

4. Translate the following sentences into English:

a) Dacă aş fi în locul tău nu m-aş certa cu fratele Mariei.

.......................................................................................................

b) Toţi cei implicaţi în furtul de acum două zile regret acum că s-au lăsat înşelaţi
de cel ce i-a angajat.
..................................................................................................

c) Te rog nu ridica tonul, ca nu cumva să te audă copiii care dorm în camera

alăturată.
.....................................................................................................

d) Să presupunem că un străin ţi-ar lăsa o mulţime de bani în testament. Ce ai

face cu ei?
......................................................................................................

69
e) Aş vrea să nu mai faci zgomot şi să vii la culcare. E ora doisprezece.
.......................................................................................................

f) E timpul ca vocea poporului să fie auzită în Parlamentul acestei ţări.

....................................................................................................

g) Ce n-aş da să am ochii verzi ca Elisabeth Taylor şi un corp de invidiat ca

Sharon Stone.
....................................................................................................

h) Bărbatul acela vorbeşte de parcă n-a auzit de locuitorii acelei regiuni.

....................................................................................................

i) Directorul şcolii a sugerat să i se acorde o bursă de studiu în străinătate.

.....................................................................................................

j) Armata ar prefera să se înfiinţeze un centru de comandă în zona de conflict

pentru ca activitatea trupelor antitero să fie mai bine supravegheată.
....................................................................................................

k) Chiar dacă Mihai nu vrea să înţeleagă că a greşit, mama sa ar trebui să-i

explice că nu e bine să te joci cu focul.
.......................................................................................................

l) Premierul britanic îşi dorea ca toată lumea să fi muncit din greu şi să fi pus din
nou economia ţării pe picioare.
......................................................................................................

m) Oricare ar fi motivele sale, acestea nu sunt suficiente ca să-l scape de

puşcarie.
.....................................................................................................

n) Colegii de catedră propun să se voteze un nou director de departament care să

fie mai interesat şi mai devotat muncii sale.
....................................................................................................

o) Îmi doresc ca prietenul meu să fie puţin mai romantic.

.....................................................................................................

p) Sper să vii la şedinţa de mâine altfel directorul îţi va face viaţa un chin.

70
.....................................................................................................

5. Underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence:

a) Peter is anxious that everyone might/should take part in the competition.

b) I hope/wish I’ll see you again.
c) I wish I buy/had bought that old house on Baker Street.
d) It is only fair that you should know/would know the truth.
e) The thing is that we try/tried some other means of raising the money to buy a
house.
f) It is high time parents started/start trusting their own children.
g) Far be/were it from me to criticize your work!
h) I wish/hope you’d stop talking so loud.
i) I wish the board will agree/agreed on the agenda instead of putting it off.
j) Do you mean Mike would sooner I wouldn’t be/weren’t here?
k) You’re not allowed to discuss the project with anybody. Heaven
forbade/forbid!
l) Her husband insisted that she go/goes to hospital immediately.
m) The memo says that nobody be/shall be exempted from paying the
conference fee.
n) Here is my mobile phone number in case something would go/goes wrong.
o) Even if the squad had been/will be ready, nothing would have changed.

6. Correct the error(s) in the following sentences. Some sentences are error free:

a) Is he to agree to our proposal, we could proceed with the plan.

b) I wouldn’t do that if I was you.
c) I can’t stand it anymore. I wish I was dead!
d) I’d rather you don’t eat all the cherries.
e) I wish sports cars wouldn’t be so expensive.
f) We’d sooner you spent your money on something useful.
g) If only that you’d told me about it earlier. Now it’s too late.
h) John and Frank are acting as if nothing had happened.
i) Come what comes I will go to the party this evening!
j) His father insisted that he paid the bill.
k) I wish I would be young again.
l) What if you’ll see him at the pub? Nobody cares.
m) Imagine we hadn’t met all those years ago!
n) I’d rather you don’t speak so rudely to him.

71
o) I wish you don’t mind.

7. Choose the best option (a, b, c, d):

a) It is necessary that every member.....................himself of these rules.

a. would inform b. informs c. inform d. will inform

b) Dr Patterson always spoke about those places as if he............................them

all.
a. had seen b. was going to see c. see d. sees

c) Ah! Ce n-aş da să fiu iar tânăr!

a. Oh! that I had been young again! b. Oh! that I was to be
young again! c. Oh! that I should be young again!
d. Oh! that I was to be young again.

d) Somebody...................a window, or we’ll die asfixiated.

a. opened b. will open c. shall open d. open

e) I think it’s high time we.......................locking all the windows after eight
o’clock.
a. would start b. start c. started d. will start

f) ‘Michael, I don’t like this hotel.’ I wish we........................ to Waldorf instead.

a. went b. had gone c. will go d. go

g) I wish I..........................that book last Wednesday.

a. had bought b. bought c. could buy d. buy

h) .........................it to say that Peter refuses any help.

a. Sufficient b. Sufficed c. Suffice d. Suffices

i) I’d rather they.......................out of it.

a. keep b. were keeping c. kept d. are keeping

j) I wish I ...........................better for my German test!

a. have prepared b. would prepare c. prepare
d. had prepared

72
8. Fill in the blanks with one suitable word:

Dear Lucy,

Thank you for your letter. I think that it is essential you be fully
(1)..........................with the facts of the investigation. They are as follows. It was
accepted three weeks ago that, come what (2)........................., the above house
(3)............................... decorated inside and out before the end of August. This
has not occurred and my lawyer has recommended I (4)........................... with
legal action forthwith. May I suggest that you (5).............................me as soon as
you can. Love, Annabelle
9. Explain the difference between mandative and formulaic subjunctive and
provide examples:

..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................

10. Rewrite each sentence beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the
same:

a) It’s such a pity I can’t borrow John’s lorry.

I wish Jack would......................................................................

b) It is better for me to leave?

Would it...................................................................................

c) It would be awesome to be able to swim.

I wish..........................................................................................

d) I wish you hadn’t seen that.

I’d rather you...........................................................................

73
e) The students wished they had listened more carefully to the professor’s
advice.
The students regretted....................................................................

f) I wish I spoke some Native American languages, like Koasati or Yana.

I wish I could................................................................................

g) I don’t want you to bring that rooster into the house.

I’d rather you.............................................................................

h) You are always talking too much. I want you to stop doing it.
I wish you.....................................................................................

i) Stevie ought to start doing his homework.

It’s high time Stevie......................................................................

j) The agent sounds convincing. Perhaps she knows what she is talking about.
The agent sounds as though...........................................................

74
 Modality

10. MODAL VERBS

1. Some of the sentences below contain mistakes with modal verbs. Tick the
correct sentences, then find and correct the mistakes.

a) Watching TV series can become very time-consuming.

b) This machine is so simple that it is able to be handled by anyone.
c) There can be life on Mars.
d) My uncle could be the president in the 2014 elections, but he never really
tried.
e) I’m not really sure about tonight. I may have to go to California.
f) That can’t be Tom. He is in Australia.
g) May I be excused?
h) Harvey, I think that you should to tell Mike the truth.

2. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the
meaning stays the same:

a) I expect this bus will be full of people. SHOULD

.................................................................................

b) George is sometimes really annoying! CAN

.................................................................................

d) How about going to the beach instead? COULD

.................................................................................

75
e) Do you want me to turn on the light, or not? SHOULD
.................................................................................

f) I’m sure this isn’t the right way to London. CAN’T

.................................................................................

g) Please close the garage before leaving. SHOULD

.................................................................................
3. Rephrase the following sentences using modal verbs:

a) Harvey insisted on my going into business with him.

Harvey insisted that.......................................................

b) As an adolescent Diana was not in the habit of reading books.

As an adolescent Diana..................................................

c) We expect her to pass the exam since she is so industrious.

She.................................................................................

d) As adults we are allowed to do what we want.

As adults we..................................................................

e) The employees have a duty to let their colleagues know before failing to show
up for work.
The employees...............................................................

4. Choose the correct meaning or interpretation (a or b) for each sentence:

a) It would be awesome to live in London.

a) The speaker lives in London.
b) The speaker doesn’t live in London.

b) If anyone calls in the next hour, I’ll be in the bathroom.

a) I’m in the bathroom now.
b) I’m going to the bathroom.

c) It would be marvellous to have a house on the beach.

a) The speaker has a house.
b) The speaker doesn’t have a house.

76
d) I would have liked to meet Professor Labov while he was here.
a) The speaker didn’t meet Professor Labov.
b) The speaker met Professor Labov.

e) Joanne isn’t here right now. She’ll be at school.

a) She is on her was to school.
b) She is at school now.
5. Match the situations (a-d) with the sentences (1-4):

a) Michelle is going to work at university next month.

b) Maggie went to university last year and she was very pleased with her results.

c) Mary went to university yesterday to sign up for a course. They didn’t tell her
about the special fees.

d) Molly works at a prestigious university in New York.

1. She was able to pass with flying colours.

2. She can give you the information you need.
3. She will be able to give you the information you need.
4. She could have paid less.

A B C D

6. Rewrite the following sentences using a modal verb:

a) It’s forbidden to camp here.

...............................................................................

b) He is obliged to go to the library every day.

...............................................................................

c) I advise you to see a doctor.

...............................................................................

d) Angela knows how to speak Hindi.

...............................................................................

e) Maybe Ann didn’t get my e-mail.

77
...............................................................................

f) It’s possible that they got tired and went to bed.

...............................................................................

g) Your brother had permission to go to the pub.

..........................................................................................

h) It is possible that Peter is in his room.

..........................................................................................

i) It was wrong of Steven to tell such a lie.

..........................................................................................

j) It wasn’t a good idea to ask the Formans to come on the trip with us.
.........................................................................................

7. Make sentences using a modal verb which expresses the following:

a) certainty

b) obligation

c) ability

d) deduction

e) speculation

f) arrangement

g) suggestion

h) asking for permission

i) prohibition

j) criticism

78
k) necessity

l) advice

REVISION
TENSE & ASPECT

1. Put the verb in brackets into an appropriate verb form:

James Crook.........................(to sit) in his office. His work.........................(to be)

finished, and he................................ (to linger) there because
he...............................(not/to have) the heart to go down to the club.
It...............................(to get) on towards dinner time, and there.............................
(to be) a doog many fellows hanging about the bar. Two or three of
them...............................(to offer) him a drink. He........................ (can) not face
their heartiness. He...........................(to know) some of them for thirty years.
They...........................(to bore) him, and on the whole he.............................(to
dislike) them, but now that he...........................(to see) them for the last time
it .........................(to give) him a pang. Tonight they....................... (to give) him
a farewell dinner. Everyone.............................(to be) there and
they............................(to present) him with a silver tea-service that
he..........................(not/to want) in the least. They.......................(to make)
speeches in which they..........................(to refer) to his work in the
colony, ............................(to express) their regret at his departure
and.........................(to wish) him long life to enjoy his well-earned leisure.
He.............................(to reply) suitably. He..............................(to prepare) a
speech in which he ................................(to survey) the change
that............................. (to take) place in the colony since he.............................(to
land) at Singapore. He..........................(to thank) them for their loyal co-
operation with him during the term he................................(to be) in the service.
They..........................(to sing) ”For he’s a jolly good fellow.” Then
they...............................(to dance) and a good many of the younger
men..............................(to get) drunk. Tomorrow a large
crowd...............................(to see) him off at the station and
that..................................(to be) the end of him. He.........................(to wonder)
what they.............................. (to say) of him. His subordinates..............................
(to fear) him. He never........................(to spare) himself and .............................
(to see) no reason why he should spare others. James Crook ...............................
79
(to sigh) a little. From an official standpoint his career.............................(to be) a
success; but from the human one it perhaps............................(to be) otherwise.
He ..........................(to earn) respect, but he...........................(to be) too clever to
think for a moment that he................................. (to inspire) affection. No
one..............................(to regret) him. In a few years he..............................(to be)
forgotten.

2. Say whether the action of the object clause precedes, follows or is

simultaneous with the action of the main clause in the following sentences:

a) It’s not true that Sue is my friend.

b) I don’t believe anyone has trouble to think about that.
c) Has she been telling you why she wants to quit her job?
d) I’ll tell you what she’s doing.
e) I’m afraid I’ll be doing the washing tonight.
f) It was also rumored that Peter had got married.
g) In the hotel the waiter told me that a British Lord had been staying there for
two weeks.
h) I don’t know whether he was a fool or a very lucky man.
i) I don’t think I shall ever work for your father.
j) I’ll let you know what the situation is.
k) I’ll tell Phoebe that you’ll take over the actual direction immediately.
l) I hope you know what you’re doing.
m) It is strange that he didn’t speak to you.
n) My mother asked me what work I was doing and whether I intended to go to a
University.
o) Then I thought about Father. He would certainly ask me where I had been all
day.

3. Translate the following text into Romanian:

- Hildegard! exclamă el adresându-se fetei. Nu m-am mai gândit la ea de

douăzeci de ani. A fost marea mea dragoste. A fost femeia vieţii mele!
Dar, întorcând capul, îşi dădu seama că fata plecase. [...] Odaia începu să
se lumineze într-un chip misterios, ca şi cum perdelele ar fi fost trase încet, foarte
încet.
- Când eram în dragoste cu Hildegard [...] nu visam decât la asta: să facem
împreună o călătorie în Grecia.
- Ai fost un prost, îl întrerupse fata. Nu trebuia să visezi, trebuia s-o iubeşti...

80
- Aveam douăzeci de ani şi ea nu împlinise încă optsprezece. Era frumoasă.
Eram amândoi frumoşi, adăugă.
În acea clipă îşi dădu seama că era îmbrăcat într-un costum ciudat. [...] Se
privi în oglindă, parcă i-ar fi fost greu să se recunoască.
Câteva clipe în urmă îl ajunse tânărul din tramvai
- Ce coincidenţă, exclamă Gavrilescu, văzându-l că se opreşte lângă el.
Uşa se deschise brusc şi în prag apăru o femeie încă tânără, dar cu
obrazul palid [...]. Dând cu ochii de Gavrilescu, se încruntă.
- Ce poftiţi? întrebă.
- Mi-am uitat servieta, începu Gavrilescu intimidat. M-am luat cu vorba şi am
uitat-o. Am avut treburi [...] şi n-am putut veni mai devreme.
- Nu înţeleg. Ce fel de servietă?
- Dacă s-a aşezat la masă, n-o deranjaţi, continuă pripit Gavrilescu. Ştiu unde am
lăsat-o. E lângă pat.
Şi dădu să intre dar femeia nu se clinti din prag.
- Pe cine căutaţi dumneavoastră, domnule?
- Pe doamna Voitinovici. Eu sînt Gavrilescu, profesorul de pian al Otiliei. N-am
avut plăcerea să vă întâlnesc, adăugă politicos.
- Aţi greşit adresa, spuse femeia. Aici e numărul 18.
- Daţi-mi voie, începu din nou Gavrilescu zâmbind. Cunosc apartamentul acesta
de cinci ani. Pot spune că fac parte din familie. Vin aici de trei ori pe
săptămână...
Tânărul ascultase conversaţia rezemat de perete.
- Cum spuneţi că o cheamă? îl întrebă. [...]
- Ah, ce-a mai fost şi cu dânsa, îl întrerupse cârciumarul, nici până în ziua de azi
nu se ştie ce s-a întâmplat. L-a căutat poliţia câteva luni şi n-a putut să dea de el,
nici viu, nici mort... Parcă ar fi intrat în pământ...Biata madame Elsa, l-a aşteptat
ce l-a aşteptat, şi pe urmă a plecat la familia ei în Germania. Şi-a vândut lucrurile
şi a plecat. N-aveau cine ştie ce, erau săraci. Mă bătea gândul să cumpăr eu
pianul.
- Va să zică a plecat în Germania, spuse Gavrilescu visător. A plecat de mult?
- De mult, de mult. La câteva luni după ce a dispărut Gavrilescu. La toamnă se
împlinesc 12 ani. A scris şi în ziare...
- Curios, şopti Gavrilescu [...] Şi eu dacă ţi-aş spune dumitale, dacă ţi-aş spune
că azi-dimineaţă, şi-ţi dau cuvântul meu de onoare că nu exagerez, azi-dimineaţă
am stat cu ea de vorbă... Ceva mai mult. La prânz am mâncat împreună. Pot să-ţi
spun şi ce-am mâncat...
- S-o fi întors, vorbi cârciumarul, privindu-l nedumerit.

Mircea Eliade – La Ţigănci

81
4. Fill in the gaps using the correct verb form:

a) As he..........................(to think) for months about leaving his wife

and......................(not/to do) it because it....................(to be) too cruel to deprive
her of himself, her departure.......................... (to be) a very healthful shock.

b) When she nearly..........................(to reach) the end of the curve

she............................(to see) a figure ahead of her.

c) Mary........................(to return) to the room. Pete...................... (to sit) down

beside the gas fire and..........................(to take) off his shoes.

d) Her eyes...........................(to be) puffed, and she obviously ............................

(to cry) that afternoon.

e) No sooner I..............................(to arrive) than I........................ (to send) her a

letter to say that I...............................(to have) a present for her.

f) I..............................(to get) back as soon as I............................. (to get) through

with my business.

g) His cheek..........................(to be) cut. When she ..........................(to see) it

she.........................(to say): “Oh, you .........................(to fight) again.”

h) He............................(to have) a son of twenty-nine. He.........................(to

farm) in Australia.

i) She.........................(to make) me promise to say nothing about it till

she.........................(to have) a chance of breaking the news to her father
gradually.
j) ‘How’s the baby?’ ‘Frightfully well, thank you, Uncle Pete.
He...........................(to walk).’

k) As we............................(to drive), her eyes............................... (to stare)

rigidly out of the car window.

l) Before we.............................(to walk) four hundred yards

he ..............................(to take) his jacket off.

82
m) She........................(to become) aware that Tony...................... (to come) back
and considerately..........................(to say) nothing.

n) Jane..........................(to sit) up in bed and......................... (to eat) her dinner

when Jack..........................(to come) into the room. His
complexion............................(to be) ruddy. Obviously he.........................(to be)
shaved. She............................(to have) a glass of red wine with her meal.
She.........................(to wave) her fork as she..........................(to see) Jack.

o) John.........................(to remain) in his seat, as though studying his program,

till the three........................(to pass) out into the foyer.

p) Darkness..........................(to fall) when he finally.................... (to return) to

the hotel. He........................(to say) nothing to Pat except that he...........................
(to turn) down the job. He .............................(cannot) give her any explanation
until he completely...............................(to understand) the meaning of
what.........................(to happen).

q) He..........................(to take) to drink before........................ (to be) married four

years.

r) A little break like this...........................(to be) what she ...........................(to

need) all these years.

s) She..............................(to look) up at him from where she..........................(to

sit). Her makeup things............................ (to lie) in front of her.
She...........................(to do) her face.

t) While his wife.............................(to read) the letter, he...........................(to

cross) to the window.

u) My mother said: “You hardly.........................(to touch) your food.”

v) As Grant and I.............................(to come) down the steps we

nearly............................(to run) into my little brother.

w) I don’t know what’s the matter with him. He....................... (to act) funny
since you..........................(to be) away.

x) I..........................(to sit) there for about ten minutes, pretending to read, when
someone..............................(to sit) down at my table.

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y) He..........................(to be) sure that there...........................(to be) a serious row
when Hugh...............................(to hear) of it.

z) The actress.............................(to stop) in front of their table, smiling widely.

He.........................(to stand) up and..................... (to take) her hand. ‘Hello’, he
said. ‘We..........................(to see) your show tonight. We.............................(to
think) you.........................(to be) very good indeed.’

5. Correct the following sentences:

a) I know Sam since we were at school together.

b) We would have a cat, but it ran away one day when I was not at home.

c) The service was terrible; when our dessert arrived, Michael still ate his soup.

d) I have met a very interesting couple on my holiday to France last year.

e) It’s a long time since we don’t see each other. I want to come to Rome as soon
as possible.

f) It wasn’t the first time Mary was catching her son taking money from her
wallet.

g) I’d rather you didn’t give Jack my address – he came five times to my house
yesterday!

h) You did nothing to complain since we’ve arrived here. Stop it.

i) Mary was about sitting down, when she noticed the bench was dirty.

6. Choose the correct form (a, b, c, d):

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a) My husband............................for a used minivan. Could you recommend me a
place?
a. has looked b. looks c. is looking d. looked

b) When I last saw Peter he........................in his armchair.

a. was sitting b. is sitting c. had been sitting d. sat

c) The kids............................where to play basketball.

a. was not told b. were not been told c. have not been told
d. will not have been told

d) By next Friday, my boyfriend...........................a whole year without smoking a

cigarette.
a. has gone b. will go c. will have gone d. has been going

e) I............................just about to have a cup of tea when the police called.

a. have been b. was c. had been d. was being

f) Michael, what sort of job do you think Ross........................ in a few years’

time?
a. do b. will be doing c. will do d. are doing

g) This is the last time we..........................you before we leave.

a. saw b. have seen c. are seeing d. see

h) I assure you that once you..........................Peter you will love him.

a. saw b. will see c. see d. have seen

i) While I............................TV, I fell asleep.

a. had been watching b. was watching c. watched d. am watching
j) What..............................in ten years’ time?
a. will you do b. you do c. will you be doing d. be doing

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Background reading:
The following books are extremely useful for you to understand the verbal categories, tense,
aspect and mood.

Huddlestone, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leech, Geoffrey et al. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Edinburgh:
Pearson ESL.
Hornoiu, Diana. 2016. Elements of English Morphology: Verbal Categories. Constanţa: Ovidius
University Press.
Quirk, Randolph and Sydney Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English. Harlow:
Longman Pearson, 1973.
Quirk, Randolph et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Harlow: Longman
Pearson, 1985.

GLOSSARY

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aspect = a grammatical category that reflects the way in which the meaning of a
verb is viewed with respect to time. There are two aspects in English, the perfect
and the progressive which may combine in a complex verb phrase and are
marked for present and past tense.

case = a choice of word form marking the syntactic role of a noun or pronoun,
for example as subject (she), object (her), or genitive (Mary’s).

collective noun = a noun that refers to a group: family, army, etc. These nouns
agree with the verb both in the singular and the plural.

common noun = a noun that refers to a class rather than a specific entity (e.g.
boy, shop, sorrow).

countable noun = a noun that refers to entities that can be counted(e.g. a boy,
two boys, etc.).

determiner = a function word that specifies the kind of reference a noun has
(e.g. definite, indefinite, negative) (e.g. the walls, those children, a bike, no
money).

elliptic genitive = the process of omitting a noun following the genitive if the
reference is clear from the context (e.g. That isn’t my book. It’s Mary’s.).

en plural = a type of plural for countable nouns which survived from Old
English. There are only three nouns in English which take the plural suffix -en
(e.g. child-children, ox-oxen and brother-brethren).

formulaic subjunctive = also known as optative subjunctive, has only survived

in certain fixed expressions (e.g. Long live the King, Be that as it may, etc).

future = a time which refers to an action which has not happened yet.

gender = grammatical marking to signify female (feminine gender: she,

policewoman), male (masculine gender: businessman, he), neither male nor
female (house, it), or either male or female (personal gender: student, teacher,
doctor).

genitive = the marking, or case, represented by the ’s suffix on a noun (or just by
’ in the plural)(e.g. John’s, boys’).

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group genitive = a construction in which the genitive inflection ’s is added to
the last element of a noun phrase consisting of a postmodified or coordinated
noun head (e.g. the Duke of Windsor’s eldest son).

higher animals = nouns denoting the range of animals and birds in which human
society is interested; animals which are involved in a familiar experience, as
domestic pets or in the context of farming (e.g. rooster – hen, stallion – mare)

implicit genitive = genitive construction which does not have a different

genitive inflection (e.g. doctor degree, afternoon tea, etc.).

inflection = a morphological change in verbs, nouns, and some other word

classes, that expresses a grammatical meaning such as number or tense: (e.g.
offices, saying, came, latest.).

inflected genitive = also known as synthetic genitive ’s can usually be

paraphrased as ‘belonging to’, ‘related to’, ‘associated with’. The inflected
genitive is favoured by the classes of nouns which are highest on the gender
scale (e.g. Lincoln’s statue, Europe’s future, etc).

irregular verb = a verb which does not use the regular –ed inflection for past
tense and/or past participle: (e.g. see – saw – seen; eat – ate – eaten).

local genitive = a special case of the elliptic genitive. It is used when the
unexpressed item refers to homes or shops, companies and places that provide a
service (e.g. When I arrived at Macdonald’s).

lower animals = the nouns included in this category (frog, bee, ant, etc) take as
pronominal substitutes it and which. The masculine-feminine distinction can be
made explicit by formal gender markers (e.g. male frog – female frog).

mandative subjunctive = used in a that-clause after an expression of such

notions as demand, recommendation, proposal, intention. It is one of the two
main uses of the present subjunctive.

modal verbs = a small group of auxiliary verbs which are only used in
combination with lexical verbs. A modal verb changes the other verb’s meaning
to something different from simple fact. Modal verbs may express permission,
ability, prediction, possibility, necessity, advice, etc (e.g. can, could, may, might,
must, shall, should, will, would).

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morphology = the part of grammar explaining how morphemes are put together
to construct words.

non-sortal = mass nouns such as gold, water, ice are also known as non-sortals,
meaning that they cannot be pluralised.

number = the choice between singular and plural forms of nouns, pronouns and
other word classes (e.g. car – cars; this – these).

partitives = mass nouns can be used with a set of quantifiers which operate as
partitioning expressions and individuate a certain ‘portion of the intended stuff’.
When mass nouns are used with these quantifiers they are recategorized into
countable nouns (e.g. a blade of grass, a piece of gold, a flight of stairs, etc.).

past tense = a verb tense expressing a completed action or state in the past.

perfect aspect = a verb construction that describes events or states taking place
in the past, but linked to a subsequent time, especially the present. The perfect
aspect is formed with have + past participle: (e.g. have eaten, have driven).

perfect progressive = a verb construction that combines both perfect aspect and
progressive aspect: (e.g. have been driving).

periphrastic genitive = also known as prepositional genitive because it contains

the preposition of, is used with nouns that belong to the bottom part of the
gender scale, i.e. with nouns denoting lower animals and with inanimate nouns
(e.g. the philosophy of language).

plural by ablaut = the nouns which are included in this group change their
middle vowel in the plural. There are only seven nouns in English which form
their plural by ablaut (e.g. foot – feet, tooth – teeth, goose – geese, man – men,).

plural by voicing = nouns which in the singular end in a voiceless consonant

change it into a voiced consonant if the plural marker -s is added (e.g. knife-
knives).

pluralia tantum noun = this term is Latin in origin and can be translated as
‘plural only’. Under this umbrella term we can include different classes of nouns
which can have count or mass noun properties. These nouns can be grouped into
different classes that describe: (i) illnesses, (ii) names of sciences and objects of

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study, (iii) names of games, (iv) instruments, (v) articles of clothing, (vi) parts of
the body, and other nouns which do not fit into these classes.

progressive aspect = a verb construction describing an event or state of affairs

which is in progress or continuing; formed with be + ing-participle: (e.g. is
eating, were running).

quasi-count noun = noun which is morphologically unmarked for plural and is

used only in the plural (e.g. cattle, folk, poultry, police, people, etc.).

recategorization = a nouns which is usually considered as mass becomes count

by means of pluralisation and/or use of the indefinite article a(n) (e.g. coffee –
coffees).

sortal = count nouns such as cat, desks, table, lake, etc are also called sortals,
meaning that they have a plural form.

subjunctive = the form of a finite verb that is sometimes used in hypothetical or

non-factual cases: If I were you... The subjunctive is rarely used in English.

tense = morphological marking on the verb phrase related to time distinctions:

compare present tense walk(s), do(es) with past tense walked, did.

thematic role = any of a set of semantic roles that a noun phrase may have in
relation to a verb (e.g. agent, patient, beneficiary, location, source, goal, etc).

uncountable noun = a type of noun that refers to things that cannot be counted,
and normally has no plural form (e.g. milk, leather, equipment).

zero plural = a plural form which is identical to the singular form (e.g. sheep,
deer).

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arhire, Mona and Anamaria Micu. Limba Engleză. 1600 de teste grilă. Editura
Aula, 2002.
Bauer, Laurie. A Glossary of Morphology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, 2004.
Bauer, Laurie, Rochelle Lieber and Ingo Plag. The Oxford Reference Guide to
English Morphology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
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Bejan, Camelia and Remus Bejan. Morphology of Contemporary English.
Bucharest, 2005.
Carter, Ronald and Michael McCarthy. Cambridge Grammar of English.
Spoken and Written English Grammar and Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2006.
Chalker, Sylvia. A Student’s English Grammar Workbook. Harlow: Longman,
1992.
Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. Collins COBUILD
2012.
Downing, Angela and Philip Locke. English Grammar. A University Course,
2nd edition. London/New York: Routledge, 2006.
Foley, Mark and Diane Hall. Longman Advanced Learner’s Grammar.
Longman Pearson, 2003.
Graver, B.D. Advanced English Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1995.
Hornoiu, Diana. An Introduction to English Morphology: Nominal Categories.
Ovidius University Press, 2009.
Hornoiu, Diana. Elements of English Morphology: Verbal Categories. Ovidius
University Press, 2016.
Hornoiu, Diana. Nominal Categories in English. Theory and Practice. Ovidius
University Press, 2016.
Huddlestone, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of
the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Leech, Geoffrey et al. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
Pearson ESL, 1999.
Longman Language Activator. Longman Group, 1993.
McArthur, Tom. Lexicon of Contemporary English. Harlow: Longman, 1981.
Norris, Roy and Amanda French. Ready for CAE Workbook. Macmillan
Heinemann, 2004.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 8th edition,
2010.
Pârlog, Hortensia, Pia Brînzeu, Luminiţa Frenţiu (coord.) Instant English.
English for the Baccalaureate and Entrance Examinations. Polirom, 2004.
Quirk, Randolph and Sydney Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English.
Harlow: Longman Pearson, 1973.
Quirk, Randolph et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language.
Harlow: Longman Pearson, 1985.
Quirk, Randolph and Sydney Greenbaum. A Student’s Grammar of English.
Harlow: Longman, 1990.
Side, Richard and Guy Wellman. Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge
Advanced and Proficiency. Longman Pearson, 2002.

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Susan, Arina – Liana. Limba engleză pentru bacalaureat şi admitere în
învăţământul superior. Editura Corint, 2004.
Thomson, A.J and A.V. Martinet. A Practical English Grammar. Oxford
University Press, 1985.
Vince, Michael. Advanced Language Practice. Macmillan Heinemann, 2003.

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