Упражнения: Learning foreign languages. English in the world

Изучение иностранных языков. Английский в мире

Linda, an American who is travelling in Liverpool, is having trouble. Help her order in a restaurant by changing American words to their British equivalents.

Replace the words in the gaps with their British equivalents aubergine, takeaway, chips, fizzy drinks, courgette, biscuits

Waiter: Good morning, Madam!

Linda: Good morning! Do you have something with aubergine ?

Waiter: We've got an omelette with herbs and …

Linda: No, no. I mean a vegetable, you know, similar to a courgette ? Oh, maybe I'd rather go with potatoes. Do you have chips ?

Waiter: We've got it with fish as everywhere else in Britain!

Linda: Great. I'll take this then. As a takeaway please.

Waiter: Sure, anything else?

Linda: Do you have fizzy drinks ? Oh, I see them in the fridge. I'll take one.

Waiter: Something for dessert?

Linda: Yes, please. Two chocolate biscuits . And that's it.

Waiter: £15, please. Your order will be ready in 5 minutes.

Linda: Thank you!

Typical Globish. Can you hold a conversation like a native speaker?

When it comes to learning English, reading in the original is really helpful. Imagine you've won a contest to meet a famous English writer. Wow! You've learned so many words from her books! You are going to London, where the writer is meeting fans in her mansion. You are excited to meet the star and show off your English. But be careful — even the simplest small talk phrases can turn out to be tricky…

1. You can't wait to meet your favourite author, but there is no way you're going to be on time with this traffic! Finally, you arrive 10 minutes late and ring the bell. The door opens, and you see the hostess, an aristocrat by birth. You greet each other, and now it's time for you to apologize for being late. What do you say?

I am sorry for lating. I am sorry for being late.

Don't make the situation worse by making a mistake. Late is an adjective and not a verb, so you can't form the gerund from it. The structure that is used here is to be late.

Click here if you chose 1st option

Right! Because of your proper English, the hostess forgives you.

Click here if you chose 2nd option

2. You are shown to the hall full of guests. It's time to get to know each other. Somebody asks, "How are you today?" What is your answer?

I feel myself good, thank you for asking. And you? I feel good, thank you for asking. And you?

A typical mistake. In English, feel isn't followed by myself. Saying I feel myself good will put you in an awkward position because it means that you touch yourself and it gives you pleasure.

Click here if you chose 1st option

Right. Forget about feel myself, only feel good is correct here. It may sound good in your native language, but in English, saying I feel myself good will put you in an awkward position because it means that you touch yourself and it gives you pleasure.

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3. You've blended in with the crowd of fans, and now you are discussing the latest book of your favourite author. You've just expressed your opinion, now ask the silent guy next to you for his.

And what do you think? And how do you think?

Right!

Click here if you chose 1st option

"I think slowly," the man answers ironically. The problem is that How is used to ask about the way something is done, for example, think (how?) slowly. It is important to remember the difference between how and what.

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4. The silent man turned out to be quite a chatterbox and thanked you for an interesting conversation in the end. What do you answer to Thank you?

Please. My pleasure.

Unfortunately, no. You can't answer Please when somebody thanks you.

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That's right! It's a correct and polite way to answer.

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5. Soon, the author will present her new book and answer your questions. An American man next to you wants to make sure at what time the presentation starts. What do you answer?

At 7. At 19.

Yes. In the USA and in Britain, people use the 12-hour clock and add a.m. or p.m. to tell the difference between 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening.

Click here if you chose 1st option

Not the best idea. The American will understand what you mean, but saying at 7 would be better. In the USA and in Britain, people use the 12-hour clock and add a.m. or p.m. to tell the difference between 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening. The 24-hour clock in these countries is only used in some areas (aviation, the military, medicine etc.) where making a mistake about time could be dangerous.

Click here if you chose 2nd option

Results:

5 points: Not a single mistake! It's like you've been living in London all along.

3-4 points: Mistakes in your speech betray a non-native speaker in you.

0-2 points: It seems you like to use the structures of your native language in English. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.

"England and America are two countries separated by a common language." This witty saying is usually attributed to George Bernard Shaw, although a similar thought was also once expressed by Oscar Wilde. This expression is, of course, humorous. Surely, the British and Americans will understand each other just fine. Can you determine which words belong to which variety of English? Drag the word to Uncle Sam if you think it is American, and "give" it to John Bull if it is British.

Choose if the words belong to British English or American English and put them in the right places vacation holiday pants trousers soccer football fries chips line queue elevator lift gas petrol truck lorry apartment flat Quote by George Bernard Shaw retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/ (Public Domain). Some sources attribute this quote to other playwrights.

Let's learn about the differences between British and American pronunciation.

The letter "t". Is it tap or plosive?

  • In standard British, the letter "t" is always pronounced as a /t/ in any position in a word. In American English, they tend to drop "t" in the final position.
  • Also, in American English, when the letter "t" is in the middle position, it sometimes changes to a soft /d/.

    Saturday /ˈsætədeɪ/ (BrE) – Saturday /ˈsæ(d)ədeɪ/ (AmE)

    party /pɑːti/ (BrE) – party /pɑː(d)i/ (AmE)

Put the words into the correct groups Saturday /ˈsætədeɪ/ waiter /ˈweɪtə/ matter /ˈmætə/ party /pɑːti/ Saturday /ˈsæ(d)ədeɪ/ waiter /ˈweɪ(d)ər/ matter /ˈmæ(d)ər/ party /ˈpɑː(d)i/ British pronunciation American pronunciation Now, listen and repeat the words after the speaker

Saturday — Saturday

waiter — waiter

matter — matter

party — party

Note!

  • The "t" is sometimes dropped in the middle position after "n" in American English.

interview /ˈɪntəvjuː/ (BeE) – interview /'ɪnərvjuː/ (AmE)

  • interview /ˈɪntəvjuː/ – interview /'ɪnərvjuː/
  • centre /ˈsentə/ – center /ˈsenər/
  • Internet /ˈɪntənet/ – Internet /ˈɪnərnet/


Отзывы

Виктория
Виктория
12 апреля 2023
Учусь в Skyeng уже полгода, в последнее время стала довольно быстро расправляться с домашками, так что раздел с бесплатными заданиями очень помогает не скучать между уроками. Занимаюсь английским практически каждый день.
Станислав
Станислав
01 мая 2023
Спасибо за бесплатные задания. Кажется, у меня наконец получилось разобраться, в чем разница между прошедшими временами. Мучился с этой темой еще со школы.
Карина
Карина
15 апреля 2023
Удобно, что можно делать упражнения с телефона, помогает скоротать время в дороге, да еще и с пользой.

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  • Это бесплатные упражнения?

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