Celta Pre-Interview Task
Language– Structure 1. Check in a grammar reference book and give examples of the following tenses. Give REALISTIC NATURAL examples that might commonly be spoken/written by a native speaker.
a.Present Simple I wake up late.
b.Present Continuous He is eating.
c.Past Simple She sat down.
d.Past Continuous They were still talking when I left.
e.Present Perfect Simple He hasn’t lived in London for long.
f.Present Perfect Continuous It has been raining for days.
g.Past Perfect He had eaten.
h.Past Perfect Continuous She had been playing for hours. 2. Many foreign learners have learnt that Will and Shall are used to refer to the future in English e.g. Jane'll be home soon. However, in natural colloquial English other forms are frequently used.
Look up and find 3 more ways of talking about the future without using will or shall.
Give example sentences. a. It is going to rain.
b. They are coming next week.
c. You are about to hear it. Language - varieties
3.Look at the following sentences. Would you say them? Who might?
So she's like “No”, and I'm like “Why not?”
This is more likely to be used colloquially in conversation by the younger generation.
I am seeing what you mean.
This is an incorrect use of the present continuous tense and is likely to be spoken by someone learning the English language
We've already gotten to know each other pretty well.
This is grammatically correct and is likely to be used by someone who is proficient in speaking the English language
Language - accuracy
4.Look at these examples of a learner's spoken English. Underline the error and say why you think it is wrong and why. (i) Pedro has arrived last Saturday.
The sentence incorrectly combines elements of the Present Perfect tense and Past Simple tense. The correct sentence would be ‘Pedro arrived last Saturday’. ii)She is living here since ten years.
a.Present Simple I wake up late.
b.Present Continuous He is eating.
c.Past Simple She sat down.
d.Past Continuous They were still talking when I left.
e.Present Perfect Simple He hasn’t lived in London for long.
f.Present Perfect Continuous It has been raining for days.
g.Past Perfect He had eaten.
h.Past Perfect Continuous She had been playing for hours. 2. Many foreign learners have learnt that Will and Shall are used to refer to the future in English e.g. Jane'll be home soon. However, in natural colloquial English other forms are frequently used.
Look up and find 3 more ways of talking about the future without using will or shall.
Give example sentences. a. It is going to rain.
b. They are coming next week.
c. You are about to hear it. Language - varieties
3.Look at the following sentences. Would you say them? Who might?
So she's like “No”, and I'm like “Why not?”
This is more likely to be used colloquially in conversation by the younger generation.
I am seeing what you mean.
This is an incorrect use of the present continuous tense and is likely to be spoken by someone learning the English language
We've already gotten to know each other pretty well.
This is grammatically correct and is likely to be used by someone who is proficient in speaking the English language
Language - accuracy
4.Look at these examples of a learner's spoken English. Underline the error and say why you think it is wrong and why. (i) Pedro has arrived last Saturday.
The sentence incorrectly combines elements of the Present Perfect tense and Past Simple tense. The correct sentence would be ‘Pedro arrived last Saturday’. ii)She is living here since ten years.