Dear Clare, Thank you for your letter. I’m sorry it has ……………………… me so long to write back but I’ve had a very busy period at school. I’m so looking ………………………….. to your visit to St Petersburg in July and I think it’s a great idea to learn some Russian ………………………….. you come. I think the best advice about learning a language is to try to do a little every day – that’s much more effective, in my …………………………….., than doing a lot once a week or once a fortnight. It’d be sensible to have some lessons but you’d have to do a lot of work ……………………… your own in between the lessons to …………………… good progress. English-speaking people often think Russian’s difficult to learn because we have a different alphabet, but in practice …………………………… everyone manages to master Cyrillic letters very quickly. …………………… is much harder is the grammar, ………………………… nouns and adjectives decline, …………………………. each of them has about ten different forms, depending ………………………… what case it’s in and whether it’s singular or plural. I think you might find the vocabulary hard …………………………… first too, as most everyday words bear ……………………….. similarity at all to English words. ……………………………….. vocabulary is difficult at the beginning, I think that’s what you should concentrate ………………………….. That way you’ll be able to communicate, …………………….. if you make lots of grammar mistakes. I’ll send you some lists of words and expressions that I think you’ll find most useful – language that you might need in a museum or restaurant, for example. Best wishes, Natasha taken forward before opinion / view on make almost / nearlyWhat as / since / because so on at no Although oneven

Dear Sir / ………………………, I have recently heard that our town council is …………………………… banning private vehicles from the town centre during working hours. My initial reaction was that this was an impractical proposal and impossible to enforce. However, the ……………………… I think about it, the ………………………. sensible the idea seems. These are my current thoughts. There is no doubt that traffic congestion during working hours has ……………………… getting gradually worse for some time and this has become a cause of irritation for motorists ……………………… may be trying to get to work. The large number of private cars also prevents buses and taxis getting efficiently from A to B. The council has already tried other measures, ……………………….. as congestion charging and the introduction of special bus lanes during rush-hour periods. Unfortunately, these measures have not had the desired effect and the situation is continuing to deteriorate. It is to be hoped that reserving the town centre for essential traffic and public transport will make our town a …………………… more pleasant environment for employees of shops and businesses, as ……………………… as for tourists, shoppers and others who may want to visit the town centre during working hours. In my view, the arguments in …………………………………. of banning private vehicles are indisputable ………………………… the reasons I have given. ……………………………, for the ban to be successful, improved train and bus services must be provided for those who will have to leave their cars at home when the ban comes ……………………. force. Such services need to be regular efficient and affordable. Yours ……………………….., Mike Thompson Madam considering more been that / who such much / far well favour for However / Nevertheless into faithfully

4) Provided (that) you do a lot of exercise, you will lose weight. 5) Had Mr Kay known he was so unwell, he wouldn’t have carried on working. 1) Tyler wouldn’t be feeling ill if he hadn’t eaten too much. 2) Unless your temperature goes down, I’ll call the nurse. 6) As long as surgery is not required, patients are usually treated in one day. 7) Supposing Eva has to go to hospital, what will her children do? 8) Should you need a further appointment, please inform the receptionist. 3) If Emma wasn’t / weren’t a caring person, she wouldn’t have become a doctor. 9) On condition (that) you have a prescription, you can buy medication on this website. Ex. 3 p ) Were there any accidents, paramedics will treat minor injuries.

Come vorrei essere in vacanza. I WISH / IF ONLY I WAS/WERE on holiday. Come vorrei avere un altro mese per studiare. I WISH To express a wish in the present. SIMPLE PAST I WISH / IF ONLY + I HAD another month to study. IF ONLY I HAD another month to study. IT IS TIME (that) + IT IS ABOUT TIME (that) + IT IS HIGH TIME (that)+ SIMPLE PAST IT IS (ABOUT / HIGH) TIME (that) you started to study. Sarebbe ora che……..

Come vorrei aver studiato di più. I WISH / IF ONLY To express a regret in the past. PAST PERFECT I WISH / IF ONLY + I HAD STUDIED more.

Come vorrei andare al cinema domani. I WISH / IF ONLY To express a wish in the future. COULD I WISH / IF ONLY + I COULD GO to the cinema tomorrow. WOULD

Come vorrei che il professore smettesse di parlare. I WISH / IF ONLY To express annoyance. WOULD I WISH / IF ONLY + the teacher WOULD STOP speaking. someone else + Different subject

Preferirei che tu rimanessi a casa. Preferirei rimanere a casa. I’D RATHER STAY at home. To express a preference in the present. BARE INFINITIVE I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+ I’D RATHER you STAYED at home. Same subject I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+ SIMPLE PAST Different subject Avrei preferito rimanere a casa. I’D RATHER HAVE STAYED at home. Avrei preferito che tu fossi rimasto a casa. I’D RATHER you HAD STAYED at home. To express a preference in the past. I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+ HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE Same subject I’D RATHER (WOULD RATHER)+ PAST PERFECT Different subject

My maths teacher never raises her voice. Neverdoes my maths teacher raise her voice. INVERSION for emphasis Avviene ogni volta che metto all’inizio della frase una parola o un’espressione che ha un senso negativo. Examples: rarely / seldom nevernever before barely / hardly / scarcely no sooner …… than nowhere Nowhere have I met anyone with such enthusiasm. No sooner had Tom come in than he started shouting. only + a time expression at no time on no account in no way in / under no circumstances Only when they arrived, did they realise it was the wrong place. not onlynot until little not sincenot for one momentnot once only + by / in / with Only by chance, did they discover where he was hiding.

INVERSION for emphasis Avviene anche dopo……. SO + adjective ………. THAT SUCH + verb to BE ……… THAT So successful was her business, that she became a millionaire. So dangerous did the weather conditions become, that all roads were closed. Such is the popularity of the film, that the cinema will be full every night. Avviene anche dopo……. neithernor anche quando non sono all’inizio della frase. After the explosion Jack couldn’t hear, and neither could he see. The council didn’t want the new supermarket to be built, nor did local residents.