Use of English - Rephrasing #002 (CAE)

From now on, answers will be in white just below their respective sentence. They are numbered globally through the blog, for precise future reference. There is no upper and lower limit in the number of words here.

9. 'I'm sorry I got home so late,' said Laura. apologised
Laura ............... home so late.
Laura APOLOGISED FOR GETTING home so late.

10. 'I won't tell anyone about it,' said Suzie. promised
Suzie ......................... anyone about it.
Suzie PROMISED NOT TO TELL anyone about it.

11. 'Laura, you should try being honest with your parents,' said the doctor. advised
The doctor ........................ honest with her parents.
ADVISED LAURA TO TRY BEING

12. 'Don't go out with that boy again!' said Laura's father. warned
Laura's father ..................... go out with that boy again.
WARNED HER NOT TO

13. 'You've been meeting your boyfriend after school, haven't you?' said Laura's mother. accused
Laura's mother .............. her boyfriend after school.
ACCUSED HER OF MEETING

14. 'Lend me your gameboy, or I'll tell Mum and Dad,' said Laura's brother. threatened
Laura's brother ........................ her parents unless she lent him her gameboy.
THREATENED TO TELL

15. 'I haven't seen Steve since Saturday night,' said Laura. denied
Laura .................. Steve since Saturday night.
DENIED HAVING SEEN

Thesaurus: likely

adjective

1. =  inclined, disposed, prone, liable, tending, apt • People are more likely to accept change if they understand it.
2. =  probable, expected, anticipated, odds-on, on the cards, to be expected • A 'yes' vote is the likely outcome.
3. =  plausible, possible, reasonable, credible, feasible, believable, verisimilar • It's likely that he still loves her.
4. =  appropriate, promising, pleasing, fit, fair, favourite, qualified, suitable, acceptable, proper, hopeful,agreeable, up-and-coming, befitting • He seemed a likely candidate to become Prime Minister.

adverb

1. =  probably, no doubt, presumably, in all probability, like enough (informal), doubtlessly, like as not(informal) • Very likely he'd told them of his business interest.

When using likely as an adverb, it is usual to precede it by another, intensifying, adverb such as very or most, for example "it will most likely rain". The use of likely as an adverb without an intensifier, for example "it will likely rain", is considered nonstandard in British English, though it is common in colloquial U.S. English.

from Collins Thesaurus

Use of English – Rephrasing #001 (CAE)

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words, including the word given. Answers in blank ink, highlight with your mouse to see them.

1. ‘Where do you think he is?’ she said. WONDERED
She …………………

2. It wasn’t until I finished going out with him that I realized I missed him. BROKE
I realized ……………….that I missed him.

3. I hadn’t seen such a wonderful painting before. NEVER
……………………………. such a wonderful painting.

4. I lost my keys so I was late. IF
I ……………… I hadn’t lost my keys.

5. She was beginning to change her mind about taking the job. SECOND
She was …………….. the job.

6. The problem is not my fault. BLAME
I……………… the problem.

7. The police thought he had been living in Canada. HAVE
He……………. in Canada.

8. His wallet isn’t here so I’m sure it was stolen. MUST
His wallet ……………………….

ANSWERS:
1. She wondered where he was.

2. I realized after I had broken up with him that I missed him.

3. I had never seen such a wonderful painting.

4. I would have arrived on time if I hadn’t lost my keys.

5. She was having second thoughts about the job.

6. I am not to blame for the problem.

7. He was thought to have been living in Canada.
8.His wallet must have been stolen.

Use of English - ON TIME vs. IN TIME

On time

at the planned time; neither late nor early

"Peter wants the meeting to start exactly on time. "

In time

with enough time to spare; before the last moment

"He would have died if they hadn’t got him to the hospital in time."

Grammar - Causatives (let, make, have, get)

Let

FORM

[let + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to allow someone to do something."

Examples:

“Tony’s parents wouldn’t let him have a new smartphone.”

“Let me live!”

“Sheila didn’t let him enter after what he had done to her.”

Make

FORM

[make + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to force someone to do something."

Examples:

"My mother made me attend that stupid speech."

"Our teacher has made us do an insane amount of work."

"Oliver made Charlie kiss the frog. Yuck!"

Have

FORM

[have + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to give someone the responsibility to do something."

Examples:

"Mrs. Weasley had his husband swipe the landing."

"I’ll have my brother send you the package, auntie."

"Please have your secretary fax me the document."

Get

FORM

[get + person + to + verb]

USE

This construction usually means "to convince to do something" or "to trick someone into doing something."

Examples:

"He got her wife to stop watching that reality show."

"They are getting their uncle to lend them his cottage in the country."

"We’ll get the builders to move the skip tomorrow morning."

Get vs. Have

Sometimes "get someone to do something" is interchangeable with "have someone do something," but these expressions do not mean exactly the same thing.

Examples:

·       I got the mechanic to check my brakes.
At first the mechanic didn't think it was necessary, but I convinced him to check the brakes.

·       I had the mechanic check my brakes.
I asked the mechanic to check the brakes.

FCE, CAE & CPE useful language for the writing exam – Report

Introducing the report

The aim of this report is to …
In this report, I will …
This report presents …
This report is for …

Making recommendations

In the light of … it seems to me that the best approach to take is …
I would recommend … as …
I would suggest …
I definitely recommend this book/film because …

Finishing the report

For the reasons stated, I feel that …
In conclusion, I feel that …
In short, I feel confident in recommending …
Overall, …

FCE, CAE & CPE useful language for the writing exam – Letter

Beginning an informal letter

Thanks so much for your email.
Sorry not to have contacted you earlier.
Thought it was time I dropped you a line.
What’s up?
Sorry about my delay in answering your letter.
Great to hear from you.

Referring to a previous letter

You said in your letter that you want to …
Last time you wrote, you mentioned …
I remember that you spoke about …

Ending an informal letter

I think that’s all for now. Do write soon!
Once again, thanks for contacting me.
Give my love to …
Let me know if…
Speak to you soon.
All the best.

Ending a formal letter

Yours sincerely. (if beginning with the person’s name)
Yours faithfully. (if beginning with ‘Dear Sir/Madam’)

FCE, CAE & CPE useful language for the writing exam – Review

Making recommendations

I would recommend …

The … has to be included …

I can’t see how … can be ignored.

This is an iconic film/book …

It’s well ahead of its time …

It’s been very influential …

Using interesting and dramatic language

It’s totally spectacular and amazing…

It still has the power to thrill …

It sends a shiver down my spine …

The music is instantly recognizable …

What follows is an action-packed roller coaster, crammed with special effects and enthralling plot twists.

Talking directly to the reader

We’re all supposed to hate reality shows but do we really?

I’m fairly sure that you will all agree with me when I say …

Why not think about it? You’ll find that ...

Have you ever seen anything like this?

So is this really true?

So what do I really think about the whole thing?

Who doesn’t know the plot?

Concluding a review

For all the reasons given, I recommend …

It must be clear that this is the … to win the competition.

How could the … be considered complete without this …?

Recommended blog: fructose-free teens

Hello! I've written this entry to promote a blog made by Natalya, an American 13-year-old that suffers fructose malabsorption. In her blog, she explains all about her story and that condition, apart from providing useful tips, recommendations and recipes regarding what it's called the FODMAP Diet.

Besides, she writes REMARKABLY WELL and you can learn English by simply reading her entries. I feel felicity in a young teen writing so well and her deciding to write a blog to help people that share her condition. From the bottom of my heart, I give her my best wishes.

HERE is the blog.

FCE, CAE & CPE useful language for the writing exam – Proposal

Introduction

The purpose of this proposal is to evaluate…, describe… and suggest …

Making formal recommendations

It would be a good idea to…

One suggestion would be to …

It would be useful to …

I would recommend that …

It might be possible to …

Providing useful information

We hope to…

High among our future plans is…

One of our future priorities is…

One key aspect of our future is…

Our future plans include…

Giving reasons

This would mean that …

This would not only … but also …

In this way …

This addresses the issue of …

This would enable … to …

Conclusion

In the light of …

If these recommendations were to be implemented …

While there may be issues still to resolve, following these suggestions would mean …

The recommendations above would be simple to implement, and would not only …, but … too.

The recommendations above could be hard to implement, but would …, as well as … too.

FCE, CAE & CPE useful language for the writing exam – Essay

Hello! Here are some useful expressions for our essays. I’ll enlarge the list in moderate chunks as I find more of these, so keep an eye for more entries like this!

Introduction

It is often said that …

This is a hotly-debated topic.

This is a topic that is often discussed but rarely solved.

Many people feel that …

There has come a time in which …

It is yet to be known whether …

Linking ideas

While many may agree with this, it may still be a mistake.

Conversely, it may be inappropriate for this situation.

On the contrary, it is seen by many as an excellent solution to the problem.

While I can see some benefits, these may be outweighed by the disadvantages.

On one hand …, on the other hand…

In ancient times, …

Furthermore, …

What for, if …

But even more worryingly is the fact that …

On the plus side, …

Giving opinions

It seems to me that …

In my opinion, this is …

From my perspective, this seems to be …

To be honest, I feel that …

Conclusion

To sum up, it seems to me that …

To sum up, it appears that …

On balance, I feel that …

Taking all the arguments into account, I would say that …

CAE & CPE useful language for the speaking exam. Part 4 – discuss abstract questions

Using ‘fillers’ to have time to think, then responding

Let me think about that …

That’s a good / an interesting question! Just a second. Well, what I think is …

I’ve never really thought about it before, but what I would say is …

What I think about that is …

It seems / appears to me that …

This question is really interesting because …

I’ve actually thought about this before, and I feel that …

Developing an answer

So if I really think about it, I could also say that …

It also occurs to me that …

What I said doesn’t mean that …

To add to what I’ve already said …

It’s true that …, but I think that …

To go into it a bit further, I’d say that …

The Average Sentence Length

Recently, I found this great article written by Nirmaldasan about the average sentence length in plain English. It’s an article worth reading that surely will improve our writings’ readability. The article can be found in the blog of his author.
Take notes!

CAE & CPE useful language for the speaking exam. Part 3 – discuss with your partner

Agreeing

You made a good point when you said …

Well, that’s an interesting point!

I take your point.

Disagreeing

Potentially offensive

I can’t see how that’s relevant to the question.

I can’t see what you’re getting at really

Softened

In my opinion, the point that you have just raised does not seem to relate to the topic at hand.
I'm sorry, but I am having difficulty in understanding the point that you are making. 

I'm having some trouble seeing the relevance of that, can you explain how it applies?

IMPORTANT NOTE: The effect that a disagreement provokes in your peer relies mostly on the tone in which it is said. For more information, visit this thread where I asked for help.

Suggesting

Why don’t we think about …?

This seems to me to be a good idea to discuss.

We could link this to …

Justifying and clarifying

I’m sure that’s right, because …

What I meant by that is …

What I said was …

So what you really mean is …

So when you said …, you meant …

Asking for opinions

What do you think?

Are you with me on that one?

Anything to add?

Do you think/feel the same?

CAE & CPE useful language for the speaking exam. Part 2 – compare two pictures

Comparing the pictures

Whereas the people in the first picture are … , those in the second picture are …

The first picture shows a workplace. Conversely, the second …

The people in the second picture are … more than those of the third picture, who …

Both pictures show people who are …

To find similarities and differences, I’d say that …

Expressing opinions

It seems to me that …

What I think is…

I think it’s quite clear that …

I feel quite strongly that …

It appears to me that …

Speculating

What I would probably say about the people is that …

The people seem to me to be …

Perhaps they are feeling … because …

It’s possible that they are … since …

I’m really not sure / I’m not completely sure, but I think that …

They appear / seem to be …

Organizing your talk

To add to what I said about …

On top of that, I’d say …

Against that is the fact that …

CAE & CPE useful language for the speaking exam. Part 1 – personal topics

Likes:

I really / truly enjoy ... because … (always give an explanation about your likes / dislikes)

I’m into ... / I’m keen on … / I’m fond of … (CAUTION with their respective prepositions)

My favourite food / programme / whatever is … because …

Polite way to explain a dislike:

I’m afraid I don’t really like … because …

Talking about plans

My plans for the future regarding this issue are… / In the future, I’d really like to…

Putting emphasis in your opinion in comparison with others

I think my friends / my parents / my siblings might say … but in my opinion …

Getting time in a nice way

I don’t know what to say – it’s a difficult question, but probably I’d say that …

Making a choice ad hoc

I don’t think I really have a preference, although if I had to choose …

One in three Alzheimer's cases preventable, says research from Cambridge

Adapted version. For the full article, visit:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28262878

A healthier, fitter population could be the key to reducing cases of Alzheimer's disease.
The main risk factors for the disease are a lack of exercise, smoking, depression and poor education, it says.

The Cambridge team analysed population-based data to work out the main seven risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

These are:

• Diabetes
• Mid-life hypertension
• Mid-life obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Depression
• Smoking
• Low educational attainment

"While age is the biggest risk factor for most cases of Alzheimer's, there are a number of lifestyle and general health factors that could increase or decrease a person's chances of developing the disease."

"However, we still do not fully understand the mechanisms behind how these factors are related to the onset of Alzheimer's."

Of the seven risk factors, the largest proportion of cases of Alzheimer's in the US, UK and the rest of Europe can be attributed to physical inactivity.

Physical inactivity is also linked to increased risks of other health problems, such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

CAE writing task

Which aspect of our daily lives has been affected most by technology?
· Communication
· Relationships
· Working life
-----------------------------------------------

Nowadays it is crystal clear that technology has affected the way we live in great extent. From the way we enjoy things like films and music, to new sources of entertainment provided entirely by new technological possibilities, our lives have been benefited (or doomed) by ongoing developments that claim to make our lives ‘easier and simpler’ – Why ‘simpler’ is good, I don’t know. But which aspect of our daily lives has been affected most by technology?

In ancient times, our ancestors used to communicate mouth-to-mouth, travelling to meet important people whenever it was possible or sending letters if the issue could be solved that way. Now, we continue to do such things, just in a different way. We communicate mouth-to-mouth, but over copper cable. We continue travelling to meet people, but in faster ways. And so we send letters, now called emails. Although it is utterly true that emails are no more popular amongst youngsters, now there are faster ways to talk – better said, to babble - with mates, of course, using portable phones. Anyway, youngsters have always had their own ways to hang out; the most disruptive change caused by technology has been nowhere but in the work field.

In the working life, technology has procured lots of improvements, although not all of them have been welcomed at equal degree. Some of them have made life easier for all, like Skype job interviews, digital copies of important files, computer-guided processes, only to mention some of them. But what about machinery? Machines come in handy when dealing with microsystems like microchips and some other miniatures which require of precise handwork but it is also true that their full integration in fields like the cloth industry has cost lots of jobs.

All in all, technology affects the way we live in aspects that we don’t even realize, but we must be aware: technology is not always there to help us.

By Diego Fenollar

A site where we can practise our writing

Surfing the internet I found a site that, though still in beta, has been proven to be a very reliable writing corrector. Also, it happens to be supported by Cambridge itself! Here is the link:
https://sat.ilexir.co.uk
It will qualify you inside a range between B1 and B2, but this is not determinant at all -nor I think the qualification is according to the level of the writing we show. I use it in order to find mistakes in my writings and all the writings that I am going to publish here will be revised using this tool.
PS: You can send me writings to be posted in this site too! I will always recognize the authorship of any work that I publish here.

Welcome post

Hello all! My real name is Diego and I've just created this blog because I wanted a site where I could study for my CAE using a wide variety of resources that provided me ongoing knowledge about English. So that is the purpose of this blog! Welcome!

Please, leave a comment if you like the blog, with that I know there are people visiting and enjoying it!

Cya!