ECONOMIC ENGLISH FOR UPPER INTERMEDIATE

UNIT 1 USING NUMBERS CORRECTLY

OBJECTIVES:
make sure that the students use figures and numbers correctly in oral and
written form
c orrect use of figures and numbers in financial mathematics and professional
presentations
a). Saying numbers correctly
is pronounced oh:
after a decimal point: 6.06 = six point oh six
when dictating or indicating a telephone number:
0944532680 - oh nine double four five three two six eight oh
a room number: 303: three oh three
a bus number : l05 one oh five
years: l909 nineteen oh nine; 2003: two thousand oh three
nough:
before the decimal point: 0.00l% - nough point oh oh one
zero - for the number zero 0
temperature - 5 - fiver degrees below zero
nil: sports scores: Romania won the match five nil
love: in tennis: The score is thirty love after the break.
b) The decimal point
Point, not comma is used for decimals in English. Comma is used for writing
thousands, but it is not used by computers. When reading, all the figures after a
decimal are separate.
l0.33 - ten point three three (double three) but not ten thirty three
0.25 nough point two five
l0.002 ten point oh oh two
l0,002 ten thousand and two
Units of money are read like
5.25 five pounds twenty five. (when doing business, pronounce each figure
separately, carefully)
0.250 nough point two five oh
c) Percentage
When dealing with rates, in percentage, bear in mind the following reading:
0.3% - one third of one percent
0.25% - a quarter of a percentage point
d) Hundreds, thousands and millions
British English: two hundred and twenty five
American English: two hundred twenty five
1,999: one thousand ninety nine
year 1999: nineteen ninety nine
year 2000: two thousand
year 2005: two thousand and five
year 20l0: two thousand and ten or, twenty ten
l,000,000: million, or ten to the power six (10 )
1,000,000,000: a billion or ten to the power nine (10)
e) Squares, cubes, roots
52 five squared
53 five cubed
5 the square root of 5
f) Fractions
Fractions are usually similar to ordinal numbers: a half, a fifth, a quarter, 2/3
(two thirds), 3/4 (three quarters)
g) Foreign currency
1. How many lei-s are there to the dollar?
2. How many German marks shall we get per dollar?
3. The current rate is 19,000 lei to the dollar.
h) Numeric Adjectives
Numbers can be used as adjectives before a noun:
l. A fifteen minute meeting but never a fifteen minutes meeting.
2. A twenty dollar allowance, but never a twenty dollars allowance.
i) Mathematical symbols
1. 2+5=7 two plus five equals seven
2. 8-3 eight minus three
3. 7x6 seven times six
4. 12:3 twelve divided by three
5. A>B A is more than B; A is greater than B
6. A<B A is less than B; A is smaller than B
I. Read the following loud voice:
1. Don't say . Is that the exact figure? 0.002 per cent only! Incredible!
2. Room service, for 609, please!
3. I'm shivering! It must be less than 1o degrees below o.
4. My favourite team won 1-0.
5. My grandmother was born in 1909.
6. We shall get the 209 bus to reach to the zoo.
7. Write down my telephone number: 094530655.
8. The score has already reached l5-0 for our tennis team.
9. How much did the dollar raise? 5.04 percent.
10. 0 is the first natural figure in mathematics.
II. Read loud the following:
1. The exchange rate has raised 3.233 per cent.
2. The difference is hardly over 0.02 per cent.
3. The price is around 20.50 in sterling.
4. Repeat, please, 0.25 or 0.025 ?
5. The German mark is at 19.95.
6. I said l2.002, not 12,002.
III. Dictate and write:
l. Say it clearly, once again, 2,000,000,000 or 2,000,000?
2. The leu rate of exchange has become more stable in 2ooo.
IV. Calculate and read loud:
1. 35+25=
2. 17-12=
3. 4+7+12+9-5-3=
4. 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+919=
5. 3; x; 25 ; 3 .

UNIT 2 FIGURES IN BUSINESS

OBJECTIVES:
use figures for describing and interpreting graphs or statistics in business
After having revised the main ways of using figures in written and oral Eglish for
business, let us have a look on how to use them when having a business presentation
to make possible a correct decision-taking process.
a) Aproximation is expressed:
nearly: ...nearly eight thousand pounds for each year
just under/over: just under the previous figure...
approximately : the rise was approximately equal to the one expected
coming/ going up/down to: the trend is coming down to...
roughly: its price level was roughly l million dollars
more or less... the fall was more or less of ten pounds well over/under: ...the price
raise was under the one predicted by specialists last year
b) Rates and ratios are expressed:
population density per (unit)
ten items in one hundred were...
c) When presenting trends, some specific expressions are used:
upward movement:
a rise: ... a significant rise has occured in...
an increase: ... an incredible increase in real estate prices...
a climb/jump ... a dramatical jump of the expenditures ...
go up: ... the prices went up substantially last year...
downward movement
a fall ... a dramatic fall in consumers goods sales...
a drop: a sudden drop in cars sales...
a decline - ...an important decline is noticed in book sales lately
decrease ... business sector has decreased gradually...
Other ways of expressing tendencies and trends of different phenomena:
to level out/off: ... the prices leveled out this year
to remain stable: ... sales level remained stable for the whole year...
to fluctuate: ... the export level fluctuated the last years...
to come/reach to a peak: ... the Japanese car industry reached its peak in l995...
Specific prepositions
productivity raised from 50% to 75%
productivity fell from 60% to 40%
the salaries in budgetary sectors stayed /stood/remained at the same level
a basic salary increase of minium 37,5%
productivity rose by three percent
The extent of change is indicated through certain specific vocabulary:
fractionally / marginally / slightly / a little lower / higher
somewhat lower/higher
considerably/substantially/a great deal/far lower/much lower/dramatically
/noticeable/lower/higher
grow - dramatically/sharply/rapidly
grow gradual/steady fall
d) Contrast is expressed specifically too:
although / despite / inspite of / whereas / however / nevertheless/
Phrases like: in contrast (to) ;...while ... ;...against...; ...compared to...; in
comparison (to)... on the other hand...; on the contrary.
e) Similarity is shown using: - like/ alike/ the same/is similar to/ neither... nor/
similarly
I. Read the following text describing the rise of ATM usage and its future growth.
Look at the graph and then complete the description.
More ATMs
Between 1998 and 2oo4 world automatic teller machine (ATM) installations
are predicted to rise by 45% according to Retail Banking Research.. The growth
began immediatelly after 1975 and...
100
200
300
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
75 80 85 95 00 05
1200
Evolution of ATMs
Retail Banking Research
II. Listen to the cassette and draw the corresponding graph. This exemple teaches
you that people respond to prices. When the price of some commodity increases,
consummers will try to use less of it but producers will want to sell more of it. What
is the response of the society, of industry, in this case? When preparing to answer,
take into consideration the following:
reduce the use of oil-based products
switch the gas-fired central heating
buy smaller cars
purchase substitute commodities
adopt solar energy
develop alternatives to petroleum in chemical production
more fuel-efficient aircrafts
electricity produced from more coal-fired generators
III. Write a report about the shock of the oil price and its economic effects.
UNIT 3 ORAL PRESENTATIONS
OBJECTIVES:
prepare professionals for oral presentations to be able to better promote their
business
choose the most appropriate type of presentation according to a certain aim
organise information logically, coherently
use visual aids appropriatelly
INTRODUCTION
I. Discuss the following topics:
What is a presentation ?
For what purposes are presentations used in business ?
What makes a presentation effective?
II. Define the following:
pointer; table (figures)
graph; notes;
overhead projector (OHP); slide
felt pen; flip chart;
bar chart; handout;
overhead transparency (OHT)
screen; pie-chart; bar chart
III. Listen to Irene Goodwill, a Sales Manager, wondering about the best way
to deliver a sales presentation. Make notes under the following headings:
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Characteristics Type of what? Advantages Disadvantages Audience
_Memorised
speech
_Manuscript
speech
_Impromptu
speech
_Extemporaneous
speech
Which one do you consider suitable for business presentations?
IV. Read the following text; draw out relevant ideas for presentations in
business.
There are three main approaches in preparing oral presentations: the individual
making the presentation, the message transmitted and the media, i.e. the presentation
aids; they form together the PMM concept. The core of the presentation is the
message, but its silent part is of great importance as well and it refers to the
individual himself. It is recommended good grooming, appropriate dress, code
natural mannerism, effective body language, a pleasing voice, good eye-contact with
the audience and an authoritative presence. The individual delivering the
presentation will be judged by the audience according to the features that he
develops and controls, such as self-confidence, personality, determination, selfcontrol.
The message has to take off in such a way to gain the audience's attention by
introducing suspense, humour in the starting information. An unusual or shocking
fact, a quotation or anything that might surprise the audience is welcome.
The core message will be delivered through data, facts, information to develop
a reasonable, practical and useful conclusion for the decission process in business.
According to the presentation's objectives, the message will be informative (at
the end it will summarise the main points), an entertain one (it will restate the main
theme) or a persuasive one (it will suggest action in the end).
The information will be logically and coherently organised and delivered
clearly, establishing a good eye-contact with the audience and observe the time limit.
The last element of the PMM concept is represented by media. The oral
presentation becomes more effective and convincing if some visual aids are used,
such as overhead projectors, flip charts, slide projectors, handouts, pointers.
V. Make sure of the correct meaning and place of the missing words:
l. The image can be sharpen by the cleaning of the....2. The presenter needs ... as
write-on overlays and pens. 3. When needed to use a .... it is advisable to practice
using the machine before the oral presentation. 4. The ...must be easily accessible to
be handed out with minimum disruption. 5. When speaking for 50-100 people or
more, the speaker needs a hand-held ... with extension lead or one to be hooked on
the presenter's jacket or tie to keep his hands free. 6. If possible to control over
seating in the presentation room, it is advisable that the exit and the entrance be at
the ... of the room.
slide-projector, handouts, clear-sheets, mike, rear, project screen
VI. Read the following text and:
l. Give it an appropriate title;
2. Draw out the main ideas and identify the key-words of the message;
3. What is the conclusion of the message?
4. Do you need more relevant information ?
5. What visual aids would you use for the text?
6. Prepare a five minutes oral presentation of the message you want to promote
from the text.
The global market for electronic commercial should exceed $1 trillion by
2oo3, according to a recent survey by Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates
Group. The survey demolishes current projections for Internet commerce, predicting
a growth rate of nearly 7o%. It says that the services and manufacturing sectors will
be the main users of E-commerce, followed by government and education, financial
services and retail trade. And although the Internet currently accounts for 95% of all
E-business, by 2oo3 will be conducted over Extranets. The convergence of
technology and management disciplines to deliver scenario-based systems, driven by
customers, employees, partners, share-holders, and market demands is evolving
rapidly. But very few companies of electronic business are profitable. Many
companies are paying a very high price for incorporating E-business, wasting capital
without any real strategy. The key is to offer unique value to business partners and
clients, especially when there are thousands of competitors just a mouse click away.
The speed with which
enterprises and organisations adapt to electronic business is decissive for their
success in the market-place.
VII. How to develop and improve your presentation skills? Read the following
statements and circle the number that best describes you. Staying aware of those
steps they will help in delivering a more relaxed, confident and convincing
presentation.
l I analyse my audience and try to find the most suitable ways to draw its
attention to my solutions
1234
2. I identify some basic objectives before preparing an oral presentation
1234
3. I write first some ideas and then build my presentation around them
1234
4. I draw an introduction providing the background for the conclusion which
will make reference back to the introduction, supported by logical
arguments and visual aids.
l234
5. I prepare "key-word" notes providing only recall cues to be used as little as
possible, without having to memorise or read to my audience from a
manuscript
1234
6. I prepare visual aids easy to handle, easy to understand, to enhance not to
detract the audience
1234
7. I am enthousiastic and confident about my ideas presented.
1234
8. I run menthally through my presentation to review each idea in sequence
before the event.
1234
9. I prepare answers to "would-be questions" from the audience
1234
10. I arrange seatings, notes, visual aids and give one or two complete dress
rehearsals until I become familiar with the flow of ideas
1234
11. My body language is natural, not restricted by anxiety, I have a clear and
strong voice.
1..2..3..4
12. I keep a permanent eye-contact with my audience.
1234
VIII. Have a look on a possible development process of an oral presentation:
Identify
main
objectives
Get core material
and write the first
draft
First revision
Does it meet
objectives/requirement
Graphic process
Final draft
Rehearsal with the
visual aids
Event
Determine
potential
theme
IX. Check your attitude against oral presentations. Make amendments if you need,
according to your personality.
l. Have always prepared a key message of your own connected to the main
theme
2. Be aware of your material and "do not learn it" by heart; do not overrehearse.
3. Start and end strong.
4. Spotlight your message with your visual aids and a personalized language.
X. Choose one of the following topics and prepare a l5 minutes oral presentation
according to the steps suggested:
l. A significant contribution of a scientist in the economic field
2. An economic phenomenon that characterises the transition to market
economy; suggested solutions
3. How to prepare for a scholarship abroad for professional training and
upgrading.
4. Romanian banking system in transition.
XI. Translate into English:
Dezvoltarea economica a omenirii, n special n epoca modern, se datorete n
bun parte, existenei instituiilor bancare, prin funcionarea i rolul lor in organismul
economic
n epoca de formare a capitalismului, banca a fost aceea care a contribuit la
colectarea i valorificarea capitalului, concentrnd micile i marile economii, din
toate straturile societii pentru a le pune apoi n forma de capital, la dispoziia
ntreprinztorilor, pentru realizarea marilor planuri creatoare, care altfel ar fi fost
poate menite s dispar odat cu cei care le-au conceput.
UNIT 4 HIGHER EDUCATION
OBJECTIVES:
the students will have their knowledge, vocabulary and abilities improved in the
domain of higher education
they will become aware of the differences between Present Tense, Present
Perfect Tense in usage and meaning
I. Answer the following questions before you read the text:
l. Explain, by your own words, what is higher education.
2. What is a curriculum?
3. Is there any difference between private and state owned higher education
institutions?
4. What do you know about the autonomous character of higher education?
HIGHER EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD I
Higher education denotes a stage of education that succedes secondary
education or follows further or tertiary education. It is defined, therefore, in terms of
academic level and it consists of all courses beyond final school examinations
(Advanced Levels in England and Wales, Higher Grades in Scotland, the
baccalaureate in France, the Abitur in Germany) and intermediate technical
qualifications (level 3 in terms of National Vocational Qualifications in the United
Kingdom). Most of these courses are at undergraduate (Bachelors' degree, such as
B.A.-Bachelor of Arts or B.S.-Bachelor of Science) and postgraduate level (Masters'
and Doctoral - Ph.D.-degrees), but they also include higher technical and
professional qualifications, such as Higher National Diploma in the United
Kingdom. The demarcation between secondary and further education on the one
hand and higher education on the other has become less clear as higher education
institutions have begun to offer special access programmes at a lower academic
level, which are targeted at disadvantaged social groups, and more general courses
for adults, and also to provide continuing education and continuing professional
development.
Secondly, higher education denotes the system of institutions which provide
such courses and also engage in research. These are principally universities.
II. Match the words and the following definitions:
assessment, qualification, elite, system, research, module, vocation, completion,
technology, education
1. bring to an end; make something whole or perfect
2. careful study or investigation in order to discover new facts or information
3. a) profession, especialy one for which one is suited or trained; b) an urge to
undertake a certain kind of work
4. qualifying or becoming qualified by training, examination or experience
obtaining a degree, diploma or certificate
5. deciding the value of something
6. scientific study and use of mechanical arts and applied sciences
7. system of training and instruction designed to give knowledge and develop skills
8. any one of a set or standardised parts or units that are made separately and
are joined together to construct a whole, a system
9. social group considered to be the best or most important because of their
power, talent, wealth
lo. group of things or parts working together as a whole
III. Make sentences of your own with these words.
HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION
The first universities were established in the high Middle Ages, from the 12th
century onwards. Precise foundation dates remain debatable, but among the
earliest were Bologna, Paris, and Oxford. These early universities were closely
linked to the church and the curriculum was dominated by ancient philosophy.
Although the university was a European phenomenon, analogous institutions
existed in other cultures in the form of religious schools of the Islamic world
in India, China and Japan.
Many more universities were established in the early modern period. Royal
patronage replaced the influence of the church, particularly in the Protestant
countries of northern Europe. The university curriculum was transformed by
the new learning of the Renaissance. Universities became lay institutions
during the l6th and l7th centuries but the scientific revolution led to the
establishment of other institutions, such as the Royal Society in England or the
Academy of Science in Russia in the Age of Enlightement that also passed by
the universities focussing in aristocratic salons and literary circles.
More existing universities were established in two waves. The first occurred in
the mid 19th century when the industrial revolution, the emergence of
professional
society and the growth of the modern state came together to stimulate the
demand for university graduates. The second wave took place after l945 when
the creation of universal secondary school system, the postwar society and the
development of democratic aspirations led to the demands for the expansion of
higher education. Many higher education systems are now on the brink of a
third wave, the development of mass higher education becoming a norm rather
than an exception.
IV. Add the necessary information to the following:
1. first universities in the world were established in...
2. at the beginning academic education and curriculum was dominated by ...
3. the influence that Renaissance and Enlightenment philosophy had on
education...
4. the two waves in education of the XXth century ...
5. mass higher education...
V. Find the verbs used in present tense and present perfect tense in the text.
Make the difference in meaning.
HIGHER EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD II
Significant differences persist between national higher education systems. One
is whether traditional universities have remained a distinct sector within higher
education, characterised by student recruitment from elite social groups,
graduate entry into leading professions, and by academic and theoretical rather
than applied and practical courses, or whether unified systems have been
established. Most European and North American Systems conform to the
former binary model.
A second key difference is whether most scientific research is done in
universities and other higher education institutions or in specialised research
establishments. In the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth countries or
in some other European countries such as Sweeden and United States,
universities are leading research institutions. But in France research is
principally done by the Centre National de la Recherche. In many of the
central and Eastern European countries and in the former Soviet Union,
universities have only a limited stake on research. The main research units
remain the academies of sciences with their specialised institutes.
As most nations develop mass higher education systems, these incorporate
scientific, professional and liberal-critical strands. New subjects have entered
the higher education curriculum, some in response to scientific advances, but
many to
provide more vocational relevant outcomes. A new emphasis has been placed
on responsiveness, to students and employers.
Many higher education courses are now modular in structure. Instead of
attending a three or four year degree course with restricted options, students
can now choose from a range of separate modules. They are awarded points, or
credits, for successful completion of these modules. Degrees and other
qualifications, are denominated in credits. Students are free not only to
accumulate these credits but to transfer them from one course to another. Most
of the higher education courses are organised on terms of electives, or optional
courses. The development of modular courses are often accompanied by a
switch from the traditional academic year of three terms to two semesters.
The success of the British Open University in distance learning has led to the
widespread adoption of new teaching technologies (such as providing lessons
on television radios or by post), which in turn have reinforced the move
towards student-centred learning and assessment. As a result of all these
changes, the purposes of higher education have been transformed. Universities
are no longer exclusively engaged in the refinement, preservation, and
transmission of authorised knowledge, organised within disciplines, into a
settled intellectual culture. "Ownership" of the process of learning within
higher education is now shared with students, many of whom are no longer
young or privileged.
VI. Use present or present perfect tense in the following sentences:
1. I consider the experience the most educational I (have).
2. Where you (be) educated?
3. Elite people always (teach) themselves to develop educated taste.
4. I have the impression that I (see) her on the TV.
5. She (graduate) recently the academy.
6. He (teach) marketing at a private university since l995.
7. This teacher (coach) his students group in computers in the evenings.
8. She (instruct) the trainee accountants in drawing a correct balance sheet for
the company.
9. He (train) himself to speak learnedly and at length.
10. When (be) that library book due back?
11. The college management (invite) people of great learning to lecture on up-to-date
topics.
12. We (open) this deposit account with Credit Swiss since 1997.
VII. Use present perfect or past tense
1. They (study) materials in the library for all day long.
2. Freshers (register) their membership cards on library and computer centre at
the beginning of the academic year.
3. They (build) a new student campus with halls of residence in this area last year.
4. The whole team (negociate) the terms of the contract 2 days ago.
5. They (extend) loan and reader spaces of the library for self study this term.
6. I never (fail) any exam before!
7. The senior lecturer (submit) her doctoral thesis last mounth.
8. The graduates (pass) already their finals.
9. She (study) almost every topic so far.
10.It seems he (become) a professor lo years ago.
THE ACADEMY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
An important landmark in the history of Romanian higher education system is
1913 when the Academy of Higher Commercial and Industrial Studies was
settled in Bucharest by a Royal Decree.
The institution settled then changed its name several times, but since l969 it
has preserved the present one.
The Academy has continuously upgraded and modernised the educational
process, and it kept the pace with the most prestigious similar institutions in
the world.
Some important representatives of the Romanian economic thinking delivered
their lectures in its amphitheatres, such as Nicolae Iorga, Virgil Madgearu,
Stanislas Cihoschi.
The new Academic Charter of the institution was adopted in l996 and the
following bodies were settled.
_ the Senate, operates in plenary and committees sessions
_ the Senate Board, an executive body, it is made up of the Rector, Vice-Rector,
the Scientific Secretary, the General Administrative Manager and a students'
representative - the Academic College is made up of the members of the
Senate Board, the Deans of the faculties in the Academy, the Directors of
Departments and Colleges that approves the curriculum of the Faculties,
Colleges and Post Graduate Schools
_ the Board of Administration is a consultative body that is concerned with
investments, administration of funds, budget execution, supervising the
activities of the operating Departments
VIII. Anser the questions after reading the text:
1. How old is the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest?
2. Why did the Academy change its name several times?
3. Is it a modern educational institution?
4. The new Academic Charter was adopted in l996. Why?
5. The curriculum reform is an on-going process. Who is to approve it for the
faculties, colleges and post graduate schools in the Academy?
6. Name some of the representatives of the Romanian economic thinking and
explain their ideas.
IX. Professional training on Internet. Answer the questions after listening to the tape:
1. How did the professional training service appear on the Internet?
2. What kind of service is that and how does it work?
3. What information is provided by the database?
4. Name some advantages and disadvantages of the training service.
5. What happens with the provider not meeting the quality requirements?
X. Translate into English:
A. Procesul de nvmnt din Academia de Studii Economice este organizat
pe principiile economiei de pia, pe dou mari seciuni:
nvmntul de lung durat, structurat pe 9 faculti.
nvmntul de scurt durata
Corpul profesoral cuprinde preparatori, asisteni, lectori, confereniari i
profesori. Procesul de nvmnt aliniat celui din rile avansate prin sistemul
creditelor transferabile (ECTS), este structurat pe trei etape de formare:
etapa I cu durata de 2 ani avnd un "trunchi comun" pentru toate
specializrile facultii.
etapa II cu specializri i subspecializri, cu opiuni n cadrul acestora
etapa III studii aprofundate tip MSc, MArts, si/sau Master
Fiecare student semneaz un contract de studii n care se precizeaz
disciplinele pe care urmeaz s le studieze, ale cror numr de p.c. trebuie s le
totalizeze.
Contractul prevede obligativitatea obinerii celor l20 de p.c. pentru primii doi
ani i media minim 6. Trecerea n anul superior de studii este condiionat de
obinerea acel puin 40 puncte, n caz contrar studentul urmnd a fi
exmatriculat.
Pentru anul terminal, contractul prevede obligaia realizrii celor minimum l20
(maximum l50) puncte cumulate pentru anii III i IV i de a avea media cel
puin 7.
Anul universitar este structurat pe 2 semestre a l4 sptmni, ncheiate fiecare
cu sesiune de examene, planificate n iarn i n var.
Evalurile semestriale sunt planificate n sptmnile 7-8 i l3-l4. n fiecare an
universitar sunt prevazute cte 2 sptmni pentru restanele din semestrul
curent.
B. Obiectivele principale ale facultii de Finane, Asigurri, Bnci, Burse de
Valori sunt pregtirea universitar, post universitar i doctoral a specialitilor n
domeniu.
n primii doi ani se realizeaz o specializare unic n "Finane, Bnci" printrun
trunchi comun de cunotine n anii I, II care asigur o cultur economic
general, familiarizarea cu aparatul statistic-matematic i informatic adecvat
finanelor i bncilor.
Din anul III nvmntul este organizat pe trei subspecializri:
finane i piee financiare pentru pregtirea n domeniul finanelor i
trezoreriei publice, al finanelor ntreprinderii i al pieei de capital din ar
i strintate.
banci i burse de valori pentru pregtirea studenilor n domeniul bncilor
centrale i comerciale, al burselor de valori i al altor instituii specializate
pentru piaa monetar i cea de capital, intern i international
asigurri i securitate social, pentru pregtirea studenilor n domeniul
pieei asigurrilor, al managementului societilor de asigurare, al
plasamentelor economiilor populaiei, al brokerajului n asigurri, al
finantrii proteciei sociale
Cele trei subspecializri asigur cunotinte n analiza i previziunea
fenomenelor economice, financiare i monetare prin surprinderea fenomenelor
economice la nivel micro i macro structural, n plan naional i internaional.
XI. Explain by your own words the ODL educational system in a written form
The Academy of Economic Studies has also organised the open and distance
learning. The students have the same curriculum as the full-time student. The
same conditions can be achieved within 3 years. The didactic activities of this
educational system are:
_ courses and seminars
_ verifying by correspondence and/or tests at intervals of 2-3 weeks
_ consultancy
_ individual study in the academy laboratories and libraries
_ printing and delivery of the didactic materials by correspondence
XII. Write a short composition about student's life using the following: fresher,
campus, to pick a college, self study, computer centre, academic work, library,
reading room, short/long loan facilities, photocopier, fully booked, library
membership card, to run out of books, wasting time, habbits and hobbies, final (n),
humanities subjects, sooner rather than later
XII. Translate into English:
Economia global se caracterizeaz nu numai prin comerul liber cu bunuri
servicii, ci, chiar ntr-o msur mai mare, prin libera circulaie a capitalului.
Ratele dobnzii, cursurile de schimb, i preurile din diverse ri se afl ntr-o
foarte strns legtur i pieele financiare globale exercit o influen
covritoare asupra condiiilor economice. Dat fiind rolul decisiv pe care
capitalul financiar l are n destinul fiecrei ri n parte, nu este impropriu s
vorbim de un sistem capitalist global.
UNIT 5 MARKET ECONOMY
OBJECTIVES:
students will become familiar with specific vocabulary of market economy
compare social and economic structures based on totalitarian and market
economy systems
present tense, present perfect tense simple and continuous
I. Answer the questions before reading the text:
l. Name some characteristics of the market oriented economic system.
2. What do you think makes it better than a command economic system ?
All societies are faced with the question of what to produce, how much to
produce, who produces it, who will receive the goods. The answer to all these
questions is provided by the economic system of the society. The government can
direct the factories to produce what goods and how much of these goods, or
management and private business can determine what is to produce and how much
will be produced. In one type of the system people buy goods and services with
income earned from production. In another the government gives purchasing power
but not earned by producing goods and services.
Land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship are required to produce any goods
or services. Land includes the natural resources growing on or under the earth's
surface. Labour includes that total human resources to turn raw materials into goods
and services. Capital is the total money, tools, machinery and buildings used in the
process of labour. The final factor is entrepreneurship, that is the skills and risktaking
to turn the other factors of production into goods and services.
In a capitalist economic system, people, or in economic terms, households,
own privately all these factors of production as opposed to being owned by the state
in a command system. That is why, a capitalist system, a market system is organised
from the bottom up, as the consumer gives the orders. They are trasmitted to
retailers, dealers, and so on. By an elaborate division of labour, economic activity is
carried on with no plan or no committee giving orders but by a system of market
competition ordered by the consumer's choice itself.
Consequently, private entreprise is characterised by decisions that are taken in
the market place, as opposed to the state planned and owned economic system.
Prices function as a major signal or indicator as to what should and what
should not be produced, because market economy system is governed by the
laws of competition and is also regulated by supply and demand. The
consumer is the one that benefits from this competition because he is going to
get better products and services at lower prices. Competition in business is a
sort of competiton in sports or competition in anything in life, as it keeps you
on your toes, you have to keep improving, it helps you sharpen. This is also
the way of obtaining profit that encourages the private entreprise system to
look for those cost-cutting technologies, for lowering the prices and for
improving quality. Profit helps fuel the system, it helps keep the prime mover
of the progress. They are people who are likely to come up with new ideas, the
new technologies, that are going to cause us to leap forward in the process of
economic growth and development, bringing new goods and services in the
market.
Secondly, the entrepreneurs create new jobs. Entrepreneurship is the place for
individuals who want to do their own thing, who do not like to see themselves
fitting into the mold of some bureaucratic structure, be it corporate or be it
public, for people who want to go out there and work their own hours, set their
own times, work 7o hours one week if they want to, and take off for a week if
they feel like. It allows you to do research and development that would not be
done if it weren't for a good profit. It allows a whole series of very tangible
asset development programs that can tend to make an organisation much
stronger for the future , for new employees.
In the command economy, all decisions about production, distribution,
consumption are made by the government, as it owns all the major factors of
production. All the natural laws of competition, supply and demand do not
operate anymore. An elaborate system of command is determined by the state
property, so orders are given and orders have to be obeyed, as the only owner
of the factors of production makes conscious economic decisions, running the
whole society as an obedient army, to a central direction. The consumer is not
the one to decide for himself in the market, but only the state.
II. Answer the following questions?
1. What are the main characteristics of market economy?
2. Can you draw out a comparison between market economy and command
economy according to the following headings?
command system market economy system
Ownership
market laws
competition
supply/demand
price/quality
profit/productivity
decision in the market
social environment
entrepreneurship
education
motivation
social layers
III. Listen to the following and fill in the blanks:
Capitalism is not without serious flaws. The uneven distribution of wealth has
been noted. The growing pains of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution
caused massive social dislocations, the growth of robust but filth-laden factory
towns, classes of...........................and many more problems.
By chance, popular democracy was emerging as a social force at the same
time ......................
The call for political democracy ................................... Socialism which is one
type of political democracy, was born at the same time as the object of its
criticism - .......................... But neither socialism, nor one of the developments
from it
called .............. They are political arrangements that attempt to do away with
what are......................... The erratic nature of the marketplace is removed and
replaced by................ Systems of production and consumption become
.............................
Transition to Market Economy
IV. before reading the text, answer the questions:
l. Do you consider a good decision that Romania take up the path toward
market economy system?
2. Enlarge your own point of view upon economic structural solutions.
V. Read the text and draw out the main ideas.
Today, more and faster than ever, the world is confronted with the necessity
for change in systems, felt not only in ex-communist and centrally-planned
economies, but even, to some extent, in the developed capitalist economies,
which have, as an imperative short-run goal, to adapt to a permanent changing
environment. We shall focus on the countries that have to change their systems
entirely and dramatically - the former communist countries - which are
challenged nowdays with a tough problem: transition to market economy.
What should be the best possible ways in which a market system can be built
for these countries ?
1. The most important component of transition is the privatisation of former
state-owned enterprises, former industrial giants which are very inefficient and
costly. The governments of these countries must create a competitive
environment to force newly created private enterprises to operate with the
discipline of competition. One of the most common means in achieving this
goal was to open up national markets for the international trade and
investment.
2. Another topic that must be handled is the critical role which governments of
these countries should exercise as facilitators of the development process, in
the sense that they should provide with human resources through education
and create the infrastructure that the public sectors need in order to attain
effective performances. Such programes must take into account that any
program a government decides to overtake must be tailored to its capacities to
govern, otherwise people's trust will be more and more diminished and social
movement will appear.
3. The third problem relates to the large state-owned enterprises which
occasionally performed well, but which are very risky due to several factors,
such as:
low productivity
padded payrolls
disregard of the environmental forces
The government should create incentives to sell these factories to potential
investors, (if any) or to close them down. But closing down these giants, will
bring very high levels of unemployement, which is an acute and terrible cost
suffered due to
the transition and which should be handled with care. That is why governments
should come with efficient social protection programs either internally or externally
financed.
4 It is difficult to judge the performance of each economy only by drawing
lessons from some other countries' experience. In order to implement a good
and reliable market oriented system, particular elements of each country's
culture, values, history and aspirations must be taken into account and
conclusions drawn locally. Each country must strive very hard to achieve the
system that best suits its internal conditions.
5. Another problem is constituted by the type of capitalist system that will be
implemented in each country, primarily related to the size of the public sector,
workers-employers concepts, providing infrastructure, education, assistance in
critical projects, etc.
6. An important point relates to the integration in the developed countries
structures, which is a goal recognised by all former communist countries. This
may have several reasons:
to obtain economic and financial assistance
to get security provided by these institutions
to get consulting when necessary
7. There are countries based upon an economic market system with emphasis
on private ownership, on productive activities and an extensive use of market
regulatory forces, countries which have been developing for more than a
century. Countries which are facing today that economic transition must
achieve their goals very fast, within a decade or two, in order not to be
critically affected by the financial differences on the international market. This
also represents an impediment for them. All these aspects are taken into
account by those countries, found themselves in transition in order to
accomplish their development goals in short time and fewer social costs.
VI. Match the following words with the definitions: goal, environment, challenge,
privatisation, enterprise, competition, means, trade, investment, infrastructure,
productivity, payroll, incentive, unemployement, implement, market
to take part in a contest to prove who is the best
to buy shares, property in order to earn interest or bring profit
project or undertaking, especially one that is difficult or needs courage
action or methods by which a result is brought about; money, wealth, resources
measure of the output of an organisation or economy per unit of input (labour,
raw materials, capital, etc)
event in which people compete, contest
thing that encourages somebody to do something
state of being not employed
the goods or services requiring substantial investment considered essential to the
proper functioning of an economy: roads, railways, electricity supply, sewerage
conditions, circumstances, natural conditions affecting people's life
the process of selling a publicly owned company to the private sector
the activity of selling goods or services in order to make a profit
object of one's efforts; target
to put into effect; carry out plans, policies, a programme of reforms.
the place where buyers and sellers meet to exchange items of value
the evidence of the employees of an organisation and of their wages
VII. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form of the present tense simple or
continuous:
1. He... a telephone call right now to his management accountant for an advice
(make)
2. We always... to the meeting when our team negociates (go).
3. Our president... a speech today at the conference (deliver).
4. They... software package from firms specializing in them saving a
considerable amount of time and money instead of developing their own.(buy)
5. I always ...shareholders to pay the total amount of money for their shares (advice)
6. The members of the board ... all our meetings (attend)
7. I all my business correspondence this morning (write).
8. The management of the planned shopping centre ... the groups of
businesses, primarily retailers sharing the building or the related set of buildings
(control).
9. The government ... the activities of the firms and...productive resources in
command economy (direct/allocate)
10. The command system philosophers... that the system prevents the exploitation of
workers by capitalists. (argue)
VIII. Put the verbs in brackets in the right form of the present perfect tense simple or
continuous:
1. Western economists (point out) that planned economy is likely to lead to
inefficiency.
2. The beaurocrats running the command systems... never sufficient information to
allocate resources in a way to satisfy consumer demands. (have)
3. Occupying the square mile on the north of the River Thames between
Waterloo Bridge and Tower Bridge, the City of London... an international
merchanting centre since medieval times (be)
4. The head offices of the most important banks, the money markets, the
foreign exchange markets, the commodity and metal excahnges, the insuarance
market, the London Stock Exchange and the offices of the representatives of foreign
financial institutions... always the financial district of London. (represent).
5. Marxists ... firmly to economic Classical School, by which the concept of
value is seen as a product of labour (wed)
6. They ... all the raw materials they needed this week in the Commodity
Exchange.(trade)
7. This week the wholesaler ... to retailers at discount prices on condition that
they paid in cash, collected the goods themselves and bought in bulk.(sell)
8. These days he... to his capital transfers (work)
9. Today the board ... their company capital structure, i.e. shares, loan stock.
(analyse)
10. The accountant ... the capital equivalent of the assets that yield a regular
income all day long. (calculate)
IX.
a) Translate into English:
"... adevarata libertate de expresie a ceteanului se va realiza numai prin
respectarea dreptului la proprietate, care va asigura n timp, independena
economic a individului fa de stat."
(Ovidiu Lazar,"Antreprenorul", Fort Ross Inc.,New York, USA, 1994)
"Poate c trebuie s nelegi libertatea pentru a te bucura de adevaratul ei
pre."(H.Balzac)
"Far libertate, nu exist comer."(Adam Smith)
"Cel ce doreste s devin ntreprinztor este incitat de o nevoie intern s nu
depind de altii, fie c ei se numesc prini, fie proprietari sau efi"
(Anastasios D. Karayannis, Succesul in afaceri, Buc.l995)
b) Tbliele de lut gsite stau mrturie ca mai nainte nc de legiferarea lsat de
Hammurabi, templele din Babilon aveau o activitate ce poate fi asemnat n unele
privine cu aceea a instituiilor bancare moderne. Aezmintele inchinate zeilor
acumulaser mari bogii imobiliare i mobiliare, aveau pmnturi, cirezi, ateliere,
unelte, sclavi, depozite de cereale, stocuri de lingouri din metale preioase. Aceste
avuii nu conteneau s fie sporite att prin munca sclavilor, ct i prin mprumuturi
purttoare de dobnzi mari, condiiile tranzaciilor fiind precis stabilite prin
nscrisuri. S-au gsit dovezi convingtoare ca operaiunile de credit erau frecvente i
ca templele din Babilon ineau evidene contabile amnunite. De remarcat, c n
nscrisurile pe lut se ntlnesc multe din prevederile ce prefigureaza cadrul juridic
modern, precum ipoteca asupra bunurilor debitorului, girul asupra unor persoane
considerate solvabile, urmrirea forat n caz de neplat. Templele acceptau s
efectueze decontari, chiar n locuri ndepartate, n numele clienilor care le
ncredinaser depozite.
UNIT 6 ARE YOU READY TO BECOME A MANAGER ?
OBJECTIVES:
become aware of their managerial abilities and skills
understand what are the skills and abilities that should be improved
become aquainted with the managerial tasks
improve specific vocabulary and notions
past tense, past perfect tense simple and continuous
I Answer the questions before reading the text:
1. Are you familiarised with the job of a manager?
2. Can anybody become a manager?
3. Write down some features that you consider necessary for an efficient manager
apart from the professional ones.
The best specialists do not always make the best managers. Indeed, a move up,
often means going from competence to incompetence. Although in some ways, a
specialist is capable of becoming a manager, because of strong analitycal skills, other
factors make the move difficult. Following are some of the most important matters
you should consider:
Potential and promovability
Do you have the capacity and ability to learn the skills? Training and special
courses will help. But it is more important for you to establish a good record as a
specialist. Management will look first at what you have done to see if you have been
a "winner". "Has this person been in tough situations and if so, how did he handle
them?"

Assessment
Learn what your superior thinks, what are your strong points and weak points.
How is each affecting your work performance? Are you a responsible person ?
If you accept responsibility, other people will more readily look to you for
leadership? Being responsible means being accountable and answerable.
Motivation
Money isn't the key motivator for many managers. If you decide you want to
be a manager for status or money, you may fail. Good managers are motivated
by the challenge to organize and run jobs. They feel a sense of
accomplishment when they can get others to do as much or more than they
could do by themselves. They also believe in change. They want to see
progress. They feel unconfortable if problems are not tackled. They do not feel
at ease if they must go along with conditions as they are. Good managers also
have missions. They know their purpose in life.
Career
The more difficult it is for you to plan your career, the more you need to learn
about youself. You need to decide what you want out of life. Your move to a
managerial position will involve your whole family. It can mean a drastic
change in your life style. You will probably give up some of your old friends -
certainly you will be making new ones. You may have to work long hours,
either at the office or at home. Your take-home pay may not increase
significantly at first, yet you may feel it necessary to raise your standard of
life. You must force youself to consider your career and then see what your
next step should be.
Attitude
How you really feel toward management in general should be considered. You
must agree with all the basic goals of management to the extent of seeing the
position as "we" function rather than "they" one, as the manager is responsible
for all the work in the department, and he cannot solely place the blame for the
poor performance on an individual.
Managers must also be willing to acknowledge that they are not perfect and
that they make mistakes. Thus, they avoid conflicting, defensive reactions of
the subordinates.
The best managers have a positive attitude. They are positive about what they
want and what they expect from the others.
Self awareness
Are you aware of the difference between assertiveness and agressiveness? Do
you know when and how to be assertive? A manager who is properly assertive
can make things happen, handle difficult human relations problems, get ideas
across and provide the leadership that will result in achieving organisational
goals.
Interest in subordinates
A mature manager creates an environment in which his subordinates develop
fully. Such a manager is aware that subordinates' problems, both on and off the
job, that affect their performance. So their problemns are his or her problems
too.
Leadership
Management by leadership is the style the most sought after by every
company. This type of manager is sensitive to the feelings of others and
participates with subordinates in discussions leading to department decissions.
Good leadership is not just giving orders. But, efective managers facilitate the
accomplishments of their subordinates. That is true leadership.
Communication
Listening is more than just hearing. In addition, managers must help their
people to do a better job by listening, as it requires an active use of the ears,
eyes and mind. By building trust and iproving two-way communications,
managers are able to get problems out in the open and provide guidance to
solving them.
II. Is It True or False?
1. The best specialists always make the best managers.
TF
2. Training and special courses will help in making a good manager
TF
3. Being responsible means knowing what are your weak and strong points.
TF
4. Good managers are always motivated by money.
TF
5. The more you know about yourself, the easier to plan your career.
TF
6. Positive managerial attitude means "we position" rather than "they position".
TF
7. An agressive manager can make things move and provide the leadership that
will achieve organisational goals.
TF
8. Subordinate problems are their manager's problems too.
TF
9. Management means leadership
TF
10. Learning means an active use of the ears, eyes and mind.
TF
About Getting One's Self Organised
III. Find a title for each paragraph and summarise the main ideas. an you add some
other items on how to get yourself organised?
...............................................
Organised people save time and money, make more money, and have lower
stress and frustration level. There is no right or no wrong way to get organised,
and you only need to change what you are doing if you are not happy with how
you manage your time, paper, information and space. The amount of
information continues to grow at a rapid pace, as do the number of demands on
your time. Organizing systems help you deal with everything from your paper
to your professional responsibilities, and they give you parameters on what
you keep, what to toss, and what to act on.
......................................
Experts in the organizing industry agree that there are no cookie-cutter
solutions. There are many different personality types, work styles, and
environmental influences, so you must find the systems that work best for you.
.............................................
Organizing is a process you cannot achieve in one day. Setting up an
organizing system may be done in a few days, and then you will continuously
maintain it and work on it, one day at a time, in reaction to the world around
you. Change becomes easier, then.
...................................
The best you can do is make decisions about the priorities in your life, have
your sights set on your personal activities to reach these goals. Is what you are
spending time on helping you to accomplish what you want with your life? If
the answer is no, why are you doing it?
....................................
There are several ways: regularly tossing unnecessary papers, scanning
documents and storing them electronically, eliminating subscriptions to unread
publications, and have yourself removed from mailing lists. Sincerely question
whether you need to keep each piece of paper that comes into your life. has it
served its purpose ? Does someone else have it? If needed it again, could you
get it from another source, such as the library or the Internet ?
IV.Listen to the cassette and complete the ideas:
1. As the great Benjamin Franklin said, "time lost is.................................................
2. Time management is a set of relatet common-sense skills their help people
use thur time in....................
3. Keeping an activity log for several days can................................................
4. Meetings should not be held just for the sake of meeting,
only...................................
5. A lot of time is wasted waiting for others or depending on them. Always
confirm appointment and don't arrive more than 5 minutes before. If people keep you
waiting more than 15 minutes, they .....................................................
6. If you travel by plane or by train, do you use that time properly? It might be worth
.....................................................
7. If one carries out tasks that benefit neither him nor are goal-effective, they might
..................
8. The trick of creating time is ...................
By waking up one hour early every day, you can gain 10 workweeks per year.
9. Remember the two-minute rule: if you are confronted with a task that
....................................
10. If you have many places to go, try to schedule all your errands in the same day of
the week. Think of your itinerary before you leave so...................
V. Write a sincere report about your daily program. Would you suggest any
improvements? Why? Why not?
VI. Indicate what activity had been completed and what activity had been continuing
at that time:
1. By the time Helen (reach) the store, she (forget) what she wanted to buy.
2. The balance sheet (be) ready because the accountanant (be ) ill for five days.
3. By the end of the last year they (record) all the financial transactions of the
business.
4. We (wait) for an administrator appointed by the court for more than a
month, but there was still no sign of him.
5. The seeting of the board (go) on when I (decide) to get in.
6. They (treat) the contract as being valid by the time they (sell) goods under it.
7. They already (operate) the allowance from the invoice for early delivery
before the supply company (ship) the goods.
8. When they (draft) the annual report of the company, the shareholders (be
acquainted) already with its details.
9. The secretary (ante-date) the document before she (send) it.
10. They (auction) the piece of art after it (be evaluated) by a specialist.
VII. Put the verbs in brakets in the right form of the Past Tense or Past tense
Continuous:
1. Adam Smith (1723-8o)... the concept of working capital (introduce).
2. He...the origins of wealth creation ... the benefits of free trade.(explain/advocate)
3. He... the economic relationship between the classes: workers, who... their living by
wage labour; capitalists who ... income from profits and landlords whose income ...
from rent.(analyse / earn / derive / derive)
4. Supply and demand in each class ... prices, (determine).
5. The "Marginalists" of the late 19th century ... value against scarcity alone, this
remaining the basis of neoclassical school (define)
6. He always... his agent the commission in time.(pay).
7. Last century these copmpanies ... soft commodities, such as grain, cofee, cocoa,
wool, cotton, jute, rubber on comodity markets.(trade)
8. When we began the meeting the accountants still ... the loss. (calculate)
9. When I called, the new board members .... to setting out the new priorities.(work)
10 When he arrived, I... to debug the program of my PC.(try)
VIII. Rearrange the texts in a logical order. What will be your criteria? Find an
appropriate title for the text:
a) Within the life span of today's old-timers, our society has become a "society of
organizations" In this century, the major social tasks have come to be performed
in and through an organized institution - business enterprises, large and small;
school systems; colleges and universities; hospitals; research laboratories;
governments.
b) Management may be the most important innovation of this century - and the one
the most directly affecting the young educated people in colleges and universities
who will be tomorrow's "knowledge workers" in managed institutions, and their
managers the day after tomorrow.
c) Of course many a large and complex business enterprise started from a one-man
shop. But beyond the first steps growth soon entails more than a change in size.
At some point (and long before the business becomes even 'fair-sized' ) quantity
turns into quality. At this point "owners" no longer run their own business even
if they are the sole proprietors. They are then in charge of a business enterprise -
and if they do not rapidly become managers they will soon cease to be the
owners and be replaced, or the business will go under and disapear.
d) The roots of the disciplines of management go back 15o years. But management
as a function, management as a distinct work, management as a discipline and
area of study - these are all products of this century.
IX. Translate into English:
A.
Oamenii pot fi imediat i uor cntrii de ndat ce consimt s intre pe trmul
dificultilor.(H.Balzac)
Cnd i alegi personalul, f n aa fel nct firma s nu depind de o singur
persoan, cu att mai puin de tine nsui. (Paul Hawken - Cum s dezvoli o
afacere, edit. t i Tehn, 1995)
Cnd intri n afaceri te bucuri de o simpatie pe care poi s o pstrezi tot
timpul; dac nceputul i este cartacterizat de calitate i adevar, nu va trebui s
te opreti, cci nu va fi nevoie. Dar, dup ce ai nceput s nu le mai spui
clienilor adevrul, sau dac nu ai facut-o de la inceput, vei constata ct este de
dificil s te relansezi n afaceri (Paul Hawken)
B.
n Grecia de acum 25 de secole, afacerile bneti se dovedeau deosebit de
rentabile datorit practicrii unor dobnzi excesive. Costul banilor se stabilea
prin nelegerea prilor, de fapt, dup cum impuneau cmtarii. Nici legile lui
Solon nu au domolit principiul dobnzilor libere, fr plafon. Din documentele
rmase rezult c un cmatar socotit moderat, percepea la mprumuturi de o zi
venituri de peste 6o% pe an.
Templele din Grecia s-au ocupat timp de secole de afaceri bneti, dobndind
o considerabil capacitate financiar. Cnd Solon a cptat puteri spre a
reforma statul,
pretutindeni se ntindeau borne marcnd drepturile de ipotec ale aristocrailor
creditori asupra pmnturilor micilor proprietari ajuni datornici. Pentru
neplata obligaiunilor, tot mai muli ajungeau sclavi sau luau calea pribegiei iar
pmntul i puterea se concentrau in mna ctorva imbogii. Solon ngduie
mprumutul i dobnda, ns este desfiinat sclavajul pentru datorii.
UNIT 7 MONEY AND ITS FUNCTIONS
OBJECTIVES:
After studying this unit, students will be able to:
know and explain about the history of money origins and types of money
describe the functions of money
Future and Future in the Past
I. Answer the questions bellow?
1. What is the importance of money in an economic system?
2. How did it appear?
3. What forms of money do you know?
4. What are the functions of money in any economic system?
5. Imagine nowdays human society without money. Write a short composition.
MONEY HISTORY AND FUNCTIONS
A. For thousands of years, gold was the ultimate money. It could buy anything
including hearts. It was wealth and power to be sure, but it was also enchantment,
with a special lusture and reasurring weight and feel. The lure of gold drive ships
across stormy seas and explorers across rugged mountains to places as remote as
Canada's Klondike region near the Arctic Circle.
Gold isn't used as money any more. It still glitters, but it's treated more like soy
beans or pork bellies than a ransom fit for a king.
Money didn't exist in ancient times, so people had to trade with each other - or
barter - to obtain the items they wanted. The first trades were probably animal skins
for grain, or cotton for livestock.
But these exchanges were cumbersome, and some common place commodities,
such as grains, started to assume the role of money. In early Egypt, for exemple,
barley, an important source of food, became the accepted means of payment for
goods and services.
By 700 B.C., though the Egyptians had abandoned barley and adopted gold as
their primary instrument of exchange. A rare and beautiful metal, gold had
become the universal symbol of wealth and power. And, being portable and
durable, it was an ideal form of money.
B. By the l5th century trade and commerce had expanded tremendeously. When
King Croessus of ancient Lydia (now Western Turkey) had gained control of Asia's
richest gold mines for the Pesian Empire, he wanted others to recognise his newfound
power and ordered the first gold coin to be made. Bearing the image of a lion
and a bull, the coin became the standard of exchange for all trade and commerce.
A need appeared for a new, less cumbersome system of making payments. The
goldsmiths met this need. Their system worked this way: people would deposit
their gold coins at their local goldsmith's. In return, the goldsmiths would give
them a receipt. Eventually, the receipt began to circulate as money because
they could always be redeemed for the gold itself.
Gradually, countries came to adopt a form of the goldsmith's system. Their
governments printed currency and backed it up with gold they held in official
reserves. And so the "gold standard" for currencies was born. One of the first
countries to adopt the gold standard was Great Britain in l9l6. It made its
currency the pound, equal in value to an ounce of gold. Then Coinage Act of
l792 first put the young American nation on a "bimetallic standard", backing
the dollar, which was a coin then, both gold and silver.
With the world at war for the first time, people were seeking security, they
exchanged their currency for gold. But governments soon saw their reserves
run seriously low, as a result. By l914 most countries, except the United States,
abandoned the gold standard to protect their reserves.
By the mid l930's, practically all the major nations had abandoned the gold
exchange standard. Governments would accumulate dollars which they could
redeem for gold at the U.S. Treasury.
Of couse, gold will always be the metal of choice for the affluent, who like to
adorn their homes with gold-leaf sinks, bathrooms and picture frames.
Today, gold can be bought and sold in several different forms: coins, bullion
or perhaps just as paper claim to the metal.
There are two types of gold coins: bullion coins and numismatic. The bullion
coins are produced by countries as legal tender, which means they can be spent
as money. Prices are based on the local gold price in London (The "London
Fix").
Numismatic gold coins no longer circulate as money. Their value derives more
from their condition and rarity than their actual gold content.
Many investors hold paper claims to gold in the form of future contracts.
These contracts are nothing more than a commitment to buy or sell gold at a
future time at a pre-agreed price. Typically, the buyer and seller meet at a
commoditiy exchange to work out future contracts.
Today gold has assumed the role of a commodity such as wheat or cotton. And
like any other commodity, its price is determined in a free market by the forces
of supply and demand.
II. Answer the following questions after reading the text:
1. How did gold become the symbol of wealth and power?
2. Explain in what consists the goldsmith's system?
3. What countries were the first to adopt the gold standard?
4. What were the effects of the first world war over the gold resources?
5. Why is gold considered a commoditiy now?
III. Draw out the main ideas of the money history.
IV. Identify the Future in the following text. It is used instead of what tense? Rewrite
the text using appropriate needed tense.
What will make money money? Partly we will determine it by statutes
declaring that certain pieces of paper and metal produced by government will
be money. These notes and coins we call will be "legal tender" and you'll have
to accept it as payment in full for any transaction.
However, part of what we regard as money will be determined by custom. If
you think about how much money (as distinct from wealth) you have, you
won't consider only your holdings or cash and coin - you'll include deposits
you have in your bank.
Whether it's cash or bank deposits, money is an asset for you and
simultaneously a debt for either the bank or the government. That's why credt
cards will be not considered money, but tangible proof that you've been
granted a line of credit (a loan up to a predetermined amount which you can
decide to activate). Because they represent a debt, not an asset they will never
be money.
V. Give synonyms for:
money, standard, value goods, wealth, measure, trade, ingot, stock, interest, revenue,
lend, insurance, allowance, manager, regulation production, monetary unit,
development.
VI. Give adjectives coresponding to the following nouns:
war, money, gold, need, system, receipt, government, standard, coin, contract, price,
market, commitment, investor, demand, environment, rate, finance, insurance,
investment, payment, interest, profit, bank, deposit, indicator, information.
VII. How many of the money words below do you know? Read the definitions, then
fill in each blank with one of the words:
cash; change; cheque; coin; credit card; note
1............Money which is made of paper.
2............Money which is made of metal.
3............What you get if a shirt costs 17.99 and you give the shop assistant
2o.
4............A printed piece of paper which you write on. You can buy things with
this. You can also get money for it at a bank.
5............A plastic card you can use to buy things. You pay the money for what
you bought after one or two months.
6............Coins and paper money.
VIII. Read the following text and draw out the main ideas:
THE SINGLE CURRENCY IS CALLED EURO
The transition to the single currency in Europe takes place in three main
phases, for which definite dates have been fixed:
in early l998 the Heads of States or Governments meeting within the
European Council, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Maastricht
Treaty name the countries that are to take part in economic and monetary union
(EMU), i.e., those Member States which have achieved a high degree of
convergence.
On January l999 EMU effectivelly starts among the countries concerned,
with the rates of conversion between the euro and the participating
currencies being irrevocably fixed.
by January 2oo2 at the latest, introduction of the new banknotes and coins
will signal the final changeover to the euro as the single currency of the
Member States taking part in EMU.
In early l998 The European Central Bank was to be set in place. The
conditions for conducting the single monetary and exchange rate policy was to
be decided and the production of euro banknotes and coins could begin.
Denominations range from oo.o to 2 euro in the case of coins and from 5oo
euro for banknotes.
The European System of Central Banks becomes operational and is resposible
for framing and implementing the single monetary and exchange rate policy
(setting short-term interest rates in euro). The participating national currencies
will no longer be listed on the foreign exchange markets.
As far as banks and large firms are concerned, the transition to the single
currency will begin chiefly via the single monetary and exchange rate policy,
the capital and the associated settlement systems. Banks will draw up their
customers' account statements in both euro and national currency. They will
take advantage of the time available in order to inform their customers of the
consequences of the switch to the single currency for their financial
transactions. They will step up their staff training efforts to prepare for the
changeover and can also offer certain products in euro, legal and technical
constraints permitting.
Consumers will continue to use chiefly their own national currency because
euro banknotes and coins will not yet be available. Public demand can,
however, swiftly prompt some banks or firms to offer services in euro.
The gradual introduction of dual pricing of goods and services will enable
consumers to get used to the single currency. By developing a "feel" for prices
in the single currency and learning to convert national currencies into euro at a
fixed rate, they will thus realize that they do not stand to lose from the
introduction of the single currency.
IX. Answer the following questions:
1. Can you draw out any advantages and disadvantages of implemententing the
single European currency ?
2. Name some general economic influences of the euro upon our country.
X. Make questions and answers in the future. Use right questions words (where,
when)
make the payment of the commission
a producer is liable for any damage his products cause
you intend to place an order with the company
he plans to settle his debt within one month
the board of directors have a meeting to decide the amount of dividend to be paid
out to the shareholders
the European Community countries decided economic sanctions against Iraq after
the war stopped
XI. Pass the following sentences from Present to Past Tense. Make the necessary
changes:
l. He explains that the balance sheet will be the main document showing the
estate of our business.
2. He says that the new service will enable customers to make payments from
their accounts by credit transfer.
3. He learns that the process of globalisation that enables investment in
financial markets will be carried out on an international basis.
4. They are sure that the goodwill of their company will become a saleable asset.
5. He declared that he will calculate again his gross income.
6. The shop assistant assures us that he will bring any items made of gold,
silver or platinum, stamped with hall mark.
7 The general manager promisses to keep a house journal for all the employees
to inform them about the policy of the company.
8. He explained that the wages of the employees will reflect partly a return of
the human capital for the future.
9. The wholesaler pretends that he will be allowed goods according to the
import licence.
10 The politicians pretend that indexation policy will mitigate the effects of inflation.
XII. Listen to the cassette, fill in the blanks, then translate and learn the unknown
words:
There is nothing particularly unusual about Place Dumon, a... square in
suburban Brussels, ringed by ... shops. Until, that is, you notice how the locals
purchase their ....For they are paying for ... spaces, picking up newspapers at
the Gavilan newsagent, ... to the Antoine's bakery for a ... , and even buying
babies' ... at the Minou's boutique, all without reaching a single note or coin.
The reason is PROTON, Belgium's experiment in...cash. Proton is one of the
several "electronic ..." , being tested around the world. The e-purse, is a chipbased,
or "..." card that stores digital money which, its fans hope, may one day,
replace ...notes and fiddly coins in small purchases.
A smart card is ..., thanks to the sealed information - in high security chip. It
stores one's personal data as individually and characteristically as if it were
one's .... Encrypted with one'personal, absolutely singular code, it makes every
... as secure as if it were in a bank vault. Any attempt to crack this safe causes
the chip to self-destruct, automatically ... the card.
A smart card is .... Everything it knows remains strictly confidential. The chip
makes sure of that - with sophisticated identification procedures and ... that
protects
one's confidential data against unauthorised access. A smart card offers complete
security, which makes it predestined for universal ...: it can be used as an electronic
wallet to pay for purchases, taxi ... or hotel bills.
The chip cards now include a debit-card .... Eventually a single card may
combine the e-purse with credit, debit and ... cards. It is also developing
special telephones that would allow customers to ... their cards at home. If a
banknote is lost, tough ...; if however, a plastic card is misplaced or broken,
the ... on it can be reinbursed because all debits are logged centrally. Central ...
has disadvantages too. Many customers may prefer to move ... cash around
withot their every transfer being logged. In addition, centralised schemes may
prove more costly to operate, making small transactions, including the
purchase of small bits of information and ....over the Internet, uneconomic.
Proton also faces complaints about parochialism, as its chip can hold just one
currency, while Mondex and Visa cards can store value in up to five different
... then there is inter-operability. An ... payment system will allow, say, a
Belgium customer to spend his e-cash in Switzerland. Most pundits think that
important banking institutions will have to pair up in big payment ... .The two
bank-owned groups - Visa and Master Card - are already around busy buying
up purse ... around the world, by taking controlling stakes in the domain, or
absorbing e-cash technologies.
But if the history of credit cards is a guide, no more than two or three of the
smart-card schemes are . to win global acceptance.
strol, newsagent, unique, signature, encryption, cobble, function, doughnut, discrete,
parking, smart, confidential, luck, digital, employment, software, currency, fare,
loyalty, accounting, virtual, crumple, outfit, quaint, balance, wares, reload, bit, void,
network, provider, integrate, likely
XIII. Forms of money:
Choose the correct word to complete the sentences:
l. The pound, the dollar and the leu are called..............
a) cash b) monies c) reserves.
2. The currency that is used in a foreign country is called.............
a) money b) cash c) foreign currency
3. Money that you borrow from a commercial bank is called.................
a) capital b) loan c) subsidy
4. Money in notes and coins is called ..............
a) monies b) capital c) cash
5. The whole amount of money received by a company or a person is.........................
a) income b) wages c) salary
6. The money that you have to receive back when the price is lower than the
denomination of the banknote you give to the shop assistant is called...............
a) cash b) compensation c) change
7. Money earned by someone for a month's (professional) work is called............
a) income b) wages c) salary
8. A manual worker receives.................
a) income b) wages c) salary
9. Retired persons receive ........
a) pension b) aid c) subsidy
10. When setting a new company you need .........
a) loan b) fund c) capital
11. You pay a loan to a bank regularly in.............
a) fee b) income c) instalment
l2. You pay a........... to doctors, lawers, private schools
a) revenue b) fee c) capital
l3. Producers are sometimes helped to sell cheaper through........
a) loans b) reserves c) subsidy
l4. A person can have a part of a business called..........
a) deposit b) budget c) stake
15. Money kept in a .........for paying pensions is called..........
a) fund b) deposit c) budget
XIV. Traduceti in limba engleza:
a)"La frie, frate, la nego, pe cumprate".
"Averea omului nu se afl grmada de bani n lzi, ci n felul; n care tie s-i
foloseasc."
"mbogii-v fiind harnici, economi i cistii".
"Banii care vin prea usor, se duc tot att de usor."
"Uneori dac dai bani cu mprumut i faci un duman secret; refuz-l, vei
avea un duman pe fa."
"Nu cheltui acolo unde poi economisi, dar nu economisi acolo unde trebuie
s cheltuieti."
"Ideea c i cunoaterea poate crea valori economice, este n general absena
din cele mai multe anlize economice; exist, ns, anumite semne c acum
incepe s fie luat n considerare ... Trebuie s cream o teorie a valorii bazat
pe cunoatere, pentru
a nlocui teoria lui Marx despre valoarea bazat pe munc" (John Naisbitt,
Megatendinte, l989)
"Banii sunt o informaie n micare." (idem)
"Informaia este esena problemei. Ea poate descuia ua spre tezaurul numit
succes. Ea ne influenteaz modul de apreciere a realitii i hotrrile pe care le
lum." (Herbert Cohen, Orice se poate negocia, Bucuresti, l995)
Banca este o instituie care i ofer o umbrel cnd este soare i i-o cere
napoi cnd plou.
b) Urmare lrgirii negoului s-a trecut de la sistemul simplist al trocului la
folosirea anumitor mrfuri ca masur a valorii, ca un echivalent general pentru restul
produselor, aa nct s fie facilitat i accelerat circulaia bunurilor ntre
comunitile omeneti. Drept instrumente pentru efectuarea plilor au fost folosite
de-a lungul timpului diferite produse ca vite, blnuri i unele obiecte cu o valoare
simbolic recunoscut, de pild pietre deosebite sau scoici, ajungndu-se pn la
urma la o utilizare generalizat a metalelor, care vor ncepe mai apoi s fie btute ca
monede, pentru o ct mai lesnicioas mnuire. Banii nu vor rmne prea mult vreme
doar mijloace de intermediere ntre participanii la viaa economic. Intruct ofereau
putina s se cumpere orice i oricnd, banii au devenit ntruchiparea bogiei i
puterii, fiind cutati, nmulii i tezaurizai tot mai avid. Un fapt important in
evolutia relaiilor economice i sociale l constituie nendoielnic extinderea
mprumutului; ntr-o prim faza numai de produse destinate consumului, in special
cereale, iar ulterior i de unelte ale muncii i de instrumente bneti. mprumuturile
apar acordate nc de la nceputuri contra unui anumit pre - dobnda - ceea ce
asigur o substanial sursa de ctig creditorilor, respectiv detintorilor de
disponibiliti n mrfuri si bani care ncheiau asemenea tranzacii.
THE FUNCTIONS OF MONEY
XV. Find a title for each fragment:
1..................................
The use of money as a medium of exchange makes possible a great extension
of the principle of specialisation. In an advanced society the use of money allows to
exchange hours of labour of an amazing variety of goods and services: two weeks'
labour for a holiday abroad just as easily as we can exchange it for a piece furniture
or a year's rent on a television set. Such exchanges are taken for granted yet they
would be inconceivable without the use of money.
2................................
The first step in the use of money was probably the adoption of some
commodity as a unit of acoount or measure of value. Money, most likely, came into
use within the barter system as a means whereby the values of different goods could
be compared. The direct exchange of goods for goods raise all sorts of problems
regarding valuation: "How many bushels of corn are equal in volume to one sheep, if
twenty sheep exchange for three cows and one cow exchanges for ten bushels of
corn? This problem of exchange rates is easily solved when all other commodities
are valued in terms of a single commodity which then acts as a standard of value.
Money now serves as such a standard and when all economic goods are given money
values (i.e. prices), we know immediately, the value of one commodity in terms of
any other commodity.
3..........................
Once a commodity becomes universally acceptable, in exchange for goods and
services, it is possible to store wealth by holding stock of this commodity. It is a
great convenience to hold wealth in the form of money.
Consider the problems of holding wealth in the form of some other
commodity, say wheat. It may deteriorate, it is costly to store, it must be insured, and
there will be significant handling costs in accumulating and distributing it. In
addition, its money value may fall while it is being stored. The form of money has
become very apparent in recent years - during periods of inflation when the exchange
value falls.
4.................................
An important function of money in the modern world, where so much business
is concluded on the basis of credit, is to serve as a means of deferred payment. When
goods are supplied on credit, the buyer has immediate use of the goods, but he does
not have to make an immediate payment. He can pay for them, 3, or perhaps 6
months after delivery. In the case of hire purchase contracts, the buyer takes
immediate delivery but pays by means of instalments spread over l, 2, or 3 years.
A complex trading organisation based on a system of credit can only operate
in a monetary eonomy. A seller would be most unlikely to accept any promise to pay
in the future which has expressed in terms of commodity other than money. It will
have no idea how much of that commodity it will need in the future and if it does not
want it,.it will be faced with the trouble and risks involved in selling it. It is prepared
to accept promisses to pay in terms of money, because, whatever the patterns of the
future be, they can be satisfied if it has money.
XVI. Do you know other functions of money? Write a short story if any.
UNIT 8 BANKING
OBJECTIVES:
familiarise with specific professional vocabulary
change of the meaning from general to specific professional
introduce in minimum professional knowledge
passive voice
HISTORY AND ORGANISATION OF BANKING IN ENGLAND
I. Answer the following qestions before reading the text:
1. How do you think that banks appeared?
2. What is their role in market economy ?
3. Is there any diference in banking in a command economy and market economy?
Modern banking has its origin in the finance of foreign trade. In the great
medieval trading states of Venice, Genoa and later Florence, a need arose to
exchange one currency with another and the early changers also began the practice
of acceptance deposits of cash and valuables or safe-keeping. They also undertook
the financing of commerce at the great medieval trade affairs, and they also were
called upon to provide finance of the rulers of the states in which they were
established, and they often became involved in financing the running of their own
and other countries. Because of the power they were seldom popular. Readily
indefiable groups, such as jews, were persecuted and sometimes expelled, and the
laws against usury were strict.
Since modern banking originated in the cities of northern Italy, it is not
surprising that some of its basic vocabulary has Italian roots. The word "bank" itself
comes from the Italian word "banco" meaning a bench. The "bankrupt" has the same
origin and referrs to the practice of breaking the money-changer's bench to indicate
that he was no longer able to honour his obligations and therefore unable to continue
his business.
When the Jews were expelled from England by Edward I in l29o, their place
was taken by the Lombards, who were already established in England. They
became the merchants and the important financiers in many European
countries. The name of "Lombard Street" in the heart of the city of London is
the permanent reminder of the importance of these early times.
The accepting of deposits, the making of loans and the transfer of funds
evolved during the seventeenth century with the growth of the goldsmithsbankers
who had by that time, taken over from the Lombards as major
financiers in England.
Because of the nature of their trade, their premises had to be secured, and even
before the l64o seisure, there is evidence that they accepted coin on deposit
from their customers, issuing receipts for them.
The receipts entitled the holder to the return of his actual deposit, but they later
became promissory notes, giving the holder the promisse that he would be able
to withdraw, on demand, as an equivalent to that deposited.
Gradually, these notes themselves began to circulate among the merchants in
the settlement of their debts. Thus, these receipts became the forerunners of
the modern banknote. Then, the words "on bearer" were added after the name
of the original depositor and they became "bearer instruments", giving them a
greater circulation.
The practice of placing money with goldsmiths with a given notice of required
repayment had emerged, thereby originating what we call today "deposit
accounts". The private banknote came into being, but in the following century
he Bank of England gradually took over the function of exclusive note issuer,
when it appeared as a historical necessity, when the Government of the day
was in need for funds to pursue the war against France.
In l773 the London private bankers also established a Clearing House that
increased the ease of transfer and allowed the individual banks to keep a
smaller total of cash in their tills with which to meet withdrawals and transfers.
The fluctuating economic conditions at the beginning of the 19th century were
attributed to the relatively unrestricted right to issue banknotes and the
problems caused by over-issue, so the Bank Charter Act provided the control
of note issue that eventually led to the Bank of England acquiring a monopoly
of the note issue.
Further developments took place as legislation and other changes brought
about a restructuring in the supply of financial services. Increasing overseas
competition and the freedom of building societies offered a much wider range
of financial services.
This is a far cry indeed from the goldsmiths' shops, woollen mills and mercers'
premises where it all began three hundred years ago.
II. Answer the following questions:
1. Where are placed the origins of the modern banking?
2. What are the roots of the banking vocabulary?
3. Who were the bankers of the world in Middle Ages?
4. Why did they become indesirable persons?
5. The jews were replaced by whom?
6. What was the story of the bank note?
7. What was the role of goldsmiths in banking history?
8. When and why did the Bank Charter Act came into force?
III. Answer the following questions before reading the following text:
1. What role do you think that central banking has in economy?
2. Is important that central banking be autonomous?
3. What are the functions of central banking in the banking system of a country?
Discuss in groups of 3 or 4 and write down the answers.
THE BANK OF ENGLAND
The Bank of England was established in 1694 by Act of Parliament and Royal
Charter as a corporate body; the entire capital stock was acquired by the
Government under the Bank of England Act in l946. The main functions of the
central bank are to execute monetary policy, to act as banker to the
Government, to act as a note-issuing authority and to exercise prudential
supervision over and to provide banking facilities for the banking system. The
central bank is also responsible for arranging government borrowings and
managing the National Debt. The Exchange Equalisation Account and the
register of holdings of the government securities are managed by the Bank of
England, on behalf of the Treasury. It also oversees the soundness of the
financial system as a whole.
As the single note-issuing authority, The Bank of England issues banknotes in
England and Wales, banknotes that are no longer backed by gold, that is
fiduciary. The Scottish and Northern Ireland banks have limited right to
issue notes that are mostly covered by holdings of Bank of England notes.
The Bank of England has also the right to influence money market conditions
through its dealings with the discount houses that appeared and developed in
the nineteenth century as bill brokers for industrialists. The discount houses
hold mainly Treasury, local authority and commercial bills, and negociable
certificates of deposit financed by short-term loans from the banks. For
covering a shortage of cash in the banking system the Bank can release it
either by buying bills from the discount houses
or by lending directly to them. This way the banks can replanish their cash balances
at the Bank by recalling some of their short-term loans to the discount houses.
The main wholesale markets in London for money, foreign exchange and gold
bullion operated by professionals, are also supervised by the same central
Bank.
All the deposit-taking organisations require authorisation from the Bank of
England and are subject of its supervision. The present banking legislation
increased the Bank's power to modify the conduct of banking institutions, to
investigate cases of illegal deposit-taking, to block bank-mergers and
takeovers on prudential grounds. It also enables information to be shared, in
strictly controlled ways, among supervisors in different financial services, and
permits auditors to make reports to the Bank of England about a bank if the
circumstances require it.
The Bank may intervene in the foreign exchange markets to check undue
fluctuations in the exchange value of sterling. As Europe moves towards economic
and monetary union (EMU), we will be hearing more of the likely status of the Bank
of England when it will join The European Central Bank, which has its central office
in Frankfurt and it is independent of instructions.
IV. Finding a title for each fragment, you will identify the principal functions of the
Bank of England:
..............................
The Bank is responsible for arranging government borrowing or repaying debt
and for managing the National Debt. The Bank's principal role in government
finance is to act on the Treasury's behalf to borrow money in the markets and from
the public. The main forms of borrowing are through Tresury Bills, government
bonds (known as gilts or gilt-edged stock) and occasional foreign exchange
borrowings. The bank is responsible for issuing and redeeming these securities and
maintains a register of gilts.
...............................
The Bank is directly involved in executing the Government' monetary policy,
thus providing a framework for non-inflationary economic growth. Unlike some
central banks, the Bank of England cannot act independently of the government: Her
Majesty's Treasury has an important role in providing advice and is closely involved
in implementing government decisions on the appropriate level of interest rates
through dealings in money markets.
.....................................
The Banking Act in 1987 created a Board of Banking Supervision and
increased the Bank's powers to modify the conduct of banking institutions, to
investigate cases of illegal deposit-taking, to block bank mergers and takeovers on
prudential grounds and to require information from banks. The Bank is also
responsible for the supervision of
the main wholesale markets in London for money, foreign exchange and gold
bullion. The Bank may also intervene in the foreign exchange markets to check
undue fluctuations in the exchange value of sterling.
......................................
The Bank has the sole right in England and Wales to issue banknotes which
are no longer backed by gold but by government stock and other securities (known
as the fiduciary issue of notes). Scottish and Northern Ireland banks have limited
rights to issue notes.
....................................
The Bank's money market operations are designed to smooth out fluctuations
in the flow of cash betwen government and the private sector. Shortages of money
are offset by the Bank buying short-dated bills and maturities from the market and
lending funds to the market. When there is a surplus of money, the Bank seeks to
offset this by selling Tresury and other bills. Normally, the pattern of government
and Bank operations results in a shortage of cash in the market each day with the
result that the Bank is the final provider of liquidity in the system and can help to
implement and direct monetary policy by choosing the interest rates at which it
provides funds. When the Bank changes its dealig rate the commercial banks tend to
follow suit promptly and change their own rates from which deposit and lending
rates are calculated.
V. Can you re-build the history of the Central Bank of Romania following the
milestones information ?
1861 - I.C.Bratianu: "As long as we don't have a Central Bank, financial
crisis will not disapear in our country"
1880 - the foundation of the Central Bank
1/3 state shares; 2/3 public subscription
1880-1890 - covered the Independence War
-.discount credits for agriculture
1901-1914 - state shares sold and the bank become entirely private
1914-1918 - finance the IWW
1917- trasfer of the Romanian treasury to Moskow to be sheltered against the
war
- the entire activity of the bank transfered in Iasi
1929-1933 - the leu becomes convertible
1933-1944 - cover the II WW expenses
1946 the bank becomes a subject of nationalisation
1965 - State Bank of The Popular Republic of Romania
1971 - The National Bank of The Socialist Republic of Romania
1991 - The National Bank of Romania
The Functions of the National Bank of Romania
VI. Draw out the functions of the National Bank of Romania in short from the
following:
The structure of the banking system prior to 199o in Romania combined the
functions of a central bank and some functions of a commercial bank.
Together with other state institutions it conceived the drafts of the credit and
cash plans of the economy and monitored their implementation. It organised
the granting of short term credits on the basis of approved plans and extended
credits to entreprises and economic organisations that had accounts with it.
The main monetary and credit objectives were to provide entreprises with
required credit, so that they could meet their plan targets, to provide sufficient
liquidity in the economy, consistent with the planned availability of goods.
Now, the functions of the National Bank of Romania changed and they are
covered by the Statute Law (Law No 34/l99l). Under this status, in order to preserve
the political independence of the central bank, the Governor and the Board of
Administration are appointed by the Parliament, at the recommendation of the Prime
Minister, for an eight year renewable term. They can only be removed by the
Parliament. The Board of Administration (president), the Senior Vice Governor (vice
president), two vice Governors and another five members.
The first article of the Status defines the role of the National Bank formulates
and conducts monetary and credit policy within the framework of the country's
economic and financial policy with the goal of preserving the stability of the national
currency. In order to accomplish this, the National Bank of Romania determines the
money supply in the economy, conducts the foreign exchange policy and supervises
the commercial banks. Clearly, all these are done in the context of developing the
"right" conditions for encouraging and sustaining economic growth. The National
Bank of Romania is also the single institution to issue banknotes and coins, to
manage the international reserves of the country, and grant an advance to the Central
State Budget to cover temporary deficits, amounting up to 1o% of the total approved
budget.
The Board of Administration of the Bank meets regularly. It determines the
broad parameters of the monetary policy and decides on such matters licesing of
banks, introduction of new or changes in existing prudential regulations, actions on
operating banks (extension of special loans, imposition of penalties, etc) and other
policy in internal budgetary matters. District offices play a very active role in
payment settlements.
VII. Answer the questions:
l. What was the role of the central banking in Romania in the command
system, before l989?
2. Is there any change in central banking role in market economy?
VIII. Listen to the cassette. Match the information heard with the one supplied by
the following text; find additional information and write an essey about the role of
banks as information producers in forecasting and implementing economic policies.
The new theories emphasises banks as producers of information needed to
facilitate evaluating risky lending opportunities, signaling the prospective borrower's
creditworthiness. Commercial banks are superior information producers by
evaluating the history of bank deposits for monitoring loans.
The City of London
IX. Answer the questions before reading the text:
1. What do you know about the City of London?
2. What does it represent?
3. Where is it placed?
The City of London remains one of the World's great financial trading centres.
It has undergone fundamental changes to meet the demands of industry and
commerce and the increased "globalisation" of financial services, host to hundreds of
foreign banks, with securities trading revolutionised by new technology, it continues
to offer new services in lending, comodities trading, options and futures.
Within its narrow area, the various markets and specialisations cluster in quite
separate spots, banking here, insurance there, commodities here, shipping over there.
Yet none is far from the others. It is possible to walk from one end of the City to the
other in under twenty minutes and most of the main sections are within five minutes'
walk of each other.
Several parts of the City and its markets can still be visited. But it is no longer
the easy arrangement it used to be. Some City markets, such as the new Lloyd's
building, can and will cope with large numbers of visitors. Others, such as the Bank
of England Museum, the London Metal Exchange, the Baltic Exchange cannot.
Mansion House
The Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Major of London. It is
also the venue for much of the City's hospitability where guests as the Prime
Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign Heads of States are invited to official
banquets, the Lord Major is titular head of the Corporation of London, the City's
governing body, which is responsible through its elected members for the
administration of the City.
Royal Exchange
In the past, the Royal Exchange has housed the City's foreign Exchange
market and Lloyd's. At present it is the home of the Guardian Royal Exchange and
also the London International Financial Futures Exchange.
Bank of England
The nickname given to the Bank of England of "The Old Lady of
Threadneedle Street" was first used in James Gillroy's cartoon of 1797. The Bank
expanded to cover at present a large site in the eighteenth century and it was finally
rebuilt at the beginning of the last century.
London Stock Exchange
Has its origins in the sixteenth century and as the scale of commercial activity
has incresased, especially in the last 150 years, the Exchange has expanded to handle
the increased demand for capital.
Today over 7000 securities are listed on The
London Stock Exchange with a turnover of 1666600. The present building was
opened by the Queen in 1972.
Lloyd's
Lloyd's of London is an international insurance market. Insurance risks are
placed with individuals underwriting members who have personal and unlimited
liability. Curently, there are over 25000 members divided into some 345 syndicates.
.
London Futures and Options Exchange (London FOX)
London FOX is a major international centre for the trading of soft commodities.
These include cocoa, robusta coffee, raw and white sugar, potatoes, grain, soya bean
meal, rice, etc.
Banking
EMoney is at the heart of the City, and so are the banks which deal with money
and, to some extent, even create it. A Bank is not necessary for the basic mechanism
of exchange. What a bank is useful for is the next step in the development: the
creation of credit. Amazingly, despite London being regarded as a major centre, no
definition existed of a bank prior to 1979. At that time a Banking Act was passed
resulting from the secondary banking collapse of the 1980s. The Act defined a bank
and established a two-tier status. The largest banks, providing a comprehensive
range of services, were known as recognised banks, whilst smaller and more
specialised institutions were known as licensed deposit takers. The two-tier system
was abolished by the Banking Act 1987 and now there is a single category of
"authorised institutions" which can vary from Barclays Bank to the financial
subsidiary of Marks and Spencer.
X. Find the following words in the dictionary and place them in the blanks of the
text: margin, render, profit, raise, margin, yield, deal, maturity, investment, charge,
cater, supermarket
Comercial banks, or retail banks ... the service of holding deposits, paying
money at customers' instruction, lending money, ... for investment, exchanging
foreign currency, and so on. The difference between interest rates paid and their
yield ... to the customers represents it .... and it is named spread or ... But when
lending the commercial banks must always find a balance between the yield and the
risk on one hand and liquidity and... of the loans on the other hand. The recent
developments have enabled banks to emphasise and ... for different customers needs,
extending from retail financial services, including counseling advice, to business
develpment needs.
Merchant banks have proved to be some of the more flexible financial British
institutions. They have no longer the financial muscle of the nineteenth century but
they still ... funds for industry on financial markets, finance international trade, issue
and underwrite securities and ... with mergers and takeovers. Similar banks are called
... banks in SUA, rendering services in industry, without offering loans.
In recent years the difference between commercial or retail banks and
merchant or investment banks became lesser and lesser visible. Huge financial
institutions appeared which render services of banking, insurance, stockbroking,
investment advice, making financial ... .
XI. Turn into passive, according to the model.
1. Most people produce goods and services.
Goods and services are produced by most people.
1. Economists study the economic phenomena to discover new tendencies.
2. Economic changes affect our lives
3. He told me how the capitalist system works.
5. He tried to prove how farmers produced more in their country.
XII. Form new words from the words listed below:
exemple: capital - capitalism - capitalist - capitalistic
Note the suffix: - ism - system (noun)
- ist - person (noun)
- istic - about the system or person (adjective)
a) commune, b) social, c) national, d) real, e) individual
XIII. Translate into English:
A.
"Banii sunt o informaie n micare" - John Naisbitt, Megatendinte, 1989
"...Informaia este la fel de important, ba chiar mai important dect pmntul,
munca, materiile prime i capitalul" - Alvin Toffler-Corporaia adaptabil, 1993
"Informaia este esena problemei. Ea poate deschide drumul spre succes. Ea
influeneaz modul de apreciere a realitii i hotrrile pe care le lum." - Herbert
Cohen, Orice se poate negocia - 1995
Informeaz-te dimineaa, ia o decizie la amiaz i treci la aciune a doua zi, dup o
noapte de reflecie - (anonim)
"Morala i economia politic resping deopotriv pe individul care consum fr s
produc." - H.de Balzac-Maxime i cugetri,1979
Cnd ai ndoieli, ntreab, cnd nu ai ndoieli, ntreab.
Ceea ce merit s fie fcut, merit s fie bine fcut. - Cugetri engleze, 1980
Doar cei ce s-au ajutat singuri stiu cum s-i ajute pe alii i s respecte dreptul lor de
a se ajuta singuri. - Cugetri engleze - 1980
Nici o zi fr s tragi o linie. (cugetare latin)
Exist totdeauna motive excelente pentru a nu aciona; numai c, dac motivele
predomin, lucrurile rmn nefcute - G.B.Shaw
B.
Mutaiile produse pe parcursul secoului trecut n sistemul economic al rilor
dezvoltate nu se pot separa de creterea spectaculoas a puterii instituiilor de credit.
Un rol esential n dezvoltarea economic revine capitalului de imprumut, sistemul
bancar i de credit adaptndu-se condiiilor i exercitnd un rol tot mai important n
viaa economic.
Procesul de concentrare a capitalului are ca rezultat constituirea de gigani
economici, din care fac parte uniti de mare capacitate, din diferite ramuri, ceea ce
confer conglomeratelor o deosebit for. Chiar n secolul XIX bncile devin
nucleele, centrele nervoase ale acestor grupri economice extinse treptat la scara
mondial.
Astfel, casa bancar Baring, prezena n afaceri din secolul al XVII-lea,
constituind proprietatea unei singure familii de financiari, se transform n aceast
perioad, dup crahul financiar din 1890 n societatea pe aciuni "Baring Brothers
and Company". Prin absorbiri, participri n lan au aprut Lloyds Bank, care ngloba
nu mai puin de 38 de bnci particulare i 15 societi de banca pe aciuni, Barclays
Bank, care i are originile ntr-o cas cmtreasc din secolul al XVII-lea "Latrei
ancore" i care ajunge, la sfritul secolului XX s-i depeasc toi cocurenii,
axndu-se pe o puternic penetrare n colonii, fiind una dintre forele financiare care
au contribuit la extinderea imperiului britanic, alturi, de exemplu, Compania
Indiilor Orientale transformat n Calcutta Bank, Bombay Bank, Madras Bank, Hong
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, etc.

UNIT 9 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A BANK

OBJECTIVES:
students familiarise with daily activities in a bank
usual documents; formal and informal vocabulary
structure of a bank
if clause I
I. Answer the following qestions:
1. What is the usual time-table of a bank?
2. How can you recognize a banker ? Describe him.
The Morgan-town branch of the Shoe-string Bank has a staff of eight.
Manager
Chief Clerk
Senior or Securities Clerk
Junior Clerek
Typist/Clerk
Computer/Clerk
Cashier
Cashier
There is a lot of work to be done during the day and the staff in a small branch
have to be able to do many different jobs. Here is a plan for a typical day.
After 9 o'clock the manager reads the letters and dictates replies. He has
interviews with customers and often leaves the branch during the day to visit
customer's offices and look round their businesses. While he is away, the chief clerk
is in charge.
Two members of staff arrive and open the bank. The staff take turns at this.
They open incoming mail and sort it. The typist deals with the mail typing the
branch's letters and organises the outgoing mail also handles the enquiries at
the counter. She is responsible for Standing Orders.
At 9 3o the Chief clark opens the safe and begins organizing the work for the
staff. He takes over from the manager when he is out from the office. He is
responsible for staff training and helps and advises the staff. He also does the
accounting.
The night safe is emptied and the content cheked by the Securities clerk. He
also checks the cash dispenser balances and the machine is refilled with cash.
Cheques from central clearing system are checked too. The senior or securities clerk
handles the difficult paperwork. He often handles the problems which need expert
knowledge, such as wills, loans and securities and foreign business.
The computer operator enters all the customers' credits and debits through the
computer terminal.
The Junior clerk has general duties. He works on the counter during busy
times, handling statements and the telephone. The junior clerk is usually the "waste
clerk".
The cashiers collect the cash for their tills from the safe and work at the
counter, taking in and paying out money (including foreign transactions in a small
bank). They also give out statements, and clear desks and balance cash, and return
cash from till to safe.
At 5 o'clock the staff close the bank and leave.
II. Answer the following questions:
1. What time do the staff of the bank come at work?
2. Who is to open the bank and what are his responsibilities?
3. Who is to replace the manager while he is away? Is he empowered for any
job of the manager?
4. What happens to the safe and the cash dispensers at night?
5. What kind of documents need expert knwoledge and who is to handle them?
6. Explain who is the "waste clerk"
III. Look at the statements below and tick if you think they are true or false. Can you
correct the false statements?
1. Each member of staff in a small branch is a specialist who only does one job.
TF
2. All the staff of the Morgan town branch arrive together.
TF
3. The chief clerk is second-in-command to the manager.
TF
4. The cashiers open the safe T F
5. The typist is responsible for the enquiries.
TF
6. The junior clerk sometimes works at the counter
T...F
7. The manager is usually in his office all day.
TF
8. The staff leave when the bank closes. T F
IV. Fill in the missing words in the sentences:
1..........................is another way of saying "filled up again".
2. The place where a cashier keeps his or her cash is called ........................
3. The ....................mail is the mail which comes to the branch.
4.....................is another way of saying "deals with".
5. The place where the cashiers work is called the .........................
6. The place where money can be deposited when the bank is shut is the
.....................
7. The machine which gives out cash when the bank is closed is called
...................... .
8. The part of the computer which is in the branch is called the "computer
...............".
V. Pre-reading exercise
This is an exercise which will show you the meaning of certain words and
expressions in the articles. The articles are chararcterised by many words
which are more formal than those we might normally use in everyday
conversation.
Match the meaning of each expression in column A (formal and/or written
style) with that in column B (less formal and/or spoken style). The first one
has been done for you.
A Formal B Less formal
It could mean a substantial.
Reduction in loans
loans could be greatly
reduced
Potentially dangereous
Implications
it might be time to
control bank lending
Incipient just beginning
Undermining effects that could be
dangerous
the time may have come to
impose restraints in the
lending activities of the
banking community
it had resisted the great
changes of the l970s
it had proved resilient to
the upheavals of the l970s
indirect consequences
Global threatening
Repercussions large numbers
Myriads world-wide
VI. In the following exercise, some words are missing from each sentence. The
context will give you a good idea which word to insert to make sense. Chose from
the list below:
deficit, currency, current account, default, devaluation, budget, balance of payment,
foreign exchange, interest payment
1. Banco Ambrosiano Holdings of Luxembourg has been declared in
d...................on several loans.
2. Mexico's f ............. e .............. is to be rationed using most of it for i .............
p...on the country's foreign debt.
3. The Central Bank of Brasil yesterday devalued the cruzeiro by l,94%. This
was the twenty-second d.............so far this year.
4. Spain's trade d .................... rose to l22,200 m pesetas from 83,200 m in June l99l.
5. Germany's public sector b ................. deficit will probably total between Dm
70,000 m to Dm 75,000 m in l990.
6. Spain's c .............. a ........... deficit widened in June to 73,500 m pesetas.
7. France is looking into other ways of raising money to help cover its b ........
of p........deficit.
8. The Brazilian c ............... has been devalued by a total of 45,76% since January
1st.
TEXT A
International bank lending has expanded at an annual rate in excess of per cent
for the past l5 years. But the recent crisis of confidence could mean a
substantial reduction in loans with potentially dangerous implications for any
incipient world recovery.
TEXT B
When the Tail Wags the Dog
There is a growing demand for an inquiry into the implications for the world's
financial health of the massive foreign debts some countries have been
encouraged to build up by the enthousiasm of the banking community for
lending them money. But the probe into the sudden indebtness issue should
not stop here.
It should also look at a closely related question. It concerns a tendency for the
fast rise in debt totals to create situations where the need to give priority to financial
consideration in policymaking is such that the international financial tail is apt to be
found wagging the international political dog.
It was reported last week that influential members of Congress, including mr.
Henry Russ, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, were calling for hearings
on the "ability of the banks to make large international loans without seriously
undermining the world's financial structure."
Many commentators in this country have been making the same point - that the
time may have come to impose restraints on the lending activities of the banking
community.
What has attracted much less attention is the extent to which the banks'
lending excesses are beginning to complicate the political decision-making process.
VII. Read the article fairly quickly until the meaning of the headline is apparent and
answer these questions:
1) What is the "tail"?
2) What is the "dog"?
3).What contradiction is implied?
The article is a mixture of facts and opinions. So there is a balance between
what is objective and what is subjective. The facts present:
- some of the problems (the writer tells us that there are "massive
foreign debts") information about what is being done about these problems (the
writer says that there is a "growing demand for inquiry")
VIII. Can you add to the list ?
Problems What is being done
........ ...................
........ ...................
........ ...................
The writer's opinions are a necessary part of the article. He makes various
recommendations ("the probe into the sudden indebtness issue should not stop
here").
IX. What other recommedations does he make?
X. In the next extract, the writer interprets certain facts without explicitly stating
them. He indirectly criticises world bankers by comparing their standards with those
of industry. According to the writer, he can infer that:
World bankers have made careless financial decisions.
What else can we infer?
..........................................
Bankers with Little Credit
If any industrial manager had performed as lamentably as the bankers of the
world have done in the past few years, those same banks would never have stood for
it. If any company chairman so neglected his basic business that all his customers
first refused to pay and then, when pressed, turned round and instead asked for still
more goods on credit, any manager giving in to them would have been thrown out by
his shareholders and possibly have risked legal action for failing to exercise proper
care in the running of the company.
And rightly so.
But why is it then, when such standards are so freely applied in the business
world, that no such sanctions seem to apply in the banking community?
XI. .Even if you do not always immediately understand the meaning of a certain
word or expression, you can often guess it from its context. The writer uses both
formal and informal expressions quite freely in the extract above.
According to the context, try to answer the following questions. Decide which
words tend to be used in a formal context and which tend to be used in an informal
context.
lamentably a) very badly? or b) very well ?
Answer:a) very badly. It is normally more formal.
stood for it :a) accepted; b) refused
It is normally more or less formal?
neglected a) little cared for b) abandoned
It is more or less formal?
giving in to them a) defeating them b) submitting to them. It is normally more
or less formal?
thrown out a) dismissed in disgrace, b) threatened. It is normaly more or less
formal ?
failing to exercise proper care a) acting carelessly? b) acting ignorantly ? It is
normally more or less formal ?
the running of the company a) the working order of the company b) the
management of the company
It is normally more or less formal?
XII. Look at how the central information in the extract can be presented.
If the performance of any the latter would never
industrial manager had been have accepted it
as bad as that of world
bankers
If any manager had submitted he would have been
to unreasonable credit thrown out by his
demands from his customer shareholders
From the information you have seen in the extracts in this section can you
complete sentences in a similar way ?
If some countries had not
been encouraged to build up
massive foreign debts
If debt totals had not been
allowed to rise so fast
If restraints had initially
been imposed on the lending
activities of the banking
community
XIII. Here are two more extracts from the article "Bankers with Little Credit".
A)
In the past l2 months since Poland began to rumble that it could not pay its
debts rumour has piled on scandal. But the senses have became so dull that now no
one really blinks an eye when one of the richer countries in the world, Mexico,
decides it cannot repay more than $80,ooom of loans.
B)
The danger is, to apply Gresham's law, that bad banking will drive out of
good. If the irresponsible are allowed to get away with their mistakes then what
premium is there in doing the job properly?
XIV. Read the following extract taken from an article published a few weeks later,
and try to answer the questions by referring back to extract A and B
C)
Because the amounts envolved in the debt problems of sovereign borrowers,
like Mexico and Poland are so enormous and the number of banks caught up in them
so large, like threat they pose to the international banking system has understandably
attracted a lot of attention.
But it is, unfortunately, only half of the story- - and conceivable not even the
worst half. There is, a growing feeling that the world banking industry may stand
in even greater danger from the direct and indirect repercussions of the tremendeous
pressures that the global recession is imposing on the finance of its myriads of
private customers.
a) What are the amounts involved in Mexico's debt problems?
b) In what way did the world become aware of Poland's debt problem?
c) What is the threat or danger posed to the international banking system?
XV. Look at these three headlines:
Bank Investors to Meet
Other side of the Debts Crisis
Banks Warned of Risks in International Lending
Match the following extracts with their most appropriate headline. There are two
extracts for each headline.
A)
Although there had been a market increase in spread and fees over the past
year or so, it was difficult to be happy with the returns banks were making on
international lending, particularly sovereign lending, he said.
B)
What is equally relevant is that the global recession has now reached the point
at which huge numbers of companies - big and small - are throwing up problems for
the banks that have lent them money all over the world, and at the same time.
C)
Addressing the Jersey Bankers' Association Mr.Mcmahamon said that
although the international banking system had proved resilient to the growth in
lending and upheavals of the l980s, there was little doubt that the combination of
slow world growth and the likehood of an increasing burden of debt in real terms
was increasing the risk in international lending.
D)
They said the meeting would consider the resignation of the board of directors,
an assessment of their performance, and the nomination of new directors.
E)
Banco Ambrosiano Holdings of Luxembourg, which has been declared in
default on several loans, has called a special stockholders' meeting on August 5,
according to banking sources.
F)
But it is, unfortunatelly, only half of the story - and conceivably not even the
worst half. There is indeed a growing feeling that the world banking industry may
stand in even greater danger from the direct and indirect repercussions of the
tremendous pressures that the global recession is imposing on the finances of its
myriads of private customers.
XVI. These extracts describe some of the financial problems certain countries had in
l990. Read each extract and decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
Mexico
Mexico has published a list of 3,376 "priority" items that will be imported into
the country if the money is available. The plan is to ration the country's foreign
exchange, using most of it for interest payments on Mexico's foreign debt.
Germany
Germany's public sector budget deficit will probably total between Dm70,000
m to Dm75,00 m (l6,000 m to l7,240 m) in l990, well above the Dm60,000m
target set late last year.
Canada
Mr.Marc Lalonde, Energy Minister, has declined to comment in Ottawa on
press reports that the Federal Government may be about to carry out a major
financial rescue operation for Dome Petroleum.
Spain
Spain's current account deicit widened in June to 75,300 m pesetas (396 m)
from 5o,900 m in June 1989 and from May's 49,400m deicit. The trade deicit rose to
122,200 m pesetas from 83,200 m in June l989 and from 93,200 m pesetas last May.
France
M.Jacques Delors, the French Finance Minister, confirmed yesterday that
France is considering the possibility of borrowing up to 2,000m ECUs from the
European Comunity. But he said France was also looking into other ways of raising
the money to help cover its balance of payments deficit.
1. Mexico intends to ration its foreign exchange in an attempt to pay off its
foreign debt
T/F
2. Spain's current account deficit reached its peak in June l989.
T/F
3. In Canada, the the Energy Minister has stated that the Federal Government
may be ready to invest in Dome Petroleum
T/F
4 Germany underestimated its public sector budget deficit in l989.
T/F
5 The French government may try to reduce its budget deficit by securing a
loan from member states of the EEC
T/F
XVII. Explain by your own words:
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
(William Shakespeare)
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result
happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds oh and
six, result misery".
(Charles Dickens)
"Debt is the prolific mother of folly and crime..."
(Benjamin Disraeli)
"I wish it were possible to obtain an additional article to our Constitution. ... I
mean an article taking from the federal government the power of borrowing."
(Thomas Jefferson)
"Who goeth a borrowing goeth a sorrowing".
(Benjamin Franklin)
"At the heart of our national finances is a simple, inescapable act ... that our
government - any government - like individuals and families - cannot spend and
continue to spend more than they take in without inviting disaster."
(Clarence Cannon)
XVIII. Match the pairs in conditional sentences:
People have money.
We can buy anything
If the people have money they can buy anything.
We have the financial press.
We can read what we are interersted in.
The economic system of a country is strong.
The people will be able to satisfy their wants.
He wants to become an engineer.
He must study mathematics especially.
We learn what the teacher pretends.
We pass the exam.
XIX. Turn the previous sentences the way round
ex.People can buy anything if they have money.
XX. Translate into English:
i n Frana are loc o puternic concentrare a sistemului bancar. O mare
capacitate financiar acumuleaz bncile de depozit i credit aprute n a doua
jumtate a secolului trecut: Socit Generale (1864), Credit Industriele et
Commercial (1859), Credit Lyonnais (1863), Banque de Paris et de Pays-Bas.
Chiar o ar slab dezvoltat industrial, comercial i financiar, ca Portugalia,
dominat de capitalul britanic i n secoulul al XX-lea, i-a constituit, dup
modele strine, Banco Nacional Ultramarino i Banco de Angola care erau
organizate ca societi anonime, cu capital pe aciuni.
n perioada de unificare politic pe teritoriul Germaniei, cnd s-a constituit cel
de-al doilea Reich, s-au constituit puternice societi bancare, rmase prezente ca
puternice entiti i astzi, Deutsche Bank n 1870, care a nghiit n numai 10 ani de
funcionare nu mai putin de 43 de societi bancare, sau Dresdner Bank, nfiinat n
1872 care i constituie drumul spre rsrit ncepnd cu Viena, continund cu
Bucureti, Istambul, Izmir, Cairo.
UNIT 10 ECONOMIC POLICY
OBJECTIVES:
students become familiar with the specific macroeconomic vocabulary and
concepts.
if clause II.
I. Study the following items in groups and give the answers:
1. What are the origins of the word "policy" and what is its meaning?
2. Did it change its meaning nowdays?
3. What it is to be understood by economic policy?
4. Is it necessary for a government to be clear over the policy objectives that are to be
pursued?
The stance the any government takes towards any aspect of economic activity will be
included within the term "economic policy". The unit will concentrate on what is
termed macroeconomic economic policy - those policies that impinge upon the
operation of the economy as a whole. Particular attention will be paid to monetary
policy as long as nowdays governments attach a considerable importance to it, as it
is a main element of macroeconomic policy. It is nevertheless a point worth making,
that the purpose of economic policy is to attain objectives. Only if those objectives
are clearly identified, can the design, implementation and evaluation of economic
policy be conducted. The conventional four objectives are usually held to be:
a high and stable level of employment. A certain level of unemployment is
appropriate for the efficient operation of a changing economy, since, it will
take people a period of time to switch between jobs, or retrain for a new job.
a low and stable rate of inflation, which is considered a necessary objective
of economic policy, in order to try to avoid the costs associated with
inflation
a high rate of economic growth, since economic growth provides for the
increase over time in the living standards of the population
a satisfactory balance of payments which implies that a country is able to
pay its international terms and to purchase imports, while a surplus would
imply that the stock of overseas assets is, in addition, increasing.
a satisfactory distribution of income and wealth is put forward as a fith
objective. The distribution of income refers to either individuals (there
should be neither very rich nor very poor) or regions.
II. Summarise the main objectives of the economic policy in a written form.
III. Forms of economic policy
Find a title for each paragraph:
......................................
The purpose of monetary policy is to control some measures of the money
supply an/ or the level and structure of interest rates. The importance attached
to it within the government's policy package will depend upon its view of the
operation of the economy and upon the decision it has reached regarding the
priority given to different objectives.
.....................................
Fiscal policy is concerned with decisions regarding the level and structure of
government expenditure and taxation. It has traditionally been regarded as having its
impact through its influence on the level of aggregate demand within the economy;
an expansionary fiscal policy would involve increasing government expenditure
relative to taxation in order to boost the level of spending within the economy and
there by bringing more people into employment and enhancing economic growth.
Alternatively, a contractionary fiscal policy would involve raising taxation relative to
government expenditure, with the purpose of reducing aggregate demand and
lowering inflation and the demand for imports - though with the side-effects of
lowering employment and growth.
....................................
Exchange rate policy involves the targeting of a particular value of the
exchange rate. One of its major purpose is to influence the flows within the balance
of payments, and may perhaps be used in conjunction with other policies such as
exchange control, import tarrifs and quotas.
.....................................
Prices and incomes policy is intended to influence the rate of inflation by
means of either statutory or voluntary restrictions upon increases in wages and/or
prices. The range of prices and incomes over which such a policy may prevail, and
the degree of statutory control involved, is subject to considerable variation.
....................................
National debt management policy is concerned with the manipulation of the
outstanding stock of government debt instruments held by the domestic private
sector with the objective of influencing the level and structure of interest rates and/or
the availability of reserve assets to the banking system. It involves decissions
regarding the issue of new government securities and monetary policy has as one of
its concerns the level of interest rates.
IV. Match the words with the definitions bellow:
a) regulation; b) deregulation; c) monetarism; d) infrastructure; e) recession; f)
intervention; g) inference; h) supply-side theory; i) laissez-faire; j) crowding-out.
1) the concept in economics suggesting that a reduction in private expenditure
results from an increase in government expenditure
2) the removal of conrtrols imposed by governments on the operation of
markets
3). (social overhead capital) - the goods and services ussually requiring
substantial investment, considered essential to the proper functioning of an
economy, for exemple roads, railways, sewerage and electricity supply
constitute essential elements of a community's infrastructure.
4). a school of thought in economics that places money at the centre of
"macroeconomic policy. Based on the quantity theory of money, and first
expressed by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (17ll-76), it relates the
price level to the quantity of money in the economy.
5). a slowdown or fall in the rate of growth of GNP. A severe recession is
called a depression.
6). an economy in which government intervention is kept to a minimum and
market forces are allowed to rule. The term is attributed to J.Gourlay
(1712-59) is best translated as "let the people do as they think is best.".
7). an approach to macroeconomics that emphases the importance of the
conditions under which goods and services (including labour) are supplied
to the market in determining the level of employment and output in an
economy
8). a logical process by which it can be reached a conclusion from facts or
reasoning
9). interferring or becoming envolved
10). control by rules and restrictions made by an authority
V. Make compound nouns with "unemployment" and the following words; find
their meaning in the dictionary and write your own sentences using them.
- classical, cyclical, frictional, seasonal, structural, voluntary
VI. Find a representative economic statement belonging to each of the following
names:
1. Adam Smith
2. John Maynard Keynes
3. Milton Friedman
4. Robert Lucas
VII. Change the conditional sentences; notice that the form changes, but the
meaning remains the same:
Anyone can obtain money from his bank account if he issues a personal cheque.
Anyone can obtain money from his bank account by issuing a personal cheque.
1. You can improve the bank activity if you install new computer technology.
2. You can understand banking if you study basic textbooks.
3. They could improve the performance of the institutions if they changed the
regulations.
4. The bank can make more profit if it provides services which the public really
needs.
5. One can obtain some additional money if he deposits his savings with a
bank for a stated period of time.
6. Business can be done without banknotes if it uses payment instruments
VIII. Translate into English using the following vocabulary: knowledge; wage,
wages; salary; skills; dangerous, dirty, inconvenient, tedious jobs; cost of living;
clothing; support a person's life; subsistance wages are; compensating differentials;
purchasing power; progressive or redistributive tax.
1. Suma de bani pe care un muncitor o primete pentru o sptmn de munc,
n numerar se numete salariu.
2. Angajaii permanent ai societii noastre i primesc venitul lunar prin
transfer bancar sau cec.
3. Puterea de cumpreare a sczut anul trecut cu un procent de 5%.
4. Calificarea, cunotinele i expertiza acumulat prin educaie sau
specializare profesional reprezint capitalul uman i este remunerat corespunztor.
5. Societatea pltete persoanelor cu un nivel sczut de scolarizare salarii
difereniat compensatorii pentru a accepta munci periculoase, murdare, dificile,
enervante.
6. Salariul mediu pe economie trebuie s poat asigura existenta zilnic a unei
persoane.
7. Impozitul progresiv sau global este menit s reduc inegalitile veniturilor.
8. Costul existentei este acea sum necesar pentru hran, cas, mbrcminte,
i altele.
IX. Translate into English using appropriate phrasal verbs:
1. Dup o perioad de 5 ani de rapid cretere a nivelului somajului, acesta a
nceput n sfrit s scad. (level off)
2. Din cauza recesiunii economice pronunate, preurile la produsele de larg
consum au crescut semnificativ.
3. A fost necesar s se nchid fabrica i s fie concediai toti muncitorii.(close
down; lay off)
4. El frunzrete ziarele n fiecare zi, dar nu gsete prea multe locuri de
munc.
5. omerii gsesc uneori locuri de munc ocazionale. (casual work)
6. Personalul bncii a fost redus.(to cut back on the staff).
7. Din cauza recesiunii economice o parte din investitori s-au retras de pe
pieele nou aprute sau i-au redus activitatea.(emerging markets, pulled out of, scale
down)
8. Conducerea a decis restrngerea activitii societii (put off) i
restructurarea serviciilor administrative.(carry out restructuring)
9. Preul, serviciilor bancare a crescut pentru ca ele s devin profitabile n
condiiile inflaiei ridicate.
10. Guvernul duce o politic de austeritate (austerity) menit s reduc inflaia,
importurile, chaltuielile bugetare (government spending).
X. Translate into English:
Frmiarea statal, ndelungata stpnire strin nsoit de stoarcerea
necruttoare a resurselor, nesfritele rzboaie purtate pe locurile acestea, au
determinat o stare de napoiere economica, fiind frnat dezvoltarea unor
structuri productive asemenea celor formate deja n rile avansate din Europa
Apuseana. n prima jumtate a secoului trecut, n ara Romneasc i Moldova
industria era slab, n agricultur persistau rmie feudale, piaa intern
continua s fie ngust. Doar Transilvania se afla ntr-un stadiu relativ mai
avansat.
Dificulti deosebite creea dezordinea din circulaia bneasc, ntruct se
foloseau bani provenii de pretutindeni, n jur de 8o de monede strine diferite:
era urmarea faptului c lipsea un sistem monetar naional i chiar dup
nftpuirea Unirii, o lacun creia i se va pune capt abia n 1867; atunci s-a
instituit sistemul bnesc al leului i au nceput s circule instrumente monetare
emise n ar. Dincolo de Carpai
situaia era numai n aparen mai bun, populaia romneasc resimind din plin
repetatele crize monetare izbucnite n Imperiul habsburgic.
n condiiile date, acumularea intern a capitalului rmnea insuficiena pe
ntreg teritoriul, iar sistemul de credit avea s pstreze, pn destul de trziu, trsturi
desuete, rmase de la cmtria medieval. Implicit a fost favorizat penetrarea
capitalului strin, care i va consolida cu timpul poziiile n economia romneasc.
UNIT 11 STOCK EXCHANGE
OBJECTIVES:
students familiarise with specific vocabulary
specific documents and activities in a stock exchange
grammar: modal verbs
I. Answer the questions:
1. What is a stock exchange?
2. What is it useful for?
3. Is it possible that a stock exchange work in a command economic system?
The establishment and development of the stock exchanges is a natural
evolution and in the same time a proof of the human society's progress in the field of
trading and market organisation. It is stated that while "the Assyrians established the
first banks, the Greeks invented the coins, the Romans imagined the stock
exchange". The working of the stock exchanges was settled by special stipulations
within the Roman Law, the name of "tradeable values" first appeared in the Roman
Law the negociations were held in specially organised dwellings reserved for only
this kind of activity. The yielded shares were exchanged in a very short time in a
very "somptuous basilica built especially for this reason". At the end of the 6th
century, in Agora (market), in a place called "Emporium" the Greek merchants and
the trades men used to meet by the "Trapeza" (exchange table - now meaning bank in
the Greek language) to make transactions. This kind of meetings had synonim names
such as: market, box, convention, and platform. In the llth century important areas
started to develop: the North of Italy, the state-cities of Genoa Venice, Pizza,
Livorno, and also the North of Europe, the cities of Bruges, Amsterdam and
Hamburg. In l4o8 in the city of Florence the law contained stipulations admitting
that the responsibility of the shareholders is within the limits of invested capital and
not for their entire patrimony.
As regards the name of the institution there are several writings crediting the
family Van Der Burse of Bruges with the paternity rights because of the three
purses of money (bourses) engraved in solid rock on the frontward of their inn,
a place where there were periodically held negociations of precious metals and
shares later on.
The year of l531 is the date of the establishment of the first stock exchange in
Anvers. Short time after this, other stock exchanges are born in Lyon, Toulouse
(1549), London (1554), Paris (l563), Bordeaux (1571) and Amsterdam (1778). It is
the moment when the first financial markets start to form and develop.
The history of stock exchanges is closely related to the evolution of the trade
agents, who were recorded for the first time in 1141, when they used to operate in
special places called "Point du Change" and started to collaborate with bank brokers,
thus becoming specialised intermediaries able to facilitate commercial operations
between suppliers and demanders in exchange for a commission.
The development of the stock exchanges is also connected to that of
companies and their ways of financing. to the colonial expansion that led to the
settlement of big companies that started to issue shares.
On that time the institution was named for the first time "stock exchange" and
there were established its activities, its daily programe and very severe conditions to
be fulfilled by those wanting to have the right to negociate. This is the way that the
stock exchange markets as settled markets were founded.
The first list with quotations appeared in Anvers in l552. After Anvers, the
stockexchange of Amsterdam will be the most important financial market for more
than one century. Starting with 1810 every day between 12 and 14 o'clock
approximately 6000 persons gathered at the stock exchange in Amsterdam to find out
the latest quotations for the shares of the companies within the Company of India.
This Stock Exchange was the one that fulfilled for the first time the three most
essential conditions for big financial market:
the national currency (golden florin) was very strong, practically
undoubted, and had a wide range of circulation in the Europe of those
times;
the economic prosperity of the country was unequaled, involving a large
part of the population;
the Bank of Amsterdam kept accounts for all Europe.
In the second half of the l9th century, London became the most important
financial market, but the British leadership could not survive to the collapse of
the colonial empire and its currency. Although London could not extend its
peak in the financial field, it's a model of banking and stock exchange
organisation due to its "City".
Paris had its own moment of glory as a financial market in the end of the 19th
century and beginning of the 2oth century. During this period the French
economy was the creditor for the entire world. The bankruptcy of foreign
debtors, the fall of the franc and the effects of the nationalisation of several
properties weakened the French economy.
After the First World War, the Stock Exhange from Wall Street started to grow
and develop in American Style, that is with a bad fame, as it became the "great wich"
when the 1929 crisis results became well known all over the world. After the Second
War World the American market became more and more trustworthy due to the
prestige of the dollar (which practically eliminated the pound from international,
markets) the superiority of the young American economy and efforts made up by the
financial and professional institutions to inform and protect the shareholders.
II. Draw out the main ideas about history of the Stock Exchange.
III. What do you know about the Stock Exchange in Romania, today?
IV. Listen to the TEXT and fill in the blanks:
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) - the oldest (established in 1792) and the
biggest stock exchange in USA, also known as- "... ..." or"... ...".It's organised as an
association with 1366 members - individuals - partners or members in ... ... ... ... of
different financial firms. Approximately 5000 investors from all over the world
operate on this market, each of them owing a minimum of 1oo ... of the l5oo
companies listed.
Blue chips: ADD, Du Pont, Eastman Kodak, General Electrtic, General
Motors, IBM, McDonald's, Phllip Morris, Texaco, United Technologies.
The Japanese market is concentrated in... ...:The Tokio Stock Exchange
(holding over 80% of the transactions) and Osaka Stock Excahange (with more than
10%). The Tokio Stock Exchange is also known by the locals as Kabuto-cho is
placed... ... ... after NYSE. It has a few particularities.:
the financial institutions have a lot of power and hold an important
percentage among the ... ... ... ... .
the abundance of cash (caused by... ... and a high rate of savings) caused a
low volume of ... ... ... ... .
very low percentage of foreign investors
Blue chips: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Kodak,
Fuji, Nippon, Life and NTT.
The London Stock Exchange-
Blue chips: Glaxo, British Telecom, Shell, British Petroleum, Guiness, British
Gas, Hanson, Bat Industries, Smithline Beechum and ICI.
VI. Split into groups and read the fragments separately. Find a spokesman for each
group and exchange the information revealed by the fragments in such a way that
each group obtain the entire information.
A. Few investors would be happy about sinking resources in a company if there
was no way of recovering them, short winding-up the entire concern and selling its
assets - a process which in any case could hardly be brought about by an individual
investor.
The Stock Exchange exists in order that existing securities may be disposed of
by a sale to someone else. Suppose Mr X invests l ooo pounds in Company A and
subsequently wishes to get his looo back. He can withdraw his funds from the bonds,
or shares, by selling the securities in the Stock Exchange to Mr.Y; X recovers his
money and Y becomes, in effect, the person who has invested looo pounds in
Company A. The ability to recover funds in this way, of course, makes the planning
of capital in industry a much less risky affair than it would be otherwise, and
accordingly the flow of funds to industry is immensly stimulated.
B. The brokers are the people who transact business with the general public,
taking orders and delivering securities or the proceeds of them. The jobbers are the
people who actually deal in securities on the floor of the Exchange. They deal only
with brokers, having no direct contact with public.
When an order for the purchase or sale of securities is received by a broker, he
goes into the Stock Exchange and seeks out a jobber specialising in the kind of
securities involved in the order. The broker will ask the jobber to quote a price for
the security concerned, without disclosing whether he is proposing to buy or to sell
securities, the jobber, in return, will quote two prices: a lower price at which he is
willing to buy. If and when the broker obtains what he considers to be a satisfactory
quotation, the deal will be closed.
The possibility of changes in the price of securities gives raise to speculation -
that is, the purchase of securities in hope of reselling at a profit rather than as a
permanent investment. If such speculation is based on considerations of the kind just
discussed - genuine assessments of the changing economic values of different types
of assets, it is roughly useful and advantageous, since it anticipates future scarcities
or surpluses of different types of capital goods and thus guides current capital
formation.
Sometimes however, speculation is more akin to gambling; dealers may buy or
sell securities in anticipation of price movements whether or not they believe such
movements to be well-founded or justified. Security prices are driven up or down by
the spread of what can only be called mob emotion, in which the optimism or
pessimism of one person generates similar sentiments in other people in a cumulative
fashion.
Under such circumstances the prices quoted for securities on the market can
lose touch completely with the real value of assets underlying them, and the resulting
wild savings of prices can only damage for the economy, as a whole even though
more expert ( or luckier) speculators succeed in achieving substantial capital gains.
C. Like most human institutions, then, the Stock Exchange can perform services
of considerable value to society, but can also be abused by a minority acting in their
own interest.
In the United States the experience of the great Wall Street crash of 1929
stimulated the monetary authority to acquire powers of control over the extension of
bank loans for the purpose of dealing in the Stock Exchange. In Britain the
authorities have not attempted to acquire statutory powers of similar kind. Perhaps
this is because the banks are satisfied that within the existing framework they could
prevent excessive speculation financed with bank credit; perhaps it is because the
authorities have confidence in the stability and caution of the modern generation of
dealers on the London Stock Exchange.
"The Money and Capital Market" Edward Nevin
VI. Match the following definitions with the specific words:
1. public flotation; 2. merchant bank; 3. offer for sale; 4. fixed price for share; 5.
tender; 6.placing; 7. secondary exchange/unlisted securities market); 8. brokers; 9.
jobbers; 10. rights issue.
a) members of the Stock Exchange that execute the orders for the clients,
private or individual institutions for which they charge a commission
b) when a company raises funds for the first time via Stock Exchange
c) an invitation for the investors to apply for the shares; the issue is normally
underwritten by a merchant bank through its order, that the remaining shares unsold
to be purchased by a financial institution
d) that kind of bank that manages the flotation of a company working with a
stockbroker
e) a price that the investors decide whether and how many shares they wish to
purchase for
f) an arrangement of the merchant banks/broker by which shares are sold in
block at agreed prices
g) members of the Stock Exchange that sale and buy securities on their own
account, that is they are principals
h) the place where shares that are not eligible for a quotation on the main
market, are traded, as they are considered to be riskier; it also called OTC market
(over the counter market)
i) document by which shares are allocated in a discended order of the bid price
after the investors have specified the price and the number of shares they are willing
to pay for
j) the first issue of shares that are offered to the shareholders at a price that
represents a discount to the market price
VII. Change the sentences according to the model. What tense is implied?
Perhaps he will come.
He may come.
1. Perhaps he will open a current account.
2. Perhaps they will pass the exam.
3. The economic activity make up the economic system.
4. Business people undertake economic profitable activities.
5. Perhaps they will change some regulations with the banking services.
6. The bank's management will provide what the personel need.
VIII. Change the following sentences using can:
He does the learning easily.
He can do the learning easily.
1. They earn a lot of money
2. People highly educated usually earn quite a lot of money.
3. Productive agriculture provide grains at an economic price.
4. People use their time as they wish.
5. People choose what they want to work.
IX. Change can to could in the previous sentences according to the model.
He can do the learning easily.
Years ago he could do the learning easily, but not now.
X. Change may to might and the tense in the following:
1. In a completely free economy, people may do what they wish with their own
property, time and money.
2. People may work only when they need money badly.
3. Complete economic freedom may lead to economic anarchy.
4. Government policy may not depend on the political and economic ideology.
5. Some ideologists may be biassed toward labour and others toward capital.
6.The government may improve the general conditions of the work.
XI. Mark with true(T) or false (F) the previous sentences.
XII. Translate into English:
A. La fel ca n alte ri, primul rzboi mondial a nsemnat o intensificare a
activitii bancare n Romnia. n perioada ct ara noastr a rmas neutr, pentru
sistemul bancar s-au deschis posibiliti mari de ctig n legtur cu livrrile sporite
de mrfuri ctre prile beligerante. Dup intrarea Romniei n rzboi i ocuparea
unei pri din pmntul rii de ctre trupele invadatoare, Banca Naional i alte
instituii mari bancare i-au mutat sediile centrale la Iasi unde operaiunile au
continuat, mecanismele financiare contribuind la supravietuirea economica a rii. i
perioada refacerii dup rzboi s-a dovedit dificil. Dar, treptat, activitatea economica
s-a nviorat i efectele aveau s apar i n comerul de banca. Instituiile de credit iau
mrit considerabil puterea.
B. Crize puternice de natur economic au izbucnit din cele mai vechi timpuri,
avnd trsturi specifice determinate de condiiile perioadei istorice n care aveau
loc.
ntreaga oper de constiutire a sistemului bancar modern este presrat cu
momente de tensiune, accese scurte febrile, serii de falimente, speculaii dezlnuite,
bancrute, lichidri.
Fr ndoial c seismul din intervalul 1925-33 reprezint cea mai mare
catastrofa economica care s-a extins la nivel mondial, i pe care a cunoscut-o pn n
prezent omenirea. Prosperitatea, salutat pretutindenea, era preponderent de natura
speculativ, n special n SUA. Domnea frenezia unui joc bursier extrem de
profitabil, dar i foarte riscant, ncurajat de afaceriti, banci i autoriti.
La transmiterea unui ordin de burs, pentru dobndirea pachetelor de aciuni,
se depunea doar un avans i firmele specializate n intermedieri lucrau pe baz de
credit pentru diferena valoric. Se jucau astfel sume pe care debitorii de titluri nu le
aveau, ntretinndu-se o cerere artificial, reflectat n cotaia necontenit ascendent.
i crahul s-a produs. "Joia neagr", respectiv 24 octombrie 1929 a nsemnat
instalarea panicii la bursa din New York. Se ofereau attea aciuni, la cursuri de la un
minut la altul mai scazute, nct aparatele de nregistrat nu mai puteau prelua
totalitatea ofertelor. Creditele trebuiau rambursate. Din ce?
UNIT 12 INSURANCE
PURPOSE AND USE
OBJECTIVES:
learn specialised vocabulary
working with insurance criteria
modal verbs
I. Answer the following questions:
1. What is to be understood by "insurance"?
2. Make the difference in vocabulary: assure, ensure; insure.
3. Name some types of insurance you know.
As soon as a person goes into business, he is automatically faced with certain
risks, which, if handled improperly, could put him out of business. Economical
purchasing of materials and supplies, proper pricing of products, proper extension of
credits, use of money, development of new products, sound employee-employer
relations, protection of property - all these are risks that face every business.
Insurance, whether it be a policy purchased from a stock insurance company is
intended to provide indemnification for losses that the insured could not otherwise
stand individually. It is a sharing of the risk so that in the event of an unforeseen
circumstances, the insured individual will be able to avoid complete financial ruin by
having others share the burden of loss with him. For the protection granted he pays a
premium and the premiums pay for the losses.
In the operation of any large company, certain types of losses are inevitable.
You cannot run a large store and have thousands of people coming in every day
without having somebody get hurt on your premises, you cannot employ hundreds of
people without some workmen being injured on the job. You cannot operate a
production line with many different motors without having an occasional motor
burnt out. You cannot operate a fleet of vehicles without having accidents and
resultant damage to your vehicles. You cannot operate utility with above-ground
transmission and distribution lines withiout having an occasional storm or other
climatic disturbance tear down some of those lines.
A business insurance program should be designed to fit its own particular
requirements. If you insure property against damage by fire on the basis of
current replacement value, then it would not be reasonable to insure damage
by a boiler explosion on a depreciated value basis.
In order to produce an effective program that does the desired job at the most
economical price, it is essential to evaluate your operations carefully and then to
determine the ability to absorb loss and pay the premimium required.
The evaluation should be made by every injured, so it has definite goals in
mind of what is desired in a total insurance program. If such a philosophy is adopted
and periodically reviewed to reflect changing conditions, an insured will have taken
the first step to avoid overinsurance or underinsurance.
Management cannot abdicate these responsibilities.
II. Make the statements True or False:
1. Any person going into business is automatically faced with certain
risks...............T... F
2. Proper extension of credit, development of new products, economical
purchasing of materials represent risks faced by any business.
3. Indemnification for losses is not stood individually.
4. Business people pay for the losses through premiums.
5. In the operation of any large companies,certain types of losses are to be avoided.
6. An efective property insurance program means to ensure damage by a boiler
explosion.
7. Determination of the ability to absorb loss by damage is based on the
evaluation of the business operation.
8. Careful evaluation is usually done by the insurer.
9. A total insurance program should be designed to fit the particular
requirements of any business.
10. Changing conditions avoid overinsurance or underinsurance.
III.
_ Listen to the tape and complete the following:
Investing Institutions in Great Britain
1. The main goal of investment institutions is to collect and invest savings
in...............
2. Comprehensive and competitive service is provided domestically and
internationally by.................
3. The insurance industry falls into general insurance for accident and shortterm
life insurance, ....................
4. The London insurance market covers 20 per cent of.....................
5. In addition to the British companies and Lloyd's, a large ..................................
6. Friendly societies, mutual institutions administered by trustees .......................
IV. Re-arrange the following fragments to become a coherent text:
Lloyd's
Lloyd's is self-regulating under private act of Parliament. The Council has
introduced measures to ensure that members - particularly those not active in the
market as brokers or with underwriting agencies - should enjoy a certain level of
protection.
Lloyd's, the origins of which go back to the seventeenth century, is an
incorporated society of private insurers in London. Although its activities were
originally confined to the conduct of marine insurance, a very considerable
worldwide market for the transaction of other classes of insurance business has
been built up. Long term life and financial guarantee business is not covered.
Lloyd's is not a company but a market for insurance administered by the
Council of Lloyd's. Business is carried out for individual elected underwriting
members, or "names", who must show sufficient available wealth and lodge a
deposit. Insurance is transacted for them with unlimited liability, in
competition with each other and with insurance companies. The members are
grouped in syndicates. Each syndicate is managed by an underwriting agent
responsible for the appointing a professional underwriter to accept insurance
risks and settle claims on the syndicate members' behalf. Insurance may only
be placed through accredited Lloyds brokers who negociate with Lloyd's
syndicates on behalf of the insured.
V. Match the words with the definitions using a dictionary:
insured, premium ,claim, syndicate, reinsurance, society, broker/dealer, underwriter.
a) request for compensation from someone who is insured
b). a person or company covered by an insurance policy". In some policies that cover
death, the alternative word "assured" may be used for the person who receives the
payment in the event of the assured's death.
c) l. the consideration payable for a contract of insurance or life insurance
2. an amount in excess of the nominal value of a share or other security
3. an amount in excess of the issue price of a share or other security
d) l. a person who examines a risk, decides whether or not it can be insured and, if it
can, works out the premium to be charged, usually on the basis of the frequency of
past claims for similar risks
2. a financial institution, usually an issuing house or a merchant bank that
guarantees to buy a proportion of any unsold shares when a new issue is offered to
the public.
VI. Write about the potential risks involved in each of the following cases using a
modal of possibility (may/might/could)
ex: There may be a fire in the exhibition.
A visitor might have an accident outside or inside the exhibition.
The picture could be stollen.
a) a current account opened with a bank
b) the outdoor medieval theatre festival in the Romanian city of Sighisoara
c). The Oscar prize statue
d) The picture displayed in the exhibition of Quai d'Orsay in Paris
e) Highly valuable old furniture sold in an antiquity shop.
VII. Read the following main criteria to define a principal location of a business for
a normal rate insurance cover. Any exceptions would probably result in the business
paying a higer premium. Qualify the criteria for a normal rate. If not, how many
conditions would you fail on? Work in groups.
The business company seeking insurance must take into consideration:
the terms of the individual exposure of the particular location
the general area of the country in which the property is located
the responsibility for property on the lessee's or processor's premises
coverage protecting money securities, merchandise, office equipment
the biggest crime losses arise out of the dishonest acts of employees; potential
loss practices and checks and balances that can be used to reduce the exposure.
the importance of the engineering papers or other similar important papers which
could not easily be duplicated or reproduced. It is necessary to include all
development time in such value.
the waterfront facilities should be included in the description of the plant
premises
PRINCIPAL LOCATION
Address (complete and accurate)....................
Purpose of use.....................................
Owned or leased....................................
Total area ........................................
Number of floors ..................................
Construction:
Walls.........................................
Roof..........................................
Floors........................................
Nearest public hydrants............................
Spinklered.........................................
watchmen...........................................
Other sprinkler or burglary alarms or supervisory
services.............................................
Geographical exposure..............................
Flood.........................................
Earthquake....................................
Tornado.......................................
Hurricane.....................................
Landslide.....................................
Subsidence....................................
Other.........................................
Replacement values of owned properties:
Building......................................
Machinery.....................................
Furniture and mixture.........................
Materials and supplies........................
Finished stocks...............................
average....................................
maximum....................................
Leased machinery or other leased property for which you are responsible
Type..........................................
Replacement value...............................
Property of others on premises for which you are
responsible...........................................
Dies and molds...................................
Properties being processed.......................
Sold but not delivered..........................
Others...........................................
Maximum cash or negociable securities on hand.................................................
payroll.......................................
Other cash....................................
Securities....................................
Are physical inventories taken by each department or by someone not connected
with the department?
Are two signatures required on checks over $25o?
How frequently are outside audits made and how extensive are
they?..................................
How frequently are bank balances reconciled by someone other than the person
making the regular daily entries?.............................................
Number, size, and type of boilers....................
Numbers of other types of machinery?...............
Compresors....................................
Motors........................................
Refrigerating systems.........................
Generators....................................
Transformers..................................
Preasure vessels..............................
Value of engineering drawings.......................
Any overhead cranes................................
Any waterfront facilities
Number and type of vehicles owned:
Private passangers........................
Comercial.................................
VIII. Pair off each word in the first list with its opposite in the second list
theoretical........local
private............maximum
individual.........selling
mineral............complex
simple.............organic
buying.............collection
minimum............public
national...........practical
IX. Change these sentences in order to use should with not. The statements are
changed into recommendations.
ex: Utility is not to be confused with usefulness.
Utility should not be confused with usefulness.
a) The economic system principles are not to be studied in an unscientific way.
b) The Government is not to be expected to concern with private planning.
c) A capitalist system is not to be considered as completely free of central
planning.
d) These conditions are not to be considered important in improving
the quality of the service.
X. Combine the pairs of sentences using that and changing will to would, to the
simple future of the direct statement into indirect statement:
ex: The Government announced something. The oil price will change.
The Government announced that the oil prices would change.
1. The director told him something. The board will meet next week.
2. The specialists estimated something. The prices will fluctuate considerably.
3. The Government anticipated something. The inflation will increase considerably.
4. The management decided something. A new production line will be installed.
5. The board arranged something. The fair will take place regularly.
XI. Mark the modal function of obligation using shall or should instead of will for
the simple future in indirect statements or would in indirect statements.
1. The new political conditions will influence the international economic order
in the next ten years.
2. The changes in the economic legislation will be made next year.
3. The wages will increase in the next future.
4. The quantity of the goods ordered will be made available on the spot.
5. The taxes will be chaged for this type of commodity.
6. The economists will not agree to these changes in the legislation.
XII. Re-arrange the following fragments in a logic order.What were your criteria?
In the days of sail and rudimentary navigation, the news was often bad: ships
were wrecked and merchants ruined. Although ship and cargo insurance can be
traced back to the Phoenicians, it was at Lloyd's coffee house that modern marine
insurance was born. A ship owner would write on a slip of paper the particulars of a
proposed voyage - the name, route and ports of call of a vessel, the value of its hull
and cargo, and the amount he was willing to pay for "Insurance". The other coffee
drinkers arrayed in booths and benches around the room, many of them shipowners
themselves, would then decide, how much if any, of the risk they were willing to
accept in exchange for the premium. An "insurer" would write his name on the
shipowner's slip under the shipping information (hence the term underwriter)
While still insuring much of world shipping Lloyd's by then also offered
coverage for property and casualty, fire and theft, and product liability. It was
known for accepting large and complex risks that no one else would touch. By
granting or withholding insurance, Lloyd's could make or break a risky new
business venture.
Lloyd's earned for the British balance of payments nearly as much as the entire
British banking system. It was the largest private investor in the U.S.government,
holding billions of dollars in Treasury bonds. It also was a cultural and social force.
Llyd's chairmen were celebrities. People stood when they entered a room. The art of
collection of one Lloyd's official became the nucleus of the National Gallery in
London. Lloyd's name was so potent in America - a household word - that in 1936 it
was celebrated in a full-length Hollywood movie starring Tyrone Power. By the
middle of the 20th century, having passed its 25oth birthday, Lloyd's of London was
sui generis - a singular force, with an aura unmatched by another business enterprise.
By 1771... although Edward Lloyd was long dead, his name stuck as did the
tradition of doing business from wooden benches clustered in rectangular boxes
around a large room.
By the 19th century, its runners had become a worldwide network of
intelligence agents, utilized not only by Lloyd's for ship monitoring, but by the
British government for a range of economic and millitary intelligence - a
phenomenon that fed Lloyd's reputation for mystery and secrecy.
In 1906, a signal event came to Lloyd's - the San Francisco earthquake.
Herbert Evan Heath,a leading broker and underwritewr, telegraphed
instuctions to his California representatives to immediately pay all claims to
Lloyd's customers infull, whatever the terms of their policies. Heath's dramatic
gesture, at a time when
U.S.insurers were nickel-and-diming the quake victims, emblazoned Lloyd's in a
pantheon of world finance as an emblem of trust.
In the late 127th century, seafarers flocked to Edward Lloyd's cofeehouse in
Tower Stret, near the Thames waterfront in London, to gossip, play cards, and
conduct business, and Edward Lloyd serviced their needs. Coffee, valued for its
therapeutic powers, was a penny a cup. Pens, ink, and paper were free, as was news,
provided by
Lloyd's runners who scurried back and forth between the coffeehouse and the docks,
gathering the latest information on the comings and goings of ships and their
cargoes.
XIII. Match the following words with the definitions:
seafarer, service, value, back and forth, comings and goings, sail, route, cargo, hull,
array, bench, port of call, stick, premium particulars, balance of payments, liability,
broker, intelligence,claim, withhold, casualty.
long seat of wood/stone/other material, way taken from the starting point to the
destination, dispose/align/arrange, frame of ship, to & fro/ from one place to another,
to be ready to obey orders or to be used, arrivals and departures,
apraisal/depreciation, harbour where ships stop temporarily, amount to be paid in
considerastion of contract of insurance, information/details relating to smth/so,
accident/mishap, demand for smth as due righrt, information/news, middleman in
bargains/agent, refuse to give, difference of value between payment into and out of
the country (including invisible items)
XIV. Translate into English:
1. Ghinionul nu se indrjete dect mpotriva prostiei. (franc)
2. Primul factor de risc este ignorarea riscului.(Alvin Toffler)
3. Cine nu-i pzete bine avutul este prieten cu houl. (Proverbe i cugetri
armeneti)
4. Norocul ni-l facem noi i-l numim ansa. (Benjamin Disraeli)
5. Perspectiva pe termen scurt alung perspectiva pe termen lung.
(John Naisbitt, Megatendinte, Edit Pol.,Buc. 1989).

13 TAPESCRIPTS
_ TAPESCRIPT 1 (Unit II)
I'm going to speak to you today about the oil price shocks that influenced the
world economy several times. We hope we can identify this way, what is going to
come next.
Oil is an important commodity in modern economy. Oil and its derivatives
provide fuel for heating, transport and machinery and are basic inputs for the
manufacture of industrial petrochemicals and many housholds products ranging from
plastic utensils to polyester clothing. From the beginning of this century until 1973
the use of oil increased steadily. Over much of this period the price of oil fell in
comparison with prices of other products. Economic activities was organised on the
assumption of cheap and abundant oil.
In 1973-74 there was an brupt change. The main oil-producing nations, mostly
located in the Middle East, belonging to OPEC corectly anticipated that a substantial
price increase would lead to only a small reduction in sales. Thus, between 1973-
1974
the price of oil trippled from $2.90 to $9 per barrel. Then a more gradual rise
followed between 1974-1978, then there were another sharp increase between 1978
and 1980 from $12 to $30 per barrel. The dramatic price increases of 1973-74 and
78-80 have become known as OPEC oil price shock, not only because they took the
rest of the world by surprise but, also because of the upheaval they inflicted on the
world economy which had previously been organised on the assumption of cheap oil
prices...
_ TAPESCRIPT 2 (Unit III)
I learnt about different ways of delivering speeches and I try to chose the best
one for a promotional presentation in order to improve our sales policy. Which one is
the most suitable for that? Let us decide together.
The memorised speech is considered the most difficult, but the least effective
and excessively formal as it is adressed to a specific audience, in oratory contests, or
when notes are not allowed. It is considered to have the advantage of being a good
training device for memory but it lacks spontaneity and it tends to concentrate on
words rather than ideas.
There is another type, which is called manuscript speech, that must be very
well prepared in advance and it is less formal and isused for scientific papers,
for highly specialised audience. It must be very well organised as it is
concentrated on ideas, rather than words, and it has the advantages of
maintaining partial eye-contact with the audience but the disadvantage of
spontaneity and sometimes the difficulty to be followed.
Referring to Impromptu speech, it needs no planning or preparation in
advance, and it is addressed to groups of informal talks. The main advantage consists
in its originality and use of personal experience and it may be spontaneous. It offers
short time to think about the subject and for expressing conclusions and it may cause
sometimes, mental block.
As for the extemporaneous type of oral presentation, it is also planned in
advance and it is presented in a direct, spontaneous manner making use of only brief
notes. It is usually delivered to a small audience with diverse background and
different levels of knowledge. Due to its careful planning in advance, it is well
organised but spontaneous.
_ TAPESCRIPT 3 (Unit IV)
Professional Training on Internet
The fashion of Internet sites of trainig and consulting forms, is a result of the
development of the information technology. A new kind of service provider
company appeared, the online training information firms.
Sources provide corporation with up-to-date, non biased training information
to reduce search time in locating professional training services. The database
developed to help navigating through the maze of training providers, having a
reliable content, being easily accessible, and comprehensive.
The programs in the database are "first class" training providers who meet the
preset quality standards and expectations, offering a list of preferred vendors,
courses and contacts. The providers are identified and recommended by world-wide
corporations who place a high value on training and education for their emplyees.
When an unfavourable feed-back is received regarding a provider's program,
the issue is discussed with him and documented. Then he is informed if probationary
status. If a third problem is reported, the program is removed from the database.
_ TAPESCRIPT 4 (Unit V)
Capitalism is not without serious flaws. The uneven of wealth has been noted.
The growing pains of Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution caussed massive
socialdislocations,the growth of robust but filth-laden factory towns, classes of
workers who were virtual wage slaves, and many more problems.
By chance, popular democracy was emerging as a social force at the same time
capitalism was in its early stages. The call for political democracy merged with
demands for economic democracy. Socialism, which is one type of political
democracy, was born at the same time as the object of its criticism - the free-market
economy - was taking shape.
But neither socialism, nor one of the development from it called Communism,
are economic systems. They are political arrangements that attempt to do away with
what are perceived as the worst features of capitalism. The erratic nature of the
marketplace is removed and replaced by economic planners who are essentially
political figures. Systems of production and consumption become governmentoperated,
much as in ancient Egypt or Rome.
_ TAPESCRIPT 5 (Unit VI)
What is Time Management?
1. As the great Benjamin Franklin said: "Time lost is never found again."
2. Time management is a set of related common-sense skills that help people
use their time in the most effective and productive way possible.
3. Keeping an activity log for several days can help pin down everything that is done.
4. Meetings should not be held just for the sake of meetings, only when there
are important things to discuss and at a time which doesn't make others waste theirs.
5. Always confirm appointments or dates the day before. Don't try to arrive
more than 5 minutes early. If people keep you waiting for more than 15 minutes, they
may be playing power games.
6. If you travel by plane or by train, it might be worth changing your
reservation to a better class if it allows you to get more things done.
7. If one carries out tasks that benefit neither him nor are goal-effective, they
might be better off not doing them, or delegating them.
8. The trick to create time is getting up at the same time daily. By waking up
one hour early every day, you gain 10 workweeks per year.
9. Remember the two-minute rule: if you are confronted with a task that needs
less than 2 minutes to complete, do it right away.
10. If you have many places to go, try to schedule all your errands in the same
day of the week. Think of your itinerary before you leave so that you don't waste any
time on the road.
_ TAPESCRIPT 6 (Unit VII)
There is nothing particularly unusual about Place Dumon, a cobbed square in
suburban Brussels, ringed by quaint shops. Until, that is, you notice how the locals
purchase their wares. For they are paying for parking spaces, picking up newspapers
at the Gavilan newsagent, strolling to the Antoine bakery for a doughnut, and even
buying babies' outfits at the Minou boutique, all without reaching for a single note or
coin.
The reason is PROTON, Belgium's experiment in virtual cash. Proton is one of
several "electronic purses" being tested around the world. The e-purse is a chipbased
or "smart" card that stores digital money which, its fans hope, may one day
replace crumpled notes and fiddly coins in small purchases.
A smart card is unique, thanks to the sealed information - in high security
chip. It stores one's personal datas individually and characteristically as if it were
one's signature. Encrypted with one's personal, absolutely singular code, it makes
every bit as secure as if it were a bank vault. Any attempt to crack this safe causes
the chip to selfdistruct, automatically voiding the card.
A smart card is discrete. Everything it knows remains strictly confidential. The
chip makes sure of that - with sophisticated identification procedures and encryption
that protects one's confidential data against unauthorised access. A smart card offers
complete security, which makes it predestined for universal employment: it can be
used as an electronic wallet to pay for purchases, taxi fares or hotel bills. The chip
cards now include a debit-card function. Eventually, a single card may combine the
e-purse with credit, debit and loyalty cards. PROTON is also developing special
telephones that would allow customers to reload their cards at home. If a banknote is
lost, tough luck; if, however, a plastic card is misplaced or broken, the balance on it
can be reinbursed because all debits are logged centrally. But central accounting has
disadvantages too. Many customers may prefer to move digital cash around without
their transfer being logged. In addition, centralised schemes may prove more costly
to operate, making small transactions, including the purchase of small bits of
information and software over the Internet, uneconomic. It also faces complaints
about parochialism as its chip can hold just one currency, while Mondex and Visa
can store
value in up to five different currencies. Then there is inter-operability. An integrated
payment system will allow, say,a Belgian customer to spend his e-cash in
Switzerland. Most pundits think that important banking institutions will have to pair
up in big payment networks. The two bank-owned groups - Visa an Master Card -
are already around busy buying up purse providers around the world, by taking
controlling stakes in the domain, or absorbing e-cash technologies.
But if the history of credit cards is a guide, no more than two or three of the
smart-card schemes are likely to win global acceptance.
_ TAPESCRIPT .7.(Unit VIII).
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) - the oldest (established in 1792) and the
biggest stock exchange in USA, also known as Big Board or The Board". It's
organised as an association with 1366 members - individuals - partners or
members in the board of administration of different financial firms.
Approximately 5000 investors from all over the world operate in this market,
each of them owning a minimum of 100 shares of one of the 15oo companies
listed.
Blue chips: ADD, Du Pont, Eastman Kodak, General Electric, General Motors,
IBM, McDonald's, Philip Moris, Texaco, United Technologies.
The Japonese market is concentrated in two centres: The Tokio Stock
Exchange (holding over 80% of the transactions) and The Osaka Stock Exchange
(with more than 10%) The Tokio Stock Exchange is also known by the locals as
"Kabuto-cho" is placed second world wide after NYSE. It has a few particularities:
-the financial institutions have a lot of power and hold an important percentage
among the biggest companies of Japan.
- the abundance of cash (caused by commercial exeeds and a high rate of
savings) causes a low volume of short time negociated values.
- very low percentage of foreign investors
Blue chips: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Kodak, Fuji,
Nippon, Life and NTT.
The London Stock Exchange:
Blue Chips: Glaxo, British Telecom, Shell, British Petroleum, Guiness, British Gas,
Hanson, Bat Industries, Smithline Beechum and ICI
ECONOMIC ENGLISH FOR UPPER INTERMEDIATE
_ TAPESCRIPT 9 (Unit XII)
INVESTING INSTITUTIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN
1. The main goal of investment institutions in Great Britain is to collect and
invest savings in securities and other assets.
2. Comprehensive and competitive service is provided domestically and
internationally by the British insurance industry.
3. The insurance industry falls into general insurance for accident and shortterm
life insurance, and long term life insurance.
4. The London insurance market covers 20 per cent of general insurance business.
5. In addition to the British companies and Lloyd's a large number of overseas
copanies are represented.
6. Friendly societies, mutual institutions administered by trustees make also
available insurance.
14 GRAMMAR
VERBS
Verbs are words that allow us to talk about such things as activities, processes,
states of being, and states of mind. They divide into two major groups, according to
the way they are used in a clause. Those in the larger group are called main verbs.
The remainder are auxiliary verbs.
This basket holds quite a lot.
John is reading an essay.
Larry was preparing a talk for next week's class.
The cat feels much happier now.
She forgot that it was her mother's birthday.
Paul owned several houses.
Verb phrase
A verb can be a single word or a group of associated words. When a verb
phrase consists of a single word it is called a simple verb. When the verb is made of
an auxilliary verb and a main verb, this is called compound verb.
he walks he is walking
we had walked we could walk
they had been walking
you might have been walking
MAIN VERBS
These are the verbs that indicate actions and states. Most verbs in English are
main verbs. They are also called lexical words. Main verbs are classified in several
ways:
according to whether they refer to states:
This scarf belongs to me.
I already feel that I have known you for ages.
or actions:
I feel that I have known you for ages.
regular and irregular verbs according to the spelling of their forms:
regular: talk, talks, talking,talked
irregular: swim, swims, swimming, swam, swum
according to whether or not they are followed by an object, that is they are
transitive or intransitive.
I can speak English.
We both read the same books.
She found a short way.
Tell me the truth!
I saw my best friend kissing her.
AUXILLIARY VERBS
These verbs are used in combination with the main verbs in order to allow us
talking about different times or periods od time, different degrees of compection, and
different amounts of certainty or doubt. There are several types ofauxilliary verb.
The primary auxilliaries help to express time, and the modal auxilliaries help to
express certainty and doubt.
TENSE
Verbs enable us to talk about actions and states. They also allow us to talk
about the time when the action or state takes place.
We use tense to talk about the complete form of the verb phrase and the
time scale it expresses.
All main verbs have two simple tenses: the Simple present and the Simple
past. In these tenses the verb is used on its own without any auxilliary verbs.
I walk. I walked.
She sings. She sang.
You bring. You brought.
English verbs also have compound tense forms, when the main verb is
accompanied by one of both of the auxilliary verbs be and have
ASPECT
The compound tenses of the verb express:
two tenses, present and past
two aspects, preogessive and perfect
The term aspect expresses continuing actions, versus completed actions or
states. Simple tenses do not have aspect.
I am walking. I was walking.
He is singing. They were singing.
I have walked. They have walked.
You have come. You had come.
When an auxilliary is added to a main verb to form a compound verb it
expresses:
the continuity of an action by using a form of the auxilliary be+-ing. This is
called the progressive aspect.
I am still studying French.
My friend was living in Bucharest at that time.
James is helping out with the typing.
the completion of an action, by using a form of the auxilliary have + a past
participle, usually -ed,which is called perfect aspect.
I have studied English for four years.
Gloria and James had found their flat by then.
.The two aspects of the verb can be joined so that we can talk about the
duration and the completion of an action in the same verb phrase.
Ihave been studying French for three years.
He had been living in London for three years when I met him.
John has been helping us this week.
TENSE
The tenses alow us to refer to different ways of thinking about the time of an
action or state of being.
SIMPLE TENSES
Simple tenses show moments of time, timeless, states and habitual or repetitive
actions. The Simple Present and the Simple Past of regular verbs are formed by using
the base of the verb.
PROGRESSIVE TENSES
Progressive Tenses show duration or continuity; The Present Progressive and
the Past Progressive are formed either from the present or the past tense of the verb
be + the present participle of the main verb.
It is raining hard this spring.
It was raininyesterday thid time too.
She is eating a hamburger
PERFECT TENSES
Perfect tenses show that an action is completed but has some relevance to the
present time. The Present Perfect and the Past Perfect are formed using respectively
either the present or the past tense of the verb have + the past participle of the main
verb.
Roger here has walked the Victory Way
She told us he had attempted the mountain before but the weather was too
wet.
He has never visited me again from that time.
She had missed the train.
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSES
Perfect Progressive tenses show duretion, completion, and perfect relevance.
Father has been working hard in the garden all day.
My mother has been helping him.
He had been working at McDonald's that summer before going to college.
Bill, who had been acting as an instructor, was promoted to manager.
The present Perfect Progressive and the Past Perfect Progressive are formed
using respectively either the present or past tense of the verb to have+the past
participle of the main verb
OTHER VERB FORMS
Other verb combinations are used for positive or negative statements or to
express degrees of time and probability
My grandma likes freshly ground cofee..
DO YOU LIKE INSTANT COFFEE?
MAY I HAVE SOME CHOCOLATE?
Another use is Future time.
You will be home before you know it.
They will probably meet us at the station
TYPES OF MAIN VERB
VERBS OF ACTION
When we need another verb to describe a new activity, it is possible to adopt
other parts of speech or to invent a new word.
Chris and Debbie were windsurfing all afternoon.
They were guzumped by a buyer with more money.
She is putting on an exhibition of her new dresses,
All the tenses can be used with action verbs.
VERBS OF STATE
I feel unhappy.
I hate quarrels.
I mean you no harm.
This house belonged to us once.
The verbs of state may be verbs of senses: feel, hear, smell, taste
verbs of emotions: adore, fear, like, love, want, wish
verbs of mental activity: believe, expect, forget, mean
verbs of possession: belong, own, possess
Vebs of state are not usually used in progressive tenses. When they are used in
progressive tenses,they change their meaning
I'm just feeling to see if the bone is broken.
We were tasting some French interesting wines.
Some uses of the verb be allow to choose between a state or an action
meaning. The word used as the complement makes an important difference.
BIll is being silly. but not Bill is being tall.
Rupert is being nasty but not Rupert is being intelligent.
The verb seem has a very limited number of adjectives that can be used as its
complement.
Bill seems happy. but not Bill seems tall.
AUXILLIARY VERBS
Auxilliary verbs are used together with a main verb to express tenses and
continuity.
be and have are primary auxilliaries. They are used to construct compound
tenses.
be is used to make Present and Past Progressive tenses and also for the
passive voice.
I am listening to you.
The students were all asking about that.
Susan is liked by all her friends.
Martin was sent to college in London.
have is used to make Present and Past Perfect tenses
George has seen the show already.
Pa had already had dinner when we arrived.
They had not expected, to see me at that party.
do is a supporting auxilliary and is used in forming negative questions and
emphatic statements in clauses which have simple verbs
I DO NOT LIKE YOU AT ALL!
You do like shrimps, I hope ?
Will, may, might and some others are considered modal auxilliaries. They
construct future as a fact or future actions as possible, doubtful, or necessary.
I will go home on Friday.
I may go home on Friday.
I could go home on Friday.
I must go on Friday.
Auxilliaries can be combined together in a single verb phrase , such as: -a
modal + a form of have + a form of be + a form of a main verb.
I could have been making a bad mistake by trusting her.
Mary will have lived in London for over 2 years now.
You must have been given the wrong address.
The first auxilliary verb performs the following functions:
it shows tense
I have finished my work.
She is looking for the book.
it shows number and person agreement with the subject
She has worked too much already.
They have seen the film before.
it will take any negative after it
The baby doesn't want to eat any more.
He has not been doing the same thing all the time.
it can come before the subject to make a question
Do you remember me?
Have you got the right number?
CONTRACTED FORMS
Auxilliaries are very often used in contracted forms. They ususally link the
subject to the main verb into a single form. , e.g. I'm, I've, we've, we'd, john's
(John is or John has).
The contracted negative form auxilliary + n't is common with all the
auxilliaries except am,e.g. hasn't, wouldn't, don't .
We don't want him here.
He hasn't (has not) seen the fish jumping.
I can't (cannot) come.
Contracted forms are more informal than full forms and they are more used in
spoken English than in written English.
Auxilliaries are also used in sentence tags.
It is your car, isn't it?
You are joking, I suppose, aren't you?
Auxilliaries are used to make an addition to a statement., such as:
a positive addition to a positive statement, accompanied by so or too
We considered her to be sincere and so she was.
I told you I'd find it and I have too.
a negative addition to a negative statemenet, accompanied by neither or
nor.
My parents never eat seafood and neither do I.
I don't want to speak to her - neither does he.
I don't understand you, neither can he.
Auxilliaries are used to emphasise when they are not contracted.
She has made an ass of herself!
She did it!
Auxilliaries can represent a short answer to a question when they are on their
own. , and the main verb is not repeated.
Do you like shrimps? No, I don't. or Yes, I do.
BE
The verb be is used as an auxilliary verb and as a main verb as well.Its forms
are: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been
As an auxilliary verb, be is used to form progressive compound tenses and
passive voice.
Progressive tenses of the main verbs the appropriate form of be, present or
past, followed by the present participle.
The passive voice of a main verb be is used as an auxiliary followed by the
past participle.
The verb be is used as a main verb too and expresses:
feelings and states used in simple tenses with a suitable adjective:
She was delighted with the news, but I am not very happy.
She was very busy so she was not able to see him at the hospital.
people's behaviour in progressive tenses of the verb together with a suitable
adjective
I am not being slow, I am being careful.
You are being very rude.
be + to infinitive can be used to refer to future time in a rather formal use
Our Manager is to visit the new headquarters of the company.
it + be refers usually to time and distance
It is a long way to London from here.
there + is/are indicates the presence of something
There is enough food for all of us.
There are several things to care about.
The interrogative form can make not use of an auxilliary:
Are you happy now?
Is that you?
HAVE
This verb is used as an auxilliary verb and also as a main verb too. It has the
following forms:have, has, having, had
As an auxilliary verb, have makes the Perfect tense of the main verbs,using the
appropriate form of present or past, followed by the past participle of the main verb.
I have studied several possible cases.
I had visited them before I went home.
The negative form is made by adding not or another negative word after the
apropriate form of have. There are also contracted forms.
I have never seen so many people.
She had barely finished the cooking when I came back.
I'd not seen my parents for ages.
We haven't found a hotel to stay for this weekend.
They hadn't worked very hard!
Have as a main verb may state a possession or a relationship. This case,
progressive tenses are not allowed. The negative form is made by adding not or
nothing to make questions.
I have something to tell you.
I haven't anything for you to give.
We have had a nap, so we can leave now.
They had a fine weather.
A form of the verb have in informal British English is have got.It is used in
expressing certain activities including eating and leisure.
My mother hasn't got a sister.
Have you got any time to see me next week?
I haven't got enough money to buy the book.
She was having a rest when I phoned.
The negative and the interrogative forms use do and no contractions and weak
forms are allowed.
I'm having dinner with my family.Come and have dinner with us. No, thank
you. I don't usually have dinner.
We are having lunch together.
DID YOU HAVE A GOOD LUNCH ?
Have got (in the sense of possession) is not used for this meaning.
Have to or have got to may express obligation and they can use progressive
tenses.
You've got to come back, now, you are finished.
Do I have to come with you?
Have you got to choose it ?
I am having to spend less on computer games.
If have is a main verb, it makes Perfect forms like the other verbs.
We have already had lunch.
DO
Do can be a main verb or an auxilliary, that is a supporting verb.It is also used
to avoid repetition.
I do not read this book.
He does not read this book.
I didn'know that you were home.
Do you like skiing ?
Did he pass the exam ?
As an auxilliary verb, do is used:
to form the negative and interrogative of Simple Present and Simple Past
Tense
to form the negative form of Imperative
Don't let me go!
to make an imperative more persuasive:
Do let me see it !
to avoid repeating a main verb in the following situations:
additions:
I like cooking, and so he does.
commands:
Don't run on my nerves! Don't do it!
sentence tags:
He lives in Brussels, doesn't he?
in short answers:
He likes music, I guess. Yes, he does.
The negative form of the verb has contracted form, but not the positive one.
There some meanings of the verb do when it is a main verb: carry out,
perform, fix, provide.
I'll do the reading now.
Our firm doesn't do the catering for planes.
You have been doing well this term.
She felt she had done her best.
This has been done again.
The verb do can also have the meanings of:
habit:
This is what he usually does.
They do the cleaning every day.
behaviour:
I did something awful.
plans:
What are we doing this weekend ?
As a main verb do makes the negative and interrogative as the other main
verbs, with the auxilliary do
What does he do for you?
He didn't do the cleaning well.
Do can also be used with a modal verb:
I will do it for you.
You can do it, but you shouldn't do it.
MODAL VERBS
Modal verbs are considered a particular kind of auxilliaries as they are used
when needed special meanings to the main verb.
to express different degrees of doubt and possibility about the action of the
main verb:
He might not be able to do the repairing.
to express degrees of the future possibility, from the definite future will, to
the possible future may, and the conditional future, could.
I may be not be able to manage the matter.
I think you might have cought my cold.
YOU COULD BEHAVE YOUSELF !
You will be wondering on weekend at the seaside.
I may be late home this evening.
I could bring some good news.
to request or give permision for an action to take place
May I open the window, please?
He can borrow my car, if he needs it.
to express a prohibition when used with a negative
You shouldn't make use of my benevolence.
You cannot drop in his house without letting him know before!
He must not notice your absence.
to make an assumption.
The scandal may be over when we get there.
The flight could be late because of the storm.
He may be back home, at that time.
to express obligation and duty
You must have the cheking out soon.
She ought to tell the bad news.
to refer to characteristic behaviour
She can be very uggly on these occasions.
to add politness to a request which might otherwise sound abrupt
Would you please, shut your mouth?
to make conditional sentences
in reported speech.
All modal verbs can be used for future reference , when they are used with a
time adverbial
I may be late tonight.
Modal verbs can refer to habitual action when they are used with a time
adverbial.
When he was young, he would not miss any weekend trip.
FORMS OF THE MODAL VERBS
Modal verbs have only one base form,valid for Simple Present Tense and they
do not have a to infinitive.They have no -s inflection in the third person singular.
I will be seeing him this week-end.
She may be late for school.
Some of the modal meanings in the past are provided by other verbs. Must is
replaced by had to in the past
You must visit your father in the hospital.
You had to visit him.
There are contracted forms for the modal verbs:
shall/will - 'll. All the negative forms are contracted to to a single word: can't, won't,
wouldn't. There are also other contracted forms, common for spoken English but rare
in written English: he'll, we'll, shan't, they'll.
There are some semi-modal verbs that act sometimes as full main verbs or as
modals
How dare you speak like this?
THE CHILD DARES TO ASK ME TO DO HIS HOMEWORK.!
She need not speak if she does't feel like.
I need a new umbrella.
POSITION
Modal verbs are always placed before any other auxiliary or main verb in the
verb phrase. They are always finite.
Modal verbs are followed by the base form of the verb if there is no other
auxiliary verb present.
May I open the window, please ?
You must think about the consequences of your words!
If one of the auxiliary verbs have or be follows the modal verb, the main verb
will take the appropriate present or past participle form.
You could have read it by yourself!
Helen might be coming too.
In negative sentences not is placed immediately after the modal verb and in
front of all the other verbs.
Mary may not understand you.
I might not do a better cleaning.
Can is not to be combined with the auxiliary have, as the negative form can't
They ca't have borrowed the car.

CAN and COULD

Both are used to indicate that you know to do something
She can swim very well,but she couldn't last year.
Can shows ability of a more general nature that includes "is permitted to".
When she was younger she could dance very well.
He is a good driver, he can drive even a lorry.
I am able to dance till morning.
He can drive my car whenever he wants.
Both make polite requests or ask for permission, while may is more formal.
Can I borrow your hat, pa?
May I have some more bread?
Could I stay next to you?
Can and could express possibility in the future when this is related to plans or
projects. When may is used, the possibility refered to is uncertain.
You can come and see me since I am free next week.
You could come and see me if I am free. next week.
You may come to see me if you dare!
Both can and could express the possibility of an action in the present.
You can drive off these cars.
You could drive off these cars, if you take care.
Could + the Perfect form of have express an action that was possible but did
not happen.
She could have helped him, but she didn't.
Can and could used with the Perfect form of have, speculate about actions that
have recently taken place.
Who could/can have said such a thing?
Who could have imagined that he would succeed?
There is a difference between can and could in conditionals, when could is
used when the condition is not met.
If grandma is coming, she can cook something.
If grandma came, she could cook something for us.
Can is changed into could in reported speech.
His friend said, "I can do it only for you.
His friend said that he could do it only for him.
MAY and MIGHT
May and might are used in requests and in expressions of possibility for the
present and future
May I have your attention, please?
Might I take off my coat ?
He may/might recover within a week.
May is used in a more formal way than can, while might is used for asking
permission, for an uncertain response.
Might I ask you something?
May expresses permission of a speaker allowing something to hapen.
You may go to the party since you finished your work.
May can be used to make an order appear as a request, while might makes the
request more formal.
May I have you permission to leave?
Might I have your permission to leave?
Might is used when the speaker wants to persuade someone to do something,
but it can also be used for casual request.
If you go shopping, might I ask you to bring some cigarettes?
When used in conditional sentences, might makes be in the present or in the
past tense.Compare with could.
If grandma comes, she might cook something.
If grandma came, she could cook something for the children.
May becomes might in reported speech.
MUST
Must is used to show obligation, compulsion and general accepted truths. It is
replaced by have to in the Past Tense.
Must is used:
to express obligation
All the children must go to school.
to advice or reccomend emphatically
You must show everyone what you can do!
to express a positive assumption; when it is a negative one, can is
used instead.
HE MUST BE MAD TO BELIEVE SUCH A THING !
You can't be serious!
must and have to are used in the interrogative
Must I go by myself?
DOES SHE HAVE TO DO THIS?
Must can be used in negative sentences
You must not cross the street when the light is red.
There mustn't be a mistake.
The fact that you are not obliged to do something, do not have to is used.
You must not waste your time talking to her.
You don't have to waste your time talking to her.
SHALL and WILL
The modal verb will is usually used to express simple future time.The modal
verb shall is not very much used in English except in questions, but in spoken
English it is difficult to make distinction between shall and will, since the contracted
form, 'll is used for will and shall.
Shall is used:
in questions of the third person singular and plural
Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
Shall I drive your car?
to express intentions and promises with the third person singular and
plural
We shall/will keep in touch.
to express willingness and insistence with the second and third
person singular and plural
You shall come back immediately!
Mary shall do her work, otherwise she will be sorry.
Will is used with all the persons except the situations showed previously and
expresses :
polite requests and invitations:
Will you came and see me tomorrow?
orders:
Will you please, open the window?
persistence:
My friends will fight together whwtever I do.
predictions:
My family will have had already dinner by now.
Contracted negative forms:
Shall:shan't:
Don't worry, I shan't tell him the truth.
Will: won't
I won't speak to her again!
SHOULD and WOULD
Should, as a modal verb, is used to express:
a moral obligation
I suggest you should buy another computer for the company to replace the one
you broke.
advice or instructions
You should avoid meeting her.
politeness in a conditional clause
If you should decide to buy, please, contect me.
Should you need more information, please call my secretary.
There are formal expressions with should used with the main verb that are
used together with: it is a pity that,it is odd that, I am sorry/surprised that:
I am surprised that you should care about it.
Should + perfect form of a main verb is used to express regret or annoyance of
not having done something.
You should have learnt much better.
He should have finished his work before going to bed.
Should replaces shall when reported speech
I told him he should go and see that movie
Should is also used in "If clause" with the first person singular and plural
when referring to some possible future event which seems desirable but will happen
only if external conditions are fulfiled
I should travel abroad if I had money.
In case there is not an "if clause", it is to understand that if conditions are
right.In this case would is more common in modern spoken English.
I would travel abroad.
The modal verb would is used:
for a polite request:
Would you mind leaving us alone?
Would you pass me the bread, please ?
to offer something politely:
Would you like to have dinner together?
to indicate an usual activity
Nick would play cards all day long.
to show persistence in activity, sometimes expressing a complaint
about that.
You would keep saying it. I warned you.
to express wonder and probability
That would be the book I have been looking forsuch a long time!
to express a condition in "if clause"
I would have read it only if the teacher had asked me to.
I wouldn't refuse if you ask me to have some more.
to replace will in reported speech.
My parents promissed me they would buy a new computer next week.
OUGHT TO
It is a modal verb which is less strong than should or must and it has not a past
form, so it is used for present and future only.It is used to:
express an obligation or an expectation
They should know they ought to leave promptly.
Children ought to be taught to pay respect to the old people.
to express the likelihood of something to happen
The results of the official talks ought to be announced tomorow.
Larry ought to have been here by now.
to give a general advice
You ought to consider the feelings of others.
but when adding a reprouch, it is advisable to use should
You should consider the feelings of others.
and must when suggesting or threatening You must not upset people
like that!
should sounds more natural in question than ought to.
Ought I to report it to the police?
Should I report it to the police?
DARE AND NEED
These verbs are considered to be semi-modal verbs as they sometimes behave
like modal verbs and do not have -s added to the third person singular, and they do
not need an auxiliary.
Need I go now?
Dare Helen prevent him?
He need only try to succeed.
No one dare risk his chance.
These semi-modal verbs are used in negative or interrogative clauses, and
sometimes they behave as main verbs, using auxiliaries and -s inflection for the third
person singular and are followed by long infinitive.
Lucy doesn't need to know what her friend dares to do.
Does he need to leave now?
When the two verbs are used as modal verbs in a statement, a negative word
must be present in the same clause.:never, only, hardly
He need only begin and he will like it.
Dare as a modal verb
I dare not see.
He dare not say a word.
He daren't say it.
I dared not dress like that.
He dared not come here.
Dare I try it?
Dare he come here?
Daren't he do that?
Dared I try it again?
Dared she do it once more?
Dare as a main verb
I dare
He dares.
He does not dare.
He doesn't dare.
I did not dare.
He did not dare.
Doesn't dare?
Doesn't dare?
It is possible to have a mixed modal and main verb pattern:
Dare he say that! modal
Does he dare to say that! main verb
Does he dare say that! mixed
NEED AS A MODAL VERB
I need not come.
He need not promisse.
He needn't ask.
Need I ask?
Need he try?
Needn't he see?
Need as a main verb
I need.
He needs
. I do not need.
He does not need.
I needed .
He has needed.
I did not need.
Does he need?
USED TO
It is a marginal modal verb available for Past Tense only, and the auxiliary is
used only in the past.
It is used
to describe a repeated action in the past with no certainity in the
present
He used to like riding the bike when he was a child.
to describe an ususal activity in the past but not available in the
present;
He used to read a lot when he was yonger.
Forms of used to
It is common for all subject:
I used to; you used to; they used to; etc
There are two negative forms:
used + not + to + base form
I used not to watch TV too much.
did not/ didn't + use + base form
I didn't use to drive last year.
There two interrogative forms of used to:
used + subject + to + base verb
Used he to...?
did + subject + use to + base verb:
Did he use to...?
PHRASAL VERBS
A phrasal verb is a main verb combined with either:
a) an adverb: to take off; To break in, etc
b) a preposition: to get at
c) an adverb-preposition:to get out of
having as a result another meaning.. The adverb or the preposition becomes a part of
the verb. They do not answer to any wh-questions.
HOW DID YOU COME? BY PLANE
a) This type of phrasal verbs are transitive (they have an object)
He picked me on his way to office
I turned the radio off.
If the object is a noun, the phrasal verb will alow an adverb come either:
before the object:
He blew ot the candles on his birthcake.
after the object
He blew the candles out.
If the object is a pronoun, it must come before the object:
He blew them out.
or they are intransistive, (they have no object)
I came back.
Sit down, please.
b) This type of phrasal verbs have an object at least and sometimes, two: the
object of the verb and the object of the preposition.
We asked for the bill. We asked the waiter for the bill.
c) This type of phrasal verb is a combination of the previous ones. All the
parts of this type of phrasal verbs come before the object.
I am fed up with your bad behaviour.
TENSE
Tense is the way the verb makes time reference.There are two simple tenses
(consisting of only the main verb) and six compound (consisting of the main verb
and the auxiliary).
There is a Simple Present Tense and a Simple Past Tense.
I work. I worked.
You learn. You learnt.
An -s is received by the main verb in the third person singular at Simple
Present Tense Affirmative.
He works. He learns.
As for the interrogative and negative form of the Simple Present Tense, the
auxiliary do is used.
Do I learn? I do not learn. I don't learn.
Do you learn? Don't you learn? You do not learn. You don't learn.
Does he learn? Doesn't he learn? He does not learn. He doesn't learn.
The Simple Present Tense is used to express:
habits or things that happen regularly and adds some adverbs such as
: often, regularly, usually, sometimes, never, or adverbial phrases: in
winter, on Sundays, etc)
Susan goes to school. (she has the age to do this and she does so)
I usually spend my weekends in the mountains.
scientific or general truths admitted:
We like scool.
Water freezes at O degrees.
a general belief or feeling of the speaker:
I think that he was angry.
a planned future action with a time adverb
We leave by train at 4 o'clock in the morning.
in conditional sentences about real possibilities
If the weather doesn't improve, our weekend plans will fail.
The Simple Past Tense uses the verb do as a support auxiliary for interrogative
and negative form in the same Past Tense (did).
Did I learn?
Did he learn?
I did not learn. I didn't learn.
He did not learn. He didn't learn.
Simple Past Tense is used:
to describe actions in the past:
He asked the question and waited for the answer.
to describe habitual actions in the past, usually accompanied by
adverbs such as: always, never, often
I often visited my aunt as she was ill.
to describe past actions in a definite time considered to be finished
I visited America 1o years ago.
I finished my work yesterday early in the morning.
points where the main action is broken,or when another action takes
place during or alongside another.
The phone was ringing when I entered the house.
I was wathing the TV program when the stranger knocked the door open.
to describe an action which goes on during or alongside another.
He watched TV as he took a bath.
TENSE ASPECT
Aspect describes the way the verbal actions are considered.
completed or not completed.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT is formed by using the appropriate form of the
auxiliary be together with the preffix -ing added to the main verb.It shows:
that an action is going on at the time of speaking:
I am using a computer.
the action was going on throughout the time referring at:
Last time I saw him two hours ago, he was reading in the reading hall.
The action will take place in a referring future time:
She will be visiting America next Monday.
PERFECT ASPECT is formed by using the appropriate form of the auxiliary
have together with the suffix -ed added to the main verb when this is a regular one,
or the past participle of it when it is an irregular verb.
The perfect aspect shows that:
is complete at the time of speaking
I have enjoyed the party very much.
I have borrowed the book until tomorrow.
was complete at the time the speaker is referring to:
I had lost my key, so I had to wait for him.
It is possible that a compound tense show both aspects, progressive and
perfect.
I had been visiting my parents.
COMPOUND TENSES
The compound tenses consist of a main verb and one auxiliary or more. A part
of the compound tense represents the tense and the other part represents the aspect,
either progressive or perfect.
The tense of the auxiliary shows the present or the past of the main-compound
verb.
The tense of the auxiliary and the participle represents the aspect of the verb.
There are the poossible combinations:
a) Present Progressive = present of be + ing participle
My family is having a celebrating-party on Sunday.
b) Past Progressive = past of be + ing participle
I was watching the TV program when he rang.
c) present of have + ed participle
We have bought a new house.
d) past of have + ed participle
I had already asked him about the copnsequences of the accident.
A compound verb can also combine bath the progressive and perfect aspects,
using two auxiliaries and a main verb. This produces the following combinations:
a) Present Perfect Progressive
present have + past participle of be + ing participle
I have been trying to forgive you.
b)Past Perfect Progressive
past of have + past participle of be + ing participle
I had been sleeping before the new-comer entered the office.
The modal auxiliaries are also used in compound tenses.They can be used by
themselves or followed by the base forms of have or be
The modal verbs are followed by:
the subject and the rest of the verb
Will you be so kind to answer the question?
the negation not and the rest of the verb. If the negative contracted
form is used , then it comes before the subject and the rest of the
verb:
You may not have been joking!
Won't she be calling on me tonight?
Modals are not used in Simple tenses and are not used together with the
supporting auxiliary verb do.
In responses one of the auxiliary form is to be used.
Simple tense - the auxiliary do is used.
Do you like cookies? Yes, I do.
be or have is the first verb in the verb phrase - it is used as a response.
Was grandma calling? Yes, she was.
Had he bought everything? Yes, he had.
modal verb - it is used together with the auxiliary as a response.
Might he have forgotten about our arrival?
Yes, he might or Yes, he might have.
I could be coming with you next time. Yes, I could, or Yes, I could be.
FUTURE REFERENCE
1. shall/will + the basic form of the main verb represent the direct form of the
future tense in English.
We shall go to the theatre nex weekend.
2. be going to + base form of the verb expresses the intention for an action in
the future
3. The Present Progressive Tense with a time adverb is used for plans and
arrangements.
We shall be flying to London on Monday.
4. Simple Present Tense + time adverb is used for previuos arrangements or
plans belonging to a timetable.
I leave for the office at 7 o'clock in the morning.
5. The Future Perfect Tense (will have + the Past Participle) + time adverb -
represents an action to be finished in a future time the speaker is referring
to.
Unfortunatelly, by the time I arrive, my sister will have been left for school.
6. be about to + the base form of the verb is used for the near future time.
We were just about to leave for the station when he came in.
7. Future Progressive tense - Will be + present participle.
Next summer I will be spending my holiday with my grandma, as usual.
8. to be + the base form of the verb
Market economy principles are to be applied in our country too.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Active - The subject of an active-voice sentence is is the doer of the action.
Passive - The subject of such a sentence is the person or thing that is acted on
by the verb. The passive voice is used it is not important who carries out the action
expressed by the verb or it is not important to know.
FORMS of the PASSIVE
Be + the PAST PARTICIPLE of the main verb. The form of the auxiliary verb
be indicates the tense.
They sell fish in the market.
Fish is sold in the market.
They sold fresh fish in the market.
Fresh fish was sold in the market.
Passive Voice impersonal - it + passive
It is heard that you left the country.
It is said that it was a terrible accident.
The passive with get - be is replaced by get to express an action that has just
happen or that is done to the subject. - get dressed, get washed, get lost, etc
His dog got run over yesterday.
I got lost once in Paris.
THE LONG (TO) INFINITIVE
The to infinitive is used:
after an adjective of quality such as small, tall, agreable, pleasant, funny
that is used in combination with:
too + adjective of quality
The weather was still too stormy to leave for the mountain.
not + adjective of quality + enough
Mother is not enough recovered to leave the bed.
after adjectives of emotion such : angry, happy, glad, sad, sorry, surprised
He was glad to see me but sorry to hear the bad news.
after an adjective such as: good, nice, silly, wrong (sometimes + of +
another noun phrase)
It is so kind of you to invite me to your wedding party.
after a WH-word: how, what, where, whether, which, who, whom
We had no ideea what way to take.
I was wondering who to see on the stage.
after a noun phrase such as:a good ideea, a good thing, a mistake,(or for +
a noun phrase) etc
It was a mistake for us to buy that house.
It was a good ideea to have some fun together.
after an adjective such as easy, difficult, hard, impossible + for + noun
phrase
It is difiicult for me to understand your behaviour.
after a verb followed by for, e.g. ask, wait + for + noun phrase
We are waiting for you to decide.
the particle to can be used without the verb when the whole verb form is
used in a previous sentence.
Did you see that film? No, I intended to, but I didn't.
to can be used to express purpose or necessity after a verb followed by a
pronoun or a noun
I looked for her to talk to her.
It is time to leave.
THE TO INFINITIVE AND - ING FORM
Both of them can be used after certain verbs.
Verbs followed by to infinitive: agree, arrange attempt, choose, decide, fail,
hope, learn, manage, offer, plan, seen.
I hope to meet you again.
Verbs followed by an object + to infinitive: advise, allow, command, forbid,
force, invite, persuade, teach, remind, tell, remind.
I invited Laura to have lunch together.
Verbs followed either directly by the to infinitive or by an object + the to
infinitive: ask, expect, help, intend, want, prefer, hate, wish, mean, prefer.
I want to wash my car. / I want you to wash the car.
We really expected him to come and see us.
Verbs followed by -ing form are: avoid, be, used to, dislike, delay, finish,
forgive, escape, give up, go on, imagine.
I gave up trying to convince him.
Some verbs may be followed either by the to infinitive or by the -ing form, the
meaning of the sentence remaining the same: begin, start, continue, intend, hate,
prefer, love.
I prefer to wash the car myself.
I prefer washing the car myself.
Some verbs may be followed either by the to infinitive or by -ing form with a
change-meaning of the sentence, according to the form used: try, forget, remember.
I forgot to post the letter.
I tried all day long writing the letter.
After verbs as go and come the to infinitive expresses a purpose.
She went out to do some shopping.
The use of the to infinitive concentrates upon action, while the use of ing-form
concentrates upon what happens,this case using certain verbs bein an object of the
first ones:it's fun, it's worth, it's no use.
I forgot to bring you the book.
It's worth trying again
NOUN
A. Prpoer noun - is the noun denominating a real particular name of a person
or a thing.
names of people: English, Romanian
geographical items: Turkey; Danube
days of the week, months and annual Church festivals:Monday, Christmas
patented goods and trade name: Persil, Metro
newspaper and magazine title: THe Times
shop, cinema, and theatre names: The Odeon
-itles or professional labels: Doctor Johnson,Professor James
B. Common nouns denominating all the other beeings or things. They are :
Abstract nouns - intangible items: honesty, time, triumph, etc
Concrete nouns - tangible items
_ animate nouns : cat, horse
_ inaninate nouns : table, house
Collective nouns : a herd of deer; a swarm of bees
Nouns can also be singular and plural in number. Count nouns refer to things
that can be counted:car, chairs, girl. Uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be
counted or qualities or abstract names:furniture, news, information, homework,
knowledge, happiness, anger, evidence, beauty, behaviour, dispair, conduct, safety,
leisure, money,progress, research, jumble. They do not have a plural form and they
are not accompanied by the definite article.
Verbal nouns, formed from the present participle of verbs, are considered
uncountable nouns.
Walking is good for health.
Mass nouns refer to a substance that can be divided or measured but not
counted: sugar, milk, etc. It is not accompanied by an indefinite article. This type of
nouns take a plural only in special sases.
Too much sugar is not good for health.
France is well known for some types of cheeses it exports.
Two coffees, please!
PARTITIVE NOUNS are used when using mass nouns or when referring to
uncountables.
a slice of bread
a spoonful of sugar
a bit of cheese
a piece of furniture
There are some nouns that have both count and uncountable uses. Some of the
behave like count or uncountable nouns according to their use in the sentence.
Time passes slowly sometimes. She read the book three times.
Some nouns are used only in plural form even when it is about one item:
trousers, clothes, jeans.
I need the scissors at their place all the time.
GENDER OF NOUNS
English does not have grammatical gender for nouns. Gender distinction is
relevant where personal pronouns and possessive determiners are needed. They are
used in singular only.
The man is looking for his coat.
Some special nouns denominating babies and small animals are considered
neutral and those denominating vehicles , of feminine gender.
The bird flew away to pick up its baby.
The crew loved their ship. They use to call her "their girl".
Inaninate objects and abstract notions are also neuter.Nouns used for a group,
e.g. government or team, crew, have common or neuter gender.
The team has changed its strategy.The team won their match.
Sometimes, in spoken English their is used after a singular noun or an
indefinite pronoun.
Each student must apply to his or her tutor for the diploma paper.
Each student must apply to their tutor for the diploma paper.
Gender differences are shown by names of male and female and by
relationships:
horse mare
cow
stallion gelding
sheep ewe ram steer
parent mother father
child daughter son
There are specific suffixes to mark feminine or masculine gender:
waiter waitress
There are separate professional denominations and common professional
denominations:
manager manageress
shephard hephardess
doctor doctoress woman doctor
chairman chairperson chair
A country can be nominated as offeminine gender , from economic, political or
emitional point of view. Romania is a rich country. She is my country.
CASE OF NOUNS
The case indicates that the noun has a particular function ina clause. There are
two cases for common nouns.
a) The basic case of a noun is when it can be a subject or an object and its form
doesn't change.
b) The possessive case (genitive) that has two forms:
the 's possessive used only with animate items and in time phrases.Most
singular nouns add 's, and most plural nouns add -s'.
the woman's pair of shoes the dog's ear
Yesterday's magazine a week's holiday
the boys' bikes
There are the following exceptions:
for common nouns ending in -s in the singular, the choice for -s' or -'s is
optional
the cactus' spines cactus's spines
nouns ending in -en uses 's
children's toys
proper nouns and coomon nouns that end in -s add -'s, unless the final
sound of it is [iz]
Mrs Evans's car Mr Johns's car
compound nouns put the -'s or the -s' at the end of the complete compound
my mother-in-law's house
noun phrases that are descriptive receive -'s on the headword
a stock market analyst's annual income
for an of construction the -'s or -s' comes to the last noun:
the director of marketing's personal assistant
the of possessive is used with inaninate things and abstract ideas
The power of thought the world of ideas
COMPOUND NOUNS
Compound nouns are formed from two or more other words. The main noun is
normaly the last one:
self-control
headache
Compound nouns are commonly formed fromthe following word
combinations:
a noun + a noun boyfriend; skinhead
a verb + a noun breakfast
an adjective + a noun software
a phrasal verb a break-in
a participle + a noun overseer; aftershave
Compound nouns can be written:
as one word : bookcase
as two words: post office; eye shadow
with a hyphen: air-conditioning
NOUNS AS MODIFIERS
Nouns can be used as modifiers without forming a compound noun. The noun
in this case, has the same function as an adjective.
a car mechanic; an office manager
NUMBER OF NOUNS
singular
plural
count nouns = have both singular and plural
un ountable nouns and mass nouns = do not have a plural form
a regular plural -s
exceptions to the normal pattern:
singular noun plural noun
ending ending
-s, -e,-ss, -ch, -x, -zz, -es
focus - focuses
prince - prices
church - churches
box - boxes
buzz - buzzes
-o -es
hero - heroes
consonant + -y -ies
baby - babies
vowel + -y -s
key keys
-f -s or -ves
hoof - hoofs
dwarf - dwarves
-fe -ves
knife - knives
IRREGULAR PLURALS
two plural forms
fish - fish / fishes
the same form for plural and singular
a sheep / ten sheep
a change of vowel to form plural
man/men; woman/women
-en plural
child / children
brethern = alternative plural for brother having the sense of members of
a religious group
COMPOUND NOUNS - form the plural by adding -s to the last word of the
compound.
Exceptions:
a verb + an adverb = -s to the last word

a Chinese take-away - tho Chinese take-aways

a noun + adverb = the first word=pl
a passer-by - two passers-by
-man/woman + noun = both make pl
a manservant - menservants
-ending in -ful + -s after ful or
-s after the main noun
a cupful - cupfuls/cupsful
a spoonful - spoonfuls/spoonsful
PLURAL NOUNS WITH SINGULAR REFERENCE
nouns referring to clothes and tools are treated as plurals and are followed bythe
verb in the plural; a pair of./ pairs of
trousers, binoculars,
dozen/million = have no plural form - exc when they mean an indefitely large
number
Millions of people travel around the world every year.
FOREIGN PLURALS
Nouns that came into English as foreign words;
keep their plural original form
an axis - two axes
a crisis - two crises
take plurals according to the English rules
memorandum - memorandums
have two plurals: from the foreign language and from English. The first one
is used for scientific or profesional use:
an index / indexes/ indices
formula / formulae/ formulas
VERBAL NOUNS
They are represented by the -ing form, i.e present participle of a verb, used as
a noun. It is sometimes called a gerund.
usually works as an uncountable noun, but it can be precedeed, sometimes, by an
indefinite article or used in the plural
the screaming of the baby
smoking is prohibited
The takings were down this week-end in the shop./
verbal noun can be precedeed by indefinite article, adjective and possessives, as
any noun, and it functions as:
subject: Singing calms me down.
complement (be): Her greatest pleasure is dancing.
object after certain verbs:I like reading but my sister prefers walking.
After prepositions: How much can you resist without screaming?
Verbal noun can also be used :
after some phrasal verbs: be for / against/, give up/, keep on/, look forward
to/ put off, etc
They were all for giving it up.
after certain set of expressions: can't stand, can't help, it's no use/good
I can't help loughing.
a possessive determiner can be used in formal English with the verbal
noun, or with a personal pronoun used in informal English:
The boy went to play football without my letting know.
The boy went to play football eithout me letting know.
Verbal noun has different forms:
perfect form: having...+ ed
She recognized to have mistaken.
passive form:
Being asked does not bother me.
parfect passive form:
The door showed no sign of having been opened.
DETERMINERS
Determiners are words that make the reference of nouns specific. They can be
divided according to:
their meaning
their position in a sentence
There are eight classes of determiners:
the indefinite article
the definite article
the demonstratives:
the possessives
the quantifiers
the numbers: cardinal/ordinal
the distributives
the exclamatives
A noun phrase has usually only one determiner or none at all. A few
determiners: (all, both), and numbers, can be used together with another determiner.
THE INDEFINITE DETERMINER
a or an ( for nouns beginning with a vowel)
The indefinite article is used:
with reference to a noun mentioned for the first time
with reference to a noun without being specific
A man was seen crossing the street.
in definitions:
An octopus is seafood.
when referring to someone's profession
My mother is a teacher.
to express a quantity
I'd like a cup of tea.
an is used only before nouns beginning with a vowel (ex: an awful mistake ) or
beginning with a silent h ( ex: an hour, heir, heiress, honest, honour)
an is not used before nouns beginning with a semi-vowel: ( ex: a unique book) or
before h which is not silent (ex: a hotel, a history)
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
The unique form of the definite article is the used both for singular and for
plural nouns, for countable and uncountable nouns, in order to:
make definite or specific the reference to a noun that has already been mentioned
before
to refer to a noun already specified previously
to make general reference to a whole class or species:
The crocodile is hunted for its skin.
indicate nationality or an entire class of people:
The Germans are skilful engineers.
The poor were sheltered in the church.
indicate names of rivers, groups of islands, seas, oceans and mountain ranges:
The Thames
indicate certain public institutions, most newspapers and some magazines:
British Museum; The Guardian; The house of Parliament; The Economist
indicate parts of the body when these are refered to in an impersonal way
I was struck on my head.
proper nouns that refer to common persons, and proper nouns used in conjunction
with titles (Queen Elisabeth) take a definite article if:
they stand for the name of a place or thing
The Queen herself opens the Parliament.
make a distinction between the people who have identical names
The Mr. Jones you speak about lives just next to my house.
NOUNS WITHOUT A DETERMINERThe omission of the determiner has always one
of the significances:
the use of a noun or a noun phrase in the plural to make a generalization
Vegetables are good for your health now.
general reference made by singular uncountable nouns
Do you like cake?
Uncountable nouns can be used with a determiner when the reference
becomes specific:
Would you like some of the cake?
There are some idiomatic expressions that usually do not use a determiner,
referring to:
travel
I like traveling by car.
time, when prepositions are used: before, at, or by dawn sunrise, sunset, noon,
midnight, night, supper, dineer, day, night
When I was a student iused to rise at dawn and went to bed at sunset.
institutions with the prepositions to or in: work, school, church, hospital, prison
Catherine was at home all day.
I went to the hospital to visit her after I had been to work.
meals: to have breakfast, tea, lunch
We had dinner together last week.
seasons of the year when generalizing:
In summer days are long and nights are short.
DEMONSTRATIVES
Demonstratives are used to place an item in relation to the speaker.
They are:this, that, these, those
This and these refer to objects near to the speaker
That and those refer to objects that are situated further away from the speaker.
This and that are for singular.
These and those are for plural.
POSSESSIVES
Possessives are used to specify the relationship of ownership referring to an
item.Here are the form of them, according to the person or the thing that possesses
the item:
Person Singular Plural
Ist my our
2nd your your
3rd M his their
3rd F her their
3rd N its their
Possessive derminers are to be distinguished from possessive pronouns which
can stand alone.
Our dream has come true.
Mine has not.
Possessive phrase is a noun or a noun phrase ending in 's or s' and acts as a
possessive determiner, but may also include another determiner itself.
- a good day's work
- my brother-in-law's sister
- John's new hobby
QUANTIFIERS
Quantifiers are used to indicate the amount or quantity of something referred
to by a noun.
all, some, any, much, enough, no can be used before an uncountable noun or a
plural countable noun. - no can be used before a singular or a plural count
noun or uncountable noun.
Have some chocolate.
Mother gave me all her money.
There are no pictures on the wall.
No information could be obtained from the accident.
some, any, much and enough are used for denominating a part of the item
You have eaten too much, today.
I didn't find any photo of yours.
some is used in positive sentences and any in negative ones
In questions any is used when there is no particular expectation about the
answer, while some is used when the answer is expected to be positive.
Have you any information today?
WOULD YOU LIKE SOME TEA, PLEASE?
No can be used with there is or there are
_ formal: He had no trouble in finding the right man.
_ informal:He didn't have any trouble infinding the right man.
half can be used with countable and uncountable nouns
Half of the emploees were fired.
double is used for uncountable nouns
The employees claimed for a double amount of money for working on
holidays.
both define two things represented by a plural count noun
Both men and women have equal rights.
In order to express graded amounts there are the following quantifiers:
many, more the most used plural count nouns with graded quantities of plural
count nouns:
How many children are in a classroom?
We need more people to understand.
Most of the European people are white.
much, more, most are used with graded quantities of uncountable nouns:
I feel much more interested now about the matter.
More and more people are interested in computers.
Most of the paintings are forgery.
few, fewer, fewest are used with graded quantities of plural count nouns:
Few people know the answer.
Fewer and fewer wild animals remained in the woods.
little, less, least are used with uncountable nouns
I earned too little money to repair the car.
She can't bear the least opposition to her will.
a few and a little have a positive sense
A few kind people helped the man bleeding.
few and little are used in negative sense and suggest disapointment and pessimism
Little encouragemente was given to him.
Everyone needs a little encouragement.
NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers are used in all forms of counting - two cars, ten thousand
dollars
Ordinal numbersgive the place of something in an ordered sequence. They are
mostly formed by adding -th to a carinal number. Exceptions are the first, the second
and the third and their combinations.
Cardinal numbers can be used at the beginning of a noun phrase, like
determiners, or on their own, like pronouns.
One of them came down to meet me.
Ordinal numbers are used after the definite article or after a possessive.
The first boat in the row has won the contest.
the words next, last and another can ber considered as ordinal numbers.
The next runner was declared the winner.
The words next and last come ususlly after the or a possessive
My next favourite subject is mathematics.
next, last and another can be used together with a cardinal number
The last time we met was on Christmas holiday.
some is added to a cardinal number to show approximation:
Some two hundred people gethered at the airport to see the star.
DISTRIBUTIVES
The distributives are each, every, either neither.used with a singular noun.
Neither plan was successful.
Each child is worth having a family.
every can be used in front of ordinal numers
Every fourth soldier was killed in that war.
either refers to one of two:
Either plates would suit me.
neither excludes bothe of the items that are being referred to:
Neither dress is elegant enough for this party.
EXCLAMATIVES
The exclamations are what, such. They can introduce a noun phrase alone:
What a party! Such a dress!
A noun phrase in acomplete clause:
HE IS SUCH A NICE MAN!
What a pleasant surprise!
NOUN PHRASES WITH SEVERAL DETERMINERS
Determiners are represented by four groups depending on what other
determiners they can be used with and the order that they follow:
There are two main groups:
a) the, this, these, that, those, a(n), and tje possessives: my, your, her, his, etc
b) another, some, any,no, either, neither, each, enough, a few, a little
The two groups can not be used together but with the following exceptions:
if of is placed between the two
Some of those apples
Neither of my brothers
a group words may be used with words in groups c and d
c) all, both, half, double, twice. They can be used on their own before a noun
or before the group a determiners. It is possible to insert of between all, both,or half
and a central determiner.
All the turists left the resort because of the storm.
d) every, many, several, few, little, much, more, most, less, and the ordinal
numbers. They can be used on their own before a noun or after the a group words.
I have few friends.
Every move was carefully prepared.
My few real friends visited me after the accident.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives make the meaning of the noun more specific.
Adjectives are _ attributive - can go before the noun - a large street
_ predicative - go after the verb- the books are interesting
ADJECTIVE ORDER
In English more than four adjectives is most uncommon:
- a pale young Eastern girl
adjectives before a noun are not usually separated by and, unless they are
adjectives of colour- a blue and white flag
adjectives can be preceeded by adverbs of degree - an extremely intelligent
person
some adjectives can only be used predicatively; they usually begin with -a :
afloat, afraid, alike, alive, alone, ashamed, asleep, awake
We go abroad again.
this case, they may have to be followed by a particular preposition if the phrase
continues
He was glad He was glad to come.
I was afraid I was afraid for his life.
there are adjectives changing their meaning when having the position before or
after the noun: absent, present, involved, concerned
The people present were given some coffee.
The present leadership has been in power for three years.
COMPARISON
The comparative form is used to compare two features nominated by
adjectives.
When the second part of the comparison is mentioned, than is present
My son is taller than yours.
as...as in the affirmative and not as... as or not so ... as in the negative are
present in comparing the equality of the features of the adjective.
My son is as tall as yours.
The superlative when a quality exceeds all the others. It normally has the in
front of it, but it can be omitted in predicative position.
I will choose for you the apple which is (the) ripest.
Two forms of cpomparative:
a) the adjective has -er or -est as endings
bright - brighter - the brightest
if the adjective ends already in -er or -ry, it usually adds -er and -est (y changes to
-i before adding the ending. If the adjective ends in -e, this must be left off)
clever cleverer the cleverest
easy easier the easiest
b) more and most are added to longer adjectives. If the comparison is negative,
less or least is used.
Two syllable adjectives can use both ways to form comparison:
polite politer politest
o more polite most politest
less polite the least polite
There are adjectives with irregular comparison forms:
Good better the best
Bad worse the worst
ADVERBS AND ADVERBIALS
They answer to the questions: where?, what?, how?, when?, to what extent?
and they usually modify the meaning of the verb, adjective, another adverb or even
of a whole sentence or a prepositional phrase.
That is quite silly.
Our manager behaved remarkably stupidly.
Nevertheless we must give him a last chance.
His place is really an awful mess.
Adverbials can be divided in:
of manner: slowly, with care
of place: there , anywhere, all over, etc
of time: now, today, last night, lately
of degree: largely, extremenly,by a whisker,much etc
of frequency: rarely, often sometimes, daily
a) Most adverbs come:
before the verb phrase or the subject
Tearfully, she told her mother what happened.
after the verb phrase or the object
She told the whole story tearfully to her mother.
between the auxilliary and the main verb
She was tearfully telling everything to her mother.
b) Some adverbs can only come after the verb
Suddenly, the frighten rabbit ran back in the woods.
c) A few adverbs can come before the main verb barely, hardly, little, rarely,
scrcely, seldom. They give a negative meaning to the clause.
She little cared for her problems.
An adverb placed bettween the to and the base form of the verb represents a
"split infinitive", and it is a matter of personal preference.
I need to really think hard about this.
I really need to think hard about this.
There are a few adverbs modifying nouns or indefinite pronouns
the man downstairs
the exemple above
Almost all the children knew the poem by heart.
FORMS OF ADVERBS
most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of related adjective
slow slowly
sensible sensibly
free freely
adjectives ending in -y change it to -i before adding -ly.
Some adverbs keep the same spelling as the adjective to which they are
related. If it comes before a noun, it is probably an adjective, or if it relates to a verb
or an adjective, it is probably an adverb.
a short way
He was cut short.
Some adverbs have the same spelling as a preposition. Prepositions are used in
front of the noun phrase,because preposition must have an object.
_ She hurried over her meal because she was late.
When the word is found without an object,especially at the end of as clause,it
will usually be an adverb.
_ She hurried over.
Some adverbs have comparative and superlative forms and can be used with
submodifiers.
_ He should behave far more prudently.
PRONOUN
A pronoun is a word that is used in the place of a noun or a whole noun
phrase.
TYPES OF PRONOUN
PERSONAL pronoun is used as a subject, object, or complement in a clause.
When more than one personal pronoun is used with a verb, the order is normally:
3rd person, 2nd person, 1st person.
_ He and I are going to shopping.
The object form is usual in spoken informal language:
after the verb be:
It's him. (informal)
It is I. (formal)
after than (without be) in comparisons:
In formal English the subject form is used when the verb be is present or
possible.
_ John is taller than him. (informal)
_ John is taller than he (is). (formal)
Than + object pronoun is necessary
_ Her improvement in English impressed him more than me.
Personal pronoun is sometimes used to supply short answers.
_ Who broke the window? Him, as usual.
REFLEXIVE pronoun is used in object position when the action of a verb is
performed on the subject by the subject.
_ John dressed himself for his wedding.
self = singular
selves = plural
The reflexive oneself can be used for persons in general. It can also be used as
a substitute for the first person singular,the subject pronoun being one,in a formal
language.
One askes oneself whether it is worth to bother.
One or oneself is to be avoided mixt with I or myself in the same clause.
Some verbs are always followed by a reflexive pronoun.
One could easily arrange it all oneself.
It can be left out if it is obvious that the subject performs the action:
_ I washed and dressed in no time.
It is used to make a verb transitive:
_ Take care of yourself.
_ I can be used to make a clause more emphatic.
_ I will do it myself, if you don't mind.
One another and each other are not pure reflexive pronouns, but they are
called reciprocals.
POSSESSIVE pronoun indicates the owner or its associated item. It has
separate forms for the singular and plural
Singular Plural
1st mine ours
2nd yours yours
3rd M his theirs
3rd F hers theirs
3rd N its theirs
DEMONSTRATIVE pronoun indicates position in space in relation with the
speaker or distance in time.
Singular Plural
near this these
far that those
RELATIVE pronoun has the same form with the interrogative pronoun but it
links a subordinate clause to a main clause which is called relative, and it refers back
to a noun phrase or pronoun that was just mentioned. The only words allowed to
come before a relative pronoun is preposition or conjunction.
that as a relative pronoun never has a preposition before it. It can also be used
istead of which and it is sometimes used instead of who and whom.
That is the person that they found guilty.
which is not used for human subjects or objects.
We shall see the play which you like best.
who and whom are restricted to human antecedents.If the clause is a non-defining
relative clause, or if thre is any possible ambiguity who and whom are to be used.
I have found the solution that you'll understand.
She is one of the girls who joined the party.
She is one of the girls that joined the party.
whom is considered very formal, and that is why who is sometimes used instead
I noticed who he was calling.- informal
I noticed whom he was calling.- formal
in informal writing and speech,any preposition is placed after the verb phrase
instead of before the relative pronoun.
The girl who he was talking to looked pretty.
The company that he had been working for in he summer, offered him a
permanent job.
the object form of a relative pronoun can be left out entirely if the noun referred
to is unambigous.
That is the house that I bought recently.
INTERROGATIVE pronouns are who, whom, whose that are used to refer
only to people. Which, what refer to people and things too. They are known under the
general heading of Wh words.
Who- is used to ask about people in general.
Who is singing?
What- is used to ask about things in general. It can be either a subject or an object.
What did you cook for dinner?
Which- is used to identify a particular person or object in a group.
Which one do you prefer?
Whose- is a possessive form and it is addressing to the possesor; what can also be
used with a suitable verb.
Whose is the car in front?
What firm does the car belong to?
whom is the object form for who.Which can be considered as a very formal word,
avoided in casual conversation. It is still used in writing.
Who do you have in mind? - informal
Whom do you have in mind? - formal
To whom do you speak? - formal?
the object forms of the interrogative pronoun are also used after a preposition.
Informal usage places the preposittion at the end of the clause and it is most
common.
What are you complaining about? - informal
About what are complaining? - formal
INDEFINITE pronoun can refer to a person,a thing, or a group of persons or
things,in which gender and number are not madeclear.
It defines:
a) general amounts and quantities: most, some, noneany, all, both, half,
several, enough, many, each
Some of the comission members came and asked about the amendments.
b) Choice or alternatives: either, neither
Neither of them passed the examination.
c) undefined singular or multiple persons and things.
SOMEONE SOMEBODY SOMETHING
no one nobody nothing
anyone anybody anything
everyone everybody everything
Formal usage permits only the use of a following singular form, but informal
language uses the plural form their or theirs and avoids the awkward his or her.
Has anybody finished his or her work for today?
Has anybody finished their work for today?
pronouns from a and b are often used like partitives,with of and a noun phrase or
a personal pronoun.
None of the children has finished their work.
PREPOSITIONS relate different parts of the clause toeach other. There are:
simple prepositions: in, on,under
complex prepositions: due to, together with, on top of, in spite of, out of
Prepositions are usually followed by:
a noun phrase:- under the table
an -ing clause:- Thank you for taking care of my baby.
relative pronoun (Wh-word). In informal language a preposition may end a
relative clause rather than come before it.
That's the person of whom we were thinking.
The person (who) we were thinking of.
Prepositional phrase is used as an adverbial or a post modifier.
The documents that you can see on the table has been finally concluded.
I went through a bad patch.
Preposition can combine with other words to render new meanings.
Here is a list of prepositions. The words in italics can also be used as adeverbs
aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, alongside, amid, around, as, at,
top, bar, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by,despite, down,
during, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, opposite, outside, over,
past, pending, per, prior, pro, re, regarding, round, since, than, through, throughout,
till, to, towards, under, underneath,until, unto, up, upon, via, with,within, without.
He went in. He took it through.
The choice of a preposition changes completely the meaning; some
prepositions can be used with more than one meaning according to the time and
place for which it is used. There are:
prepositions of location that can indicate:
1. the direction in which somethingis moving
towards, from, off
2. something or someone being enclosed:
within, in, inside, outside
3. being at a certain point:
on, at, by, near
4. place as an area:
over, across, on, onto
5. location as a line:along, over,on
prepositions of time that can indicate:
a. a point in time or a date: at, on, in
b. a period or a point of time which marks a change: before, after, since,
until.