UNIT 12:

The Paradise
1.Do you remember these words?

In this unit, we will learn how to talk about holidays. In this line, regarding grammar, we will focus on
modal perfects, its uses, structure and expressions to identify the verb tense carrying out some
exercises to check our understanding and evolution.

So, let’s read something you will probably understand easily:

My husband and I wanted to organise a trip to go on our honeymoon. We wanted to travel to a

place far from home because we had been through a lot and we wanted to get away from our
problems. At the beginning, we considered going on a cruise, but it was so expensive and we had
spent a lot of money on our wedding, so that kind of trip wasn’t an option. That’s why we came
up with the idea of going to a travel agency. It was the best choice, we visited Prague where we
stayed in a good and cheap hotel near the downtown, the accommodation was perfect so was
the food. My feet still hurt as we went sightseeing every day. I must admit we should have taken
more photos but it was a great trip!

GLOSSARY:

Trip: a short journey to a different city or place.

To travel: the activity of going to a different city or place, especially on holiday.
Cruise: a journey on a big ship. You can visit different places when you go on one.
Travel agency: a company which helps people organise a trip.
To stay: to be in a place.
Accommodation: a place to stay in, especially on holiday.
Sightseeing: to visit touristic places or monuments, especially by people on holiday.
Take photos: to capture an image of a landscape, people or places among others.

2. Reading
Now, we will read a text which is a little more complex.

Is it really important to take some time for ourselves? Is taking holidays healthy? Everybody would
agree that taking holidays is good for our health, no matter if it is a getaway or a long trip but
what it really matters is that everybody should get away from work and daily routine for a while.
Having a vacation can help us reduce stress and anxiety. Although it is fine to take some short
breaks, it is also advisable to have regular long breaks and travel. Not only is traveling good for us
but also the fact of organising our trip is healthy as it makes us happy and excited about our
future holidays. In addition, workers who take regular holidays improve their productivity at work
and come back to work happier and more motivated and positive as well as we find a balance
between professional and personal life.
What happens when we don’t take time for us and we spend much time working without any
breaks? The answer is simple, we find ourselves under stress and we feel overwhelmed too, this
can lead to mental disorders such as anxiety or depression which can in turn lead to physical
diseases. Moreover, not having breaks and holidays can result in personal problems as we don’t
share our time with our relatives and friends. Also, working so many hours can make us become
workaholic, that is the reason why we should find a balance between work and personal life.
So, take note of this and start organising your next trip! Your health will appreciate it!
3. Vocabulary: holidays

If you have a real thirst for adventure or you want to satisfy your wanderlust, keep reading because this
list of words, idiomatic expressions and collocations will be helpful for you to learn some vocabulary
related to holidays and travelling.

GLOSSARY:

Trip To travel Cruise

Travel agency To stay Accommodation
Sightseeing Take photos Half board
Full board All-inclusive Budget hotel
Itinerary Pleasure trip Package holiday
Admission fee Holidaymaker Sightseer
Tour operator High season Low season
To stop over To stop off Wanderlust
Return ticket Single ticket Getaway
To book To go abroad To take a holiday
Thirst for adventure Get away from it all Feel homesick
Tourist trap Itchy feet

GLOSSARY

Half board: only breakfast and another meal
are included at the hotel you are staying in.
Full board: all your meals are included at the
hotel you are staying in.
All-inclusive: a hotel, for instance, that includes
everything.
Budget hotel: a cheap hotel.
Itinerary: a route you plan for your trip.
Pleasure trip: a trip to have fun and enjoy
yourself.
Package holiday: a holiday organised by a
travel agency which includes hotels, flights or
even food and you pay a fixed price.
Admission fee: the cost of a ticket to enter a
place.
Holidaymaker: a person who is on holiday.
Sightseer: a tourist.
Tour operator: an agent who organises
people’s trips.
High season: it is the period of the year when
there is a high number of tourists at a place.
Low season: it is the period of the year when
there is a low number of tourists at a place.
To stop over: to stop your journey and stay at
another place for a day or a few days before
you reach your destination.
To stop off: to stop your trip and visit a place
for a short time before you continue your
journey.
Wanderlust: a strong desire or a wish to travel.
Return ticket: a ticket to travel to a place and
go back again.
Single ticket: a ticket to travel to a place but
not to go back again.
Getaway: holidays for a short time.
To book: to make a reservation.
To go abroad: to visit a foreign country.
To take a holiday: to go on holidays.
Thirst for adventure: a desire for adventure.
Get away from it all: to go somewhere to relax.
Feel homesick: to be sad because you miss
your hometown and your family.
Tourist trap: a place which is attractive to
tourists, the prices in restaurants and shops in
this area are higher.
Itchy feet: to get itchy feet means to want to
travel.
See somebody off: to say goodbye to someone
at the airport or the station.
4. Grammar

In this section, we are going to deal with Modal Perfects. We are going to focus on the structure and the
use of these verbs. These modal verbs are must have, may/might have, can’t have, could have, should
have, needn’t have and would have. Modal Perfects are used to talk about possibility, necessity, regrets
or wishes, opinions or probability in the past.

o Structure

Remember that modal verbs are followed by a bare infinitive, however a modal perfect is followed by
the auxiliary verb “have” (bare infinitive) and the past participle of the main verb. If we want to make
negative sentences, we have to negate the modal verb. And also, for the interrogative we invert the
order of subject and modal verb to make it.

Affirmative: Subject + MODAL VERB + HAVE + Past Participle

Negative: Subject + MODAL VERB + NOT + HAVE + Past Participle

Interrogative: (Question word) + MODAL VERB + Subject + HAVE + Past Participle?

These modal verbs can be classified into probability, possibility, necessity, opinion, regret or wish:

o Probability

• Must have/Mustn’t have:

It is used to express a strong probability in the past. If you use “must have”, something was
likely to happen in the past:

“You used to smoke a lot; it must have been hard for you to give it up”.

(The subject in the sentence was addicted to smoking and it was probably difficult for him/her
to stop smoking)

“You are so good at English, it mustn’t have been very difficult for you to pass your English
test”

(As it is a negative sentence, the past event was not likely to happen)

• Can’t have

“Can’t have” is similar to “must have”, it also expresses probability but we use it in negative
sentences if we are sure that something didn’t happen or wasn’t likely to happen, we
can use “can’t have”:

“Paul can’t have passed his Spanish test; he didn’t understand any questions”.

(I am completely sure that Paul failed his test because he found it difficult)
o Possibility

• May/might have/ May/ might not have

We use “may/might have” to express a past possibility, we are not completely sure about
something in the past. The probability is not as strong as in “must have”, however if we use
“may have”, the possibility is a little stronger than using “might have”:

“Lucas may have bought his car as I haven’t seen it for some days”.

(I haven’t seen his car, I think he sold it but maybe it was stolen, I am not sure about it)

“Susan might not have worked last week I think she told me she was sick”.

(It is a guess. I am not sure if Susan worked last week or not)

• Could have/Couldn’t have

“Could have” is similar to “might/may have” because it is also used to express possibility.
We can use it to give our opinion about something that we think it might have been
possible in the past:

“I could have spent more time with you but I had to work”.

(If I had had more free time, it would have been possible to spend more time with you)

“Mark couldn’t have failed his exams, he’s a brilliant student”.

(It is not possible he failed his exams)

o Necessity

• Needn’t have

“Needn’t have” is used when there was no necessity for something:

“I needn’t have cleaned the kitchen. My husband had already cleaned it”

(It wasn’t necessary to clean the kitchen because it was clean, someone had cleaned it
before)

o Opinion

• Should have/ought to have/ Shouldn’t/ought not to have

“Should have or ought to have” is used to indicate that an action didn’t happen (or
happened “shouldn’t have or ought not to have”) and it would have been a good idea if it
happened (or didn’t happen):

“You shouldn’t have started smoking again”.

 (It was not a good idea to start smoking again, it is my opinion, I think smoking is unhealthy)

“You ought to have come to the party, we had a great time”

(I think you would have enjoyed the party)

o Regret and wish

• Would have/ Wouldn’t have

“Would have” is used in the third conditional but we can also use it without an “if-clause”
to express regret or a wish in the past:

“I would have run faster to catch the bus”

(If the subject hadn’t run so slowly, he wouldn’t have missed the bus)

“I must be more careful; I wouldn’t have lost my wallet”

(If I had been more careful, I wouldn’t have lost my wallet)

• Summing up:

Must have/mustn't have

Probability
Can't have

Might/may (not) have

Possibility
Could have/couldn't have

Modal Perfects Opinion Should have/shouldn't have

Necessity Needn't have

Wish and regret Would have/wouldn't have

Remember!

Modal Perfects are used to talk about probability, possibility, regret, wish, opinion and necessity in the
past. They are followed by the auxiliary verb “have” and a past participle.
5. Writing

Introduction

In this section, we will learn how to write a proposal, as well as its structure and the language we should
use. Bearing in mind that you have already learnt how to write a report, this is going to help you
understand a proposal better as they both have similarities.

What is a proposal?

A proposal is a text where we are going to describe a situation, make suggestions and give our views on
a topic in order to convince someone else to do what we propose. The addressee can be a supervisor, a
boss or even your colleagues, among others.

Structure

In this section, we will learn the structure we should use when it comes to writing a proposal. As we
mentioned before, a proposal is similar to a report, therefore they both have a similar structure and
language:

1. Title (it is not compulsory but it is advisable).

Examples: “Proposal to…” “Suggestions for…”, etc.

2. Introduction  It describes the aim of the proposal.

You can use expressions such as: the aim of this proposal is to…, this proposal is intended to
emphasise the current problems with____ and make suggestions for improving…

3. Current situation  It explains the situation.

To describe the situation, you can use sentences such as: as far as_____ are concerned, given
that…, following a survey of ______ it was found that…

4. Body (suggestions)  Make suggestions about how we can improve the situation.
To make suggestions, the following expressions are helpful: I strongly recommend, it is
(strongly) recommended that, it would be practical/advisable.

5. Conclusion (recommendations)  Make recommendations to convince the addressee.

Use some of the following sentences to make recommendations: If the suggestions mentioned
above are implemented there would be…, the suggestions above would lead to/give rise to/
would provide ______ with/ would undoubtedly have a positive effect on…

Language

When we write a proposal, we should use formal language. We should avoid the use of contractions
(don’t, I’d…) and the use of colloquial words, phrasal verbs or idiomatic expressions. To make our
proposal be more formal try to use gerunds, passives, conditionals and the structure “it would be +
adjective”.

Example

You will see now an example of a proposal:

Title

Suggestions for investment the funds

The aim of the proposal

The principal aim of this proposal is to make some suggestions in order to invest the given funds on the
subscription of some appealing publications. Furthermore, I will display my reasons which lead to my
final decision.

Current situation and suggestions

Firstly, I would like to highlight the importance of history and arts. Our college has more than five
hundred students enrolled in these two humanity fields so I truly believe that The National Geographic
could be an excellent option. This publication contains articles about all historic eras so it would be quite
useful for the research work. This digital magazine also includes documentaries about different topics
such as science, traveling and music.

Besides that, another publication worth mentioning is the Discovery magazine. Although our college is
well known for having outstanding students in the humanity field, it is important to remember that we
also have brilliant science students. One of the stronger points of this publication is that it contains
articles which all students can read without being an expert in the field.

Moreover, it has more specific section divided into different kinds of science such as Maths, Physics or
Chemistry. Thus, not only is it used for science students but also for the humanistic ones.

Final recommendation

To sum up, if I had to choose between these two options I would opt for The National Geographic. This is
simply because it contains a wide range of issues that could help almost all students with their studies.

Summing up:

Title
Introduction
Current situation
Body (suggestions)
Conclusion
(recommendations)
Formal
Formal language
environment

Proposal
Key ideas

Let’s see a summary of what you have learnt in this unit:

• Reading: in this unit we read a text about the importance of taking holidays. We used a wide
range of vocabulary and expressions related to holidays.

• Vocabulary: this section was focused on holidays. This vocabulary will help us be familiar with
words you can use to make a hotel reservation for instance.

• Grammar: we focused on past modals. These modal verbs are used to talk about past events.

• Listening: we listened to two recordings. One of them was about tips to organise a good trip
and the other one was about a horrible trip to Paris. These recordings help us to enhance
holidays and travel vocabulary.

• Writing: we learnt how to write a proposal, it will help us enrich our vocabulary and improve
spelling. It will also help us give our opinion and propose solutions to a problem.

• Speaking: regarding pronunciation, we have paid attention to the sound /r/ and the differences
in pronunciation. We have also seen a dialogue between two people who were talking about
their holidays.