Profesorado de
Inglés
Gramática Inglesa I
Consider the following generic categories of the passage below:
- Text type: factorial explanation
- Participants: The Week Staff - general audience
- Subject: limiting food prices
- Setting: from the online version of The Week newspaper
- Purpose: to inform
Go through the news articles and answer the prompts
Food price caps: a return to 1970s living in UK?
1 Plans to introduce “1970s-style” price caps on food staples has been widely
2 derided by supermarket and industry bosses, who warn it could lead to
3 shortages, [could] push up inflation and [could] cut competition.
4 The Sunday Telegraph reported that Rishi Sunak’s aides “have started work
5 on a deal with supermarkets akin to an agreement in France in which the
6 country’s major retailers charge the ‘lowest possible amount’ for some
7 essential food products” such as bread and milk.
8 “The move would amount to the biggest attempt to manage supermarket
9 prices since controls established by Edward Heath in 1973,” said the paper.
‘Opt-in scheme’
10 No. 10 has insisted it would not issue price controls directly but rather the
11 opt-in scheme would be voluntary and would allow supermarkets to select
12 which items they capped.
13 The Times said the plan “was suggested as the price of necessary food items
14 continues to rise, with more than a third of consumers having changed their
15 weekly shop as a result”, according to a YouGov poll for the paper. It found
16 that 48% of voters have moved to cheaper brands, 43% have cut back on the
17 amount of food they buy, and 30% have changed where they shop.
18 Even as energy cost pressures across Europe have eased in recent months,
19 food prices have continued to soar, “prompting increasingly unconventional
20 market interventions from politicians trying to assuage public anger”,
21 reported the Financial Times.
1
22 Central and eastern European states hardest hit by rising prices, such as
23 Hungary and Croatia, “have moved to cap the cost of essentials to shield the
24 most vulnerable, who tend to spend more of their income on food”, said the
25 paper.
26 Greece has taken an alternative approach to limiting prices by capping
27 retailers’ profit margins on food, while Spain is among those to cut VAT on
28 food. France, which has provided the model for the UK, has taken a less
29 interventionist approach by negotiating a looser agreement with
30 supermarkets to offer the lowest possible price on a selection of essential
31 items.
32 Writing in The Guardian in favour of price controls, Robert Reich, a former
33 US labor secretary, said that the current rate of inflation “is analogous to the
34 inflation after the second world war when economists advocated temporary
35 price controls to buy time to overcome supply bottlenecks and prevent
36 corporate profiteering”.
‘Soviet-style shortages and queues’
37 “You don’t need to have studied economics in any depth to understand the
38 problem with price controls,” wrote Ross Clark in The Spectator. “In a free
39 market, prices settle at the intersection of the supply and demand curves,
40 ensuring that both are kept in balance. Mess around with that by trying to fix
41 prices, and you are liable to end up with Soviet-style shortages and queues.”
42 A statement by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), backed by Tesco,
43 Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose, said the plan “will not make a jot of
44 difference to prices” as the cost of foodstuffs has risen due to a combination
45 of the disruption to global supply chains during the pandemic and Russia’s
46 invasion of Ukraine, not as the result of profiteering supermarkets.
47 Speaking to The Telegraph, one retail boss called it a “hare-brained idea”,
48 while a cabinet minister argued that price caps would not work “in this day
49 and age” and that produce would be “sold elsewhere” if supermarkets refused
50 to increase their prices.
51 “There are two key problems with price controls: they don’t work, and they
52 destroy the purpose of the price mechanism, which is the efficient allocation
53 of goods and services,” said Stephen Pollard in the Daily Express.
54 Sunak has vowed to halve inflation to 5% by the end of the year, and “the
2
55 pledge is seen as central to the Conservatives’ pitch to the public at the next
56 general election and prompted Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the
57 Exchequer, to admit he would accept a recession in the UK if it would reduce
58 inflation”, said The Telegraph.
59 But, said Pollard in the Express: “The problem is that this is all about politics,
60 not economics.”
1. In the text, identify all the verb phrases and underline them. Once you’ve
done that, transcribe the verb phrases into the following charts. Calculate
the percentage of non-finite and finite verb phrases in the text. Calculate the
percentage of past and present tense and modal verb phrases in the text.
Non-finite Finite
1. to introduce 1. has been derided
2. to manage 2. warn
3. established 3. could lead
4. to select 4. [could] push up
5. having changed 5. [could] cut
6. prompting 6. reported
7. trying to assuage 7. have started
8. hit 8. charge
9. to shield 9. would amount
10. limiting 10. said
11. capping 11. has insisted
12. to cut 12. would issue
13. negotiating 13. would be
14. to offer 14. would allow
15. writing 15. capped
16. to buy 16. said
17. to overcome 17. was suggested
18. [to] prevent 18. continues to rise
19. profiteering 19. found
20.to understand 20.have moved
21. ensuring 21. have cut back on
22. trying to fix 22. buy
23. to end up 23. have changed
24. backed 24. shop
25. speaking 25. have eased
26. have continued to soar
25/89 = 28% 27. reported
3
28. have moved to cap
29. tend to spend
30.said
31. has taken
32. has provided
33. has taken
34. said
35. is
36. advocated
37. don’t need to have studied
38. wrote
39. settle
40.are kept
41. mess around
42. are
43. said
44. will make
45. has risen
46. called
47. argued
48. would work
49. would be sold
50.refused to increase
51. There are
52. don’t work
53. destroy
54. is
55. said
56. has vowed to halve
57. is seen
58. prompted to admit
59. would accept
60.would reduce
61. said
62. said
63. is
64. is
64/89 = 72%
4
Tensed Modal
1. has been derided 1. could lead
2. warn 2. [could] push up
3. reported 3. [could] cut
4. have started 4. would amount
5. charge 5. would issue
6. said 6. would be
7. has insisted 7. would allow
8. capped 8. will make
9. said 9. would work
10. was suggested 10. would be sold
11. continues to rise 11. would accept
12. found 12. would reduce
13. have moved
14. have cut back on 12/64 = 19%
15. buy
16. have changed
17. shop
18. have eased
19. have continued to soar
20.reported
21. have moved to cap
22. tend to spend
23. said
24. has taken
25. has provided
26. has taken
27. said
28. is
29. advocated
30.don’t need to have studied
31. wrote
32. settle
33. are kept
34. mess around
35. are
36. said
37. has risen
38. called
39. argued
40.refused to increase
41. There are
5
42. don’t work
43. destroy
44. is
45. said
46. has vowed to halve
47. is seen
48. prompted to admit
49. said
50.said
51. is
52. is
52/64 = 81%
2. Focus on the present tense verbs and transcribe them in the chart below.
PRESENT
Simple Perfect Progressive
1. warn 1. has been derided
2. charge 2. have started
3. continues to rise 3. has insisted
4. tend to spend 4. have moved
5. is 5. have cut back on
6. don’t need to have 6. buy
studied 7. have changed
7. settle 8. shop
8. are kept 9. have eased
9. mess around 10. have continued to
10. are soar
11. There are 11. have moved to cap
12. don’t work 12. has taken
13. destroy 13. has provided
14. is 14. has taken
15. is seen 15. has risen
16. is 16. has vowed to halve
17. is
16/33 = 48%
17/33 = 52%
6
3. Are there examples of present tense verb phrases that refer to the following
meanings?
a. Describing a state existing at the present time: a deal with
supermarkets akin to an agreement in France in which the country’s
major retailers charge the ‘lowest possible amount’ for some essential
food products” such as bread and milk
b. Referring to present habitual behavior: the amount of food they buy /
where they shop
c. Reporting an ongoing action: who warn
d. Historical present: -
e. Referring to future time: -
4. Are the meanings expressed typical of the register?
a. Besides the description of states existing at the present time and the
reference to present habitual behavior, news sometimes may also
include references to future time. The two first meanings are present
in this text. We could say that the meanings expressed are typical of
the register.
5. Focus on the past tense verbs and transcribe them in the chart below. What
are the meanings associated with the simple verb phrases?
PAST
Simple Perfect Progressive
1. reported
2. said
3. capped
4. said
5. was suggested
6. found
7. reported
8. said
9. said
10. advocated
11. wrote
12. said
13. called
14. argued
15. refused to increase
7
16. said
17. prompted to admit
18. said
19. said
19/19 = 100%
6. Are there examples of past tense verb phrases that refer to the following
meanings?
a. Referring to past time via some past point of reference: after the
second world war when economists advocated temporary price controls
b. Referring to present time with an addition of stance: -
c. Marking a hypothetical: -
d. Reporting: The Times said the plan / reported the Financial Times
7. Are the meanings expressed typical of the register?
a. Most of the reports consist of direct quotations, hence present tense
is more used than past tense. There are, however, many verbs which
serve the purpose of introducing the quotes in past tense. The past
point of reference is understood to be a discussion which has been
going on over the past days, thus making it clear why past tense is
chosen in some instances. There’s one specific point of reference
“after the second world war” which explains the use of the past tense
in the verb that follows.
8. How is future time marked? Complete the chart below with the examples
from the text.
FUTURE TIME
Modal Semi-modal Present tense
1. will make
9. Consider Figure 6.5 on page 461 (12 of the PDF), are the combinations of
tense and aspect typical of the register and dialect?
8
a. In British news, the perfect aspect tends to be twice as frequent than
progressive aspect. This sample text is representative of this tendency
for this register in this dialect.
10. Which are the lexical associations for the perfect and the progressive aspect?
(consider the stative v. dynamic distinction and the semantic domain of the
verbs)
a. In the case of the perfect aspect, there are two instances of verbs
which are usually associated with it. They also correspond to verbs
which typically take the perfect aspect in this register: has been
derided, has taken. There are no instances of progressive aspect in this
text.
11. Identify the instances of passive voice in the text. Why has the author
decided to include them? Would the active variant sound inappropriate in
the context? Are those instances of passive long or short? Why? Is the
frequency of passive voice typical of this register? Can any lexical association
with passive be identified?
a. The instances of passive voice in the text are the ones that follow:
i. has been derided: focus on price caps which is the topic of the
article (long passive - by phrase to introduce the Agent whose
interests are directly affected)
ii. was suggested: the agent is understood to be the government
(No. 10) (short passive)
iii. are kept: focus on what is kept in balance the agent being
obvious (short passive)
iv. is seen: focus on the pledge which is seen as such by an
uninteresting (too general) agent (short passive)
v. would be sold: focus on the produce being sold the agent being
obvious (short passive)
b. The use of passive voice in news is related to a shifted focus to the
affected person or institution. Sometimes the agent may be obvious or
carried over from a previous clause, and sometimes it may be
unknown, or there might be legal reasons not to mention it.
c. The use of passive voice in this text is not as frequent as it tends to be
for this register.
12. What’s the percentage of verb phrases with modals and semi-modals in the
text?
9
MODALS
Modals Semi-modals
13. Are the meanings of the verb phrases that express modality mainly related to
an intrinsic or extrinsic meaning? What specific meanings do they express?
Are they typical of this register? Are there any instances of combination of
modal verbs with marked aspect or voice? If so, what’s the use?
MEANINGS OF MODALS
Intrinsic Extrinsic
MEANINGS OF MODALS
Permission, possibility, Obligation, necessity Volition, prediction
ability
Consider the following generic categories of the passage below:
- Text type: descriptive report
- Participants: Nathan Diller from USA Today - general audience
- Subject: description of recession and a brief historical recount on the topic
- Setting: from the online version of USA Today newspaper
- Purpose: to inform
When was the last recession? Here's a brief history of recent
downturns
1 With most forecasters expecting the country to slip into a recession in the
2 second half of 2023, the threat of a downturn is looming over the U.S.
3 economy.
10
4 But for some observers, it may feel like we just emerged from one - and they
5 would be right. Ayse Kabukcuoglu Dur, an assistant professor of economics
6 at North Carolina State University said that “by looking at the data, we can
7 say that there was about one recession per decade since the 1980s.”
8 She noted, however, that recent recessions in the U.S. were sparked by
9 different factors, and that they are generally difficult to anticipate. “It is hard
10 to tell how frequently recessions occur or to predict if a recession will
11 happen soon,” she said in an email.
What is a recession?
12 A recession is a notable drop in economic activity that lasts longer than a few
13 months and is spread throughout the economy, according to the National
14 Bureau of Economic Research.
15 “Generally recessions have some kind of overall trigger point,” said Stephan
16 Weiler, a professor of economics at Colorado State University. “It's usually
17 when the economy is sort of in a shaky situation like we have now.”
When was the last recession?
18 The most recent recession was during the COVID-19 pandemic, lasting from
19 February to April 2020. The downturn was triggered by the health crisis,
20 according to Dur.
21 “The U.S., like many countries in the world, implemented lockdown
22 measures, which led to a decline in production and disruptions in global
23 supply chains,” she said. “Consumer demand also declined as a result.”
24 The service sector was hit the hardest, she said, with the hospitality,
25 entertainment and transportation industries experiencing the biggest
26 impact. “Large fiscal stimulus packages introduced to mitigate the negative
27 impacts of the pandemic contributed to high inflation rates that remain a
28 problem for the U.S. economy,” she added.
29 That downturn was preceded by the Great Recession from December 2007 to
30 June 2009, and another between March and November 2001.
31 The Great Recession, triggered by the collapse of the housing market and the
32 subprime mortgage crisis, saw unemployment go up, stock markets go down
33 and many people lose their homes and savings, Dur said.
34 The 2001 recession, meanwhile, was prompted by the dot-com crash. “As the
11
35 internet became widespread in the 1990s, technology stocks for mainly
36 internet-related companies became overvalued, leading to a bubble in the
37 stock market,” she said. “But as investor sentiment changed, the bubble burst
38 and many online shopping and communication companies shut down.”
39 Dur noted that the impact on the U.S. economy was “relatively mild” and
40 mostly contained to the technology sector, with an increase in
41 unemployment among those workers.
42 Weiler added that recessions also impact states differently, depending on
43 their economic makeup.
44 And if those previous downturns are any indication, the next one may not
45 look the same. “By looking at the recent recessions, all were led by different
46 factors and had different consequences,” Dur said.
1. In the text, identify all the verb phrases and underline them. Once you’ve
done that, transcribe the verb phrases into the following charts. Calculate
the percentage of non-finite and finite verb phrases in the text. Calculate the
percentage of past and present tense and modal verb phrases in the text.
Non-finite Finite
Tensed Modal
2. Focus on the present tense verbs and transcribe them in the chart below.
PRESENT
Simple Perfect Progressive
12
3. Are there examples of present tense verb phrases that refer to the following
meanings?
a. Describing a state existing at the present time:
b. Referring to present habitual behavior:
c. Reporting an ongoing action:
d. Historical present:
e. Referring to future time:
4. Are the meanings expressed typical of the register?
5. Focus on the past tense verbs and transcribe them in the chart below. What
are the meanings associated with the simple verb phrases?
PAST
Simple Perfect Progressive
6. Are there examples of past tense verb phrases that refer to the following
meanings?
a. Referring to past time via some past point of reference:
b. Referring to present time with an addition of stance:
c. Marking a hypothetical:
d. Reporting:
7. Are the meanings expressed typical of the register?
8. How is future time marked? Complete the chart below with the examples
from the text.
FUTURE TIME
Modal Semi-modal Present tense
13
9. Consider Figure 6.5 on page 461 (12 of the PDF), are the combinations of
tense and aspect typical of the register and dialect?
10. Which are the lexical associations for the perfect and the progressive aspect?
(consider the stative v. dynamic distinction and the semantic domain of the
verbs)
11. Identify the instances of passive voice in the text. Why has the author
decided to include them? Would the active variant sound inappropriate in
the context? Are those instances of passive long or short? Why? Is the
frequency of passive voice typical of this register? Can any lexical association
with passive be identified?
12. What’s the percentage of verb phrases with modals and semi-modals in the
text?
MODALS
Modals Semi-modals
13. Are the meanings of the verb phrases that express modality mainly related to
an intrinsic or extrinsic meaning? What specific meanings do they express?
Are they typical of this register? Are there any instances of combination of
modal verbs with marked aspect or voice? If so, what’s the use?
MEANINGS OF MODALS
Intrinsic Extrinsic
MEANINGS OF MODALS
Permission, possibility, Obligation, necessity Volition, prediction
ability
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