10
Nov
2009
Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English
CAE
CAE is an exam for advanced users of English and stands for Certificate in Advanced English. It is designed to test a candidate’s English abilities for work or study purposes, including reading, writing and listening skills, as well as English grammar and vocabulary. It is widely recognised by both the corporate and academic worlds, is widely available with testing locations in over 127 countries, and is available twice a year.
The CAE is for those who have a confident grasp of English at the Level C1 of the CEFR, or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Candidates should be able to understand complex opinions, produce clear and well-structured pieces of writing, read quickly enough to keep up in a tertiary course, and be able to speak English in business situations.
The test consists of five components, each worth 20% of the total marks. The reading section (1.25hrs) requires the candidate to understand a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. The writing section (1.5hrs) requires the candidate to produce two pieces of writing in different formats. This is followed by a component that consists of a series of tasks to test their grammar and vocabulary. The fourth component involves listening and understanding a range of oral texts. Finally, a 15 minute speaking exam will test the candidate’s conversational skills.
CAE Courses
CAE preparation courses focus on the language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. These preparation courses are useful for those wanting to take the test and want to improve their English quickly. Students who take the course usually have upper intermediate English skills already, and want to round off all areas of their language skills.
Apart from the 4 skills mentioned before, the course also includes a component based on real, everyday language used in workplaces and for employment purposes, as well as language used in further education. By taking a CAE course candidates can be confident of having sufficient skills to take the test.
23
Oct
2009
Demonstrative English Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns
When learning English, it is important to understand how to use pronouns. Demonstrative pronouns show far away or near an object is. The variables of demonstrative pronouns are distance/time and number (whether singular or plural). By comparison, many languages have other variables as well, such as whether it is the subject or object and the gender (male/female/neuter).
In English there are four demonstrative pronouns:
- Singular: this (near) and that (far).
- Plural: these (near) and those (far).
Demonstrative pronouns should not be confused with demonstrative adjectives which also use this/that and these/those. The difference is that the demonstrative adjective modifies a noun, whereas the demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun. For instance:
- That desk looks heavy. (desk = noun)
- That looks very heavy. (no noun)
Demonstrative pronouns are usually used in English to refer to things not people. However, there are occasions when they can be used if the person is identified. For example:
- This is Sarah speaking.
- Is that Stephen?
Examples
Here are some examples of how demonstrative pronouns are used in English. As you can see, demonstrative pronouns can be used in exclamations, questions or statements. They can be used to start a sentence, in the middle of a sentence, or at the end. Demonstrative pronouns are often used to compare one thing to another, such as size or weight.
- Look at that!
- Which car should I get? This one or that one?
- These look delicious, I don’t know which to eat first.
- This has been great.
- Are those Spanish or Italian?
- These are bigger than those.
Of course in the preceding examples, because the sentences have been taken out of context, it is difficult to know what they are referring to. So it is important to make it clear what you are talking or writing about before using a demonstrative pronoun.
9
Oct
2009
Personal Pronouns in English
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in English represent specific people or things. They are used in sentences to replace a person or thing that has already been named in order to prevent repetition. They are commonly used in both written and spoken English. For instance, when speaking of myself I do not use my name (e.g. Sophie thinks it will rain today), instead I use the personal pronoun “I” or “me”, or if I am including more than just myself “we” or “us”. The form that is used in this case will depend on whether it is singular or plural, as well as the subject or the object of the sentence. Another variation will be according to gender (male, female or neuter). Here is a summary of the personal pronouns:
|
Number |
Person |
Subject |
Object |
|
Singular |
1st |
I |
me |
|
|
2nd |
you |
you |
|
|
3rd (male) |
he |
him |
|
|
3rd (female) |
she |
her |
|
|
3rd (neuter) |
it |
it |
|
Plural |
1st |
we |
us |
|
|
2nd |
you |
you |
|
|
3rd |
they |
them |
There are many tricky rules about how these are to be used, which can be looked up in English grammar textbooks. For example, the pronoun ‘it’ is used commonly in three ways:
-
as an idiom: e.g. when referring to the weather, temperature, time, distance- “It is raining.”, ” Is it afternoon yet?”
-
to postone the subject: i.e. starting the sentence with ‘it’ - “It was a beautiful gift.”
-
as a personal pronoun, e.g. “I got a necklace for Christmas, but it broke soon after.”
Examples
First person:
-
I am a football player, but the coach didn’t pick me.
-
We are all excellent students.
-
Will they let us play?
Second person:
-
You are a great friend.
-
You have all been overseas.
Third person:
-
She loved him, but he did not love her.
-
If they need help, the teacher will give it to them.