Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

I don’t have to work in the evening.

1. Meaning

Don’t have to is used to talk about something that is not necessary; that we have a choice and
we can do it if we want to.

2. Conveying meaning

I would show the students the following photo which shows the hour work:

WORKING HOUR
Monday to Friday:
02:00 pm - 09:00 pm
And then I would give them a context in which the sentence occurs:

“I work on every weekday. I work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I
can’t see my friends on these days because I work in the evenings. But I don’t work on
Saturdays and Sundays. This is why I can see my friends on weekends. Tomorrow I am going
out with my friends at 5pm because it’s Saturday and I don’t have to work in the evening. I
can work on Saturdays and Sundays if I want to but I prefer going out with my friends.

3. Checking understanding

Do I work on weekdays? (yes)

Do I work on Saturdays and Sundays? (no)
Can I go out in the evening? (yes)
Can I work on Saturdays if I want to? (yes)
Is it necessary to work on weekdays? (yes)
Do I have to work on weekdays? (yes)
Do I have to work on weekends? (no)

4. Pronunciation

■ ■ ■
I don’t have to work in the evening.
/aɪ doʊnt hæf tə wɜːrkɪn ðə iːvnɪŋ/

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

5. Form

Uncontracted form: subject + do/does + not + have to + infinitive

Contracted form: subject + don’t/doesn’t + have to + infinitive

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

They could have died in that weather.

1. Meaning

Could have is used when something was possible in the past but did not happen, also to say
that somebody was able to do something, but did not try to do it.

2. Conveying Meaning

I would give the following photo to the students (or just play the clip from the movie Indiana
Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark) and then explain to the students that Indiana was chased by a
boulder (big ball) and that there was a chance of death in that scene but he ran very quickly
so he didn’t die.

3. Checking understanding

Did he die? (no)

Was there a chance of death? (yes)

4. Pronunciation

■ ■
You could have died in that weather.
/ jʊ kʊd həv daɪdən ðæt weðer /

5. Form

Subject + could have + past participle

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

He’s had his car repaired.

1. Meaning

We use the causative have/had when arranging for someone to do something for us or something
was arranged in the past to be done.

2. Conveying Meaning

“I called John last night and asked him to come to our party tonight. He said he couldn’t come
because his car broken down and he had taken it to a mechanic. But I just saw his car in front of the
house. I guess he’s had his car repaired.”

3. Checking understanding

Is John’s car repaired now? (yes)

Did he repair his car himself? (no)
Did someone repair the car? (yes)
Did it happen in the past? (yes)
Did he arrange for this to happen?1 (yes)
Do we know who did it and when? (no)
Can we still see the effect in the present? (yes)

4. Pronunciation

■ ■ ■
He’s had his car repaired
/ hi:z hæd hɪz kɑːr rɪpeərd /

5. Form

Subject + have/has + had + object + past participle

1
Scrivener, J (2011) Learning Teaching. 3rd Edition. p. 113. Macmillan Books.
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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

Stressed

1. Meaning

Stressed is an adjective and it refers to a state of mind when one is nervous and/or is under a
lot of pressure and can’t relax

2. Conveying Meaning

I didn’t slept well last night. I haven’t studied at all for my exams this afternoon. [pulling my
hair, biting my nails] I’m really nervous and stressed.

I would also show this picture of a stressed person:

3. Checking understanding

Am I feeling happy? (no)

Are you having a good time when you are stressed? (no)
Are you stressed when you are having an exam? (yes)
How do you feel when you are stressed? (bad, uncomfortable, confused)
Do you like being stressed? (no)
Are you stressed when you are at a party dancing? (no)

4. Pronunciation

■
Stressed
/ strest /

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

5. Form

Stressed is an adjective formed from the verb/nous stress. It is usually followed by the
auxiliary verb be and feel/feeling, e.g. He is stressed; I was feeling stressed before my driving
test.

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

The public

1. Meaning

The public is a group noun and refers to the ordinary people of every nation in general.

2. Conveying Meaning

I would show this picture to the students which is taken from Obama’s inauguration speech.
The arrows point to the ordinary people.

3. Checking understanding

Is President Obama talking to a big group of people? (yes)

Are they specific kind of people? (no)
Can rich people go to his speech? (yes)
Can poor people go to his speech? (yes)

4. Pronunciation

■
The public
/ ðə pʌblɪk /

5. Form

The public can be treated as singular or plural. It can also be used as the subject of the
sentence as in the public have a right to know or as the object of the sentence as in the library
is open to the public.

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Assignment 2: Language-Related Task

An adjective is usually put between the and public as in the British public (“William and his
wife-to-be are viewed by the British public as an attractive but sober, dutiful and down-to-
earth couple”)2.

It can also be used to refer to a specific group of people as in the reading public (“Just as the
reading public judges books by their covers, we judge manuscripts by the accompanying
query letters”)3 or the travelling/sporting/book-buying/etc public (“Privatizing the railways
was not in the best interests of the travelling public”)4.

Reference
Practical English Usage 3rd edition - Michael Swan
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
OxfordDictionaries.com
Macmillan Dictionary
The Corpus of Contemporary American English
The British National Corpus

2
Betsey Lerner (2011) How to approach agents and editors. Writer Feb2011, Vol. 124 Issue 2, p26-55, 3p.
3
Bill Steiden (2011) The schedule Royal road to the altar. Atlanta Journal Constitution.
4
Macmillan Dictionary: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/public_23

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