C Class
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD STORY
IDIOMS OF FOOD
IDIOMS OF TIME
Gerund or Infinitive?
5 Simple Rules to Master the Use of Gerunds and Infinitives
Rule 1: Gerunds can be used as a subject of a sentence.
Take a look at some examples.
Walking is good for your health.
Making friends has become more difficult since I moved to a new city.
Becoming a millionaire is a dream of many young people today.
Here, the gerunds (in bold) are part of the sentence subjects (“walking,” “making friends,” “becoming a millionaire”). All three sentences sound like normal, everyday English.
Direct/Indirect Speech (Reported speech)
Reported Statements
When do we use reported speech? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example “I’m going to the cinema tonight”. Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said.
Here’s how it works:
We use a ‘reporting verb’ like ‘say’ or ‘tell’. If this verb is in the present tense, it’s easy. We just put ‘she says’ and then the sentence:
- Direct speech: I like ice cream.
Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
We don’t need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the ‘person’ from ‘I’ to ‘she’, for example. We also may need to change words like ‘my’ and ‘your’.
(As I’m sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use ‘that’ or not in English. I’ve put it in brackets () to show that it’s optional. It’s exactly the same if you use ‘that’ or if you don’t use ‘that’.)
But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:
- Direct speech: I like ice cream.
- Reported speech: She said(that) she liked ice cream.
WRITING A RESTAURANT REVIEW
Writing a review for a restaurant can be challenging. Here are three review that might help you. Notice the vocabulary, simple but precise for each section that is described.
ex.1
The House Polo Restaurant
(Name/location)
The ‘House’ is a restaurant situated in the heart of a small village between three national forests and close to the horse´s capital city, Chantilly. It is the favourite hangout place for people from the polo, horse races, and golf world.
(Atmosphere/decor)
As you enter the place you are welcomed by a magnificent setting, a delightful marriage of antique cut stones and the luxuries of modernity. Sitting in any table you have a wonderful view of the workshop-like kitchen where you can see the chefs working. For those who do not book a table and are waiting, there is a cosy lounge with aged leather armchairs and pictures of polo players displayed on the walls.
(The menu/dishes)
The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering starters. I had the white asparagus accompanied by a mousseline sauce and poached eggs, while my friend tried the zucchini carpaccio served with sundries tomatoes and a mozzarella strudel. They were exquisite. The main course consisted of a risotto with scallop cooked in cream and a cassolette of coley with mussels, which really thrilled us. It all was followed by a delicious apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
(The ingredients/the wine/the prices)
All the products were fresh and the dishes had the warmth of home-made food. The chefs take great care in selecting the best quality ingredients. The restaurant also caters for all tastes by providing a large selection of the best wines of the region, which are pricy but worth sampling.
(The service/the waiters/the owner)
What a pity that the service does not accompany the high quality of the cooking. You can hardly get a smile out of the waitresses. Thankfully the owner and hostess, a middle-aged charming woman, is always around willing to exchange some kind words with all her clients.
(Recommendation)
Despite the high price of the food and the not so attentive waiters´ service, I had a pleasant dining experience with food of the most exquisite flavours. For this reason I highly recommend going to the House Polo restaurant. (260-320 words)
ex. 2
The “Aila Nera” restaurant
The “Aila Nera” is a newly-opened restaurant in the centre of town. It is also by far the best place for families and friends to spend a nice and quiet evening eating delicious home-made food.
I had the opportunity to go there to celebrate my father’s birthday and I had a wonderful time.
As you enter the place you are welcomed by a familiar and cosy atmosphere. The walls are made of stone, which gives the restaurant a vintage and traditional look, and there are just a few tables. There is some soft background music from the 80s and 90s.
Regarding the food, they offer a variety of focaccia bread rolls as a starter, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, zucchini and almonds. They were my favourite part of the meal. The main course that I had consisted of pasta: gnocchi with different sauces. It tasted like heaven on earth. They also have desserts in the menú; I chose to have creme brulee.
Slightly disappointing though, was the service. I had to wait twenty minutes for the dishes to arrive, as there were only two waitresses. However, I have to say in their defence, that both of them were very young, kind and friendly.
Despite the long wait for the food, it was absolutely mouthwatering, and the atmosphere very pleasant. For this reason, I have no hesitation in recommending going to the “Aila Nera” restaurant. Judging on the taste of the dishes, I would give it 5 stars! (220-260 words)
ex. 3
Papa Grill
For those who haven’t recently been to Papa Grill (in the Loeh’s Plaza shopping area on Hillanle Road, close to Rt. 85), it’s really gotten quite excellent. This is a classic (and classy) family-run restaurant. Sam Papas is the executive chef, his brother Chris is the general manager and maitre d’, and their parents (Glen and Angelika Papas) are the owners. Sam is turning out some wonderful dishes, including a truly superb “confit” of salmon and an excellent roasted lamb; and all of the traditional Greek dishes (the family being of Greek ancestry and the restaurant itself describing its food as “Hellenic and Mediterranean Rim”) are also first rate. The restaurant’s atmosphere is sophisticated but, at the same time, almost homey, making Papa Grill a very pleasant dining experience. Prices, too, are reasonable for the quality, though certainly not cheap. My only complaint is that the wine list, which otherwise is quite good, does not list vintages.
THE STORY OF THE HAMBURGER
The hamburger is the most eaten food in the whole world. The first hamburgers were made and sold in Connecticut in 1895 by an American called Louis Lassen. Louis called them hamburgers because he was given the recipe by sailors from Hamburg in Germany.
Hamburgers became a favourite meal in America in the early part of the twentieth century. Their popularity grew even more after the Second World War, when they were bought in large quantities by teenagers who preferred fast food to family meals. In 1948 two brothers Dick and Mac Donald opened a drive-in hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
Since then over 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants have been opened worldwide and now 35 million MacDonald’s hamburgers are eaten every day in 115 countries from India to the Arctic Circle.
Exercise : Put the verbs into the correct tense, active or passive.
The first hamburgers______________ (make) in 1895. Louis Lassen ____________(call) them hamburgers because he ______________(give) the recipe by sailors. Hamburgers ____________ (become) his favourite meal. Their popularity _____________(grow) even more when they _______________(buy) in large quantities by teenagers who ____________(prefer) fast food. Dick and Mac MacDonald_____________ (open) a drive-in hamburger restaurant. 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants ____________(open) worldwide. More than 35 million hamburgers ____________(eat) every day.
PASSIVE VOICE
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written. (I wrote a letter: active voice)
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be+ past participle)
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
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