Phrasal verbs

Here you can find some exercises on phrasal verbs.  The key to the exercises is hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Noun, adjective and verb + preposition

Here you can find some exercises on nouns, adjectives and verbs which are used with certain prepositions.  The key for the exercises are also hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Basic prepositions

Here you can find some exercises on basic prepositions.  The key to the exercises is hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Second reading summary sample

GLOBAL POPULATION GROWTH

Presentation by Hans Rosling in Cannes

Introduction

Hans Rosling presented how world population have been changing since 1960. He also made a prediction on how the progress will continue, if no action is taken to stop the growth in the poorest developing countries. He used colourful boxes to describe the population sizes and statistical data on progress. Each box represented one billion people.

Evolution

In 1960 there were two boxes for the developing world and one box for the industrialised western world. There was a big gap in levels of wealth between the west and the rest. While people’s goal in the western world was to get their own cars, people in developing countries dreamed of new sandals.

Since 1960 the gap between these two categories of countries has been reduced, and world population has more than doubled. If the growth continues at its current trend, the population will reach 9 billion by 2050.

Solution

According to Rosling the only way to stop this growth is by getting the poorest people out of poverty, giving them education and increasing their child survival rate. This will dramatically affect the number of children per woman.

The most developed poor countries have gotten closer to the western world when it comes to birth rate. However, we still have the 2 billion poor people, whose birth rate is almost six children per woman. If four of those children survive to adulthood, the population in the poorest countries will double from 2 to 4 billion in one generation.

Statistically, it is shown that birth rate is lower in wealthiest and healthiest countries where child survival rate is near 100%.  As such, Rosling describes child survival as the new green. Only by investing in improving the living conditions of the  poorest countries, the current trend can be stopped, and the rate of global population growth can be kept at a sustainable level.

Linking words

The first and second parts of the documents on linking words are hereby available.  You can also find the key for the exercises here.  As you do the exercises, please remember the following three types of linking words we have identified:

• Linking words that connect two parts of the same sentence as in the following example: We only have one week off for Easter, so we will be staying in Brussels.
• Linking words that connect two separate sentences as in the following four examples, which are different ways of saying the same thing:

1. We only have one week off for Easter.  Therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
2. We only have one week off for Easter; therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
3. We only have one week off for Easter.  We will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.
4. We only have one week off for Easter; we will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.

• Linking words that are covered under both the first and second types as in the four following examples:

1. Besides giving his friend a lift after work, he helped her with her grocery shopping.
2. He helped his friend with her grocery shopping, besides giving her a lift after work.
3. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question.  Besides, I do not know the answer myself.
4. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question; besides, I do not know the answer myself.

Note that the meaning of the word 'besides'  in the first two examples is different from its meaning in the last two examples.

In all these examples, please pay special attention to the punctuation.

Commonly confused words

Here is the list of the commonly confused words.

Dangling clauses and phrases

Here you can find the document on dangling clauses and phrases.

Preparation for 24th of June

Here is the link for a presentation  by Hans Rosling on population growth.  Please watch it once while taking notes, and bring your notes to a summary report of one 1.5-spaced page.  You can send me the summaries before our next session on 24th of June.

Relative, -ed and -ing clauses

Here you can find some exercises on relative, -ed and -ing clauses along with the key.

Sample synthesis summary

The U-bend of life
Why, beyond middle age, people get happier as they get older

According to many recent social, medical and economic studies, people should not dread ageing, as life is not a long slow decline but rather a U-bend.

After a cheerful adulthood and a depressing mid-life crisis, luckily things do not go downhill further. Although old age means losing treasures such as vitality, mental sharpness and looks, what is surprising is that the elderly finally find what they spend their lives pursuing, namely happiness.

Unconvinced by the conventional direct relationship between money and well-being, some economists have established a new branch of economics based on the new concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH), which policy makers have been increasingly taking into account.

Statisticians have been trying to find the answer to the perennial question of what makes people happy. Surveys have been conducted to measure two sides of this issue, i.e., global well-being and hedonic or emotional well-being. Moreover, the following four main factors have emerged from the collected data: gender, personality, external circumstances and age.

The U-bend was noticed in the early 1990s, and if turned upside down, it becomes an arc, peaking at the age of 46, when people are the most depressed.

Researchers believe that the U-bend must be the result of internal changes, not external circumstances. Older people have fewer rows and come up with better solutions to conflicts; they are better at controlling their emotions and at accepting misfortunes; they are also less prone to anger, and come to accept their strengths and weaknesses.

The U-bend also shows us that old people are healthier, as happier people are less likely to catch viruses and recover from illnesses more quickly. Thus, the cheerfulness of the old helps counteract their crumbliness and loss of productivity due to declining cognitive skills—a point worth remembering as the world is trying to work out how to deal with an ageing workforce.

Money really can buy you happiness with some qualifications
 
It is widely believed that money cannot buy happiness, and that growth-oriented free-market economies have got it wrong. Many recent studies have shown only a loose correlation between money and happiness when measured over time or across countries. The “Easterlin paradox” suggests that well-being depends not on absolute, but on relative income. For, people feel miserable not because they are poor, but because they are at the bottom of the particular pile in which they find themselves.

As data on the effect of income on well-being is now available almost everywhere in the world, the huge variation in life satisfaction across countries is becoming increasingly evident. Although developed countries score up to eight and developing countries as low as three out of ten, cultural factors are also at work, such as the ones prevailing over the surprisingly gloomy Portuguese in the Western World. Another example is the case of Hong Kong and Denmark, which have similar incomes per person, but respectively score 5.5 and eight on the ten-point scale. Along the same lines, the saddest place in the world relative to its income per person is Bulgaria.

Semicolon, colon and lists

In Sections  2.5 - 2.10 of the English Style Guide published by the Directorate-General for Translation, you can find the rules on the use of colon and semicolon with the appropriate hyperlinks for other relevant issues, such as lists.

You can hereby find more information on the use of colon and semicolon as well as providing lists as it is presented in the Interinstitutional Style Guide.

Here you can find a document on the use of semicolon and colon, including the use of the latter to introduce lists.  The first rule on the use of colon in this document is at odds with what is said in the Commission's "English Style Guide" and  the "Interinstitutional Style Guide".

Here you can find a quiz on the use of colon and semicolon with the key and explanations.  In the explanation for the answer to question 21, you can find the capitalization rule in sentences after colon.

Phrase, idiom and expression reference

Here you can find an online multilingual dictionary for phrases, expressions and idioms.  Thank you Th!

The dont's for PowerPoint

Here you can find Don McMillan's standup on the dont's of a PowerPoint presentation.

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

Here you can find Guy Kawasaki's recommendations on the length (10 slides), duration (20 minutes) and font size (30 points) in a PowerPoint presentation.

Here you can find a stream of his pitch.

Preparation for 27th of May

Here you can find two articles which you can synthesize in a summary report.  The summary should be no longer than two 1.5-spaced pages. If you send me your summaries before our next session on 26th of May, we can talk about one of them during the workshop.

Acronyms and abbreviations used at the EI

Here you can find a list of the main acronyms and abbreviations used at the European Institutions.

Jargon used at the EI

Here you can find a list of the jargon commonly used at the European Institutions.

Here you can find the list of the same jargon along with their alternatives if you want to avoid the jargon while corresponding with an external party.

Searchable document archives

The links for searchable document archives for the Commission, the Parliament and the Council are hereby made available.

Searchable terminology database

Here you can find the link for the EI searchable terminology database.

Journalistic titles

Here you can find a brief explanation on journalistic titles used in, e.g., newspaper headlines.  We, however, should not use this style for our titles in administrative writing.  How would you change the headlines provided as examples in the hot-linked document into administrative style titles?

Lists of three and the rule of 3s: two speeches

Here you can find the first part of Steve Jobs's iPhone product launch speech.

Here you can find Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

In both of them, please pay attention to the usage of the lists of three and the rule of 3s.

Here is a stream where the rule of 3s is explained among other useful tips on making presentations.

Sound script

Here you can find a document on chunking, stress, pacing and intonation all of which are to be indicated in a sound scripted speech text.  Here you can find the key for the tasks in the document. (Source: Presenting in English by Mark Powell) As you know, the sound script is what appears on the teleprompter for the speaker to read from during a speech.

Mandatory and compulsory

Dear T.,

My initial reaction to your question is that they can indeed be used as synonyms in most contexts.  I have checked it in my Oxford Dictionary, which confirms what your dictionary says.  

I also like the first response in the forum at the following link:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080507075259AAR2USG

Here is a link for another forum which can be useful, as well:

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/2902/mandatory-obligatory-compulsory

It might help if you can give us more context.

If  you have a specific German word in mind, here are two links for online dictionaries, which I use for my German-English translation work:

http://www.dict.cc/

http://dict.leo.org/

The former one was recommended to me by a German translator working at DG Translation.

All the best,

John

Hi  John!

I would like to ask you a little question that came up during a  drafting session recently: It is about the correct use of "compulsory" and  "mandatory".

In the "Collins" if found following definition, which is not really  satisfying for me, since "compulsory" is given as a synonym for  "mandatory":

compulsory: required by regulations or law
mandatory:  obligatory, compulsory

In my feeling  (but it's only a feeling) "mandatory" is somehow weaker than "compulsory". So,  if something is "compulsory" you really have to do it, there is no room for  negotiations, whereas if something is "mandatory" there might be some  flexibilty in it.

Am I completely  wrong?

Thanks in advance for your answer and feel free to share it with  all the others in the course

Best Ti.

Sample reading summary

Cross-border co-operation or redrawing borders

A summary of Charlemagne’s article

In 1968 a language war took place at the University of Leuven splitting it into two parts. This was followed by a series of divisions within the Belgian Catholic church and major national political parties. The championing of the linguistic agenda eventually turned Belgium into a near-ungovernable state.

The last election in June 2010 left the Kingdom with a caretaker government for 230 days, thereby breaking a new European record. Nonetheless, due to its many-layered decentralised administration, daily life went on in Belgium. The country even chaired the rotating European Presidency without any problems during the second half of 2010. "Eurocrats", along with financial markets, seemed not to be worried about living in a paralysed country with a giant public debt close to 100% of its GDP.

Over the years up to the time this article came out, the break-up of Belgium had looked less and less unthinkable. Nevertheless, any hint of partition would trigger a dumping of Belgian bonds because of the uncertainty over who would pay back the federal debt.

Yet, some Flemish separatists, who are comforted by a strong euro and an ever-deeper integration of the EU, hope that Europe would be the acid that dissolves Belgium. As such, even though Europe overcame a lot of historic enmities within its borders as national sovereignties eroded through the EU integration, which is an antidote for violent nationalism, this integration process also enables non-violent groups, such as the Flemish separatists, to act up and receive broad support from voters. This means that a precedent of a rich region pulling away from a poorer one would concern many other EU Member States, such as Spain or Italy.

Luckily, conundrums created by overlapping communities are better solved with democratic tools, such as minority rights, autonomy or tolerance, rather than by redrawing borders.

Article with DG

Hi All,

As suggested by John, I have done some research on the name of my Directorate-General, the related acronym and the use of the article in official documents.

1) DG RTD/RTD DG.
In the official documents, I have found "DG RTD" (instead of "RTD DG") without the article (of course) as in the following examples:

• "As part of a broad initiative on fraud prevention at Commmision level, DG RTD has developed an Anti Fraud Control strategy." 

• "Participation of DG RTD will always include the Director-General."

2) DG Research and Innovation/Research & Innovation DG.
See the following official sentences (from official documents):

• "By changing the name of our Directorate-General to DG RESEARCH AND INNOVATION on 1 January 2011 [...]"

• "This year, DG Research and Innovation will present and promote the Innovation Union on our common stand with DG INFSO."

However, the following use is without article:

• "Please note that this page does not include all the calls for tender launched by THE RESEARCH & INNOVATION DG."

The same goes for the following:

• "The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation supports research and innovation."

• "Calls for Tenders related to THE DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION"

I suppose we can sum up by saying that if the name starts with the acronym, such as in "DG Research", we use NO ARTICLE.

See you!

To.

Sample listening summary

A whistle-stop tour of the key EU institutions

The journalist gives us a tour of the European institutions starting from the Schuman metro station at the European district of Brussels, named after Robert Schuman, the French minister, who inspired the creation of the European Union (EU).

The EU was born after the Second World War as the European Coal and Steel Community founded by six countries, which decided to have common control over their war materials.  The Union then expanded to 27 Members States (MS), which have common policies and laws that affect many aspects of our daily lives, because it intervenes in matters such as price controls related to pollution prevention or chemical composition of materials regarding health safety.  The aviar flu and the Hungarian sewage system are mentioned as other examples for the areas in which the EU intervenes . These issues should also matter to us, because they are paid for with our money. In the EU the richer countries help the poorer ones.

Unlike national systems, the EU is composed of three main actors. One of them is the Commission, which is the engine of the EU, and the Commission is what people  mean when they say, e.g., “Brussels has taken a decision”. The Commission has 27 Commissioners, one for each country and each one in charge of a policy area. The Commission is very important, because they have the right to propose new laws. The Commissioners have weekly meetings on Wednesdays, during which they take decisions on laws, especially if they are controversial. They see themselves as the guardians of the soul of the EU. They do not, however, have unrestricted power to act, because they have to take national interests of MS into account. Given the balance of powers among the three main institutions, the EU is a unique experiment, since there is nothing similar to it in the world.

The second actor within this structure is the Council, where national civil servants or ambassadors regularly meet to discuss the legislation proposals initiated by the Commission on subjects such as defense or agriculture. Its building is just opposite from the main Commission building. The most important meeting, which is held at least three times a year, is the summit attended by presidents and heads of state. These summits are normally very tense, since each participant is used to getting his/her own way in his/her own country.

The third actor is the European Parliament, whose name is displayed in all the EU languages by its entrance. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected at the same time in each Member State.  Therefore, it is the most democratic institution of the three. The MEPs are seated according to their political groups. The three main groups are the socialists, the conservatives and the liberals. Their task consists mainly in debating daily issues and amending legistlative proposals. They also have the power to reject budget proposals, but they hardly ever use this power. Over the years up to the time this report aired, the Parliament had been getting more and more influence within the balance of powers among the three institutions.

In the end, it is, however, still up to national governments to accept or reject a proposal.

Memo

Here you can find an example for a memo.  Source: Market Leader Upper Intermediate Business English Course Book by David Cotton, et al.

Minutes

Here you can find an example for minutes.  Source: Market Leader Upper Intermediate Business English Course Book by David Cotton, et al.

Preparation for 6th of May

Here is a text from The Economist, which you can read and write a summary report on.  Those of you who could not join us on 27th of April, this article is to be read with the intention of writing a summary of not longer than one 1.5-spaced page.  If you can send me the summary before our next session on 6th of May, we can talk about it during our workshop.

Articles

Here you can find the document on articles along with the key for the exercises.

Sample email

Dear Ms Smith,
 
Knowing that your entry into service at the European Commission is approaching, I would like to hereby extend you a warm welcome to our Unit, and provide you with some practical information.
 
As agreed during your job interview, you will be in charge of the follow-up of inter-service consultations. This position involves regular interaction and coordination with the other services of our DG as well as with other DGs. You will be working closely with Ms Black in our Unit, as inter-service consultation follow-up is a shared responsibility. Under my supervision, Ms Black will explain to you the various procedures, so that you can become acquainted with our working methods as soon as possible. As an attachment, I am resending your job description, in case you need it for a quick reference.
 
You should have been already informed that you will be attending a two-day training course organised by DG HR, i.e., the Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, before taking up your duties at our Unit. This very useful course should provide you with additional information regarding the functioning of the European Commission, its working environment, and the rights and duties of its employees. During the training, you will have the opportunity to get your badge ready; all the relevant information will be provided by the trainers.
 
As a newcomer in Brussels, you might also be interested in receiving information on matters such as accommodation and public transportation. Please note that the orientation leaders at DG HR will be handing out an information package during the training, and that a legal advisor will be at your disposal to check the leases you might be considering before you sign a contract. If you need to search for an apartment, the best place to start is the immoweb website (http://www.immoweb.be/). There is also plenty of short-term accommodation available in Brussels, especially in the Schuman area close to the European Institutions. You can find all the necessary information about public transportation in Brussels at http://www.stib.be/.
 
I would also like to hereby invite you take up your duties in our Unit on Wednesday, 16th of March, i.e., after the completion of the training mentioned above.  I propose starting the day with a meeting in my office at 9.30 am.  Afterwards, I will introduce you to the members of the team you will be working in. Moreover, you will need to make an appointment to see Mr Miller (tel.: +32(0)2/293 1113) in the afternoon of the same day.  I suggest making the appointment at least three days in advance, since he is usually very busy.  He is the HR focal point in our DG, and thus he will be your interlocutor for all contract related issues.
 
As you probably remember from your interview, our offices are located at Rue de la Science, 15, close to Rue Belliard. With your badge, you can come up directly to our Unit, which is located on the 7th floor; I am in office 123.
 
Looking forward to meeting you in person,
 
With kind regards,

 Iris Wellington

Greetings and closers

Here is a list of greetings you can use in your formal emails depending on the recipient:

• Anonymous singular:

1. Dear Sir/Madam
2. Dear Madam/Sir
3. Dear Sir or Madam
4. Dear Madam or Sir

• Anonymous plural:

1. Dear Sirs/Ladies
2. Dear Ladies/Sirs
3. Dear Sirs and/or Ladies
4. Dear Ladies and/or Sirs

• With a given male name: Dear Mr Smith

• With a given female name:

1.  Dear Ms Smith (civil status irrelevant or unknown)
2.  Dear Mrs Smith (married)
3.  Dear Miss Smith (single and younger than fifty)

• With given names to a group of less than three people (male):  Dear Messrs Smith and Jones

• With given names to a group of less than three people (female):

1. Dear Mses Smith and Jones (civil statuses unknown, irrelevant or different)
2. Dear Mesdames Smith and Jones (both of them married)
3. Dear Misses Smith and Jones (both of them single and younger than fifty)

• With given names to a group of less than three people (mixed gender and not related to each other by marriage or blood): 

1. Dear Messrs Smith and Jones, and Ms Presley 
2. Dear Ms Presley, and Messrs Smith and Jones

• With a given name to a couple who use the same last name:

1. Dear Mr and Mrs Smith 
2. Dear Mrs and Mr Smith 

• With given names to a group of more than three people (mixed gender):

1. Dear Sirs/Ladies
2. Dear Ladies/Sirs
3. Dear Sirs and Ladies
4. Dear Ladies and Sirs

• With given names to a group of more than three people (all male): Dear Sirs

• With given names to a group of more than three people (all female): Dear Ladies 

• With a given first and last name and the gender is not clear:  Dear Alex Smith

Here is a list of closers which apply to all formal emails regardless of their content:

• With kind regards
• Kind regards
• Regards

You can hereby find a document on how to address various VIPs in different contexts.

Preparation for 15th of April

Please write a summary report based on the notes you took as you watched the BBC piece on the main EU Institutions.  If you can send me your summary reports as Word documents, we can look at the some of them during the workshop.

Those of you who could not join us for the in-class note taking exercise, you can hereby have access to the stream to listen to the BBC report.  You can simulate a real-life challenge for yourself, if you listen to the piece only once.

Gender neutrality

"English Style Guide" released by the Commission is hereby available.  On pages 48 - 49 you can find the section on gender neutrality. 

Subject-Verb agreement

You can find a document on subject-verb agreement with exercises here.  The key for the exercises is available here.

A longer document entitled "Grammar and Punctuation for Business Communication"  is hereby available.  Please refer to pages 11 - 14 for subject-verb agreement.  We will be using this document when we deal with other major issues related to writing.

Require and dread: gerund vs. infinitive

Dear B.,

Here are the answers to your questions:

Hello John,

I did the exercises below and I wonder about the nuance between:
The certification program requires me to take several tests.
The certification program requires my taking several tests.

I prefer the first sentence to the second.  I would not use the possessive personal pronoun with the gerund after the verb ‘require’, although one can use a noun, and say the following:

The certification program requires my participation in several tests.

Having said that, one can use the gerund after a possessive personal pronoun when dealing with verbs that are always used with the gerund, e.g., I enjoyed his joining us.  However, I would avoid such usage with verbs which can be used with both the gerund and infinitive.

What's the difference between:
I dread to think of what might happen next.
I dread going to work tomorrow.

The two uses are explained at the following link: http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerund_or_infinitive_different_list.htm
There is no difference in meanings, but the infinitive usage is restricted to the verbs ‘think’ and ‘consider’.

Thank you for your help.

B.

All the best,

John

Email attachments

Here is a link where you can find the email attachments I have sent you so far:
 Attachments to the first four emails

Fourth email

Dear All,

Attached, I am sending you two documents with exercises on linking words.

I would like to finalize the workshop on emails next week, so please come to the next session with any questions you still have about emails.  Depending on the quality and quantity of your questions, we might then have the time to have an in-class exercise on note taking.

Looking forward to seeing you then,

All the best,

John

Third email

Dear All,

Attached, I am sending you the list on gerund vs. infinitive.

Here is a link for exercises on the same topic:

http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/index.htm

Looking forward to seeing you next week,

All the best,

John

Second email

Dear All,

Attached, I am sending you some documents – some of them with exercises – on the following issues we dealt with during our last session:

• American vs. British English
• word order
• location of adverbs
• composite nouns
  

Looking forward to seeing you next week,

All the best,

John

First email

Dear All,

Attached, I am sending you the booklet we looked at during our first session.

Moreover,  here is the link for section 10 entitled “House rules for the preparation of the text” from the Interinstitutional Style Guide, where you can find some of the fundamental rules related to writing at the Commission:

http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-4100000.htm

Those of you who could not join us last week, please send me an email as a writing sample to fulfill the following task:  You need to write a formal email to a new-comer joining your Unit.  After welcoming him/her, you need to give him/her some useful information concerning practical and administrative matters, e.g., directions to get your office, obtaining a badge, finding temporary accommodation, etc.  You then need to give him/her some information about the working environment at your Unit and make an appointment with him/her for an orientation tour on his/her first day.

We always start our sessions with general questions you might have, so do feel free to table them if you have any for our next meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you then,

All the best,

John
--
Noras
Rue du Moniteur, 16 Box No 3
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32(0)2 217 7800