English vocabulary - Martin Hunt 2016

16 Time (1)

In this unit you will learn

✵ the names of the days/months/seasons (Monday, January, Spring...)

✵ dates and years (twenty-third [23rd], two thousand and three [2003])

✵ how to ask about days/dates (What day is it? When’s your birthday?)

Basics

Do you know these words? Check in a dictionary and write the word in your language.

Test Your Basics

Cover page 202 so you can’t see the words. Then fill in the spaces below.

1 This normally has 30 or 31 days. month

2 This has 24 hours.

3 For example, 15/5/05 or 5/15/05.

4 This normally has 365 days...

5 ...but this one has 366 days!

6 A notebook to write appointments or what you did.

7 A table with all the (no. 3) in a (no. 4).

8 This has seven days.

Extension

Days and months

✵ Here are the seven days of the week in order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

✵ Monday to Friday are all week days; Saturday and Sunday are the weekend.

✵ Here are the twelve months of the year in order: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Dates and years

✵ For years up to 1999 we normally say, for example, nineteen ninety-nine (1999); for ’00’ years we say ’hundred’. For example, 1900 = nineteen hundred.

✵ For 2000 upwards we say two thousand, two thousand and one, two thousand and two...

✵ Look at this date: [23 June/June 23].

Be careful how you say the number: we don’t say twenty- three, we say twenty-third. Look at the box below to help you with these numbers - the difficult ones are in bold.

Note: We can write and say dates in two ways. We write 23rd June or June 23rd or just [23 June/June 23]. We say ’the twenty- third of June’ or ’June the twenty-third’.

Seasons and special dates

✵ Most countries have four seasons. In the northern hemisphere, when it’s very cold, it’s winter; next is spring; next, when it’s hot, it’s summer; then last it’s [autumn/fall]. Countries in the north and south have seasons at opposite times; look at the months and the seasons in Britain.

Winter December - February

Spring March to May

Summer June - August

Autumn September - November

✵ There are also special days or holidays in the calendar: for example, in Britain and America, Christmas is in December; Christmas Day is on December 25th and Easter is in March or April.

✵ Days like Christmas Day are public holidays; in Britain they are called bank holidays.

✵ People also have special days: for example, your birthday (the day you were born).

When’s your birthday? November 16th.

Prepositions

Be careful to use the correct preposition with time expressions:

• On + days and dates; in + month/year/seasons/’the week’; at + holidays (e.g. Easter).

Note: British English uses at + ’the weekend’ but American English uses on + ’the weekend’.

Examples:

At Christmas (period), but on Christmas Day (because it’s a day).

In May (month), but on May 5th (because it’s a date).

In the week but \at/on\ weekends.

Questions

✵ To find out the day/month/year/date we ask What...is it?

What day/month/year/date is it?   It’s Monday/September/2002/January 17th.

✵ To know when something happens, for example, a birthday or Easter, we ask When’s...?

When’s your birthday?  It’s on [1 September/ September 1].

When’s Easter?    This year it’s on [24^th March/March 24th].

Practice

Exercise 1 Make the correct word from the anagrams below, then put the words in the correct list, in order. There are four days, five months and three seasons.

Exercise 2 Fill the gaps with the correct preposition on, in or at.

1 I’ll see you on Monday.

2 ... the week I normally get home at six o’clock.

3 My wife always brings me breakfast in bed ... my birthday.

4 We’re going to Spain ... March.

5 Ben woke up at four o’clock ... Christmas Day.

6 Are you doing anything ... the weekend?

7 We were married ... 1992.

8 The roads are always very busy ... Christmas.

9 We’re having a party ... January 5th.

Exercise 3 Look at the following sentences and decide if they are right (✓) or wrong (X), then correct those that are wrong.

1 Why don’t you come around on Saterday? X Why don’t you come around on Saturday?

2 ’What day is it?’ ’It’s Friday.’ ✓

3 Our daughter was born in the year twenty hundred.

4 ’When’s your birthday?’ ’On 6th April.’

5 I’m seeing the doctor on Wendsday.

6 ’Are you free on Tuesday?’ ’I’ll look in my calendar and check.’

7 We always visit our grandparents at Easter.

8 This winter was really cold.

9 ’What date is your birthday this year?’ ’It’s on Sunday.’ 10 I hate February. It’s a horrible month.

Now check your answers.

► Exercise 4 (Recordings 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5) Pronunciation practice. Listen and repeat the words on the recording. Use the transcript at the back of the book to help you if necessary.

In use

Reading

Do you know these words?

president

elect

leader

independent

racism

shoot (shot)

prison

release

musicians

Notes: In Britain all dates written in numbers are day/month/ year - for example, 2/3/1999 is 2 March 1999 (not 3 February). In America, all dates written in numbers are month/day/year, so 2/3/1999 is February 3 1999 (not March 2). The White House is the home of the president of the United States. The Beatles were a rock band from Liverpool who were extremely successful. To split up is when a group of people leave each other.

An encyclopedia is a book that gives us information about many things. What do you know about these people - Bill Clinton, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Paul McCartney and Eva Peron? You are now going to read five short pieces about these people taken from a British encyclopedia.

Reading 1 Underline each date reference below (you should find thirteen).

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton, born 19/8/1946 was elected president in November 1992, and left the White House in 2001. A Democrat, he proved a very popular president, even though he had one or two personal and political troubles while in the White House.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

This great political leader who helped India become independent was born on 2/10/1869. He led a long fight against racism, but was never violent. He was shot and killed on 30/1/1948. He was born into a family...

Nelson Mandela

A popular hero, Nelson Mandela was born on 18/7/1918 and would spend many years in prison, before his release on 2/11/1991. He became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. His early life...

Paul McCartney

Born on 18/6/1942, Paul McCartney is one of the most famous pop musicians ever and was a member of the greatest rock-and- roll band of all time, the Beatles. After the Beatles split up in 1970, he had more success with Wings, who...

Eva Peron

Known to many in her native country of Argentina as ’Evita’, Eva Peron was born on 7/5/1919 and died young on 26/7/1952. She married General Peron in 1945 and, after he became president, quickly became extremely popular herself. Evita, though, was...

Reading 2 Look at these sentences and decide if they are right (✓) or wrong (X). Then correct those that are wrong.

1 Bill Clinton was elected President in November 1992. ✓

2 Gandhi was born on February 10,1869. X Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869.

3 Eva Peron married in 1952.

4 Paul McCartney was born in June 1942.

5 Nelson Mandela left prison on 11th February 1991.

6 Eva Peron’s birthday was 7 May.

7 The Beatles split up in 1970.

8 Gandhi was killed in March 1948.

9 Nelson Mandela became president in 1994.

10 Bill Clinton was born on 1946.

► Listening

Before you start, check you know these words:

celebrity (person)

actor/actress

tragically

hospital

star (verb)

release (of a film)

Note: A car crash is a very bad accident in a car. A smash hit is an informal word to describe a very successful [film/movie] - for example, Titanic was a smash hit.

Times Of My Life is a radio show where celebrities talk about their lives. You’re going to hear the introduction to one show where some information is given about that week’s celebrity.

Listening 1 (Recording 16.6) Listen to the recording and number the dates that you hear in the order you hear them. Be careful, two of the dates are not on the recording. Do not do anything with the listening 2 column yet.

Listening 2 Now match the date with what happened in the second column.

Now check your answers.

Recap

Here are the words we learned in this unit. Do you know them all? Write down the translations if necessary.

Nouns

day   week   weekdays

weekend month   year

leap year date   calendar

diary

Days

Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday

Thursday Friday   Saturday

Sunday

Months

January  February  March

April  May   June

July   August  September

October  November December

Dates and years

first, second, third, fourth...

1900, 1999, 2000, 2011...

1st January, 2nd February, March 12th, May 20th...

Seasons and special dates

winter  spring  summer

[autumn/fall] Christmas  Christmas Day

Easter  public holiday bank holiday

birthday

Prepositions

on   in   at

Questions

What...is it? When’s...?

What to do next

✵ Make a list of important dates for you (for example, birthdays, holidays...) and see if you can say them in English.

✵ Find any dates you can in English books, magazines and newspapers - can you say them in English?

Why not try this unit next?

✵ Time (2)

Answer key for this unit

Test your basics

1 This normally has 30 or 31 days    month

2 This has 24 hours       day

3 For example, 15/5/05 or 5/15/05    date

4 This normally has 365 days...     year

5 ... but this one has 366 days!     leap year

6 A notebook to write appointments or what you did   diary

7 A plan with all the (no 3.) in a (no. 4)    calendar

8 This has seven days       week

Exercise 1

1 о у d a m n Monday 7 t s u u g a August

2 r e w n i t winter 8 n u t a m u  autumn

3 d s n u a у Sunday 9 g i n r p s spring

4 L i p a r April 10 renvomeb November

5 m e m s u r summer 11 у i d r a f Friday

6 ydahurst Thursday 12 у a n j u r a January

Exercise 2

1 I’ll see you on Monday.

2 In the week I normally get back at six o’clock from work.

3 My wife always brings me breakfast in bed on my birthday.

4 We’re going to Spain in March.

5 Ben woke up at four o’clock on Christmas Day.

6 Are you doing anything [at/on} the weekend?

7 We were married in 1992.

8 The roads are always very busy at Christmas.

9 We’re having a party on January 5th.

Exercise 3

1 Why don’t you come around on Saterday? X Why don’t you come around on Saturday?

2 ’What day is it?’ ’It’s Friday.’ ✓

3 Our daughter was born in the year twenty hundred. X Our daughter was born in the year two thousand.

4 ’When’s your birthday?’ ’On 6th April.’ ✓

5 I’m seeing the doctor on Wendsday. X I’m seeing the doctor on Wednesday.

6 ’Are you free on Tuesday?’ ’I’ll look in my calendar and check.’ X ’Are you free on Tuesday?’ ’I’ll look in my diary and check.’

7 We always visit our grandparents at Easter. ✓

8 This winter was really cold. ✓

9 ’What date is your birthday this year?’ ’It’s on Sunday.’ X ’What day is your birthday this year?’ ’It’s on Sunday.’

10 I hate February. It’s a horrible month. ✓

Reading

Reading 1

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton, born 19/8/1946 was elected President in November 1992, and left the White House in 2001. A Democrat, he proved a very popular president, even though he had one or two personal and political troubles while in the White House.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

This great political leader who helped India become independent was born on 2/10/1869. He led a long fight against racism, but was never violent. He was shot and killed on 30/1/1948. He was born into a family...

Nelson Mandela

A popular hero, Nelson Mandela was born on 18/7/1918 and would spend many years in prison, before his release on 2/11/1991. He became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. His early life...

Paul McCartney

Born on 18/6/1942. Paul McCartney is one of the most famous pop musicians ever and was a member of the greatest rock and roll band of all time, the Beatles. After the Beatles split up in 1970, he had more success with Wings, who...

Eva Peron

Known to many in her native country of Argentina as ’Evita’, Eva Peron was born on 7/5/1919 and died young on 26/7/1952. She married General Peron in 1945 and after he became president quickly became extremely popular herself. Evita, though, was...

Reading 2

1 Bill Clinton was elected President in November 1993. ✓

2 Gandhi was born on February 10,1869 X Gandhi was born on October 2 1869.

3 Eva Peron married in 1952. X Eva Peron died in 1952; she was married in 1945.

4 Paul McCartney was born in June 1942. ✓

5 Nelson Mandela left prison on 11th February 1991. ✓

6 Eva Peron’s birthday was 7th May. ✓

7 The Beatles split up in 1970. ✓

8 Gandhi was killed in March 1948. X Gandhi was killed in January 1948.

9 Nelson Mandela became president in 1994. ✓

10 Bill Clinton was born on 1946. X Bill Clinton was born in 1946.

Listening

Listening 1 and 2