UNIT 2

Here are some sentences from the perspective of the unit

1) Playing games all day would be lots of fun

2) Playing the same game every day for months would be boring
3) Being a flight attendant sounds very exciting
4) Traveling all the time would be interesting
5) But flight attendant get tired of traveling.

Ask Ss: let’s take number 1 as an example to work with, which word is the verb? (BE); would
is a modal verb.
What word is the SUBJECT? --> “playing games all day”,which is located before the verb.

Am I doing the action of playing games all day? Are you doing the action? Is Fernando doing
the action? Or maybe Maria Eugenia? Or is it a dog? Is the subject a person or an animal?
(The answer to all of these questions is NO)

Then, what is the subject? (AN ACTION, AN ACTIVITY).

Learning objective of the grammar: use gerund phrases as subjects and objects in opinions
about jobs

Explain to Ss that when you put the suffix -ing to a verb you form two things:

a gerund (represents an activity)

the present participle (we use in the present continuous form)

A gerund is a noun, so it can be a subject or an object in a sentence.

Gerund Phrases:
1. As the subject:
Being a teacher is difficult but rewarding.
2. As the object of a verb
My grandfather loved being a math teacher
3. As the object of a preposition
I’d be really excited about being a translator for a diplomatic party

WORTH MENTIONING:
Exciting and rewarding are participial adjectives! Do NOT confuse with gerunds.

Here is some extra vocabulary that you can review to study how to give an opinion, how to
agree and how to disagree:
To give an opinion about something:
(I agree, I disagree, I’m not (so) sure about that, I think/believe/consider/assume that, in my
opinion,... , from my point of view,... , I would say that ..., Speaking personally,... , I gather
that ....)

To agree:
(I agree with you because..., I share your view, You are quite right, I hold the same opinion,
it is true)

To disagree:
(I don’t agree, I disagree, I think otherwise, I don’t think that’s quite right, I take a different
point of view, I don’t share your point of view, nonsense!, not at all!)

useful expressions
First of all,… (starting a list of items of an argument)
In addition,… (addition and emphasis)
Furthermore,… (addition and emphasis)
For example,... (to illustrate an example)
However,... (contrast)
On the other hand,... (contrast)
In conclusion,...
What do these all have in common? (the comma)
All of these expressions are transitional words and phrases, remember that while transitions
describe relationships between ideas, they do not automatically create relationships between
ideas for your reader.

Difference between However and On the other hand

By far, the most important use of "however" is to introduce a problem in a Situation-Problem-

Solution pattern. In this pattern, the writer begins by describing the "good" or positive side
(benefits, advantages) of the present situation, and then goes on to present the problems
(drawbacks, disadvantages).

INTRODUCING SURPRISE:

Both "however" and "nevertheless" have a concessive effect in that they can introduce a
sentence that not only contrasts with a previous sentence, but also seems surprising or
unexpected in view of what has been stated earlier in the first sentence.

Positive ( + ) -> Negative ( - )

All major studies of the greenhouse effect have concluded that sea level and precipitation
will change significantly. However, most engineers and planners implicitly assume that these
changes will not occur.

ON THE OTHER HAND

Use "on the other hand" to contrast two different views (underlined below) of a single issue
or problem. Note that although these two views may represent opposites, they do not
contradict or cancel each other out. "On the other hand" can sometimes also include the
meanings of "in contrast" “conversely” and “alternatively”

SECOND PART of the unit

Being an intern sounds more challenging than working at a summer camp!

Here we have one grammar for making comparison. What is it?

Answer: more/less + noun + than

Let’s see a different example:

Universidad Central has more students than EPN. Furthermore, Universidad Central
provides more career choices than EPN.

I work more hours than my girlfriend. However, she makes more money than I do

We can take exactly the same structure, and apply it with adjectives.
EPN is more beautiful than Universidad Central
Students from EPN are more intelligent than Students from Universidad Salesiana
The EPN campus is BIGGER than the Catolica campus.

Comparisons:
Adjectives:
more/less + adj + than
adj.-er + than
(not) as + adj. + as

Nouns:
better/worse + noun + than
more + noun + than
Police officers need more training than postmen
(not) as + much/many + noun + as
She doesn’t work as many hours as I do

Verbs:
verb + more/less than
My father enjoys eating rice more than vegetable soup.
As a tour guide, I can travel more than a teacher
verb + as much as
I eat as much as my sister
I earn as much as my sister
My mom cooks as much as your mom
not+verb + as much as
Strawberries don’t cost as much as oranges
 Past participles
Being a lawyer is better paid than being a dog walker.
Being a doctor is as well paid as being a surgeon
Being a dog walker isn’t as well paid as being a lawyer.