Talking about your lifestyle

Here are some expressions for talking positively about your lifestyle.

- What a good life I have!

- I have everything I ever wanted.

- I'm active, and I have no real money worries.

- I have a certain amount of stress, but I'm healthy.

Here are some expressions for talking negatively about your lifestyle.

- I've realized there's something missing in my life.

- I thought I had everything I ever wanted.

- I live from paycheck to paycheck.

- I'm wondering if my decision was a mistake.

Here are some expressions to support someone who is worried about their lifestyle.

- It's normal to stop sometimes and think about your life.

- Are you thinking about making a change?

- It's never too late.

Sentence variety.

To make reading more interesting, writers vary the length and types of their sentences. Notice the dramatic effect of the different sentence lengths in this paragraph.

 

I thought it would be easy to find a good job and support myself once I graduated from college. Now that I've applied for more than 100 jobs, I realized I was mistaken. Jobs don't come easy. Rent is unreasonable. And I live from paycheck to paycheck. In fact, I'm no longer sure where I want to be in life. Life can be hard, but I'm not giving up.

Interesting texts include a combination of sentence types: simple, compound and complex. Here are examples of simple sentences, which have just one clause.

 

Jobs don't come easy.

Rent is unreasonable.

by a comma ( , ) or words like and, but, however or so.

 

- Rent is unreasonable, and I live from paycheck to paycheck.

- Life can be hard, but I'm not giving up.

Here are examples of complex sentences, which may have one independent clause joined to one dependent clause (a clause that is not a full sentence) with words like once, now that, although, because or that.

 

- I thought it would be easy to find a good job and support myself once I graduated from college.

- Now that I've applied for more than 100 jobs, I realized I was mistaken.

- Don't let work influence your decision.

- I'm wondering if my decision was a mistake.

Quoted and reported statements and questions

Use quoted speech inside quotation marks ("or'')  to report exactly what someone said or asked. The verb tense of the quoted speech does not change.

• He said, 'Let's watch the game.'
• He asked, 'Could you pay the bill?'
• I told him, 'No way.'

Use reported speech to paraphrase what someone said. You can keep the verb tense in the present or change it to the past.

• She said she hated sports.
• she told me she´s a feminist.

Also use reported speech to paraphrase what someone asked. In the reported question, change the word order to subject + verb and drop the auxiliary verb.

• 'Why do you like roses?'
• She asked why I like roses.
• 'Where do you live?'
• He asked me where I live.

You can use the narrative present for quoted and reported speech to make a story more current or more dramatic.

• He says, 'Let's fly to the Bahamas.'
• So I tell him we need to get to know each other better.
• She asks me, 'When should we get married?'
• And I ask her why she's in such a hurry.

  

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

Use a rhetorical question to draw dramatic attention to your point. When a rhetorical question is asked, an answer is not expected; often the answer is obvious. Use the same structure for a rhetorical question as for a genuine question. Notice the exaggerated intonation used in these rhetorical questions.

• Who knows? Maybe someday we'll have gender equality.
• Shouldn't women get equal pay for equal work?
• Who created these rigid male and female roles?
• With all their problems, why do men and women bother dating?

Quantifiers with 'Of'

 Use of after quantifiers. Notice that of is usually followed by a pronoun, a determiner, a possessive or the.

Use many with countable nouns; use much with uncountable nouns.

 

• He gave many of his canned goods to the relief effort.
• The fire burned much of the county.

Use a few of with countable nouns; use a little of with uncountable nouns.

• I ate dinner with a few of the volunteers.
• Only a little of the donated money was used for the fundraiser.

Use some to make positive statements about plural nouns; use any to make negative statements about plural nouns.

 

• Some of my friends live in Hewittville.
• I don't have any of those warm blankets.

Use most of, all of and none of with plural nouns; use each of with singular nouns. 

 

• Most of the volunteers are young people.
• All of Hewittville's buildings were damaged or destroyed.
• He needed a coat, but none of them fit. He needed a coat, but none of them fit.

ASKING FOR AND OFFERING HELP

Use these expressions to ask for help. Note that be able to indicates ability.

• Would you be able to come?
• Would you be willing to help?
• How would you feel about volunteering?

Asking for help with will is more direct than asking with would.

Will you be able to come?

PETER: Jane, some of us are volunteering at a fundraiser for the victims of the volcano in Guatemala. Would you be willing to help?

JANE: I'd be happy to help. When is it?

PETER: All day Saturday.

JANE: Oh. Well, I won't be able to come in the morning. I have an appointment. But I'll be able to help in the afternoon.

PETER: That's great. And if you know anyone else …

JANE: I'll ask my friend, Sue. I'm sure she'd love to help . Maybe she can come in the morning.

PETER: Perfect. Thanks.

Use these expressions to offer help:

• I'd be happy to help.
• I'll ask some of my friends.
• I'd love to help those poor people.

Each of you should volunteer at the fundraiser.

Any / Many /A little of / the victims have lost everything.

Do you know few much any of the evacuated families?

Luckily, none / some / many of / the firefighters were injured.

Many /  A few / Much of / the money is for housing.

Much / A little / Each of / us can help at the fundraiser.

We know that most any a little of the victims have a story.

Present Perfect Passive

You can use the present perfect passive to talk about a past action or event that has an impact in the present.

• New regulations have been announced by the government. safety expert.
• A decision has been made by the local council.

Remember, we often use the passive when the object of the action is more important than the agent (in other words, the person or thing that carried out the action). In fact, the agent can sometimes be dropped altogether.

 

• New regulations have been announced.
• The report has been compiled.
• A decision has been made.

'Hurricanes,' 'typhoons,' 'cyclones' and 'tornadoes'

• Violent oceanic storms with strong winds are referred to by different names, based on the ocean they are located in.
• Hurricane Bonnie hit the southeast coast of the US at speeds of over 90 miles per hour.
• A typhoon struck last night over the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, destroying many villages.    
• The weather system, off the coast of Chennai, has been upgraded tocyclone status.
• A rotating, vertical column of air that moves across land is called a tornado.
• The tornado traveled more than 10 miles across the state of Texas, picking up cars and destroying buildings.

Review: zero conditional

The zero conditional can be used to give instructions, advice, warnings or information. Notice that both the if clause and the result clause are in the present tense.

• If a tsunami occurs, move to higher ground right away.
• Keep away from the shoreline if a tsunami is approaching land.
• If there is a flood, do not go to a basement. 
• The tornado traveled more than 10 miles across the state of Texas, picking up cars and destroying buildings.
• A decision has been made.

Talking about your future

Use expressions like these to talk about your financial future:

- Gloria and I are consulting a financial planner.

- I'd like to build our investments.

- We should set up a college fund for the children.

Use expressions like these to talk about places you might want to live:

- My primary residence will be in Perth.

- But I'd like to buy a vacation home near the beach.

- Jill and I want to retire in the country.

Future Perfect.

Use future perfect to talk about something that will have happened before another future event. Say will have + past participle verb. The future event should be stated with a when, by or before expression in the present tense, unless the time is already understood.

 - I will have set up a college fund before my children turn 16.

 - I will have retired in the country by the time I'm 65. My kids will have graduated from college.

 - When I'm 60, I will have retired from my job and bought that beach house.

Future perfect questions and negatives are possible, but less common.

A: What will you have achieved by 2020?

B: We'll have set up a college fund, but we won't have made any significant investments.