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Ask for help > I need your help.
I need your help.
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tusea
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I need your help.
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I had a great week at school! We (1) _____________________ (to have) a media studies lesson when our teacher told us that we were going to make a radio advertisement for the school! I was really (2) _____________________ (fascinate/fascinated/fascinating) by the idea because I had been interested in a career in (3) _____________ (the/ -/ a) television since childhood. She asked us to plan our advertisement in detail and to write a script. Most people found it difficult to come up with ideas, but I didn’t. I decided that I would have interviews with people who (4)_____________________ (use/used/used to) go to our school, commenting on how they (5)_____________________ (to benefit) from going to that school. My teacher (6)_____________________ (to think) it was a great idea and said I should see if I could find some ex-students. I asked the headmistress and she gave me (7)_____________________ (a few/few/any) phone numbers. When I called them and explained what I wanted to do, they were all happy to help. This weekend I am going to visit them and record what they say. Unfortunately, I don’t have a camera now. If I (8) _____________________ (not to spend) all my money last year, I would have one now. I am looking forward to (9)_____________________ (to interview) school leavers. Our radio advertisement will be broadcast in a week. My teacher asked me (10)__________________________________________ (why did I like media studies so much/why I liked media studies so much/why do I like media studies so much). I told her that I enjoyed communicating with people. |
31 Mar 2017
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RabbitWho
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Why not make an attempt and then people here can help you with whatever you get wrong? |
31 Mar 2017
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mariec
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1. were having 2. fascinated 3 .- 4. used to 5. had benefitted 6. thought 7. a few 8. hadn´t spent 9. interviewing 10. why I liked media studies so much |
31 Mar 2017
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redcamarocruiser
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I thought the same thing as RabbitWho. My answers are the same as mariec �s.
edit: Bruce, "have benefitted" places the emphasis on the present�; the focus is on how the students profited from their experience and how they are still positively influenced by it. "Had benefited" focuses on the past and does not infer that the former students are still reaping the benefits. They may have moved on; they have closure. Using �had� places the experience in the closed off past. Using �have� implies that the students still feel connected to their experience.
In 10. I would prefer to use "why do I like media studies so much)" because the student is so enthusiastic, but we can�t because then we would have to change �enjoyed� to the present tense (to make it agree in tense with the previous sentence. Nonetheless, since the student still enjoys people, I would prefer the present tense.
So, to sum. Up, when we use present perfect in 5 or present in 10, it bridges the speaker�s feelings or perception of the experience with the present.
I don� know if others would agree with my feelings on this, but thank you, Bruce, for opening up this topic to discussion. I look forward to others� opinions on this.
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31 Mar 2017
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yanogator
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I think #5 is "have benefitted", but I don �t think I can defend the choice. It just sounds more natural to me. Can we discuss it? Thanks, Bruce |
31 Mar 2017
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tusea
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Thank You Very Much for Your Help! |
31 Mar 2017
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cunliffe
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Just as I always thought it was �focused � but have recently realised that �focussed � - ouch, it hurts my eyes  - is accepted, (I can �t bring myself to write �acceptable �), so I thought it was �benefited � and have just now realised that �benefitted � passes muster.  However, it is some small consolation that a red line has appeared under both of those alternative spellings.  Under �realised � as well! Hey ho!  |
31 Mar 2017
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yanogator
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Lynne, Generally you British don �t double the final consonant in the simple past, but we colonists do, but I �ve never written or seen "focussed". And, of course, we spell it "realized" over here. Bruce  |
31 Mar 2017
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Shalottslady
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Actually, as far as �benefited � and �focused � are concerned, the rule is pretty easy (for British English): I always tell my students that 2 conditions need to be fulfilled here: 1. the infinitive must end in vowel-consonant-vowel AND 2. the stress is on the last syllable If both conditions are fulfilled, then we double the last consonant before adding -ed or -ing. In the case of �benefit �, the first condition is fulfilled, but the stress is not on the last syllable, hence, you spell it with single �t �: benefited. Same rules apply for �focused �. The only exception are the verbs ending in a single vowel + �l �... they always double the �l � regardless the stress. Both past and present perfect are possible in my opinion for �had/have benefited � for the same reasons redcamarocruiser pointed out. One more remark perhaps... I find it quite strange that you ask for all (!) the answers to an exercise that you might give to your students. One would expect a teacher who is testing the students to know the answers. I suppose you could doubt one or two possibilities, but an entire exercise...? Hmmm.... Or perhaps I am totally mistaken here and you are a student looking for the answers to an exercise a teacher gave you ;) |
31 Mar 2017
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yanogator
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Thanks for adding to your reply, Mary. I hope the former students are still benefiting from their education, so I like "have benefitted" even more than before. Bruce |
31 Mar 2017
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cunliffe
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Interesting and yes, I think �have benefited �, bringing this right bang up to the present, suits better, but �had benefited � is not wrong. I only commented on the spellings because I was pulled up - by an English teacher - for writing �focused � which she insisted was �focussed �. Now, I would never argue about a spelling, but she had explicitly pointed out my �mistake �. I explained the rule (thank you, Shalottslady, spot on!) and mentioned that �targeted � followed the same pattern. She was straight on to google and found evidence that �focussed � was indeed accepted, so we were both right... You live and learn! |
1 Apr 2017
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