Table Of Content

Colloquial English Colloquial English provides a step-by-step course in English as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in English in a broad range of situations. Key features include: • progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills • structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar • an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises • realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios • useful explanations of idioms throughout the text • additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key and lists of irregular verbs. This second edition has been extensively revised and updated throughout, and includes up-to-date cultural information, an improved reference grammar and revised audio recordings. Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on two CDs or in MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquial English pack. Recorded by native speakers, the audio complements the book and will help enhance learners’ listening and speaking skills. Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial English is a complete English Language Course and will be an indispensable resource for independent learners and for instructors and students on TEFL and EFL courses. By the end of this course, you will be at Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages and at the Intermediate–High on the ACTFL proficiency scales. Gareth King is Series Advisor for the Routledge Colloquials Series and the author of numerous books on language and linguistics. THE COLLOQUIAL SERIES Series Adviser: Gary King The following languages are available in the Colloquial series: Afrikaans Greek Russian Albanian Gujarati Scottish Gaelic Amharic Hebrew Serbian Arabic (Levantine) Hindi Slovak Arabic of Egypt Hungarian Slovene Arabic of the Gulf Icelandic Somali Basque Indonesian Spanish Bengali Irish Spanish of Latin America Breton Italian Swahili Bulgarian Japanese Swedish Cambodian Kazakh Tamil Cantonese Korean Thai Catalan Latvian Tibetan (forthcoming) Chinese (Mandarin) Lithuanian Turkish Croatian Malay Ukrainian Czech Mongolian Urdu Danish Norwegian Vietnamese Dutch Panjabi Welsh English Persian Yiddish Estonian Polish Yoruba Finnish Portuguese Zulu (forthcoming) French Portuguese of Brazil German Romanian COLLOQUIAL2s series: The Next Step in Language Learning Chinese German Russian Dutch Italian Spanish French Portuguese of Brazil Spanish of Latin America All these Colloquials are available in book & CD packs, or separately. You can order them through your bookseller or via our website www.routledge.com. Colloquial English The Complete Course for Beginners Gareth King This second edition published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2005, 2014 Gareth King The right of Gareth King to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First published 2005 by Routledge British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data King, Gareth, 1955– Colloquial English: the complete course for beginners/Gareth King. – Second Edition. pages cm. – (The Colloquial Series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. English language – Textbooks for foreign speakers – Foreign speakers. 2. English language – Spoken English – Problems, exercises, etc. 3. English language – Grammar – Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title. PE1128.K4323 2014 428.2′4 – dc23 2013028348 ISBN: 978-0-415-83139-0 (pack) ISBN: 978-0-415-83140-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-48949-9 (ebk) ISBN: 978-0-415-83142-0 (CDs) ISBN: 978-0-415-83141-3 (MP3s) Typeset in Helvetica Neue and Avant Garde by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK I dedicate this book to the memory of my dear friend Buzz Burrell 1956–2003 who loved the English language always (cid:84)(cid:104)(cid:105)(cid:115)(cid:32)(cid:112)(cid:97)(cid:103)(cid:101)(cid:32)(cid:105)(cid:110)(cid:116)(cid:101)(cid:110)(cid:116)(cid:105)(cid:111)(cid:110)(cid:97)(cid:108)(cid:108)(cid:121)(cid:32)(cid:108)(cid:101)(cid:102)(cid:116)(cid:32)(cid:98)(cid:97)(cid:110)(cid:107) Contents Acknowledgements xi Introduction xii English spelling xiii IPA symbols xiv Grammatical terms used in this book xv 1 Pleased to meet you! 1 In this unit you will learn how to: • greet people • say goodbye to people • introduce yourself to someone • introduce someone to someone else • identify people 2 Where are you from? 21 In this unit you will learn how to: • use the negative • find out information about people • talk about things that happen regularly or all the time • use question words • say that something belongs to someone 3 Could you tell me where the bank is? 35 In this unit you will learn how to: • ask and say where things are • ask the way to places in town • talk about things that are happening now • give and understand instructions • tell people not to do something viii Contents 4 Have you got any bread? 50 In this unit you will learn how to: • use countable and uncountable nouns • ask for and buy things in shops • ask the price of something • use numbers • use British money • say that you want or don’t want something 5 What shall we do today? 68 In this unit you will learn how to: • make suggestions to do things • accept and decline suggestions • discuss plans • ask about and talk about likes and dislikes • offer people things • choose between things 6 Hello, could I speak to Vicki? 87 In this unit you will learn how to: • talk on the phone • ask for permission to do things • use pronoun indirect objects • make gentle suggestions • use time expressions 7 What date is it today? 104 In this unit you will learn how to: • talk about the future • tell someone what you plan or intend to do • talk about necessity and having to do things • use state verbs 8 Can I make an appointment? 125 In this unit you will learn: • how to make appointments over the phone • how to use ‘can’, ‘could’ and ‘should’ • how to use two verbs together • more about state verbs Contents ix 9 I’ve lost my passport! 144 In this unit you will learn how to: • talk about things that have happened recently • talk about a sequence of events • ask people about events that have already happened • form and use the past simple • form and use the present perfect • use some time adverbs 10 Which do you prefer? 164 In this unit you will learn how to: • compare things • express preferences • compare and contrast what people do • use adverbs of degree 11 I’ll see you at half past five! 185 In this unit you will learn how to: • make arrangements with people • tell the time • use other time expressions • buy tickets for public transport • use prepositions in wh-questions 12 You can’t be serious! 204 In this unit you will learn how to: • talk about what you and others have to do • say that you’re not sure about something • talk about possibilities and probabilities • use the TO-FORMafter different types of word 13 The people we met were fantastic! 222 In this unit you will learn how to: • use whoand thatin longer sentences • use prepositions in longer sentences • use more adverbs