From the History of the English Language

For a long time there were 3 languages in England. There was Latin, the language of church and law. All learned men wrote and spoke Latin, too. Then there was French, the language of the aristocracy of nobles. Finally there was the English language which remained the language of common people. Gradually the differences between the two races vanished and the use of French died out. The English language prevailed. But the English language when it came into general use was not quite the same as it was before the Conquest. It had been changed in some respects by the French language. Now you can understand why the pronunciation of English words differ so much from their spelling.

As you see very many English words are borrowed from other languages. We can find the remains of Old German words which were brought from the continent. There are many Latin words borrowed by the Anglo-Saxons from the Romans such as wine, money, mill, dish, cock, school and many more.
We find many French words brought by the Normans. And every language has its own rules of pronunciation, and that is why many borrowed words retain their original spelling but changed their pronunciation.

Часть. Грамматические задания.

I. Вставьте глаголы to be в нужном времени: (Present, Past, Future).

1. I think you … good specialists.

2. Your friends from other groups … specialists too.

3. All of you … group-mates now.

4. My father … a teacher.

5. He … a pupil twenty years ago.

6. She … in St. Petersburg tomorrow.

II. Вставьте глаголы to have в нужном времени.

1. John … a diploma in five years.

2. The students … four lessons every day.

3. His brother … a computer at home.

4. Mary … two brothers.

5. … you a brother?

6. … our city two universities two years ago?

III. Раскройте скобки, употребляя глаголы в Present Continuous или в Present Simple.

1. I (to read) books in the evening.

2. I (not to read) books in the morning.

3. I (to write) an exercise now.

4. I (not to write) a letter now.

5. They (to play) in the yard now.

6. Where John (to live)? – He (to live) in England.

7. He (to help) his mother every day.

8. They (not to help) their mother every day.

9. My friend (not to like) to play football.

10. I (not to read) now. – I (to write) now.

IV. Раскройте скобки, употребляя глаголы в Present Continuous, Present Simple или Future Simple.

1. He (to go) to the theatre tomorrow.

2. We (to go) to school in the morning.

3. Look! Kate (to go) to school.

4. You (to help) your mother tomorrow?

5. I (not to play) the guitar now.

6. My brother (to play) the guitar every evening.

7. They (not to take) care of the garden next summer.

8. You (to like) apples?

9. You (to eat) apples tomorrow?

10. Nick (to read) many books.