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Unit 6: Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
Modals of deduction and speculation - present and past

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  1. 1Pop-ups
  2. 2Hidden talents
  3. 3Can't buy me love
  4. 4Travellers' tales
  5. 5The colleague from hell
  6. 6Jurassic mystery: unpacking the past
  7. 7Career changes
  8. 8Art
  9. 9Project management
  10. 10The dog ate my homework!
  11. 11The diary of a double agent
  12. 12Fashion forward
  13. 13Flat pack skyscrapers
  14. 14Extreme sports
  15. 15Food fads
  16. 16Me, my selfie and I
  17. 17Endangered animals
  18. 18A nip and a tuck: cosmetic surgery
  19. 19I'm really sorry...
  20. 20Telling stories
  21. 21Fakes and phrasals
  22. 22Looking to the future
  23. 23Becoming familiar with things
  24. 24From rags to riches
  25. 25Against the odds
  26. 26Our future on Mars?
  27. 27Where is it illegal to get a fish drunk?
  28. 28Dodgy dating
  29. 29Annoying advice
  30. 30I'll have been studying English for thirty weeks

Session 4

Neil's lunch has gone missing. Did Rob steal it? Find out in this session and also learn how English speakers make three words into one, using double contractions.

ክፍለ-ስራሓት ናይዚ ምዕራፍ

1234

ድምር ነጥቢ ናይዚ ክፍለ-ስራሓት 4

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    Activity 2
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    Activity 3
  1. Activity 1
  2. Activity 2
  3. Activity 3

Activity 2

How to pronounce contractions

Listen and repeat

In this activity, you can listen to some clips from Neil and Rob's argument about the missing sandwich again. Neil will repeat the sentences slowly for you and explain how we make double contractions.

Then Neil will give you some clear models of the pronunciation. All you have to do is listen and repeat!

ነቲ ድምጺ ብምስማዕ ነቲ ስራሕ ፈጽምዎ

ነቲ ቅዳሕ ጽሑፍ ኣርእይዎ ነቲ ቅዳሕ ጽሑፍ ሕብእዎ

Hi everyone, Neil here. I'd like to help you to pronounce some of these double contractions we've heard in this session. We'll start with the ones from my little argument with Rob about my sandwiches. Here are the key sentences again.

Insert
it can't've been me because I've just eaten some pizza with Finn and I'm full.

Did you get that? He said, "It can't've been me because I've just eaten some pizza with Finn and I'm full." That's cannot have, cannot have. Can't've.

Here's another one:

Insert
...so it mightn't've been Rob after all.

And so I said, "It mightn't've been Rob after all." Mightn't've. That's might not have. Mightn't've.

Here's the next one:

Insert
...it mustn't've Rob who stole my lunch then.

That's, "So it mustn't've Rob who stole my lunch then." Mustn't've. That's must not have. Musn't've.

And the last one:

Insert
No it couldn't've been Rob because he just had the most delicious pizza...

That was, "No it couldn't've been Rob because he just had a delicious pizza." Couldn't've. Couldn't've. That's could not have.

Right, now let's break them down and then build them up again. And when I say 'repeat' then repeat after me. Good luck!

Could not have - Couldn't've. Couldn't've. And repeat after me. Couldn't've.

Might not have - Mightn't've. Mightn't've. Repeat after me. Mightn't've.

Must not have - Mustn't've. Mustn't've. And repeat after me. Mustn't've.

Cannot have - Can't've. Can't've. And repeat after me. Can't've.

Well done! And here are some more common double contractions that we didn't hear in the recording today:

I would have - I'd've. I'd've. And repeat after me. I'd've.

You would have - You'd've. You'd've. And repeat after me. You'd've.

He would have - He'd've. He'd've. And repeat after me. He'd've.

She would have - She'd've. She'd've. And repeat after me. She'd've.

We would have - We'd've. We'd've. And repeat after me. We'd've. OK, and just one more...

They would have - They'd've. They'd've. And repeat after me. They'd've.

Download

You can download this activity from our Intermediate Unit 6 Downloads page. 

Next

There's one more activity in this session. Listen to see if you hear single or double contractions.

Session Vocabulary

  • When we make two words into one, we call them contractions:

    could have - could've

    Sometimes we make three words into one. We call these double contractions:

    could not have - couldn't've

    We use apostophes to show where the missing letters were in the new contracted word:

    Single contraction: Might not - mightn't

    Double contraction: Might not have - mightn't've

    Here are some common double contractions:

    Could not have - Couldn't've

    Might not have - Mightn't've

    Must not have - Mustn't've

    Cannot have - Can't've

    I would have - I'd've

    You would have - You'd've

    He would have - He'd've

    She would have - She'd've

    We would have - We'd've

    They would have - They'd've

ምሉእ መወከስ ማህደረ-ቃላት ተመልከት

መራገፊ ማእከል

ትሕዝቶ ናይ ሓድሽ ትምህርቲ