Wirtschaftsinformatik (Bachelor-Studiengang): Technisches Englisch (2. Semester)
Sie sind hier: Startseite › Wirtschaftsinformatik › Technisches Englisch: Grammar
SM / CM, Kurs vom 01.10.2002 - 31.03.2003
- -ing and infinitive: verbs + -ing form or infinitive
- Conditional clauses
- Gerund
- Describing cause and effect
-ing and infinitive: verbs + -ing form or infinitive
Verbs followed by the -ing form
We delayed launching the product because of technical
problems.
I look forward to meeting you again next week.
- avoid
- can't help
- can't stand
- carry on (weitermachen)
- consider
- delay
- deny (verlängern)
- dislike
- enjoy
- finish
- involve
- justify
- like
- look forward to*
- mind
- miss
- postpone (verschieben)
- practise
- put off
- risk
- suggest
* In the expression look forward to, the word to is a preposition. Prepositions (e.g. in, on, at, with, from) are always followed by the -ing form rather than the infinitive.
Expressions + -ing:
It's not worth repairing the machine. It would be cheaper to buy a new one.
- It's a waste of time/money ...
- There's no point (in) ...
- It's no use ...
- It's (not) worth ...
Verbs followed by to + infinitive
I have arranged to meet the visitors at the factory.
- afford (leisten)
- agree (zustimmen)
- arrange (arrangieren)
- attempt
- claim (fordern, behaupten)
- decide (entscheiden)
- demand (fordern)
- deserve (verdienen)
- expect (erwarten)
- fail (scheitern)
- guarantee (garantieren)
- hesitate (zögern)
- hope (hoffen)
- learn (lernen)
- manage (erreichen)
- neglect (vernachlässigen)
- offer (anbieten)
- plan (planen)
- prepare (vorbereiten)
- pretend (vorgeben)
- promise (versprechen)
- refuse (ablehnen)
- seem (scheinen)
- tend (neigen zu)
- threaten (bedrohen)
- train (üben)
- want (mögen)
- would like
Passive forms:
The passive of the -ing form is made with being + past participle (e.g. being done):
Everyone likes being congratulated when they have worked hard.
The passive infinitive is formed by to be + past participle (e.g. to be done):
She expects to be promoted soon.
Linking clauses with -ing and -ed participles
Both -ing forms (participle 1 or present participle) and
-ed forms (participle 2 or past participle) can be used to
link two clauses,
allowing to be expressed economically:
The firm began to use computer technology.
The firm sped up its transactions.
The firm improved.
-> The firm improved using computer technology to speed up its transactions.
A new system was manufactured.
A considerable amount of expertise was required to manufacture the
new system was considerable.
-> The expertise required to manufacture the new system was considerable.
We use an -ing if we wish to express these types of ideas in an active sentence, and an -ed form to express them in a passive sentence eg.:
active: The firm uses computer technology.
passive: Expertise is required to manufacture the new system.
Relative clauses with a
participle are often used in technical descriptions.
They allow you to provide a lot of information about a noun using
as few words as possible.
- The technology needed to set up a home network
- PC equipped with Ethernet adapters
- Network modem allowing clients to access the Internet simultaneously
- Data line linking client to server
We can use the passive participle as in examples 1 and 2:
- The technology needed to set up a home network
= technology which is needed - PC equipped with Ethernet adapters
= PC which are equipped
We can use the active participle as in examples 3 and 4:
- Network modem allowing clients to access the Internet
simultaneously
= modem which allows clients to access the Internet simultaneously - Data line linking client to server
= data line which links clients to server
Conditional clauses
Conditional 1
if / when + present, will / imperative / modalverb + infinitive.
If or when?
- I don`t think you'll have any problems, but call me if you do.
- Mrs Barton is coming this afternoon. Could you send her up when she arrives?
- We won't be able to complete if we don't modernize our production plant.
- Put that on my bill please, and I'll pay when I check out.
- I will feel very disappointed if I don't get promotion this year.
- Sales are low this spring, but they will improve when summer starts.
Variations:
- I'll be at a meeting this afternoon, so if Pierre calls, tell him I'll give him a ring later.
- Okay, but there's one other thing. You've got a meeting with Mr Sachs at 5.00. Will you be back by then?
- It depends, really, but I'll call you. If the meeting goes on after 4.30, you can cancel my appointment with Mr Sachs. But if it has already finished by then, I may be able to get back in time.
- Anything else?
- Yes, if you manage to get hold of Kevin, you must get the October sales figures from him. I need them today. The Chairman may come to the sales meeting tomorrow, and if he does, he is going to want to see them.
Some more sentences:
- If you finish everything that needs to be done before five, you can go home.
- Mr Lo probably won't want to go out for dinner if he has a meal on the plane.
- If it is their first visit to England, I expect they might want to do some sightseeing.
- I may go and visit their headquarters if I go to London next week.
- Please don't hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.
- What should I do if everyone is still talking when I want to start my presentation?
- If you go to Paris next week, I can give you the name of a good hotel I know.
Conditional 2
if + past simple, would / could / might + infinitive.
Form:
- My session with the career counsellor was a bit of a waste of time.
- Really? Why?
- Well, firstly, he recommended moving to London, but that's impossible. If I got a job in London, I would have to spend at least four hours a day on the train, and I'm not going to do that.
- Couldn't you move?
- No, because if I moved to London, I would need to sell the house, and I don't want to do that at the moment.
- Did he have any other ideas?
- He suggested retraining to become an accountant, but that's not a solution either. Even if I started next week, I would not be qualified for at least three years, and that es too long. So I don't really know what I'm going to do.
Imaginary situations:
The reason I can't contact them is that I haven't got
their address.
But ... if I had their address, I would contact them.
The reason I work so hard is that I enjoy my job.
But ... if I didn't enjoy my job, I wouldn't work so
hard.
The reason we are the market leaders is that we spend so much on
R&D.
But ... if we didn't spend so much on R&D we
wouldn't be the market leaders.
The reason I won't give you an answer is that I haven't got
the authority.
But ... if I had the authority, I would give you an answer.
Conditional 3
if + had (not) + participate 2, would / could / might (not) + have + participate 2.
Form:
- If we had known that the company was in financial difficulty, we would not have done business with them.
- We would have won that contract if we had made a better offer.
- They would have gone out of business years ago if they hadn't invested in new technology.
- Would sales have been higher if the price had been lower?
- If we had waited a few more months, we would have saved a great deal of money on the new computers.
- The company would have moved earlier if it had found suitable premises.
- Would you have accepted the new job if they had offered it to you?
- If the flight had been delayed, I would have stayed at the airport hotel.
Positives and negatives:
- If our competitor had brought out their new model in the first quarter, our sales would not have held up.
- If they had not had technical problems, their new model would have come out sooner.
- If there had been an increase in VAT, demand would have dropped.
- If we had not launched an advertising campaign, our sales would not have risen.
- If the campaign had not been successful, we would have cut prices.
- If we had not brought out the new xyz 8181, our market share would not have gone up.
- If we had won the Best Fax award, we would have reached our target of 30 % of the market.
Mixed Conditionals:
if + had (not) + participate 2, would + infinitive.
Gerund
Gerund as a subject
Walking is good for you.
Talking in class is not allowed.
Any verb can become a gerund in this way.
Gerund as an object with certain verbs
I enjoy playing the guitar.
He delayed going to the doctor.
This can only be done with some verbs - you need to learn them!
english | deutsch |
---|---|
to stop to finish to delay postpone to fancy |
aufhören aufhören verzögern verschieben sich vorstellen, Lust haben |
to imagine to consider to avoid to admit to deny |
sich vorstellen in Erwägung ziehen vermeiden zugeben leugnen |
to miss to risk to involve to practise to enjoy |
vermissen riskieren beinhalten üben genießen, gefallen |
to mind to suggest to give up to put off to keep (on) |
etwas dagegen haben vorschlagen aufgeben aufschieben fortfahren |
to dislike (I) can't stand to mention |
nicht mögen aushalten erwähnen |
Gerund after...
This can only be done with some adjectives / verbs / nouns - they also need to be learnt!
... Verb + preposition:
I apologize for being late.
english | deutsch |
---|---|
to apologize for to insist on to think of to decide against to prevent somebody from |
sich entschuldigen für bestehen auf denken an, erwägen sich gegen etwas entscheiden jemanden von etwas abhalten |
to thank somebody for to succeed in to dream of to congratulate somebody on to accuse somebody of to warn somebody of/against |
jemandem danken für gelingen, Erfolg haben bei träumen von jemandem gratulieren zu jemanden einer Sache beschuldigen, anklagen jemanden vor etwas warnen |
to look forward to to be used to to get used to to contribute to to object to |
sich auf etwas freuen gewöhnt sein an sich an etwas gewöhnen beitragen zu Einwände haben gegen |
... Adjective + preposition:
She is good at playing cricket.
english | deutsch |
---|---|
to be good at to be fond of to afraid of to be interested in to be proud of to be surprised at |
gut sein in begeistert sein von fürchten interessiert sein an stolz sein auf überrascht sein von, über |
... Noun + preposition:
They had no chance of being promoted.
english | deutsch |
---|---|
risk of danger of possibility of chance of opportunity of |
Risiko des/der/eines ... Gefahr Möglichkeit Chance, Gelegenheit Gelegenheit |
experience in interest in reason for |
Erfahrung in/bei Interesse an Grund für |
How about ...? What about ...? |
Wie wäre es mit ...? Wie steht es denn mit ...? |
Gerund as Adverbial Phrase
Apart from taking to long, cycling to work is too
tiring!
Instead of sleeping he got up and went to work.
By learning vocabulary you will improve your language.
In taking the money she became a criminal.
On seeing his face, she knew something was wrong.
- apart from
- instead of
- rather than
- by
- without
- in
- on
Describing cause and effect
Using cause and make
cause + to + verb:
A date or event occurs which causes the trigger routine to run.
make + verb:
A date or event occurs which makes the trigger routine run.
Sequence of events + causative verb
The trigger routine runs, which activates the payload routine.
causative verbs:
- to active
- to initiate
- to begin
- to run
- to start
- to kick start
- to introduce
The computer is switched on, which initiates the boot up sequence, which activates windows, which starts Microsoft Word.
When clause
When the trigger routine runs, the payload is activated.