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7 Review Review

Unit 7 Review

Unit 7

  • I CAN review past tenses, reported speech, and opinion language
Unit 7 Review
Lesson Review

Lesson Review

15 cards

Welcome to your Unit 7 review. Over the past few lessons you have practised three big areas of English: past tenses, reported speech, and opinion language. In this short article we will refresh the main rules, look at a few examples, and then set you a writing task so you can use everything together in one real piece of writing.

Past tenses: a quick reminder

English has several ways to talk about the past, and choosing the right one depends on how we see the action. Past simple is used for completed actions at a specific time: I visited Paris in 2019. Past continuous describes an action in progress at a particular moment, often interrupted by a shorter action: I was walking home when I saw the accident. Past perfect shows that one past action happened before another past action: The train had already left when we got to the station. Finally, used to describes habits or states in the past that are no longer true: She used to live in Manchester. Look at the table below for a quick comparison.

Tense Form Typical time signals
Past simple V2 / V-ed yesterday, last week, in 2010
Past continuous was / were + V-ing while, at 8 o'clock, when
Past perfect had + V3 already, before, by the time
Used to used to + V when I was young, in those days

Reported speech: shifting the focus

When we report what someone said, we usually shift the tense one step back. Direct speech repeats the original words: "I am tired," she said. Reported speech uses a reporting verb and the new tense: She said (that) she was tired. Common shifts include: present simple → past simple, present continuous → past continuous, past simple → past perfect, and will → would. Time and place words also change: today → that day, yesterday → the day before, now → then, here → there.

For questions, the word order returns to statement order, and we use if or whether: He asked me if I liked coffee. Reporting verbs are not all the same: say is followed by that and no person (She said she was busy); tell is followed by a person and then that (He told me that he was busy); ask is followed by a person and if / whether; mention and explain need a person and a noun phrase (He explained the problem to me).

Opinion language: speaking your mind politely

Expressing an opinion well is a real skill at B2 level. Useful phrases for giving opinions include: In my opinion, … / As far as I'm concerned, … / I tend to think that … / From my point of view, … To agree, you can say I completely agree, Absolutely, That's a good point, Exactly. To disagree politely, try I'm afraid I disagree, I see what you mean, but … / I'm not sure about that, The way I see it, … Hedging words like tend to, seem, appear, and possibly soften strong claims and make your writing sound more academic.

Writing task: a personal blog post

Now it is your turn. You will write a short blog post (around 180–220 words) about a memorable experience from your past. You should: use at least two different past tenses; include one example of reported speech; give your opinion about the experience; and use capital letters correctly at the start of sentences and for proper nouns. Use the PREPARE → WRITE → REVIEW flow below to help you.

ملخّص الوحدة السابعة

يا أهلاً بيك في ريفيو الوحدة السابعة! الوحدة دي غطّت تلات حاجات كبار في الإنجليزي على مستوى B2: الـ past tenses، الـ reported speech، وopinion language. خليني أديك شرح سريع لكل واحد فيهم.

1. أزمنة الماضي (Past Tenses)

عندك أربع أزمنة لازم تعرف تفرّق بينهم:

  • Past simple (V-ed): للأحداث اللي خلصت في وقت معيّن. مثال: I visited Paris in 2019.
  • Past continuous (was/were + V-ing): للفعل اللي كان شغّال في لحظة معيّنة واتقاطع بفعل تاني. مثال: I was walking home when I saw the accident.
  • Past perfect (had + V3): للفعل اللي حصل قبل فعل تاني في الماضي. مثال: The train had already left when we got to the station.
  • Used to: للعادات أو الحالات اللي كانت في الماضي وبطلت دلوقتي. مثال: She used to live in Manchester.

2. الكلام المُبلَّغ (Reported Speech)

لما تبلّغ كلام حد، بترجّع الزمن خطوة لورا:

  • Direct: "I am tired," she said.
  • Reported: She said (that) she was tired.

كمان الكلمات اللي بتدل على وقت ومكان بتتغيّر:

  • today → that day
  • yesterday → the day before
  • now → then
  • here → there

وأفعال الكلام ليها قواعد:

  • say + that (من غير شخص): She said she was busy.
  • tell + person + that: He told me that he was busy.
  • ask + person + if/whether: He asked me if I liked coffee.

3. لغة الرأي (Opinion Language)

دي مهارة مهمة عشان كلامك يبقى academic وقوي. جُمَل مفيدة:

  • In my opinion, …
  • As far as I'm concerned, …
  • I tend to think that …
  • From my point of view, …

للمُوافقة: I completely agree, Absolutely, That's a good point, Exactly.

للاعتراض بأدب: I'm afraid I disagree, I see what you mean, but …, The way I see it, …

كمان فيه hedging words زي tend to, seem, appear, possibly — دي بتخلّي رأيك مهذّب ومش قاسي.

التاسكال بتاعك: مدوّنة قصيرة

المطلوب منك تكتب blog post من 180 لـ 220 كلمة عن تجربة مميزة في حياتك. حاول تخلّي التلات مهارات يشتغلوا مع بعض: استخدم past tenses عشان تحكي القصة، وreported speech لو حد قالك حاجة، وopinion language عشان تضيف رأيك في الآخر.

يلّا، ابدأ بالـ review cards عشان تسخّن، وبعدين كمّل للـ writing task تحت! بالتوفيق.

Required

Yesterday at 7 p.m. I ___ dinner with my family when the doorbell rang.

Required

By the time the rain finally stopped, the football match ___.

Required

When I was a teenager, I ___ play tennis every Saturday morning.

Required

Put the words in the correct order to make a reported sentence.

  1. She
  2. said
  3. she
  4. was
  5. moving
  6. to
  7. Paris
  8. next
Required

Drag the correct past-tense form into each gap.

  • had already
  • used to
  • were playing
  • was walking

I home from school when I saw the accident.

She left for the airport before I called her.

We visit my grandparents every summer holiday.

They football when the storm started.

Required

Match each reporting verb with the correct word that follows it.

Match each reporting verb with the correct word that follows it.

  • I told my friend ___ about the trip.
  • She said ___ feeling much better.
  • He asked me ___ to the party.
  • They mentioned ___ late for the meeting.
  • I explained the problem ___ carefully.
  • the truth
  • she was
  • if I was going
  • they would be
  • to him
Required

Sort each phrase into the right function: agreeing, disagreeing politely, or giving your opinion.

  • I completely agree with you.
  • Absolutely.
  • That's a really good point.
  • I'm afraid I disagree.
  • I'm not sure about that.
  • I see what you mean, but …
  • In my opinion, …
  • As far as I'm concerned, …
  • I tend to think that …

Agreeing

Disagreeing politely

Giving your opinion

Required

A colleague says: 'As far as I'm concerned, the training session was a waste of time.' What is the colleague doing?

  • Asking a question about the session
  • Giving a personal opinion about the session
  • Telling a story about the session
Required

In reported speech, the direct sentence 'I will call you tomorrow' usually becomes 'He said he would call me the next day.'

Required

Read this opinion sentence aloud with confidence. Keep the rhythm natural, with a short pause after 'In my opinion,'.

In my opinion, learning English has changed my life completely.

PREPARE — gather your ideas before writing. In a notebook, answer these prompts in note form: (1) What memorable experience will you write about? (2) When and where did it happen? (3) What did you say to someone about it, or what did they say to you? (this is where your reported speech will go) (4) What is your opinion of the experience now? (5) Which two or three past tenses will you use? Finally, plan your opening sentence using past simple and one opinion phrase, e.g. 'I'll never forget the day when …'

WRITE — now write your blog post (180–220 words). Start with a hook such as 'I'll never forget the day when …' Use past simple to set the scene, past continuous for what was happening, and past perfect if one event happened before another. Include at least one example of reported speech, for example: 'I told my mum that I had never felt so proud.' End with a clear opinion using phrases like 'In my opinion' or 'As far as I'm concerned.'

REVIEW — check your blog post before you finish. (1) Have you used at least two different past tenses correctly? (2) Did you include one example of reported speech with the right tense shift? (3) Have you used opinion language such as 'In my opinion', 'I tend to think', or 'I see your point'? (4) Are capital letters used at the start of sentences and for proper nouns (names, places, days of the week)? (5) Is the post between 180 and 220 words? Read it aloud once to hear the rhythm.

Required