Meeting 11th

 Assalamualaikum Wr.Wb.

Shalom

Halloo

➢ Reporting Quantities

In presentations and reports, you may need to talk about how much of something there is. The words you can use to do this depend on the thing you are describing. New language "Few," "little,'' and "all", Vocabulary Meetings, New skill Talking about quantity. 

• KEY LANGUAGE "FEW" FOR SMALL NUMBERS 

"Few" is used with plural countable nouns to say that there are not many of something.
It emphasizes how small the number is. Few = not many, there have been few new customers this quarter. "Few" can also be used as pronoun to mean "not many". So few are willing to spend money for the deluxe range. "A few" is used with countable nouns to mean "some." It emphasizes that the number, though small, is enough. A few = some, I have a few suggestions for how to improve sales. "Very" can be used to stress that the number of something is even smaller. We have very few items left in stock.

• MARK THE SENTENCES THAT ARE CORRECT

Example :

- You'll be glad to hear that we still have a few options available to us this year.

- We'll have to reduce the price. Very few customers have bought our new jeans. 

- So few people pay by check these days that we no longer accept this form of payment. 

- Unfortunately, we've had few inquiries about our new spa treatments.

• KEY LANGUAGE "LITTLE" FOR SMALL AMOUNTS

"Little" is used with uncountable nouns to say that there is not much of something in UK English. It emphasizes how small the amount is. Little = not much, I have little doubt that next year will be challenging. "Little" can also be used as a pronoun to mean "not much". Very little can be done to improve the short-term performance. "A little" is used with uncountable nouns to mean "some." It emphasizes that the amount, though small, is enough. A little = some, the summer should offer a little boost to sales. Informally, "a (little) bit of" can be used instead of "a little". There's a little bit of time left to discuss our options.

• CROSS OUT THE INCORRECT WORD IN EACH SENTENCE, THEN SAY THE SENTENCES OUT LOUD

Example:

- I'm afraid that there are few options left for us to explore. 

- Unfortunately, there is little chance of us winning this contract.

- I have a few ideas that I really think could improve our brand image.

- There is still a little time left before we need to submit the report.

- Kelvin has little understanding of accountancy.

- So few people have bought this TV that we’re going to stop production.

• KEY LANGUAGE "ALL” AS A PRONOUN

"All" can sometimes be used as a pronoun to mean either "everything" or "the only thing". All =everything, I hope all goes well in the presentation. All = the only thing, all we can do is hope that they like the product.

• REWRITE THE SENTENCES, PUTTING THE WORDS IN THE CORRECT ORDER

Example:

- about-told-all-you-know-have-it.-I (I have told you all I know about it).

- do-can-is-your-mistake.-apologize-All-for-you (All you can do is apologize for your mistake).

- expect-I-is-tasks.-to-All-complete-for-staff-their (All I expect is for staff to complete their tasks).

• MATCH THE PAIRS OF SENTENCES THAT MEAN THE SAME THING

Example:

- There's little money left in the budget (We don't have much money).

- All we need is a photo of the product (The only thing we need is a photo).

- There's a little bit of money left (We have some money).

• LISTEN TO THE AUDIO AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

A sales executive is reporting to his manager about the results from

the last quarter.

Example:

- There are very few dog toys left (true). 

- The Woof Doggy toy is a new product (not given).

- It'll be easy to get the supplier to deliver more toys (false).

➢ Checking Information

Sometimes you may need to clarify whether you have understood a point. There are a number of ways to politely check information in conversation.

• KEY LANGUAGE SUBJECT QUESTIONS

In English, most questions ask about the person or thing receiving that action (the object). If you want to find out or confirm who or what did an action,you can use subject questions. Who took the minutes? (Question doesn't use "did"). Miranda took the minutes (The answer is the subject of the question).

• FURTHER EXAMPLES SUBJECT QUESTIONS

Example:

- What is on the agenda? The new project is on the agenda.

- Who is going to the conference? We are all going to the conference!

• HOW TO FORM SUBJECT QUESTIONS

"Who" (for people} and "what" (for things) are the most common pronouns used in subject questions. Subject = Who, Verb = took (There is no inversion of word order in subject questions), Object = the minutes?.

• REWRITE THE QUESTIONS, PUTTING THE WORDS IN THE CORRECT ORDER

Example:

- the-is-problem?-What (What is the problem?).

- manager-Who-the-is (Who is the manager?).

- the-What's-in-report? (What's in the report?).

• MARK THE BEST QUESTION FOR EACH SITUATION

Example:

- Who called the bank? Joe called the bank.

- What are our most popular products? Denim jeans are our most popular product.

- Do you need to book the meeting? Yes, I do.

• KEY LANGUAGE QUESTION TAGS

Another way to check information is by using question tags. The simplest question tags use the verb "be" with a pronoun matching the subject of the sentence.

For most verbs other than "be", a present simple statement is followed by a question tag with "do" or "does".

A past simple statement is followed by a question tag with "did".

A statement with an auxiliary verb is followed by a question tag with the same auxiliary.

Statements with modal verbs such as "could", "would", and "should " are followed by question tags with the same modal.

• HOW TO FORM QUESTION TAGS

A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag, and a negative statement is followed by a positive question tag. Positive Statement = I'm late (I'm = Verb is positive), Negative Question Tag = aren't I? (aren't Question tag uses negative form of verb), Negative Statement = I'm not late (I'm Verb is ngative), Positif Question Tag = am I? (Question tag uses negative form of verb).

• MATCH THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SENTENCES TO THE CORRECT QUESTION TAGS

Example:

- I'm invited to the meeting, (aren't I?).

- You haven't read my proposal, (couldn't he?).

- Sean could give the presentation, (didn't she?).

• FILL IN THE GAPS USING THE CORRECT QUESTION TAGS

Example:

- You haven't sent the report yet, (have you)?. 

- Alice would know the answer, (wouldn't she)?.

- I'm not dressed formally enough, (am I)?.

• VOCABULARY POLITE CHECKS AND ECHO QUESTIONS

There are also certain set phrases you can use to politely check information.

You can also repeat the important word or phrase you want to check, or echo part or all of the sentence with a question word or phrase at the end.

• LISTEN TO THE AUDIO AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

A sales assistant is calling her manager to check a few details and confirm information.

Example:

- Discounts are offered to long-term customers (not given).

- If a customer buys 1,000 units, they get 15% off (false).

- They already work with companies in Asia (true).

• CROSS OUT THE INCORRECT WORDS IN EACH SENTENCE, THEN SAY THE SENTENCES OUT LOUD

Example:

- What was the name of the company? I didn't hear. 

- Who s working on the project for the new office?. 

- You identified the mistake, didn't you?.