P
ASSER
-
BY
: MegaSave, I think. Shall I write it down for you?
N
INA
: No, I think I’ve got it. Thanks a lot.
P
ASSER
-
BY
: Bye!
1 Hang on = ‘Wait a moment’
Language point 17 – commands
The
BASE
-
FORM
of the verb can be used on its own to tell someone
to do something:
Open the door
Close the window
Lock the door
But in colloquial English this way of giving commands is rather
short and can sound rude.
If we want to give someone directions or instructions, however,
it is okay to use the base-form:
Turn left at the traffic lights
Go straight ahead
Plug the computer in and switch on

Instead of giving commands (Language point 17), we usually ask
people to do things for us. To do this, we put an
AUXILIARY
before
the base-form: Could you . . . ? Or Would you . . . ?, and at the end
of the sentence we can add please:
Could you open the window (please)?
Would you close the door (please)?
Or we can use the auxiliary as a
TAG
, and start with the base-form:
Open the door, could you?
Close the door, would you?
Don’t forget the auxiliary tag here – otherwise it will sound rude.
Exercise 2
Correct these instructions and requests. Be careful! One of them
doesn’t need correcting.
1 Slip not on the ice! ________________________
2 Wait please here a minute. ________________________
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

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3 Be not rude to customers! ________________________
4 Do this work now, please. ________________________
5 Don’t please throw litter. ________________________
6 Open the door, you could? ________________________
7 You could close the door, ________________________
please?
8 Do wait not for me. ________________________
Dialogue 3
Terry is looking for the bus station.
T
ERRY
: Excuse me, am I going the right way for the bus
station?
P
ASSER
-
BY
: Let’s see now . . . yes – keep going down here till you
reach the traffic lights, then turn right and you’ll see
the bus station at the end of the road.
T
ERRY
: Thanks a lot.
P
ASSER
-
BY
: Quite all right.

1 John’s book The book of John
2 The road’s end The end of the road
3 My sister’s clothes The clothes of my sister
4 The house’s top The top of the house
5 The week’s end The end of the week
6 Alice’s new car The new car of Alice
7 The pool’s bottom The bottom of the pool
8 The night’s middle The middle of the night
9 My brother’s house The house of my brother
10 Our cat’s ears The ears of our cat
Dialogue 4
Sasha is lost – she’s looking for the art gallery. In the end, a passer-
by notices her.
P
ASSER
-
BY
: You look lost – can I help?
S
ASHA
: Oh thank you – yes, I am a bit lost, I’m afraid. I’m
trying to find the art gallery.
P
ASSER
-
BY
: That’s miles away! No wonder you look lost! Get the
22 bus from the corner here, and get off at Southwold
Terrace. Then turn left into York Avenue, and carry
on until you get to the gallery.

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41
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P
ASSER
-
BY
: Certainly . . . [writes it down for Sasha]
. . . there you are.
S
ASHA
: Thank you for your help.
P
ASSER
-
BY