1

• Being determined to succeed
• Keeping “in” with people
• Being ruthless
• Taking more risks than others
• Appearing active and fast-moving
• Staying ahead of the game
• Managing “others” in pursuit of your objectives
• Holding on to your successes and blaming failures on others
• Standing out from the crowd – being noticed by the right people

2

• Standing up for what you believe in
• Taking the initiative – having your own list of priorities for job success
• Taking account of the ethical and moral dimension in business decisions
• Taking a minority position if you believe it to be right
• Sticking up for your team and taking responsibility for their mistakes
• Doing a good job, quietly and effectively, without seeking the credit
• Looking out for problems others have not seen in a decision and
• highlighting them
• Getting on with your life outside of work
• Looking out for your colleagues
  
  

Read the next text. Do you find any of the snakes and ladders surprising?

Watch the video:

The partners at Coben Walsh, a small but expanding accountancy practice, are considering making changes to their recruitment policy. In the past, they have always recruited graduates, but now they are finding it increasingly difficult to attract suitable candidates. Heidi Dawson, the partner responsible for Human Resources, together with her new deputy, Arun Chauhan, have been investigating the option of creating a career path for school leavers. They have now called a meeting with the other partners, Andy Coben and Rachel Walsh.

Can you predict some of the issues that could be discussed during this meeting?

Listen to Extract 1 from audio 9 and, referring to the agenda above,

1. note the points on the agenda that are covered
2. the points where disagreement or interruptions occur.

Now, listen to Extract 2 from audio 10 and answer these questions:

1. What are the proposed conditions for school-leaver entrants?
2. Why does Heidi think school-leavers would want to work for their firm?
3. Why does Rachel think it would be better to focus on improving graduate intake?

 

Key expressions

Managing the discussion

• So, let’s get started …
• The purpose of today’s meeting is …
• Can I suggest we come back to …
• Coming back to …
• I’ll get onto / come to that in a moment …

Involving people

• Perhaps you would like to talk us through …
• Did you want to talk about …

Asking / giving permission to speak

• Would this be the right moment to mention …
• Could I just say something …
• If I could just come in here for a moment …
• Yes, go ahead.

Putting forward unpopular ideas

• I know you’re not keen on it, but …
• You probably won’t like this idea, but …
• I’m not sure what your feelings are about this, but …

Putting forward ideas you are confident about

• I’m sure you’ll all understand the need to …
• The obvious solution to this problem must be to …

Putting forward ideas under consideration

• We were wondering if …
• Something else we’ve been wondering about is …

Disagreeing or expressing reservations

• It’s interesting you should say that, but …
• Actually, …
• You’re absolutely right, but ...

Culture Questions

1. Is it appropriate in your culture to openly criticise ideas you don’t like or agree with?
2. Do you think that different cultures have different attitudes to open criticism?

Expressing Attitudes to the past

The third conditional

Use the third conditional to talk about past situations that did not happen.

• If you had chased up the reference, you would have known not to employ him.

Note that only the situation in the clause with the had (the if clause) must be in the past. The other situation can be past, present or future: something that did not happen, something that is not happening or will not happen, but which is linked to the situation in the conditional (if) clause.

• If I had got the job at Chelco, I would have been made redundant when the company folded. (past situation, past result)
• If I had got the job, I would have been able to afford to buy a house by now. (past situation, present result)
• If I had got the job, I would have been able to retire in two years’ time. (past situation, future result)

Whilst the result clause usually uses would, we can use might for a less likely result and could for a possibility.

• If we had reduced our prices, more people might have bought our products.
• If you’d told me before about the operation, I could have arranged cover for you.

In informal, spoken English, we can use ‘d as a short form of the had in the conditional clause and ‘d as a short form of the would in the result.

• I’d have phoned if I’d known.

We often use the third conditional to express regret or criticism for past actions or omissions.

• If I had sold my shares back in May, I would have made a decent profit.

When the past situation is negative, the effect is often to congratulate ourselves or others for decisions taken. This can also be the case with past situations that are not grammatically negative but are seen as undesirable.

• If you hadn’t warned us about that company, we would have had serious problems. Thank you so much.
• If we had followed the consultant’s advice, we would have gone bankrupt. It’s a very good thing we didn’t.

Perfect modals

The bolded result clause in this third conditional sentence would make sense on its own. This part of the sentence is a perfect modal (a modal verb followed by a perfect infinitive).

• If we had invested in Northern Rock, we would have lost nearly everything.

This pattern is particularly useful to talk about our likely actions if we were in the situation described.

• I would have told my manager straight away, rather than hiding everything.

We can also use could, might, should, ought to and needn’t to talk about things that did not happen in the past. Note that should and ought to often express irritation or criticism and that might and could can also do this in certain situations.

• You could have told me you’d be late.
• I might have known the distributors would let us down.
• They should have consulted me about the cancellation.
• They ought to have warned us about the strike.
• You needn’t have sent flowers, but they are lovely.

Other ways of expressing conditions

There are several other words we can use instead of if in a conditional phrase.

• If we had invested in Northern Rock, we would have lost nearly everything.
• Suppose / Supposing we had invested in Northern Rock …
• Imagine we had invested in Northern Rock …

We can use if only to emphasise regrets or wishes.

• If only we hadn’t moved house, we would be sitting on a house worth €1m by now.

We use even if to talk about an unreal past situation, but to make the point that it would make no difference to the result clause.

• Even if we had been able to maintain our schedules, the manufacturers would not have been able to keep to theirs.

Note that we do not use unless with the same meaning as if not in third conditionals. However, we can use it with the meaning except if.

• I wouldn’t have employed him, unless he had had exceptional references.

We can use whether when we are talking about two or more past situations that would have had the same result.

• Whether we had given the job to Hogg, Curtis or Stephens, they would have had an almost impossible task ahead.

Case Study

Axtrin Pharmaceuticals is a world leader in the development and marketing of medicines for patients and medical practitioners. With its HQ in Berlin, Germany, the company employs some 25,000 people worldwide. In 2002, the company established a new career review process, in order to help staff plan their long-term careers with the company.

Listen to audio 13 to hear a manager from Training and Development at Axtrim explain how they established a career review process with tmpg’s help.

1. How did the establishment of a career review process at Axtrin differ from the performance review process that was already in place?
2. In what ways do you think the establishment of a career review process helped Axtrin and it’s staff?
3. How do you think input from tpmg might have helped with the establishment of the process?

Project

You are a consultant with tpmg and you are starting work on the Zylapharm project. Read the project information and then plan an initial meeting to put forward ideas to the HR director of the company, following the agenda given.

some

• We bought some flowers.
• He’s busy. He’s got some work to do.
• There’s somebody at the door.
• I’m hungry. I want something to eat.

any

• We didn’t buy any flowers.
• He’s lazy. He never does any work.
• There isn’t anybody at the door.
• I’m not hungry. I don’t want anything to eat.

We use any in these sentences because the meaning is negative:

•   She went out without any money. (= she didn’t take any money with her)

•   He refused to eat anything. (= He didn’t eat anything)

•   Hardly anyone passed the examination. (= almost nobody passed)

In most questions, we would use any:

•   Do you have any luggage?

•   Has anybody seen my bag?

However, we use some when we expect a positive reply:

•   What’s wrong? Is something the matter?

We also use some in questions where we are offering or asking for things:

•   Would you like something to eat?

•   Can I have some sugar, please?

 We use any in conditionals after if:

•   If there are any letters for me, can you send them to this address?

•   If anyone has any questions, I’ll be pleased to answer them.

•   Let me know if you need anything.

 The following sentences have the idea of if:

•   I’m sorry for any trouble I’ve caused. (= if I have caused any trouble)

•   Anyone who wants to do the exam must give me their names today. (= if there is anyone)

 We also use any with the meaning of “it doesn’t matter which”

•   You can catch any bus, they all go to the railway station.

•   Which song shall I sing? Any song, I don’t mind.

•   Come and see me any time you want.

•   Where shall we go? Anywhere, I don’t mind.

•   Who left the door unlocked? Anyone could have come in.

 Compare something with anything:

•   I’m hungry, I need something to eat.

•   What would you like? Anything. (= something, but it doesn’t matter what)

Somebody / someone / anybody / anyone are singular nouns.

•   Someone is here to see you.

But we often use them / they / their after these words:

• Someone has forgotten their umbrella.
• If anybody wants to leave early, they can.

No / None / Any

No none nothing nobody/no one nowhere

You can use these negative words at the beginning of a sentence or alone.

• No cars are allowed in the city centre.
• None of this money is mine.
• “What did you say?” “Nothing.”
• Nobody (or No one) came to visit me whilst I was in hospital.
• “Where are you going?” “Nowhere, I’m staying here.”

You can also use these words after a verb, especially after be and have:

• The house is empty. There’s nobody living there.
• She had no difficulty getting a job.

No / Nothing / Nobody etc. = not + any / anything / anybody etc:

• We haven’t got any money. (= we have got no money)
• I didn’t say anything. (= I said nothing)
• She didn’t tell anyone about her plans. (= she told nobody)
• The station isn’t anywhere near here. (= the station is nowhere near here)

When you use no / nothing / nobody etc., do ⊗ not use a negative verb (isn’t, didn’t, can’t etc.):

• I said nothing. (not “I didn’t say nothing”)
• Nobody tells me anything. (not “Nobody doesn’t tell me anything”)

We also use any / anything / anybody (without “not”) to mean “It doesn’t matter which / what / who”. Compare no- and any-:

• What do you want to eat? Nothing, I’m not hungry.
• I’m so hungry, I could eat anything.
• The exams were extremely difficult. Nobody passed.
• The exam was very easy. Anybody could have passed.

No and None

We use no + a noun. No = not a or not any:

• We had to walk home because there was no bus.
• I can’t talk to you now. I’ve got no time.
• There were no shops open.

On the other hand, we use none alone, without a noun:

• How much money do you have? None. (= no money)
• All the tickets have been sold. There are none left. (= no tickets)

Alternatively, we can say none of … :

• none of these shops
• none of my money
• none of it / them / us / you

After none of + a plural noun (“none of the shops”), you can use either a singular or a plural verb:

• None of the shops were open.
• None of the shops was open.

However, it is more usual to use a plural verb!

After nobody / no one you can use they / them / their:

• Nobody ‘phoned., did they?
• The party was a disaster. Nobody enjoyed themselves.
• No one in the class did their homework.

Much, many, few, little, a lot, plenty

We use much and little with uncountable nouns:

much time                     much luck                     little energy                     little money

We use many and few with plural nouns:

•  many friends
• many people
• few cars
• few countries

We use a lot of / lots of / plenty of with uncountable and plural nouns:

•  a lot of luck
• a lot of friends
• lots of time
• plenty of money
• plenty of ideas
• lots of people

 Plenty = more than enough:

• There’s no need to hurry. We’ve plenty of time.
• I’ve had plenty to eat. I don’t want any more.

We use much / many especially in negative sentences and questions. A lot (of) is also possible:

• We didn’t spend much money. (or We didn’t spend a lot of money.)
• Do you know many people? (or Do you know a lot of people?)

In positive sentences, a lot of is more usual. Much is unusual in positive sentences in spoken English:

• We spent a lot of money. (⊗ not We spend much money.)
• He goes out a lot. (⊗ not He goes out much.)

You can use many in positive sentences, but a lot of is more usual in spoken English:

• A lot of people drive too fast. (or Many people drive too fast.)

Note that we use too much and so much in positive sentences:

• We spent too much money.

 Little and few (without “a”) are negative ideas (= not much / not many)

• We must be quick. There is little time. (= not much / no time to spare)
• He isn’t popular. He has few friends.

You can also say very little and very few:

• There is very little time.
• He has very few friends.
• 
  

A little and a few are more positive. A little = some, a small amount of something:

• Let’s go and have a drink. We’ve got a little time before the train arrives.
• Do you speak English? A little. (so we can talk a bit)

A few = some, a small number:

• I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we meet quite often. (= I have enough friends)
• When did you last see Claire? A few days ago. (= not long ago)

Compare the following:

• He spoke little English, so it was difficult to communicate with him.
• He spoke a little English, so it was possible to communicate with him.
• She’s lucky. She has few problems. (= not many problems)
• Things are not going well for her. She has a few problems. (= some problems)

Note that only a little and only a few have a negative meaning:

• We must be quicky. We’ve only a little time.
• The village was very small. There were only a few houses.

All / all of

Most / most of

No / none of

all                    most                     some                    much / many                     any                    little / few

You can use these words (and also no) with a noun (some food / few books etc.):

• All cars have wheels.
• Some cars can go faster than others.
• (on a notice) No cars. (= no cars allowed)
• Many people drive too fast.
• I don’t go out very often. I’m at home most days.

You cannot say “all of cars”, “most of people” etc:

• Some people are very unfriendly. (⊗ not “some of people”)

Note that we say most (⊗ “the most”)

Some of … / most of … / none of … etc:

You can use the words at the top of the page (also none and half) with of. You can say some of (the people), most of (my friends), none of (this money) etc.

We use some of, most of (etc.) + the / this / that / these / those / my / his / Anne’s … etc.

So, we can say:

• some of the people, some of those people (⊗ but not “some of people”)
• most of my friends, most of Anne’s friends (⊗ but not “most of friends”)
• none of this money, none of their money (⊗ but not “none of money”)

You do not need of after all or half. So it is possible to say:

• All my friends live in London.



• Half this money is mine.

or

• All of my friends live in London.



• Half of this money is mine.

Compare the following:

• All flowers are beautiful. (= flowers in general)
• All (of) the flowers in the garden are beautiful. (= a particular group of flowers)

You can use all of / some of / none of etc. + it / us / you / them:

• How many of these people do you know? None of them. A few of them. Some of them.
• Do any of you want to come to a party tonight?
• Do you like this music? Some of it. Not all of it.

Before it / us / you / them you need of after all and half:

• all of us
• half of them

You can use the words at the beginning of the lesson (and also none) alone, without a noun:



• Some cars have four doors and some have two.
• A few shops were open, but most were closed.
• Half the money is mine and half is yours.