Movies can be divided into several different genres.
There are exciting action movies with gun fights and car
chases, and horror movies that make us jump in our seats.
There are comedies that make us laugh, and dramas that
make us cry. Sci-fi movies show us what the future might be
like, historical films tell us stories from the past, and documentaries show
us real people and events.
After watching a movie, you might want to ask
questions like:
"Which character did you like the best?"
"What did you think of the plot?"
"Did you like the cast?"
"What was your
favourite scene?"
The list below includes some basic vocabulary for
talking and reading about your favourite movies, directors and movie
stars.
action movie (noun): a movie with many exciting and violent scenes
- Our teenage boys love watching action movies.
cast (noun): all the actors and actresses in a movie or TV show - It
had a good cast, but the story wasn't very interesting.
character (noun): one of the people in a story - Harry likes movies
with lots of interesting and unusual characters.
cinema (noun): a place where movies are shown on a big screen - Let's
meet in front of the cinema just before the movie starts.
comedy (noun): a film with lots of funny scenes - Let's see a
comedy and have a good laugh.
director (noun): the person in charge of making a movie - The
director gets really angry when actors forget their lines.
documentary (noun): a film that's about real people, events
or issues - How can you eat junk food after seeing that
documentary Super Size Me?
drama (noun): a movie about realistic characters in dramatic situations
- Maria loves legal dramas with lots of courtroom scenes.
entertainment (noun): enjoyment from movies, concerts, TV
shows, etc. - Airlines offer plenty of entertainment on their flights
these days.
family movie (noun): a movie that both children and adults
can enjoy - Which entertainment company made the family movies Cinderella and 101
Dalmatians?
film (noun): another word for "movie" (also "motion
picture") - This year's Academy Award for Best Picture was won by
a British film.
genre (noun): a kind or style of music, movie, TV show, painting, etc.
- For film class we had to compare movies from two different genres,
such as comedy and horror.
horror movie (noun): a movie that frightens and shocks people
- If you love horror movies, you've got to see Fright Night.
movie star (noun): a very popular movie actor or actress - Movie
stars earn millions of dollars every time they play a role.
plot (noun): the series of events that form the main story - It
was a good film, but the plot was difficult to follow at times.
scene (noun): a small part of a film - The opening scene showed
a young man leaving prison and walking to a bus stop.
sci-fi (or "science fiction") (noun): a genre with stories
set in the future or in outer space - Have you seen that sci-fi
film Interstellar yet? screen (noun):
the flat surface that a movie is projected onto - Do you like sitting
at the back, or close to the screen?
According to Oxford and
Cambridge, Slang is a
type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very
informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted
to a particular context or group of people. Slang is vocabulary that is used between people who
belong to the same social group and who know each other well. Slang is very
informal language. It can offend people if it is used about other people or
outside a group of people who know each other well. We usually use slang in
speaking rather than writing. Slang normally refers to particular words and
meanings but can include longer expressions and idioms.
A modal
verb (also modal, modal auxiliary verb or modal auxiliary)
is a type of verb that is used to indicate modality – that
is, likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation. Examples include the
English verbs can/could, may/might, must, will/would, and
shall/should.
We use modal verbs to show if
we believe something is certain, probable or possible (or not). We also
use modals to do things like talking about ability, asking permission, making
requests and offers, and so on.
Would, should and could are
three auxiliary verbs that can be defined as past tenses of will, shall,
and can; however, you may learn more from seeing sentences using
these auxiliaries than from definitions. Examples of usage follow.
Would
Technically, would is
the past tense of will, but it is an auxiliary verb that has many
uses, some of which even express the present tense. It can be used in the following ways:
·To ask questions:
Would you like some coleslaw? = Do you want some coleslaw? Would you turn in your assignment now? = Please
turn in your assignment now.
·With who, what, when, where, why, how:
How would the neighbors react?
What would you do if I sang out of tune?
In the two sentences above, would means about the same thing
as will.
·To make polite requests:
I would like more coleslaw, please. = I want more coleslaw, please.
I would like you to sit down now. = I want you to sit down now.
·To show a different response if the past had been different:
I would have helped you if I had known you were stranded.
(I didn't know that you were stranded. This "not knowing" occurred
before my not helping you.)
John would've missed the trail if Mary hadn't waited for him at the stream.
(First Mary waited for him. If her response had been to not wait, then next
John would have been on the wrong trail.)
·To tone down strong, controversial statements-not recommended in formal
essays:
I would have to say that you're acting a bit immature.
Here would has a similar meaning to do but
less emphatic.
·To explain an outcome to a hypothetical situation:
Should I win a million dollars, I would fix up my house.
Think of should as if, and would as will.
·To show habitual past action:
Helen
would sob whenever John would leave home.
Think of would as did.
·To show repetitive past action:
For a moment the plane would be airborne, then it would bump back down
along the hard earth.
(The plane was in the air and then back on the ground several times.)
·To show preference between two choices, used with rather or sooner:
I would sooner die than face them. = I prefer death in place of facing
them.
I would rather handwrite than type. = I prefer handwriting instead in typing.
However,
the second choice may by implied but not stated:
I would rather die.
Implied is that I would rather die than...do whatever it is that the context
has provided as an alternative to dying.
·To show wish or desire:
Those people would allow gambling. = Those people want to allow gambling. Would it were so.= I wish it were so. (Infrequently
used) We wish that he would go. = We want
him to go.
·To show intention or plan:
She said she would come. = She said she was planning to come.
·To show choice:
I would put off the test if I could.
This means my choice is to delay taking the test, but I do not have the ability
to delay taking it.
·To express doubt:
The answer would seem to be correct. = The answer is probably correct.
·To show future likelihoods relative to past action:
He calculated that he would get to the camp around 6 p.m. The men would
have dinner ready for him.
The first sentence means he believed his camp arrival time was going to be
about 6:00 p.m. The "calculating" (or believing) happened in the
past, yet the arrival is going to occur later. The second sentence predicts
that, at that future time, dinner will be ready for him.
·Strange but true: Notice how changing have to had can
change the way would works:
Would you had changed your mind. = I wish you had changed your mind.
Would you have changed your mind. = If circumstances had been different, is it
possible that you might have changed your mind?
Should
Technically, should is the past tense of shall,
but it is an auxiliary verb with a few uses, not all of which are in the past
tense, namely, the following:
·To ask questions:
Should you have erased the disk? = Were you supposed to have erased it?
Should I turn in my assignment now? = Am I supposed to turn in my assignment
now? Here, should means about the same thing
as ought.
·To show obligation:
You should floss and brush your teeth after every meal.
Think of should as supposed to, as in the previous example, but here to make a
persuasive statement.
·To show a possible future event:
If I should find your coat, I will be sure to call you.
Think of should as do; furthermore, should could
be left out of the above sentence, leaving, "If I find your coat, I
will be sure to call you." Alternately, if could be
left out of the sentence: "Should I find your coat, I will be sure to
call you."
·To express a hypothetical situation:
Should
you wish to do so, you may have hot tea and biscuits. = If you wish to do so,
you may have hot tea and biscuits.
·To express what is likely:
With an early start, they should be here by noon. Think of should as ought
to or probably will.
·To politely express a request or direct
statement:
I should like to go home now. = I want
to go home now.
I should think that a healthy forest program is essential to any presidential
victory.= I think that a healthy forest program is essential to any
presidential victory.
Could
Technically, could is the past tense of can, but it is an auxiliary verb with a
few uses, not all of which are in the past tense, namely the following:
·As the past tense of can:
In those days, all the people could
build houses. = In those days, all the people had the ability to build houses.
·To ask questions:
Could you have erased the disk? = Is it possible that you erased the disk?
Could I leave now? = May I leave now; am I allowed to leave now?
·To show possibility:
You could study harder than you do. =
You have the potential to study harder than you do.
He knew the sunset could be spectacular. = He knew that the sunset was
sometimes spectacular.
·To express tentativeness or politeness:
I could be wrong. = I may be wrong.
Could you come over here, please? = Please come here.
In conclusion, you could use these three
auxiliaries if you would, and you should!