English Lessons

with Dirk
Gently
 Dirk Gently (1)

Comprehension:

1) What did Dorian want from Todd?

2) Where did Todd try and find the money?
3) What did Todd see in the lift?
4) Describe the scene of the crime
5) What did the detectives show Todd on the security footage?
6) Who did Todd find breaking into his flat?
7) Who was following Dirk Gently?
8) Why did the detectives think the murder was connected to a missing girl?
9) Why was Dirk ‘a holistic detective’?
10) What condition did Todd’s sister, Amanda, have?
11) What question did Dirk ask Amanda?
12) Who hired Dirk to investigate the murder?
13) Who wrecked Todd’s apartment?
14) What happened to Todd’s landlord?
15) What happened to the hotel manager?
16) What did Todd admit concerning the money he owed Dorian?
17) What did Todd keep seeing on the street?
18) What happened at the end of the episode?

Grammar – CONDITIONALS

Youtube explanation and CONDITIONALS course

FIRST CONDITIONAL

If + Present / will or won’t + 1st form

What will you do if you witness a murder?

What will you do if you win the lottery?

SECOND CONDITIONAL

If + past / would or wouldn’t +1st form

What would you do if you needed to pay back your landlord and sister?
If you could time travel, where and when would you go to?
Would it be bad for you if you were on the news?
Under what circumstances would you hire a private detective?

THIRD CONDITIONAL

If + past perfect/ would or wouldn’t + have + 3rd

If you were Todd and had lost your job, what would you have done?
What would you have done if you had discovered a man breaking into your house through the
window?
Would you have gone with Dirk Gently if you had been in Todd’s shoes?
Vocabulary

to hang out with (to spend time with)

unforeseen circumstances (an unanticipated state of affairs)
footage (a recording or clip)
to snap out of (stop being obsessed with something, or stop being ‘in a trance’)
an accomplice (someone who aids and abets a criminal)
humdrum / inane / mundane (boring, dull)
oodles (lots)
subtle (not obvious)
a murder spree (a row of murders)
coincidence (a remarkable concurrence of events)
to have a hunch (to have a feeling)
compelling (persuasive, convincing)
to sneak up on (creep up on)
a jam (a play on some instruments)
back off (move away)
to run in the family (to be present in the family)
to wreck (destroy)
antagonism (hate or extreme unfriendliness)

Put the words in the following sentences

1) I’m sorry I don’t have the money, but there have been some _____ circumstances.
2) Is there any way you could get the security _____ for the 18th floor?
3) Todd, you look catatonic. _____ out of it!
4) I’m trying to decide if you are a clue, an _____ or an assistant.
5) Perhaps most of your life has been _____ and inane.
6) I can already tell we’ve got _____ in common.
7) The connections between causes and effects are often much more _____ and complex than we
might naturally suppose.
8) I had a _____ you might be important to the case.
9) I found some very _____ evidence in your apartment.
10) Did you notice how I _____ up on you? I was trained as a ninja by the CIA.
11) _____ off! She’s having a hallucination.
12) The disease _____ in my family and it has done for generations.
13) There are four men with baseball bats heading this way to _____ your apartment.
14) The police will determine the proper level of _____ towards a man now connected to four dead
bodies.

Discussion questions:

Do you think time travel is possible?

Do you believe in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things?
Have you ever experienced an uncanny coincidence?
Have you ever had a hallucination?
Do you feel like you need to take control of your life?
Do you agree that the smallest decisions in life can have the biggest consequences?

Answers:
1) Dorian wanted 600 bucks, but Todd claims to have paid him 600 bucks the day before. Dorian is
clearly Todd’s landlord.
2) He asked his boss to pay him early, but his boss wasn’t interested.
3) He saw his own doppleganger, and he was talking about a time machine.
4) One guy was torn in half. Another guy had his arm ripped off. There were numerous enormous
‘bite marks’ on the ceiling.
5) They showed him a man entering the penthouse suite a few minutes before the crime was
committed, and the suspect was wearing a gorilla mask.
6) He found a man who introduced himself as Dirk Gently. Firstly he had a fight with him, and then
he kicked him out. Dirk told Todd that he was his new assistant.
7) Some people with military number plates. They fired a shot at Todd, but missed and hit someone
in the upstairs apartment. They then followed Dirk when he left the apartment.
8) Because Lydia Spring (the missing girl) had an argument with her father, then went missing, and
then one week later Patrick Spring (the father) turned up in a homicide (at the hotel)
9) Because he has a belief in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.
10) She had a nerve disease which caused vivid hallucinations.
11) He asked her why she stayed indoors. The disease is in her, so it doesn’t matter if she is outside
or inside. Both places are dangerous.
12) The murder victim (Patrick Spring) hired Dirk to investigate his own death 6 weeks before it
happened.
13) ‘The rowdy 3’ (four guys with baseball bats) wrecked Todd’s apartment, and then left.
14) He was angry about the destruction, so he fired a shot. The shot ricocheted off the wall and
bounced back on him. He died as a result.
15) The manger was shot with an electric crossbow by two bald men. One of them asked him
whether he had seen a kitten in the penthouse.
16) He admitted that Dorian was right; Todd had paid him the money but then stolen it back in order
to help his sister.
17) Todd kept seeing the same lost dog. So, he returned it to its owner. Inside, he saw a girl (who
may have been Lydia).
18) Todd won the lottery! He had found a lottery ticket on the floor before going into the penthouse.
The same lottery ticket won, and the TV presenter was the same woman who he spoke to in the
hotel at the very beginning. What a coincidence!

Vocabulary

1) I’m sorry I don’t have the money, but there have been some unforeseen circumstances.
2) Is there any way you could get the security footage for the 18th floor?
3) Todd, you look catatonic. Snap out of it!
4) I’m trying to decide if you are a clue, an accomplice or an assistant.
5) Perhaps most of your life has been humdrum and inane.
6) I can already tell we’ve got oodles in common.
7) The connections between causes and effects are often much more subtle and complex than we
might naturally suppose.
8) I had a hunch you might be important to the case.
9) I found some very compelling evidence in your apartment.
10) Did you notice how I snuck up on you? I was trained as a ninja by the CIA.
11) Back off! She’s having a hallucination.
12) The disease runs in my family and it has done for generations.
13) There are four men with baseball bats heading this way to wreck your apartment.
14) The police will determine the proper level of antagonism towards a man now connected to four
dead bodies.
 Dirk Gently (2)

Comprehension:

1) Why did Farah go to a building in Springsborough?

2) Which animal did the bite marks correspond to?
3) Where did Dirk and Todd go?
4) What happened to Ken and the assassin?
5) What happened to Dirk and Todd while they were in the house?
6) What was Dirk’s theory having been in Gordon Rimmer’s house?
7) Why was the dog important?
8) What happened when they went to exchange the dog for Farah?
9) What happened in the end with Ken and the assassin?

Grammar – Gerunds and infinitives

YOUTUBE LESSON

Quiz

GERUNDS – use gerunds (___ing) after prepositions, and after certain verbs, and as the subject of
the sentence

INFINITIVE WITH TO – after certain verbs, and after adjectives, and to show purpose

INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO – after modal verbs, and let, make, help

Now use the correct forms in the following sentences.

1) Corporations hire me _____ illegal stuff. (do)

2) Thanks for ____ me all that, Ken! (tell)
3) It’s nice _____ to someone else talk. (listen)
4) Him _____ dead seems to me an oversight on your part. (be)
5) It’s the opposite condition to the one you would like him _____ in. (be)
6) We were told to let Dirk Gently _____. He’s a person of interest to the CIA (go)
7) I should really _____ this guy. (kill)
8) The police considered _____ Dirk. (investigate)

Vocabulary

to sneak out (creep out with no-one noticing)

edification (instruction or schooling)
evanescent (quickly fading or disappearing)
to leech off (exploit)
to be in on it (to be part of the secret plan)
to purify (to make pure)
-ish (used as a suffix to say that something is not exactly true)
to be dragged up to (to be pulled up to)
to put forward a theory (to suggest a theory)
to end up in (to land up in)
to bluff (to deceive someone as to your intentions)
to burn down (to destroy by fire)
at large (in the public space)
to go by the name of (to be called)

Put the vocabulary in the following sentences

1) I’m sorry! I _____ out and now I’m in trouble.

2) Then perhaps you’ll admit, solely for my _____, that there’s another connection between the two
things, however evanescent.
3) They wanted me to build a power convertor that could _____ off a larger network.
4) It’s the two guys from the hotel; they are obviously in _____ it too!
5) You did your duty_____, Todd! You didn’t even do half a duty, you lazy man!
6) I always get _____ up to these horrible things.
7) They managed to burn Gordon Rimmer’s house _____.
8) Now we have more than 30 dangerous individuals at _____.

Discussion questions

What would you save if your house was burning down?

What time do you get up? (use -ish!)
If you had no money, who would you leech off?
Can you think of any criminals who remain at large?

Answers

Comprehension

1) Because Lydia Spring called her and asked her to come. However, her last words were ‘Lydia,
don’t it’s a tr...’ (trap)
2) The corresponded to a hammerhead shark.
3) They snuck into the home of the man who was seen with Lydia.
4) Their car broke down, so they asked a biker (who was passing by) to help them fix the car.
5) They had to escape as the owner returned. Unfortunately, the house caught fire while they were
escaping.
6) His provisional theory was that a group of men were hypnotizing dogs into believing they were
humans, and humans into believing they were dogs.
7) It was important because the kidnappers sent Dirk a message, asking for dog in exchange for
Farah. If they didn’t bring the dog, they would kill Farah.
8) Todd threatened to throw the dog off the bridge if they didn’t release the woman (who the guys
don’t even know). Suddenly, Todd saw a woman’s face on the dog and let go of it in shock. Farah
then attacker her kidnapper and ran to Dirk and Todd’s car. Meanwhile, the FBI (who were
watching) tried to shoot one of the bald kidnappers. He managed to hit one, but then he was hit by
an arrow and killed.
9) The biker explained that he would now kill them and steal their car. And the assassin killed him.
She was shot at but not killed. She told Ken that the universe would not allow her to die.

Grammar

1) Corporations hire me to do illegal stuff. (do)

2) Thanks for telling me all that, Ken! (tell)
3) It’s nice to listen to someone else talk. (listen)
4) Him being dead seems to me an oversight on your part. (be)
5) It’s the opposite condition to the one you would like him to be in. (be)
6) We were told to let Dirk Gently go. He’s a person of interest to the CIA (go)
7) I should really kill this guy. (kill)
8) The police considered investigating Dirk. (investigate)

Vocabulary
1) I’m sorry! I snuck out and now I’m in trouble.
2) Then perhaps you’ll admit, solely for my edification, that there’s another connection between the
two things, however evanescent.
3) They wanted me to build a power convertor that could leech off a larger network.
4) It’s the two guys from the hotel; they are obviously in on it too!
5) You did your duty-ish, Todd! You didn’t even do half a duty, you lazy man!
6) I always get dragged up to these horrible things.
7) They managed to burn Gordon Rimmer’s house down.
8) Now we have more than 30 dangerous individuals at large.
 Dirk Gently (3)

Comprehension:

1) What happened to the rock star ‘Lux Du Jour’ at the start? (15 years ago)
2) What did Gordon Rimmer ask for when Farah called him?
3) What was the purpose of operation ‘Black Wing’?
4) Why was the weird woman surprised while she was driving in her car?
5) Who suddenly turned up at the police station?
6) What did Todd do to his old band?
7) What happened to Ken and Bart?
8) What did Patrick Spring’s lawyer give Farah?
9) What did they find when they followed the map?
10) What happened to Ken and Bart in the end?
11) What was the second map a representation of?
12) What did Todd tell Dirk about the neighbourhood?
13) What happened to Dirk at the end?

Grammar – Inversion

YOUTUBE LESSON

1) Questions, echo questions, question tags, so/neither

Are you sure? Yes, so am I
You don't know him, do you?
I found it yesterday. Did you? So did I

2) Negative adverbs (At no time, not once, never...)

Never have I seen such a wonderful view
At no time did he offer any help
Under no circumstances should he take any exercise

3) More negative adverbs (No sooner, seldom, rarely, barely, hardly, scarcely, only, little)
Only later did I learn the truth
Little do you know…

4) 2nd and 3rd conditional

Had I known it was your birthday, I would have bought you a present
Were I a rich man, I would buy myself a yacht

5) So / such
So helpful was he that I tipped him generously
Such a long distance was it, that we decided to take the train

Use inversions in the following sentences:

1) No sooner ____ ____ turned up at the police station, than Todd showed up too. (the dog)
2) Not only ____ ____ thank Todd, but also she thanked Dirk. (Farah)
3) So suspicious a story ____ ____ tell the police that they were certain he was guilty of something.
(Todd)
4) Only later ____ ____ decide to go to the shops. (Amanda)
5) Never ____ ____ been in such a terrifying situation (Farah)
6) Little ___ ____ know, but Patrick Spring was aware that he would be killed. (Dirk)
7) ____ ____ not run home, he wouldn’t have been out of breath. (Todd)
8) Seldom ____ ____insignificant in this story. (coincidence)

Vocabulary

invincible (impossible to defeat or kill)

a cause (a purpose, socially valuable principle)
to rule out (exclude)
last will and testament (the document which states the wishes of a dead man)
to track s.o down (to hunt and find)
fate (destiny)
to flare up (a return of a disease)
to be out of breath (tired and breathless after running)
to bail s.o out (rescue s.o)

Use the vocabulary in the following sentences

1) It turned out that the weird woman was _____.

2) Had you really cared about our great _____, you would have found Edgar Spring’s other
machine.
3) The house burned down yesterday, and they are not _____ out arson!
4) When Patrick had me _____ you down, he knew he was going to die.
5) I follow _____ around. It’s how I work.
6) My condition _____ up when I went shopping, but now I am OK.
7) Had Todd not run home, he wouldn’t have been out of _____.
8) Project Black Wing is under review; that’s why we _____ you out when the police caught you.

Discussion questions (Try and use inversion if you can)

Do you believe that there is no such thing as coincidence?

Do you know lots of the words when you hear songs on the radio?
Would you arrest Todd if you were the police?
Do you believe in fate? What do you think is your fate?
Who do you think killed Patrick Spring? What happened to Lydia?

Answers

Comprehension

1) He was clearly on the side of the baddies. He came in and spoke to a woman, and she informed
him that he would now be taking residence in a new body. The new body would be Gordon
Rimmer.
2) He asked for a machine which her employer (Patrick) was going to give them. Farah didn’t know
what he was talking about.
3) Black Wing’s aim was to seek out and gather individuals with extra-sensory abilities.
4) She couldn’t believe that her friend (Ken) knew all the lyrics to the songs on the radio.
5) The dog suddenly turned up at the police station. And then Todd rolled up, out of the blue.
6) He sold all the band’s equipment and then reported it stolen to the police!
7) They were captured by the bikers (I assume they were friends of the guy they had shot) and hung
up.
8) He gave her a letter from Patrick (he had included it in his will, and asked that she ONLY open it
in the presence of a man named Dirk Gently). The letter included a map.
9) They found a hidden room, built into the foundation of the house (with a very simple ‘clock lock’
that would be easy to break into!) So, Zachariah Webb must have built it (the original owner of the
house)
10) The bikers turned up to kill them, but Bart managed to shoot and stab them all.
11) The map showed all the utilities and power lines under Todd’s building.
12) He told him the area he lived in was called ‘Springsborough’, which is connected to Patrick,
Edgar, and Lydia Spring.
13) He was approached by the military (the guy who ran project Black Wing) and he asked him to
come back. He told him project Black Wing had been cancelled. Dirk refused to come back.

Use inversions in the following sentences:

1) No sooner had the dog turned up at the police station, than Todd showed up too. (the dog)
2) Not only did Farah thank Todd, but also she thanked Dirk. (Farah)
3) So suspicious a story did Todd tell the police that they were certain he was guilty of something.
(Todd)
4) Only later did Amanda decide to go to the shops. (Amanda)
5) Never had Farah been in such a terrifying situation (Farah)
6) Little did Dirk know, but Patrick Spring was aware that he would be killed. (Dirk)
7) Had Todd not run home, he wouldn’t have been out of breath. (Todd)
8) Seldom are coincidences insignificant in this story. (coincidence)

Vocabulary

1) It turned out that the weird woman was invincible.

2) Had you really cared about our great cause, you would have found Edgar Spring’s other machine.
3) The house burned down yesterday, and they are not ruling out arson!
4) When Patrick had me track you down, he knew he was going to die.
5) I follow fate around. It’s how I work.
6) My condition flared up when I went shopping, but now I am OK.
7) Had Todd not run home, he wouldn’t have been out of breath.
8) Project Black Wing is under review; that’s why we bailed you out when the police caught you.
 Dirk Gently (4)

Comprehension:

1) What happened at the start to Agent Weedle?

2) What has Amanda noticed concerning her brother and Farah?
3) What did Edgar Spring (Patrick’s father) build under the city?
4) What happened when Agent Weedle met the two policeman from The Missing Persons
Department?
5) What happened to Dirk and Todd next? What did Farah do?
6) How did Todd and Dirk escape an excruciating death?
7) Why did Todd and Dirk take their clothes off?
8) Where was Gordon Rimmer?
9) How did Todd and Dirk escape the final room?
10) What happened to Sammy (Lux Du Jour’s old girlfriend)?

Grammar – PAST MODALS

(Speculation and deduction about the past)

must/might/could/can’t + have + 3rd form

must/might/could/can’t + have + been + ING (continuous form)

There was blood all over the floor, and the window was open. The murderer must have escaped
through the window.

I saw her leaving his room that night and so they might have been having an affair.

PAST MODALS YOUTUBE LESSON

Make logical deductions:

1) Todd decided to put on a cool jacket. He...

2) The FBI Agent was just loitering outside the door. He..
3) There was a lot of debris in the passageway, so there...
4) Farah could smell the fire as well, so it..
5) There was a map of Skagett Valley, so Patrick..
6) Gordon Rimmer caved Sammy’s skull in with the guitar, so he..

PAST MODALS QUIZ

Vocabulary

to drag s.o into something (to reluctantly pull someone into a difficult situation)
to straighten things out (resolve some difficult problems)
debris (broken stuff/pieces)
an earthquake (the natural disaster when the ground shakes)
to close in (when something gets closer and closer)
aiding and abetting a criminal/known felon (the crime of assisting a lawbreaker)
to loiter (hang around)
unsupervised (not under the watch of anyone)
to be on the right track (to be going in the right direction)
to blend (seamlessly) in (to fit in perfectly so that you are camouflaged, you don’t ‘stick out’)
to show up (turn up)
to outgrow (grow out of, become too old for)

Put the words in the following sentences

1) Todd didn’t want to ____ his sister into the mysterious murder.
2) I’ll talk to Todd Brotzman myself and ____ things out.
3) There’s a lot of ____ in this passageway: probably earthquake damage.
4) You know, Amanda, you are in a lot of trouble: aiding and____ a known criminal.
5) The walls are ____ in! We’re in mortal danger.
6) I am a perfectly ordinary person who can ____ seamlessly in with others.
7) I wanted to show you that I have ____ all these things from my past.

Discussion questions:

Do you often get dragged into arguments?

Have you ever experienced a natural disaster such as an earthquake?
What kind of things have you outgrown?
Do you tend to blend in when you go out in public? Or do you stick out?
Which parts of town can you be found loitering in?

Answers:

1) The bad guys put the soul of one of their gang into his body. His soul was put into a mouse and
then thrown to the dog (Lydia)
2) She has noticed that Todd fancies Farah. So, she recommends wearing a cool jacket.
3) He built an unlimited energy device and powered the city on his own for 30 years.
4) Firstly, he acted very strangely and the police became suspicious. Secondly, he told them that
they (the FBI) had removed the bodies from the scene of the crime, contradicting what he and his
partner had told them earlier.
5) They investigated a secret passage, which was at the entrance to Edgar Spring’s underground
power grid. Farah went back to check up on Amanda since she was certain the ‘FBI Agent’ was not
genuine.
6) They stepped into a room in which the walls started moving inwards in order to crush them.
However, they used the ‘everbulb’ as a door key and escaped.
7) They were electrocuted and their clothes were burning, so they had to take them off.
8) He was with Lux Du Jour’s girlfriend (Sammy). As he has Lux Du Jour’s soul, he is able to tell
her old stories that Lux used to tell her and he is able to give her his personal affects as gifts.
9) Coincidentally, Farah heard their screams and came down to help. Also, the rowdy three came
and helped them break down the wall. They then took in some of Dirk’s energy, once again.
10) Gordon Rimmer caved Sammy’s skull in with the guitar, so he can’t have loved her.
Grammar (suggested answers)

1) Todd decided to put on a cool jacket. He must have wanted to impress Farah.
2) The FBI Agent was just loitering outside the door. He can’t have been a real agent as this was
against protocol.
3) There was a lot of debris in the passageway, so there might have been an earthquake.
4) Farah could smell the fire as well, so it can’t have been a hallucination.
5) There was a map of Skagett Valley, so Patrick must have wanted them to go there.
6) Gordon Rimmer caved Sammy’s skull in with the guitar, so he can’t have loved her.

Vocabulary

1) Todd didn’t want to drag his sister into the mysterious murder.
2) I’ll talk to Todd Brotzman myself and straighten things out.
3) There’s a lot of debris in this passageway: probably earthquake damage.
4) You know, Amanda, you are in a lot of trouble: aiding and abetting a known criminal.
5) The walls are closing in! We’re in mortal danger.
6) I am a perfectly ordinary person who can blend seamlessly in with others.
7) I wanted to show you that I have outgrown all these things from my past.
 Dirk Gently (5)

Comprehension:

1) Why did Bart feel like there was something wrong when they ran out of petrol in Seattle?
2) What test did Todd perform to verify Dirk’s special powers?
3) Where did Amanda go?
4) What were the rowdy three according to the head of Project Incubus?
5) How much money did Bart have?
6) What did Amanda do with the Rowdy three?
7) What did Dirk and Todd dig up?
8) What happened when Dirk threw the kitten at the attackers?
9) Why did Todd consider himself a terrible brother?
10) What did the police find in the animal transfer unit?

GRAMMAR: COMPARISONS

YOUTUBE LESSON on NEGATIVE COMPARISONS

YOUTUBE LESSON on X and Y CONJUNCTIONS

This lesson focuses on some exotic comparative structures. For example:

1) not so much to X as to Y
2) not so much X as Y
3) not so much + noun + as + subordinate clause

Other comparatives (remember to use inversion with the negative adverbials)

Not X but Y
Not X but rather Y
(No) less/more X than Y
Neither X nor Y
Not only X but also Y
No sooner X than Y
Just as X so (too) Y
so + adjective + as to
X is to Y what W is to Z

Use comparisons (and inversions) in the following sentences:

1) Just as _____ ______ _____, so too _____ _____ _____.

2) Bart is to ____ what Dirk is to ____.
3) No sooner had they ____ ____ than Dirk ____ ____.
4) Neither ____ nor ____ knew what to do when they arrived in Seattle.
5) Dirk threw the kitten at the attackers not so much ____ ____ as ____ ____.
6) Todd was not only ____ ____ but also ____ ____.
7) The attackers came at Dirk and Todd not so much to kill them as to grab the machine.
8) Dirk used his hunches not ____ ____but ____ ____.
Vocabulary

Put the words in the following sentences

to dig s.t up (remove something from underground)

to stumble into (similar to stumble on/across or come across. To meet by chance)
backup (support)
to burn down (be burnt completely)
to tear down (demolish)
to take s.t back (to retract your words)
to pack s.t in (to stop doing something)
to dwell on (to be fixated on or obsessed by)
to cover for (to provide an excuse or explanation for someone)
simmer down (calm down)
to be after (to chase or hunt down)
to make up for (to compensate)
to run out of (to have nothing left of)
broad daylight (daytime)
to end up in (to land up in)
to stink (to smell really bad)
candid (honest)

1) We need to dig ____ the buried treasure.

2) You don’t just ____ into traps which were designed so that we could get out of them.
3) Why didn’t they send you more ____?
4) Gordon Rimmer’s house ____ down.
5) The building he had access to is condemned, so it will be____ down soon.
6) You’re right! I take it ____: you are NOT psychic.
7) Look, it’s late. Let’s ____ it in for the night and start again in the morning.
8) Are you saying ____ on my past is holding me back?
9) Maybe he is just ____ for his criminal buddies.
10) I was thinking that If I die, I’ll never be able to make ____ for all the stuff I’ve done to her.
11) Unfortunately, by the time Amanda had the disease her parents had already ____ out of money.
12) You can’t just kill someone in ____ daylight, in the middle of the street.
13) To be totally ____, I’m sick of you acting like an arsehole.

Discussion questions:

Do you believe in psychic powers? Why?

Have you ever been tempted to pack in your job?
Have you ever got in a vehicle with a bunch of strangers?
Do you think that dwelling on the past is a bad idea? Or do you think we ought to study our past in
order to learn from our mistakes?
Do you think some people can see the future? Why?

Answers:

1) Because there was no Dirk Gently there, and usually the universe sends the target to her or sends
her to the target.
2) He drew a picture of a cowboy on a napkin and asked Dirk to tell him what it was. Dirk refused
to play, but then Dirk accidentally blurted out that the picture was of a cowboy.
3) She got into the van with the rowdy three and had a chat with them.
4) They were the first test subjects of operation Black Wing. They get their psychic powers by
feeding off others, so they were originally classified as vampires.
5) Bart had $17000! So, they went and stayed in a nice hotel.
6) She smashed up a car (which looked like a police car).
7) They dug up a bunch of objects which looked like old electrical devices (transformers, solenoids,
spark gaps etc…)
8) The kitten turned into a hammerhead shark and ate both the attackers.
9) Because he didn’t actually have the disease which his sister has. He lied in order to get money
from his parents. And now they can’t afford to help his sister who really does have the disease.
10) They found 35 dead bodies. Then, they were attacked by Gordon Rimmer and his minions.
Zimmerman was shot with a crossbow, but his partner managed to drag him into the car and escape.

Grammar (suggested answers)

1) Just as the universe sends the target to Bart, so too does the universe send Bart to the target.
2) Bart is to killing what Dirk is to detecting.
3) No sooner had they stopped the car than Dirk started digging.
4) Neither Bart nor Ken knew what to do when they arrived in Seattle.
5) Dirk threw the kitten at the attackers not so much to kill them as to distract them.
6) Todd was not only a bad friend but also a terrible brother.
7) The attackers came at Dirk and Todd not so much to kill them as to grab the machine.
8) Dirk used his hunches not to help himself but to help others.

Vocabulary

1) We need to dig up the buried treasure.

2) You don’t just stumble into traps which were designed so that we could get out of them.
3) Why didn’t they send you more backup?
4) Gordon Rimmer’s house burnt down.
5) The building he had access to is condemned, so it will be torn down soon.
6) You’re right! I take it back: you are NOT psychic.
7) Look, it’s late. Let’s pack it in for the night and start again in the morning.
8) Are you saying dwelling on my past is holding me back?
9) Maybe he is just covering for his criminal buddies.
10) The attackers came at Dirk and Todd not so much to kill them as to grab the machine.
11) I was thinking that If I doe, I’ll never be able to make up for all the stuff I’ve done to her.
12) Unfortunately, by the time Amanda had the disease her parents had already run out of money.
13) You can’t just kill someone in broad daylight, in the middle of the street.
14) To be totally candid, I’m sick of you acting like an arsehole.
 Dirk Gently (6)

Comprehension:

1) What happened in the police chief’s office?

2) What did Todd and Farah talk about?
3) What did Todd and Amanda talk about?
4) What did Dirk mean by ‘module A and module B’?
5) How did Bart locate Dirk?
6) What is Estevez’s theory?
7) What happened when Estevez came to Todd’s place?
8) Who did Farah call for backup?
9) Who met Gordon Rimmer?
10) What happened when Todd and Dirk met Gordon Rimmer?

GRAMMAR:

Here are some typical verb patterns

1) Want to do (+ to + infinitive) promise, threaten, offer, refuse

2) Tell s.o to do (object + to + infinitive) ask, warn, advise
3) Congratulate s.o on doing (object + preposition + gerund) accuse s.o (of) thank s.o for
4) Avoid doing (+ gerund) deny, admit, regret, suggest, recommend
5) Insist on doing (+ preposition + gerund) apologise for
6) Say that (+ that + clause) promise, insist, suggest, deny, admit
7) Tell s.o that assure, persuade, convince, warn, advise (NOT ask)

REPORTING VERBS VIDEO COURSE (6 lessons)

Put the following sentences into reported speech, using the reporting verbs.
1) We’re going back there now!
Zimmerfield’s partner (Estevez)..
2) You are in on this.
Estevez accused..
3) I’ve never had pararibulitis
Todd admitted..
4) I should have waited. I messed this up.
Todd regretted..
5) I haven’t got the slightest clue who that was
Dirk denied..
6) Come on, Todd! Come and touch the machine
Dirk persuaded..
7) Get in the bath and stop screaming!
Ken advised..
8) Once we plug in the machine, everything will become clear.
Dirk assured..
More reporting verb exercises

Vocabulary

a harpoon (a weapon usually used to kill whales at sea)

to be in on s.t (to be part of the secret plan)
to drop out of (to not finish your college/university course, usually due to failure)
to end up (to wind up)
to be on to something (to be on the right track)
to go off (to take place successfully. Similar to ‘come off’, ‘pull off’)
to bark (the noise a dog makes)
to screw up (mess up)
to turn s.o into (to transform)
to swap (to exchange)
homicidal (murderous)
to cross paths with (to bump into)
to come after (to chase, or even attack)
lunacy (madness)
to be holed up (to be hiding in a safe place)
in hindsight (in retrospect)

Put the words in the following sentences

1) He was shot with a ____! We have to go back!

2) I see. You are _____ on this. This is why you insisted that we didn’t follow up on Patrick Spring.
3) You must have had pararibulitis: that’s why you _____ out of college.
4) I ended _____ being trapped under so many lies.
5) I have a plan, and it _____ off flawlessly.
6) _____ twice for yes. Are you Lydia Spring?
7) How did they _____ Lydia into a dog?
8) They took her soul out of her body and ____ it with the dog.
9) I haven’t the slightest _____ who that homicidal maniac was.
10) We have never _____ paths before.
11) Two of them even _____ after us while we were trying to dig up the machine.
12) Why do you think we’ve been _____ up in a mansion basement for all these years?
13) Of course! How could I be so stupid? It makes total sense in _____.

Discussion questions:

What would you do if you thought you were losing your mind?
What work would you have found if you had dropped out of university?
Have you ever crossed paths with a homicidal maniac?
If you could go back in time, what period would you visit?
If you some bad guys came after you, where would you hole up?
If you could turn into an animal, which one would you choose?

Answers:

1) Firstly, the chief fired (sacked) Estevez for accusing him of being in on it. So, Esetevez was
taken out of the building, but he assured his boss that it wasn’t over by a long shot.
2) Both of them had killed ‘some of the bald guys’, also known as ‘Gordon Rimmer’s team.’ Farah
had killed a guy at the zoo. Todd and Dirk had killed the guys with the hammer head shark. Farah
gave Todd a knuckleduster!
3) Todd admitted having never had pararibulitis. He also owned up to stealing and selling the band’s
equipment.
4) Module A is the investigative wing of Dirk’s agency (Todd and Dirk) and module B is the ‘strike
team’ for when things get physical (Dirk and Farah).
5) He was standing in his car, screaming ‘I’m Dirk Gently’. Bart chased him and shot him slightly.
Then her guin wouldn’t fire at the last moment. They both realized that ‘you are one of the others’
(perhaps operatives on project Black Wing?)
6) He also thinks the dog is Lydia Spring! He feels like he is losing his mind. But the dog confirmed
that she was Lydia Spring (she even barked three times and turned in a circle) and that Dirk had
saved her from Gordon Rimmer.
7) Amanda had an attack due to her condition. Suddenly, the bald guys arrived, but the rowdy three
turned up and had a fight with them. Having beaten up the baddies, they took ‘energy’ from
Amanda, and she recovered immediately. They then took
8) She called the FBI guy (who is actually in on it as he is one of the baddies in the FBI agent’s
body)
9) The police chief met him. Clearly they both know about 2 machines (one of which came to them
through time and space) and they both know how to move souls from body to body
10) He asked them loads of questions as he didn’t understand who they were or what they were
doing. Fortunately, Dirk ‘solved the case’ while Gordon was talking. Now he understood what the
machine could do.

Grammar (suggested answers)

1) We’re going back there now!

Zimmerfield’s partner (Estevez) insisted on going back to the place that his partner had been killed.
2) You are in on this.
Estevez accused his boss of being in on the bad guy’s plot.
3) I’ve never had pararibulitis
Todd admitted having never had pararibulitis.
4) I should have waited. I messed this up.
Todd regretted not waiting (not having waited).
5) I haven’t got the slightest clue who that was
Dirk denied having the slightest clue who that was.
6) Come on, Todd! Come and touch the machine
Dirk persuaded Todd to touch the machine.
7) Get in the bath and stop screaming!
Ken advised Bart top get in the bath and stop screaming.
8) Once we plug in the machine, everything will become clear.
Dirk assured Farah that once they plug in the machine, everything will become clear.

Vocabulary

1) He was shot with a harpoon! We have to go back!

2) I see. You are in on this. This is why you insisted that we didn’t follow up on Patrick Spring.
3) You must have had pararibulitis: that’s why you dropped out of college.
4) I ended up being trapped under so many lies.
5) I have a plan, and it went off flawlessly.
6) Bark twice for yes. Are you Lydia Spring?
7) How did they turn Lydia into a dog?
8) They took her soul out of her body and swapped it with the dog.
9) I haven’t the slightest clue who that homicidal maniac was.
10) We have never crossed paths before.
11) Two of them even came after us while we were trying to dig up the machine.
12) Why do you think we’ve been holed up in a mansion basement for all these years?
13) Of course! How could I be so stupid? It makes total sense in hindsight.
 Dirk Gently (7)

Comprehension:

1) Where, or when, did Dirk and Todd go?

2) Who arrived when Gordon Rimmer was swapping the soul of Lydia for the dog?
3) Who appeared in a weird suit of armour?
4) Who was Jake Rainey?
5) Who killed Patrick Spring’s wife?
6) Where did Dirk and Todd go next?
7) What happened at the hotel?
8) Why did Todd get upset with Dirk?
9) Who appeared at the animal transfer unit at the end of the episode?
10) When did Dirk and Todd travel to?

GRAMMAR: IT V THERE

YOUTUBE LESSON. IT OR THERE

IT

1) It is a pronoun
2) It + adjective + to + infinitive (or that)
3) It + be + time / distance / weather
4) It + help/hurt/pay + to + infinitive
5) It + feeling + object + to + infinitive (or that)
6) It + take + object + TIME (how long)
7) hate/love/like/can't stand/bear + IT + that/if/when
8) dislike/enjoy/understand/prefer + IT + /if/when
9) believe/consider/feel/find/think + IT + adjective + that

It's no longer...
It's no coincidence/surprise/secret/accident that
It's no good/use + _____ING

THERE

1) DEICTIC (There's my pen! There it is. He's over there)

2) EXISTENTIAL (There was a bank in the town centre)
There's no point in
There's no choice/alternative but to...
There's no denying that
There's no hope for
There's no need to
There's no question of
There's no chance of
There's no reason to

More Exercises
Use 'it' or 'there' in the following sentences:

1) _____'s no surprise that Patrick Spring went by another name.

2) _____'s no chance of Dirk being caught by the CIA.
3) _____'s no point in trying to change the status quo.
4) _____'s no denying that Dirk has some remarkable psychic powers.
5) _____ was difficult for Todd to admit his lies to his sister.
6) _____'s no good trying to change something that has already happened.
7) _____'s no hope for Patrick Spring, now he has foreseen his own death.
8) _____'s no need to use the kitten as a weapon, except as a last resort.
9) I find _____ odd that Todd was furious with Dirk for having told him insignificant lies.
10) Just as _____ was no reason for Todd to be furious with Dirk, so too was _____ no reasomn for
Dirk to be furious with Patrick Spring.

Vocabulary

a hunch (a feeling that something is the case)

back up (move backwards)
sacrilege (violation of something sacred)
treason (betrayal of one’s country or group)
to go by (be called)
the last straw (the last thing which makes a situation unbearable)
the status quo (the current state of affairs)
a last resort (the last thing which you turn to in times of trouble)
catch on (understand. Like ‘cotton on’ and ‘latch on’)
reclusive (a person who prefers to be alone)

Put the words in the following sentences

1) Dirk had a _____ that the unlimited energy machine was also a time machine.
2) So, it has come to this: ____ and ____.
3) You go _____ the name of Patrick Spring now, but your real name is Zackariah Webb.
4) Then, they killed your wife. That was the last _____.
5) We should only use the kitten as a last _____.
6) - This isn’t my daughter.
- You _____ on quick!
7) Patrick Spring is said to have been a _____ type of person.

Discussion questions:

Can you give me an example of sacrilege? How about treason?

Have you gone by any other names? Do you know anyone else who has?
Do you think there’s any point in trying to change the status quo?
If you met your future self, what would you ask him? And if you met yourself as a young man, what
would you tell him?
Are you a reclusive type?
Would you be furious with Dirk if you were Todd?

Answers:
1) They went to one week in the past.
2) Suddenly a woman arrived who is ‘the body that houses the soul of Jake Rainey’. She took the
dog and demanded that Gordon hand over the machine. However, Gordon escaped with the
machine.
3) Patrick Spring arrived, though he used to go by the name of Zackariah Webb.
4) Initially, he was the leader of a group of hippies who found the machine that transported souls
into different bodies. He used the machine to stay young and powerful.
5) The hippies who found the machine (Jake Rainey and his gang) killed his wife.
6) They went back to the hotel where Patrick Spring was murdered. This takes us to the time when
the story began (episode 1)
7) Old Patrick Spring, young Patrick Spring, Todd, Dirk, and Gordon Rimmer and his minions
finally meet in the hotel room. Old Patrick Spring is eaten by the shark (as well as a couple of
minions) but all the others escape.
8) He was upset because he realized that Dirk had been lying to him. He seemed to have forgotten
that his own sister was furious with himself for a much bigger lie!
9) Estevez suddenly appeared and grabbed Gordon Rimmer, ordering him to swap Lydia’s soul for
the dogs.
10) They seemed to have travelled just a few minutes earlier!

Grammar (suggested answers)

1) It's no surprise that Patrick Spring went by another name.

2) There's no chance of Dirk being caught by the CIA.
3) There's no point in trying to change the status quo.
4) There's no denying that Dirk has some remarkable psychic powers.
5) It was difficult for Todd to admit his lies to his sister.
6) It's no good trying to change something that has already happened.
7) There's no hope for Patrick Spring, now he has foreseen his own death.
8) There's no need to use the kitten as a weapon, except as a last resort.
9) I find it odd that Todd was furious with Dirk for having told him insignificant lies.
10) Just as there was no reason for Todd to be furious with Dirk, so too was there no reason for Dirk
to be furious with Patrick Spring.

Vocabulary

1) Dirk had a hunch that the unlimited energy machine was also a time machine.
2) So, it has come to this: sacrilege and treason.
3) You go by the name of Patrick Spring now, but your real name is Zackariah Webb.
4) Then, they killed your wife. That was the last straw.
5) We should only use the kitten as a last resort.
6) - This isn’t my daughter.
- You catch on quick!
7) Patrick Spring is said to have been a reclusive type of person.
 Dirk Gently (8)

Comprehension:

1) What did Estevez do with Todd, Farah and Dirk?

2) Why can’t Estevez go back in time and save his partner?
3) What did Gordon Rimmer decide to do? Who stopped him?
4) Why do Todd and Dirk have to send the machine back in time (even though Lydia wants to
destroy it)?
5) Who shot Gordon Rimmer?
6) Who suddenly appeared and killed the men of the machine?
7) Who took Dirk to hospital?
8) Where did Farah send Lydia?
9) Who visited Dirk in hospital?
10) Who shot Estevez at the end?
11) What happened to Todd in the end?

Grammar: Subject Verb Agreement

YOUTUBE LESSSON: SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Examine the following examples:

My wife and I are..

Either A or B is correct...
Neither of them is (are) correct.
None of the students has (have) the answer
If any of them wants (want) to come...

Neither my friend nor my teacher agrees.

Neither my friends nor my teachers agree.
Neither my friend nor my teachers agree.
Neither my friends nor my teacher agrees.

A lot of /plenty of / all of / some of / a third of + apples ARE

A lot of /plenty of / all of / some of / a third of + the work IS

There is a boy
There are 3 girls

£50 is a lot
3 miles is too far
5 years was a long sentence
A number of them have complained
The number of them has increased
A large percentage of them have come back
The percentage of those who come back has increased.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS ARE BOTH SINGULAR AND PLURAL, BUT BE CONSISTENT.

IN US GRAMMAR SINGULAR COLLECTIVE NOUNS TAKE A SINGULAR VERB.

Conjugate the following verbs correctly (use present tense):

1) Neither Estevez nor Farah ____ to drop their weapon. (want)

2) Bart and Ken ____ to stay in the hotel and watch commercials. (decide)
3) A large number of policemen ____ with Gordon Rimmer to hunt down the machine. (come)
4) 4 million dollars ____ a lot of money. (be)
5) The number of people that ____ members of the rowdy three ____ four! (be, be)
6) A lot of the baddies ____ in the show. (die)
7) 100 years ____ a long time to wait for justice. (be)

Vocabulary

to rub s.t in (to make s.o feel bad about a mistake they have made)
a loophole (a gap which allows a person to get around the law)
to give up (to stop trying)
destiny (fate)
to let s.o down (to disappoint s.o)
insane (mad)

Put the words in the following sentences

1) There are a number of legal ____ regarding what constitutes a militia.

2) We are too close to success to ____ up now.
3) It is my ____ to fix this machine.
4) Farah claimed to have ____ down Lydia and her father.
5) We can’t tell people about the time machine: we’ll sound ____.

Discussion questions:

If time travel were possible, do you think it would be impossible to change what has already
happened?
Do you agree that some things can’t be fixed?
Do you think that everything happens for a reason?
What do you think is your destiny?

Answers:

1) He locked all of them up in cells. Farah managed to pick the lock and escape. Then she disarmed
Estevez, and they explained what had happened 100 years earlier.
2) Because his partner has already been killed, and ‘some things can’t be changed’.
3) He decided to go after the machine for switching souls, and he took a large number of policemen
to help him. However, the rowdy three arrived and beat up all the policemen.
4) Because if they don’t send it back in time, Lydia will cease to exist.
5) Farah shot Gordon Rimmer. She distracted him by throwing his dog to him.
6) Bart and Ken suddenly appeared and killed the men of the machine. Ken realised that it was his
destiny to fix the machine, and he did so.
7) Estevez took Dirk to hospital.
8) She sent her abroad, for her own safety.
9) The CIA agent in charge of project Black Wing came to visit him. He told him that he knew he
was psychic.
10) The trigger happy CIA agent killed Estevez.
11) He started hallucinating that his hands were on fire.

Grammar

1) Neither Estevez nor Farah wants to drop their weapon. (want)

2) Bart and Ken decide to stay in the hotel and watch commercials. (decide)
3) A large number of policemen come with Gordon Rimmer to hunt down the machine. (come)
4) 4 million dollars is a lot of money. (be)
5) The number of people that are members of the rowdy three is four! (be)
6) A lot of the baddies die in the show. (die)
7) 100 years is a long time to wait for justice. (be)

Vocabulary

1) There are a number of legal loopholes regarding what constitutes a militia.

2) We are too close to success to give up now.
3) It is my destiny to fix this machine.
4) Farah claimed to have let down Lydia and her father.
5) We can’t tell people about the time machine: we’ll sound insane.