• communicative
• outgoing
• detail-oriented
• confidential
• reliable
• polite
• service oriented
• computer skilled
• enterprising

Past Simple, Past Continuous and Past Perfect Exercises

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/past-simple-past-continuous-past-perfect/

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-3.html

https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/past-perfect.htm

https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/past-simple-past-perfect.htm

https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/past-simple-past-perfect2.htm

https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/past-simple-past-perfect3.htm

https://www.english-4u.de/en/tenses-exercises/past-simple-past-perfect4.htm

A generalization is a broad statement that applies to many examples. A generalization is formed from several examples or facts and what they have in common. 

As you'll see in the examples below there are some clue words you can look for to help identify a generalization.

Clue words for generalizations:

• all in all,
• none
• most, many
• everyone
• generally, always
• mainly, mostly
• in general

Clue words for specifications:

• particularly
• especially
• specifically

Generalized statements:

• All parents try to make life difficult for their children.
• Every salesman lies to make more money on a sale.
• Homework is very easy.
• Homework is very hard.
• The United States is colder than Europe.
• Women all want to have large families.
• Men are all afraid of commitment.
• The best way to make new friends is to just start talking to people.
• Nobody really believes that the Earth is flat.
• Most politicians are greedy and manipulative.
• No American thinks staying in Iraq is the best solution.
• Cats are meaner than dogs.
• Dogs are smarter than cats.
• Most people find church boring.
• Everyone likes a little bit of excitement and variety in their life.
• Only a fool would believe what that commercial says.
• Learning to drive isn't difficult.
• College is the only way a person can be properly educated.
• Everyone who goes to college is an elitist.
• Rich people are greedy.
• Poor people are lazy.
• Men don't enjoy window shopping.
• Everyone is a cynic these days.
• No one could complete a marathon without the appropriate training.
• It's impossible for children to appreciate art.
• Children should be seen and not heard.
• If you believe you can do it, you will always succeed.
• All success is brought about by good luck.
• Gentlemen with his kind of upbringing are very trustworthy.
• No one is born evil.
• Everybody loves a trip to the theme park over the summer.
• Police officers are corrupt.
• Police officers are heroes.
• Girls don't enjoy playing with cars the way boys do.
• Boys don't enjoy playing with dolls the way girls do.

Manager: Hello, Kathy. Please have a seat. How are you today?

Kathy: To be honest, I’m a little nervous.

Manager: That’s normal. I tense up before my reviews, too. Kathy, you have been with the firm for a while now and I very much appreciate your work. You work well with our customers in a variety of situations. You are also very pleasant to have around the office, and you are one of those people who help make our office a good place to work.

Kathy: Thank you. 

Manager: Overall, Kathy, your performance throughout the year has been satisfactory, and I am pleased about that. In fact, some aspects of your performance are strong . . . but there are some other aspects that could use some improvement . . .

Kathy: Satisfactory? The customer surveys indicate that customers are very happy with our customer service!

Manager: That’s certainly correct! You deserve a lot of credit for the wonderful results on that survey! Not only does it reflect on your ability to provide high-quality service, but it also reflects very well on your ability to motivate the two people who report to you and . . . 

Kathy: So why is my performance only satisfactory?

Manager: While the quality of customer service is very high, efficiency has fallen and your department is way over budget. We have discussed this throughout the year, and as you know, we have had to add temps during the busier periods to keep up with the calls. 

Kathy: I know we are slightly over budget, but my job is to keep customers happy, and there’s no question about how happy they are . . . 

Manager: Yes, Kathy, I hear you and understand what you are saying. I do, however, also have to be concerned about costs. Primarily because of the temps, we’ve ended up a full 23 percent over budget. Our average number of calls handled per customer service person has fallen from twelve per hour last year to just under nine this year. That’s a falloff of over 25 percent. You do need to work at improving the quantity of calls handled.

Kathy: I don’t understand. I am working as hard as I can and I just don’t see how I can do any better.

Manager: Kathy, I do want to reiterate that overall your work is good—it is satisfactory. If you would like, I would by happy to sit down and try to brainstorm with you how you can shave some costs while also keeping up the excellent quality of customer service that you are delivering.

Kathy: So what kind of salary increase will I be getting?

Manager: Effective immediately, we are bumping up your pay by 5 percent.

Kathy: I think I deserve more. I really expected more.

Manager: I think you are very capable. And I will be happy to work with you to brainstorm with you to decrease costs. I think it will be a lot easier to decrease costs than if instead we had to work at increasing quality.

Kathy: Well, I will do whatever I can.

Manager: Thank you, Kathy. I appreciate that. I do appreciate your work. I appreciate having you working with us.