A primeira frase do texto poderia ser expressa no presente, sem alterar o sentido do texto, como
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Mr. Day was a teacher at a school in a big city in the north of England. He usually went to France or Germany for a few weeks during his summer holidays, and he spoke French and German quite well.
But one year Mr. Day said to one of his friends, “I’m going to have a holiday in Athens. But I don’t speak Greek, so I’ll go to evening classes and have Greek lessons for a
month before I go.”
He studied very hard for a month, and then 10 holidays began and he went to Greece.
When he came back a few weeks later, his friend said to him, “Did you have any trouble with your Greek when you were in Athens, Dick?”
“No, I didn’t have any trouble with it,” answered Mr. Day. “But the Greeks did!”
(L. A. Hill. Elementary Stories for Reproduction, 1977.)
Mr. Day was a teacher at a school in a big city in the north of England. He usually went to France or Germany for a few weeks during his summer holidays, and he spoke French and German quite well.
But one year Mr. Day said to one of his friends, “I’m going to have a holiday in Athens. But I don’t speak Greek, so I’ll go to evening classes and have Greek lessons for a
month before I go.”
He studied very hard for a month, and then 10 holidays began and he went to Greece.
When he came back a few weeks later, his friend said to him, “Did you have any trouble with your Greek when you were in Athens, Dick?”
“No, I didn’t have any trouble with it,” answered Mr. Day. “But the Greeks did!”
(L. A. Hill. Elementary Stories for Reproduction, 1977.)
Gabarito comentado
Resposta: Alternativa A
Tema central: Uso do verbo "to be" no present simple para indicar uma situação habitual ou fato geral. É essencial distinguir tempos verbais e concordância sujeito-verbo em provas de inglês.
Resumo teórico: O present simple (ex.: "is") é usado para fatos permanentes, verdades gerais e situações habituais. O past simple (ex.: "was") indica acontecimentos ou estados no passado. Fonte: Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, e Cambridge Grammar.
Justificativa da alternativa correta (A): "Mr. Day is a teacher..." usa o present simple do verbo to be, concordando com o sujeito singular "Mr. Day" e mantém o sentido de profissão/estado permanente—portanto, reexpressa corretamente a ideia em presente sem alterar o sentido.
Análise das alternativas incorretas:
B - "Mr. Day were...": incorreto por violar a concordância. "Were" é plural ou forma subjuntiva; não se usa com sujeito singular em afirmação factual.
C - "Mr. Day has a teacher...": altera totalmente o sentido. "Has a teacher" significa que ele possui um professor, não que ele é professor. Erro semântico e estrutural.
D - "Mr. Day had a teacher...": passado simples; muda o tempo e o significado (indicaria que no passado ele tinha um professor), não equivalente ao enunciado original.
E - "Mr. Day is going to be a teacher...": indica futuro/ intenção de se tornar professor, mudando completamente o sentido (não afirma que já é professor).
Estratégia de prova: identifique se a frase original expressa um fato habitual/permanente (use present) ou um evento passado (use past). Verifique sempre concordância sujeito-verbo e o significado literal dos verbos usados (ex.: "has" ≠ "is").
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