English for Business Life Elementary
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UNIT 4
Your business activities
Some useful phrases
Listen to the recording and repeat
What does your company do?
We make parts for computers.
We are (We're) in the IT industry,
make parts export shoes
import cars sell insurance
We're in the insurance business.
What are you working on at the moment?
We're working on a new product.
We're developing a new management
information system.
We're building a factory in Thailand.
We're opening an office in Russia.
How is (How's) business?
Is business going well?
Yes, it is. No, it is not (isn't).
We're making a lot of money.
Where are your main markets?
We do a lot of business in Western Europe.
We do not (don't) do much business in the
Far East.
We do 90% of our business in South America.
Do you do much business in Eastern Europe?
Yes, quite a lot. No, not much.
Study notes
m ake parts/do a lo t of business
Make means to create or construct.
We make parts for computers.
Do is used to talk about activities, especially work:
We do a lot of business in Western Europe.
Note the expressions to make money and we are making a lot of money.
See also Reference Section 18.1 for uses of make and do.
What are you w orking on at th e m om ent?
We are develop ing a n ew ... system .
Compare the Present Continuous tense and the Simple
Present tense.
What does your company do? (Simple)
What are you working on at the moment? (Continuous)
See Reference Section 2.2 for the Present Continuous tense.
We are m aking a lot of m oney.
We don't do m uch business in ...
Notice these examples a lot of/lots of much and many.
Affirm ative: We are making a lot of/lots of money.
They export a lot of/lots of shoes.
N egative: We aren't making much money.
They don't export many shoes.
Interrogative: Are you making much money?
Yes, (quite) a lot. / Yes, a lot. / No, not much.
Do they export many shoes?
Yes, (quite) a lot. / Yes, a lot. / No, not many.
See also Reference Section 13.3.
... W estern Europe.
... South America.
See Reference Section 20.13 for parts of the world.
90% of our business
90% = ninety per cent
75% = seventy-five per cent
12 UNIT 4