Background information
Experience tells us that in most cases the presenter cannot do without some background information. Before he gets down to the problem itself, he/she has to survey:
§the history of a problem/company;
§the factors which influenced the failures/successes of a company / a project;
§the present state of things in a particular area (unit, department, company, industry, science);
§the home/overall market for a particular commodity;
§all the potential competitors;
§the standards of performance in the key area;
§the relationship between companies etc.
Use of tenses for presenting background information
There cannot be any rigid rule for using one particular tense form when presenting some background information. All the past and present tenses are commonly used in this instance.
The presenter may use one and the same tense form throughout the whole of the background information or a variety of tenses, this wholly depends on the content and style of a presentation.
Talking about the past
The past tenses, in particular The Past Simple, are preferable for giving the history of the subject matter of a presentation, e.g. the historical performance of a company.
Stating the situation in a particular area
The present tenses (Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous) are used to outline the current state of things in a particular market/industry, etc.
Relating cause and effect
The present tenses are also used to summarize background information and build a link between the past and the present, the general and the particular.
Task 26. Fill the gaps in the texts below with a word from the box (don’t forget to put the verbs into the correct tense form).
a)
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to be |
increase |
in |
peak |
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rise |
show |
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to |
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ДВНЗ “Українська академія банківської справи НБУ”
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