C. Incorporated Businesses

An incorporated business has a legal identity separate from that of its owner – it is likely a separate legal person. The main private-sector incorporated businesses are private limited companies and public limited companies. Public limited companies must have minimum capital of £50 000 and are permitted to appeal to the public for funds. The most important characteristic and advantage of all incorporated businesses is that their owners (known as shareholders) enjoy the benefits of limited liability. This means that whatever losses the business makes (even if it is forced to close down), the shareholders will lose, at most, only the money that they have invested. Indeed it is only on the basis of the principle of limited liability that large companies can raise money through share issues.

There is a corresponding disadvantage, though not for the shareholders. The word ‘limited’ in the name of a company is a warning to those dealing with the company (whether as suppliers or customers) that they cannot look beyond the assets of the company for any payment that might be due to them. One cannot sue individual shareholders for the money.

Many private limited companies are very small and take the form of a company simply to gain the advantages of limited liability. In practice their owners are entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is one who provides the capital for a business, makes the decisions within the business, and collects the profits or meets the losses at the end of the year. But entrepreneurs who run a private limited company do not carry the risks of unlimited losses that are associated with the unincorporated businesses. If we look at large public limited companies, however, we find that the role of the entrepreneur is divided between a number of groups of people.

THE PRIVATE SECTOR & THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Grammar material: Present Perfect Tense, Modals for Necessity and Suggestions, Comparatives and Superlatives of Adjectives.

Positive form	Negative form	Questions
I haveworked. You haveworked.   He / she / it hasworked.   We haveworked. Youhaveworked.   They haveworked.	I have not (haven’t) worked. You have not (haven’t) worked. He / she / it has not (hasn’t) worked. Wehave not (haven’t) worked. You have not (haven’t) worked. Theyhave not (haven’t) worked	Have I worked? Have you worked? Has he/ she / it worked?   Have we worked? Have you worked? Have they worked?

- Did you eat breakfast this morning?

- Yes, I did.

- Did you go to Italy last summer?

- Yes, I did.

- Have you (ever) eaten bananas?

- Yes, I have.

- Have you been to Italy?

- Yes, I have.

1. Complete the verb table

Infinitive	Past Indefinite	Past Participle
be break drive forget go … see …	was/were … drove … … knew … …	been broken … … gone … … taken

2. Complete these conversations.

A: Have you ever … (be) in the zoo?

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