VOCABULARY

 Have / Had / Had

o Have lunch / dinner / breakfast / a meal / something to eat
o Have a party / a meeting / a competition / a game
o Have a lesson / an exam / homework / an appointment
o Have a cup of tea/coffee / a drink / a sandwich / an ice-cream / some
cheese
o Have a shower / a bath / a swim / a sauna
o Have a look = Look at it
o Have a go = Ride it
o Have a good journey = Somebody is going away
o Have a moment = Have some time
o Have a word with you = Speak to you
o Have a good time = Enjoy something
o Have my hair cut
o Have got (Speaking and Informal) = Have (Writing and Formal)
o Have to = Must do something
 Go / Went / Gone
o Go into = Entrar en
o Go out = Salir
o Go up = Subir
o Go down = Bajar
o Go away = Vete
o Go back = Regresar
 Make / Made / Made
o Make coffee / dinner / breakfast / lunch
o Make a photocopy / film / video / noise
o Made a mistake / my bed / an appointment
o Do my homework / an exam / the dishes
 o Take an exam / a photo

 Come / Came / Come

o Come in => When someone knocks at the door of a room
o Come into
o Come out
o Come back
o Come from
o Come along
o Come and see => Visit
 Take / Took / Taken
o It + take + person + time
o Take the bus / the metro / the train
o Take an umbrella / some water / your camera / a photograph
 Phrasal verbs
o Get up / on (Better relationship) / over (He got better quickly)
o Turn on / off / up / down (Bajar volumen) (Refuse something)
o Get on (Seguir adelante) / off (Explotar)
o Put something on
o Come on
o Do up (Ponerse una prenda)
o Take off (Leaves the ground) / (Quitarse los zapatos)
 Talking
o We use say when we report someone’s words (Decir lo que ha dicho
alguien)
o We use say when we ask about language (Para preguntar como se dice
una determinada palabra en otro idioma)
o We say hello / goodbye / please / thank you / Happy Birthday / Merry
Christmas / Happy New Year / Congratulations
 o Tell is usually followed immediately by a person and say is not followed
immediately by a person
o We use tell when we want to know how to get to a place
o We use tell with other wh-words too (when, how, why, where). You
can tell someone how to do something, where something is, why
something happened
o Tell someone the time / a story / a joke / your name / address / telephone
number
o Ask I used for questions
o Ask someone the way / the time / a question
o Ask somebody to do something / Ask someone for something
 Moving
o Go by a car / plane / bus / train / bike / motorbike / ship / taxi /
underground
o Take a bus / train / taxi / plane
o Take the underground
o Ride a bicycle / bike / motorbike / horse
o Drive a car / bus / train
o Catch / Miss the bus
o Arrive at or in a place
 Conjunctions and connecting words
o So => Tells you the result
o Although, though => Tells you something surprising
 Time words
o On + days of the week
o At + the weekend
o In + month/seasons
o Never < Rarely < Hardly ever < Not often < Occasionally < Now and
then < Sometimes < Often < Usually < Always
 Common uncountable words
 o Uncountable => Furniture / Traffic / Information / Bad news / Advice /
Weather / Accommodation / Air / Hard work / Rice / Spaghetti / Butter /
Bread / Milk / Water / Tea / Coffee
 Words and prepositions
o Listen to / Waited for / Asked for / Pay for / Belongs to / Think about
/ Thank ___ for / Apologise for
o Look at / for / after (Take care of them) / forward to (Mirar hacia el
futuro)
o Good / Bad at
o Interested in / Afraid of / Proud of
 Suffixes
o Er, on => Person => Worker, swimmer
o Er, or => Machine, thing => Cooker
o Ful => Full of => Useful, beautiful
o Ly => Makes an adverb from an adjective => Sadly, happily
o Ness => Makes an abstract noun from an adjective => Happiness,
sadness
o Y => Makes an adjective from a noun => Sandy, sunny
 Words you may confuse
o Quiet (Silent) / Quite
o Lose / Loose (Flojo / Suelto)
o Fell / Felt
o Cooker / Cook
o Lend (Give it) / Borrow (Get it)
 Clothes
o Scarf => Bufanda
o Trainers => Deportivas
o Socks => Calcetines
o Tie => Corbata
 o These words are always plural => Trousers, jeans, shorts, tights,
glasses, sunglasses
 Travelling
o Arriving at
o Flight stewards => Azafata/o
 In the kitchen
o Cupboard => Alacena
o Shelf => Balda
o Worktop => Encimera
o Sink => Pila
o Taps => Grifo
o Tea tovel => Paño de cocina
o Saucepan => Olla
o Frying pan => Sartén
o Cloth => Paño
o Saucer => Platillo
o Fork => Tenedor
 Holidays
o Package holiday => Everything is included, flights, hotel, etc
o Winter holiday => Skiing / Winter sports
o Camping => Sleep in a tent
o Walking holiday => Walking up mountains
o Coach tour => Going in a big, comfortable bus
o Phrase book => If it’s a different language
 Crime
o Robbery / A robber / To rob somebody on a place => Atracar
o Burglary / A burglar / To break into a house/flat
o Mugging / A mugger / To mug somebody => Asaltar
o Drug pushing // Dealing / A drug pusher // dealer / To sell drugs
 Classroom language
o Briefcase => Maletín
o Socket => Enchufe
o File => Carpeta
o Hole punch => Perforadora
o Chalk => Tiza
o Plug in => Put the plug in the socket and turn on the electricity
 Prefixes
o Un-, in-, il-, ir- and dis- => Give adjectives, some verbs and some
nouns a negative meaning.
 Un- => Is used in many different words.
 Im- => Is used before some words beginning with m or p.
 Il- => Is used before some words beginning with l.
 Ir- => Is used before some words beginning with r.
 Dis- => Is used before some adjectives (honest) and a few verbs
(like, agree).
 In- => Is used before a limited number of words (Visible).
o Un- and dis- => Mean “the opposite of an action” or “to reverse an
action” (lock, pack, appear, dress).
o Re- => Do an action again.
o Over- => Do something too much.
o Mis- => Do something badly or incorrect.
 Noun suffixes
o Verb + suffix
 Improve (Get better) => Improvement
 Manage => Management
 Elect (Choose somebody by voting) => Election
 Discuss => Discussion
 Inform => Information
 Organise => Organisation
  Jog (Running to keep fit or for pleasure) => Jogging
 Spell => Spelling
o Adjective + suffix (-ness / -ity)
 Weak => Weakness
 Happy => Happiness
 Dark => Darkness
 Stupid => Stupidity
 Punctual => Punctuality
 Similar => Similarity
 Adjective suffixes
o Danger / Fame => Dangerous, famous
o Music / politics / industry / Economical => Musical, political,
industrial, economical
o Cloud / fog / sun / dirty => Cloudy, foggy, sunny, dirty
o Attract / Create => Attractive, creative
o -able / -ible
 Enjoyable, comfortable, knowledgeable, suitable (right / correct
for a situation)
 Quite often, -able / -ible has the meaning “can be done”
 Washable, drinkable, comprehensible, reliable (Can be
relied on (Confiado) or trusted)
 To add an opposite meaning you must add:
 Un- for -able
 In- for -ible
o -ful / -less
 The suffix -ful means “full of” + the meaning of the adjective
 Careful, helpful, painful, useful, thoughtful (Pensativo)
 The suffix -less means “without” + the meaning of the adjective
 Careless, painless, useless, thoughtless, jobless and
homeless
 Zero affixation
 o Many words in English can function as a noun and a verb, or noun and
adjective, or verb and adjective.
o Noun and verb
 Smile, smell, laugh, taste, increase, rain, dream, queue, brake,
diet, guess, ring, push, murder
 Compound nouns
o A compound noun is formed from two nouns, or an adjective and a noun.
 Alarm clock, credit card, table tennis, T-shirt, earring, sunglasses,
traffic lights, tin opener, parking meter, dining room, film star,
brother-in-law, income tax, writing paper, washing machine,
cheque book, baby-sitter, mother tongue, box office
 Compound adjectives
o A compound adjective is formed from two different words, and
occasionally three. They are usually written with a hyphen (-).
 Well-known (Famous), well-off (rich), easy-going (relaxed),
brand-new (Completely new)
 “Well” and “badly” combine with many past participles to form
compound adjectives.
 Full-time vs. part-time
 North-west / South-east, etc…
 Right-handed vs Left-handed
 Collocation (Word partners)
o Miss / Catch the bus (Lost the bus)
o Make a mistake (Do a mistake)
o Heavy smoker (Strong smoker / Big smoker)
o Serious illness (Big illness / Strong illness)
o Verb + noun
 Start the car (Turn on the engine)
 Tell a story
 Tell a joke
 Get on a bus
  Miss a person
 Miss a lesson
 Start a family
 Tell the truth
 Run a shop / company (Manage/Control it)
 Get in(to) a car
o Adjective + noun
 Soft drink (Non-alcoholic drink)
 Dry wine = Sweet wine
 Strong coffee = Weak coffee
 Hard work
 Heavy traffic
 A soft voice ≠ A loud voice
 Dry weather ≠ Wet weather
 A strong accent ≠ A slight accent
 A great success
 Heavy rain
o Adverb + adjective
 Terribly sorry / Highly unlike (Muy diferente) / Fully aware
(Plenamiento consciente)

 Verb or adjective + preposition

o Verb + preposition
 Listen to
 Agrees with
 Depends on
 Suffers from
 Get marry to
 Apologise for
 Apply for
 Wait for
  Worry about
 Complain to (Said she was not satisfied)
 Spend on
 Belong to
o Changes of meaning
 Throw to / at
 Shout to (To communicate with me) / at (Angry)
o Adjective + preposition
 Good at
 Afraid of
 Keen on (Interesado en)
 Similar to ≠ Different from
 Interested in
 Surprised at / by
 Aware of (Knows about)
 Tired of
 Full of
 Wrong with
 Preposition + noun
o Fixed expressions
 By mistake
 By myself (On my own)
 By hand
 On strike (En huelga)
 By chance
 On holiday
 By accident
 On purpose
 Out of work
 At least
o In time or on time
  On time (At ___)
 In time (Before ___)
 In the end (Finally, after a long period)
 At the end (Al final)
 In business (They are businessmen)
 On business (They are there for work and not for a holiday)
 In a moment (Very soon)
 At the moment (Right now)
 Phrasal verbs: form and meaning
o Formation
 A phrasal verb is a verb combined with an adverb or preposition
 Go up (Increase)
 Fell over (Fell to the ground)
 Find out (Learn / Discover)
 Look after
 Look it up
 Get on with (Have a good relationship with)
o Meaning
 Sometimes the meaning of a phrasal verb is very similar to the
base verb, and the adverb just emphasises the meaning of the base
verb
 Stand up
 Wake up
 Save up
 Hurry up
 Sit down
 Lie down
 Send off
 On other occasions, the adverb adds the idea of completing the
action of the verb
  Drink up (Finish your drink)
 Eat up (Finish eating)
 Finish off
o Multiple meaning
 Take off (Remove clothes) (An airplane leaves the ground)
 Get through (Finish) (Pass the exam)
 Pick up (Took it from the ground or a low place) (Collect)
 Go off (Alarm clock ring) (The bomb explodes) (Go bad =
Ponerse malo)
 Phrasal verbs: grammar and style
o Intransitive verbs
 Don’t need a direct object
 Growing up (Getting older and more mature)
 Lie down
 Come in (Enter)
 Stay in (Stay at home)
o Transitive verbs
 Need a direct object
 Put on your shoes
 Put your shoes on
 Turn on the TV
 Turn the TV on

 Idioms and fixed expressions

o More phrasal verbs
 Move on (Hurry / Be quick)
  Take it in turns (I do something one unit of time; another person
does the next unit of time)
 Off-hand (Without looking it up or asking someone)
 A short cut (A quick way)
 Small talk (Social talk)
 Make it (Come)
 Keep an eye on (Watch / Look after)
o Fixed expressions
 For a start (Para empezar)
 To make matters worse (Por si fuera poco)
 In the short term (At the moment)
 In the long term (For the longer future)
 Hang on (Wait)
 What’s up? (What’s the matter)
 Go ahead (Help yourself; take it; do it)
 Make up your mind (Make a decision)
 Make, do, have, take
o Make
 A mistake / An error
 A meal (Prepare and cook something to eat)
 Money (Become rich)
 Friends
 A decision
 A noise
 Progress (Improvement)
o Do
 Homework
 The housework (Cleaning)
 A course
 The shopping
  Research (Detailed study in one subject)
 A favour (Do something to help someone)
 Something / Anything / Nothing
o Have
 A rest (relax / do nothing)
 Food and drink => Have steak and have a cup of tea
 A drink (Drink something)
 A bath / shower
 A party
 A baby (Be pregnant or give birth)
 A (nice / great / terrible) time
o Take
 An exam
 A photo
 A decision
 A shower
 A bus / train / plane / taxi
 Give, keep, break, catch, see
o Give
 Give someone a ring (Phone someone)
 Give me a hand (Help me)
 Give someone my regards or give my regards to someone
o Keep
 Keep + noun/pronoun + adjective (Keep you dry / warm) =>
Help you to stay adjective (dry / warm)
 Keep + ing (Keep losing / getting) => I verb (lose / get) again and
again
 Keep in touch (Don’t forget to stay in contact)
o Break
 Break the record (Create a new record)
  Break the law (Do something wrong / against the law)
 Break the ice (To make people feel more relaxed when they first
meet strangers)
o Catch
 Catch the bus (Take a bus / travel by bus)
 Catch that cold (Get that cold / virus)
o See
 See what someone mean (I understand what you are saying)
 Someone don’t / can’t see the point of something (I don’t
understand the reason for something)
 Get: uses and expressions
o Meanings
 Receive => Get a letter
 Obtain (Sometimes = buy) => Ger a new job / Get those shoes
 Become (A change in state) => Get darks / Get cold
 Arrive => You get there / I get home
 Fetch (Recuperar) => Get the books / Get the children
o Get + past participle
 Get married
 Get divorced
 Get dressed
 Get undressed
 Get changed
o Common collocations
 Getting:
 hot / cold
 dark / light
 late
 better / worse
 busy
  tired
 hungry
 ready = preparing
o Phrasal verbs and special expressions with “get”
 Get on very well with = I have a very good relationship with my
sister
 How are you getting on? =
 A general question: how is life?
 What progress are you making with something?
 Get to know = Meet people and make friends
 Get rid of = Sell them or thrown them away or give them away
 Get up = Get out of bed
 Go: uses and expressions
o Come vs. go
 Go usually expresses a movement away from the position the
speaker is in now
 Come expresses a movement towards the speaker
 Sometimes the speaker is in one place but imagines that they are
already in another place
o Different meanings of “go”
 When you leave a place in order to do an activity, you often
express it either with go + -ing noun or go (out) + for a + noun.
 We could go shopping
 She wants to go (out) for a walk
 Go is followed by certain adjectives to describe a change in state
with the meaning become
 My brother’s hair is going grey and my father Is going
bald
 Describe the speed something is travelling
o Expressions
  Have a go = Try it
 How’s it going? = How are you?
 It’s my go = It’s my turn

 Apologies, excuses and thanks

o Apologies
 I’m sorry / I beg your pardon => A general apology
 I’m very / terribly / so / awfully sorry => A stronger apology
o Excuses and promises
 An excuse is the reason for the apology
o Reassuring people
 When people apologise to us, it is very common to say something
to reassure them (tell them that “everything is OK”) and that we
are not angry.
 That’s OK. Don’t worry
 Never mind. It doesn’t matter
 That’s OK. No problem
o Thanks
 Thank you / Thanks / Thanks a lot / That’s very kind of you
 Requests, invitations and suggestions
o Requests and replies
 We use different expressions to introduce a request:
 Could you pass me the salt? Yes, sure
 Could I borrow your dictionary?
o Yes, of course
o Yes, help yourself
o Go ahead
 I was wondering if I could / Would you mind if I
o Invitations and replies
  Would you like to…
 Yeah great
 Lovely
 I’d love to
 Sorry, I can’t
o Suggestions and replies
 Asking for suggestions
 What shall we do…?
 Where shall we go...?
 Making suggestions
 How about going to…? => How / What about + -ing
 We could
 Why don’t we try...?
 Responding
 Yeah, great / fine / OK / that’s a good idea
 Yeah, if you like
 Yeah, I don’t mind
 I’d rather
 Opinions, agreeing and disagreeing
o Asking someone for their opinion
 What do you think of…?
 How do you feel about…?
 What are your feelings about…?
 What’s your honest opinion of …?
o Giving your opinion
 I think / I don’t think
 Personally, I think
 In my opinion
  As far as I’m concerned => This is my opinion and I don’t care
what others think
o Giving the opinion of others
 According to
o Agreeing with someone
 We often agree by continuing with the same opinion or adding to
it. But if we want to make it clear we agree, we can use these
expressions:
 Yes, I agree (with you)
 Yes, I think you’re right
o Disagreeing with someone
 It’s common in English to begin with a short expression of
agreement, and then give a different opinion
 Yes, perhaps / maybe / possibly / that’s true / you could
be right, but don’t you think… / but I’m not sure
that… / but don’t forget…
 If you disagree strongly with someone you can say: I’m afraid I
totally disagree
 When we want to disagree but not completely, we can use these
phrases:
 Yes, I partly agree, but…
 I agree to some extent / a certain extent, but…
 Specific situations and special occasions
o Greetings: Hello
 Hi / Hello. How are you? => This is the normal greeting when
you meet someone you know.
 Good morning, good afternoon, good evening
 How do you do? => For normal situation when you meet
someone for the first time
o Farewells: Goodbye
  Nice to meet you => For formal situations, when you say
goodbye to someone you have just met for the first time
 Bye. See you later
 Bye. See you soon
 Goodnight
o Happy occasions and celebrations
 Happy Birthday
 Happy / Merry Christmas
 Happy New Year
 Congratulations
o Special conventions
 Excuse me => To get someone’s attention / When you want to
get past (Ex. In a crowded place) / To tell others you are going to
leave the room
 Sorry
 Cheers => To express good wishes when you have a drink with
other people
 Good luck => To wish someone well before a difficult situation
 Bless you => To someone when the sneeze
 Uncountable nouns and plural nouns
o Uncountable nouns
 Don’t have a plural form
 Are used with a singular verb
 Cannot be used with the indefinite article “a/an”
 Information, advice, furniture, knowledge, equipment, progress,
weather, homework, luggage, etc.
o Plural nouns
 Only have a plural form and cannot be used with “a/an”
 Usually have a plural verb
 Some plural nouns can be made singular using a pair of
  Jeans, shorts, pyjamas, scissors, sunglasses, stairs, scales and
headphones
 Verbs + -ing form or infinitive
o Verb + -ing form
 Some verbs are followed by an -ing form if the next word is a
verb:
 Enjoy / Mind / Finish / Can’t stand (Hate) / Imagine / Feel
like / Give up (Stop doing something for the last time) /
Avoid / Admit / Deny (The opposite of admit)
o Verb + infinite
 Some verbs are followed by an infinitive if the next word is an
adverb:
 Offer / Want / Seem / Decide / Hope / Forget / Mean
(Intend) / Expect (Think or believe something will
happen) / Manage (Be able to do something, even when it
is difficult) / Refuse / Promise
o Verb + infinite without “to”
 There are two verbs followed by an object + infinitive without
“to”. They are: make someone do something, and let someone do
something
o Verb+ -ing form or infinitive
 Some verbs can be followed by an -ing form or infinitive, but the
meaning is very similar:
 Love / Like / Hate / Prefer
 Verb patterns
o Verb + object

Subject Verb Object

She Proposed The plan
The travel agent Confirmed My reservation
They Discussed The film

o Verb + object + question word

 Subject Verb Object Question word
I Told Them Where
She Asked Us Why
He Showed Everyone What

o Verb + object + infinitive

Subject Verb Object Infinitive

She Asked Everyone To leave
They Told Us To wait
The doctor Advised Him To stay
I Wanted The others To help
He Persuaded Me To go
She Warned Them To be

o Verb + (object) + (that) clause

Subject Verb Object (That) clause

He Said (that) it was good
She Suggested (that) we go together
He Insisted (that) we work until 5 p.m
They Told Him (that) it was expensive
She Warned Me (that) it was dangerous

 Adjectives
o “Scale” and “limits” adjectives

 More examples of scales and limits:

Scale Limit Scale Limit

Big Huge / Enormous Hot Boiling
Small Tiny Cold Freezing
 Tired Exhausted Crowded Packed
Interesting Fascinating Frightened Terrified
Surprised Astonished Hungry Starving

o Adjectives ending -ing and -ed

 The -ing ending is used on adjectives which describe a person or
thing or situation. The -ed ending is used on adjectives which
describe the effect this person, thing or situation has on us. Some
examples:

 Surprising /  Confusing /
Surprised Confused
 Boring / Bored  Interesting /
 Frightening / Interested
Frightened  Exciting / Excited
 Astonishing /  Terrifying /
Astonished Terrified
 Depressed /  Tiring / Tired
Depressing  Fascinating /
 Exhausting / Fascinated
Exhausted

 Prepositions: place
o At, On, In
 At a point / place
 On a surface
 In an area or space
o Opposites
 Up / Down
 Into / Out of
 Over or Above / Under or Below
 In front of / Behind
 Adverbs: frequency and degree
 o Frequency

 Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb except for the

verb “to be”
 Sometimes, occasionally and often can go at the beginning or
end of the sentence
o Degree (How much)

 Rather often describes a negative situation

 For a positive situation, rather often indicates that something is
better than we expected
 Bit is used before negative adjectives or adjectives with a
negative prefix
o Hardly
 Hardly + a positive often has the same meaning as almost + a
negative
 Time and sequence
o When and as soon as
 The meaning is the same, but as soon as suggests it is more
immediate
 I’ll phone my uncle when I get home / As soon as I get home, I’ll
phone my uncle
o Two things happening at the same time
 Pat wrote some letters while I cooked the dinner. (Two actions in
the same period of time)
  The accident happened while I was on my way to work. (There is
a large action and a shorter action)
 I saw him (just) as I came out of the office. (For two very short
actions we use as, and we often use just as to emphasise that
these two short actions happened at exactly the same moment)
o A sequence of actions
 First / Then or After that / Finally
 If one action happens soon after the other, we often use
afterwards
 If you want to say that something happened after a lot of time and
/ or a lot of problems, you can use eventually or in the end
o A sequence of reasons
 First(ly) / Second (ly) / Third (ly)
 We can also start with the phrases to begin with / to start with
 Additions and contrast
o In addition, moreover, etc
 When you add a second piece of information in a sentence to
support the first piece of information, you often use and. When
you put this information in two sentences, these link words and
phrases are common:
 Furthermore
 In addition
 Also
 As well
 What’s more
o Although, in spite of, etc
 When you want to contrast two pieces of information in a single
sentence and say that the second fact is surprising after the first,
you can use:
 Although / Though / Even though
  In spite of the fact that it
 Despite the fact that
o Whereas
 This word is used to connect a fact or opinion about a person,
place or thing, with something different about another person,
place or thing. In other words, the second fact is a contrast with
the first, but not always a surprise.
o However
 This word is used to contrast two ideas in two sentences, and say
that the second sentence is surprising after the first; and you can
use however or on the other hand to make a contrast between
different people / places or things
 Similarities, differences and conditions
o Similarities
 These are ways of saying that two more things are similar, or
have something the same:
 Is similar to / Are very similar
 Alike
 Both
 Neither
 Have a lot in common
o Differences
 These are ways of saying that two or more things are different:
 Different from
 Quite unlike (Very different from)
 Have nothing in common
o Using “compare”
 Make a comparison of
 Compared with / to
o Exceptions
  When we make a general statement about things or people and
the say that one thing or person is not included or is different
from the others, we use these words or phrases:
 Except on
 Are very similar except
 Except (for) / Apart from
 Except can be followed by different words, but except for and
apart from are followed by nouns or nouns phrases
o Conditions
 Here are some words / phrases which introduce or connect
conditions. Like “if”, they are used with certain tenses.
 Unless => Future and present tense
 Otherwise (Because if I don’t) => Future
 As long as (On condition that) => Present
 In case (Because of the possibility it may “verb” later)
 Reason, purpose and result
o Reason
 Because / As / Since:
 With as or since, the reason is often known to the listener
or reader, so it’s less important. It’s also common to put
as / since at the beginning of the sentence
 There are differences between because and because of:
 Because + noun + verb
 Because of + (Adjective) + noun
 Due to have the same meaning as because of, but is more formal
o “Cause” and “Result” verbs
 There are some verbs which we can use in similar ways to the
words above
 Cause (Was responsible for the accident)
 Lead to (Result in)
 o Purpose
 Is an intention, an aim or a reason for doing something. We often
introduce a purpose using so (that).
o Result
 So / Consequently / Therefore / As a result
 So is the most common and usually links ideas in a single
sentence. As a result and consequently are more formal and
usually connect ideas in two separated sentences. Therefore can
be used in a single sentence, but may also connect two sentences
 The physical world
o Mountain ranges => Cordilleras
 Weather
o Humidity (Noun) => Humid (Adjective)
o Temperature

o Wind
 A breeze => A wind => A strong wind => A gale => A
hurricane
o Thunderstorms
 A spell (period) of very hot weather often ends with a
thunderstorm. First it becomes very humid (hot and wet), then
you get thunder and lightning, and finally, very heavy rain (it
pours with rain). Afterwards, it is usually cooler and it feels
fresher

 Using the land

o Ground and soil
 Ground => The general word for the surface of the earth
  Soil => The top part of the ground where grass and flowers grow
o Above the ground
 Water it => Give it water
 Dairy produce => Milk, butter, cheese, etc
 Crop => Cultivo
o Below the ground
 Tin => Estaño
 Countries, nationalities and language
o Who speaks what here?

Country Nationality Language

Germany German German
Britain British English
Korea Korean Korean
China Chinese Mandarin
Thailand Thai Thai
Australia Australian English
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian Arabic
Holland Dutch Dutch
Israel Israeli Hebrew

o The people
 When you are talking about people in general from a particular
country, there are some nationalities that you can make plural
with an “s”, but others can be only formed with the definite
article:
 Brazilians / Germans / Italians / Russians / Israelis
 The British / The French / The Swiss / The Dutch / The
Japanese
 The body and what it does
o Parts of the body
 Bust (Woman) / Chest (Man) => Pecho
 Thigh => Muslo
 Heel => Calcañar
o Physical actions
  Yawn => Bostezar
 Nod => Inclinar la cabeza (Decir que sí)
o Common expressions
 Blow your nose => Sonarse la nariz
 Fold your arms => Dobla tus brazos
 Comb your hair => Peinar tu cabello
 Describing people’s appearance
o General
 Positive
 Beautiful => Is used to describe women
 Handsome => Is used to describe men
 Good-looking => Is used for both
 Negative
 Ugly => Most negative word to describe someone
 Plain => Is more polite
o Height and build
 Tall => Alta/o
 Slim => Delgada/o
 Medium height => Estatura media
 Another word for slim is thin, but slim has a more positive
meaning. Skinny also has the same meaning but is very negative.
 It’s no very polite to say someone is fat; overweight is more
neutral and polite.
o Hair
 Straight => Liso
 Wavy => Con ondas
 Curly => Rizado
o Special features
 Pale skin (White skin)
 Broad shoulders => Hombros anchos
 Describing character
o Opposites

Positive Negative
Warm and friendly Cold and unfriendly
Kind Unkind
Nice, pleasant Horrible, unpleasant
Generous (Happy to give / share) Mean (Never gives to others)
Optimistic Pessimistic
Cheerful (Happy and smiling) Miserable (Always seem unhappy)
Relaxed and easy-going Tense (Nervous; worries a lot)
Strong Weak
Sensitive Insensitive
Honest Dishonest
Hard-working Lazy
Punctual Not very punctual
Reliable (De confianza) Unreliable
Clever Stupid
Flexible Inflexible (A very fixed way of thinking)
Ambitious Unambitious

o Using nouns
 Some important qualities are expressed through nouns
 Initiative (The person can think for herself and can take
the necessary action; she doesn’t need to wait for orders
all the time)
 Common sense (The person does stupid things and
doesn’t think what he is doing)
 Sensible (Has lot of common sense)
 Human feeling and actions
o Feelings

Noun Adjective(s)
Love (≠Hate)
Happiness (≠Sadness) Happy (≠Sad)
Anger Angry
Fear Afraid (of) / Frightened (of)
Pride Proud (of)
Jealousy Jealous (of)
 Embarrassment Embarrassed / Embarrasing

o Ways of…
 Ways of speaking
 Whisper
 Shout
 Ways of looking
 Stare (Looked at someone / something in a fixed way for
a long time)
 Glance (Look at someone or something very quickly)
 Ways of walking
 Stroll (Walk in a slow casual way)
 March (Walk quickly and with a clear purpose/reason)
 Family and friends
o Family background (Family history)
 Inherited (Received something from a family relative when
he/she died)
o Family names
 First name
 Family name or surname
 Middle name
 Full name
o Friends
 An old friend (Someone you have known for a long time)
 A close friend (A good friend)
 Your best friend (The one friend you feel closest to)
o Ex-
 We use this for a husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend we had in the
past but do not have now
 Ages and stages
 o Growing up
 0-1 years => A baby
 1-2 years => A toddler
 2-12 years => A child – This period is your childhood
 13-17 years => A teenager or an adolescent
 18+ => An adult
 20-30 => In your twenties (24-26 = Mid-twenties)
 30-40 => In your thirties (38 = Late thirties)
 40+ => Middle-aged
 60 or 65 => Retirement (When people stop work)
 75+ => Old age or elderly
 Daily routines
o Sleep
 Have a lie-in => Stay in bed until late
 Homes and buildings
o Houses
 Semi-detached house => Casa adosada
 Detached house => Casa unifamiliar
 Terraced house => Casa adosada
o Buying and renting
 Mortgage => Hipoteca
 Landlord => Dueño
o Describing a flat or house
 Draughty => Cold air comes into the room through the windows
and under the doors because they don’t fit very well (Abierto a
corrientes de aire)
 Around the home
o Rooms
 Living room / Lounge
 Study => Room with a desk where you work
 A study => Room with a desk where you work
  Utility room => A room usually next to the kitchen, where you
have a washing machine
 Spare room => A room you don’t use every day. Often this is a
room that guests can use
 Playroom
o The lounge
 Coffee table
o The kitchen
 Sink => Lavabo
 Taps => Grifos
 Stool => Taburete
 Cupboards =>Armario / Alacena
 Cooker => Estufa (Butano)
o The bedroom
 Chest of drawers => Cajonera
 Duvet => Edredón
o The bathroom
 Washbasin => Lavabo
 Towel rail => Toallero
 Everyday problems
o There’s something wrong with…
 There’s something wrong with … (There’s a problem with it)
 Not working (Not functioning)
 Not working properly (It’s functioning but not very well)
 Out of order (Not in use / Not functioning)
 Money
o Common verbs
 Charge => Ask for money
 Save (up) => Keeping some of my money when you receive it
o Adjectives
  Health: illness and diseases
o Aches and pains
 Nouns: Toothache, stomach-ache, backache, earache and
headache. For other parts of the body we use pain
 Verbs: Can be use ache for some things, but hurt is
more common to describe real pain
 Adjectives: Painful ≠ Painless
 Health: injuries
o Common injuries
 An injury is damage to part of your body, usually caused by an
accident in the home, on the road, etc…
 A plaster => Tirita
 A bandage => Venda
 A sling => Cabestrillo
 A bruise => Moretón
o Wounds and injuries

Wound and injury are both used to describe damage to the body, but a wound is
generally caused by a weapon and it’s usually intentional

 Clothes
o Pocket, buttons, collar, sleeves
 Pocket => Bolsillo
 Cuff => Brazalete
 Jumper / Pullover => Jersey
 Sleeves => Mangas
  Collar => Cuello de la camisa / camiseta
o Important verbs
 Hung it up => Colgar
 Shops and shopping
 Shop assistant => Person who works in a shop
 Shop window => The window at the front of the shop
 Window shopping => To look round the shops but not buy
anything
 Shopping list => A list of things to buy
o Types of shop (and what they sell)
 Department store => Almost everything
 Newsagent => Newspapers, cigarettes, sweets, stationary
(writing paper, cards, envelopes, etc.)
 Greengrocer => Fruits and vegetables
o Useful words and expressions
 Looking for => Want
 Just looking => Don’t need help
 Food
o Vegetables
 Cauliflower => Coliflor
 Cabbage => Repollo
 Aubergine => Berenjena
 Courgette => Calabacín
o Animals (meat), fish and shellfish
 Calf => Veal
 Shrimp => Gamba
 Oyster => Ostra
 Lobster => Langosta
 Mussel => Mejillones
 Cooking and restaurants
 o Ways of cooking food
 Roast => In the oven using oil
 Bake => In the oven without oil
o Cooking steak

If you have steak you can eat it rare (Cooked very quickly and still red), medium-rare
(Cooked a bit longer and just red in the middle), medium (Cooked a bit more and just
pink) or well-done (Cooked even longer and not pink at all)

o Describing food
 Tasty => Has lots of taste
 Bland => Without a strong taste, a neutral flavour
 Sweet ≠ Bitter
 Fresh => Recently produced
 Tender => Easy to cut, a positive word to describe meat
(Blando) ≠ Tough (Duro)
 Fatty => Mean with a lot of fat ≠ Lean (Carne magra)
 Fattening => food wit makes you put on weight
o Eating in restaurants

In Britain you often have three courses: A starter, a main course and a dessert.
You may also have a aperitif (A drink before the meal) and coffee after the meal.

 Town and country

o Towns
 A commercial centre => An area with lots of banks and
company offices
o The country
 Hedge => Cerco
 On the road
o Road features
 Junction => Cruce
o Important words and phrases
  Fasten the sea belt => Sujetar el cinturón de seguridad
 Transport
o Vehicles
 Van => Furgoneta

o Catch a bus, take a taxi

Bus Train Plane Taxi Bicycle Car

Driver Driver Pilot Driver Cyclist Driver
Drives Drives Flies Drives Rides Drives
Fare Fare Air fare Fare
Catch / Catch /
Take Take Go on Go by
Take Take
Get on / off Get on / off Get on / off Get in / out Get on / off Get in / out
Railway
Bus station Airport Taxi rank
station

 Work: duties, conditions and play

o What do you do?
 What do you do? => I’m (+ job)
 What’s your job? => I work in (+ place or general area)
 What do you do for a living? => I work for (+ name of company)
o What does that involve? (What do you do in your job?)

When people ask you to explain your work / job, they may want to know your main
responsibilities (what you have to do), or something about your daily routine (what
you do every day/week).

 Main responsibilities
 I’m in charge of (=responsible of)
 I have to deal with any complaints (= take all necessary
action if there are complaints (quejas))
  I run something (= I’m in control of it / I manage it)
 Daily duties / routines
 I have to go / attend
o Working hours
 Flexi-time => They can start an hour or so earlier or finish later
 Do some shiftwork => Working at different times
 Jobs
o Manual jobs
 Bricklayer => Builds walls
 Carpenter => Makes things using wood
 Plumber => Fits and repairs water pipes, bathrooms, etc.
o Professional people
 University lecturer => Teaches in a university
 Broker (Stock market) => Buys and sells stocks and shares
 The career ladder
o Getting a job
 Trainee => A very junior person in a company
o Moving up
 Prospects => Future possibilities in the job
 Pay rise => More money
o Leaving the company
 Fresh challenge => A new exciting situation
 Resign => Officially told the company he was leaving his job
o Hard times
 Shack => Told to leave the company / dismissed / given the sack
o Happier times
 Took over => Took control of
 In the office and in the factory
o The office
 Files => Carpeta archivadora
  Filing cabinet => Archivador
 Briefcase => Maletín
 Wastepaper basket => Basura
 Drawers => Cajones
o Finished goods
 Goods => The general word used for things that are made to be
sold
 Business and finance
o Bank and businesses
 Investments => Things they need to buy in order to help the
company
 Loan => Préstamo
o Business and profit
 Breaks even => Se equilibra
 The turnover => The money that companies receive from selling
their products
 Expenditure => The money that they spend in raw materials,
labour (employees) and overheads (Necessary costs for a
company, like rent, electricity)
o Business and the economy
 Grow / Expand => Get bigger
 Thrive / Prosper => Do well / Be successful
 Low inflation => Prices don’t go up
 Low interest rates => The company can borrow money without
paying a lot of interest
 Tax cuts => Tax reductions / Lower taxes
 Sales and marketing
o “Sales and market”
 Sales figure => The amount you have sold
 Sales target => The amount you would like to sell in a future
period
  Sales forecast => The amount you think you will sell in a future
period
 Sales representative => A person who sells a company’s
product
 Sales / marketing manager => The person who runs the sales /
marketing department
 Hobbies
o Outdoor activities
 Hiking => Excursionismo
 Sport: games, people, places, winning, losing and scoring
o Things you can do with a ball
 Head it => Golpearla con la cabeza

o Places and people

The playing area for football, rugby, hockey and cricket is called a pitch; for tennis,
volleyball, basketball, squash and badminton it’s a court; for golf it’s a course.

 Cinema and theatre

 Stalls => Patio de butacas
 Aisle => Pasillo
 Rows => Filas
 Circle => Anfiteatro
o Describing plays and films
 Moving => Producing strong emotions
 Gripping => Exciting and very interesting
 Good fun => Used to describe a film that may not be serious or
important but is enjoyable
 Music, art and literature
o Musical instruments and musicians
 Cello => Cellist
  Violin => Violinist
 Piano => Pianist
 Guitar => Guitarist
 Saxophone => Saxophonist
 Drums => Drummer
 Flute => Flautist
 Newspapers
o Background

Some newspapers are tabloids (small in size) and the others are called broadsheets
(larger in size)

o Contents
 Home news => News about Britain
 Features => Longer articles about special subjects

o Headlines

Certain words are often used in newspaper headlines.

 Row => An argument

 Quit => To leave a job
 Bid => An effort / a try / an attempt
 Cut => To reduce / Make less
 Back => To support
 Hit => To affect badly
 Talks => Discussion
 Key => Very important
o “It said in the paper that…”

When we refer to something in a newspaper, we can use the verb stay or the expression
according to.

 Television
 o Operating a television
 Turn over => Change to a different channel
o Talking TV
 What time ‘s the film on? (What time does it start?)
 On the phone
o Starting a phone conversation
 I’ll put you through (I will connect you with -)
o Telephone problems
 Line is engaged => The line is busy
 On the phone => Using the phone
 Get through to => Make contact
 Computers
o Hardware
 Central processing unit => The heart of the computer

o What do people use computers for?

 Spreadsheets => A program used to enter and arrange numbers
and financial information
o Important vocabulary
 Computer-literate => Have experience of working with
computers and know who to use them
 Education: school and university
o The system
 Go to school / Go to university => Don’t use the definite article
“the”
o A school timetable

Some words in English which end in “s” look plural, but in fact they are singular:
Maths, physics, economics, politics, etc.
 o Postgraduate courses
 Graduate => When you complete your first degree
 Postgraduate => To do a second course or degree
o School vs. university

At school, you have teachers and lessons, at university, you have lecturers and
lectures

 Law and order

o The court
 Barrister => Abogado
o Punishment
 Convicted of => Condenado por
 A fine => Money you have to pay
 Crime
o Crimes
 Theft (General word for stealing) => Thief => Steal
 Robbery (Steal from peoples or places) => Robber => Rob
 Burglary (Break into a shop/house and steal things) => Burglar
=> Burgle / Break into
 Shoplifting (Steal from shops when open) => Shoplifter =>
Shoplift
 Murder => Murderer = Murder
 Manslaughter (Kill someone by accident)
 Rape (Force someone to have sex) => Rapist => Rape
o Crime prevention
 A burglar alarm => A machine which makes a noise if someone
enters a home
 Politics
o Types of government
 Monarchy
  Republic => A state governed by representatives and a
president
 Democracy
 Dictatorship
o Political beliefs
 Conservatism => Conservative
 Socialism => Socialist
 Social democracy => Social democrat
 Liberalism => Liberal
 Communism => Communist
 Fascism => Fascist
 Bureaucracy
o What is it?

Refers to the official rules and procedures used by officials (bureaucrats) to control an
organisation or country.

o Documents

Some documents are for a fixed period of time. At the end of that time, the document
runs out (informal) / expires (formal). If you want, you must renew it.

o Forms
 Landing card => You may have to fill in when you enter another
country
 Enrolment form => You often fill in when you do a course, etc.
It may also be called a registration form
 Application form => A form to write details of yourself
 War and peace
o A war zone
 Shelling => Firing of guns and explosives
 Wounded => Injured while fighting
o Peace talks
  Ceasefire => A period of no fighting
o Terrorism
 Hijacking => Take control of a bus, train, ship or plane. The
main purpose of hijacking is to use the prisoners (called
hostages) in order to bargain for something (to demand
something in exchange for the hostages)
 Pollution and the environment
o Important definitions
 Harmful => Dangerous / Damaging
o Common causes of damage
 Car exhaust fumes => Humo de los vehículos
 Dumping (throwing away) industrial waste in seas and rivers
 Aerosol cans
 Air travel
o Departures
 Check-in desk => Where they weight your luggage
 Board => Get on
 Overhead luggage
 Taxis => Move slowly
 Runway => A strip of level, usually paved ground on which
aircraft take off and land

If your bags weigh more, you may have to pay excess baggage.

o The flight
 Air steward / Stewardess / Cabin crew / Flight attendants =>
People who look after the passengers
 Fasten your sea belt and put your seat in the upright position
(Posición vertical)
o Arrival
 Land => Arrives on the ground
  Baggage reclaim => To collect your luggage
 Through customs => Aduana
 Hotels
o Types of hotel
 Ensuite => Room with private room
o Types of hotel accommodation
 A double room => For two people with one large double bed
 A twin room => For two people with two singles bed
 Full board => Includes breakfast, lunch and dinner
 Half board => Includes breakfast and dinner
o A visit to a hotel
 Chambermaid => The woman who cleans the room
 A sightseeing holiday (Turismo)
o Things that tourist often do on holiday
 Look round the shops / Have a look round the shops
 Get lost
o Describing “places”
 Packed => Very crowded / full
 Cosmopolitan => Full of people from different countries and
cultures
 Touristy => A negative word: “too much tourism”
 On the beach and in the country
o At the beach
 Seaside resorts => Towns by the sea for tourists
 Sunbathing => Lying on the beach in order to get a suntan
(Bronceado)
 Suntan lotion
 Sunburn
 Sunblock
 Beach umbrella
 o In the country
 Put their feet up => Relax and do nothing
 A stroll => A slow casual walk
 Time
o Prepositions: at, on, in
 At a time => At 8 o’clock, at 3.30, at midnight
 On a day => On Monday, on July 14, on the second day
 In a period => In the morning, in April, in 1995
 Exceptions => At Christmas, at Easter, at the weekend, at night
o Words often confused
 For + a period of time
 Since + a point of time
o Approximate times: past and future
 For the time being => For now / Until I need a better one
o Periods of time
 Fortnight => 2 weeks
o Time passing: take and last
 My English course lasts ten weeks => It continues for teen weeks
 Numbers
o Ordinal numbers and dates

We write 4 January / 4th January, but say the fourth of January or January the
fourth

o Fractions and decimals

1
 1 4 => One and a quarter
1
 1 2 => One and a half
3
 1 4 => One and three quarters
1
 1 3 => One and a third
  1.25 => One point two five
 1.33 => One point three three
o Arithmetic
 + => Addition => 6+4 = 10 => Six plus four is ten
 - => Subtraction => 6-4 = 2 => Six minus four is two
 x => Multiplication => 6*4 = 24 => Six multiplied by four is
twenty-four
 / => Division => 4/2 = 2 => Four divided by two is two
o Saying “0”
 Telephone number => oh
 Mathematics =>
 0.7 => Nought point seven
 6.02 => Six point oh two
 Temperature => Zero
 Football => 2 – 0 => Two nil
 Tennis => 40 – 0 => Forty love
 Distance and dimension
o Distance
 How far is it?
 It is a long way?
 It is very far?
o Size and dimension
 Length => Longitud
 Width => Anchura
 Height => Altura
 Depth => Profundidad
 Deep end => Parte más profunda
 Shallow end => Parte menos profunda
  Shapes, colours and patterns
o Shapes
 A square (n) / Square (adj)
 A rectangle (n) / Rectangular (adj)
 A circle (n) / Round (adj) / Circular (adj)
 A semi-circle
 An oval (n) / Oval (adj)
 A triangle (n) / Triangular (adj)
 A pyramid
 A right angle (Ángulo recto)
 A point (n) / Pointed (adj)
 A star
o Shades of colour
 Dark
 Light / Pale
o Patterns
 Stripped => A rayas
 Tartan => Tartán (Escocés)
o Use of the suffix -ish

When we want to say that a shape is almost round or a colour nearly green, we can
express this idea by adding the suffix -ish: roundish, greenish, yellowish

 Partitives
o Containers and contents
 Tube of toothpaste
 Packet of cigarettes
o With uncountable nouns
When we use uncountable nouns, we sometimes want to talk about one of something.
For example: A sheet of paper, a slice of bread. We can actually use the word piece
with many nouns: A piece of cake, a piece of wood, a piece of information.

o A pair of…

Some nouns have two parts and you can use a pair of to specify number (A pair of skis,
two pair of shoes)

o Group of things
 A herd of cows (Rebaño)
 A group of people
 A bunch of flowers
 A gang of youths / kids / teenagers (Has a negative meaning)
 The senses
o The five basic senses

These are: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell.

 It looks / It looks like

 He sounds / He sounds like
 It tastes / It tastes like
 It feels / It feels like
 It smells / It smells like
o See, look (at) and watch
 See => Is the ability to use your eyes
 Look (at) => Often means to look carefully
 Watch => Often means to pay attention to something that is
moving
o Hear and listen (to)
 Hear => Able to hear
 Listen (to) => Pay attention to things you hear
  Notices and warnings
o Informative notices
 Out of order => For a machine that is not working
 No vacancies => It means the hotel is full
 Sold out => All tickets sold

o Watch out!
 Mind your head => Be careful you don’t hit your head
 Beware of pickpockets => Be careful, there are people here who
will steal things from your bag or pocket without your knowing
 Vague language

Vague means “not clear or precise or exact”

o Thing(s)
 To refer to actions, ideas and facts:
 The main thing (fact)…
 To refer to countable objects
 To refer to a general situation:
 How are things at …?
o Stuff

We generally use stuff (informal) to refer to uncountable nouns when it is not necessary
to be precise and give the exact name.

o (A) sort of…

This is used to describe something when you are not being very exact or precise.
  Present continuous and present simple (I’m doing and I do)
o Compare

Present continuous Present simple

We use for things happening at or around
the time of speaking. The action is not
complete
The water is boiling. Can you turn it off?
Listen to those people. What language
are they speaking?
Let’s go out. It isn’t raining now
I’m getting hungry. Let’s go and eat
Kate wants to work in Italy so she’s
learning Italian
The population of the world is increasing
very fast
We use for temporary situations
I’m living with some friends until I find a My parents live in London. They have
place of my own
We use for things in general or things
that happen repeatedly
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
Excuse me, do you speak English?
It doesn’t rain very much in summer
I always get hungry in the afternoon
Most people learn to swim when they are
children
Every day the population of the world
increases by about 200,000 people
We use for permanent situations
lived there all their lives

o I always do and I’m always doing

I always do (something) = I do it every time => I always go to work by car

I’m always doing (something) = I do it very often, perhaps too often

Examples:

- You’re always playing computer games. You should do something more active
(= You play computers game too often)
- Tim is never satisfied. He’s always complaining (= He complains too much)
o Think
When think means “believe” or “have an opinion”, we don’t use the continuous:

 I think Mary is Canadian, but I’m not sure.

 What do you think of my plan?

When think means “consider”, the continuous is possible:

 I’m thinking about what happened. I often think about it.

 Nicky is thinking of giving up her job.

o See / Hear / Smell / Taste

We normally use the present simple (not continuous) with these verbs:

 Do you see that man over there?

 This room smells. Let’s open a window.

We often use can + see / hear / smell / taste:

 I can hear a strange noise. Can you hear it?

o Look / Feel

You can use the present simple or continuous to say how somebody looks or feels now:

 You look well today / You’re looking well today

 How do you feel now? / How are you feeling now?
o He is selfish and He is being selfish

He’s being = He’s behaving / He’s acting. Compare:

 I can't understand why he's being so selfish. He isn't usually like that (being
selfish = behaving selfishly at the moment).
 He never thinks about other people. He is very selfish. (= He is selfish generally,
not only at the moment)

We use am / is / are being to say how somebody is behaving.

 Past continuous (I was doing)

I / he / she / it was
We / you / they were
I was doing something = I was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The
action or situation had already started before this time, but had not finished.

o Compare the past continuous and past simple

Past continuous (in the middle of an Past simple (complete action)

action)
 I walked home after the party
 I was walking home when I met last night (=all the way,
Dan (in the middle of walking completely)
home)  Kate watched television a lot
 Kate was watching TV when when she was ill last year.
we arrived.

We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something
happened in the middle of something else:

 Matt phoned while we were having dinner.

 lt was raining when I got up.
 I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a
book.

But we use the past simple to say that one thing happened after another:

 I was walking along the road when I saw Dan. So I stopped, and we had a chat.

Some verbs (for example, know and want) are not normally used in the continuous:

 We were good friends. We knew each other well.

 I was enjoying the party, but Chris wanted to go home.
 Present perfect (I have done)
 I / we / they / you have
He / she / it has

The present perfect simple is have / has+ past participle.

When we say that 'something has happened', this is usually new information:

 Ow! I've cut my finger.

 The road is closed. There's been an accident.
 Police have arrested two men in connection with the robbery.

When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with now. The action in the past
has a result now:

 He told me his name, but I've forgotten it. (= I can't remember it now)
 I can't find my bag. Have you seen it? (= Do you know where it is now?)
o Gone (to) and been (to)
 James is on holiday. He has gone to Italy. (= he is there now or on his way
there)
 Jane is back home now. She has been to Italy. (=she has now come back)
o Just, already and yet
 Just = a short time ago
 Hello. Have you just arrived?
 Already = something happened sooner than expected
 'Don't forget to pay your electricity bill.' 'I 've already paid it.'
 Yet = until now. Use yet only in questions and negative sentences
 Has it stopped raining yet?

When we talk about a period of time that continues from the past until now, we use the
present perfect (have been / have travelled etc.)

 Have you ever eaten caviar?

 We've never had a car.

 Susan really loves that film. She's seen it eight times!

  What a boring film! lt's the most boring film I've ever seen.

In the following examples too, the speakers are talking about a period that continues
until now (recently I in the Last few days I so far I since breakfast etc.):

 Have you heard anything from Brian recently?

 I've met a lot of people in the last few days.

 Everything is going well. We haven't had any problems so far.

 lt's good to see you again. We haven't seen each other for a long time.

In the same way we use the present perfect with today I this evening I this year etc.
when these periods are not finished at the time of speaking:

 I've drunk four cups of coffee today.

 Have you had a holiday this year?

 I haven't seen Tom this morning. Have you?

 Present perfect continuous (I have been doing)

o It has been raining

I / we / they / you have

been
He / she / it has

We use the present perfect continuous for an activity that has recently stopped or just
stopped. There is a connection with now:

 You're out of breath. Have you been running? (= you're out of breath now)

 Paul is very tired. He's been working very hard. (= he's tired now)

 I've been talking to Amanda about the problem and she agrees with me.

o It has been raining for two hours

We use the present perfect continuous in this way especially with how Long, for ... and
since .... The activity is still happening or has just stopped.

 How long have you been learning English? (=you're still learning English)
  Tim is still watching TV. He's been watching TV all day.

 Where have you been? I've been looking for you for the last half hour.

You can use the present perfect continuous for actions repeated over a period of time:

 Silvia is a very good tennis player. She's been playing since she was eight.

 Every morning they meet in the same cafe. They've been going there for years.

o Compare “I am doing” and “I have been doing”

 Present perfect continuous and simple (I have been doing and I

have done)
o Compare

Present perfect continuous

We are thinking of the activity. It does not matter whether it has been finished or not.

 My hands are very dirty. I've been repairing my bike.

 Joe has been eating too much recently. He should eat less.

 lt's nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met?

We use the continuous to say how long (for something that is still happening):
  How long have you been reading that book?

 Lisa is writing emails. She's been writing emails all morning.

 They've been playing tennis since 2 o'clock.

Present perfect simple

Here, the important thing is that something has been finished. We are interested in the
result of the activity, not the activity itself.

 My bike is OK again now. I've repaired it.

 Somebody has eaten all the chocolates. The box is empty.

 Where's the book I gave you? What have you done with it?

We use the simple to say how much, how many or how many times:

 How much of that book have you read?

 Lisa is writing emails. She's sent lots of emails this morning.

 They've played tennis three times this week.

 How long have you (been) …?

We use the present perfect to talk about something that began in the past and still
continues now.

Compare the present and the present perfect:

 Paul is in hospital. / He's been in hospital since Monday.

 Do you know each other well? / Have you known each other for a long time?

 She's waiting for somebody. / She's been waiting all morning.

I have known / had / lived etc. is the present perfect simple.

I have been learning / been waiting / been doing etc. is the present perfect continuous.

When we ask or say 'how long', the continuous is more usual:

 I've been learning English for six months.

 lt's been raining since lunchtime.

  Richard has been doing the same job for 20 years.

Some verbs (for example, know / like / believe) are not normally used in the continuous.

You can use either the present perfect continuous or simple with live and work:

 Julia has been living / has lived here for a long time.

 How long have you been working / have you worked here?

But use the simple (I've lived / I've done etc.) with always.

We say 'I haven't done something since/for …’ (present perfect simple)

 For and since / When…? And How long…?

o Compare for and since

We use for and since to say how long something has been happening.

We use for + a period of time (two hours, six weeks etc.):

 I've been waiting for two hours.

 Sally has been working here for six months.

 I haven't seen Tom for three days.

We use since + the start of a period (8 o'clock, Monday, 1999 et c.):

 I've been waiting since 8 o’clock.

 Sally has been working here since April.

 I haven't seen Tom since Monday.

We do not use for + all ... (all day I all my life etc.):

 I've lived here all my life.

You can use in instead of for in negative sentences (I haven't ... etc.):

 They haven't had a holiday in ten years.

 o Compare when…? (+ past simple) and how long…? (+ present
perfect)

It’s
a long time / six months since something happened
It’s been

 Present perfect and past (I have done and I did)

The present perfect (something has happened) is a present tense. lt always tells us
about the situation now.

The past simple (something happened) tells us only about the past.

Do not use the present perfect if the situation now is different. Compare:

 They've gone away. They'll be back on Friday. / They went away, but I think
they're back at home now.

 It has stopped raining now, so we don't need the umbrella. / lt stopped raining
for a while, but now it's raining again.

You can use the present perfect and the past simple for new or recent happenings.

Use the past simple (not the present perfect) for things that are not recent or new.

We use the present perfect to give new information. But if we continue to talk about it,
we normally use the past simple:
Do not use the present perfect (I have done) when you talk about a finished time (for
example, yesterday / ten minutes ago / in 2005 / when I was a child). Use a past tense:

 lt was very cold yesterday. (not has been)

 Paul and Lucy arrived ten minutes ago. (not have arrived)

 Did you eat a lot of sweets when you were a child? (not have you eaten)

Use the past to ask When ...? or What time ...?

o Compare

Present perfect  We've been waiting for an hour.

(we are still waiting now)
 Tom has lost his key. He can't
get into the house. Past simple

 Is Carla here or has she left?  Tom lost his key yesterday. He
couldn't get into the house.
 I've done a lot of work today.
 When did Carla leave?
We use the present perfect for a period
of time that continues until now. For  I did a lot of work yesterday.
example: today / this week / since
We use the past simple for a finished
2007.
time in the past. For example:
 It hasn't rained this week. yesterday / last week / from 2007 to
2010.
 Have you seen Anna this
morning?  It didn't rain last week.

 Have you seen Tim recently?  Did you see Anna this
morning?
  Did you see Tim on Sunday?  We waited (or were waiting)
for an hour. (we are no longer
waiting)

 Past perfect (I had done)

I / we / they / you
had
He / she / it

The past perfect simple is had+ past participle (gone / seen / finished etc).

Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past:

 Sarah arrived at the party.

This is the starting point of the story. Then, if we want to talk about things that
happened before this time, we use the past perfect (had ...):

 When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.

 When we got home last night, we found that somebody had broken into the flat.

 Karen didn't want to go to the cinema with us because she'd already seen the
movie.

 At first I thought I'd done the right thing, but I soon realised that I'd made a big
mistake.

o Compare the present perfect and the past perfect

Present perfect  The house is dirty. They haven't

cleaned it for weeks.

Past perfect

 Who is that woman? I've seen

her before, but I can't remember
where.
 I wasn't sure who she was. I'd
 We aren't hungry. We've just seen her before, but I couldn't
had lunch. remember where.
  We weren't hungry. We'd just  The house was dirty. They
had lunch. hadn't cleaned it for weeks.

o Compare the past simple and the past perfect

 Kate wasn't at home when I phoned. She was at her mother/s house.

 Kate had just got home when I phoned. She had been at her mother's house.

 Past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

I / we / you / they
had been -ing
He / she / it

 When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was
untidy and one of them had a black eye. They'd been fighting.

 I was very tired when I got home. I'd been working hard all day.

 When I went to Madrid a few years ago, I stayed with a friend of mine. She
hadn't been living there very long, but she knew the city very well.

You can say that something had been happening for a period of time before something
else happened:

 We'd been playing tennis for about half an hour when it started to rain heavily.

 Paul went to the doctor last Friday. He hadn't been feeling well for some time.

o Compare have been -ing and had been -ing

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

 I hope the bus comes soon. I've  At last the bus came. I'd been

been waiting for 20 minutes. waiting for 20 minutes. (before

(before now) the bus came)

 James is out of breath. He has  James was out of breath. He had

been running. been running.

 o Compare was -ing and had been -ing

 lt wasn't raining when we went out. The sun was shining. But it had been
raining, so the ground was wet.

 Katherine was sitting in an armchair resting. She was tired because she'd been
working very hard.

 Have and have got

You can use have or have got. There is no difference in meaning. With these meanings
(possession etc.), you cannot use continuous forms (am having etc.):

 We're enjoying our holiday. We have / We've got a nice room in the hotel. (not
We're having a nice room)

For the past we use had (without got):

 Lisa had long hair when she was a child. (not Lisa had got)

In questions and negative sentences there are three possible forms:

Do / Does ___ have …? Don’t / Doesn’t have / has

Have / Has ___ got …? Haven’t / Hasn’t got
Have / Has ___ …? Haven’t / Hasn’t

In past questions and negative sentences we use did/didn't.

We also use have (but not have got) for many actions and experiences.

Have got is not possible in the expressions in the box.

 Used to (do)
Something used to happen = it happened often in the past, but no longer happens:

 I used to play tennis a lot, but I don't play very much now.

 David used to spend a lot of money on clothes. These days he can't afford it.

We also use used to ... for things that were true, but are not true anymore:

 This building is now a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema.

 I used to think Mark was unfriendly, but now I realise he's a very nice person.

 I've started drinking tea recently. I never used to like it before.

“I used to do something” is past. There is no present. You cannot say 'I use to do'. To
talk about the present, use the present simple (I do).

 We used to live in a small village, but now we live in London.

 There used to be four cinemas in the town. Now there is only one.

The normal question form is did (you) use to ...?

The negative form is didn't use to ... (used not to ... is also possible)

o Compare I used to do and I was doing

 I used to watch TV a lot. (=I watched TV often in the past, but I no longer do
this)

 I was watching TV when Rob called. (= I was in the middle of watching TV)

o Don’t confuse I used to do and I’m used to doing

 I used to live alone. (= I lived alone in the past, but I no longer live alone)

 I am used to living alone. (= I live alone, and I don't find it strange or difficult
because I've been living alone for some time)

 Present tenses (I am doing / I do) for the future

o Present continuous with a future meaning

I'm doing something (tomorrow) = I have already decided and arranged to do it. “I'm
going to (do)” is also possible in these sentences. But the present continuous is more
natural when we talk about arrangements. Do not use will to talk about what you have
arranged to do. You can also use the present continuous for an action just before you
begin to do it. This happens especially with verbs of movement (go / come / leave etc.).

o Present simple with a future meaning

We use the present simple when we talk about timetables, programmes etc. (for public
transport, cinemas etc.). You can use the present simple to talk about people if their
plans are fixed like a timetable.

 I start my new job on Monday.

But the continuous is more usual for personal arrangements:

 What time are you meeting Ann tomorrow? (not do you meet)

o Compare

Present continuous Present simple

 What time are you arriving?  What time does the train
arrive?
 I'm going to the cinema this
evening.  The film starts at 8.1 5 (this
evening).

 (I’m) going to (do)

I am going to do something= I have already decided to do it, I intend to do it:

 “Are you going to eat anything?”; “No, I'm not hungry.”

 I'm just going to make a quick phone call. Can you wait for me?

 This cheese smells horrible. I'm not going to eat it.

o I am doing and I’m going to do

We use I am doing (present continuous) when we say what we have arranged to do-
for example, arranged to meet somebody, arranged to go somewhere:

 What time are you meeting Ann this evening?

 I'm leaving tomorrow. I've got my plane ticket.

I am going to do something = I've decided to do it (but perhaps not arranged to do it)

 I've decided not to stay here any longer. Tomorrow I'm going to look for
somewhere else to stay.

You can also say that “something is going to happen” in the future. When we say that
“something is going to happen”, the situation now makes this dear.

 Look at those black clouds! lt's going to rain. (the clouds are there now)

 I feel terrible. I think I'm going to be sick. (I feel terrible now)

 The economic situation is bad now and things are going to get worse.

I was going to do something = I intended to do it, but didn't do it:

 We were going to travel by train, but then we decided to go by car instead.

 Peter was going to do the exam, but he changed his mind.

 I was just going to cross the road when somebody shouted “Stop!”

You can say that 'something was going to happen' (but didn't happen):

 I thought it was going to rain, but it didn't.

 Will / shall

We use I'll (= I will) when we've just decided to do something. When we say, “I'll do
something”, we announce our decision:

 Oh, I've left the door open. I'll go and shut it.

 ‘What would you like to drink?' ‘I’ll have an orange juice, please.'

You cannot use the present simple (I do / I go etc.) in these sentences. We often use I
think I’ll ... and I don't think I'll ...:
  I feel a bit hungry. I think I'll have something to eat.

 I don't think I'll go out tonight. I'm too tired.

Do not use will to talk about what you decided before:

 I'm going on holiday next Saturday. (not I'll go)

 Are you working tomorrow? (not Will you work)

We often use will in these situations:

Offering to do something

 That bag looks heavy. I'll help you with it. (not I help)

Agreeing to do something

 A: Can you give Tim this book?

B: Sure, I'll give it to him when I see him this afternoon.

Promising to do something

 Thanks for lending me the money. I'll pay you back on Friday.

Asking somebody to do something (Will you ... ?)

 Will you please turn the music down? I'm trying to concentrate.

You can use won't to say that somebody refuses to do something:

 I've tried to give her advice, but she won't listen.

 The car won't start. (=the ca r 'refuses' to start)
o Shall I…? Shall we…?

Shall is used mostly in the questions shall I ...? / shall we ...?

We use shall I ...? / shall we …? to ask somebody's opinion (especially in offers or

suggestions):

 Shall I open the window? (=Do you want me to open the window?)
 I've got no money. What shall I do? (= What do you suggest?)
o Compare shall I ...? and will you ...?
  Shall I shut the door? (= Do you want me to shut it?)
 Will you shut the door? (= I want you to shut it)

We do not use will to say what somebody has already arranged or decided to do:

 Diane is working next week. (not Diane will work)

 Are you going to watch anything on TV this evening? (not Will you watch)

But often, when we talk about the future, we are not talking about what somebody has
decided to do. When we predict a future happening or situation, we use will/won't.

 They've been away a long time. When they return, they’ll find a lot of changes
here.
 'Where will you be this time next year?' 'I’ll be in Japan.'
 That plate is hot. If you touch it, you'll burn yourself.
 Tom won't pass the exam. He hasn't studied hard enough.
 Anna looks completely different now. You won't recognise her.

We often use will ('ll) with:

 Probably => I'll probably be home late tonight

 (I’m) sure => Don't worry about the exam. I'm sure you'll pass.

 (I) think => Do you think Sarah will like the present we bought her?

 (I) don’t think => I don't think the exam will be very difficult.

 I wonder => I wonder what will happen.

After I hope, we generally use the present (will is also possible):

 I hope Kate passes the exam.

 I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.

Generally, we use will to talk about the future, but sometimes we use will to talk about
now.

 Don't phone Ann now. She'll be busy. (=she'll be busy now)

o I shall... / we shall...
Normally we use shall only with I and we.

 I shall be late this evening. (or I will be)

 We shall probably go to France in June. (or We will probably go)

The negative of shall is shall not or shan't. Do not use shall with he/she/it/you/they.

 I will and I’m going to

o Future actions

will ('ll): We use will to announce a new decision.

(be) going to: We use (be) going to when we have already decided to do something.

o Future happenings and situations

We use both will and going to to predict future happenings and situations.

 I think the weather will be nice later. / I think the weather is going to be nice
later.

 Those shoes are well-made. They’ll last a long time. / Those shoes are well-
made. They're going to last a long time.

When we say something is going to happen, we know this from the situation now. What
is happening now shows that something is going to happen in the future.
  Look at those black clouds. it's going to rain. (not It will rain) (We can see that
it is going to rain from the clouds that are in the sky now.)

 I feel terrible. I think I'm going to be sick. (not I think I'll be sick) (I think I'm
going to be sick because I feel terrible now.)

Do not use will in this type of situation.

 Will be doing and will have done

I will be doing something (future continuous) = I will be in the middle of doing it:

 This time next week I'll be on holiday. I'll be lying on the beach or swimming in
the sea.

 You have no chance of getting the job. You'll be wasting your time if you apply
for it.

Compare will be (do)ing and will (do):

 Don't phone between 7 and 8. We'll be having dinner.

 Let’s wait for Liz to arrive and then we'll have dinner.

We also use will be-ing to talk about complete actions in the future.

 The government will be making a statement about the crisis later today.

 Will you be going away this summer?

 Our best player is injured and won't be playing in the game on Saturday.

In these examples will be -ing is similar to (be) going to.

We use will have (done) (future perfect) to say that something will already be complete
before a time in the future.

 Sally always leaves for work at 8.30 in the morning. She won't be at home at 9
o'clock she'll have gone to work.

 We're late. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.

Compare will have (done) with other perfect forms:

 Ted and Amy have been married for 24 years. (present perfect)
  Next year they will have been married for 25 years.

 When their son was born, they had been married for three years. (past perfect)

 When I do / When I’ve done / When and if

 We'll go out when it stops raining. (not when it will stop)

 When you are in London again, come and see us. (not When you will be)

 What do you want to be when you grow up? (not will grow)

The same thing happens after while / before / after / as soon as / until / till.

 What are you going to do while I'm away? (not while I will be)

 I'll probably go back home on Sunday. Before I go, I'd like to visit the museum.

 Wait here until (or till) I come back.

You can also use the present perfect (have done) after when / after / until / as soon as:

 Can I borrow that book when you've finished with it?

 Don't say anything while Ian is here. Wait until he has gone.

If you use the present perfect, one thing must be complete before the other (so the two
things do not happen together):

 When I've phoned Kate, we can have dinner. (= First, I'll phone Kate and after
that we can have dinner.)

Do not use the present perfect if the two things happen together:
  When I phone Kate, I'll ask her about the party. (not When I've phoned)

After if, we normally use the present simple (if I do / if I see etc.) for the future:

 lt's raining hard. We'll get wet if we go out. (not if we will go)

 I'll be angry if it happens again. (not if it will happen)

o When and if

We use when for things which are sure to happen:

 I'm going out later. (for sure) When I go out, I'll get some bread.

We use if (not when) for things that will possibly happen:

 I might go out later. (it's possible) If I go out, I'll get some bread.

 If it is raining this evening, I won't go out. (not When it is raining)

 Don't worry if I'm late tonight. (not when I'm late)

 Can, could and (be) able to

We use can to say that something is possible or allowed, or that somebody has the
ability to do something. We use can+ infinitive (can do / can see etc.):

 We can see the lake from our hotel.

 Can you speak any foreign languages?
 I can come and see you tomorrow if you like.
 The word 'dream' can be a noun or a verb.

The negative is can’t (= cannot):

 I'm afraid I can't come to the party on Friday.

You can say that somebody is able to do something, but can is more usual:

 We are able to see the lake from our hotel.

But can has only two forms: can (present) and could (past) . So sometimes it is
necessary to use (be) able to.
 o Could

Sometimes could is the past of can. We use could especially with: see / hear / smell /
taste / feel / remember / understand

 We had a lovely room in the hotel. We could see the lake.

 As soon as I walked into the room, I could smell gas.
 I was sitting at the back of the theatre and couldn't hear very well.

We also use could to say that somebody had the general ability or permission to do
something:

 My grandfather could speak five languages.

 We were totally free. We could do what we wanted. (=we were allowed to do)
o Could and was able to

We use could for general ability. But if you want to say that somebody did something
in a specific situation, use was/were able to or managed to (not could):

 The fire spread through the building very quickly, but fortunately everybody
was able to escape / managed to escape. (not could escape)

 We didn't know where David was, but we managed to find / were able to find
him in the end. (not could find)

The negative couldn't (could not) is possible in all situations:

 My grandfather couldn't swim.

 We looked for David everywhere, but we couldn't find him.

 Andy played well, but he couldn't beat jack.

o Compare
 Jack was an excellent tennis player when he was younger. He could beat
anybody. (=he had the general ability to beat anybody)
 Jack and Andy played a match yesterday. Andy played well, but jack managed
to beat him. (= he managed to beat him this time)
 Could (do) and could have (done)
We use could in a number of ways. Sometimes could is the past of can. But could is not
only used in this way. We also use could to talk about possible actions now or in the
future (especially to make suggestions).

 A: What shall we do tonight?

B: We could go to the cinema.

We also use could (not can) for actions that are not realistic.

 I'm so tired, I could sleep for a week. (not I can sleep for a week)

We also use could (not can) to say that something (a situation or a happening) is
possible now or in the future. The meaning is similar to might or may:

 The story could be true, but I don't think it is. (not can be true)
 I don't know what time Lisa is coming. She could get here at any time.

We use could have (done) to talk about the past.

 I'm so tired, I could sleep for a week. (now)

I was so tired, I could have slept for a week. (past)
 The situation is bad, but it could be worse. (now)
The situation was bad, but it could have been worse. (past)

Something could have happened = it was possible but did not happen:

 Why did you stay at a hotel when you were in Paris? You could have stayed
with Sarah. (you didn't stay with her)
 David was lucky. He could have hurt himself when he fell, but he's OK.

We use couldn't to say that something would not be possible:

 I couldn't live in a big city. I'd hate it. (= it wouldn't be possible for me)
 Must and can’t

You can use must to say that you believe something is certain:

 You've been travelling all day. You must be tired. (Travelling is tiring, and
you've been travelling all day, so you must be tired.)
 Louise must get very bored in her job. She does the same thing every day.
 I'm sure Sally gave me her address. I must have it somewhere.
You can use can't to say that you believe something is not possible:

 You've just had lunch. You can't be hungry already. (People are not normally
hungry just after eating a meal. You've just eaten, so you can't be hungry.)
 They haven't lived here for very long. They can't know many people.

be (tired / hungry / at work)

must
I / you / he (etc.) be (doing / going / joking)
can’t
do / get / know / have

For the past we use must have (done) and can't have (done). You can use couldn't
have instead of can't have.

been (asleep / at work)

I / you / he must be (doing / going /
have
(etc.) can’t joking)
gone / got / known

 May and might

We use may or might to say that something is possible. Usually you can use may or
might so you can say:

 It may be true. or It might be true.

The negative forms are may not and might not (or mightn't).

be (true / at work)
I / you / he may be (doing / going /
(not)
(etc.) might joking)
work / want / know

For the past we use may have (done) or might have (done).

I / you / he may (not) have been (asleep / at work)

(etc.) might been (doing / going /
 joking)
had / wanted / known

Could is similar to may and might. But couldn't (negative) is different from may not and
might not.

 Sarah couldn't have got my message. Otherwise she would have replied. (= it is
not possible that she got my message)
I wonder why Sarah hasn’t re plied to my message. I suppose she might not
have got it. (= ifs possible that she didn’t get it - so perhaps she did, perhaps she
didn’t)

We use may and might to talk about possible actions or happenings in the future:

 I haven't decided yet where to go on holiday. I may go to Ireland. (=perhaps I

will go there)
 Take an umbrella with you. It might rain later. (= perhaps it will rain)
 The bus isn't always on time. We might have to wait a few minutes. (=perhaps
we will have to wait)

The negative forms are may not and might not (mightn't). Compare will and
may/might:

 I'll be late this evening. (for sure)

 I may/might be late this evening. (possible)

Usually you can use may or might. But we use only might (not may) when the
situation is not real:

 If they paid me better, I might work harder. (not I may work)

There is a continuous form: may/ might be -ing. Compare this with will be-ing:

 Don't phone at 8.30. I'll be watching the football on television.

 Don't phone at 8.30. I might be watching (or I may be watching) the football
on TV. (=perhaps I'll be watching it)

We also use may/might be -ing for possible plans. Compare:

 I'm going to Ireland in July. (for sure)

  I might be going (or I may be going) to Ireland soon. (possible)
o Might as well

We might as well do something= We should do it because there is no better alternative.

There is no reason not to do it.

 Have to and must

I have to do something= it is necessary to do it, I am obliged to do it:

 You can't turn right here. You have to turn left.

 I have to wear glasses for reading.
 Last week Tina broke her arm and had to go to hospital.

We use do/does/did in questions and negative sentences (for the present and past
simple):

 What do I have to do to get a new driving licence? (not What have I to do?)
 Karen doesn't have to work Saturdays. (not Karen hasn't to)
 Why did you have to leave early?

Must is similar to have to:

 lt's later than I thought. I must go or I have to go.

You can use must or have to to give your own opinion:

 I haven't spoken to Sue for ages. I must phone her. / I have to phone her. (= I
say this is necessary)

We use have to (not usually must) to say what someone is obliged to do. The speaker is
not giving his/her own opinion:

 I have to work from 8.30 to 5.30 every day. (a fact, not an opinion)
 Jane has to travel a lot for her work.

You cannot use must to talk about the past:

 We didn't have much time. We had to hurry. (not we must hurry)

Mustn't and don't have to are completely different:

You mustn't do something = it is You don't have to do something = you
necessary that you do not do it don't need to do it (But you can)

You can use have got to instead of have to.

 Must / mustn’t / needn’t

o Must and mustn’t

You must do something= it is necessary that you do it. You mustn't do something= it is
necessary that you do not do it.

 You must keep it a secret. You mustn't tell anyone.

 We must be very quiet. We mustn't make any noise.
o Needn’t and don’t need to

You needn't do something= it's not necessary to do it (but you can if you like):

 We've got plenty of time. We needn't hurry. (=it is not necessary to hurry)
 Joe can stay here. He needn't come with us. (=it is not necessary for him to
come)

You can also use don't/doesn't need to. Remember that we say don't need to do / do
need to do, but needn't do (without to).

o Compare needn’t (do) and needn’t have (done)

 Everything will be OK. You needn't worry. (it is not necessary)
 Everything was OK. You needn't have worried. (you worried, but it was not
necessary)
o Needn’t have and didn’t need to

He needn't have done something = he did it, but now we know that it was not
necessary. He didn't need to do something = it was not necessary to do it,

 Should

You should do something= it is a good thing to do or the right thing to do. You can use
should to give advice or to give an opinion:

 You look tired. You should go to bed.

 The government should do more to improve education.

We often use should with I think / I don't think / Do you think ...?

 I think the government should do more to improve education.

 I don't think you should work so hard.

You shouldn't do something= it isn't a good thing to do. Should is not as strong as
must or have to:

 You should apologise. (=it would be a good thing to do)

 You must apologise. I You have to apologise. (=you have no alternative)

You can use should when something is not right or what you expect:

 The price on this packet is wrong. It should be £2.50, not £3.50.

 That man on the motorbike should be wearing a helmet.

We also use should to say that we expect something to happen:

 Helen has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass. (= I expect her
to pass)

 There are plenty of hotels in the town. It shouldn't be hard to find a place to
stay. (= I don't expect it to be hard)

You should have done something = you didn't do it, but it would have been the right
thing to do:

 You missed a great party last night. You should have come. Why didn't you?
(=you didn't come, but it would have been good to come)

 I wonder why they're so late. They should have got here long ago.

You shouldn't have done something = you did it, but it was the wrong thing to do:

 I'm feeling sick. I shouldn't have eaten so much. (= I ate too much)

 She shouldn't have been listening to our conversation. It was private. (= she
was listening)

Compare should (do) and should have (done):

 You look tired. You should go to bed now.

  You went to bed very late last night. You should have gone to bed earlier.

You can use should after:

insist / recommend / suggest / demand / propose

lt's important / vital / necessary / essential that ... should ...:

 It's essential that everyone should be here on time.

After suggest, you cannot use to ... ('to do / to buy' etc.).

 What do you suggest we should do?

What do you suggest we do?

 Jane won the lottery.

I suggested that she should buy a car with the money she'd won.

I suggested that she buy a car.

I suggested that she bought a car.

You can use should after a number of adjectives, especially:

strange / odd / funny / typical / natural / interesting / surprised / surprising

You can say 'If something should happen ... '.

 We have no jobs at present, but if the situation should change, we will contact
you.

You can also begin with should (Should something happen ...).

 Should the situation change, we will contact you.

This means the same as 'If the situation changes, ... '. With should, the speaker feels that
the possibility is smaller.

You can use I should ... / I shouldn't ... to give somebody advice.

o Ought to…

You can use ought to instead of should.

 Do you think I ought to apply for this job? (= Do you think I should apply ...?)
  Jack ought not to go to bed so late. (= Jack shouldn't go ... )

 It was a great party last night. You ought to have come.

 Had better / It’s time…

o Had better

I'd better do something= it is advisable to do it. If I don't do it, there will be a problem
or a danger:

 I have to meet Amy in ten minutes. I'd better go now or I'll be late.

 We'd better stop for petrol soon. The tank is almost empty.

The negative is I'd better not (= I had better not):

 You don't look very well. You'd better not go out tonight.

The form is 'had better' (usually 'I'd better I you'd better' etc. in spoken English).

Had is normally past, but the meaning of had better is present or future, not past.

 I'd better go to the bank now / tomorrow.

o Had better and should

Had better is similar to should, but not exactly the same. We use had better only for a
specific situation, not for things in general. You can use should in all types of situations
to give an opinion or give advice:

 It's late. You'd better go. / You should go. (a specific situation)

 You're always at home. You should go out more often. (in general- not 'had
better go')

Also, with had better, there is always a danger or a problem if you don't follow the
advice. Should means only 'it is a good thing to do'. Compare:

 lt's a great film. You should go and see it. (but no problem if you don't)

 The film starts at 8.30. You'd better go now or you'll be late.

o It’s time…
You can say lt's time (for somebody) to ...:

 It's time to go home. / It's time for us to go home.

But you can also say:

 It's late. It's time we went home.

When we use it's time+ past (we went / I did / they were etc.), the meaning is present,
not past:

 It's time they were here. Why are they so late? (not It's time they are here)

lt's time somebody did something = they should have already done it or started it. We
often use this structure to criticise or to complain:

 This situation can't continue. It's time you did something about it.

 He's very selfish. It's time he realised that he isn't the most important person in
the world.

You can also say lt's about time ... This makes the criticism stronger:

 Jack is a great talker. But it's about time he did something instead of just
talking.

 Would

We use would ('d) / wouldn't when we imagine a situation or action (=we think of
something that is not real):

 It would be nice to buy a new car, but we can't afford it.

 I'd love to live by the sea.

We use would have (done) when we imagine situations or actions in the past (=things
that didn't happen):

 They helped us a lot. I don't know what we'd have done (=we would have
done) without their help.
 I didn't tell Sam what happened. He wouldn't have been pleased.

We often use would in sentences with if:

 I would call Lisa if I had her number.

  I would have called Lisa if I’d had her number.
o Compare would (do) and would have (done)
 I would call Lisa, but I don't have her number. (now)
I would have called Lisa, but I didn't have her number. (past)
 I'm not going to invite them to the party. They wouldn't come anyway.
I didn't invite them to the party. They wouldn't have come anyway.
o Compare will (‘ll) and would (‘d)
 I'll stay a little longer. I've got plenty of time.
I'd stay a little longer, but I really have to go now. (so I can’t stay longer)
 I'll call Lisa. I have her number.
I'd call Lisa, but I don’t have her number. (so I can’t call her)

Sometimes would/wouldn't is the past of will/won't. Somebody wouldn't do

something = he/she refused to do it

You can also use would to talk about things that happened regularly in the past.

 Whenever Richard was angry, he would walk out of the room.

With this meaning, would is similar to used to.

 Whenever Richard was angry, he used to walk out of the room.

 Can / Could / Would you…? etc. (Requests, offers, permission
and invitations)
o Asking people to do things (requests)

We use can or could to ask people to do things:

Note that we say Do you think you could ...? (not can):

 Do you think you could take me to the station?

We also use will and would to ask people to do things (but can/could are more usual).

o Asking for things

To ask for something, we use Can I have...? / Could I have...? or Can I get...?

May I have...? is also possible.

o Asking to do things
To ask to do something, we use can, could or may.

 Do you think I could borrow your bike?

 Hello, can I speak to Steve, please?

May is more formal than can or could. To ask to do something, you can also say Do
you mind if I...? or Is it all right / Is it OK if I...?:

o Offering to do things

To offer to do something, we use Can I...?

o Offering and inviting

To offer or to invite, we use Would you like...? (not Do you like).

 If I do… and If I did…

When we imagine something that will not happen, or we don't expect that it will
happen, we use if + past (if we went / if there was / if you found etc.). But the meaning
is not past.

 What would you do if you won a lot of money? (we don't really expect this to
happen)

Compare if I find and if I found:

 I think I left my watch at your house. If you find it, can you call me?
If you found a wallet in the street, what would you do with it?

We do not normally use would in the if-part of the sentence. But you can use if ...
would when you ask somebody to do something.

In the other part of the sentence (not the if-part) we use would ('d) / wouldn't. Could
and might are also possible.

 If I knew… I wish I knew…

When we imagine a situation like this, we use if+ past (if I knew / if you were / if we
didn't etc.). But the meaning is present, not past:

 There are many things I'd like to do if I had more time. (but I don't have time)
 We wouldn't have any money if we didn't work. (but we work)
  If you were in my position, what would you do?

We use the past in the same way after wish (I wish I knew / I wish you were etc.). We
use wish to say that we regret something, that something is not as we would like it to
be:

 It rains a lot here. I wish it didn't rain so much.

 It's very crowded here. I wish there weren't so many people. (there are a lot of
people)
o If I were / If I was

After if and wish, you can use were instead of was (if I were / I wish it were etc.). If I
was / I wish it was are also possible. We do not normally use would in the if-part of the
sentence or after wish. Could sometimes means 'would be able to' and sometimes
'was/were able to':

 I wish I could help you. (I wish I could = I wish I was able)

 If I had known… I wish I had known…

We use if + had ('d) ... to talk about the past (if I had known / been / done etc.):

 I didn't see you when you passed me in the street. If I'd seen you, of course I
would have said hello. (but I didn't see you)
 I didn't go out last night. I would have gone out if I hadn't been so tired. (but I
was tired)
 If he had been looking where he was going, he wouldn't have walked into the
wall. (but he wasn't looking)

Compare:

 I'm not hungry. If I was hungry, I would eat something. (now)

 I wasn't hungry. If I had been hungry, I would have eaten something. (past)

Do not use would in the if-part of the sentence. We use would in the other part of the
sentence. Note that 'd can be would or had:

 If I'd seen you, (I'd seen = I had seen)

 I'd have said hello. (I'd have said = I would have said)
We use had (done) in the same way after wish. I wish something had happened = I am
sorry that it didn't happen:

 I wish I'd known that Gary was ill. I would have gone to see him. (but I didn't
know)
 I feel sick. I wish I hadn't eaten so much cake. (I ate too much cake)

Do not use would have... after wish:

 The weather was cold when we were on holiday. I wish it had been warmer.
(not I wish it would have been)
o Compare would (do) and would have (do)
 If I'd gone to the party last night, I would be tired now. (I am not tired now –
present)
 If I'd gone to the party last night, I would have met lots of people. (I didn't meet
lots of people- past)
 Wish

You can say 'I wish you luck / all the best / a happy birthday'. We say 'wish
somebody something' (Luck / a happy birthday etc.). But you cannot say 'I wish that
something happens'. We use hope in this situation.

 I'm sorry you're not well. I hope you feel better soon. (not I wish you feel)

Compare I wish and I hope:

 I wish you a pleasant stay here.

 I hope you have a pleasant stay here. (not I wish you have)

We also use wish to say that we regret something, that something is not as we would
like it. When we use wish in this way, we use the past (knew / lived etc.), but the
meaning is present:

 I wish I knew what to do about the problem. (I don't know and I regret this)

 I wish you didn't have to go so soon. (you have to go)

 Do you wish you lived near the sea? (you don't live near the sea)
To say that we regret something in the past, we use wish + had ... (had known / had
said) etc.:

 I wish I'd known about the party. I would have gone if I'd known. (I didn't
know)

I wish I could (do something) = I regret that I cannot do it:

 I'm sorry I have to go. I wish I could stay longer. (but I can't)

I wish I could have (done something) = I regret that I could not do it:

 I hear the party was great. I wish I could have gone. (but I couldn't go)

You can say 'I wish (somebody) would (do something)'.

We often use I wish ... would to complain about a situation:

 The phone has been ringing for five minutes. I wish somebody would answer it.

You can use I wish ... wouldn't ... to complain about things that people do repeatedly:

 I wish you wouldn't keep interrupting me. (= please don't interrupt me)

We use I wish ... would ... to say that we want something to happen. But we do not use
I wish ... would ... to say how we would like things to be. Compare:

 I wish Sarah would come. (= I want her to come)

I wish Sarah was (or were) here now. (not I wish Sarah would be)

 Passive (is done / was done / be done / been done / being done)

This house was built in 1961. Was built is passive. Compare active and passive:

 Somebody built this house in 1961. (active)

 This house was built in 1961. (passive)

When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or
unimportant. If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by.

The passive is be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):

 (be) done / (be) cleaned / (be) damaged / (be) built / (be) seen etc.

o Present simple

active clean(s) / see(s) etc.

passive am / is / are + cleaned /seen etc.

 Somebody cleans this room every day.

This room is cleaned every day.

o Past simple

active cleaned / saw etc.

passive was / were + cleaned /seen etc.

 Somebody cleaned this room yesterday.

This room was cleaned yesterday.

o Infinitive

active (to) do / clean / see etc.

passive (to) be + done / cleaned / seen etc.

 Somebody will clean this room later.

This room will be cleaned later.

o Perfect infinitive

active (to) have + done / cleaned / seen etc.

passive (to) have been + done / cleaned / seen etc.

 Somebody should have cleaned the room

The room should have been cleaned.

o Present perfect / Past perfect

active have / has + done etc.

passive have / has been + done etc.

 The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it.

The room looks nice. It has been cleaned.

active had + done etc.

passive had been + done etc.

 The room looked nice. Somebody had cleaned it.

The room looked nice. It had been cleaned.

o Present continuous / Past continuous

active am / is / are + (do)ing

passive am/ is / are + being (done)

 Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment.

The room is being cleaned at the moment.

active was / were + (do)ing

passive was / were + being (done)

 Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.

The room was being cleaned when I arrived.

o I was offered… / We were given…

Some verbs can have two objects. For example, give:

 Somebody gave the police the information. (=somebody gave the information
to the police)

So it is possible to make two passive sentences:

 The police were given the information.

The information was given to the police.

Other verbs which can have two objects are:

ask / offer / pay / show / teach / tell

When we use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person.

o I don’t like being…

The passive of doing/seeing etc. is being done / being seen etc. Compare:

active I don't like people telling me what to do.

passive I don't like being told what to do.

o I was born

We say 'I was born ... ' (not I am born):

o Get

You can use get instead of be in the passive:

 There was a fight at the party, but nobody got hurt. (= nobody was hurt)

 I don’t get invited to many parties. (= I'm not invited)

We use get only when things happen. For example, you cannot use get in these
sentences:

 Jessica is liked by everybody. (not gets liked - this is not a 'happening')

 Peter was a mystery man. Very little was known about him. (not got known)

We also use get in the following expressions (which are not passive in meaning):

get married, get divorced

get dressed (= put on your clothes)

get lost (= not know where you are)

get changed (=change your clothes)

 It’s said… He’s said to… He’s supposed to…

 It is said that he is 108 years old.
 He is said to be 108 years old.
You can use these structures with a number of other verbs, especially:

alleged / believed / considered / expected / known / reported / thought / understood

Compare the two structures:

 It is said that she runs ten miles a day.

She is said to run ten miles a day.
 It is alleged that he hit a policeman.
He is alleged to have hit a policeman.
o (Be) supposed to

Sometimes (it is) supposed to ... = (it is) said to ...

But sometimes supposed to has a different meaning. We use “supposed to” to say what
is intended, arranged or expected.

 Have something done

We use have something done to say that we arrange for somebody else to do
something for us. Compare:

 Lisa repaired the roof (=she repaired it herself)

Lisa had the roof repaired. (=she arranged for somebody else to repair it)

Be careful with word order. The past participle (repaired/ cut et c.) is after the object:

have object past participle

Lisa had the roof repaired yesterday
Where did you have your hair cut?
We are having the house painted the house
How often do you have your car serviced?
I think you should have that coat cleaned
o Get something done

You can also say 'get something done' instead of 'have something done':

 When are you going to get the roof repaired? (=have the roof repaired)

 I think you should get your hair cut really short

Sometimes have something done has a different meaning. For example:

 Paul and Karen had their bags stolen while they were travel ling.
This does not mean that they arranged for somebody to steal their bags. 'They had their
bags stolen' means only: 'Their bags were stolen'.

 Reported speech (He said that…)

Direct => Paul said “I’m feeling ill”

Reported => Paul said that he was feeling ill

When we use reported speech, the main verb of the sentence is usually past (Paul said
that ... / I told her that ... etc.). The rest of the sentence is usually past too:

 Paul said that he was feeling ill

 I told Lisa that I didn't have any money

You can leave out that. So, you can say:

 Paul said that he was feeling ill or Paul said he was feeling ill.

In general, the present form in direct speech changes to the past form in reported
speech.

Compare direct speech and reported speech:

 My parents are fine

Anna said that her parents were fine

 I'm going to learn to drive

She said that she was going to learn to drive

 I want to buy a car

She said that she wanted to buy a car

 John has a new job

She said that John had a new job

The past simple (did / saw / knew etc.) can usually stay the same in reported speech, or
you can change it to the past perfect (had done / had seen / had known etc.):

 Direct => Paul said 'I woke up feeling ill, so I didn't go to work.'
Reported => Paul said (that) he woke up feeling ill, so he didn't go to work.
 Paul said (that) he had woken up feeling ill, so he hadn't gone to work.

It is not always necessary to change the verb in reported speech. If the situation is still
the same, you do not need to change the verb to the past.

 Direct => Paul said 'My new job is boring.'

Reported => Paul said that his new job is boring. (The situation is still the same.
His job is still boring now.)
 Direct => Helen said 'I want to go to Canada next year.'
Reported => Helen told me that she wants to go to Canada next year.
(Helen still wants to go to Canada next year.)

You can also change the verb to the past:

 Paul said that his new job was boring.

 Helen told me that she wanted to go to Canada next year.

But if the situation has changed or finished, you must use a past verb:

 Paul left the room suddenly. He said he had to go. (not has to go)
o Say and tell

If you say who somebody is talking to, use tell:

 Sonia told me that you were in hospital. (not Sonia said me)
 What did you tell the police? (not say the police)

Otherwise use say:

 Sonia said that you were in hospital. (not Sonia told that ... )
 What did you say?

But you can 'say something to somebody':

 Ann said goodbye to me and left. (not Ann said me goodbye)

 What did you say to the police?
o Tell / Ask somebody to do something

We also use the infinitive (to do / to be etc.) in reported speech, especially with tell and
ask (for orders and requests):
  Direct => 'Drink plenty of water,' the doctor said to me.
Reported => The doctor told me to drink plenty of water.
 Direct => 'Don't be late,' I said to Joe.
Reported => I told joe not to be late.
 Direct => 'Can you help me, please,' Jackie said to me.
Reported => Jackie asked me to help her.

You can also say 'Somebody said (not) to do something':

 Paul said not to worry about him. (but not Paul said me)
 Questions (Do you know where…? / He asked me where…)

In questions we usually put the subject after the first verb:

Subject Verb → Verb Subject

Tom will → will Tom?
you have → have you?
the house was → was the house?

 Will Tom be here tomorrow?

 Have you been working hard?

Remember that the subject comes after the first verb:

 Is Katherine working today? (not Is working Katherine)

In present simple questions, we use do/does:

You live Do you live?

The films start Does the film start?

In past simple questions, we use did:

You sold Did you sell?

The train stopped Did the train stop?

But do not use do/does/did if who/what etc. is the subject of the sentence. Compare:

Who => Object

Emma phoned somebody

Who did Emma phone?

Who => Subject

Somebody phoned Emma.

Who phoned Emma?

In these examples, who/what etc. is the subject:

 Who wants something to eat? (not Who does want)

 What happened to you last night? (not What did happen)
 How many people came to the meeting? (not did come)
 Which bus goes to the centre? (not does go)

You can use preposition + whom in formal style:

 To whom do you wish to speak?

o Isn’t it…? / Didn’t you…?

We use negative questions especially to show surprise:

 Didn't you hear the doorbell? I rang it three times.

or when we expect the listener to agree with us:

 Haven't we met before?' 1Yes, I think we have.'

Note the meaning of yes and no in answers to negative questions:

 Don’t you want to go?

Note the word order in negative questions beginning Why ...?

 Why don't we eat out tonight?

o Do you know where ...? / I don't know why ... / Could you tell me
what ...? etc.

We say: Where has Tom gone?

but Do you know where Tom has gone?

When the question (Where has Tom gone?) is part of a longer sentence (Do you know
...? / I don't know ... / Can you tell me ...? etc.), the word order changes. We say:

 What time is it? but Do you know what time it is?

 Who are those people? I don't know who those people are.
 Where can I find Louise? Can you tell me where I can find Louise?
  How much will it cost? Do you have any idea how much it will cost?

Be careful with do/does/did questions. We say:

 What time does the film start? but Do you know what time the film starts?

Use if or whether where there is no other question word (what, why etc.):

 Did anybody see you? but Do you know if anybody saw you? or ...
whether anybody saw you?
o He asked me where… (reported questions)

The same changes in word order happen in reported questions. Compare:

 direct => The police officer said to us 'Where are you going?'

reported => The police officer asked us where we were going.

 direct => Clare said, 'What time do the banks close?'

reported => Clare wanted to know what time the banks closed.

In reported speech the verb usually changes to the past (were, closed etc.).

 Auxiliary verbs (Have / Do / Can etc.) I think so / I hope so etc.

In each of these sentences there is an auxiliary verb and a main verb:

I have lost my keys

She can't come to the party
The hotel was built ten years ago
Where do you live?

In these examples have / can't / was / do are auxiliary (=helping) verbs.

We use have you? / isn't she? / do they? etc. to show interest in what somebody has
said, or to show surprise:

 'I've just seen Stephen.' 'Oh, have you? How is he?'

  'Lisa isn't very well today.' 'Oh, isn't she? What's wrong with her?'
 'It rained every day during our holiday.' 'Did it? What a shame!'
 'James and Tanya are getting married.' 'Are they? Really?'

We use auxiliary verbs with so and neither:

 'I'm tired.' 'So am I.' (=I'm tired too)

 'I never read newspapers.' 'Neither do I.' (= I never read newspapers either)
 Sarah hasn't got a car and neither has Mark.

Note the word order after so and neither (verb before subject).

o I think so / I hope so

After some verbs we use so when we don't want to repeat something:

 'Are those people Korean?' 'I think so.'

 'Will you be at home this evening?' 'I expect so.

In the same way we say: I hope so, I guess so and I'm afraid so.

 Question tags (Do you? Isn’t it? etc.)

Have you? and wasn't it? are question tags (= mini-questions that we often put on the
end of a sentence in spoken English). In question tags, we use an auxiliary verb (have /
was / will etc.). We use do / does / did for the present and past simple:

 'Karen plays the piano, doesn't she?' 'Well, yes, but not very well.'

Normally we use a negative question tag after a positive sentence:

Positive sentence Negative tag

Kate will be here soon, won't she?
There was a lot of traffic, wasn't there?
Joe should pass the exam, shouldn't he?

Normally we use a positive question tag after a negative sentence:

Negative sentence Positive tag

Kate won't be late, will she?
They don't like us, do they?
You haven't eaten yet, have you?
After Let's ..., the question tag is shall we:

 Let's go for a walk, shall we?

After Don't ..., the question tag is will you:

 Don't be late, will you?

After I'm ..., the negative question tag is aren't I (=am I not):

 I'm right, aren't I?' 'Yes, you are.'

 Verb + ing (Enjoy doing / Stop doing etc.)

After enjoy, mind and suggest, we use -ing (not to ...).

Some more verbs that are followed by -ing:

Stop Postpone Admit Avoid Imagine

Finish Consider Deny Risk Fancy

 Suddenly everybody stopped talking. There was silence.

 I'll do the shopping when I've finished cleaning the flat.
 He tried to avoid answering my question.
 I don't fancy going out this evening. (= I'm not enthusiastic about it)
 Have you ever considered going to live in another country?
 They said they were innocent. They denied doing anything wrong.

The negative form is not -ing:

 When I'm on holiday, I enjoy not having to get up early.

We also use -ing after:

 give up(= stop)

 put off(= postpone)
 go on or carry on (=continue)
 keep or keep on (=do something continuously or repeatedly)

With some verbs you can use the structure verb + somebody + -ing:

 I can't imagine George riding a motorbike.

  You can't stop me doing what I want.
 Did you really say that? I don't remember you saying that.

When you are talking about finished actions, you can say having done / stolen / said
etc.:

 They admitted having stolen the money.

 Verb + to (Decide to… / Forget to… etc.)

Offer Decide Hope Deserve Promise

Agree Plan Manage Afford Threaten
Refuse Arrange Fail Forget Learn

After these verbs you can use to ... (infinitive):

 It was late, so we decided to take a taxi home.

 Simon was in a difficult situation, so I agreed to help him.
 How old were you when you Learnt to drive? (or learnt how to drive)
 I waved to Karen but failed to attract her attention.

The negative is not to ...:

 We decided not to go out because of the weather.

 I promised not to be late.

After some verbs to ... is not possible. For example, enjoy/think/suggest:

 I enjoy reading. (not enjoy to read)

 Andy suggested meeting for coffee. (not suggested to meet)

After dare you can use the infinitive with or without to:

 I wouldn't dare to tell him. or I wouldn't dare tell him.

But after dare not (or daren't), you must use the infinitive without to:

 I daren't tell him what happened. (not I daren't to tell him)

We also use to ... after:

seem appear tend pretend claim

 They seem to have plenty of money.

  I like Dan, but I think he tends to talk too much.
 Ann pretended not to see me when she passed me in the street.

There is also a continuous infinitive (to be doing) and a perfect infinitive (to have
done):

 I pretended to be reading the paper. (=I pretended that I was reading)

 You seem to have lost weight. (=it seems that you have Lost weight)
 Joe seems to be enjoying his new job. (= it seems that he is enjoying it)

After some verbs you can use a question word (what/whether/how etc.) +to ....

We use this structure especially after:

ask decide know remember forget explain learn understand wonder

 We asked how to get to the station.

 Have you decided where to go for your holidays?
 I don't know whether to apply for the job or not.
 Do you understand what to do?
 Verb (+object) + to… (I want you to… etc.)

Want Ask Help Would like

Expect Beg Mean Would prefer

These verbs are followed by to ... (infinitive). The structure can be:

verb + to or verb + object + to

 We expected to be late.
 We expected Dan to be late.
 Would you like to go now?
 Would you like me to go now?
 He doesn't want to know.
 He doesn't want anybody to know.

Tell Remind Force Encourage Teach

Enable Order Warn Invite Persuade

These verbs have the structure verb+ object+ to ...:

  Can you remind me to call Sam tomorrow?
 Who taught you to drive?
 I didn't move the piano by myself. I got somebody to help me.

You cannot use suggest with the structure verb+ object+ to ...:

 Jane suggested that I ask your advice. (not Jane suggested me to ask)

After advise and allow, two structures are possible. Compare:

verb+ -ing (without an object) verb + object + to ...

 I wouldn't advise anybody to
 I wouldn't advise staying in that
stay in that hotel.
hotel.
 They don't allow people to park
 They don't allow parking in
in front of the building.
front of the building

o Make and let

These verbs have the structure verb+ object+ infinitive (without to):

 I made him promise that he wouldn't tell anybody what happened. (not to
promise)
 Hot weather makes me feel tired. (= causes me to feel tired)
 Her parents wouldn't let her go out alone. (= wouldn't allow her to go out)
 Let me carry your bag for you.

 Verb + -ing or to… (Remember / Regret / Try / Need / Help /

Like / Would like)
o Some verbs are followed by -ing and some are followed by to…

Verbs usually followed by -ing:

Admit Avoid Consider

Deny Enjoy Fancy
Finish Imagine Keep (on)
Mind Postpone Risk
Verbs usually followed by to:

Afford Agree Arrange

Decide Deserve Fail
Forget Hope Learn
Manage Offer Plan
Promise Refuse Threaten

o Some verbs can be followed by -ing or to… with a difference of

meaning

Remember

I remember doing something = I did it I remembered to do something = I

and now I remember this.
You remember doing something after
you have done it.
 I know I locked the door. I
clearly remember locking it.
 He could remember driving
along the road just before the
accident, but he couldn't
remember the accident itself.
remembered that I had to do it, so I did
it.
You remember to do something before
you do it.
 I remembered to lock the door,
but I forgot to shut the windows.
 I must remember to pay the
electricity bill.

Regret

I regret doing something = I did it and I regret to say / to tell you / to inform
now I'm sorry about it: you = I'm sorry that I have to say (etc.):

 I now regret saying what I said.  We regret to inform you that

I shouldn't have said it. your application has been
 Do you regret not going to unsuccessful.
college?

Go on
Go on doing something = continue with Go on to do something = do or say
the same thing: something new:

 The president paused for a  After discussing the economy,

moment and then went on the president then went on to
talking. talk about foreign policy.
 We need to change. We can't go
on living like this.

o Some verbs can be followed by -ing or to ... with no difference of

meaning

begin / start / continue / intend / bother

But normally we do not use -ing after -ing:

 It's starting to rain. (not it's starting raining)

o Try to… and try -ing

o Need to… and need -ing

o Help and can’t help
o Like / Love / Hate
o Would like / Would love / Would hate / Would prefer
 Prefer and would rather
o Prefer to do and prefer doing
o Would prefer (I’d prefer)
o Would rather (I’d rather)
o I’d rather somebody did something
 Preposition (In / For / About etc.) + -ing
o To -ing
 Be / Get used to something (I’m used to)
 Verb + preposition + -ing (Succeed in -ing / accuse somebody of
-ing etc.)
 Expressions + -ing
o It’s (not) worth…
o Have trouble -ing, have difficulty -ing
o Spend time / Waste time / Be busy
o Go swimming / Go fishing
 To…, for… and so that…
o Compare for… and to…
o So that
 Adjective + to…
o Difficult to understand, etc
o Nice of (you) to…
o Sorry to… / Surprised to…
o The first / The next + to…
 To... (Afraid to do) and preposition + -ing (Afraid of -ing)
o Afraid to (do) and afraid of (do)ing
o Interested in (do)ing and interested to (do)
o Sorry to (do) and sorry for/about (do)ing
 See somebody do and see somebody doing
 - ing clauses (Feeling tired, I went to bed early)
 Countable and uncountable
o A noun can countable and uncountable
o A / An
o Some / Any
 Countable nouns with a/an and some
 A/an and the
 The (School / The school / Children / The children / The giraffe /
The telephone / The piano etc.; the + adjective)
o Compare school and the school
 o The + adjective
o The + nationality
 Names with and without the
o Names without the
 Singular and plural
 Noun + noun (A tennis ball / A headache)
 -‘s (Your sister’s name) and of… (The name of the book)
 Myself / Yourself / Themselves etc.
 A friend of mine / My own house / On my own / By myself
o A friend of mine / A friend of yours, etc.
o My own / Your own
o On my own / By myself
 There… and it…
 Some and any
 No / None / Any / Nothing / Nobody etc.
o No and none
o Nothing / Nobody / No-one / Nowhere
 Much / Many / Little / Few / A lot / Plenty
 All / All of / Most / Most of / No / None of
 Both / Both of / Neither / Neither of / Either / Either of
o Both of… / Neither of… / Either of…
 All, every and whole
o All and everybody / everyone
o All and everything
o Whole and all
o Every / All / Whole
 Each and every
o Compare each and every
 o Everyone and every one
 Relative clauses: Clauses with Who / That / Which
 Relative clauses: Clauses with and without Who / That / Which
 Relative clauses: Whose / Whom / Where
o Whose
o Whom
o Where
 Relative clauses: Extra information clauses
o Prepositions + whom / which
o All of / most of etc. + whom / which
o Which
 -ing and -ed clauses
 Adjectives ending in -ing and -ed
o Compare adjectives ending in -ing and -ed
 Adjectives: a nice new house, you look tired
 Adjectives and adverbs
o Adjective or adverb
o Good / well
o Fast / Hard / Late
o Hardly
 So and such
o Compare so and such
o Compare
 Enough and too
 Quite, pretty, rather and fairly
 Comparison
o Better and better / More and more
o The… the…
 o Older and elder
o Than me / Than I am
 Superlatives
o Oldest and eldest
 Word order: Verb + object, adverbs with the verb
o Verb + object
o Place and time
 Still, yet and already
o Still
o Any more / Any longer / No longer
o Yet
o Already
 Even
o Even though / Even when / Even if
 Although / Tough / Even though / In spite of / Despite
o Compare although and in spite of / despite
 In case
 Unless / As long as / Provide / Providing
o Unless
o As long as / Provided / Providing
o Unless / As long as, etc. for the future
 As
o As = As the same time as
o As = Because
 Like and as
o Like = “Similar to”, “The same as”
o As = In the same way as, or in the same condition as
 Like / As if / As though
 For, during and while
o For and during
o During and while
 By and until
o By… = Not later than
 At / on / in
o Compare at, on and it
 On time and in time / At the end and in the end
o On time and in time
o At the end and in the end
 In / at / on
o In
o At
o On
o Compare
o At the top (of) / At the bottom (of) / At the end (of)
o In hospital / At work
 To / at / in / into
o Get and arrive
o Home
o Into
 In / on / at
o In
o On
o On holiday / On a trip
o At the age of…
 By
 Noun + preposition
o Noun + for
 o Noun + of
o Noun + in
o Noun + to
o Noun + with… / between…
 Adjective + preposition
o It was nice of you to…
o Adjective + about / with
o Adjective + at / by / with / of
o Sorry about / for
o Adjective + of
o Adjective + at / to / from / in / on / with / for
 Verb + preposition
o Verb + to
o Verb + at
o Verb + about
o Verb + for
o Care about, care for and take care of
o Look of and look after
o Think about and think of
o Verb + of
o Verb + for
o Verb + from
o Verb + on
o Verb + in
o Verb + into
o Verb + with
o Verb + to
 Phrasal verbs
o Compare in and out
o Other verbs + in
o Other verbs + out
o Work out
o Other verbs + out
o Verb + on
o Get on
o Verb + off
o Compare up and down
o Knock down, cut down, etc
o Other verbs + down
o Compare away and back
o Other verbs + away
o Other verbs + back