B1 Language Structures

• Someone wants [doesn't want] /tells/asks someone else to do something: Pedro's mother often wants him to help with the housework. NOT … wants *that he helps …  Our teacher has asked us to hand in a composition next week. Maria doesn't want anybody to know her secret recipe.

• VERB PATTERNS: look forward to + GER: I look forward to visiting you in Paris next month. be interested in + GER: She is interested in learning about Japanese culture. plan to + INF: We are planning to spend two weeks in the jungle.

• COMPOUND ADJECTIVES. Remember that all the words that form a compound are always singular and hyphenated: a ten-week course; a 10-metre-long motor home; a three-year-old kid; a coffee-producing country; an up-to-date review

•  QUESTION FORMING STRUCTURE (Q)ASI[+P]: Can he swim? ASI (Auxiliary + Subject + Infinitive); Where does he live? QASI (Question word + Auxiliary + Subject + Infinitive); What company do you work for? QASIP (Question word + Auxiliary + Subject + Infinitive + Preposition)

•  [be/have] fun ≠ [be] funny: An activity (a party, a trip, a class) can be fun, but a joke, a book or a film may be funny! I had such fun that I didn't want to leave that school. Julia's party last night was lots of fun. We had lots of fun at Jane's wedding. Woody Allen's films are usually very funny. The trip was great fun. NOT *very fun

• it takes someone time to do something: It was really embarrassing because it took me ages to find the ringing phone in my bag! It usually takes me a long time to make new friends.

• Someone finds/doesn't find it difficult/easy/boring/embarrassing to do something: Paula finds it embarrassing to discuss safe sex with her parents. Optimistic people find it easy to make new friends, while anxious people find it difficult to trust others.

• Giving an opinion: Someone finds + Noun/Gerund + Adjective: I find noisy neighbors annoying. Paul finds shopping centers the most boring place in the world. I find swimming in deep waters frightening. Shauna finds Mozart's music relaxing, but she finds listening to heavy metal boring. Many people find reality TV pathetic.

• To link two negative ideas or facts we can use two structures: ... not + VERB [+OBJECT] + and ... not + VERB [+OBJECT] + either: Susan is a vegetarian, so she doesn't eat meat and she doesn't eat fish either. Peter had to change flats because his flatmates didn't do the cleaning and they didn't buy their own food either. Or we can also use the simpler structure: ... not ... or... : When I was a teenager, I couldn't see my friends or go out because I had to do lots of homework.

• look ≠ look like: look + ADJECTIVE, looks like + NOUN or PRONOUN. The woman in the photo looks happy. NOT … she looks *like happy. The man sitting on the floor looks like Gustavo, my neighbor next door. 

• Someone feels/doesn't feel like doing something: --Hey, John, do you feel like going out tonight? --Not really, I feel like staying in. It is pouring with rain outside!

•  Someone agrees or disagrees with something or someone: Susan disagrees with her professor about marriage. OR Someone agrees that...: I agree that marriage is a thing of the past. NOT I *am agree …

• To express that a situation has ceased to exist we use the structures: … NEGATIVE VERB … any more/any longer: Susan was not in love with Peter any more, so they split up. I didn't have to go to the market any more; or AFFIRMATIVE VERB … no longer: English is no longer the property of the British, Americans or Australians.

• To express preference on a particular occasion we use the structures I'd rather + INFinitive, or I'd rather not + INF: - Let's go out tonight. - I'd rather not go out on such a cold night. I'd rather watch a film on TV instead. 

• To refer to another person, thing or place, without saying which one, we use the expressions someone/something/somewhere else in the affirmative, or anybody/anything/anywhere else in negative or interrogative sentences: I am not very fond of that fast food place. Let's go somewhere else for dinner tonight! Would you like to order anything else, sir? NOT … order *another thing. Also, we can use "else" after some question words: What else do you know about Elvis Presley?

• To give advice we use one of the following structures: You should/shouldn't + INF; I (don't) think you should + INF; If I were you, I'd + INF; Why don't you + INF?; What about + GER?

• Expressing a negative opinion or option: I don't think getting promoted is stressful. NOT *I think getting promoted isn't stressful. I don't think you should buy that watch; it's too expensive.

• Expressing the first time someone has done something: This is the first operation I have ever had. NOT … *the first operation I have! This is the first time I've seen the film Blade Runner.

•  INFinitive of personal purpose versus GERund of utility: I went to the shop to buy some pens. BUT This pen is for writing, not for drawing.

• To express a progressive increase we use a double comparative: More and more people now talk about English as an international language. More and more, people are using the internet for business, education, shopping and even to make friends.