Appunti Inglese B1

Obligation and Necessity

We use have to (+ verb) to say something is necessary, and to express all kinds of obligation. We can use it in all tenses (had to, will have to, is having to, etc.).

Examples:

• He has to wear glasses for driving.
• We'll have to work late tonight if we want to finish this project today.
• Yesterday we had to wait for an hour for our train as it was so late.
• What time do you have to leave?

We can also use need to to express necessity.

Examples:

• I need to buy some food tonight.
• Do we need to book a table?

We also use must to talk about obligation, but mainly to express a personal obligation. It is only used in the present tense.

Examples:

• I haven't seen that movie yet. I must see it.
• You must visit Istanbul. It's amazing.
• We mustn't watch so much TV in the evening (it's not good for us).

Must and have to are very similar. The difference is that must is more about the speaker's opinion and have to is about an external obligation.

Example:

• I have to work until 8pm.

On Fridays. (a fact not an opinion) - He must give up smoking. (my opinion) Remember that must is generally used in written instruction - You must wear hard hats on the construction site. MUSTN'T use mustn't to talk about prohibition, or when something is dangerous, or wrong - You mustn't drive on the wrong side of the road. - You mustn't smoke in here. REMEMBER: don't use must in the past (use had to + verb) - When I was at school we had to wear a uniform - In my previous job I had to start at 7am every morning. DON'T HAVE TO whereas must and have to are similar in their positive forms, mustn't and don't have to are completely different.
mustn't means that you cannot do it - You mustn't smoke in here.
don't have to means that it is not necessary - You don't have to pay for this newspaper because it's free. NEEDN'T we can also use needn't (or don't need to) to say that

something isn’t necessary, or there is no obligation- You don’t/won’t need to take the car, my house is in walking distance.- You needn’t hurry, we’ll be on time.

CAN / CAN’Twe use can (+ verb) and can’t (+ verb) to say that something is, or is not, possible or allowed:- I can go to the shop after work. I’ll have time.- You can’t smoke inside but you can smoke in the garden.in the past can becomes could:- We couldn’t go to the cinema last night because we couldn’t find a babysitter.remember that we also use can (+ verb) for ability:- I can play the piano.- My husband says he can’t cook. He can cook, he just doesn’t want to!- When I was younger I could play the clarinet.

MODAL VERBS FOR ADVICEwe use should (+ verb) and should not (+ verb) to give advice and make recommendations:- You should see the new Pixar movie, it’s great.- He shouldn’t drink so much beer.you can also use ought to /

oughtn't to instead of should/shouldn't - it means the same thing. - You ought to see the new Pixar movie... - He oughtn't to drink so much beer. 15 Appunti inglese OFA B1 - Marta Pessina PASSIVE 1 When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does: - My grandfather was a builder. He built his house in 1961. - It's a big company. It employs two hundred people. When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject: - 'How old is this house?' 'It was built in 1961'. - Two hundred people are employed by the company. When we use the passive, who or what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant: - A lot of money was stolen in the robbery. (somebody stole it, but we don't know who) - Is this room cleaned every day? (does somebody clean it? - it's not important who) If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use by: - This house was built by my grandfather. - Two hundred people are employed by the company.

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

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE FORMS

PRESENT SIMPLE

active —> clean(s) / see(s) etc.

- Somebody cleans this room every day.

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

- Many accidents are caused by careless driving.

- I’m not invited to parties very often.

- How is this word pronunced?

PAST SIMPLE

active —> cleaned / saw etc.

- Somebody cleaned this room every day.

passive —> was / were + cleaned / seen etc.

- We were woken up by a loud noise during the night.

- ‘Did you go to the party?’ ‘No, I wasn’t invited.’

- How much money was stolen in the robbery?

PASSIVE 2

INFINITIVE

active —> (to) do / clean / see etc.

- Somebody will clean this room later.

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

- The situation is serious. Something must be done before it’s too late.

16Appunti inglese OFA B1 - Marta Pessina

- A mystery is

something that can't be explained.

A new supermarket is going to be built next year.

PERFECT INFINITIVE

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

Somebody should have cleaned the room.

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

I should have received the letter by now. It might have been sent to the wrong address.

If you had locked the car, it wouldn't have been stolen.

There were some problems at first, but they seem to have been solved.

PRESENT PERFECT

active -> have / has + done etc.

The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it.

passive -> have / has been + done etc.

Have you heard? The trip has been cancelled.

Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

'Are you going to the party?' 'No, I haven't been invited.'

PAST PERFECT

active -> had + done etc.

The room looked so nice. Somebody had cleaned it.

passive -> had been + done etc.

The vegetables didn't taste good.

They had been cooked too long.

The car was three years old, but hadn’t been used very much.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

active —> am / is / are + (do) ing

- Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment

passive —> am / is / are + being (done)

- There’s somebody walking behind us. I think we are being followed.

- (in a shop) ‘Can I help you?’ ‘No, thanks. I’m being served.’

PAST CONTINUOUS

active —> was / were + (do) ing

- Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.

passive —> was / were + being (done)

- There was somebody walking behind us. I think we were being followed.

PASSIVE 3

I was offered … / we were given … etc.

some verbs can have two objects

for example, give: 17Appunti inglese OFA B1 - Marta Pessina

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

• the police = object 1

• the information = object 2

so it is possible to make two passive sentences:

- The

police were given the information.or- The information was given to the police.

other verbs which can have two object are:- ask- offer- pay- show- teach- tell

when we use these verbs in the passive, most often we begin with the person:- I’ve been offered the job, but I don’t think I’ll accept it.(= they have offered me the job)- You will be given plenty of time to decide.(= we will give you plenty of time)

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.

I was born …we say ‘I was born…’NOT : I am born

past:- I was born in Chicago.- Where were you born?BUTpresent:- How many babies are born every day?

getyou 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 am not invited to many parties)

I’m not invited) 18Appunti inglese OFA B1 - Marta Pessina

we use get only when things happen

you CANNOT use get in these sentences:

• - Jessica is liked by everybody. (not gets liked - this is not ‘happening’)
• - Peter was a mystery man. Very little was known about him. (not got known)

we use get mainly in informal spoken English. You can use be in all situations.

we also use get in the following expressions:

• - Get married
• - Get divorced
• - Get lost (= not know where you are)
• - Get dressed (= put on your clothes)
• - Get changed (= change your clothes)

IT IS SAID THAT … HE IS SAID TO … HE IS SUPPOSED TO …

- George is very old. Nobody knows exactly how old he is, but:

• • It is said that he is 108 years old.
• • He is said to be 108 years old.

both these sentences mean: ‘people say that he is 108 years old.’

you can use these structures with a number of other verbs, especially:

• - alleged
• - believed
• - considered
• - expected
• - known
• - reported
• - thought

understoodcompare the two structures: 19Appunti inglese OFA B1 - Marta Pessina
(be) supposed to
sometimes (it is) supposed to … = (it is) said to … :-
I want to see that film. It’s supposed to be good. (=it is said to be good)
Fireworks are supposed to have been invited in China. Is it true?
but sometimes supposed to has a different meaning. we use suppose to say what is intended, arranged or expected
often this is different from the real situation:-
The plan is suppose to be a secret, but everybody seems to know about it. (= the plan is intended to be a secret)
What are you doing at work? You’re suppose to be on holidays. (= you arranged to be on holiday)
you’re not suppose to do something = it is not allowed or advisable:-
You’re not supposed to park your car here. It’s private parking only.
Jeff is much better after his illness, but he’s still not suppose to do any heavy work.
HAVE SOMETHING DONE
we use have something done to say that we

Arrange for somebody else to do something for us:

• 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 etc.) comes after the object:

Have + object + past participle

Lisa had the roof repaired yesterday.

Where did you have your hair cut?