Appunti Inglese B2

GENERAL ENGLISH LESSON: INTRODUCTION

QUANTIFIERS:

1. Large quantities

2. Small quantities

3. More or less than you want / need

4. Zero quantity

5. Talking in general and talking specifically

6. Comparing unequal quantities

COUNTABLE (C) and UNCOUNTABLE Nouns (UC)

Countable: banana – bananas. They are possible to count.

Uncountable: rice. There is only one form, you cannot count them.

COMMON UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS:

If you want to specify an amount of an uncountable noun you can say, ex:

A piece of cake / four slices of cake

A piece of cheese / a slice of cheese / a lump of cheese

A cup of tea / a glass of milk / three bottles of beer

LARGE QUANTITIES

A lot of / lots of

Use a lot of or lots of with countable and uncountable nouns in positive

My sister has a lot of money.

sentences: James talks a

Use a lot when there is no noun, and you are describing a verb:

lot. They go to the gym a lot.

Plenty of

Use plenty of with countable and uncountable nouns to mean more than

I’ve seen Titanic plenty of times. She has got plenty of money.

enough:

Much / many

Use much (uncountable) and many (countable) in negative sentences and

My brother doesn’t have much money. We have not seen many films

questions:

recently.

You can also use lots of and a lot of with both countable and uncountable

My brother does not have lots of / a

nouns in negative sentences and questions:

lot of money. My mum does not watch lots of / a lot of films.

SMALL QUANTITIES

A little / a few

A little and a few means some, but not a lot.

Would you like some more cake? Only a little.

Use a little with uncountable nouns: Did you write any more emails after I left?

Use a few with plural countable nouns:

Only a few.

Little / few

Little and few means some, but not enough, this has a negative connotation.

I have little free time at the moment.

Use little with uncountable nouns: There are few shops in the town centre.

Use few with plural countable nouns:

Sarah has few friends at school.

Very little / very few

Very little (uncountable) and very few (countable) to mean a very small

Anna always has very little money. We are going to need very few chairs,

amount:

there are only three or four people coming to the meeting.

SUMMARY

MORE THAN YOU WANT / NEED

This city is too polluted and too noisy. He is too young to buy

Use “too + adjective”:

alcohol. This city is too much polluted.

Never use: It is not warm enough to go to

Use “enough” after an adjective, adverb or verb:

the beach. You don’t study enough. There is too much traffic and too much

Use “too much + uncountable nouns”:

noise. There are too many cars on the road

Use “too many + plural countable nouns”:

and too many red traffic lights He drinks

Also use “too much” after a verb, this has a negative connotation:

too much. I’m thinking about my exams too much. My son sleeps too much.

LESS THAN YOU WANT / NEED

To describe less than you want or need, use “enough” + noun (uncountable

I don’t have enough money to buy that coat. We didn’t buy enough

and countable):

eggs to bake three cakes.

ZERO QUANTITY

Any

Use “any + noun (countable and uncountable)” for zero quantity with a

There isn’t any space in the car. He didn’t leave any money for me.

negative verb:

We don’t have any carrots.

No / none There is no

Use “no + noun (countable and uncountable)” with a positive verb:

space in the car. He left no money for me. How much money do you have on

Use “none” (without a noun) in short answers:

you? None, I’m broke.

TALKING IN GENERAL

All computers need restarting sometimes.

Many people drive too fast.

Most Mondays I go to the gym.

Some people like mustard, some people don’t.

No car can go without an engine.

(You don’t need an article before the noun)

TALKING SPECIFICALLY

All of the people at the meeting were from France.

Many of my friends live abroad.

Most of his neighbours are quiet.

Some of the shoes in that shop were quite expensive.

None of my friends speak Russian.

BOTH / EITHER / NEITHER

We use a positive verb with “both”, “either” / “or” and “neither” / “nor”:

Both the Who and The Rolling Stones were popular in the 1960s.

Neither Mick Jagger nor Roger Daltry want to retire.

Either they will die on stage or in the recording studio. They both want to play music

Use “both” before the main verb (or after “be”):

until they die. They are both in their 70s now.

Use with an object pronoun (us, them etc):

Both of them have won Grammy Awards in the US.

Neither of them have ever stopped singing.

Either of them could live until they are 100 and still be on stage!

Use with “the” + noun:

Both of the records were successful.

Neither of the concerts were cancelled.

Either of the singers could live to be 100.

COMPARING UNEQUAL QUANTITIES

As…as I don’t have as much

With uncountable nouns use “as much” + noun + “as”:

money as last year. We did not have as many

With countable nouns use “as many” + noun + “as”:

holidays as last year. Rob does not earn as

With verbs use “as much as” (after the verb phrase):

much as Jane (does).

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE & VOCABULARY:

ILLNESSES AND INJURIES

What’s the difference between an illness and an injury?

Illness = Sickness (malattia)

Injury = Harm to the body (ferita)

PAST SIMPLE

Used when something happens in the past and is now finished, and we can’t

change it. We often say when it happened, or we understand that it happened in the

past.

EX: I prepared lunch for my mother-in-law yesterday. I studied Latin when I was at

school. Did you see the movie on TV last night? Yes, I did.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

Have + past participle

EX: If someone has fallen and you think they may have broken their leg, you should…

I’ve been to an osteopath, but I’ve never been to a chiropractor. He’s been a nurse

since he was 22 years old.

It’s very important in English. It is considered a “present tense” as it connects the past

to the present in some way.

Past experiences – We use it when we are talking in general and do not give specific

I’ve been to

details such as past times. So, we use it for general life experiences:

London, but I haven’t been in Paris. He’s seen Star Wars 58 times.

“BEEN” or “GONE”?

Ann’s been to the dentist.

Ann’s gone to the dentist.

“BEEN” – Ann has been to the dentist and returned. She is not at the dentist now.

“GONE” – Ann is at the dentist now. She has not returned yet.

We often use EVER (?) and NEVER (-) to talk about experiences as they mean “in my

life”. They go before the main verb. (It’s also possible to use never in a question for

Has Richard never seen Games of Thrones?!

emphasis: ) The Godfather is the

We also use it with superlatives as we mean “in my life so far”:

best film I’ve ever watched. They’ve bought a

We also use it for recent past events when we don’t say when:

new car. I’ve moved house. She hasn’t sent the email to Tony.

JUST

As we use it for recent past actions, we often use just (which means very recently).

I’ve just cut my finger. Just goes

Again, we do not say when the action happened:

before the main verb.

ALREADY

Already is used in positive sentences, before the main verb, and means “before

I’ve already seen this film twice.

now”:

YET

Yet is used in negative sentences and questions. It goes at the end of the phrase

My brother hasn’t found a job yet. Have you finished the

and means “until now”:

report yet?

PRESENT PERFECT or PAST SIMPLE?

Present perfect = To talk about past experiences and recent past actions when we

don’t specify a time.

Past simple = When the time is said or understood, often with a time expression. EX:

I’ve been to Rome twice / I went there in 2013 and

In 2016, last month, yesterday:

2016.

Often a conversation will begin with a general question about a person’s life

Have you ever been to the United States?

experience:

Then, if the other person answers yes, the first person might ask more specific

Did you like it? When did you go? How long did you go for? Who did you go

questions:

with?

We also use the present perfect simple for an action/time which is not finished (it

I’ve lived in Bergamo

started in the past and will probably continue into the future):

since 2007. I’ve known Amy since we were little.

I’ve lived here for 7 years, I live

DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM THE ITALIAN!! NOT

here from 7 years!!

FOR / SINCE

INDIRECT QUESTIONS

A. With QUESTION WORDS:

Direct question Indirect questions: Can/Could you tell me…? Or Do

you know?

What time is it? Can you tell me what the time is? Do you know

what the time is?

Where is the bank? Could you tell me where the bank is? Do you know

where the bank is?

When did the film start? Can you tell me when the film started? Do you know

when the film started?

NOT: Can you tell me what is the film? Or Can you tell me when does the film

start?

B. With YES/NO questions you need IF/WHETHER

Direct question Indirect questions: Can/Could you tell me…? Or Do

you know?

Is the hotel far from here? Can you tell me if the hotel is far from here? Do you

know whether the hotel is far from here?

Does my hair look ok? Could you tell me whether my hair looks ok? Do you

know if my coat is still on the chair?

NOT: Can you tell me is the hotel far from here? Or Can you tell does my hair

look ok?

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Have + been + verb + -ing

I’ve been seeing a chiropodist regularly because of my bad toe. He’s been having nose

bleeds since last week. She’s been taking paracetamol for three weeks now because

of her back pain. How

1. For unfinished time we also use the Present Perfect Continuous:

long have you been playing piano? I’ve been playing the piano since I was 7

years old. Have you been playing piano for a long time? Yes, I have /No, I

haven’t. They’ve been waiting for them since January.

How long have you been

In these examples we use the present perfect continuous:

playing piano? I’ve been playing it since I was 7 years old. How

But in these examples, we can’t, and we need to use the present perfect simple:

long have you known Amy? I’ve known Amy since I was little.

Generally, for unfinished time, we use: John’s known Jack since school.

Present Perfect Simple with non-active verbs.

How long have you had this cold? How long have you been waiting

Present perfect continuous with active verbs.

for me? I’ve been listening to music for hours. We haven’t been eating meat as much