YoQuieroIngles

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Intercambios de Inglés Gratis: Granada 2016

Can you spot the BBC's spelling mistake? Do you know why this is funny? (I can't tell you here - ask an English friend!)

Don't forget, all of these verbs/expressions are found with the same preposition...
INSIST
DEPEND
(TO BE) KEEN
CONSCENTRATE
RELY
...................................................ON !

Confusing English!
‘COULD’ is usually only used to talk about general ability in the past, e.g.
‘I could play the guitar when I was 10.’
‘My grandfather could speak 4 languages.’
If you are talking about ability on a specific occasion you use ‘be able to’ or ‘managed to’.
(‘Manage to’ is particularly used to imply achieving something after an effort or struggle)
e.g. ‘I was able to get front row tickets.’
‘I managed to hide the evidence before my wife got home!
However…this is English, so nothing is that simple.
For sense verbs; see, hear, smell, touch, taste and also the verb to understand and ‘tell’ (when the meaning is ‘perceive’)
You CAN combine these verbs with ‘could’ for specific occasions.
‘I could see a man waving and shouting.’
‘I could tell he was angry even though he said nothing.’
‘I could smell gas as soon as I walked into the building.’

Many parts of the B2 Use of English exam require good knowledge of collocations and include various phrasal verbs. Choose the correct word to complete the following…

1. In this game a team consists ____ 7 players.

2. I am really _________ forward to Christmas. Normally I don’t ____ forward to it.

3. I am very ______ on travelling, I go away as much as possible.

4. I can’t ____ up with people that eat with their mouth open! I hate it.

5. My brother is very good ___- languages, he is fluent ____ Spanish French and German!

6. The problem with England is that you can’t rely ___ the weather, it’s always changing.

7. I don’t know if I am working tomorrow it depends ___ my boss.

8. It took me a whole year to get _____ the death of my lovely dog ‘Fluffy’. I still miss him though.

9. The company has been so successful that they have ______ on 20 more staff this year.

10. I don’t like getting involved ___ political discussions.

11. Hardly anyone turned ___ to my party because I am so miserable I have very ____ friends.

12. I should _____ more attention in class but I prefer to send Whatsapp messages.

ANSWERS: 1. Of 2. Looking/look 3. Keen 4. Put 5. At/in 6.on 7. On 8. over 9. Taken 10. in 11. Up/few 12. pay

Top 10 mistakes at B1:
1. Omitting the ‘s’ for 3rd person singular. - ‘He like cooking.’ X - ‘He likes cooking.’ ✓
2. Incorrect use of gerunds and infinitives after certain verbs. - ‘I enjoy to shop.’ X
- 'I enjoy shopping.’ ✓
- ‘I would like go shopping. X
- ‘I would like to go shopping. ✓
3. Incorrect use of infinitives after modal verbs. -‘I must to go home.’ X - ‘I must go home.’ ✓
4. Incorrect use of ‘make’ and ‘do’.
- ‘I did a mistake.’ X
- ‘I made a mistake.’✓
- ‘I make my homework.’ X
- ‘I do my homework.’✓
5. Say/Tell
-‘He said me he was busy.’ X
-‘He told me he was busy’✓
- ‘He said he was busy.’✓
- ‘He told he was busy.’ X
6. Mixing comparative forms (e.g. ‘more easier’)
- ‘The exam was more easier than I thought.’X
-‘The exam was easier than I thought.’✓
-‘The film was boringer than an English class.’X
-‘The film was more boring than an English class!’✓
7. Confusion between ‘to go’ and ‘to go out’.
- ‘This weekend I went with my friends.’ X
- ‘This weekend I went out with my friends.’✓
8. Confusion between ‘meet’ and ‘stay’.
‘This weekend I stayed with my friends.’ X
‘This weekend I met my friends.’✓
9. Confusion between ‘used to’ and ‘usually’.
‘I usually had long hair.’ X
‘I used to have long hair.’✓
10. Putting adjective AFTER the noun.
-‘It was a weekend great.’ X
-‘It was a great weekend.’✓

Phrasal verb confusion: 'Get on' or 'get in' for transport?
Si hablas de un coche o taxi 'Get in'
e.g. I got in the car and drove away.'
Pero si hablas de transporte publico 'get on'
e.g. 'get on the bus/train/plane.' Tambien 'get on a horse/bicycle/motorbike.

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This is a helpful graphic for all our ESL followers. These verbs should all be followed by the gerund.

Not even.

Happy Funny Friday!

“The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.” -- George Bernard Shaw

Which one do you use?