Lessons · B1 to B2
Start: lesson 1, Present continuous (I am doing)Find your level
145Lessons
Use am/is/are + -ing for something already in progress and not yet finished, whether it is happening this second or across a stretch of time around now.
Use the present simple for things that are true in general, things that happen again and again, and how often they happen. Questions and negatives are made with do and does.
The present continuous is for things in progress around now and for temporary situations. The present simple is for things in general, repeated actions and permanent situations. This unit also covers the difference between I always do and I'm always doing.
Some verbs, such as know, like and want, are not normally used in the continuous. This unit covers those verbs, the two meanings of think, the senses (see, hear, smell, taste, look, feel) and am/is/are being for behaviour.
Use the past simple for finished actions and situations in the past. Regular verbs end in -ed, many common verbs are irregular, and questions and negatives use did/didn't. The past of be is was/were.
Use was/were + -ing for something that was in progress at a particular time in the past. Use it with the past simple to say that one thing happened in the middle of another.
Mixed questions from lessons 1 to 6. Do it once the part is done.
Use have/has + past participle for a past action that has a result now, and for new information. This unit also covers gone and been, and the present perfect with just, already and yet.
The present perfect covers a stretch of time running from the past up to now: a life so far, recently, so far, since, today, this year. It is also the tense after It's the first time ... .
Use have/has been + -ing for an activity that has recently stopped and left evidence behind, and for an activity that started in the past and is still going on, especially with how long, for and since.
Use have been doing when the activity itself is the point, finished or not, and for how long; use have done when the result is the point, and for how much, how many or how many times.
For something that started in the past and is still going on, ask and answer with the present perfect: how long have you been married, not how long are you married.
For takes a length of time and since takes a starting point; when ... ? goes with the past simple and how long ... ? with the present perfect.
The present perfect tells you about the situation now; the past simple tells you only about the past. Use the past simple for things that are not new, and once you carry on talking about something you have just announced.
Use the past simple once the time is finished, whether it is named (yesterday, in 2015) or simply understood. Use the present perfect for a period that is still running: today, this week, recently, since 2019.
Use had + past participle when you are already talking about a past moment and need to go further back, to something that happened before it.
Use had been + -ing for an activity that was going on for a while before a moment in the past, often one whose effects were still visible at that moment.
Use have or have got, with no difference in meaning, for possession, relationships, illnesses and appointments. Use have alone, never have got, for things you do or experience: have breakfast, have a shower, have a good time.
Use used to + infinitive for something that happened regularly in the past, or was true in the past, and is no longer the case. It has no present form.
Mixed questions from lessons 7 to 18. Do it once the part is done.
Use the present continuous for future plans you have already arranged, and the present simple for timetables and programmes. Neither tense needs will to point at the future.
Use am/is/are going to for something you have already decided to do, and for something the present situation shows is about to happen. Use was/were going to for an intention that did not come off.
Use I'll to announce a decision made at the moment of speaking, and to offer, agree or promise. Use shall I ...? and shall we ...? to offer or to ask for a suggestion.
Will is for what we know, believe or predict about the future, not for arrangements already made. Shall goes only with I and we, and spoken English mostly prefers I'll and we'll.
Will announces a decision made at the moment of speaking; going to reports a decision already made. For predictions both work, but going to is the one for what the present situation already shows.
Will be doing puts you in the middle of something at a future time; will have done says it will be finished before then. Will be doing also announces planned events, much like will or going to.
After when, before, after, while, until and as soon as, talk about the future with the present (or the present perfect when one thing finishes first), not will. If is for what may happen; when is for what will.
Mixed questions from lessons 19 to 25. Do it once the part is done.
Use can for ability, possibility and permission, (be) able to wherever can has no form to offer, and could or was able to for the past, depending on whether you mean a general ability or one particular success.
Use could for suggestions, for things that are possible now or later, and for the unrealistic; use could have (done) for past possibilities that did not happen, and couldn't (have) for what would not be possible.
Use must when you are sure something is true and can't when you are sure it is not; for the past, use must have (done) and can't have (done).
Use may or might to say that something is possibly true now, and may have or might have (done) to say that it was possibly true in the past; could works in the positive, while couldn't means something quite different.
Use may or might for things that will possibly happen, might (not may) for situations that are not real, may/might be -ing for possible plans, and might as well when there is no better alternative.
Use have to for obligations that are facts and must for your own sense of what is necessary or for written rules; had to for the past; and keep mustn't (do not do it) apart from don't have to (there is no need).
Use must for what is necessary, mustn't for what you must not do, needn't or don't need to for what is unnecessary, and keep needn't have (done) (you did it, needlessly) apart from didn't need to (do) (it was unnecessary, whether or not you did it).
Use should for advice and opinion, for what is expected or not as it ought to be, and should have (done) for the right thing that was not done; ought to can replace should throughout.
Should after insist, suggest, recommend, demand and it's essential that; the subjunctive that can replace it; suggest without to; should after surprised and strange; if something should happen; and I should for advice.
I'd better do something means there will be trouble if I don't, in this particular situation. It's time we went means we should already be going.
Would imagines what is not real, and would have imagines what did not happen. It is also the past of will, the refusal in wouldn't, and the habit in when we were small we would ...
Can you and could you ask people to do things; can I have and could I have ask for things; can I, could I and may I ask permission; can I offer help; would you like invites.
Mixed questions from lessons 26 to 37. Do it once the part is done.
Use if + present (if we go) for something that may well happen, and if + past (if we went) for something that will not happen or that you do not expect to happen. The past form here does not refer to the past.
Use if + past and wish + past to imagine a present situation that is not true. The verb is past in form, though the meaning is now.
Use if + had done and wish + had done to imagine the past differently. The other half of an if-sentence takes would have done, could have done or might have done.
Use wish somebody something for good wishes, and hope for things that may happen. Use wish + past for present regrets, wish + had done for past regrets, and wish ... would for something you want to happen or change.
Mixed questions from lessons 38 to 41. Do it once the part is done.
Use the passive (be + past participle) to say what happens to the subject rather than what the subject does. This unit covers the present simple passive (is done) and the past simple passive (was done).
Form the passive in other tenses and after modal verbs: (to) be done, (to) have been done, has been done, had been done, is being done and was being done.
Verbs with two objects usually start the passive with the person (I was given); being done is the passive of doing; we say I was born; and get done is the everyday passive for things that happen.
It is said that he is ... and he is said to be ... both report what people say, believe or expect. Supposed to does the same job, and also says what was intended or arranged, often in contrast with what actually happened.
Have something done means you arrange for somebody else to do it; get something done means the same, less formally. It can also describe something unpleasant that happens to you: he had his car broken into.
Mixed questions from lessons 42 to 46. Do it once the part is done.
To report what somebody said, put the main verb in the past (she said, I told him) and move the rest back a tense: am becomes was, will becomes would, can becomes could. A past simple may stay as it is or become past perfect.
If what was said is still true, the verb can stay in the present; if it has changed, or was never true, use the past. Tell needs a person after it, say does not; tell or ask somebody to do something.
Mixed questions from lessons 47 to 48. Do it once the part is done.
In questions the subject follows the first verb; the present and past simple need do, does or did, except when who or what is itself the subject. Prepositions go at the end, and negative questions show surprise or expect agreement.
When a question sits inside a longer sentence (Do you know ... ? / I wonder ... / She asked me ...), it loses its question word order. The subject comes before the verb, and do/does/did disappears.
Auxiliary verbs (have, do, can, was, will etc.) let you answer, agree, disagree and show interest without repeating the whole sentence. The unit also covers So am I / Neither do I and I think so / I hope not.
A question tag is a short question (isn't it? do you? haven't they?) added to the end of a sentence. A positive sentence usually takes a negative tag and a negative sentence a positive one; the intonation decides whether it is a real question.
Mixed questions from lessons 49 to 52. Do it once the part is done.
Some verbs (enjoy, mind, suggest, avoid, finish, keep, give up and others) are followed by -ing, not to .... The unit also covers verb + somebody + -ing, having done, and the that-clause alternatives after admit, deny, suggest and recommend.
Many verbs (decide, agree, refuse, promise, manage, afford and others) are followed by to + infinitive. The unit also covers dare, seem/appear/pretend/claim with continuous and perfect infinitives, and question word + to ....
Some verbs (want, expect, ask, would like) take to ... with or without an object; others (tell, advise, remind, warn, persuade, allow) need verb + object + to .... make and let take the object and the infinitive without to.
Some verbs take only -ing, some only to .... A few (remember, regret, go on) take both with a change of meaning, and a few more (begin, start, continue, intend, bother) take both with no change at all.
try to do means make an effort; try doing means do it as an experiment. need to do is about what a person must do, while something needs doing means it needs to be done. help takes the infinitive with or without to, and can't help doing means you cannot stop yourself.
Like, love and hate take -ing or to for repeated actions, -ing for a situation that already exists; enjoy and mind take -ing; would like, would love and would prefer take to; would like to have done is a regret.
Prefer for what you like better in general; would prefer to and would rather (without to) for a particular occasion; I'd rather you did something, with a past verb and a present meaning.
After a preposition, a verb takes -ing: interested in learning, before leaving, by reading, without stopping. To is sometimes a preposition too, so it is looking forward to going, not to go.
I'm used to something means it is no longer new or strange to me; get used to is the process of it becoming so. Used to here is followed by a noun or -ing, never the infinitive, and is not the same as I used to do.
Some verbs are followed by a preposition, and when the thing after that preposition is another verb, the verb takes -ing. This unit covers verb + preposition + -ing and verb + object + preposition + -ing.
A number of fixed expressions are followed by -ing: there's no point in doing, it's worth doing, have trouble doing, spend time doing, and go -ing for sports and activities.
Use to + infinitive to give the purpose of something, for + noun when the purpose is a thing, and so that, usually with can, could, will or would, when the purpose has its own subject or a modal verb.
Many adjectives are followed by to + infinitive: hard to understand, kind of you to come, glad to be home, the first to arrive, bound to happen. This unit covers the five main patterns.
Some adjectives can take either to ... or a preposition + -ing, with a change in meaning: afraid to do and afraid of doing, interested in doing and interested to hear, sorry for doing and sorry to say. The unit ends with verbs that take to ... set against verbs that take a preposition + -ing.
After see, hear, watch, feel and similar verbs, use somebody do for a complete action seen from start to finish, and somebody doing for an action you caught in the middle.
An -ing clause can show two things happening together, one action happening during another, one action finished before another (having done), or the reason for something (Feeling tired, I went to bed).
Mixed questions from lessons 53 to 68. Do it once the part is done.
Countable nouns have a singular and a plural and can be counted; uncountable nouns have one form and cannot. The difference decides whether you can use a/an, whether the noun can stand alone, and whether you say many or much.
Many nouns can be countable or uncountable with a change of meaning, and a group of common nouns (advice, furniture, information, luggage, news, weather and others) is uncountable in English even when it is countable in other languages.
A singular countable noun never stands alone; use a or an to say what kind of thing or person something is, including jobs; use some with plurals for a number of things or for some but not all.
A or an when something is mentioned for the first time or when we mean any one of a kind; the when we mean a specific one, or it is clear which one; and a for rates such as twice a week.
The for things there is only one of, for superlatives and the same; the world, the sea, the sky, the country, the cinema, the radio; but TV, space, breakfast, platform 4 and room 12 take no article.
Say school, hospital, prison, university, church, bed, work and home without the when you mean the place for its usual purpose, and use the when you mean a particular building or object.
Leave out the when you talk about things or people in general, and use the when you mean particular ones.
Use the + singular noun for a whole type of animal, machine or instrument, the + adjective for a group of people, and the + some nationality words for a whole people.
Most names of people and places take no the, but names with Republic, Kingdom or States, oceans, seas, rivers, canals, deserts, plural names and phrases such as the north of take the.
Streets, parks and two-word names such as Cardiff Castle take no the, while most hotels, theatres, museums, names with of, newspapers and organisations do. Shops and companies named after people usually take no the.
Some nouns that look singular take a plural verb, some that look plural take a singular verb, and sums of money, periods of time and distances are treated as one thing.
Two nouns together make one idea, with the first working like an adjective: a bus driver, a road sign, a frying pan. The first noun stays singular, so it is a three-hour journey and a ten-pound note.
Use -'s for people and animals, of for things and ideas; either for organisations and places; and -'s with time words such as yesterday's paper and ten minutes' walk.
Mixed questions from lessons 69 to 81. Do it once the part is done.
Use myself, yourself and the rest when the subject and object are the same person; not after feel, relax, concentrate or meet, and not usually after wash, shave or dress. Themselves and each other mean different things; and myself can add emphasis: I did it myself.
A friend of mine means one of my friends; my own means mine alone, never an own; he cuts his own hair means he does it himself; on my own and by myself both mean alone.
There introduces something for the first time and says it exists; it refers to a specific thing, fact or situation. There combines with modals (there must be, there's bound to be), and it opens sentences about distance, time, weather and judgements.
Some in positive sentences, any in negative ones and after if; some in questions that offer, ask for, or assume something exists; any for it doesn't matter which; and they after somebody and anybody.
Use no + noun, none, and the words nothing, nobody, no-one and nowhere to say that there is not any of something. Compare them with any and anything, which can also mean that it does not matter which or who.
Use much and little with uncountable nouns, many and few with plural nouns, and a lot of, lots of and plenty of with both. Learn where much sounds unnatural, and the difference between little and a little, few and a few.
Use all, some, most, none and similar words directly before a noun when you mean things in general, and with of before the, my, this, those and similar words when you mean a particular group. Use of before it, us, you and them.
Use both, neither and either when there are two things or people, with a noun, with of, or on their own. Learn both ... and, neither ... nor, either ... or, and how these words compare with all, none and any.
Use everybody and everything rather than all on its own, whole for a complete single thing, every to say how often something happens, and all day or the whole day for a complete period.
Use each when you think of things one by one and every when you think of them as a group. Learn each of, every one of, ten pounds each, and the difference between everyone and every one.
Mixed questions from lessons 82 to 91. Do it once the part is done.
A relative clause pins down which person or thing, or what sort, is meant. People take who or that, things take that or which, and the clause never repeats he, she, it or they.
Keep who, that or which when it is the subject of the clause; leave it out if you like when it is the object. Prepositions go to the end, and it is everything that, never everything what.
Whose replaces his, her or their in a relative clause; whom is the formal object form of who; where is for places; and the day, the time and the reason need no relative word at all.
Some relative clauses tell you which person or thing is meant; others only add extra information about one already known. The extra-information kind has commas, never uses that, and never drops who or which.
In extra-information clauses you can put a preposition before whom or which, say all of whom or none of which, and use which (never what) to refer back to a whole sentence.
An -ing clause after a noun says what someone or something is doing, or does all the time; an -ed clause has a passive meaning. Both work after there is, and left means still there, not used.
Mixed questions from lessons 92 to 97. Do it once the part is done.
Many adjectives come in pairs, one ending in -ing and one in -ed. The -ing adjective describes the thing that causes the feeling; the -ed adjective describes the person who has it.
When several adjectives come before a noun, they follow a usual order: opinion first, then facts such as size, age, colour, origin and material. Adjectives also follow be, get, seem and the sense verbs (look, feel, sound, taste, smell).
Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs, and also adjectives, other adverbs and past participles. Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the adjective.
The adverb from good is well. Fast, hard and late are both adjectives and adverbs. Hardly is a different word altogether: it means very little or almost not.
Use so before an adjective or adverb on its own, and such (a) before a noun, with or without an adjective. Both make the meaning stronger, both can mean like this, and both can be followed by a result with or without that.
Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs but before nouns. Too means more than is necessary or acceptable. Both can be followed by for somebody and by to do something, and in sentences like too hot to eat there is no object at the end.
Quite, pretty, rather and fairly all mean less than very but more than a little, with differences in strength, formality and attitude. Quite also has a second meaning, completely, with words such as sure, right and impossible.
Short words take -er (cheaper, earlier); longer words and -ly adverbs take more (more expensive, more slowly). Good, bad and far go their own way: better, worse, further.
Much, a lot, far, a bit and slightly go before comparatives; any and no make not even a little; better and better shows steady change; the sooner the better links two changes; and elder is only for family.
Not as ... as means less than; as ... as in positive sentences means equally; twice as ... as multiplies; it is the same as, never the same like; and after than or as, me and I am are both fine.
Short words take -est, longer ones most; best, worst and furthest are irregular. Superlatives normally take the, use in for places and groups and of for periods of time, and often pair with the present perfect: the best I've ever had.
Keep the verb and its object together; put place after the object; put time after place, or at the very start of the sentence.
Some adverbs, such as always, also, probably, still and never, sit in the middle of the sentence beside the verb. Their exact position depends on how many words the verb has and whether it is a form of be.
Use still for something that continues, not ... any more and no longer for something that has stopped, yet for something expected that has not happened, and already for something that happened sooner than expected.
Use even to mark something as unusual or surprising. It goes with the verb, with a negative, with a comparative, and in even though, even when and even if.
Mixed questions from lessons 98 to 112. Do it once the part is done.
Although, though and even though are followed by a subject and a verb. In spite of and despite are followed by a noun, a pronoun or an -ing form. All of them connect two facts that do not sit comfortably together.
Use in case to give the reason for doing something now: because a later problem is possible. In case is not the same as if, and it is not followed by will.
Unless means except if. As long as, so long as, provided and providing mean only if, on condition that. None of them is followed by will when the meaning is future.
As can mean at the same time as, for two things happening together (use when if one follows the other), and as can mean because.
Like means similar to and takes a noun, pronoun or -ing; as takes a subject and verb, appears in as usual, as you know and do as you like, and as + noun means in the role of, which is not the same as like + noun.
Look like, sound as if and feel as though say how something seems; it looks like and it sounds as if describe a situation; and as if + past describes something unreal, as in he talks as if he knew everything.
During + noun says when something happens; for + a period says how long; while + subject + verb says when, with a clause. After while, talk about the future with the present.
By means not later than; until (or till) says how long a situation continues; by the time something happens means during the stretch before it, for the future or the past.
Mixed questions from lessons 113 to 120. Do it once the part is done.
At for times of day, on for days and dates, in for longer periods; at the moment, at weekends, at Christmas, at night; in the morning but on Friday morning; nothing before last, next, this or every; and in five minutes for time from now.
On time means punctual and in time means soon enough. At the end means at the point when something finishes, and in the end means finally, after a delay or a struggle.
Use in for something inside an area or a container, at for a point such as a door, a stop or a junction, and on for a surface such as a wall, a floor or a page.
Fixed choices of in, at and on for common positions: in a queue, on the left, on a list, at the top, at the back of a building, in the back of a car, in the corner of a room and on the corner of a street.
Fixed uses of in, at and on for institutions (in hospital, at work), events (at a party), buildings (at the hotel, in the hotel), towns (in Leeds, at Leeds station) and transport (on a bus, in a car).
Use to for movement towards a place, in or at for position, get to and arrive in or at for reaching a place, no preposition before home, and into for entering something.
Fixed expressions with in (in the rain, in Welsh, in love, in a good mood, in my opinion), on (on TV, on fire, on purpose, on holiday, on strike) and at (at the age of 16, at 70 miles an hour).
Use by for chance and accident, for how people travel and do things (by bus, by card), for the doer in passive sentences and the maker of a work, for next to, and for the size of a difference.
Many nouns take a fixed preposition: a reason for, the cause of, an increase in, damage to, a solution to, a relationship with, a difference between.
Adjectives that take fixed prepositions: kind of you, rude to somebody, angry about something, annoyed with somebody, pleased with, surprised at or by, tired of, and the uses of sorry about and sorry for.
More adjectives with fixed prepositions: afraid of, proud of, aware of, short of, good at, married to, similar to, different from, interested in, keen on, dependent on, crowded with, famous for, responsible for.
Talk to, listen to, apologise to, explain something to somebody; but phone, ask, answer and thank somebody with no to. Look at, laugh at, point at; and shout or throw at somebody in anger, to somebody so they can hear or catch.
Talk about but discuss with no preposition; ask for, apply for, wait for, search for, leave for; take care of, care for and care about mean different things; and look for is not look after.
Several common verbs change their meaning depending on whether about, of or from follows them. This unit covers hear, think, dream, complain and remind.
This unit groups common verbs by the preposition that follows them: of, for, from and on. It also covers the few cases where no preposition is used at all.
This unit groups more common verbs by the preposition that follows them: in, into, with, to and on.
Mixed questions from lessons 121 to 136. Do it once the part is done.
A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a small word such as on, off, out or up. This unit shows how those words add movement or a new meaning, how a preposition can follow, and where the object goes.
In and out add the idea of entering or leaving a place. This unit covers that basic meaning, the difference between in/into and out/out of, and common phrasal verbs such as drop in, fill in, eat out and leave out.
Out has several meanings beyond leaving a place. This unit covers out for things that stop burning or shining, the many uses of work out, and common verbs such as carry out, find out, run out, sort out and turn out.
On and off are used for lights and machines, for events that happen or are cancelled, for clothes, and for leaving a place. This unit covers the common verbs in each group.
On often means continue: go on, carry on, keep on, drive on. Get on means progress or have a good relationship. Off appears in doze off, finish off, go off, put off, rip off, show off and tell off.
Up and down in their literal sense (put up, take down, pick up, sit down, turn up, turn down); knock down and burn down; down for getting less (slow down, calm down, cut down); and break down, close down, let down, turn down and write down.
Up for approaching and keeping pace (come up to, catch up, keep up); for starting things (set up, take up, fix up); for growing up and bringing up; for tidying; and in end up, give up, make up, take up, turn up and use up.
More up: bring up, come up, come up with and make up in conversation; cheer up, save up and clear up; blow up, tear up and beat up; and split up, do up, look up, put up with, hold up and mix up.
Away means away from home or from a place or person; back means back home or back to a place or person. Plus get away (with), keep away, give away, put away, throw away; and wave back, ring back, get back to, look back and pay back.
Mixed questions from lessons 137 to 145. Do it once the part is done.
