English File Intermediate: Comprehensive Study Guide
Present Tenses: Simple, Continuous, and Action/Non-Action Verbs
Present Simple: Used for things that are always true or happen regularly.
Third person singular spelling rules: lives, studies, watches.
Question word order: Auxiliary-Subject-Infinitive (ASI) or Question word-Auxiliary-Subject-Infinitive (QUASI).
Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb but after the verb be. Expressions of frequency (e.g., once a week) go at the end of the phrase.
Present Continuous: Used for actions in progress at the time of speaking or temporary situations.
Structure: be + verb + -ing.
Action and Non-Action Verbs:
Action verbs (e.g., cook, make) can be used in simple or continuous forms.
Non-Action verbs describe states or feelings (e.g., agree, believe, belong, depend, forget, hate, hear, know, like, love, matter, mean, need, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, seem, suppose). They are not usually used in continuous forms.
Verbs with both meanings: Have (possession vs. action like having lunch) and Think (opinion vs. the mental action of thinking).
Mood Food
Cognitive and Mood Effects: The brain is affected by food substances that influence thought and feeling.
Carbohydrates: High-carb foods make people feel relaxed and happy. Research indicates dieters feel depressed after weeks of reduced carbohydrate intake.
Proteins: High-protein foods (like meat and eggs) increase alertness and focus.
Case Study: Former British chess champions Paul and Terry participated in a BBC experiment. Paul ate prosciutto and salad (protein); Terry ate pasta with creamy sauce (carbohydrates). Terry felt sleepy and took longer to make decisions during the match.
Specific Mood Changers:
Blueberries and Cocoa: Raise concentration levels for up to .
Dark Green Vegetables and Oily Fish: (e.g., cabbage, spinach, salmon) Eaten regularly, these help fight depression.
Chocolate: A powerful mood changer that causes the brain to release endorphins. Its sugar content provides energy and prevents late-night tiredness from turning into aggression.
Crime Prevention: Nightclub owners in Bournemouth, England, provided free chocolate to clients at the end of the night, leading to a reduction in violent incidents.
Steve Anderson and Seu Xerea
Biography: Steve Anderson, of half-Burmese descent, studied physics at university. He took a holiday job on a cookery course in Italy where he met famous chef Alastair Little, who later employed him as a trainee. Anderson eventually moved to Valencia, Spain, to open the restaurant Seu Xerea.
Business Philosophy: He wanted an informal restaurant (waiters in jeans) using high-quality local ingredients for international dishes, such as Valencian mussels in Thai green curry paste.
Customer Comparisons: British customers tend to say everything is "lovely," even when it is not. Spanish customers are more honest about their preferences, which helps the chef.
Family Structures and Birth Order
Changing Family Statistics (UK):
of men and of women aged to live at home.
of people are happiest with their families.
of people say they have a close family.
Birth Order Personality Traits:
Oldest Children: Often sensible, responsible, ambitious, and good leaders (e.g., many US Presidents/British Prime Ministers). Conversely, they may be insecure or anxious due to losing parental attention to a second child.
Middle Children: Usually more relaxed, sociable, sensitive to others, and good at sorting out arguments. They can sometimes lack ambition or direction.
Youngest Children: Often outgoing, charming, and rebellious (to get attention). Negatively, they might be immature, disorganized, and overly dependent.
Only Children: Typically self-confident and independent due to adult contact. They are often organized but can be impatient and have difficulty sharing.
Reciprocal Actions: The phrase each other is used for actions between two people (e.g., "brothers and sisters value each other more when they are older").
Future Forms
be going to: Used for future plans and intentions (already decided) and predictions based on present evidence (e.g., black clouds).
Present Continuous: Used for future arrangements (e.g., "We're meeting at "). Often interchangeable with going to for plans.
will/won't: Used for instant decisions, promises, offers, suggestions (use shall for I/We), and general predictions.
Money and Business
Vocabulary:
Inherit: To receive money from a deceased relative.
Lend: To give money that will be returned.
Borrow: To take money that you will pay back.
Charge: The amount a person or business asks for a service.
Mortgage: A loan specifically for buying a house.
Millionaire Case Study: Jeff Pearce, born in Liverpool in the s, suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia. He learned to sell door-to-door with his mother. In , he invested in leather trousers, selling them for on the first day. He lost his wealth in the s recession but rebuilt his department store business. He eventually learned to read/write in evening classes and published his autobiography, A Pocketful of Holes and Dreams.
Charity and Adventures
Adelante Africa: Founded by Jane following a trip to Uganda. After a lorry breakdown near St. Joseph's school (for orphans/refugees), she dedicated herself to rebuilding. The school opened in and now serves nearly children.
Helen Skelton's Amazon Kayak: A -year-old TV presenter for Blue Peter attempted to kayak for Sports Relief.
Challenges: humidity at lunch, river wide, crocodiles, and blistering heat.
Milestones: Traveled per day; water resembled melted chocolate. She missed her dog, Barney.
Transport and The London Race
Case Study (Top Gear): A race across London from Kew Bridge to London City Airport ( / ).
Results:
Bike (Richard): The fastest way across the city.
Boat (Jeremy): Took the River Thames; speed limits was initially; later reached .
Public Transport (The Stig): Used the Tube and Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
Car (James): The slowest due to traffic and a police check.
Commando Dad and Childcare
Neil Sinclair: An ex-commando who became a stay-at-home dad and wrote Commando Dad: Basic Training.
Terminology: The baby is a BT (Baby Trooper), the kitchen is Base Camp, and walking is Manoeuvres.
Philosophy: States men are as good as women at childcare, except perhaps when kids are ill, where women have a more intuitive instinct.
Alex Rawlings: The Multilingual Student
Linguistic Skills: Named the UK's most multilingual student at age . He speaks languages fluently.
Languages: English, Greek, French, German, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish, Hebrew, Catalan, Italian.
Background: Mother is half-Greek; father worked in Japan. He taught himself many via "teach yourself" books and travel. He considers Russian the hardest.
Mobile Phone Etiquette
Debrett’s Guide: Rules for social intelligence.
Do not shout; phones are not megaphones.
Use silent/vibrate mode in company.
Do not have intimate conversations in public.
Give full attention to service workers (banks, shops) instead of talking on the phone.
Social Conflict: The Heidi Withers saga, where her mother-in-law (Carolyn Bourne) sent a sharp email criticizing her lack of manners during a weekend visit to Devon.
Sport and Superstitions
Tennis: Serena Williams attributes poor play to not tying laces correctly or failing to bounce the ball five times. Goran Ivanisevic (2001 Wimbledon winner) repeated daily routines like watching Teletubbies.
Football: A Spanish survey found of fans perform rituals. Kolo Toure (Arsenal) insisted on being the last to leave the locker room, once resulting in his team starting a half with only nine men while a teammate finished treatment.
The "Hand of God": June , Argentina vs. England (World Cup). Diego Maradona scored a goal using his hand, which Argentina won .
Narrative Tenses
Past Simple: Completed actions in the past.
Past Continuous: Actions in progress at a specific time in the past or background scenes.
Past Perfect: An action that happened before the specific time in the past we are talking about (had + past participle).
Relationships Vocabulary
Distinctions:
To meet someone for the first time vs. to know someone for a long duration.
To argue (unpleasant conflict) vs. to discuss (exchanging views).
Partner: Someone you are in a relationship with or your husband/wife.
Fiancé(e): Someone you are engaged to be married to.
Practical English: Meeting and Greeting
Questions & Discussion:
Jenny: Mom, I'm really sorry - we bought you some chocolates, but we left them at the office.
Sally: What a pity. Never mind.
Rob: How do you see your career?
Harry: Rob is more of a writer… being creative doesn't always pay the bills.
Jenny: Dad, Rob's a very talented writer.
Harry: You know about Wynton Marsalis? I love that guy.
Rob: Know about him? I've interviewed him!
Passive Voice and Film
Passive Construction: be + past participle (all tenses). Used when the action itself is more important than the doer.
Film Locations:
Highclere Castle: Owned by the Carnarvon family since ; used as Downton Abbey.
Cortlandt Alley (New York): Used for virtually all alley scenes in NYC-based television and film (e.g., Men in Black 3).
Christ Church College (Oxford): Built in the s. The staircase and dining hall were used as the basis for Hogwarts in Harry Potter.
Modals of Deduction
might / may / could: Possible but not certain.
must: Sure something is true based on evidence.
can't: Sure something is impossible (opposite of must).
Education Systems
UK System: Primary school (starts at age ), Secondary school (-). Most are state schools (free). Private/independent schools requires fees. A "boarding school" is one where students live.
US System: Elementary, Middle, and High school. Divided into grades (K-). Semesters are the primary division of the school year.
Terms:
Expelled: Officially removed from school for bad behavior.
Revised: Studying for an exam.
Pass vs. Fail: Achieving a threshold vs. not achieving it.
Clive Zietman: The Complaint King
Methodology: Has written over letters of complaint over with a polite, written approach.
Results: Refunded holidays (), free biscuits from McVitie's, and a Volkswagen Golf GTI for a friend.
Top Tips:
Never shout or swear.
Write a letter; avoid emails or standard forms.
Target the Marketing or Finance Director by name.
Don't be too specific about compensation; let the company decide.
Success and the 10,000 Hours Theory
Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers): Success depends on more than just talent; it requires hard work and luck.
Luck Examples: Professional hockey players in Canada/Czech Republic often have birthdays in Jan, Feb, or March ( of elite teams) because they were bigger/stronger than December-born peers when first selected for junior teams.
Practice: To reach the top of any field, an individual needs of practice.
The Beatles: Performed live an estimated times between and in Hamburg, Germany.
Bill Gates: Had extraordinary access to a computer club at school in , spending - a week programming.
Information Overload
Statistics: Typing "information overload" into Google yields hits in .
Impact: Multitasking makes people less creative and less productive. Managers feel it makes jobs less satisfying and harms health.
The Maushart Experiment: Susan Maushart's family lived without gadgets with a screen for .
Positives: Children talked more, lived "in the real world," improved schoolwork through better concentration, and slept better.
Jack the Ripper: Unsolved Mystery
Background: In , seven women were murdered over three months in the dark, foggy streets of London. The killer sent a letter signed "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper."
Suspects:
Prince Albert: Queen Victoria's grandson (Inspector Morton considers this ridiculous).
Walter Sickert: A painter (Patricia Cornwell's DNA evidence is disputed).
James Maybrick: A cotton merchant (diary confession is possibly a forgery).
Carl Feigenbaum: A German sailor executed in NYC in who was in London at the time of the murders (Trevor Marriott's theory).