Destination B1: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes

PRESENT SIMPLE, PRESENT CONTINUOUS, AND STATIVE VERBS

• The Present Simple is used for present habits, permanent situations, states, and general truths.

• Structure includes standard forms ($I/you/we/they play$) versus third-person singular ($he/she/it plays$).

• Negative forms require auxiliary verbs ($don't/doesn't play$), while questions use $Do/Does$ as the auxiliary.

• Helpful time markers for Present Simple include adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never) and phrases (every Monday, once a week, etc.).

• Adverbs usually go before most verbs but after the verb "be": "I often play…" vs "I am often late."

• The Present Continuous is used for actions happening now, temporary situations, and annoying habits (often with "always").

• Structure requires the verb "be" + present participle ($am/is/are + verb-ing$).

• Stative Verbs describe states (feelings, thoughts) rather than actions and are not normally used in continuous tenses. Common examples include: appear, be, believe, belong to, hate, have, include, know, like, love, need, prefer, see, seem, taste, think, understand, want.

• Some stative verbs can be used in continuous forms when expressing an action: "I'm thinking about the match" (active thought process) vs "I think it's a good song" (belief/state).

PAST TENSES AND 'USED TO'

• The Past Simple is used for completed actions, repeated actions in the past, general truths about the past, and main events in a story.

• Structure uses the past form of the verb (regular ending in -ed) for statements. Questions and negatives use the auxiliary $did/didn't$ with the bare infinitive.

• The Past Continuous is used for actions happening at a specific moment in the past, two actions in progress at the same time, and providing background information in a story.

• Structure: $was/were + verb-ing$.

• Usage Logic: When one past action happens in the middle of another, the Past Continuous is used for the background action, and the Past Simple for the interrupting event: "The phone rang while I was watching a DVD."

• Used To: Followed by the bare infinitive ($used to + verb$) to describe distant past habits and states that are no longer true. Negatives are formed with $didn't use to$ or $never used to$. Questions use $Did … use to?$

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

• Present Perfect Simple ($have/has + past participle$) addresses:

  • Situations that started in the past and are still true.

  • Completed actions at a non-mentioned time in the past.

  • Completed actions where the result now is the primary focus.

• Markers: for, since, just, already, yet, ever, never, it's the first time.

• Present Perfect Continuous ($have/has + been + verb-ing$) addresses:

  • Actions continuing up to now or stopping just before now.

  • Emphasis is on the duration or the action itself rather than the result.

• Distinction: "She's written an article" (Result: it is finished) vs "She's been writing an article" (Emphasis: she started but maybe hasn't finished).

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

• Past Perfect Simple ($had + past participle$) describes actions/states before a specific moment in the past. It clarifies sequence: "The lesson had started when I arrived" (Action 1: lesson started; Action 2: I arrived).

• Past Perfect Continuous ($had + been + verb-ing$) describes actions continuing up to/stopping just before a moment in the past. It often explains a past result: "Tony had been studying for hours, so he had a headache."

THE PASSIVE VOICE

• Format: $be + past participle$.

• Selection: Used when the actor is unknown, unimportant, or not the focus.

• Passive 1 (Simple Tenses):

  • Present Simple: $is/are + past participle$.

  • Past Simple: $was/were + past participle$.

  • Will: $will be + past participle$.

• Passive 2 (Continuous and Perfect Tenses):

  • Present/Past Continuous: $is/was being + past participle$.

  • Present/Past Perfect: $has/had been + past participle$.

  • Modals: $modal + be + past participle$.

• Agent Markers: Use "by" for the person who does the action and "with" for the tool/material used: "The room was painted by my parents with a large brush."

FUTURE TIME AND CONDITIONALS

• Future Markers:

  • Will: Facts, predictions without evidence, offers, and decisions made now.

  • Be going to: Intentions and predictions with evidence.

  • Present Simple: Timetables (e.g., "My plane leaves at six").

  • Present Continuous: Definite arrangements.

• Conditionals:

  • Zero Conditional: General/scientific facts ($if + present simple, present simple$).

  • First Conditional: Likely future results ($if + present simple, will + bare infinitive$).

  • Second Conditional: Impossible/unlikely present or future situations ($if + past simple, would + bare infinitive$). Also used for advice: "If I were you, I would…"

  • Third Conditional: Unreal past situations and past results ($if + past perfect, would + have + past participle$). Example: "If I had known, I would have come."

MODALS

• Ability/Permission/Advice:

  • Ability: $can$ (present), $could$ (past), $be able to$ (other tenses).

  • Permission: $can, could, may$ (requesting); $can, may$ (giving).

  • Advice: $should, ought to$.

• Obligation/Probability:

  • Obligation: $must$ (written/firm), $have to$ (spoken/general), $need to$. No obligation: $don't have to, needn't$.

  • Prohibition: $mustn't$.

  • Probability/Possibility (Present): $must$ (certain), $should$ (probable), $could/may/might$ (possible), $can't$ (certainly not).

• Modal Perfects ($modal + have + past participle$):

  • Criticizing past behavior: "You should have told me."

  • Past Ability not used: "I could have gone."

  • Past Probability: "They must have had a nice holiday."

REPORTED SPEECH AND QUESTIONS

• Reported Speech: When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told), the main verb shifts back in time (Present -> Past; Past -> Past Perfect; Will -> Would).

• Changes extend to pronouns ($I$ -> $he/she$) and time markers ($tomorrow$ -> $the next day$).

• Reported Questions: Use normal word order (subject-verb), no question marks, and add "if/whether" for yes/no questions: "He asked if I was hungry."

• Indirect Questions: Politer structures like "Could you tell me where the bank is?" (Note the normal word order at the end).

NOUNS, ARTICLES, AND QUANTIFIERS

• Countable Nouns: Have singular and plural forms; used with $a, an, many, a few$.

• Uncountable Nouns: Standard singular verb; used with $a little, much, a bit of$. Examples: advice, furniture, luggage, money, rice.

• Articles:

  • $(a/an)$: Non-specific singular countable nouns; jobs.

  • $(the)$: Specific nouns; geographical features (seas, certain countries like USA, UK); unique objects (the Moon).

  • Zero Article: General plurals; towns/cities; most countries.

• Quantifiers:

  • So/Such: "So" with adjectives/adverbs; "Such" with nouns: "so hot" vs "such a hot day."

  • Too/Enough: "Too" comes before an adjective (negative sense); "Enough" comes after an adjective: "too cold" vs "warm enough."

VOCABULARY THEMES

• Fun and Games: beat (v), challenge (v, n), cheat (v), defeat (v, n). Phrasal verbs: carry on (continue), give up (stop), take up (start a hobby).

• Learning and Doing: achieve, concentrate, revise, take an exam. Phrasal verbs: cross out, look up, write down.

• Coming and Going: accommodation, destination, luggage, public transport. Phrasal verbs: get off/on, set off, take off.

• Friends and Relations: generous, loyal, ordinary. Phrasal verbs: bring up, fall out (with), split up.

• Buying and Selling: advertisement, bargain, profit, receipt. Phrasal verbs: pay back, save up.

• Inventions and Discoveries: artificial, experiment, gadgets, software. Phrasal verbs: break down, find out.

• People and Daily Life: arrest, charity, habit, illegal, population. Phrasal verbs: break in, catch up with.

• Working and Earning: ambition, career, pension, salary. Phrasal verbs: call off, set up, take over.

• Body and Lifestyle: affect, balance, healthy, ingredient, treatment. Phrasal verbs: cut down on, get over, put on (weight).

• Creating and Building: design, maintain, practical, silk. Phrasal verbs: do up, try on.

• Nature and the Universe: climate, extinct, global, species, wildlife. Phrasal verbs: blow up, put out.

• Laughing and Crying: amusing, annoyed, character, miserable. Phrasal verbs: calm down, cheer up.

• Problems and Solutions: accident, convince, gossip, investigate. Phrasal verbs: run out of, sort out, work out.

SPECIAL DETERMINERS AND STRUCTURES

• Both, Either, Neither:

  • Both … and: Emphasizes two positive things.

  • Either … or: Choice between two things.

  • Neither … nor: Emphasizes two negative things.

  • So/Nor structures: "So do I" (addition to positive); "Nor do I" (addition to negative).

• The Causative ($subject + have + object + past participle$): Used for an action arranged for someone else to do: "I'm having my hair cut."

• Wish and If Only:

  • About the present: $wish + past simple$ ("I wish I had a car").

  • About the past: $wish + past perfect$ ("I wish I had gone").

  • Complaining: $wish + would$ ("I wish you would be quiet").

• -ing and Infinitives:

  • Verbs followed by -ing: admit, enjoy, finish, mind, suggest.

  • Verbs followed by full infinitive: afford, choose, hope, plan, refuse.

  • Meaning changes: "remember/forget/stop/try" have different implications depending on the -ing or infinitive follow-up.