Grammar - Pre-Intermediate

Articles
Past Continuous Structure
Past Continuous Use
Zero Conditional
First Conditional
Quantifiers
Present Perfect Structure
Present Perfect Use
For, Since and Ago
 'Should', 'May' and 'Might'
'Will' or 'Going To'?
'Like' as verb and preposition.
'Have To' and 'Must'
Introduction to Phrasal Verbs
'Have' and 'Have Got'
Question Tags
Compound Nouns
So and Such

'For', 'Since' and 'Ago'.

We can use for or since with the present perfect to say how long something has happened.

I have known him since 1980.
or
I have known him for 22 years.

The meaning is the same. For is used to talk about a period of time, since to talk about when the action started.

ago is more often used with the past simple to say when something started.

He started his own business six months ago.
The first book was printed over 500 years ago.

So the difference between 'since' and 'ago'?

Since tells us the starting point of an action which is still continuing now. Ago tells us the starting point of an action which is finished.

I have lived in this city since 1980.
I left Denver to come here over twenty years ago.


'Should', 'May' and 'Might'

These are modal verbs which have different meanings.

Should

This is used to give advice or to express what you expect.

You should go to the doctor if your headaches continue.
They should win the championship this year. They are the best team.

May and Might

These are similar in meaning and are used to express possibility.

Q: Are you going to the cinema tonight?
A: I don't know. I might go or I might stay at home.

Used in questions, these two are ways of asking for something in a polite way.

Might I borrow your telephone for a few moments?
May I open the window a little, please?

Note that all three of these modal verbs are followed directly by an infinitive verb without "to".


'Will' or 'Going To'

We have already discussed the use of "going to" to talk about the future. It is used to talk about plans already made and also to make predictions based on evidence we see now.

We will now talk about "will" and then see how they differ in direct comparison.

Will is a modal verb and is followed directly by an infinitive verb without "to".

I will see you tomorrow.
He'll go to the meeting tomorrow.

The main functions of "will" are:

a. to predict a future event:

The party will be at my house at eight o'clock.
The exam will finish in one hour.

b. to express a spontaneous decision:

I'll answer the phone.
You don't have bread! We'll go to the supermarket.

Note the difference between will and going to in this use. We use going to if a decision has been made before speaking, but will if the decision is made now.

John: What are you doing this weekend?
Mary: I'm going to visit Howard in Boston.
John: But Howard is in Chicago this weekend with his parents.
Mary: Oh! I didn't know that! I'll go and visit his brother Stefano then.

In this dialogue, Mary's first answer uses going to as it is a plan she made before. Her second answer uses will as she now has to make a new plan, and her plan to visit Stefano is made now, as she speaks.

c. to express a prediction based on opinion, not on fact.

Howes will win the election.
I think she'll get married next summer.

Here, expressions of opinion and belief are common:

I hope we'll see the start of the film
I wonder what will happen if I press this red button. Aaagh!!
She will probably be very late because of the traffic.
He's sure he'll get the job. He said the interview went quite well.

d. The old form of will, "shall" is often used to make offers and suggestions.

Shall we leave now? It's late.
That bag is very heavy. Shall I help you with it?


'Like' as Verb and Preposition

The word like seems to have many uses in English, some as a verb and some as a preposition:

Verb

I like beer.
I would like a beer.

In the first sentence, we are talking about what someone likes in general, always. In the second, the person is asking for a beer now. In English we use would like to ask for something and not would want as in many languages.

She would like to go to Australia next year.
NOT She would want to go to Australia next year.

Preposition

Like used as a preposition means "similar to" or "the same as".

His house is huge. It's like a palace.
Sandra is a teacher, like me.
I hate television quiz shows like this.

If we want to know general information about a person or place, we can use like in the question:

Q: What is your father like?
A: He is tall and muscular and a very generous person.

Q: What is London like?
A: Well, it's a chaotic, cosmopolitan city. But in summer, it's full of tourists.

We can use look like if we only want physical information:

Q: What does your sister look like?
A: She is blonde with lovely green eyes. She is quite short.

Note the difference between look and look like in these sentences:

My father looks happy all the time.
Your sister looks like a model.
He looks French if you ask me!
Jane looks like Meryl Streep.

So we use:

look    +   Adjective / Age
look like   +   Person / Noun