USED TO

Dave worked in a factory from 2000 to 2010. He´s been working in a supermarket since 2010.

Dave says: I used to work in a factory, but now I work in a supermarket.

I used to work / she used to have / they used to be etc.

When I was a child, I used to like chocolate.
I used to read a lot of books but I don´t read much these days.
Liz has got short hair now but it used to be very long.
They used to live in the same street as us, so we often used to see them. But we don´t see them very often these days.
Ann used to have a piano but she sold it a few years ago.

The negative is I didn´t use to...


When I was a child I didn´t use to like tomatoes.
They didn´t use to travel very much in the past.
He usually went to work by car. He didn´t use to walk.
Lamartine Babo used to write songs for Carnival.

The question is did you use to...?


Did you use to play tennis when you lived in that condo?
Where did you use to live before you came here?
How did you use to commute before having a car?


We use used to... only for the past. You cannot say 'I use to...' (present)

I used to play tennis. These days I play golf.
We usually get up early.


(From the book ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR IN USE  - by Raymond Murphy)

PREPOSITIONS: IN - AT - ON - TO (PLACES)

IN


Closed places: in a room, in a shop, in a car, in the water
Open places: in a garden, in a town, in the city centre, in France

Where´s David? - In the kitchen / In the garden / In London.
What´s in that box / in that bag / in that cupboard?
Angela works in a shop / in a bank / in a factory.
I had a swim in the river / in the sea.
Milan is in the north of Italy.
I live in a town but I want to live in the country.

in bed                                                       Where´s Kate? She´s in bed.
in hospital / in prison                                David´s father is ill. He´s in hospital
in a street                                                 I live in a small street near the station.
in the sky                                                 I like to look at the stars in the sky at night.
in the world                                              What´s the largest city in the world?
in a newspaper / in a book                       I read about the accident in the newspaper.
in a photograph / in a picture                    You look sad in this photograph.
in a car / in a taxi                                      Did you come here in your car?
in the middle (of...)                                   There´s a big tree in the middle of the garden.


AT


at the bus stop / at the door / at the traffic light / at the desk (standing or sitting close to something)

There´s somebody at the bus stop / at the door.
The car´s waiting at the traffic light.
We met at the newsstand.
Julia is working at her desk.
The plane lands at the airport.
The train stops at the station.

at the top / at the bottom / at the end (of...)

Write your name at the top of the page.
My house is at the end of the street.
I live at 4A Arlington Road.

at home                                                 Will you be at home this evening?
at work / at school                                 Where´s Kate? She´s at work.
at university / at college                          Helen is studying at university.
at Jane´s house / at my sister´s house / at the doctor´s / at the hairdresser´s etc.
                                                             Where were you yesterday? At my sister´s.
                                                             I saw Tom at the doctor´s.
at a concert / at a party / at a football match etc.
                                                             There weren´t many people at the party.

Note: Often it is possible to use in or at for buildings (hotels, restaurants, etc.):
          We stayed at a nice hotel.        or        We stayed in a nice hotel.



ON


on a shelf / on a plate / on a balcony / on the floor etc...
on a wall / on a door / on the ceiling etc...

There are some books on the shelf and some pictures on the wall.
There are a lot of apples on those trees.
Don´t sit on the grass. It´s wet.
There is a stamp on the envelope.

also on a horse / on a bicycle / on a motorbike:

Who´s that man on the motorbike?

She´s sitting on that old chair.
He´s lying on the sofa.
But: The grandma likes to sit in the armchair.

on a bus / on the first floor / on the way from A to B

on a bus / on a train / on a plane / on a ship
                                                       Did you come here on this bus?
on the ground floor / on the first floor etc.
                                                       The office is on the first floor.
on the way (to...) / on the way home
                                                       I met Ann on the way to work / on the way home.


IN / AT 


be / stay / do something (etc.) in...


Piccadilly Circus is in London.
My brother lives in Italy.
The main shops are in the city centre.

I like reading in bed.

be / stay / do something (etc.) at


The bus is at the airport.
Ann wasn´t at work yesterday.
I met her at a party.
Ann stayed at her borther´s house.


Home


go / come / walk (etc.) home (without 'to')
I´m tired. I´m going home.
Did you walk home?

be / stay / do something (etc.) at home
I´m staying at home this evening.
Where´s Ann? 'At home'


Arrive / get


arrive in a country or town (arrive in Italy / arrive in Paris etc.):
They arrived in England last week.

arrive at other places (arrive at the station / arrive at work etc.)
What time did you arrive at the hotel?

get to (a place)
What time did you get to the hotel?
What time did you get to Paris?

get home / arrive home (no preposition)
I was tired when I got home.    or    I was tired when I arrived home.


TO


go / come / return / walk (etc.) to...


We´re going to London next weekend.
I want to go to Italy.
We walked from my house to the city centre.
What time did you go to bed?
The bus is going to the airport.
Sally didn´t go to work yesterday.
You must come to our house.

(From the book ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR IN USE by Raymond Murphy)

FUTURE TENSE

I´m doing something tomorrow. (For plans and arrangements - I´ve arranged, I´ve planned to do it.)

I´m going to a concert tomorrow. (I´ve even got the tickets already!)
Alice is going to the dentist on Friday. (She has an appointment.)
We´re having a party next weekend. (Everything is prepared!)

I´m going to do something. (I have decided to do it, my intention is to do it.)

I´m going to buy some new books tomorrow.
Sarah is going to sell her car.
I´m not going to have breakfast this morning. I´m not hungry.

Look at the sky! It´s going to rain. (Something is going to happen: it´s clear now that it´s sure to happen.)

will/shall


- Sue travels a lot. Today she´s in Madrid. Tomorrow she will be in Rome. Next week she will be in Tokyo.
- You can phone me this evening. I will be at home.
- We will probably go out tonight. (You aren´t sure yet.)
- I won´t be here tomorrow.
- Don´t drink coffee before you go to bed. You won´t sleep.
- I think I will pass the exam.
- Do you think the exam will be difficult?

* will - when you offer or decide to to something
- My bag is very heavy! - I will carry it for you.
- Bye! I will phone you tomorrow!
- I think we shall win. (Do not use shall with you/they/he/she/it.)
- Tom will be late.

Shall I.../ Shall we...? (Do you think this is a good thing to do? Do you think this is a good idea?)
- It´s warm in this room. Shall I open the window?
- I´m going to a party tonight. What shall I wear?
- It´s a nice day. Shall we go for a walk?
- Where shall we go for our holidays this year?

Present Simple with a Future Meaning

We use the present simple when we talk about timetable, programmes, etc (e.g., for public transport, cinemas, etc.)

- The train leaves Plymouth at 11:30 and arrives in London at 12:45.
- What time does the film begin?
- It´s Wednesday tomorrow.

You can use the present simple for people if their plans are fixed like a timetable:

- I start my new job on Monday.
- What time do you finish work tomorrow?

(Summarized from ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR IN USE by Raymond Murphy)

SOME VERB TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE (do)


Things that happen all the time or regularly, that are true in general:

- The sun rises in the East.
- We live in Limeira.

How often: We go home every weekend.
                  I play basketball on Sundays.
                  She brings work home every day.


PRESENT CONTINUOUS ( be + -ing)


Something that is happening at or around the time of speaking

- We are learning English.
- I´m teaching.
- He´s reading a very interesting book.


PAST SIMPLE (did)


something that happened in the past and has no consequence now (is finished.)

- Mozart died in 1791.
- Shakespeare wrote many plays.
- I went to the cinema last night.


PAST CONTINUOUS (be + -ing)


Used to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time:

I started doing. (past) - I was doing. (past) - I finished doing. (past) - now (0)

- This time last year I was living in Britain.
- What were you doing at 7 p.m. yesterday?
- I was studying for my test when my mom called me.


PRESENT PERFECT (have + past participle)


Used when the action in the past has a result now:

- I´ve lost my keys. (I don´t know when I lost them, but I can´t find them now.)
- Is Sally here? - No, she´s gone out.
- Chico Buarque has written many songs.

Something that has just happened:

- Ouch! I´ve cut my finger!

Something that started in the past and continues until now:

- Have you ever been to Paris?
- Have you seen "Star Wars"?
- Have you heard from George recently?
- Why hasn´t Tom come to school lately?
- She hasn´t come to work for the past (last) few days.
- I haven´t eaten anything since breakfast.
- He hasn´t shown up today.
- Have you had a holiday this year?

- (in the morning):                    Sue has called you this morning.
- (in the afternoon):                  Sue called you this morning.

- It´s the first time I´ve driven a car.
- It´s the second time she has won this prize.

- Have you heard the news yet?
- Yes, Mary has already told me.
- No, I haven´t heard the news yet.


PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (have + been + -ing)


When something started in the past, continuous in the present and has the probability of conitnuing in the future:

- It has been raining for hours.

For something that has just finished:
- Have you been running?

- How long have you been studying English?
- She´s been playing tennis since she was 8.


PAST PERFECT (had + past participle)


The past before the past:

(She left at 11 pm. I arrived at 11:30 pm.) She had already left when I arrived.

- When we got home, we realised that someone had broken into the house.
- I didn´t know who she was. I had never met her.


PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had + been + -ing)


- I saw the floor was wet. It had been raining.
- He was very tired. He had been working hard all day long.
- We had been playing for one hour when it started raining.

(Present Perfect Continuous) I hope the bus comes soon. I´ve been waiting for 20 minutes.
(Past Perfect Continuous)     At last the bus came. I had been waiting for 20 minutes.

(Present Perfect Continuous) He is out of breath. He has been running.
(Past Perfect Continuous)      He was out of breath. He had been running.

(Summarized from the book ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR IN USE by Raymond Murphy)

APOLOGIES, EXCUSES, AND THANKS

Apologies (= saying sorry)


We can apologise (= say sorry) in different ways in different situations:

(I´m) sorry, I beg your pardon (fml). - A general apology, e.g., you close the door in someone´s face, interrupt someone, etc...

I´m very/terribly/so/awfully sorry. - A stronger apology, e.g. you step on someone´s foot or take their coat by mistake.

I´m very/really sorry I´m late. - When you are late for an appointment.

Sorry to keep you waiting. I won´t be long. (= I will talk to you soon) - Someone is waiting to see you and you are busy, e.g. with someone else.

Note: In formal situations (especially in writing), we often use apologise and apology:

I must apologise for (being late.)
I would like to apologise for (the delay. Unfortunately...)
Please accept our apologies for the mistake in your order. We tried to...


Excuses and promises


If the situation is quite important we usually add an explanation or excuse after the apology. An excuse is the reason for the apology, which may or may not be true. (If it is not true, it should still be a reason that people will believe.) Here are some common excuses:

I´m sorry I´m late but I was delayed/held up at the airport.
I´m sorry I´m late, but my train was cancelled.

Note: To be/get delayed or be/get held up (informal) both mean to be late because of a problem that is out of your control.

If you are responsible for the problem, you can offer or promise to do something about it.

I´m sorry about the mess in here. I´ll clear it up. (= I´ll tidy it up.)
I´m sorry about the confusion, but I´ll sort it out. (I´ll solve the problem.)


Reassuring people


When people apologise to us, it is very common to say something to reassure them (= tell them that 'everything is OK'), and that we are not angry. These are all common expressions. Note that we often use two of them to emphasise the fact that 'it´s OK'.

A: I´m sorry I´m late.         B: That´s OK. Don´t worry. or Never mind. It doesn´t matter, or That´s OK. No problem.
                                           


Thanks


These are the most common ways of thanking people in everyday situations:

A: Here´s your pen.                   B: Oh, thank you / thanks (very much).
A: I´ll answer that.                     B: Oh, thanks a lot. (informal)
A: I´ll post those letters for you.       B: Oh, thank you. That´s very kind of you.

If you go to someone´s house for dinner, or stay with people in an English-speaking country, you will need to thank them for their hospitality (= when people are kind and friendly towards their guests). You could say something like this:

Thank you very much for inviting me. It´s been a lovely evening.
Thank you very much for everything. You´ve been very kind.

(from the book English Vocabulary in Use by Stuart Redman - Cambridge University Press)

GO: USES AND EXPRESSIONS

Come vs go


Go usually express a movement away from the position the speaker is now; come expresses a movement towards the speaker.

Imagine you are at school. The time is 9.30 a.m.
I had to go to Jimmy´s to pick up some books; then I went to the post office before I came to school.

Sometimes the speaker is in one place but imagines that they are already in another place. When Thomas meets  Marta in Spain, he invites her to Switzerland. He says:

"Would you like to come and visit me in Bern?" (He imagines he is there and so her movement is towards him.)

We can also imagine that the listener is in a different place. Talking to Marta, Thomas says:

"I´ll come to your flat at 7.30 p.m." (She will be at home, so his movement is towards her.)

Note: It is a similar difference between bring and take:
I think I´ll take my bike to the match and Peter can bring it back here tomorrow.


Different meanings of "go"


+ When you leave a place in order to do an activity, you often express it either with go + ing noun or go (out) + for a + noun. Here are some common example:

We could go shopping.                                  She wants to go (out) for a walk.
We could go riding (on horses)                      She wants to go (out) for a drink.
They went sightseeing.                                   Let´s go (out) for a drive.
They went swimming. (also 'for a swim')        Let´s go (out) for a meal.

+ Go is followed by certain adjectives to describe a change in state (usually to a worse state) with the meaning 'become' (get is also used with some adjectives).

My brother´s hair is going grey, and my father is going bald.
The company went bankrupt last year.
He´ll go mad if you wear his jacket.
My grandmother is going deaf.


+ It is often used to describe the speed something is travelling (also do):

We were going about 80 kph when the accident happened.

+ When you want to say/ask if a road or form of transport takes you somewhere:

          Does this bus go to the National Gallery?
          I don´t thing this road goes to the station.


Expressions


I´ve never tried bungee jumping but I´d love to have a go. (= try it)
How´s it going? (How are you?) And you can use the same question if you want to know if something is easy, difficult, enjoyable, etc. For example, if you are doing an exercise in class, your teacher may ask: How´s it going? (also How are you getting on?)
It´s my go (also it´s my turn). This expression is used in games such as chess or monopoly where you move from one player to another, then back.

(From the book English Vocabulary in Use by Stuart Redman - Cambridge University Press)

GET: USES AND EXPRESSIONS


Meanings


Get is an informal word, so it is more common in spoken English than written English. It has many meanings. Here are some of the basic ones.

receive                                                         I got a letter this morning.
                                                                     You get a certificate at the end of the course.

obtain (sometimes = buy)                             She´s trying to get a new job.
                                                                     Where did you get those shoes?

become (= a change in state)                        It gets dark very early at this time of year.
                                                                    My hands are getting cold.

arrive                                                           When did you get here?
                                                                     I´ll phone you when I get home.

fetch                                                            Could you get the books from the cupboard?
                                                                     She went to get the children from school.


'Get' + past participle


We sometimes use the more informal 'get' + past participle


get married (= marry)                                 She got married in France.
get divorced (= divorce)                             They got divorced last year. (the marriage has ended officially)
get dressed (= dress)                                  I got dressed quickly and went out.
get undressed (= undress)                          He got undressed and got into bed.
get changed (= change clothes)                   When I got home I went to my room and got changed.
get lost (= lose one´s way)                           I got lost on my way to the station.


Common collocations


Get is so common with certain words (often describing a change of state) that it is a good idea to learn them as expressions:

It´s getting hot/cold/dark/light/late/better/worse/busy
I´m getting hot/cold/tired/better/worse/hungry/ready

Note: the expression getting better at something can describe an improvement in your ability to do something, e.g. I´m getting better at English/swimming; it also describes an improvement in your health, e.g. She was very ill but she´s getting better now. (different from getting worse.)


Phrasal verbs and special expressions with 'get'


I get on very well with my sister. (= I have a very good relationship with my sister)
How are you getting on?   (a) (= a general question: how´s life?)
                                        (b) (= what progress are you making, e.g. with your English?)
It´s difficult to get to know people in a foreigh country. (= meet people and make friends)
I want to get rid of all my old records. (= sell them or throw them away or give them away)
My alarm wakes me up at 7 am, but I don´t usually get up (= get out of bed) until 7.15.

from the book English Vocabulary in Use by Stuart Redman - Cambridge University Press