EXPRESSING PAST REGRET

Have you ever wished something had turned out differently? If so, this is the feeling of regret. To regret something is to wish it had never happened or to feel sorry about something wrong you have done.  In order to express regret in English, you may use different structures. Here are some of them.

1-Wish + past perfect

Example:

I wish I’d been a better mother to my son

They wish they hadn’t spent so much money on their shopping trip.’

2- How I wish 

Example:

How I wish I had told him the truth.

3- If only + past perfect

Example:

If only I had not spent so much money.

4-Conditional type 3

You can also express regret by using a conditional sentence (3rd conditional)

Example:

If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

4.1Inverted Conditional Form

In conditional clauses, an auxiliary verb can be put before the subject.

Example:

•Had I understood the problem, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes. (= If I

had understood the problem, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes.)

5.Should have + past participle

Regret may also be expressed by using a modal should:

Examples:

• I should have sent her an invitation.
• He should have done his homework

6. I regret...

You can express regret by using:

Examples:

• I regret not speaking to her before she left.
• She doesn’t regret leaving him.
• He regrets not traveling more when he was younger.
• I don’t regret anything that I've done in my life.

7. Why on earth…? 

Example. 

Why on earth did I buy that car? 

Have you ever done anything you regret? Talk about:

• A course you wish you had taken
• Something you shouldn’t have lent
• Something you shouldn’t have eaten
• A decision you should have made
• A person you should have treated differently
• Someone you wish you had stayed in touch with
• A place you regret going to
• Something you shouldn’t have said
• Something you should have remembered
• Something you should have bought
• A day you should have stayed in bed 
• Something you shouldn’t have done

For Portuguese speakers

If only = Quem dera!/ Se pelo menos…

I wish = Eu gostaria…

Why on earth? =Por que carga d'água…?

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE FUTURE TIME MARKERS IN ENGLISH?

Hello there!

Today we are going to look at how to identify and use future time markers in English. As you may well know, we can express future time not only with verbal structures, such as, 'will' and 'going to', but also with adverbial expressions. 

Read the list above and try to practise by making your own sentences. If you have any questions about this topic, let me know in the comments section below and I will give you an answer.

Let’s get to it!

I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT THERE (BY BRYAN ADAMS) : 'WILL' TO EXPRESS PROMISES

 I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT THERE (BY BRYAN ADAMS)    

I- LOOK AT THE  WORDS/ PHRASES BELOW AND MARK THEM 'S' IF THEY HAVE THE SAME MEANING AND ‘D' IF THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

1. promise/ swear
2. believe / trust 
3. together/ in each other’s company
4. nothing/ something
5. compare/ contrast
6. forever/ always/ never
7. for all of my life/ forever/ for good
8. I really care/ I don't give importance
9. to get to know someone/ to start to be familiar with someone
10. second to none/ ordinary
    
    

II- READ SOME PROMISES PEOPLE USUALLY MAKE WHEN THEY ARE IN LOVE.  

"I promise to always make us a priority.”

"I promise to stick by you through tough times.”

"I promise I will never let you forget how much I love you.”

"I promise I will not lose my identity.”

“I promise to keep things exciting.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. What promises do you make when you are in love? Complete the list with your own ideas.
2. Do you keep your promises or do you think promises are made to be broken? 
3. Do you trust people easily or are you skeptical?
4. Is it a good or bad thing to trust people easily? 

II- LISTEN TO THE SONG AND FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE PHRASES YOU HEAR. 

I'll Always Be Right There

I  (1)___________ to you

I  (2)___________        ___________ there for you

There's nothing I (3)____________     _________

I  (4)_________________ you

All my life  (5)________    _____________

Live for you.

We (6)_________     __________ it through.

Forever we (7)__________      _________ together you and me

Oh and when I hold you nothing can compare

With all of my heart you know  ( 8) I’__________    ____________     _______ 

Right there...

I (9)_______________ in us

( 10)___________ else could ever mean so much

You're the one I  (11)___________.

Our time has come

we're not two people now

we are one.

Yeah, you're second to none.

Forever (12)________    __________     __________ together, a family

The more I get to know you, nothing can compare

With all of my heart you know  (13)___________      ___________    _________

Right there...

Forever we (14)____________     _________ together, ooh, just you and me

The more I get to know you, the more I really care

With all of my heart you know  (15)I’ ________        __________     _________

And you know I really love you, and nothing can compare

For all of my life you know  (16)I’ _________     ____________      _________ 

Right there…

IV- GRAMMAR-  CHOOSE THE CORRECT ALTERNATIVE -
IN THIS SONG, BRIAN ADAMS USES WILL/ WON’T  ( WILL+ NOT) + INFINITIVE :

1. to talk about possibility
2. to make promises 
3. to ask someone out

INFINITIVE SNAKES AND LADDERS

Snakes and Ladders is definitely one of my favourite board games. So, I thought about using it to teach the infinitive in English. Anyway, it’s high time we practised the ‘to infinitive' and the bare infinitive in English. Don’t you think so? 

You will need one snakes and ladders board per group of three students. Alternatively, you can play the game in pairs. You will also need one set of prompt cards and one set of task cards per group; one dice and counters per group.

GAME RUES

1)Put students into groups of three (or in pairs). Give each group the material quoted above. Students take it in turns to throw a number. 

2)When they land on a question mark, they must take a task card (which contains questions/ tasks) and answer it. (Remind students to use the infinitive structure). If the student carries out the task, he/she stays on the square. If he/she can’t use the infinitive correctly, he/she moves back to his/her original square.

3)When the student lands at the foot of the ladder, he/she must complete the sentences from the prompt cards. He/she is only allowed to go up the ladder provided the answer is correct. If the sentence is not completed in the correct way, he/she must stay at the foot of the ladder. 

4)Every time a student lands on the head of a snake, he/she has to go down the snake to the square of its tail. 

5)The winner is the student who reaches the finish line first. 

PROMPT CARDS

I go to the gym 5 times a week _________________

________________________________________________________________________

I study English_____________

________________________________________________________________________

I went to the supermarket __________

________________________________________________________________________

One day, I hope ____________

________________________________________________________________________

The police officer refused ______________

________________________________________________________________________

She hesitated to ________________

________________________________________________________________________

I learned … when I was __________

________________________________________________________________________

As a child, I wanted ___________

________________________________________________________________________

I never let my children  _______________

_______________________________________________________________________

We plan ______________ this summer

________________________________________________________________________

He tends ___________ a little shy.

________________________________________________________________________

I swear _________________ the truth.

________________________________________________________________________

He seems  ______________ disappointed.

________________________________________________________________________

Did you remember  _________________?

________________________________________________________________________

How do you manage ______________?

________________________________________________________________________

What do intend _______________?

________________________________________________________________________

Do young offenders deserve _______________?

________________________________________________________________________

He claims _____________

________________________________________________________________________

No matter what he felt, he couldn't hesitate…

________________________________________________________________________

How did you persuade _________?

________________________________________________________________________

Nobody encouraged me ___________

________________________________________________________________________

He invited me _______________.

________________________________________________________________________

During the meeting we agreed _________________.

________________________________________________________________________

The teacher made me _______________.

________________________________________________________________________

You are forbidden ______________.

________________________________________________________________________

Finally, we managed to __________

________________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, I cant’ afford to ___________

________________________________________________________________________

I am learning ____________.

________________________________________________________________________

He decided ___________.

________________________________________________________________________

He helped me _______________my suitcases.

________________________________________________________________________

If you want to pass the FCE, you must ________________

________________________________________________________________________

I don’t know how __________

_______________________________________________________________________

I couldn’t __________because I was sick.

________________________________________________________________________

We might __________ to Australia next year.

________________________________________________________________________

My/ Some children asked me __________.

________________________________________________________________________

 Look at the sky. It’s ______________________.

________________________________________________________________________

TASK CARDS/ QUESTIONS

• Tell me 2 things you want me/ would like me to do now 
• List 3 things your parents don’t let you do
• Give advice to someone who wants to learn a foreign language ( e.g You should…, You’d better…)
• Tell me 3 things you can do well. ( e.g I can…, I’m able to…)
• Explain to me what you intend to do when you finish your English course. ( e.g I intend to…/ I plan to…/ I’d love to…/ i’d like to…)
• Why do you need to do physical exercises regularly?
• What New Year resolutions do you usually make? (e.g I promise to…)
• What are your expectations for 2018? 
• What does your best friend look like? He/ she appears…/ He/she seems …
• Do you prefer to study alone or in a group?
• Why do some people drink so much?
• Why do we need to work?

SOME USES OF THE INFINITIVE IN ENGLISH ( B2/ C1 LEVELS)

After studying the Gerund (-ING) in English, we should concentrate on the use of the INFINITIVE, as shown in the diagram above. The infinitive form of a verb is the verb in its basic form, with or without ‘to’. There are words (e.g adjectives, verbs, fixed expressions)  which make take: 

1. to infinitive;
2. bare infinitive;
3. to infinitive or bare infinitive.

Is it difficult? Not really. Let me make things easier for you, OK? 

Look at the diagram. Firstly, I have focused on the use of the 'bare infinitive', which is also known as infinitive without ‘to’. This infinitive structure commonly appears with the use of modal verbs.  Modals form a verb group, so they are used together with other verbs forming a verb group. Most grammars list the following verbs as modals: 'can', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'shall', ‘should', 'will', 'would', 'must' and 'ought (to)’. (Note that, if you regard ‘ought’ as a modal, it is followed by 'to infinitive'. )

Apart form modal verbs, there are other verbs followed by the 'bare infinitive'. Let’s take for instance ‘let’ and ‘make’ (e.g Do your parents let you stay up late? Why did you make her cry?). In turn, 'would rather' (=to talk about preferring one thing to another) and ‘had better' (=to talk about actions we think people should do) are also good examples of expressions which take the ‘infinitive without to'. ( e.g I’d rather do something else/  It’s late. I’d better go now.)

The ‘to infinitive' is commonly used to express purpose. This meaning may also be conveyed by the expressions “so as to" and  “in order to”. (e.g When I travel, I check my suitcase twice ( in order) to make sure I have packed everything I will need). The 'infinitive with to' is also used after some adjectives, transitive verbs and fixed expressions. Note how necessary it is to complete the meaning of these words. Just ask the questions 'Who?  what? what for?'. The fixed expression 'Be able to’, expresses ‘ability’ ( e.g He’s able to speak several languages). As for 'be bound to’, it means that something is certain to happen in the future ( e.g John is bound to get that job).

Finally, pay attention to some verbs which can be followed by either the 'to infinitive' or  the 'bare infinitive'. In English, we can both say 'help someone to do something or help someone do something." 

Other verbs which deserve our attention are ‘dare’ and ‘need’. 

In British English, these verbs can be followed by the 'bare infinitive' only in negative sentences and in questions. Have a look at these examples taken both form the Collins Cobuild English Grammmar and the Online Cambridge Dictionary (dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/dare)

How dare you speak to me like that? ( bare infinitive in questions)

Need you go home so soon?  ( bare infinitive in questions)

He needs to lose some weight. ( to infinitive in affirmative sentences)

I don't think we need ask him.(bare infinitive in negative sentences)

 For Portuguese Speakers. 

O uso do -ING, quando não expressa -ando, -endo e -indo, bem como o uso do infinitivo em inglês, normalmente geram dificuldade para os brasileiros.  Os alunos cometem erros pois não percebem que há tanto o ‘to infinitive’ quanto o “bare infinitive’. Notem que se em português dizemos: ‘Ele me fez chorar’, o equivalente em inglês é “He made me cry, e não “He made me to cry. Além disso, é bastante comum ocorrer o erro quando o verbo requer o -ING, mas em português usa-se o infinitivo. (e.g .Would you mind closing the door to me?/ Você se importaria de fechar a porta para mim).

Gostaria também de chamar atenção para o verbo ‘want’. Em português dizemos ‘Eu quero que você venha à minha festa’. Entretanto, em inglês, a estrutura verbal é bem diferente, pois precisamos do 'to infinitive’- e. g 'I want you to come to my party’. ( want + someone+ to do something)