USEFUL LANGUAGE
- Apologise and admit fault
You're right. I was out of line.
I'm sorry, it was inexcusable of me to pretend I was a fan ...
I don't know what came over me.
That wasn't very tactful of me.
I guess I overreacted.
I had no right to take it on you.
I was out of order.
It was my fault entirely.
- Speculation and deduction
Certain speculations: will / going to
Paper books surely will not ever disappear.
I am sure she will have arrived by now. Let's call her.
That painting is hardly going to win any awards.
Certain deductions: must / have got to
Look at you! You must be going somewhere nice.
Javier has not seen the message yet, he must be sleeping.
You've got to be joking!
Likely: should / may well
The rain may well be staying with us all week.
Look at the time, their flight should have landed by now.
Possible and unlikely: could / might / may / can
You might be right, for once.
You could possibly be right this time.
I guess you may be right for a change.
There is a possibility you can be right for the first time in your life.
Impossible: can't / couldn't
She couldn't get to the murder scene in time.
The exam couldn't have been that hard for you to pass.
Jeff can't be working today, it is a bank holiday!
I couldn't have passed my exam without Maria's help.
Other
We are bound to find a cure for cancer sooner or later.
You can tell that someone was smoking here.
It is highly likely that all cars will be electric in the near future.
It is bound to happen sometime soon.
I bet no one will read this phrase.
I reckon so.
I am quite sure that you are right.
There is a good chance that not many people will attend the exam.
There's an outside chance that I will not get wet in this rain.
The chances of not getting wet in this rain are slim to none.
There is a slim chance I will find an umbrella in the car.
There is no way on earth that there is life after death.
It is highly unlikely that the sun will explode in the next billion years. More like seven or eight.
- Cleft sentences
We use cleft sentences to emphasise, correct or point out information.
What he does is park his car over the line.
One thing you could do is park on his side of the line ...
All I want is for him to take more care ...
What she suggested was well out of the question.
What is wrong is to try to limit the right to vote.
What went wrong was that too many people got involved.
What happened was that he took the money all for himself.
What the children did was to lock the cat in the cellar.
All I want for Christmas is you.
All you need is love.
All she did was to politely ask for her money back.
What this tells me is that their customer service is appalling.
All this tells me is that Sarah is very unfair,
The first thing that you should do is to take a nice long break.
The last thing on my mind right now is a holiday.
Whatever, the main thing is to reduce your stress levels.
The place (where) I grew up was very rural.
The time to make peace with yourself is nearing.
The right time to tackle climate change was yesterday!
The only possible reason to leave the house when quarantined is force majeure.
The main reason climate patterns are changing is because of unfettered human activities.
It cleft sentences
It was Cathy who that the idea.
It was three weeks later when they got back to me.
It is working all day for little pay that gets me down.
It will be only in big cities that humans will live in the future.
It is more police and surveillance which will reduce crime.
It is only when I realise that the exam is coming so soon that I start getting nervous.
VOCABULARY
- Compound adjectives
lifelike
tongue-tied
heartbreaking
open-minded
warm-hearted
backbreaking
heartwarming
mouth-watering
narrow-minded
half-hearted
absent-minded
short-sighted
light-headed
light-hearted
hair-raising
mind-boggling
- Society and relationships
intimacy
tolerance
loneliness
exclusion
security
isolation
materialism
optimism
nervousness
rudeness
selfishness
fairness
collaboration
distribution
liberation
innovation
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