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These are the B2 time adverbs you should learn for the speaking and writing of the Cambridge FCE exam. Listen for them in the podcast, and decide which I am referring to in the dialogue section at the end of the podcast. (B1 students also invited!)

firstly, etc. lastly, (often at the beginning of a sentence)
instantly (often at the end of a sentence)
temporarily (often at the end of a sentence)
currently (often before a verb)
sharp (at the end of a time phrase)
precisely / exactly (often before a time phrase)
increasingly (often before a verb)
roughly (often before a time phrase)
continuously (often before a verb)
constantly (often before a verb)
permanently (often at the end of a sentence)
gradually (often before a verb)
simultaneously (often at the end of a sentence)
eventually (often before a verb)
seldom (often before a verb)
shortly (often at the end of a sentence)

To see the transcript of the dialogues, go to my website: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-234.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

'Rather' and its uses

FORM/USE: 'RATHER THAN' + PHRASE
B1
Use a specialist book rather than the Internet. A book is more reliable.
Take the stairs rather than the lift. It’ll keep you fitter.

FORM: 'RATHER THAN' + NON-FINITE CLAUSE
B2
I’d prefer to go camping rather than stay in a hotel. It’s nice to be out in the fresh air.
Rather than sitting around doing nothing, why don’t you go and do some sport. (instead of)
I’d rather take the bus than get the car out. 

FORM: WITH 'RATHER A'
ADJECTIVES
B2
Actually, I’m rather bad/good at playing football. I’ve got two left feet.
She lives rather a long way from school, so she’s often late.

FORM: WOULD + RATHER + PAST
I’d rather + indirect object + past (but it’s not a past)
I’d rather you didn’t go to that concert next Saturday. I don’t think it’s suitable.
I’d rather you stayed at home and helped with the baby. I’ve got to catch up with some work.

See the transcript of the dialogue: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-233.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Stative verbs

Thoughts and opinions

believe
know
understand
suppose
think
(I would sit and think about her every day.)
(People used to think that smoking was good for you.)  

Emotions

love
I used to love watching children's TV when I was a kid. TV programmes for kids used to be better then than they are now.
hate
dislike
detest
appreciate

Senses

see
(I used to see Jane every day as she walked past my house with the dog)
(I would go and see my grandmother every day at a café by the river)
hear (would listen to)
smell
(The bakery used to smell of delicious freshly baked bread)
(I would smell each flower as I walked through the field)
taste
(It used to taste like something out of this world)
(I would taste each wine and give my opinion)
feel (I used to feel upset every time my neighbour shouted at his dog)
notice
In the end, I never used to notice the planes flying over our heads.

Being

be
seem
appear
belong
have
(When I was a teenager, we used to have Dr Marten boots - it used to be the fashion)
(Every day my grandmother would have a bath, spending at least an hour in there.)
stand
(The castle used to stand by the river)
(He would stand by the door waiting for her to come home)
lie
(The cat would lie on the veranda enjoying the afternoon sun.)
(the village used to stand in the valley until it was flooded.)

Short story. Three hours between flights by F. Scott Fitzgerald (adapted to B1 level)
You can read the transcript here: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-232.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Emphasis is used with lots of auxiliary verbs:
- I MUST get to the shop before it closes.
- You SHOULD try and finish the painting today. I'm fed up with smelling paint all over the house.
- I do like your new tie. It's so colourful!
- I do want to go and see that new film Anora. You know, the film that won all those oscars.
- Well, I saw it. I don't think it's suitable for you, if your favourite film is the Sound of Music.
- I do wish it would stop raining. I can't get out at the weekend.
Third person:
- Mary does like new job. She has chances of promotion now that she never had before.
2nd person
- You know, you do annoy me with all the regaton music you play at full volume in your bedroom.
Past tense
- I did want to go away last weekend, but we gave up the idea because of the rain.
In negatives:
- You helped yourself to my biscuits again, didn't you?
- I didn't, actually. I'm on a diet. It must have been Yvonne.
Questions:
- Where have you been all this time, Peter?
- I borrowed your car, Mum. Just went out for a short drive.
- You did, did you? And without my permission. Well, you're grounded for the rest of the week.

To read the dialogue, go to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-231.htm

Podcasts on intonation
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-43.htm
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-97.htm
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-103.htm
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-197.htm
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-126.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

The Visitors

This is the full version of my story The Visitors recorded in October of last year. The level is B2, but my B1 students are also invited, of course! ;-) 

These are the comprehension questions: (the answers are further down - but don't look at those yet!!

1) Who said he didn't want to be rescued and why?

2) What is the bridge of a ship, and why did the scientists and naval officers all go there?

3) Where was the alien ship when the ship's crew first detected it?

4) Why did Pierre Lafayette say "Merde!" at the end of the story?

Answers:

1) Who said he didn't want to be rescued and why?

‘Rescue mission!’ the admiral suddenly shouted and he looked irritated. ‘Who are they gonna rescue? I don’t need rescuing, thank you very much! I have a nice home and beautiful family right here on Honolulu Island. 

2) What is the bridge of a ship, and why did the scientists and naval officers all go there?

They hurried along the deck and in through a door that led to the bridge* - the highest part of the ship and the best place to get an all-round view of the surrounding darkening sea and sky.

3) Where was the alien ship when the ship's crew first detected it?

‘Sonar?’ interrupted Pierre. ‘Do you mean it’s under the water?’ The captain ignored him.

‘Estimated time of arrival?’

‘Four minutes, Captain! It’s incredible! There’s nothing that can travel that speed under water! I… I don’t get it!’

4) Why did Pierre Lafayette say "Merde!" at the end of the story?

‘Merde!’ said Pierre ('merde' is a swaer word in French) to anyone who might be listening to him. ‘They want nothing to do with us!’

(The alien spaceship had come to rescue the dolphins and whales of the ocean, and was not interested in making contact with the humans!)

Hope you enjoyed the story and learned some new language from it!

Mike.

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Adjectives with hyphen at B1 level

good-looking (only with hyphen) - attractive (for people, often men)

well-known - a lot of people have heard of it and know it/him/her

old-fashioned (only with hyphen) - (often criticising something) not new, not in fashion

well-dressed - dressed in attractive clothes, smart, elegant

up-to-date - (usually technology) the newest in software, hardware, computers etc.

middle-aged - around 50 years old

face-to-face (only with hyphen) (also adv. came face-to-face with the burglar) - talk to somebody while looking at them in the same room.

out-of-date - (fashion, technology) not new, there are more up-to-date versions, or a more recent fashion, or more modern.

hand-held  (only with hyphen) - held in the hand e.g. like a mobile phone. 

next-door (adv. next door) - referring to your neighbours. They live next to you. A house with is next to another.

full-time - (work) a complete schedule. 40 hours a week, for example. Compare with 'part-time'.

self-service  (only with hyphen) - (usually a restaurant) where you get your own food from the counter, no waiters or waitresses.

first-floor - on the first floor of a building.

second-hand  (only with hyphen) - not new, has been used before.

We can also invent words by putting the adjective and noun together to make another adjective: dark-haired, short-haired, short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt.

Young people's slang in Great Britain

Ace - really good

Bog off - go away and leave me alone.

Bonkers - crazy

Chippy - fish-and-chip shop

Chuffed - really pleased

Fancy - want to do something

Snog - kiss

dead wealthy / dead boring

go for a spin

To see the dialogue, go to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-229.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/english-grammar/

My novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!

Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

- The reason is I like working with people, I have experience of looking after elderly people and I enjoy volunteering work. 

- The problem is I’m a little lazy, I am often late for work because I sleep in. 

- The fact (of the matter is) is that the planet is warming and many species are dying. 

- The fact is we need computers to function better in business. 

- It is true that a lot of accidents are caused by motorbikes. But the point is that the car if far more dangerous. 

- The thing is, he is in a wheelchair and cannot access his own house because of the high steps.

To read the full dialogue, go to my website at: Practising English, podcast 228...

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/english-grammar/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!

Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Future Forms in English

I'm not going to talk about future tense and predictions, but other uses of future tense.Going to and present continuous for future

Going to – plans and intentions that we have;

I'm going to pay Mum a visit later today. She's not feeling well.

Strong intentions.

I'm going to learn German next year. It's something I've always wanted to do.

Present continuous – something that had been planned earlier – some sort of planning has taken place. You have a plan now. That's why we often call this present –future. You've made an appointment, you've phoned somebody about it, etc. You might write these things in your diary – if you have one.

The Jones's are coming round to dinner this evening. (I've called them)

I'm having my haircut this afternoon. (I have an appointment)

But I could say those above with ‘going to' as well.

Be careful – present continuous doesn't work well if you want to express strong intention about something you've been thinking about doing, like your intention to learn German:

I'm learning German next year – does not express that intention.

Better:

I'm going to learn German next year, if it's the last thing I do.

I'm going to keep asking her until she says yes.

In British English, you'll hear present continuous used more with verbs of movement.

I'm just popping out to buy a newspaper.

Are you coming down the pub, Dave?

Where are you going for your holidays this summer.Will

Will does not talk about any planning at all. It describes actions in the future when you decided to do that thing at that moment.

I can't open this tin of tomatoes.

I'll do it for you!

Mum told me she was feeling lonely.

Really? I'll give her a call this afternoon.

So then we need to remember that when we talk about these future actions later. We just used the past tense of these forms.Past tense of going to

I was going to study German this year but I haven't started yet.

You said you were coming down the pub, Dave. Where are you?

The Jones's were going to come to dinner this evening, but they can't make it.

So the past tense of ‘will' is ‘would'

You said you would open this tin of tomatoes. Well you haven't done it.

See the dialogue at...

https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-227.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/english-grammar/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here:https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!

Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Now it's interesting that we use get as a verb of motion. Often, when it's difficult to actually move. Have you noticed that we say,

Would you like to get into my car.

Now, you go into your house, you open the door and you walk in. You don't usually get into your house, but you get into a car. Why? Because you have to bend down usually to get in. So you get into a car. Perhaps you're up a ladder, you know, a ladder, which takes you upwards. If you're painting a wall, for example. And you don't like heights. So you find it difficult to get down the ladder. To get down. It means just to step down, to walk down the ladder.

Now, we might say, to get into a house, especially if there's some difficulty. For a burglar, for example, somebody who breaks a window and gets into your house that way. So last year, a burglar got into my house, he broke the window and opened it from the inside and got in and stole a television. So there, it's difficult because he has to break the window. So there we do say to get into the house.

I can't get in. The door's locked.

The old lady can't get across the road, there's too much traffic.

The cat's climbed up the tree, and now it can't get down.

Nobody can get to their homes because of the floods.

We've put the biscuit tin on the top shelf so that little Jonny can't get at/to it. (reach)

https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-226.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/english-grammar/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!

Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Where there is movement, there's a preposition, and a preposition is used in the same way we use preposition of place (where things are)

He ran across the street.

The dog ran after the cat.

Go / run / walk / swim etc. along this street until you get to the crossroads and then turn right.

I walked among the all the people.

They travelled all around / round the country.

The little girl walked between her mother and father.

He ran down the stairs.

She got into her car and drove away.

The cat fell off the chair.

She got onto the motorbike and drove away.

The eagle flew over the mountains.

The train went through the tunnel.

She ran under the bridge.

My cat climbed up the tree.

To see the audioscript and more help, visit my website

https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-225.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/english-grammar/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!

Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)