Category: Class

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Reported Questions

Reported questions (also called indirect questions) are used to report what someone asked, without quoting their exact words.

• Direct: She said, “Where are you going?”
• Reported: She asked where I was going.

Structure 

A. Yes/No Questions → if / whether

When the original question can be answered with yes or no:

• Direct: “Are you tired?”
• Reported: He asked if I was tired.

Use:

• if (more common)
• whether (more formal)

B. Wh- Questions → Keep the question word

• Direct: “Where do you live?”
• Reported: She asked where I lived.
• Direct: “Why did he leave?”
• Reported: They asked why he had left.

Change in Word Order

In reported questions, there is no inversion (no question word order).

x: She asked where was I going.
o: She asked where I was going.

Changes in Tenses

When the reporting verb is in the past (asked, wondered, wanted to know), tenses usually shift back:

Changes in Pronouns, Time, and Place

These often shift depending on context:

Example:

• “Will you be here tomorrow?”
  → He asked if I would be there the next day.

Advanced Reporting Verbs

Instead of just asked, use more precise verbs:

• inquire → formal
• wonder → polite/uncertain
• want to know → neutral
• question → sometimes skeptical

Examples:

• She wondered whether he was telling the truth.
• They inquired how long the process would take.

Advanced Embedded Questions 

Reported questions can function inside longer sentences:

• I don’t know where she went.
• Can you tell me what he meant?
• Do you remember why they canceled the meeting?

Note: There is still no inversion:
x:  Do you know where is he?

O: Do you know where he is?

Reporting Questions Without “ask”

Sometimes the question meaning is implied:

• She wanted to know where I had been.
• He was curious why they left early.
• They were wondering if we could help.

Common Advanced Errors

x: He asked me where did I go.
o: He asked me where I went.

x: She asked if I am tired.
o: She asked if I was tired. (backshift)

x: They asked where is the station.
o: They asked where the station was.

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Modifying comparisons means adding words or phrases to fine-tune the degree of difference or similarity between things.

They answer questions like:

• How much more?
• How much less?
• To what extent are they similar or different?

Basic Structure

Comparisons usually follow:

• comparative adjective/adverb + than
  • faster than, more complex than

Modifiers come before the comparative form.

Common Types of Modifiers

A. Degree Modifiers (Strength of Difference)

Strong increase:

• much / far / a lot / significantly / considerably
  • This solution is far more effective than the previous one.
  • She works significantly faster than her colleagues.

Small difference:

• slightly / a bit / a little / marginally
  • The new model is slightly cheaper than the old one.
  • He arrived a bit earlier than expected.

Emphatic precision:

• by far
  • This is by far the best option available.

B. Exact Measurement Modifiers

Exact measurement modifiers are used for precise, measurable differences.

• twice / three times / half / double
• X percent / X times / X units

Examples:

• The new engine is twice as powerful as the old one.
• This building is three meters taller than that one.
• Sales are 30% higher than last year.

C. Minimizers and Negative Comparisons

• no / not any
  • This version is no better than the original.
  • He is no more reliable than his predecessor.

Note: These often imply disappointment or equality in a negative sense.

D. Parallel Comparison Modifiers

Parallel comparison modifiers are used in structures like:

“as…as” with modifiers:

• just as / almost as / nearly as / not quite as
  • She is just as capable as her peers.
  • This task is not quite as difficult as I expected.

Advanced Structures

A. “The + comparative…, the + comparative…”

This structure shows proportional change.

• The more you practice, the better you become.
• The less he sleeps, the more irritable he gets.

Modifiers can be added:

• The much harder you try, the more rewarding it feels. (This is less common and more stylistic.)

B. Comparative Correlatives with Nouns

• There are far more people attending this year.
• We have slightly fewer options than before.

C. Ellipsis in Comparisons

Advanced users often omit repeated elements:

• She is much more experienced than I (am).
• The results were far better than expected.

D. Comparisons with “ever” and “still”

• This is even better than before.
• The situation is still worse than we anticipated.

Note: “Even” and “still” act as intensifying modifiers.

Subtle Meaning Differences

“Much” vs “Very”

• x: very better
• o: much better

Note: “Very” does NOT modify comparatives.

“A lot” vs “much”

• Informal: a lot better
• More formal: much better

“No more than” vs “Not more than”

• No more than 10 people attended (= only 10)
• Not more than 10 people attended (= maximum 10, neutral)

Stylistic and Academic Use

In formal/academic English, you’ll often see:

• considerably more significant
• markedly less efficient
• substantially higher
• marginally lower

Note: These are preferred over informal forms like a lot.

Common Errors

x: more easier than
o: easier than

x: very more effective
o: much more effective

x: twice more than
o: twice as much as / twice as many as

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Negative adverbs are used to limit, restrict, or negate meaning, often adding emphasis, formality, or rhetorical force. At advanced levels, they are especially important for inversion, tone, and subtle distinctions.

1. Core Negative Adverbs

Common forms:

• never
• rarely / seldom
• hardly / barely / scarcely
• no sooner
• little (formal, meaning “not much”)
• not only (paired structure)
• in no way / on no account / under no circumstances

These are often called negative or semi-negative adverbials.

2. Inversion After Negative Adverbs

When a negative adverb starts a sentence, we use subject–auxiliary inversion (like a question form).

Structure:

Negative adverb + auxiliary + subject + main verb

Examples:

• Never have I seen such chaos.
• Rarely does she complain about anything.
• Hardly had we arrived when it started raining.
• Under no circumstances should you open that door.

Notes:

• Use an auxiliary verb (do/does/did) if none exists:
  • X: Rarely she goes there.
  • O: Rarely does she go there.

3. “Hardly / Scarcely / Barely” + “when”

These express that one event happens immediately after another.

Structure:

Hardly/Scarcely/Barely + had + subject + past participle + when + clause

Examples:

• Hardly had I finished speaking when he interrupted me.
• Scarcely had they met when they became close friends.

4. “No sooner” + “than”

Similar meaning, slightly more formal.

Structure:

No sooner + had + subject + past participle + than + clause

Example:

• No sooner had she left than the phone rang.

5. “Little” as a Negative Adverb (Formal)

“Little” can mean “not at all” or “hardly”, often with inversion.

• Little did he know that everything was about to change.
• Little have we understood the true impact of this decision.

This is very common in storytelling and formal writing.

6. Emphatic Structures with “Not only…”

Structure:

Not only + auxiliary + subject + verb, but also + clause

Example:

• Not only did she win, but she also broke the record.
• Not only is he talented, but he is also incredibly disciplined.

7. Double Negatives (Advanced Nuance)

In standard English:

• X: I don’t know nothing (non-standard, dialectal)
• O: I don’t know anything

However, advanced learners should recognize:

• Double negatives can be used rhetorically:
  • This is not uncommon (= somewhat common)
  • He is not unwilling to help (= somewhat willing)

These create softened or nuanced meanings.

8. Negative Adverbials of Restriction

These add strong emphasis and are common in formal or academic English:

• In no way is this acceptable.
• At no point did they explain the risks.
• On no account should this be repeated.

9. Register and Style

Inversion makes it more dramatic, formal, or rhetorical.

10. Common Mistakes

X: Never I have seen such a thing
O: Never have I seen such a thing

X: Hardly I had arrived when…
O: Hardly had I arrived when…

X: No sooner I had finished than…
O: No sooner had I finished than…

B2 – Upper Intermediate

What is a noun phrase?

A noun phrase (NP) is a group of words that functions like a noun in a sentence. It can act as a subject, object, or complement.

 At its core, a noun phrase has:

• a head noun (main word)
• optional modifiers (before or after the noun)

Examples:

• The newly implemented government policy on climate change has received criticism.
• Students enrolled in online learning programs often require additional support.
• The proposal to reduce costs through automation was approved.
• The data collected during the experiment was inconclusive. 

Structure

(Pre-modifiers) + Head noun + (Post-modifiers)

Example:

• The extremely talented young musician from Spain

Breakdown:

• Pre-modifiers: the, extremely talented, young
• Head noun: musician
• Post-modifier: from Spain

1. Pre-modification (before the noun)

These add detail and are common in formal/academic English.

a. Determiners

• articles: the, a, an
• possessives: my, her, their
• quantifiers: some, many, several

Those three books

b. Adjectives (including strings)

• a beautiful old Italian building
   Order matters (opinion → age → origin → noun)

c. Noun modifiers

• a university student
• a government policy decision

 This is common in academic and formal writing.

d. Participle modifiers

• a rising trend (present participle)
• a broken window (past participle)

 2. Post-modification (after the noun)

These make noun phrases more complex and precise.

a. Prepositional phrases

• the book on the table
• students in the class

b. Relative clauses

• the man who lives next door
• a theory that explains the data

c. Non-finite clauses

• the decision to leave early (to-infinitive)
• students studying abroad (-ing clause)
• the issues discussed yesterday (-ed clause)

d. Apposition

This is composed of two noun phrases side by side, referring to the same thing.

• Dr. Reyes, the lead researcher, presented the findings.

Advanced Features

1. Noun phrase complexity (dense information)

Formal writing often uses long, compact noun phrases:

• The rapid increase in global energy demand
• Recent developments in artificial intelligence research

This avoids long clauses and makes writing more concise.

2. Nominalization

 This means turning verbs/adjectives into nouns.

• decide → decision
• analyze → analysis

Example:

• The analysis of the data was thorough.

3. Embedded noun phrases

• The idea [that the system might fail] is concerning.
• The claim [that he made] was false.

 Common Mistakes

Overloading pre-modifiers

• a new big red expensive Italian sports car design project

 This can sound unnatural—balance with post-modifiers.

Missing clarity

• Long noun phrases can be confusing if poorly structured.

B2 – Upper Intermediate

What are mitigators?

Mitigators are words or phrases that soften or weaken the strength of a statement. With comparatives, they make differences sound less direct, less strong, or more polite.

Examples:

• The revised proposal is slightly more feasible in practice.
• Her second draft is a bit more coherent, though still unclear in parts.
• This approach is somewhat less efficient, but easier to implement.
• The new policy is not much more effective than the previous one.
• His explanation is no clearer than before.

Common mitigators with comparatives

1.  “a bit / a little / slightly”

Used to show a small difference

• This task is a bit easier than the last one.
• She’s slightly more confident now.
• The new model is a little faster.

2.  “somewhat / rather”

 Used for moderate, often subjective differences

• His explanation was somewhat clearer this time.
• The results are rather more complicated than expected.

3.  “kind of / sort of” (informal)

Used to soften opinions, often in spoken English

• This design is kind of better than the old one.
• It’s sort of more efficient, I think.

4.  “a little bit / just a bit”

Extra softening, often for politeness

• Your tone sounds just a bit harsher here.
• This version is a little bit more formal.

5.  “not much / not a lot”

 Used with negatives to minimize differences

• This version is not much better than the previous one.
• The two solutions are not a lot different.

6.  “no + comparative”

Emphasizes zero difference (strong but controlled tone)

• This method is no more effective than the old one.
• He is no better qualified than his colleague.

Uses

 To sound more polite

• Direct: This plan is worse.
• Mitigated: This plan is slightly worse.

 To avoid strong criticism

• Direct: Your argument is weaker.
• Mitigated: Your argument is a bit weaker.

 To show uncertainty or caution

• The data is somewhat more reliable now.

 Tone differences

• Stronger: much / far / a lot
  • This is much better.
• Softer (mitigated): a bit / slightly
  • This is slightly better.

 Advanced speakers choose based on tone and intention, not just meaning.

B1 – Intermediate

What do they mean?

• Both = the two (2 things together)
• Either = one of the two
• Neither = not one and not the other

Examples:

• Both my parents work.
• Either road leads to the city.
• Neither option is easy.
• Both of us are tired.
• Either of these is fine.
• Neither of them is here.

1. BOTH

We use both for two things together.

Structure:

• both + plural noun
• both of + object pronoun

Examples:

• Both students are happy.
• Both of them are ready.
• I like both options.

2. EITHER

We use either to mean one of the two.

Structure:

• either + singular noun
• either of + plural noun/pronoun

Examples:

• You can choose either dress.
• Either answer is correct.
• Either of them can help you.

3. NEITHER

We use neither to mean not one and not the other.

Structure:

• neither + singular noun
• neither of + plural noun/pronoun

Examples:

• Neither answer is correct.
• Neither student is late.
• Neither of them is ready.

Important Notes

• Both → plural verb
  • Both boys are playing.
• Either / Neither → singular verb
  • Either boy is playing.
  • Neither boy is playing.

With “or” and “nor”

• Either…or → one choice
  • You can have either tea or coffee.
• Neither…nor → no choice
  • She likes neither tea nor coffee.