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remember
I remembered buying the ticket. (= I bought the ticket and
Verbs followed by -ing and/or I remember doing so.)
I’ll remember to buy the ticket. (= I haven’t bought it yet,
infinitive but I will remember.)
Note that you can use a that clause with remember.
A Verbs followed by -ing or a noun I remembered that I had bought the ticket.
The builders avoided destroying the area’s beauty. ● mean
The builders avoided the destruction of the area’s beauty. This means bringing all the information up to date.
I miss seeing my friends every day. (= This involves bringing the information up to date.)
I miss my friends. I meant to bring all the information up to date.
(= I intended to do it but didn’t.)
Other verbs followed by -ing or a noun are: detest, dislike,
enjoy, fancy, help, keep, loathe, do not mind, practise. Note that you can use a that clause with mean.
Note that some verbs are followed by -ing or a that This means that the world will change more rapidly in
clause. future.
He considered going there on holiday. ● stop
He considered that this might be his last holiday. I stopped looking at the scenery. (= I was looking at the
scenery and then I stopped.)
Other verbs in this category are: admit, deny, report.
I stopped to look at the scenery. (= I was doing something,
eg driving, and I stopped that activity in order to look
B Verbs followed by -ing or the infinitive with to at the scenery.)
Some verbs are followed by -ing or to or a noun. ● regret
I like playing chess. I regret giving him the information. (= I gave him the
information and I regret it.)
I like to play chess.
I regret to tell you that you didn’t get the job. (= I am about
I like chess. to give you some bad news.)
Other verbs followed by -ing or to or a noun are: attempt, Note that you can use a that clause with regret.
can’t bear/stand, begin, continue, hate, intend, love, prefer,
start. I regretted that I had given the information.
Note that would like/love/prefer are followed by the
infinitive with to. D Verbs followed by the infinitive with to
I can’t afford to go back there.
C Verbs followed by -ing or the infinitive with to He failed to turn up for the interview.
where the meaning changes
He managed to succeed in the end.
● forget
Other verbs followed by the infinitive with to are:
I forgot to buy the ticket. (= I didn’t buy the ticket.) appear, ask, choose, help, want.
I forgot buying the ticket. (= I bought the ticket and
then I forgot.)
E Some verbs are followed by -ing or the
Note that you can use a that clause with forget. infinitive without to
I forgot that I had bought the ticket. I watched the sun setting. (= I watched part of the
● go on process.)
She went on singing. (= She was singing and continued I watched the sun set. (= I watched the whole process.)
doing so.) Other verbs are: feel, hear, listen to, notice, see.
She went on to sing. (= She was doing something and
then began to sing or became a singer.)
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For
1 Comparatives using -er
She asked for a reduction in fees.
For adjectives with one syllable, you can form the
Many elderly people are cared for in the community. comparative adjective by adding -er.
From Computers are faster now than they were ten years ago.
The trend for car sales differs from that of motorbikes For adjectives with two syllables or more, you can use
enormously. more/less.
The idea stems from research in the field of engineering. Playing games on the computer is more/less interesting than
reading books.
In Note that you use the word than with comparative
He used the data in our answer. adjectives.
He took part in the survey.
He succeeded in passing the exam. 2 Comparatives with adjectives ending
in -e or -y
He wants to specialize in chemistry.
For adjectives ending in -e, you add -r to the ending,
and for adjectives ending in -y you replace the -y with -i
On and add -er.
The solution to the problem of illiteracy depends on the cause.
The streets in the new entertainment district of the city are
He relied on his memory in the exam. wider than those in the old part.
People were happier in the past than now.
With
A sedentary lifestyle is associated with being overweight.
3 Comparatives where you double the
The patients were provided with beds and medication.
consonant
Causative verbs In one-syllable adjectives ending in a consonant, you
double the consonant.
The increase in information via the Internet has resulted in
information overload for students. Computers were bigger in the past than they are now.
The world has now been transformed into a global village.
The education of the workforce can lead to greater economic 4 Comparatives with -er or more
growth. You can use -er or more with some adjectives.
Some people think that children’s knowledge is shallower/
more shallow than it used to be.
E-books are becoming commoner/more common than they
were even a few years ago.
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The commonest/most common pastime is playing on It is impossible to improve one’s health without taking
the computer. exercise.
It is impossible for one’s health to improve without taking
exercise.
7 Irregular superlative adjectives
The worst film I have ever seen is …
3 Tentative possibility
The best place to study is the library.
Robots could/might perform operations in the future.
It is possible that robots (will) might/could perform
8 Comparatives with less and not as … as operations in the future.
You can use not as ... as with short adjectives and less
with longer adjectives.
B Probability and expectation
Factual books are not as popular as fiction.
Some types of websites are less attractive than others. 1 You can express probability by using should/
ought to/likely/probably/it is probable that
You can make comparisons by using than.
It is probable that health care will become more
Sales were greater in 1980 than in 1990. technologically advanced in coming years.
This can be rewritten as follows:
9 Words to strengthen or weaken comparatives It is likely that health care will become more technologically
You can add words to strengthen or weaken advanced in coming years.
comparatives. Health care should/ought to become more technologically
Books are much more attractive nowadays than in the past. advanced in coming years.
The number of visitors was a little higher this year than Health care will probably/likely become more
last year. technologically advanced in coming years.
Health care is likely to become more technologically
advanced in coming years.
10 You can also compare clauses
Note that you cannot say:
Computer sales were as high in June as they were
in January. Health care is probable to become more technologically
advanced in coming years. ✗
Twice as many people attended the show this time as
the last time.
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Cause and effect verbs You can buy two pieces of luggage at a reduced price.
1 There is a wide range of verbs to indicate causes Can I give you a piece of advice?
and effect: 3 Some uncountable nouns that end in s like news are
affect, bring about, cause, change, create, impact, improve, followed by a singular verb.
influence, lead to, make something happen, produce, result
(in/from), shape, transform The news is all about financial matters today.
Exercise can affect people’s well-being. (cause ➡ effect) 4 Note that many common nouns are uncountable in
English, but countable in other languages.
Technology has changed our working habits. (cause ➡ effect)
Accommodation is not cheap in city centres.
Note the difference between result in and result from:
Advances in science have resulted in many medical The information is on the company website.
treatments. (cause ➡ effect) Modern furniture is very different from that of the past.
Many medical treatments have resulted from advances in The weather is bad today.
science. (effect ➡ cause)
Other nouns are: advice, equipment, knowledge, money.
2 You can use the passive to change the order of the
cause and effect items. 5 Plural nouns take plural verbs.
People’s well-being can be affected by exercise. (effect ➡ The surroundings are very beautiful.
cause)
Some other common plural nouns are: goods, means,
Our working habits have been changed by technology. (effect
trousers.
➡ cause)
6 Depending on whether you want to focus on the group
3 You can also use the nouns formed from the verbs in 1:
or the individuals in a group, some group nouns have
effect, cause, change, creation, impact, improvement, influence,
singular and plural verbs.
production, result, shaping, transformation
Labour-saving devices have had an effect/impact on our The government is/are planning to change consumer
lifestyle. protection laws.
Supermarkets have great influence over our eating habits. The family like(s) the HD TV.
The result of proper hygiene and a good diet can be a But note:
longer life.
Science has brought many improvements to our lives. The police have arrived.
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b only in defining clauses That’s the pop singer whose song sold millions.