FCE Common structures in Use of English

Since / ago

A month ago... Is a month since...

Due to ...

As a result of Because it snowed heavily during the night the motorway is closed. The motorway is closed ........................................ that there was heavy snow the night before.

As soon as

As soon as I got home, I had a shower

No sooner had .... than

As soon as his plan landed he was arrested No sooner had the plane landed than he was arrested

Currently

At present

But for

Because it was raining heavily (RAIN) But for the heavy rain

Call off

Cancel

Concentrate

Concentrate on...

Carry out

Do exactly what the teacher say Carry out the teacher instrucctions

Try my hardest

Do my best

Interest in + v ing

Fame doesn't interest me I'm not interested in being famous

Have talent

Have a talent for doing something

Carry on

He carried on walking even thought started to rain

Deny

He denied having stolen the bag

Hardly ever...

He doesn't go out often He hardly ever goes out

Make up his mind...

He finally made up his mind to get married

Had something done

He had his hair cut

Has the habbit of + v ing

He has the habbit of saying things that are not true

To get used to + v ing

He is not accustomed to travelling abroad He can't get used to travelling abroad

Work out

He must work out how much weight a particular rock will support

Prevent sb from + verb -ing

He prevented her from falling down

Took up

He took up golf at the age of 12

In which

Here's the house where I lived as a child (IN) Heres's the house in which i lived in as a child

Enought to..

I cannot get all the clothes in the suitcase (BIG) The suitcase is not big enought to take all my clothes

Would rather than

I enjoy watching football more than reading I would rather watch football than read

Lend something

I lend her a dictionary

Prefer to / ing

I prefer buying online = I prefer to buy online

Prefer to

I prefer eating macarroni to drinking whisky

I wish I had...

I regret not telling the truth I wish I had told the truth

In order to

I study hard in order to enter a good Uni

Should be able

I think I can I should be able to

I used to...

I used to go to summer camp every summer

Made lose my temper

I was angry when Sandra was rude to me this morning Sandra's rudeness made me lose my temper this morning

Come up with

I was not able to come up with the correct answer

Would rather than

I'd rather eat macarroni than drink whisky

Feel like going...

I'd rather not go out I don't feel like going out

There is no doubt in mind

I'm absolutely sure

Be keen on

I'm not all that keen on grapes He's keen on fishing

Apologise to somebody for something / v ing

I'm sorry I forgot to phone I apologise for forgetting to phone

Can't have

I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about the meeting He can't have forgotten about the meeting

I'm used to

I'm used to waking up early (my habit now)

To be on the point of doing something...

If he hadn't arrived at that moment, I would have gone home a few seconds later I was on the point of going home when he arrived

In case...

In case your flight is delayed

In spite of + v ing

In spite of felling sick Although he is small for his age, he is very strong

In spite of the fact that

In spite of the fact that he was sick

Be out of order

It hasn't worked for 3 days It has been out of order for 3 days

Make sense to somebody...

It make sense to me

As .... As

It was cheaper It was not as cheap as..

There was no point in staying at the party

It was no worth staying

Since / For

It' been ages since I last saw David I haven't seen David for ages

If only I had...

It's a pity we won't have a bigger house! If only we had a bigger house!

Higher and higher

It's getting higher and higher

Get on my nerves

It's irritating It gets on my nerves

No point in + v ing

It's no worth inviting her There is no point in inviting her

Might not have

It's possible I didn't take the early train (MIGHT) I might not have taken the early train

Can't afford...

It's too expensive I can't afford to buy it I can't afford such an expensive....

Make an attempt to

Laura didn't try to be friendly with us (MADE) Laura made no attempt to be friendly to us

The same as...

Mark and Tony are equally tall (HEIGHT) Mark is the the same height as Tony

Accuse somebody of + v ing

Mary accused Pierra of having left the door unlocked

Difficulty in doing something

Mary didn't find it difficult to pass the exam Mary had no difficulty in passing the exam

To take advantage of...

Mustn't miss the opportunity (ADVANTAGE) Must take advantage of this opportunity

Get by

My English isn't perfect yet, but I manage! Although my English isn't perfect yet, I get by!

Take care of some one

My elder sister likes to look after small children My elder children enjoys taking care of children

Apart from...

Naomy is the only person who wants to go to the cinema Apart from Naomy nobody is interested in going to the cinema

Object to

Nobody like having a new factory in the area Everybody objected to having a new factory in the area

By yourself

On your own

It's not like

Patrich doesn't usually forget his keys It's not like Patrick to forget his keys

Let somebody down

Please don't dissapoint me this time I'd rather you didn't let me down this time

Is likely to/ Is unlikely to

Probable/Improbable It, therefore, seems unlikely that the date of 17 December can be maintained.

Get over

Recover from an illness He gets over his illness

Cut down on

Reduce the amount of sugar To cut down on the amount of sugar

Reminds me...

Reminds me of

It was the first time...

Robert has never been to Turkey (FIRST) It was the first time that Robert had ever been to Turkey

Borrow something from

She borrowed a dictionary from me

By far

She is by far the most beautiful girl

Refused to...

She refused to eat

Succed in + v ing

Succeded in getting

Such a...

Such a silly story! The silliest story I have ever heard!

Set off

The bus set off at 10 o'clock

Resulted from...

The landslides are belived to have resulted from

Put off

The match had to be put off until next week

It's no worth doing

There's no point going! There's no worth going

Run out off

There's no tea left Run out of tea at home

Tell apart

They are identical twins so they look exactly the same You can't tell them apart

Put an advert for...

They decided to advertise (PUT) They decided to put an advert for...

It is said to be...

They say is getting dark It's said to be getting dark

Like/Unlike

Unlike his father, she doesn't like potatoes

Do you fancy going...?

Would you like to go anywhere?

Would you mind...

Would you mind speaking up?

Hardly anybody...

Yesterday the theatre was almost empty (ANYBODY) There was hardly anybody in the theatre yesterday

Had better not...

You had better not buy this car

It's time ...

You have got to decide It's time you decided

It's about time...

You should learn how to read It's about time you learn how to read

Should not have to...

You should not have to bring that coat

Provided that

__________you have a passport, you can leave the country

Dislike

to not like