PREFER AND WOULD RATHER

     You can use "prefer to (do)" or "prefer -ing" to say what you prefer in general:

• I don't like cities. I prefer to live in the country OR I prefer living in the country.

Study the differences in structure after prefer. We say:

• I prefer something to something else.
• I prefer to do something rather than (do) something else.
• I prefer doing something to doing something else.

•  I prefer this coat to the coat you were wearing yesterday.
•  I prefer driving to traveling by train.
but • I prefer to drive rather than travel by train.
•  Ann prefers to live in the country rather than (live) in a city.

Would prefer (I'd prefer...)

We use "would prefer" to say what somebody wants in a particular situation (not in general):

•  "Would you prefer tea or coffee" "Coffee, please."

We say "would prefer to do" (not "doing"):

•  "Shall we go by train?" "Well, I'd prefer to go by car. (not "I'd prefer going")
•  I'd prefer to stay at home tonight rather than go to the cinema.

Would rather (I'd rather...)

Would rather (do) = would prefer (to do). After would rather we use the infinitive without to.

Compare:

•   "Shall we go by train?"	"I'd prefer to go by car."
	"I'd rather go by car. (not to go)

•  "Would you rather have tea or coffee" "Coffee, please."

The negative is "I'd rather not (do something)":
•  I'm tired. I'd rather not go out this evening, if you don't mind.
•  "Do you want to go out this evening" "I'd rather not."

Study the structure after would rather:

I'd rather

do something

than (do)

something else.

•  I'd rather stay at home tonight than go to the cinema.

I'd rather you did something

When you want somebody to do something, you can say "I'd rather you did something":

•  "Shall I stay here?" "I'd rather you came with us."
•  "Shall I tell them the news?" "No. I'd rather they didn't know."
•  "Shall I tell them or would you rather they didn't know?"

In this structure we use the past (came, did etc.), but the meaning is present or future, not past.
Compare:

•  I'd rather cook the dinner now.

but • I'd rather you cooked the dinner now. (not "I'd rather you cook")

The negative is "I'd rather you didn't...":
•  I'd rather you didn't tell anyone what I said.
• "Do you mind if I smoke?" "I'd rather you didn't."

EL SUBJUNTIVO

SUBJUNTIVO:

1. Diferencias con el indicativo:

 - En el present, la 3ª persona sing. se pone en infinitive sin to. Ejemplo: It is necessary that he remain here.

 - En el past, el verbo to be usa la forma were para todas las personas. Ejemplo: Just suppose the child were yours!

2. Usos del subjuntivo:

 - Let's be friends. ....................................................... Seamos amigos.

 - Tell him to come. ..................................................... Dile que venga.

 - Don't do it. ............................................................... No lo hagas.

 - Come what may, I'll help you. .................................. Pase lo que pase, te ayudaré.

 - Whoever wins, The result will be the same. ............. Gane quien gane, el resultado será el mismo.

 - Whether you like it or not, I'm going right now. ........ Lo quieras o no, me voy en seguida.

 - I wish she were here. ............................................... Ojalá estuviese aquí.

 - It is time she were here. ........................................... Ya es hora de que estuviese aquí.

 - I wish I could go. ....................................................... Ojalá pudiese ir.

 - I wish she hadn't left. ................................................ Ojalá no se hubiese ido ella.

 - I wish it would stop raining soon. ............................... Ojalá dejase de llover pronto.

 - If only I knew it. ......................................................... Ojalá lo supiese.

 - If only I had known. ................................................... Ojalá lo hubiese sabido.

 - You had better ring me later. .................................... Es mejor que me llames más tarde.

 - It is possible that he will come. ................................... Es posible que venga.

 - It may rain tomorrow. ................................................ Quizás llueva mañana.

 - They might come later. .............................................. Tal vez vengan más tarde.

 - They didn't want him to drive the car. ........................ No querían que el condujese el coche.

 - They asked him not to drive the car. ......................... Le pidieron que no condujese el coche.

 - Excuse my ringing so late last night. .......................... Perdona que te llamase tan tarde anoche.

 - He denied his having taken the money. ..................... Negó que se hubiese llevado el dinero.

 - If he were here, you wouldn't say that. ....................... Si é estuviese aquí, no lo dirías.

 - If we had time, we'd go with you. ................................ Si tuviesemos tiempo, iríamos con vosotros.

 - If they had told us, we wouldn't have come. ............... Si nos lo hubiesen dicho, no habríamos venido.

 - I left it on the table so that he might find it. ................. Lo dejé sobre la mesa para que pudiera encontrarlo.

 - She brought some documents for me to sign. ........... Trajo unos documentos para que los firmara.

CONDITIONALS: IF/WHETHER

In many cases, if and whether can be used interchangeably without affecting the meaning.  

IF
In the following situations, speakers prefer using IF.
REPORTED SPEECH
(I asked them, "Are you leaving?") I asked them if they were leaving.
SLIGHTLY LESS FORMAL
I asked him if he is going to visit. (informal context) (I asked him whether he would visit. (more formal))
CONDITIONAL
I asked him questions if he was not too busy. I asked him questions when he was not too busy.

WHETHER
In the following situations, speakers prefer using whether.
WITH WORDS USED IN FORMAL CONTEXTS
We inquired whether the President would attend the summit meeting.  (investigate, explain, examine, study, decide, determine)
WHEN STRESSED IN SPEECH
We must ask ourselves whether we will accept failure.
BEFORE "OR NOT" / REGARDLESS
We are leaving whether you like it or not.  (no option exists)
DOUBT + "OR NOT" / ALTERNATIVE
We don't know whether we are going or not.  (doubt, can't say, be uncertain— about an alternative)
BEFORE AN INFINITIVE
We can't decide whether to leave or to stay.
AFTER A PREPOSITION
We were worried about whether you would like it.
AFTER "THE QUESTION IS…"
The main question is whether they are going also. (the problem is, the undecided point is)
INITIAL POSITION / SUBJECT
Whether my cell phone works there is a mystery to me. (no comma required, as the clause functions as a subject).

CONDITIONALS: IF ONLY

IF ONLY
If only expresses a wish—one that you are doubtful about actually happening.  (=OJALÁ...) The result clause is optional and it is written in a new sentence.
I WISH…
If only  I had more time!.... I could relax.
If only  you would clean up your room. You would find your lost jeans.
If only I had some Zing window cleaner.
If only  I could please my mother-in-law.
If only  you were here!
If only  he hadn't told his mother everything.

CONDITIONALS: ONLY IF

ONLY IF
Only if expresses that one condition is required to achieve a desired effect. (=SOLO SI...) When used at the beginning of the sentence the auxiliary verb from the main clause is moved before the subject. (INVERSION)
ONE CONDITION
Only if you dry your dishes with a towel, will they be spotless!
Only if you clean up your room, will you find your lost jeans.
Your windows will be clean enough to see your face only if  you wash them with Zing!
I will please my mother-in-law only if my house is clean.
I am happy only if you are here. / Only if you are here, am I happy.
She was happy only if we told her what she wanted to hear.

CONDITIONALS: WHETHER OR NOT

WHETHER OR NOT
Whether or not expresses that no condition (or its alternative) will stop the completion of the outcome in the main clause. That is, if the condition exists or if the condition does not exist, the outcome will happen anyway.   It's also called an exhaustive conditional.
OUTCOME	THE CONDITION DOESN'T MATTER
I'll help you	whether or not I have much time. (tenga o no tenga tiempo)
I like to walk to work	whether it is raining or not. (llueva o no llueva)
Your father loves you	whether or not he says it. (lo diga o no lo diga)
He'll get his work done	whether or not we wants to work all night.(quiera o no quiera)

CONDITIONALS: EVEN IF

EVEN IF
Even if expresses that something is a challenging or negative condition.  "No condition will change the outcome"  (=INCLUSO AUNQUE...) Even if emphasizes the speakers´ intent to achieve the outcome or goal without regard for a difficult or negative condition.
OUTCOME	CHALLENGING CONDITION
I'll help you	even if I don't have much time.
I like to walk to work	even if it is raining.
Your father loves you	even if your father doesn't say it.
He'll get his work done	even if he has to work all night.

REPORTING VERBS B2

Reported Speech and Reporting Verbs

"I want to be a doctor," said Tom.
• Tom told me (that) he wanted to be a doctor.
• Tom said (that) he wanted to be a doctor.

"Will you help me," she asked.
• She asked (me) if I would help her.
• She wondered if I would help her.

Note the difference between "say" and "tell". We say something, but we tell someone something.

Similar to 'say'	Similar to 'tell'
mention, explain, point out, agree, promise, threaten, pretend, claim, recommend, suggest, admit, deny, boast, complain, insist, propose, reply	promise, advise, warn, remind

Here are some common reporting verbs with the patterns which follow them. You should learn and remember these. 

Subject	Verb	to do	This pattern is common with verbs which mean "I'll do it!" Here, the person who is speaking does the action.
I	offered agreed refused promised threatened pretended claimed	to make a cup of tea.

Subject	Verb	Object	to do	This pattern is common with verbs which mean "You do it!". Here, the person who is listening does the action. Note that "warn" is usually used with a negative. ("I warned him not to go.")
I	told ordered asked begged advised reminded persuaded encouraged warned invited	him	to make me a cup of tea.

Subject	Verb	doing	A lot of students make mistakes with "suggest" and "recommend" so make sure you learn these.
I	admitted denied suggested recommended	eating all the cake

Finally, there are a lot of reporting verbs which use prepositions. Again, you have to remember all these patterns.

I blamed him for doing it.	I confessed to doing it.
I accused him of doing it.	I apologised for doing it.
I congratulated him on doing it.	I insisted on doing it.

LOS 40 ... PHRASAL VERBS

Una persona angloparlante usa phrasal verbs de manera habitual. Tanto si quieres mejorar tus habilidades para la escucha y la comprensión como si quieres hablar el inglés más actual, debes familiarizarte con el significado y uso de los phrasal verbs. 

Aquí tienes una lista de 40 phrasal verbs que pueden marcar la diferencia en tu nivel de inglés.

1. Argue out  →  to argue about a problem to find a solution (debatir)                                            

If we can’t argue our differences out, I’ll have to speak with your parents

2. Be down →  to be depressed (estar deprimido, ‘estar de bajón’)                                                  

Mary’s been down since his brother went to India

3. Be in  →  to be at home or at work (estar en casa o en el trabajo)                                                 

 He is never in, he always sleeps in his girlfriend’s house

4. Belong to  →  to be a member or be connected to a time, place, belief… (ser miembro de o estar conectado a un tiempo, lugar, creencia…)                                                                                  

She belongs to a business club

5. Block in  → to park a car obstructing another car (bloquear)                                                       

We couldn’t drive this Saturday because someone had blocked us in.

6. Calm down  → to become less excited and tense (calmarse, tranquilizarse)                             

My boss calmed down the meeting

7. Call off  →  to cancel (cancelar algo)                                                                                                 

The meeting was called off

8. Call back → to return a phonecall (devolver una llamada)                                                                

 I must call the hotel back to confirm the booking

9. Cut down on  → to reduce in size or amount (reducir la cantidad o el consumo de cigarrillos, bebida, producción…)                                                                                                       

Agatha cut down on smoking

10. Find out  → discover (descubrir, averiguar).                                                                                  

The boss would be interested in finding out more details about the sell

11. Get away  → to escape (escapar, huir)                                                                                           

The cat got away when it saw the dog

12. Get over  → to recover from something (superar)                                                                    

Mary has got over her Internet addiction

13. Give out  → to distribute (distribuir algo entre un grupo de personas)                                      

The coach gave out the football balls for the match

14. Go for → to attack (atacar a una persona o animal)                                                                        

The cat went for Peter

15 Lay off  → to stop employing (despedir)                                                                                         

The company laid off two hundred workers last month

16. Look after  → take care (cuidar)                                                                                                     

Her friend Susan looked after the twins while their mother went to the bank

17. Look for → try to find (buscar)                                                                                                              

You should look for another way to finance the business

18. Look forward to  → to think with pleasure about a future event (esperar con interés)  

Jimmy is looking forward to the next summer

19. Look into  → to investigate (investigar)                                                                                         

The police are looking into my company

20. Look over → inspect (revisar, examinar)                                                                                     

They came to look the house over with a view to buying it

21. Make up for → to compensate for (compensar)                                                                       Outsourcing could make up for a lack of human resources

22. Pick up → to collect someone or something (recoger algo o alguien, habitualmente en un vehículo)                                                                                

Peter picked up the dessert from the bakery

23. Put forward → to offer for consideration (ofrecer una propuesta a consideración)              

We put forward the plan in the annual meeting

24. Put off → to delay (posponer hacer algo durante un determinado tiempo)                           

The new manager put off the meeting until the end of the week

25. Put on → to dress (ponerse, vertir ropa o complementos)                                              

Anne put on her new boots

26. Put out  →  to extinguish (apagar un cigarrillo, un fuego, una luz…)                                        

George put out the light (George put the light out) before leaving the room

27. Put through → to connect (conectar una línea telefónica o personas)                                     

He put me through to Mr. Pratt

28. Run into  →  to meet by chance (encontrarse por casualidad)                                                     

 I ran into Mary yesterday night

29. Run out of  →  to use all of (consumir todo)                                                                                 

The car ran out of petrol

30. See off  → to say goodbye (despedir a alguien en el lugar desde donde parte de viaje)       

 Billy drove to the airport and saw him off

31. Set off → to start a journey (empezar un viaje, partir de viaje)                                            

Karen set off at five o’clock

32. Speak up  → to speak louder (hablar más alto)                                                                            

The nun said, ‘speak up’

33. Take after  → to look or be like an a relative (parecerse o comportarse como un familiar o conocido)                                                                                                                                         

My sister takes after my mother

34, Take down  → writing (anotar)                                                                                                          

 He took my telephone number down

35. Take over → to assume responsability for (asumir la responsabilidad)                                       

When my father died, my oldest brother took over his responsibilities

36. Take up  → to begin to study or do something (empezar a estudiar, practicar o hacer algo)

He’s taking up a new university career

37. Tear up  → to destroy completely (destruir totalmente)                                                          

Brian tore up all his mother’s letters

38. Tell off  →  to speak angrily (reprender a alguien)                                                                       

The boss told him off for breaking the agreement

39. Think over  → to consider (valorar una propuesta o situación)                                              

They are thinking over their next sell

40. Try on: to put on an article to see if it fits (probar ropa)                                                             

The boy didn’t want to try on the shoes