Conversational structures

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English speaking - Conversational structures

I'm sorry to

You can use this structure to express a feeling of sympathy or regret. Here are some examples:

• I’m sorry to hear about your Dad’s illness.
• I’m sorry to have disturbed you.
• I’m sorry to offend you.
• I’m sorry to be so late.
• I’m sorry to see you go.
• I’m sorry to reject your offer.
• I’m sorry to hear that you are unwell.

Note that in this structure, we use a to-infinitive after I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for + (noun / -ing form)

• I’m sorry for hurting your feelings.
• I’m sorry for being late.
• I’m sorry for wasting your time.
• I’m sorry for disturbing you.
• I’m sorry for behaving rudely.
• I’m sorry for breaking the glass.
• I’m sorry for the interruption.
• We are sorry for the delay.

 

I'm calling to + (verb)

This structure is used to talk about the purpose of calling somebody by phone. After I’m calling, we use an infinitive with to. Here are some examples:

• I’m calling to tell you that I’m interested in the offer.
• I’m calling to invite you to our party.
• I’m calling to accept your invitation.
• I’m calling to reserve a table for four for 8 pm.
• I’m calling to complain about a problem I’m having with my camera / TV / computer / etc.
• I’m calling to thank you for your support.
• I’m calling to apologize for the mistake.
• I’m calling to tell you that I have received a better job offer.
• I’m calling to inform you that I cannot accept the job.
• I’m calling to file a complaint. 

I'm working on

You can use this structure to talk about something that you are doing at the moment. Here are some examples:

• I’m working on a prestigious project.
• I’m working on reducing my accent.
• I’m working on improving my English.
• I’m working on my communication skills.
• I’m working on my computer.
• I’m working on something exciting.
• I’m working on another website.

Usage note: Instead of I, you can use other pronouns or nouns as well.

• He is working on a project.
• John is working on his website.

Note that after working on, we use a noun or an –ing form.

• He is working on improving his pronunciation skills. (NOT He is working on to improve his pronunciation skills.)
• She is working on her language skills.

Could have + past participle

The structure could have + past participle is used to say that somebody was capable of doing something, but did not try to do it.

• He could have married anybody he wanted to. (But he didn’t.)
• I could have run the race if I had run a bit faster.
• I could have won but I didn’t go in for the race.

Could have + past participle can also be used to criticize people for not doing things.

• You could have asked me before borrowing my car.
• You could have helped him.

Couldn’t have + past participle can be used to say that somebody would not have been able to do something even if they had tried to.

• I couldn’t have passed the test even if I had tried. 

Conversational structures with let

Let can be used to introduce suggestions and orders. We can use let us to make suggestions to a group that includes the speaker. Note that let is followed by object + infinitive without to.

• Let us go. (Formal) (Let + object + infinitive without to)
• Let’s go. (Informal)
• Let us go for a walk. (Formal) (Let + object + infinitive without to)
• Let’s go for a walk. (Informal)
• Let us pray. (Let + object + infinitive without to)

The structure let + object + have + noun is also possible.

• Let us have a drink. (Formal) (Let + object + have + noun)
• Let’s have a drink. (Informal)
• Let us have a chat. (Let + object + have + noun)

Giving instructions to oneself

Let me is used to give instructions to oneself. The expressions Let me see and Let me think are very common.

• Let me just finish my homework and I will play with you.

Giving instructions to a third person

Let can also introduce a suggestion or order for someone or something else, not the speaker or hearer.

• ‘Your boyfriend is going out with another girl.’ ‘Let him. I don’t care.’

Grammar notes

Shall we? is used as a question tag. Let’s is used as a short answer.

• ‘Let’s go for a walk, shall we?’ ‘Yes, let’s.’

There are two possible negatives, with let us not (let’s not) and do not let us (don’t let us).

• Let us not despair. OR Do not let us despair.
• Let us not forget those who came before us. OR Do not let us forget those who came before us.

Conversational structures with need

Need not + have + past participle
If we say that somebody need not have done something, we mean that he or she did it, but it was not necessary.

• You need not have woken me up. I don’t have to go to work today.
• I needn’t have cooked so much food. Nobody was hungry.
• They need not have come all this way. (= They came all this way, but it was not necessary.)
• We need not have waited for his approval. (= We waited for his approval, but that was not necessary.)
• You need not have bought a new car.
• You need not have paid for that call.

Note that need not have does not mean the same as did not need to. When we say that somebody did not need to do something, we are simply saying that it was not necessary (whether or not it was done).
Compare:

• I need not have bought it. (=I bought it, but it was not necessary.)
• I didn't need to buy it. (=It was not necessary for me to buy it.)

Need + participle

In British English it is possible to use an –ing form after need. It means the same as a passive infinitive.

• Your hair needs washing. (= Your hair needs to be washed.)
• The carpet needs cleaning. (= The carpet needs to be cleaned.)
• The roof needs repairing.

A structure with need + object + present/past participle is also possible in some cases.

• You need your hair cutting/cut.
• You need your car cleaned.

Conversational structures with used to

Used to + infinitive
The structure used to + infinitive is used to say that something happened continuously or frequently during a period in the past.

• I used to smoke.
• I used to read a lot.
• I used to write stories.
• He used to play football when he was a boy.

Be used to + noun/-ing forms

Be used to can be followed by nouns or –ing forms. If you are used to something, it is familiar to you; you have experienced it so much that it is no longer strange or new.

• I am not used to living in the city.
• She is used to working with old people.
• He is used to working hard.

Get/become/grow used to … ing etc.

Get, grow and become can also be used before used to + …ing.

• She took quite some time to get used to living in the country.
• It took them a long time to become used to getting up in the middle of the night.

Conversational structures with had better

We use had better to tell people what we think they should do.

• You had better turn that music down before dad gets angry.
• You had better consult a doctor.

Had better is also used to give advice to ourselves.

• It is seven o’clock. I had better put the meat in the oven.

Had better may suggest a threat. It is not used in polite requests.
Compare:

• Could you lend me some money? (Request)
• You had better lend me some money. (If you don’t, there will be trouble.) (Order/threat)

Grammar Notes

Had better refers to the immediate future, but the form is always past. Have better is impossible. After had better we use the infinitive without to.

• It is late – you had better hurry up. (NOT You had better hurried up.)

In British English, better can come before had for emphasis.

• ‘I promise I will pay you back’. ‘You better had’.

Conversational structures with If

If … should; if … happen to
We use these structures to talk about events and situations that are very unlikely.

• If you should finish early, give me a ring.
• OR If you should happen to finish early, give me a ring.
• If he should be late, we will leave without him.
• OR If he should happen to be late, we will leave without him.

If … was/were to

This is another way of talking about unreal or imaginary future events.

• If the boss was/were to come in now, we would be in real trouble. (=If the boss came in now, …)

This structure is also used to make a suggestion sound more polite.

• If you were to move your chair a bit, we could all sit down.

If I were you …

This structure is often used to give advice.

• If I were you, I would get that car serviced.

If I was you … is also possible.

If only

If only …! means the same as I wish… We use If only …! to say that we would like things to be different.

• If only I was better-looking.

We can use were instead of was.

• If only I were better-looking.

Tenses

Note that after If only …! we use past tenses to talk about the present.

• If only I was/were richer.

To refer to the future we use would + infinitive.

• If only somebody would help!

To refer to the past, we use had + past participle.

• If only she hadn’t told the police, everything would have been all right.

Conversational structures with Going to

Be going to is often used to talk about plans. This is common in an informal style. Note that going to emphasizes the idea of intention.

• We are going to buy a home. (= We intend to buy a home.)
• I am going to keep asking her out until she says ‘Yes’.

Be going to is also used to predict future events on the basis of present evidence.

• Look at the sky. It is going to rain. (There is present evidence. The sky is already black.)

Events outside people’s control

We can use be going to to make predictions about events that are outside people’s control.

• You are going to have an accident one of these days.
• It is going to snow before long.

Conversational structures with In case

We use in case to talk about precautions – things we should do in order to be ready for possible future situations.

• I always carry an umbrella in case it rains.

After in case, we use a present tense to refer to the future.

In case … should

We often use should + infinitive after in case.

• I wrote down her address in case I should forget it.

Should happen to or happened to is also possible after in case with this meaning.
Compare:

• I have bought a bottle of wine in case John comes.
• I have bought a bottle of wine in case John should come.
• I have bought a bottle of wine in case John should happen to come.
• I have bought a bottle of wine in case John happened to come.

Conversational structures with Feel

Feel + adjective/ noun complement
Feel can be used with a personal subject (I, you, John etc.) to mean ‘experience the condition of one’s own mind or body’.

• I feel fine.
• Do you feel happy?
• He was beginning to feel sleepy.

Feel like

Feel like can mean ‘want’ or ‘would like’. In this sense, feel like is often followed by an –ing form.

• I feel like dancing. (I would like to dance.)
• I felt like laughing, but I didn’t dare. (= I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t dare.)
• I felt like crying. (= I wanted to cry.)

Conversational structures with perfect infinitive

Perfect infinitives (have + past participle) can be used after modal verbs could, might, ought, should, would and needn’t to refer to unreal situations.

• I could have married her if I wanted to. (I didn’t marry her.)
• That was dangerous – he could have killed somebody. (He didn’t kill anybody.)
• You should have written – I was getting worried. (The person did not write.)
• She needn’t have invited them. (She invited them.)
• You were stupid to try climbing up there. You might have killed yourself. (The person didn’t kill himself.)
• If she hadn’t been so bad-tempered, I might have married her. (I didn’t marry her.)
• I ought to have phoned him this morning, but I forgot.

Grammar notes

The structure modal verb + perfect infinitive does not always refer to an unreal situation. It can also be used to talk about possibility.

• She could/should/ought to/may/might/will have arrived by now.

Conversational structures with for

The structure for + noun/pronoun + infinitive is very common in English. It is used when an infinitive needs its own subject.

• It only takes ten minutes for me to walk to the office.
• It is not necessary for you to wait any longer.
• There were no toys for the children to play with.
• It is now too late for us to begin a new lesson.
• There is nothing more for you to do.
• It is difficult for anyone to control him.
• It isn’t easy for me to let him go.

Some of these sentences can be rewritten with the for-structure as subject.

• For me to walk to the office takes only ten minutes.
• For you to wait any longer isn’t necessary.
• For me to let him go isn’t easy.

In some cases, it is also possible to replace a for-structure with an if-clause.

• It would be risky for you to attempt it.
• It would be risky if you attempted it.
• It wouldn’t be wise for you to boycott the function.
• It wouldn’t be wise if you boycotted the function.

Conversational structures with get

Getting something done by somebody else is expressed by the structure get (or have) + noun/pronoun + past participle.

• I must get my shoes mended. OR I must have my shoes mended.
• John got/had his brother trained as a mechanic.
• I must get/have my hair cut.
• You ought to get/have your watch repaired.

This structure is also used to talk about things that happen to us.

• We got/had our roof blown off in the storm.
• I got/had my car stolen twice last year.

Conversational structures with the... the...

Comparison and contrast are expressed by the use of the… the… with comparatives in parallel clauses. This structure is used to show proportionate increase or decrease.
Word order in both clauses
Definite article + comparative adjective + subject + verb

• The less I see him the more I like him.
• The more he reads the less he understands.
• The older we grow the wiser we become.
• The higher you climb the colder it gets.
• The older I get the happier I am.
• The more dangerous it is the more I like it.

It is possible to use a noun instead of the comparative adjective in this structure.

• The more money he makes, the more useless things he buys.

Conversational structures with too...to

The structure too… to… shows undesirable excess and has a kind of negative meaning.

• She was too tired to walk.
• This is too good to be true.
• The coffee is too hot for me to drink.
• The boy has too little intelligence to understand this.
• His behaviour was too impudent for me to tolerate.
• He has become too much of a nuisance to put up with.

Notes

‘She was too tired to walk’ means ‘She was so tired that she could not walk’.