Beyond the Rules: A Teacher’s Guide to B2 (Upper-Intermediate)

Objective: The student will be able to talk about unreal or imagined situations in the past and their hypothetical past results.

Key Concepts

1. Form: If + Past Perfect, ...would have + Past Participle.

2. Use: To imagine a different past, often to express regret (If I had studied harder...) or criticism (If you had told me...).

3. Contractions: Natural speech uses contractions like If I'd known... and I would've helped....

Objective

The student will be able to differentiate between the state of being accustomed to something and the process of becoming accustomed to it.

Key Concepts

1. be used to + noun/gerund: Describes the state of being familiar or accustomed to something (e.g., I am used to the cold weather.).

2. get used to + noun/gerund: Describes the process of becoming familiar with something (e.g., It took a while, but I got used to waking up early.).

3. Contrast: Differentiate these from used to + verb (a discontinued past habit).

Objective

The student will be able to add extra, non-essential information to a sentence about a person or thing that is already identified.

Key Concepts

1. Purpose: The information is "extra" and can be removed without losing the sentence's core meaning. Commas (or pauses in speech) are required.

2. Pronouns: Use who, which, whose, where. That cannot be used.

3. Example: My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor. (This implies the speaker has only one brother, and the location is extra information).

Objective

The student will be able to express varying degrees of obligation, necessity, prohibition, and permission in both the present and the past.

Key Concepts

1. Present Obligation/Prohibition: must (strong internal obligation), have to (external rule), mustn't (prohibition).

2. Past Obligation: had to is the past of both must and have to.

3. Permission: can, could, and be allowed to for permission (I was allowed to leave early.).

Objective 

The student will be able to make logical deductions about present and past situations with varying degrees of certainty.

Key Concepts

1. Present Deduction: must be (95% sure it's true), can't be (95% sure it's impossible), might/could be (possible).

2. Past Deduction: must have / can't have / might have + Past Participle.

3. Structure is Key: The choice of be or have + P.P. determines whether the deduction is about the present or the past.

Objective

The student will be able to accurately report what someone else said or asked, changing tenses, pronouns, and sentence structure accordingly.

Key Concepts

1. Tense "Backshift": The verb tense in the reported clause usually moves one step back into the past (e.g., is → was; went → had gone).

2. Contextual Changes: Pronouns (I → he/she) and words referring to time/place (tomorrow → the next day) must be changed logically.

3. Reporting Questions: Use if/whether for yes/no questions and a Wh-word for others, then change the question to statement word order (no inversion).

Objective

The student will be able to report commands and requests and use a wider variety of sophisticated reporting verbs.

Key Concepts

1. Reporting Commands/Requests: Use a reporting verb (told, asked, ordered) + object + infinitive (e.g., "Close the door." → He told me to close the door.).

2. Reporting Verbs + Gerund: Certain verbs are followed by a gerund (-ing) in reported speech (e.g., She suggested going to the cinema.).

3. Reporting Verbs + Infinitive: Other verbs are followed by an infinitive (e.g., He offered to help me. / He refused to go.).

Objective

The student will be able to form and use the passive voice in more complex tenses (continuous, perfect) and with modal verbs.

Key Concepts

1. Continuous Passive: be + being + Past Participle (e.g., The road is being repaired.). Focuses on an ongoing passive action.

2. Perfect Passive: have/has/had + been + Past Participle (e.g., The email has been sent.). Focuses on a completed passive action with current relevance.

3. Modal Passive: modal verb + be + Past Participle (e.g., This form must be signed.).

Objective

The student will be able to express wishes about the present and future, and regrets about the past, using the correct verb forms.

Key Concepts

1. Wish about the Present/Future: I wish / If only + Simple Past (e.g., I wish I had more free time.).

2. Regret about the Past: I wish / If only + Past Perfect (e.g., If only I had studied harder for the test.).

3. Complaint/Annoyance: I wish + subject + would + base verb (e.g., I wish you would stop making that noise.).

Objective

The student will be able to use verbs that take both a gerund or an infinitive but with a significant change in meaning.

Key Concepts

1. Memory: remember/forget to do (refers to the future) vs. remember/forget doing (refers to a past memory).

2. Stopping: stop to do (interrupt one action to start another) vs. stop doing (quit an activity permanently or temporarily).

3. Effort vs. Experiment: try to do (make an effort, attempt something difficult) vs. try doing (do an experiment to see the result).