Urban Pollution, Leisure Activities, and Grammar Essentials

The Problem of Pollution in Big Cities

Nowadays, there is a lot of pollution in big cities because of different reasons. One of the most important reasons is that there are a lot of cars in the streets, so they produce a lot of smoke and gases. Besides, factories also produce smoke, and this is very harmful to the environment.

In my opinion, governments should take measures to stop this pollution because I think that if this pollution doesn’t stop, we will live in a polluted world which will be very harmful for people, animals, and plants.

My Free Time

In my free time, I like listening to music and watching TV. My favorite type of music is pop music, and my favorite TV programs are comedies. In addition, I like going out with my friends at the weekend. We usually have dinner together, and then we go to a pub or disco. In my free time, I also like reading and playing computer games. I love computers! In fact, I love chatting with my friends and surfing the internet.

Verbs and Prepositions

  • wait for
  • believe in
  • think of/think about
  • agree with/agree about
  • vote for
  • shout at
  • laugh at
  • protest about/protest at
  • campaign for
  • argue about
  • complain about

Vocabulary

  • own (belong to)
  • to take part (to participate)
  • issues (subjects that people talk about)
  • taxes (money you pay the government)
  • to save (to protect)
  • to ban (to not allow)

Verb/Noun Transformations

  • argue (argument)
  • elect (election)
  • agree (agreement)
  • demonstrate (demonstration)
  • organize (organization)
  • suggest (suggestion)
  • complain (complaint)

Noun/Person Transformations

  • politics (politician)
  • analysis (analyst)
  • campaign (campaigner)

Noun/Adjective Transformations

  • politics (political)
  • democracy (democratic)
  • economics (economic)

To + Infinitive

Examples:

  • want
  • ask
  • decide
  • tell
  • expect
  • hope
  • learn
  • need
  • offer
  • pretend
  • promise
  • refuse
  • would like
  • would love
  • would hate
  • would prefer
  • allow
  • choose
  • help
  • invite
  • remind

Gerunds (Verb + ING)

Examples:

  • deny
  • avoid
  • can’t help
  • look forward to
  • enjoy
  • finish
  • mind
  • miss
  • practise
  • feel like
  • suggest
  • keep (on)
  • can’t stand
  • be used to

Verbs Followed by Either ING or TO + Infinitive

  • begin
  • start
  • continue
  • love
  • hate
  • prefer

Gerunds at the Beginning of a Sentence

(ING) always at the beginning of the sentence.

Verbs Without TO or ING

The verb:

  • let
  • make

Verbs Followed by ING or TO with Different Meanings

  • stop
  • forget
  • remember
  • regret

Grammar Exercises

  1. I don’t agree with this government.
  2. The students laughed at the politician.
  3. I don’t like him, so I’m not going to organize his…
  4. There was a crowd of demonstrators outside the factory campaigning for better…
  5. Two men stood on the corner of the street having an argument about politics.
  6. A lot of people don’t believe in the…

Future Tense Exercises

  1. At 10:30 she will be meeting journalist.
  2. By lunchtime, Susan will be…
  3. I will have finished in…
  4. I can’t stay… I’m meeting…
  5. In my opinion… United will win…
  6. I’ve bought my ticket. I’m going to go to Australia.
  7. If he passes his driving test, he will be driving.