Tài liệu A complete English language course part 23 ppt

Language point 74 – more about the
to-form
The
TO
-
FORM
of the verb is very important because it’s used in so
many situations and with so many other types of word. Let’s see
what combinations there are in Dialogue 5:
•
ADJECTIVE
+ to-form: Is it easy to use?
It was dead easy to set up
ADJECTIVE
+ to-form phrases are usually easy to understand:
The computer is easy to use
means ‘Using the computer is easy’
It was hard to find so much money
means ‘Finding so much money was hard’
Some adjectives describing a state of mind are always followed by
the to-form:
pleased: I’m pleased to see
you
happy: We’re so happy to be
here
keen: I’m keen to visit
the new art gallery
eager: Dave is eager to get
started at his new job
•
NOUN

+ to-form: There’s just one problem to sort out
This means ‘There’s just one problem that has to be sorted out’.
But the
NOUN
+ to-form structure can have other meanings as well.
Here are some examples:
Can I have a book to read
?
= ‘Can I have a book that I can read
?’
That is a difficult question to answer
‘= Answering that question is difficult’
•
VERB
+ to-form: I arranged to pay for it
you decided to buy
it
In Language point 50 we saw the
ING
-
FORM
is used after some verbs,
and the
TO
-
FORM
after others. You have to learn what form to use
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with each verb – good learners’ dictionaries will tell you. Here are
some more that are followed by the to-form:

agree: Brian agreed to change
the schedule
ask: Shall we ask
them to come back later?
(can’t) afford: I can’t afford to miss
this lecture
expect: We’re expecting to see
the family at Christmas
fail: Suzie failed to get
the results she needed
help: Will you help
me to tidy
the room
offer: Shall we offer to do
the washing-up?
refuse: I refuse to listen
to this nonsense!
want: What do you want to do
?
•
WH
-
WORD
+ to-form: I can’t find out how to switch it on
We can use most question words with a to-form after verbs
describing:
knowing
understanding
thinking
finding out

deciding
saying
telling
Here are some more examples:
I don’t know where to park
= I don’t know where I should park
Pete told me what to write down
I can’t decide who to invite
They didn’t say when to come
I need to know how many to order
But we can’t use why with a to-form:
‘He doesn’t know why to do it
’
He doesn’t know why he should do it
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Exercise 6
Rewrite the ing-sentences as to-sentences, and vice versa. The first
one has been done for you.

1 Speaking Vietnamese is hard. → It’s hard to speak
Vietnamese
2 Eating chocolate is nice. →
3 It’s unpleasant to have injections. →
4 It’s annoying to get phone bills. →
5 Swimming underwater is fun. →
6 It’s nice to get birthday presents. →
7 It’s easy to speak colloquial English. →
8 Writing thank you letters is polite. →
9 Painting pictures is relaxing. →
10 Drinking the water here isn’t safe. →
Exercise 7
Complete these sentences using the correct
WH
-
WORD
. The first one
is done for you.
1 I don’t know how to get to the cinema.
2 Can you tell me ____ to do?
3 I don’t know ____ to buy her.
4 We need to decide ____ to invite.
5 Do you know ____ to drive?
6 I’m not sure ____ to park the car.
7 Can you tell me ____ to do it?
8 Terry doesn’t know ____ to put the luggage.
9 We’d better find out ____ to ask.
10 I don’t know ____ to say to them.
Exercise 8
Complete these sentences by adding a

WH
-
WORD
and one of the
verbs from the box. Use each verb only once. The first one has been
done for you.
1 I’ve written a letter telling people what to bring on the trip.
2 I’ve no idea __________ to the airport on time.
3 Do the children know ________ the video?
4 Let’s discuss ________ on holiday this year.
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5 Can someone tell me ________ this form?
6 I’ve told everyone _________ at the station.
7 Tom isn’t sure _______ the roses this year.
8 I’ll show you ______ your bags.
to be to put to get to work
to fill in to plant to bring
to go
Phrasal verbs
find out – ‘discover’; we often use this phrasal verb with wh-words.
pack up – ‘stop working (machines)’; this phrasal verb is similar to break
down that we saw in Unit 10 – but it’s often used about smaller
machines, such as computers: we say The car’s broken down, but
The computer’s packed up. We also use pack up to talk about people
stopping work: When are you packing up today? means ‘What time are
you stopping work today?’.
set up – when we talk about setting up a home cinema system (for
example), we mean doing all the things necessary to make it work and
placing all the component parts (e.g. the screen, the DVD-player, the
speakers) in the right places.

Life and living – computers
You’re never very far away from a computer in the UK – everyone
seems to have one these days, either at home or at work (or both!).
They’re very versatile, of course, and quite user-friendly. We call
the machine itself and its associated equipment the hardware.
Hardware includes things like the monitor, the keyboard, the
printer, the hard disk and the floppy disks – all things that you can
touch. The programs that make the computer work by giving it
instructions and so allow you to use it in different ways are called
the software. The most popular and widely used programs are for
word-processing, spreadsheets and games. And of course you can
always use your computer to access the Internet. On the World
Wide Web you can visit a huge number of websites representing
and dealing with every subject and field of interest under the sun,
and you can use special websites called search engines to help you
navigate your way to particular sites – just type in a few keywords
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and let the search engine do the rest. Alternatively, you can just surf

the Web, following your own path from link to link to see where
you end up.
But perhaps the most frequent and ubiquitous use for Internet
access is email (electronic mail) – you can send someone a message
instantaneously anywhere in the world, and it’s both cheap and
convenient. You’d better watch out for viruses, though!
Glossary
versatile – able to be used for many different purposes
user-friendly – easy for anyone to use
associated equipment – machine used in conjunction with the computer
monitor – the screen you look at
keyboard – the thing you type with
printer – the machine that prints out your documents onto paper
hard disk – the computer’s built-in memory
floppy disk – a portable memory device for transferring information
program – a set of instructions to allow a computer to perform a task
instruction – command
word-processing – writing and editing documents
spreadsheet – program for handling varied types of data
access – get access to
every . . . under the sun – every kind you can think of
field – area
navigate – find your way
keywords – important words
link – pointers on a website that take you automatically to other websites
ubiquitous – existing everywhere
instantaneously – immediately, at once
virus – a program designed to find its way into a computer’s hard disk and
damage it
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