Advanced English Grammar and Vocabulary for Fluency

Distancing: Reporting and Impersonal Structures

Using 'Seem' and 'Appear'

(Parecer y aparecer)

• It seems/appears + that + clause
• Subject + seem/appear + infinitive
• Would seem/appear (parecería - more formal): It would seem/appear + that + clause

The Passive Voice for Distancing

• It + passive verb + that + clause (Verbs: agree, announce, believe, expect, hope, report, say, suggest, think, understand)
• Subject + passive verb + infinitive (Verbs: believe, expect, report, say, think, understand)
• There + passive verb + to infinitive

Other Distancing Devices

Apparently, According to, may/might

Speculation and Deduction

Present Tense Modals

• Must: (debe)
• Mustn't: (prohibido)
• Can't: (no puede)
• May/Might: (quizás)
• Could be: (podría ser)
• Should: (deber)

Past Tense Modals

Modal + have + Past Participle (Verb in 3rd column)

Expressing Certainty and Probability

• Bound/Sure to + infinitive: (estar seguro)
• Likely/Unlikely + infinitive
• Likely/Unlikely + that + clause
• Probably/Definitely:
  • Positive: Will probably do
  • Negative: Probably won't do

Grammatical Inversion

• Not only: Inversion in the first clause.
• Not until: Inversion in the second clause.
• Only when: Inversion in the second clause.
• No sooner: Inversion in the first clause, followed by than.
• Hardly: Inversion in the first clause.
• Rarely: Inversion in the first clause.

Vocabulary: Sounds and Literature

Environmental and Mechanical Sounds

• tick, click, splash, bang, creak, buzz, hoot, tap, hiss, drip, roar, whistle, hum, crunch, snore, rattle, screech, crash

Human Sounds and Voices

• sniff, slurp, scream, giggle, whisper, mumble, groan, stammer, sob, sigh

Describing Books and Literature

• Gripping: (que engancha)
• Brilliant, Unimpressive, Imaginative
• Stunning: (impactante)
• Uninspired, Uninteresting, Fascinating
• Tedious: (difícil de entender)
• Thought-provoking
• Wooden (often means stiff/unconvincing, but listed here near entertaining), Entertaining, Depressing, Fast-moving
• Haunting: (obsesionante)
• Heavy-going
• Implausible: (imposible que sea verdad)
• Intriguing, Moving (affecting your feelings)

Financial Vocabulary and Idioms

Financial Terms

• budget, grant, loan, fees, fare, charge, saving, donation, instalment, deposit, will, overdraft, lump sum

Economic Concepts

• consumer society, standard of living, income, cost of living, interest rates, mortgages, shares, stock market, currency exchange rates

Wealth and Poverty Adjectives

• RICH: rich, wealthy, affluent (more formal), well-off (often used in negative sentences), loaded (informal)
• POOR: poor, penniless (literary), hard up (informal), broke (informal)

Financial Idioms and Phrases

• can't afford
• in debt
• more money than sense
• tight-fisted
• in the red (opposite: in the black)
• cost a fortune
• good value for money
• spends money like water
• living beyond their means
• can't make ends meet