140 OUTCOMES

GRAMMAR REFERENCE
GRAMMAR REFERENCE 141
GRAMMAR REFERENCE
INDIRECT QUESTIONS
Look at these examples of indirect questions.
When does their sale start?
Would you happen to know when their sale starts?
Where are my keys?
Do you know where my keys are?
Do students get a discount?
Do you have any idea if / whether students get a discount?
Are you free later?
I was wondering whether you were free later?
Note: we usually use past forms after I was wondering.
We often start requests with Do you think ? and could
usually follows.
Do you think you could wrap it for me?
Do you think you could give me a ring if you hear anything?
Indirect statements are made in the same way as
indirect questions.
I wonder what theyre doing now.
I dont know whether it can be fixed or not.
I dont understand what youre talking about!
I cant remember where I bought it.
Ive got no idea what time they close.
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences with one word in each space.
1 Do you you could send me a catalogue?
2 Ive got no where I left my credit cards!
3 Im not which aisle the eggs are in.
4 Do you have any if that includes postage?
5 Would you to know where I could get it
fixed?
6 Do you know is in charge?
7 Can you remember time Fong wants to
meet?
8 Do you know theres any sugar anywhere?
Exercise 2
Find the fve mistakes and correct them.
1 I wonder you could help me.
2 Do you think I could get a receipt, please?
3 Do you know do they open on Sundays?
4 Can you remember how you paid for the item?
5 Do you know when did they stop selling those lovely
silver bags?
6 Would you mind if I asked you where you got it from?
7 Sorry, but do you know which floor the toilets on?
8 I wonder wheres the best restaurant.
SO / SUCH
So and such are often used to link cause and result.
In the part of the sentence describing the cause, use
so before an adjective, adverb or words like few, little,
much or many. Use such before a noun, an adjective plus
noun and a lot of + noun. You dont have to start the
result clause with that especially in spoken English.
It was so expensive in Moscow, we couldnt stay there long.
Theres so much traffic, its quicker to walk sometimes!
So few people had bought tickets that they decided to
cancel the event.
The party did so badly in the elections that their leader
resigned afterwards.
It was such a surprise that I just didnt know what to say!
The ride was such a laugh that we went on it six times.
Theres such a lot of rubbish on the streets, it makes me
angry.
Remember: few and many go before plural, countable
nouns (people / families, etc.) and much and little go
before uncountable nouns (crime / damage, etc.).
Exercise 1
A Choose the correct word.
1 Our situation sometimes looks so / such bleak
2 He was involved in so / such a terrible public scandal
3 The government have lied so / such many times
4 Food prices have gone up so / such quickly
5 The earthquake caused so / such widespread damage
6 So / such few women are having babies these days
7 Theyve got so / such poor hospitals
8 Theres so / such little crime now

B Now match the endings below with 18 above.
a there have been riots in the street markets.
b that most kids cant even get basic health care.
c theyre making police officers redundant!
d Ive just lost faith in them.
e the governments introduced tax breaks for big families to
try and boost the birth rate.
f that its hard not to feel pessimistic about the future.
g that tens of thousands are feared dead.
h that in the end he was forced to resign.

Exercise 2
Complete the sentences by adding the correct missing
adverbs.
1 Theres so poverty in the world that surely
tackling that has to be our main goal.
2 So people bothered to vote that the
election results are almost meaningless!
3 So people turned up to vote in the election,
there were long queues at the polls.
4 So new jobs have been created that there
are actually a lot of posts which are unfilled.
5 So research has been done into the
problem that its hard to say whats causing it.
THE , THE + COMPARATIVES
The basic pattern for showing correlations between
different things is:
the + comparative + noun (+ verb), the + comparative +
noun (+ verb).
Look at these examples:
The more roads there are, the more people use their cars.
As a rule, the better educated you are, the more you can
earn.
It seems as if the harder I try, the less success I have!
Obviously, the stronger the economy (is), the less
unemployment there is and the higher the standard of
living.
We also use these short patterns especially in
conversation:
The sooner, the better The smaller the better
The bigger, the better The faster, the better.
The simpler, the better The more, the merrier
Exercise 1
Choose the comparatives that make most logical
sense.
1 The more you eat, the thinner / fatter you get.
2 Generally speaking, the poorer the country, the less /
more infrastructure it has.
3 As a rule, the more people there are in higher
education, the weaker / stronger the economy
becomes.
4 If you ask me, the fewer people there are living in
poverty, the fewer / more conflicts there would be.
5 The more people protest, the less / greater the
pressure is on the government.
6 When it comes to Internet connections, the faster /
slower the better
7 A: How do you want your coffee?
B: The weaker / stronger, the better. I need to wake up!
8 A: Do you mind if I join you?
B: Of course not! The fewer / more, the merrier.
if, so and to for describing purpose
We use to + verb to explain the purpose of doing things,
why we need something or what something is for. It
is also possible to say in order to + verb. This is more
common in formal writing
Im just going out to buy a few things for the house.
A cable is required (in order to) connect the device to the
computer.
We use if-clauses (If + noun + verb in present tense) to
talk about possible situations in which certain things
might be necessary.
This is useful stuff to have if you need to remove stains.
Hang it up with a nail if you cant find anything else.
Use so to show that the second part of the sentence is a
potential result of the frst. The word that can be added
after so, but doesnt have to be. Notice that so (that) is
often followed by can.
Do you want to borrow a torch so (that) you can see where
youre going on your way home?
Pass me a cloth so (that) I can grip the lid of this jar better.
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences by adding to, if or so.
1 Have you got a dustpan and brush I can
clean up this mess Ive made?
2 I must buy some wire hang this up with.
3 you want to put those shelves up properly,
youll need a drill.
4 Youll need an adaptor youre going to use
your laptop in the States.
5 Put some cream on protect yourself from
the sun.
6 What are those things you wear on your knees
you do skateboarding?
7 You should put a plaster on your foot your
shoes dont cut into your skin any more.
8 Can I borrow your stepladder I can change
the light bulb in the hall?
9 Have you got a clip or something keep
these papers together?
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences using if, so or to and the ideas
in brackets.
1 We need some matches or something
(light) the stove.
2 Maybe you should wrap some tape round where theres
a crack . (it / not / leak)
3 Youll need wire cutters that not scissors.
(you / want / cut)
4 Have you got something I can stand on
this light bulb? (I / can / change)
5 Cant you just use some string it? (tie it
together / and / make / a handle / carry)
03 THINGS YOU NEED
Glossary
aisle: in a supermarket, an aisle is a long narrow space
between the rows of shelves
postage: postage is the money you pay for things to be
sent through the post
Glossary
bleak: if a situation is bleak, its bad and unlikely to
get better.
widespread: if something is widespread, it has
happened in a lot of places in a big area
riots: riots are violent protests by angry crowds of
people
lost faith: if you lose faith in someone, you stop
believing in their ability to do anything good
resign: if you resign, you formally announce that
you are leaving your job
04 SOCIETY