Intermediate English -II

SUBJECT’S INTRODUCTION

This course is aimed towards students that have acquired the B1 level competences, so
they can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly
encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Students can deal with most situations likely to
arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. They can produce simple
connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. They can describe the
main features of mental illnesses and old habits, as well as compare touristic destinations.
In this level, students will be able to deal with more complex tenses, for which, they will
need to review previously studied structures and vocabulary. They will use linguistic
resources such as connectors, phrasal verbs and prepositions of place.

COURSE PLAN

Module General Competence Topic Structure Activities Duration

Module 2: 1. Uses comparatives and Likes and interests Activity 1: 1 week

Knowing superlatives to discuss about about touristic places Knowing
South the differences and similarities (South America) South
among cities in order to make 6.1. Comparatives and America
America
a report. superlatives Activity 2:
2. Describes touristic places of 6.2. I would rather I would
South America, by making use
6.3. Tag questions rather go
of comparatives and
superlatives in order to justify 6.4. Neither, nor and
why he or she would go there either Activity 3:
6.5. Prepositions of Quiz module
place and directions 2

GLOSSARY

Module 2: culture, customs, outdoor activities, travel, places, famous activities,

directions, prepositions of place.
 Intermediate English -II

CONTENT TABLE

Contenido
1. UNIT ONE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES ........................................................ 4
1.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Conceptual framework ................................................................................................... 4
1.3. Examples ........................................................................................................................... 7
1.4. Practice .............................................................................................................................. 8
1.5. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 8
1.6. Study material ................................................................... ¡Error! Marcador no definido.
2. UNIT TWO: WOULD RATHER AND WOULD PREFER .................................................................... 9
2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................. 9
2.3. Examples ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.4. Reflection and practice................................................................................................. 12
2.5. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 13
3. UNIT THREE: EITHER … OR – NEITHER … NOR ........................................................................... 14
3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 14
3.2. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................ 14
3.3. Examples ......................................................................................................................... 18
3.4. Reflection practice ........................................................................................................ 19
3.5. Complementary questions: ......................................................................................... 19
3.6. Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 20
3.7. Study material ................................................................... ¡Error! Marcador no definido.

Module introduction
In the current module, the student will learn three main topics that will help him/her
to express comparisons between places, costumes, etc. The topics will also guide the
student to express preferences using the structures “I would rather”, “neither, either,
or and nor”.
 Intermediate English -II

Competences of the module and topics structure

Competences Topics Structure

Uses comparatives and superlatives 1. Comparatives and superlatives
to discuss about the differences and 1.1. Comparative adjectives
similarities among cities in order to 1.2. Superlative adjectives
make a report.

Describes touristic places of South 2. I would rather

America, by making use of 2.1. ‘Would rather’ and ‘Would prefer’
comparatives and superlatives in 2.2. Would rather and would prefer contractions
order to justify why he or she would 3. Neither, or, either, nor
go there. 3.1. Either
3.2. Either … or…
3.3. Either of
3.4. Either as an agreement
3.5. Neither
3.6. Neither … nor…
3.7. Neither as a pronoun or determiner.
3.8. Neither of
3.9. Neither for agreement
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1. UNIT ONE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

1.1. Introduction
Comparative adjectives help students to create grammatically correct constructions
when they compare objects, people, animals, countries etc. Superlative form shows the
highest quality or degree of one of those compared units.
1.2. Conceptual framework
1.1.1. Comparative adjectives
We use “than” to contrast two things, showing in this way their differences:
Brazil is bigger THAN Colombia
(1st Thing) (2nd Thing)
To construct comparative adjectives, we need to divide them into three categories depending
on their number of syllables and the irregular ones:
a) One syllable (short adjective)  add -er
b) Two or more syllables (long adjectives)  add “more”
c) Irregular comparatives
a. One syllable adjectives: add “–er”

Adjective Comparative
Small Smaller
Cold Colder

Calm Calmer
Close Closer
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b. Two or more syllable adjectives: add “more” to an unchanged adjective

Adjective Comparative
Beautiful more beautiful
Expensive more expensive
Boring more boring
Dangerous more dangerous
Crowded more crowded
Interesting more interesting

Attention: Do not change the base form of the adjective when you construct a superlative
adjective.
c. Irregular comparative adjectives (exceptions)

Adjective Comparative
Good Better
Bad Worse

Far Further/Farther

Compare the two forms in the following chart

-er more irregular

Noisier More Expensive better
Warmer More beautiful worse
Quieter More Boring Further/farther

1.1.2. Superlative adjectives

We use superlative adjectives to compare one object with a group of reference. To construct
a sentence with this structure, you always have to use “THE” plus the superlative form of
the adjective:
E.g.
 The best Latin-American country
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 The most famous singer of the group.

We also identify the way to construct the superlative form of an adjective by the
number of syllables that compose it and the group of irregulars or exceptions.
a) One syllable (short adjective)  add “the (…)-est”
b) Two or more syllables (long adjectives)  add “the most”
c) Irregular comparatives
a. One-syllabe adjective: add “-est”

Adjective Comparative

Small The smallest

Cold The coldest
Calm The calmest
Close The closest

b. Two or more syllable adjectives: add “the most” to an unchanged adjective

Adjective Comparative
Beautiful The most beautiful
Expensive The most expensive
Boring The most boring
Dangerous The most dangerous
Crowded The most crowded
Interesting The most interesting

c. Irregular superlative adjectives (exceptions)

Adjective Comparative
Good The best
Bad The worst

Far The furthest/ The farthest

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Compare the two forms in the following chart

-est The most irregular

The noisiest The most expensive The best

The warmest The most beautiful The worst
The quietest The most Boring The furthest/farthest

The hottest The most Crowded

The oldest The most Polluted

1.3. Examples
1.1.3. Comparative adjectives

a. One-syllable adjective:
 Mark is taller than James
 This movies is longer that one

b. Two or more-syllable adjectives:

 Chile is more expensive than Peru
 “Star Wars” is more interesting than “P.S. I love you”

c. Exceptions:
 Vegetables are better for your health than fast food
 I got worse results for the final exam than my friend
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1.1.4. Superlative adjectives

a. One-syllable adjectives:
 Russia is the biggest country in the world
 Everest is the highest mountain in Asia

b. Two or more-syllable adjectives:

 China is the most populated country in the world
 Laura was the most intelligent student in my class

c. Exceptions:
 What is the farthest habitable spot in the south of Colombia?
 Marmite is the best spread for vegans

1.4. Practice
1. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of adjectives in brackets
(comparative adjectives)

a. Canada is ______________ (cold) Colombia.

b. Science is ________________ (boring) English.
c. Chocolate is ________________ (sweet) green apples.
d. Skyscrapers are __________________ (high) houses.
e. Jason is ________________ (good) his sister.

1.5. Conclusions

Students who speak Spanish as their first language usually struggle with this topic
because the construction of these structures are slightly different in English and
Spanish. Therefore it is incredibly important to make sure that students can use them
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properly. Comparison forms part of our everyday conversations so we need to know

how to operate this grammar and learn to differentiate comparative and superlative
adjectives

2. UNIT TWO: WOULD RATHER AND WOULD PREFER

2.1. Introduction

Would rather and would prefer are modal auxiliary verbs that help us to express preferences
on something referring to the present or the future. These expressions mean the same and are
synonyms for the verb prefer.

2.2. Conceptual Framework

2.2.1. ‘Would rather’ and ‘Would prefer’

Let’s find out how to construct affirmative and negative sentences and see what their differences
are by using them.

2.2.1.1 Affirmative form

To create an affirmative sentence using would rather and would prefer, we can use the
following grammar structure:

Subject Would Rather Infinitive verb Complement

(without “to”)
I would rather exercise in the park.
You would rather go out with my friends to Zona T in Bogotá.
He would rather travel to Aruba in December.
We would rather eat out in a luxurious restaurant.

Subject Would Prefer Infinitive verb Complement

(with “to”)
I would prefer to exercise in the park.
You would prefer to go out with my friends to Zona T in Bogotá.
He would prefer to travel to Aruba in December.
We would prefer to eat out in a luxurious restaurant.
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As you can see, the only difference between would rather and would prefer is the form
in which we can use the verb. Remember, using would rather we do not have the necessity to
use the verb with “to”, but with would prefer is completely necessary.

2.2.1.2 Negative form

To create a negative sentence using would rather and would prefer, we can use the following
grammar structure:

Subject Would rather not Infinitive verb Complement

(without “to”)
I would rather not exercise in the park.
You would rather not go out with my friends to Zona T in Bogotá.
He would rather not travel to Aruba in December.
We would rather not eat out in a luxurious restaurant.

Subject Would prefer not Infinitive verb Complement

(with “to”)
I would prefer not to exercise in the park.
You would prefer not to go out with my friends to Zona T in Bogotá.
He would prefer not to travel to Aruba in December.
We would prefer not to eat out in a luxurious restaurant.

In other words, we just need to use not at the end of each one of the modal auxiliary
verbs as follow: would rather not and would prefer not.

2.2.2. Would rather and would prefer contractions

We frequently use contractions at the moment of talking or writing, but what we

contract is the subjects with would for both: would rather and would prefer, for example:

I would rather learn Japanese. I’d rather learn Japanese

She would rather take a nap now. She’d rather take a nap now
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They would prefer to watch TV. They’d prefer to watch TV

We would prefer to be alone. We’d prefer to be alone

2.3. Examples

2.3.1. Would rather and would prefer

Would rather Would prefer

I would rather stay at home. We would prefer to eat fast food.

Affirmative

She would rather ski. You would prefer to go to the cinema.

They would rather ride a bike. He would prefer to live in Armenia.

I would rather not drink tea. I would prefer not to go camping.

Negative

I would rather not go to fancy restaurants. I would prefer not to be adventurous.

I would rather not speak to him in person. I would prefer not to go skiing.

2.3.2. Would rather and would prefer contractions

Would rather contraction Would prefer contraction

I’d rather travel to Panama at the end You’d prefer to study another different
of the year. career.
He’d rather visit his best friend on his We’d prefer to speak in Spanish.
next vacation.
You’d rather play sports outside. They’d prefer to live in a big flat.
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2.4. Reflection and practice

2.4.1. Would rather and would prefer

A. Change the sentences below into would rather or would prefer grammar structure:

e.g. I would prefer to spend my free time at home.

 I would rather spend my free time at home.

1. I would prefer to work less hours ____________________________________________

2. She’d rather travel by plane __________________________________________________
3. I would prefer not to drink wine _____________________________________________
4. They’d rather not eat out today ______________________________________________
5. You would prefer to learn how to park a car_________________________________

B. Rewrite the sentences according to the instruction that follow each one of them:

1. Sara wants to get a promotion. (Rewrite the sentence using would prefer)
__________________________________________________________________________
2. I prefer to live in a cold climate. (Rewrite the sentence using would rather)
__________________________________________________________________________
3. Camila would rather study Chemistry. (Rewrite the sentence using a
contraction) ____________________________________________________________________
4. My parents would prefer to move to Bucaramanga. (Rewrite the sentence in
negative) __________________________________________________________
5. Laura, Julian and Pablo prefer to eat in. (Rewrite the sentence using would
rather) __________________________________________________________________

2.4. 2. Would rather and would prefer contractions

Complete the sentences using the words from the box:

’d rather ’d prefer

’d prefer not ’d rather not

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1. She _________________ to drink sport drinks.

2. I _________________ to practice extreme sports… yeah! I know I’m a coward person!
3. He doesn’t like skiing, so I guess He _________________ go camping.
4. They _________________ eat out, Daniel hates crowded places and it’s Christmas.
5. You _________________ understand maths.

2.5. Conclusions

This module contributes to help students to differentiate the grammar use of these two modal
auxiliary verbs that are just used to talk about preferences referring to the present or the future.
Finally, students will learn how to build affirmative and negative sentences as well as how they
can make contractions using both of them.
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3. UNIT THREE: EITHER … OR – NEITHER … NOR

3.1. Introduction

We will begin with a general review of the words either and neither. There will be a
progression in complexity as the expressions and their uses become more advanced. As we do
so, it is important to state that they both have differences and similarities. Also, both are used
in different grammatical contexts, such as, adverbs, conjunctions, adjectives and pronouns.
Furthermore, they may have other words that can complement or change their meaning
depending on how we use them.

This will be a general overview of the ways in which we can use these expressions. We will
analyze in detail with clear examples, with the intention to clarify how we can use these words
properly.

3.2. Conceptual Framework

3.2.1. Either

The word either is used to select one of two available options, furthermore, within two
possibilities or alternatives. In some cases, it can also indicate both options. When used in a
positive context, we may alter its position inside a sentence, depending on the context and
message we are trying to transmit. Or is used in a sentence or clause to complement either.

Please take note of the following examples, as well as the position in which either is placed
inside the sentences. In any case, these examples will clarify what we are trying to picture:

Case 1: ‘I don’t mind choosing either.’ (Synonym of both)

Case 2: ‘Either you come here or you’ll have problems with me!’ (Options, threat)
Case 3: ‘I love wine, either white wine or red, wine is just great!’ (Any of the kind)
Case 4: We only have one chance here, either you study or fail the subject, it’s your
decision. (Options)

If you notice, all cases are different and they have modifications within the structure of the
sentence as well as the position of either. There are both differences in meaning according to
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the position of the word, as well as the use within each respective sentence. This is important
due to the fact that the word, as we said before, implies the selection of two things or two
options, therefore, it is required to focus on the combination of either and or.

3.2.2. Either … or…

E.g.
‘Either you stop smoking or you will not have any lungs left’

This exemplifies the nature of options we have when we use either … or… There are opposites
within the meaning of the sentence. It literally means: one option or the other.

3.2.3. Either of

We use either of with some object pronouns like you – us – them.

E.g.

 ‘Either of them have to go to surgery.’

 ‘Let’s admit it, either of us were paying more money for the same treatment.’

 ‘He could choose either of you, you have to go to the surgery room anyways.’

3.2.4. Either as an agreement

Either can also mean agreement. Thus, every time there is a negative or a positive statement
there is a possibility to answer using either and the auxiliary verb in use.
Let’s examine the following examples:

Person 1: ‘I went on vacation last holidays’

Person 2: ‘I did that either.’

Person 1: ‘I will not have class this Friday.’

Person 2: ‘I will not have either.’

The last sentence has a special relevance due to its interchangeable use with the word neither
which is also the negative way. In the next lines there will be an explanation of this word.
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3.2.5. Neither:

The word neither is as common as either, it rejects or discards two options available. neither
means: ‘not either’. Its nature is negative and it can also be used as a conjunction, pronoun,
determiner, and an adverb. It is important to notice that all the negative meaning is related to
the word neither, so as to not use an additional negative in the sentence. We can find sentences
like: ‘He neither eats Japanese food, nor Korean.’

3.2.6. Neither … nor…

Take a look at the following examples:

 ‘We are having neither salad, nor pasta.’

 ‘I don’t like neither baseball nor football.’
 ‘There are neither cars nor buses, nor motorcycles in Amsterdam’

In the previous examples we can see there are negative connotations to both neither and nor.
Just as ‘either – or’, works in the same way, it is also divisible. However, it is important to notice
there must be an affirmative sentence before introducing neither in it, this is extendable to the
use of auxiliaries and verbs.

‘I have neither a jacket nor a sweater’ (the negative is implied in the word already)

Additionally, in the third example, we use nor more than once. This is because we can extend
the use of nor to accentuate or emphasize on a topic. Which in this case, it was about means of
transportation.

E.g.
In Bogotá we have neither a metro, nor a decent public transportation, system, nor
free bicycles, nor roads.
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In the next example, a normal use of the negative would be: ‘I have not eaten’ considering the
use of auxiliary verb. Instead, we can use neither to establish the negative connotation in the
sentence.

E.g. I have neither eaten nor drunk anything, I’m so hungry!

3.2.7. Neither as a pronoun or determiner.

We use this as a pronoun or determiner in order to nominalize (to make it simpler). In this way,
let’s analyze the following examples:

 Do you prefer Medellín or Pereira?

 I prefer neither. I dislike paisas (rather than: ‘I like neither Medellín, nor Pereira’, it is shorter.)

 Do you want onion or lettuce in your sandwich?

 I want neither. Do you have something else? (Rather than: ‘I want neither onion, nor lettuce’.
It is shorter.)

3.2.8. Neither of
Take a look at the examples to understand the principles of this expression, take note of the
parenthesis to explain the meaning of the examples:

‘Neither of the students were ready to talk’ (there were 2 students who were not ready)
‘Neither of my parents came to see my presentation.’ (Neither the mother, nor the father came)

3.2.9. Neither for agreement:

Imagine there is a conversation about different types of beer, we have a man and a woman
talking about this. People often select one brand over the other, in this case, we have 2 people
talking about: poker and club Colombia beer. One of them says:

 Christine: I really like poker, it is a very dry and nice lager beer.
 Ruben: Yeah, I like it too! (affirmative sentence)
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 Christine: However, Club Colombia is not my favorite brand, I mean neither the ale beer
nor Club Colombia’s stout are good. I hate ale and stout beer in general.
 Ruben: Really! Neither do I (negative sentence to agree)

Now, imagine a conversation about the same thing two weeks later. Pay attention to the
auxiliary verbs as well as what it is said at the conversation:

 Christine: Hi Ruben, remember what I told you about Club Colombia beer last week?
 Ruben: Sure, I remember! You said that you didn’t like Club Colombia’s stout. But I
tasted it and I really liked it. However, the same thing didn’t happen with the ale. I tasted
it, and I confirmed I do not like it.
 Christine: You didn’t like the ale! Neither did I, I still consider it horrible.

If you notice, in the case of a response we need to use the auxiliary verb form similarly; with the
same structure as the question form. In this example we have a tense in past simple form. The
use of neither should agree with the tense of the sentence.

3.3. Examples

Either *There are only 2 types of hamburger

*I want either. I don’t mind.
Either … or … Either the blue or the red. We will have either
sandwich or hamburger.
Either of Either of them are new. They can send either of
those invitations.

Either for agreement - I don’t have a cat - I can’t swim today

- I don’t have a cat either. - I can’t either

Neither I need neither, I already have He wore neither, he sold

them. the pair of shoes.
Neither … nor… They couldn’t get neither the Neither he nor she wanted
tickets, nor the shirts for the to have class.
concert
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Neither of Neither of the buses were She didn’t watch neither of

going there. the series you
recommended.
Neither for agreement -I didn’t like that movie. They will not go to that
-Neither did I place
Neither will we

3.4. Reflection practice

Complete with the following options according to the dialogues or the context:

Neither of Neither … nor …

Either. Either… or…

a. They won’t go to the party and _________________ will I.

b. __________________ you find it _____________ you have to pay it.

c. Well, __________________ those were authentic pieces.

d. I think Paul and Stacy are fighting, _________________ them are talking to each other

e. ____________________ your mom ___________ dad can come; it is a family meeting.

f. We will lose ___________________ money _________________ time, it’s a bad decision.

g. These people like ________________. They don’t mind about them.

h. ____________________ us are ready to get married, it’s too soon.

3.5. Complementary questions:

Take a look on the following micro conversations, then select a choice to match the situation.

1.
- Hey Samuel, are you going to the gym?
- Yeah, sure, I will go, but I don’t have any water
- Oh, __________________________

a. I don’t have water neither

b. Neither did I
c. Neither do I
d. I have not either
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2.
- Dora, what do you prefer, a big muscled man or a skinny tall man?
- I like __________________

a. Neither of
b. Either
c. Neither I like
d. Either of

3.
- So, we went to Panamá and Perú for a trip. _________________ them was expensive to
travel, ___________ the hotels we stayed in.

a. Neither of – nor
b. Neither of – not
c. Either of – nor
d. Either – or

4. - You have two options _________________ you stay here ___________ you go, please tell me
now!
- Okay, I’ll go.

a. Neither – nor
b. Neither - of
c. Either – or
d. Either - of.

5. - Would you look at the fridge please? I want to see if there’s still a slice of pizza or a half
way sandwich.
- Sure, let’s see… well, there are__________________ a sandwich _____________ any pizza
slice. I think you’ve already eaten them.

a. Either – or
b. Either - and
c. Neither – of
d. Neither - nor

3.6. Conclusions

Neither and either are both words that have particularities in its syntactical structure. First,
both are differentiated in terms of their use; whereas one (either) is used for affirmative
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context, the other (neither) is used in the negative one. However, both of them can be used
taking into consideration its particularities and the meaning we would be trying to provide.
Second, we need to be sure of the context when we try to use any of them. Otherwise we will
not succeed in what we are trying to say.

Finally, there are other complementary expressions that will give a different aspect to what it
is said. In order to compliment or enrich the already studied forms it is recommendable to keep
studying them.