B2 İngilizce kursu: Orta üstü

When the reporting verb is in the past, the tense usually moves one step back (bir zaman geriye kayar).

• "I am tired." → She said she was tired. (Yorgun olduğunu söyledi.)
• "I have finished." → He said he had finished.
• "I will call." → She said she would call.

Time words change too: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, here → there.

Reported questions use statement word order and no question mark.

• "Where do you live?" → He asked me where I lived. (Nerede yaşadığımı sordu.)
• Yes/no questions take if or whether: She asked if I was ready.

Commands and requests use tell / ask + object + to + verb:

• "Sit down." → The teacher told us to sit down. (Bize oturmamızı söyledi.)
• "Don't be late." → She told me not to be late.

tell needs a person after it; say does not (tell + kişi).

• She told me that she was busy.
• She said that she was busy.
• She said to me that... (possible, but less common)

Fixed phrases: tell the truth (doğruyu söylemek), tell a lie (yalan söylemek), tell a story, say sorry.

For an imagined past that did not happen (gerçekleşmemiş geçmiş):

If + past perfect, would have + past participle

• If I had studied, I would have passed. (Çalışsaydım geçerdim.)
• If she hadn't missed the bus, she wouldn't have been late.

Short forms: I'd have, wouldn't have. Careful: in If I'd known, 'd = had; in I'd have gone, 'd = would.

Mix times when a past action has a present result (geçmişteki bir şeyin bugünkü sonucu):

• If I had taken the job, I would be rich now. (O işi alsaydım şimdi zengin olurdum.)

Or a present fact with a past result:

• If I were braver, I would have spoken to her. (Daha cesur olsaydım onunla konuşurdum.)

wish + past perfect for past regrets (pişmanlık):

• I wish I had listened to you. (Keşke seni dinleseydim.)

should have / shouldn't have + past participle for criticism of the past:

• You should have told me. (Bana söylemeliydin.)
• I shouldn't have eaten so much. (Bu kadar çok yememeliydim.)

will be + -ing for an action in progress at a future moment (gelecekte belli bir anda sürmekte olan eylem).

• This time tomorrow I will be flying to Paris. (Yarın bu saatte Paris'e uçuyor olacağım.)
• Don't call at eight; we 'll be having dinner.

It also sounds polite for plans: Will you be using the car tonight?

will have + past participle for something finished before a future time (gelecekte bir zamandan önce tamamlanmış olacak).

• By 2030, we will have built the new bridge. (2030'a kadar yeni köprüyü bitirmiş olacağız.)
• By the time you arrive, I will have cooked dinner.

Key words: by (-e kadar), by the time (-diği zamana kadar).

be about to + verb = something will happen very soon (üzere olmak).

• Hurry, the film is about to start. (Film başlamak üzere.)

For predictions about society, vary your certainty: will definitely (kesinlikle), is likely to (muhtemelen), may well (pekâlâ), is unlikely to (pek olası değil).

• Robots are likely to replace many jobs.

Use modals to say how sure you are (ne kadar emin olduğun):

• must = I'm almost sure it's true. She must be* tired; she worked all night.* (Yorgun olmalı.)
• might / may / could = possibly. He might be* at home.* (Evde olabilir.)
• can't = I'm almost sure it's not true. That can't be* Ali; he's in Ankara.* (O Ali olamaz.)

Note: the opposite of must here is can't, not mustn't.

modal + have + past participle:

• The ground is wet. It must have rained. (Yağmur yağmış olmalı.)
• She might have missed the bus. (Otobüsü kaçırmış olabilir.)
• He can't have seen me; he didn't say hello. (Beni görmüş olamaz.)

Also couldn't have = can't have.

Good deductions come from evidence (kanıt) and clues (ipuçları). Useful phrases:

• judging by the footprints... (ayak izlerine bakılırsa)
• It looks as if someone broke in. (Biri içeri girmiş gibi görünüyor.)
• There's no way he did it. (Onun yapmış olmasına imkân yok.)

Formal emails avoid contractions and use polite, indirect phrases (resmi ve dolaylı ifadeler).

• Opening: Dear Ms Yılmaz, / I am writing to enquire about... (... hakkında bilgi almak için yazıyorum.)
• Requests: I would be grateful if you could send... (... gönderebilirseniz minnettar olurum.)
• Attachments: Please find attached the report. (Rapor ektedir.)
• Closing: I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards,

• furthermore / moreover = in addition (ayrıca, üstelik)
• nevertheless / however = but, despite this (yine de, bununla birlikte)
• whereas = contrast between two facts (oysa, -iken)
• therefore = so, as a result (bu nedenle)

The price is high. Nevertheless, the quality is excellent.
Our office is in Istanbul, whereas theirs is in Izmir.

Negotiate politely with softeners (yumuşatıcılar):

• Would you be willing to lower the price? (Fiyatı düşürmeye razı olur musunuz?)
• We could offer a 5% discount if you order 500 units.
• I'm afraid we can't accept that. (Maalesef bunu kabul edemeyiz.)
• Let's meet halfway. (Ortada buluşalım.)
• It's a deal. (Anlaştık.)

modal + be + past participle, have/has been + past participle.

• The report must be finished today. (Rapor bugün bitirilmeli.)
• The bridge has been repaired. (Köprü onarıldı.)
• The tickets should have been booked earlier. (Biletler daha önce ayrılmalıydı.)

Use by only when the doer matters.

When someone else does a job for you: have/get + object + past participle.

• I had my car repaired. (Arabamı tamir ettirdim.)
• She is getting her hair cut. (Saçını kestiriyor.)

Turkish uses the causative -tir/-dir; English uses this structure. get is more informal.

Report general opinions without naming the source.

• It is said that the castle is haunted. (Kalenin perili olduğu söylenir.)
• The castle is said to be haunted. (Same meaning.)
• He is believed to have left the country. (Ülkeyi terk ettiğine inanılıyor.)

Also: it is thought / reported / expected that.

Positive sentence, negative tag; negative sentence, positive tag. Use the same auxiliary.

• It's cold, isn't it? (Soğuk, değil mi?)
• You don't eat meat, do you? (Et yemiyorsun, değil mi?)
• She has finished, hasn't she? (Bitirdi, değil mi?)

Special: I'm late, aren't I?** / Let's go, shall we?**

After Could you tell me / Do you know / I wonder, use statement word order (no do/does/did).

• Where is the station? → Could you tell me where the station is? (İstasyonun nerede olduğunu söyler misiniz?)
• Did he call? → Do you know if he called? (Arayıp aramadığını biliyor musunuz?)

Make requests and opinions less direct.

• I was wondering if you could help me. (Bana yardım edip edemeyeceğinizi merak ediyordum.)
• Would you mind closing the door? (Kapıyı kapatır mısınız?)
• It seems a bit expensive. (Biraz pahalı gibi görünüyor.)

Words like a bit, slightly, perhaps also soften.

With many phrasal verbs the object can go in the middle or at the end.

• She brought up the problem. / She brought the problem up. (Sorunu gündeme getirdi.)
• Put off the meeting. / Put the meeting off. (Toplantıyı ertele.)

With a pronoun it must go in the middle: put it* off, not put off it*.

Some never split: the object always comes after the whole verb.

• We will look into the complaint. (Şikayeti inceleyeceğiz.)
• I ran into Ayşe at lunch. (Öğle yemeğinde Ayşe'ye rastladım.)
• Who will deal with it? (Bununla kim ilgilenecek?)

These have two particles and never split.

• She came up with a great idea. (Harika bir fikir buldu.)
• I can't keep up with all these emails. (Bu e-postalara yetişemiyorum.)
• We ran out of paper. (Kağıdımız bitti.)

An idiom's meaning is not the sum of its words, and you can't change them.

• The exam was a piece of cake. (Sınav çocuk oyuncağıydı.)
• not a piece of the cake, not a slice of cake

Learn idioms as whole chunks, like single words.

Some idioms match Turkish, many don't.

• break the ice = buzları kırmak (same image)
• on the fence = kararsız kalmak (iki arada bir derede)
• once in a blue moon = kırk yılda bir
• it costs an arm and a leg = dudak uçuklatan fiyat

Don't translate idioms word for word.

Casual speech uses small words to sound relaxed.

• Anyway, how was your weekend? (Neyse...)
• It was kind of boring. (Biraz / bir nevi)
• I mean, it wasn't bad. (Yani...)

Use them in conversation, not in formal writing.

Introduce advantages and disadvantages clearly.

• One advantage of public transport is that it reduces traffic. (Toplu taşımanın bir avantajı trafiği azaltmasıdır.)
• On the other hand, it can be crowded. (Öte yandan kalabalık olabilir.)
• The main drawback is the cost. (Ana dezavantajı maliyettir.)

Use linkers to add, contrast and conclude.

• Add: Moreover / In addition, ... (Ayrıca)
• Contrast: However, ... / Although it is cheap, ... (Ancak / -e rağmen)
• Conclude: All in all / To sum up, ... (Sonuç olarak)

However starts a new sentence; although joins two clauses.

Stay polite, even when you disagree.

• I see your point, but ... (Ne demek istediğini anlıyorum ama...)
• I couldn't agree more. (Kesinlikle katılıyorum.)
• That's not entirely true. (Bu tamamen doğru değil.)

Reuse softeners from earlier: I'm afraid, perhaps, slightly.