7 constructions that will help you explain yourself even if you hardly know English

If your knowledge of the language tends to zero, going to English-speaking countries, look into the dictionary and learn at least 3-4 dozen words. Without a minimum vocabulary in a foreign country is difficult. The most useful would be everyday vocabulary, with which you can explain to a foreigner what you need, or tell what situation you are in.

But in order to build coherent sentences and convey your idea, you need at least elementary grammatical constructions. These parts of the phrases will be your main assistants in a conversation with the locals.

1. There is, there are

There is, there are can be used in situations where you need to describe your own location, explain to the interlocutor where some thing is.

• There is my bag on the chair. — My bag is on the chair.

Feel free to build on its basis a story about your country, city, street, interior in a house or apartment.

• There is a big picture on the wall in my flat. There is a big picture on the wall in my apartment.
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• There are many rivers in my country. There are many rivers in my country.

Please note that the translation of the sentence starts from the end, and the construction itself is not translated.

2. Have got, has got

With the help of these constructions, you can tell the interlocutor that someone has something. If translated literally, they will mean "I have, have, has ...". Has use for a third person (he, she, it, or he, she, it), have - for others.

• I have got a cat. - I have a cat.
• He has got a book. - He has a book.

If you want to ask a question, just put it in the first place in the sentence have, has, keeping the usual word order. To build a negative, in an affirmative sentence after have, has add not.

• Have you got a cat? - Do you have a cat?
• No, I have not got a cat. No, I don't have a cat.

3. I like it, I don't like it

In English, these constructions mean "I like this", "I don't like this". With their help, you can express your attitude to something - for this, just substitute in place like any verb with the same or opposite meaning.

Positive value:

• love - be in love;
• enjoy - enjoy;
• prefer - to prefer.

Negative meaning:

• dislike - do not like;
• hate - to hate;
• can't stand - I can not stand.

Here are some examples:

• I hate cooking. - I hate cooking.
• I like swimming. - I like swimming.

The sentence is built in the same way if you need to talk about other people or use the pronouns you, they, we. To report one person, add -s to the main verb. If you want to say about several people, leave it unchanged.

• She hates cooking. She hates to cook.
• He like swimming. - He likes to swim.

4. To be going to

The construction is translated as "going to do something." With it, you can talk about your plans for the future, if the decision was made before the start of the conversation. For example, even before meeting a friend, you bought a plane ticket to Italy, booked a hotel and inform about your upcoming trip:

• I am going to Italy. — I'm going to go to Italy.

If we are talking about other people's plans, use other forms of the verb to be:

• You (we, they) are going to goto Italy.
• He (she, it) is going to goto Italy.

In negative sentences, substitute not after am, are, is. When you want to ask the interlocutor about his plans for the future, put the correct form of the verb to be in the first place.

• Are they going to go to Italy? Are they going to go to Italy?
• No, they are not going to go to Italy. — No, they are not going to go to Italy.

5. It takes

Use a construct when you want to communicate how long it takes to complete an action. If you take the bus to work for an hour, you can say:

• It takes me an hour to get to work. It takes me an hour to get to work.
• It takes you 15 minutes to come here. You will need 15 minutes to walk to this place.
• It takes him a week to get to Siberia by train. The trip to Siberia by train will take him a week.

6. used to

The construction helps when you need to talk about regular actions that someone used to do in the past, but this does not happen today. It translates as "it used to be."

• I used to get up at seven. I used to get up at 7 o'clock.

Instead of I, you can use any pronoun or noun. The structure itself remains unchanged:

• He used to go to work by bus. He used to go to work by bus.
• My mom used to live in this house. My mother used to live in this house.

7. So do I, Neither do I

This construction allows you to say that you, like the interlocutor, are doing or not doing something.

• I like stories by Jack London. — So do I. I love Jack London stories. - And me too.

Instead of the pronoun I, you can substitute any other person: they, we, you. If you want to use he, she, it, remember that the verb does must be next to them.

• She goes to work by car. — So he does. She goes to work by car. - And he too.
• They sing folk songs. — So she does. — They sing folk songs. “And so does she.

Learning English at a basic level is easy if you start using simple constructions in colloquial speech right now. The more practice, the more effective the learning of a foreign language.