B2 • Grammar
Something has contaminated these sentences. But what?
☣️Contaminated Sample #1
❌ I have been in London last year.
Can you find the contamination?
🚿 Decontaminate
✅ I was in London last year.
Why? Last year refers to a finished time in the past, so we use the past simple, not the present perfect.
🦠Contaminated Sample #2
❌ She suggested me to apply for the job.
Can you find the contamination?
🚿 Decontaminate
✅ She suggested that I apply for the job.
or
✅ She suggested applying for the job.
Why? We don’t normally use suggest + person + to-infinitive. Use suggest + -ing or suggest + that-clause.
☢️Contaminated Sample #3
❌ I’m looking forward to see you next week.
Can you find the contamination?
🚿 Decontaminate
✅ I’m looking forward to seeing you next week.
Why? In look forward to, to is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun or an -ing form:
look forward to + noun / -ing
😷Contaminated Sample #4
❌ Despite of the rain, we decided to go for a walk.
Can you find the contamination?
🚿 Decontaminate
✅ Despite the rain, we decided to go for a walk.
Why? Despite doesn’t take of.
despite + noun
in spite of + noun
So we can also say:
✅ In spite of the rain, we decided to go for a walk.
⚠️Contaminated Sample #5
❌ I didn’t know where was the meeting.
Can you find the contamination?
🚿 Decontaminate
✅ I didn’t know where the meeting was.
Why? In an indirect question, we use normal statement word order:
where + subject + verb
Direct question: Where was the meeting?
Indirect question: I didn’t know where the meeting was.
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