B2 Vantage (Upper Intermediate)
At the B2 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), there is a focus on effective argument. Students are able to account for and sustain their opinions in discussion by providing relevant explanations, arguments and comments. They can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options and can develop an argument giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view. They can take an active part in informal discussion in familiar contexts, commenting, putting their point of view clearly, evaluating alternative proposals and making and responding to hypotheses. They are able to hold their own effectively in social discourse and understand in detail what is said to them in the standard spoken language even in a noisy environment. They can initiate discourse, take their turn when appropriate and end a conversation when they need to, though they may not always do this elegantly. They can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without imposing strain on either party. There is a new degree of language awareness. They are able to correct mistakes if they have led to misunderstandings, can make a note of “favourite mistakes” and consciously monitor speech for it/them and generally they can correct slips and errors if they become conscious of them.
At the B2 level, students should be able to understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialisation. They can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. They can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
Here are 12 grammar points you might find yourself teaching at this level.
This list of grammar points is a sample for this level and by no means a complete list.
1. Present Perfect or Past Simple
2. Passive (Mixed Tenses)
3. Third Conditionals
4. Modals of Deduction & Probability
5. Relative Clauses
6. Common Expressions with Prepositions
7. Modals for Giving Orders and Advice
8. Conjunctions & Linkers
9. Future Tenses
10. Gerunds & Infinitives
11. Reported Speech
12. Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases
Choose from the drop-down menus the grammar point which each example illustrates:
We have chosen one of these grammar points to focus on: Passive (Mixed Tenses)
Presentation
Formation
We make the passive using ‘be’ – in a suitable tense – and the past participle (‘done’, ‘played’ etc.). We use the passive:
1) when we don’t know, or we are not interested in, who does an action.
• My car was stolen yesterday.
We don’t know who stole the car.
• A lot of wine is produced in France.
It’s not important who produces the wine.
2) when the main topic of the sentence isn’t who did the action.
• Television was invented in the 1920s by John Logie Baird.
The main topic here is television – we aren’t particularly interested in ‘who’.
• Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
In English we tend to put the most important thing at the start of the sentence.
3) more in written English than in spoken English.
• War and Peace was written by Tolstoy.
You often see the passive in textbooks.
• The mixture is heated to 500˚C.
Scientific texts especially use the passive.
Tenses
The passive can be used with all tenses – the form of ‘be’ changes.
• What is tiramisu made from? Present Simple.
• The hall is being painted this week so our class will be in a different room. Present Continuous.
• Oranges have been grown here for centuries. Present Perfect.
• When he got home he found that his flat had been burgled. Past Perfect.
• The work won’t be finished until next week. Future Simple.
Practice
Rewrite the sentences below using the passive form of the verb in brackets. In some cases, a number of different answers may be correct.
