Questions

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs ("special verbs"), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula be. To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (does, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question. For example:

• She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
• I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject I and copula am)
• The milk goes in the fridge. → Does the milk go in the fridge? (no special verb present; do-support required)

The above concerns yes-no questions, but inversion also takes place in the same way after other questions, formed with interrogative words such as where, what, how, etc. An exception applies when the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no inversion. For example:

• I go. → Where do I go? (wh-question formed using inversion, with do-support required in this case)
• He goes. → Who goes? (no inversion, because the question word who is the subject)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not *... where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using if or whether as the interrogative word: *Ask them whether/if they saw him*.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction with not, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• John is going. (affirmative)
• John is not going. / John isn't going. (negative, with and without contraction)
• Isn't John going? / Is John not going? (negative question, with and without contraction respectively)

Tag questions are formed with a special verb and pronoun subject: isn't it?; were there?; am I not?

Conjunction

In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or clauses that are called the conjuncts of the conjoining construction. The term discourse marker is mostly used for conjunctions joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each language. In English a given word may have several senses, being either a preposition or a conjunction depending on the syntax of the sentence (for example, "after" being a preposition in "he left after the fight" versus it being a conjunction in "he left after they fought"). In general, a conjunction is an invariable grammatical particle and it may or may not stand between the items conjoined.

The definition may also be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit with the same function, e.g. "as well as", "provided that".

A simple literary example of a conjunction: "the truth of nature, and the power of giving interest". (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria)

Conjunctions may be placed at the beginning of sentences: "But some superstition about the practice persists".

Examples

• "But she must give security that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of."—Magna Carta (1215), translated into modern English
• "But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed."— Magna Carta (1215), translated into modern English
• "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
• "But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively."—United States Constitution (1787)
• "And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."—United States Constitution (1787)
• "And this power has been exercised when the last act, required from the person possessing the power, has been performed."—United States Supreme Court Judgment (1803)
• "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground." Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863)
• "Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
• "So the inquiries can coexist, though there is much overlap between them."
• "And it appears that it was this latter factor which underlay the dismissal of the appeal by the majority. But it seems to me that the question of whether it is fair, just and reasonable is better considered against the background of whether a sufficiently proximate relationship exists."
• "But the earlier decisions in Pratap Narain Singh Deo and Valsala K. were not brought to the notice of the Court in the two later decisions in Mubasir Ahmed and Mohd. Nasir."
• "And now we have Facebook and Twitter and Wordpress and Tumblr and all those other platforms that take our daily doings and transform them into media."
• "So any modern editor who is not paranoid is a fool".
• "And strikes are protected globally, existing in many of the countries with labour laws outside the Wagner Act model."

Be

The English copular verb be has eight forms (more than any other English verb): be, am, is, are, being, was, were, been. Additional archaic forms include art, wast, wert, and occasionally beest (as a subjunctive). For more details see verbs.

The simple English copula be may on occasion be substituted by other verbs with near identical meanings.

B1 | Intermediate

B1 is the intermediate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It marks the point where you move beyond survival English and start expressing yourself with real independence — describing experiences, explaining opinions, and handling everyday situations without a script.

What a B1 user can do

At this level, you're expected to:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard speech and writing on familiar topics — work, school, travel, hobbies.
• Handle most travel situations in English-speaking environments.
• Produce simple connected text on topics you know or care about.
• Describe experiences, events, hopes, and plans, and give brief reasons and explanations for your opinions.
• Communicate in routine tasks that require a straightforward exchange of information.

What B1 grammar looks like

B1 is where grammar starts to get more layered. You're not just forming basic sentences anymore — you're combining ideas, using different tenses with more precision, and starting to handle structures like the passive voice, modal verbs for necessity and possibility, and gerunds vs. infinitives. You're also expected to build complex sentences with linking words and dependent clauses.

Typical B1 grammar areas include:

• Future tenses — distinguishing will, going to, and the present continuous for future plans
• Passive voice — The report was written yesterday.
• Modal verbs — You should apply early. / She might be late.
• Used to — I used to live in Berlin.
• Verb patterns — knowing whether a verb takes a gerund, an infinitive, or both (I enjoy reading vs. I decided to leave)

What B1 doesn't mean

B1 speakers still hesitate, make grammatical errors, and sometimes struggle with less familiar topics. That's normal. The key difference from A2 is that you can keep a conversation going and get your point across even when things aren't perfect. The step up to B2 involves handling more abstract topics, understanding nuance, and producing more complex, accurate language.

Self-check: Can you tell a friend about a recent trip — what happened, what you liked, and what you'd do differently — without switching to your native language? If yes, you're likely operating at B1 or above.

Ready to find out where you stand? Try Are you B1/Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!, then build your skills with challenges like Basics. Passive Voice, Basics. Modal verbs, and Used to.

Difficulty: Medium

Medium difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.