Warm-up

Have a go, out loud, before anything else — don't worry about mistakes.

SPEAK

Think of one thing you've done recently that you'd rather not own up to. How would you start that confession — "I admit..." or "I have to admit..."? Say the whole sentence.

Listen in on this conversation

Priya: You look exhausted. What's wrong?

Tom: The landlord finally admitted having ignored my messages for three weeks. There's a leak above the kitchen and it needs sorting before it ruins the ceiling.

Priya: Ugh. Did he say when someone's coming?

Tom: He wants a plumber to look at it tomorrow. Honestly, I just don't like being kept waiting like this.

Look at what Tom says in four short lines. Three different verb patterns, all doing real work in one everyday complaint. Can you spot all three? Say them before you check.

Check your answer CLICK

1. "admitted having ignored" — having + past participle, for something that happened clearly before the admitting.
2. "wants a plumber to look at it" — a verb + person + to-infinitive, for what you want someone ELSE to do.
3. "don't like being kept waiting" — being + past participle, for something being done TO you.

These three patterns are exactly how real complaints, plans and favours get talked about — master them and you'll sound completely natural handling everyday situations like this one.

Today: three grammar patterns for talking about the past honestly, telling people what you want them to do, and describing things being done to you — admit / deny / regret + having done, want / expect / allow someone + to do, and being told / needs doing — so you can handle a complaint, a favour, or a plan without stopping to think.

Owning Up to the Past

When you look back and own up to (or deny) something, the timing needs to be crystal clear.

Spot the pattern

"She admitted having lost the spare key months ago — she'd been too embarrassed to say."
"He denied having read the email, even though everyone had watched him open it."
"Looking back, I regret having said that — it came out all wrong."

What's the shared machinery, and why do they all reach further back than usual? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

having + past participle — the perfect gerund. It places the action clearly BEFORE the admitting, denying, or regretting. Compare: "I regret saying that" (a general regret, common enough) vs "I regret having said that" (the same idea, but the earlier timing is unmistakable — useful whenever the order of events matters).

admit / deny / regret + having + past participle (the action came clearly before this one)

    You'll also hear the simple gerund without "having" — "admit losing", "deny reading", "regret saying" — and it's perfectly natural. The perfect form just makes the "before" unmistakable, which is exactly what we're practising here.
  

Quick check

1. Your neighbour finally owned up — weeks after it happened. Use admit + having + past participle of break:

"He finally admitted my garden fence last month."

2. Your little brother denied it — but there were crumbs on his jumper. Use deny + having + past participle of eat:

"He denied the last biscuit, and there were crumbs everywhere."

3. Looking back now, you wish you'd thought it through. Use regret + having + past participle of leave:

"I regret my old job so quickly — I should have planned it better."

Now say it

SPEAK

Tell me about something you regret having done — or having not done — in the last year or so. Use having + past participle at least once, out loud.

Getting Things Done

Sometimes the interesting thing isn't what YOU do — it's what's done TO you, or what still needs doing.

Spot the pattern

"I don't like being told what to do in my own kitchen."
"The car needs to be serviced before the trip."
"Actually, the car needs servicing too — same meaning, shorter and more spoken."

Three ways of putting the action onto the thing or person receiving it. What's different about the third one? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

being + past participle (passive gerund) — for something happening to you: being told, being interrupted, being kept waiting.
to be + past participle (passive infinitive) — mostly after need/want/deserve: needs to be fixed.
needs / wants + verb-ing — a shorter, very spoken shortcut that ONLY works with need and want: the car needs servicing = the car needs to be serviced. Same passive meaning, active-looking form.

being + past participle (passive gerund — it's happening to you)
to be + past participle (passive infinitive — after need / want / deserve)
need / want + verb-ing (spoken shortcut, same meaning as "to be done")

Quick check

1. Your boss corrects your work in front of everyone, and you hate it. Use being + past participle of correct:

"I really don't like in front of the whole team."

2. Your bike's brakes are worn out. Use need + to be + past participle of check:

"My brakes before I cycle to work again."

3. The gutters are overflowing already. Use the shorter spoken form — need + verb-ing of clean:

"Honestly, the gutters before winter."

Now say it

SPEAK

Complain, nicely, about three things in your home or workplace that need attention. Use at least one "needs -ing" and one "needs to be done", out loud.

What You Want From Others

Telling someone what you want THEM to do — and getting the trickier verbs right.

Spot the pattern

"I want you to call the plumber before Friday."
"We didn't expect the tickets to be so expensive."
"My parents never allowed us to stay out past ten."

What comes straight after the person in each one? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

want / expect / allow + object + to-infinitive. The person (or thing) comes first, then "to" + the verb — never "want that..." (that's a direct translation trap from other languages).

want / expect / allow / tell + person + to + infinitive

Two verbs that change meaning

"After finishing the starter, he went on to order dessert." (a new, next action)
"She just went on talking, completely ignoring the time." (the same activity, continuing)
"We regret to inform you that the flight has been delayed." (a fixed, formal announcement — present tense only)

Say the difference between the first two, then check.

Check the idea CLICK

go on + -ing = carry on with the SAME activity. go on + to-infinitive = finish that, then move to something NEW. And regret to inform / tell is a fixed present-tense opener for breaking bad news right now — there's no natural past form like "he regretted to inform us"; for looking back, you say "he regretted telling us" instead.

Quick check

1. Your sister keeps losing her keys. Use want + her + to-infinitive of carry:

"I really want her a spare key at all times."

2. The tour guide answers one question, then moves on to a completely different topic. Use go on + to-infinitive of explain:

"She answered my question about the church, then went on the whole history of the town square."

3. You work in a shop and the jacket's out of stock. Use regret + to-infinitive of tell (the fixed present phrase for bad news):

"I you that we no longer have that jacket in your size."

Now say it

SPEAK

Tell me three things you want, expect, or don't allow someone in your life to do (a flatmate, a colleague, your kids, anyone). Use "want / expect / allow + person + to..." for each one.

Your Turn to Talk

Everything together, out loud. This is the whole point of the lesson.

Round 1 — you talk

Your upstairs neighbour's building work has been driving you mad for weeks. A friend asks what's going on.

Talk for two full minutes. Cover all three:

what he's finally admitted (or denied) — use having + past participle
what's being done, and what still needs doing
what you want the landlord (or the builders) to do about it

02:00

Round 2 — you ask

SPEAK

Now flip it — ask ME about a repair, a complaint, or a plan in my life. Build your questions out loud with today's grammar:

"Have you ever admitted / denied having...?" — one question about the past
"Is anything being fixed / does anything need doing...?" — one question about what's happening
"What do you want / expect someone to...?" — one question about what I want from someone else

Round 3 — pin it down in writing

Write the 3–5 sentence message you'd send a friend about that neighbour situation. Use all three of today's patterns; the checker will tell you which ones it finds.

Mix It Up

Real conversation never tells you which pattern to use. Here everything's shuffled.

Which pattern fits?

1. After chatting about the weather for ages, he finally went on ___ me the actual bad news.

2. I can't stand ___ when I've got a doctor's appointment booked.

3. He finally admitted ___ the whole story, just to make himself look better.

Fix the mistakes

Each one has a single grammar slip. Say the correct version out loud first, then type the whole sentence.

4. "I admit to have forgotten her birthday completely."

5. "We were discussing the schedule, and she just went on to repeat the exact same point for ten minutes."

6. "I want that you come to my leaving party on Friday."

7. "The form needs to filled in before Friday."

What Do You Remember?

From earlier lessons

1. This is an old favourite that still trips people up. After a health scare, he quit for good. Use stop + verb-ing of smoke:

"After the scare at the doctor's, he finally altogether."

2. Quick reminder of why that one matters. Say the difference out loud, then check.

"He stopped the car to check the map" vs "He stopped checking his phone at the table" — what's the difference? CLICK

stop + to-infinitive = you paused one thing IN ORDER TO do something else (he stopped the car so he could check the map). stop + -ing = you ended a habit or activity completely (he no longer checks his phone at the table). Same verb, opposite idea.

Say first, then check — fresh situations, no looking back

3. At the meeting, your colleague finally owned up to something from last week. Use admit + having + past participle of make:

"She finally admitted that mistake from last week's presentation."

4. Your laptop screen cracked. Use need + to be + past participle of repair:

"It before I can use it properly again."

5. An airline email breaking bad news. Use regret + to-infinitive of inform (the fixed present phrase):

"We you that your flight has been cancelled."

One last minute of talk

SPEAK

Close the loop: in about a minute, tell me — which of the three patterns felt most natural today (owning up to the past, describing things being done, or telling people what you want), which one still needs thinking time, and why?

Can you now...?

We said: three patterns so you can handle a complaint, a favour, or a plan without stopping to think. Tick what's true:

I can own up to (or deny) something from the past using having + past participle — admit / deny / regret having done.
I can talk about things being done to me, or that still need doing — being told, needs to be done, needs doing.
I can tell people clearly what I want, expect, or allow them to do — and use go on / regret to correctly for sequence and bad news.

    Anything unticked — go back to that tab and run its speaking round again. The checkers will still be there.
  