You might be familiar with these verbs which have in common the use of the preposition “to”. This topic is aimed at helping you communicate by using them in a more efficient way.
They are relevant in the context of a family where each member usually expresses wishes, preference and needs as well.

Objective

At the end of this topic you will:
Be able to express yourself in terms of necessity, desire, preference and dislikes, through the daily activities performed by members of a family, to properly use verbs need, wish, want, like and dislike in present tense.

In English there are verbs that share the same pattern for their use with a preposition. Their purpose is referred to:

Click on each concept to visualize detailed information.

Necessity

NEED /niːd/
We suggest you visit the next link.
You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of word NEED

HAVE /hæv/
It is suggested to visit the following link.
You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of word HAVE

Examples:
• I need to get some household provisions now.
• I have to go by car.

Desire or willingness

WANT /wont/
Check the following link.
You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of word WANT

Examples:
• I want to talk with my parents about their youth.

Preference

LIKE /laɪk/
Check the following link.
You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of word LIKE

Examples:
• I like to to feel welcome at home.

The verbs reviewed use preposition TO when actions are involved.
When things are involved TO is not required.

These verbs in combination with to are useful to represent desire, need, preference or dislike.
In the chart we’ll see it with the verb need as example:

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative 1 (closed)	Interrogative 2 (open)
I need to clean my bedroom.	I don’t need to be forced.	Do I need to be so tidy?	When do I need to ask a psychologist?
My mom needs to remind me sometimes.	She doesn’t need to be severe with me.	Does mom need me to call my father?	What does a mother need from her children?
Alexander and I need to be communicated.	We don’t need to drink alcohol to be a happy family.	Do we need to pretend in society?	Why do we need to use a survey?

Exercise 1

About my family and I

Now that you have seen the nature of verbs with preposition, let’s see how you master the rules.

Grammar

Exercise 2

Explanation and practice

There is one error per sentence. Rewrite the sentences correctly.

Reading

Activity 1

Reading for advice

The verbs practiced here use preposition TO when actions are involved. When things are involved TO is not required. In the following activity you will see both cases.

Wittlieb, E. (2017). Living room [photo] Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/es/sal%C3%B3n-sof%C3%A1-silla-mesa-2174575/

Listen to the audio and follow the reading.

Amy Dickenson

Amy Dickenson is a singer, she is 32 years old. She is from Ireland, but she lives in a house in England. She plays the piano and the guitar. She has two cats. She collects handbags, shoes and dresses.

Speaking

Activity 2

How do they speak of family?

Since you have reviewed the pronunciations of each of the verbs that imply desire or need, it is time to discover its usefulness when establishing a conversation. Then, let’s talk about family.

Lease, K. (2006). Family [photo]. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/lMkCTU

Formulate two sentences per verb. One with to and one without to as in the example to talk about you and your family/home:

a) I want to travel with my family.
b) I want happiness in my home.

Check the following example.

If you need to look up any word in a dictionary, we suggest you visit Cambridge Dictionary. You can see the definition and also the pronunciation of the word, in case you need it.

Finally, we suggest you prepare what you are going to say. Write down your sentences and practice it before you record, but DO NOT read while recording. The idea is that you try to speak, but this is not a reading activity. Just do your best.

Take a look at the rubric in order to know what are the elements you need in order to get a good score.

Criteria	Excellente	Acceptable	Not acceptable
Use of English	There is a maximum of 3 grammar mistakes although they don’t impede the communication. The speaker shows a good command of the verbs “Need”, “Want”, “Like” and “Have” with to and without to and the vocabulary allows him to express his ideas clearly throughout the audio. 2 points.	There are few general grammar mistakes (4-8) but most of the time communication is accomplished. The verbs “Need”, “Want”, “Like” and “Have” with to and without to are used in a correct form only sometimes. Vocabulary is limited but enough to communicate. 1.5 point	There are many grammar mistakes (more than 8) and the communication is not achieved. There is a poor use of the verbs “Need”, “Want”, “Like” and “Have” with to and without to or there are no examples of these structures. Vocabulary is limited to a degree that impedes communication. 0 points.
Task accomplishment	The whole speech includes the requested elements. The audio lasted from 30 seconds to 45 seconds. 2 points.	The speech includes just a few of the requested elements. The audio is shorter than 30 seconds. 1.5 point	The speech includes just a few of the requested elements. The audio is shorter than 30 seconds. The task wasn’t accomplished, audio lasted less than 30 seconds and no element in the speech was present. 0 points.
Fluency	There are no hesitations, pauses are made only when convenient. It is evident that the speaker is NOT reading. 2 points.	There are some hesitations and unnatural pauses. The speaker seems to be reading at some points. 1.5 point	There are more pauses than actual speech. The speaker seems to be only reading. 0 points.
Pronunciation	There are no pronunciation mistakes or at least they do not stop communication. 2 points.	There are between 3 to 5 pronunciation mistakes but most of the times communication can be achieved. 1.5 point	Pronunciation is poor, with lots of mistakes (more than 5) and communication is not achieved. 0 points.
Use of the verbs “Need”, “Want”, Like” and “Have” with to and without to	The speaker uses the verbs “Need”, “Want”, Like” and “Have” with to and without to, two times in a correct way 2 points.	The speaker only uses the verbs “Need”, “Want”, Like” and “Have” with to and without to, once, but in a correct way. 1.5 point	The speaker uses no verb requested: “Need”, “Want”, Like” and “Have” with to and without to. 0 points.

Listening

Activity 3

A surprise to take

Oral comprehension will help you review the topic studied here. Let’s check how well you do in this skill.

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Put a tick	Yes	No
1. My answers or ideas have a complete structure: subject + verb + complement.
2. When I use verbs in past simple (regular or irregular) the spelling is correct.
3. When I use past continuous the structure is correct (was/were + v –ing).
4. When this is the case, I use appropriately the conjunctions: when and while.
5. I use capitalization and punctuation in a proper way.

Writing

Activity 4

Writing of my family

Writing is a good practice to apply what you can do.
In this case, type about four things a person needs to do to have a good relation with family. Take a look at the following example and write a similar text checking the rubric for this exercise.

The text must contain:

a) An introductory paragraph

Example: You need to do four
things to get on with your family

b) Supporting paragraph for thing 1

Example: First, you need to…

c) Supporting paragraph for thing 2

Example: Also, you need to…

d) Supporting paragraph for thing 3

e) Supporting paragraph for thing 2

Write between 50-75 words

If you need to look up any word in a dictionary, we suggest you visit Cambridge Dictionary. There you can find the word you need.
Once you finished, check the grammar explanation and verify you used the verbs correctly.

When you finish your sentences, take a look at the rubric in order to know if you did it well or what things you have to improve.

Criteria	Excellent	Acceptable	Not acceptable
Use of English	There are very few grammar or spelling mistakes to prevent readability. 2.5 points	There are some grammar or spelling mistakes, but most of readability is accomplished. 1.5 points	No readability is granted because the text is full of mistakes both of grammar and spelling. 0 points
Task accomplishment	The text has between 50-75 words. All the information required is evident in the body of the text. 2.5 points	Task has been partially accomplished; the text is shorter than 75 words. Partial information is present. 1.5 point	The task has not been accomplished. Too short and less than the required information is present. 0 points
Organization	The text is coherent and paragraphing is appropriate. Cohesive markers used are adequate to bring information together. 2.5 points	CCoherence is partially achieved due to some fails in paragraphing or cohesion. 1.5 point	The text can’t be understood for the way it is organized and connected. 0 points
Verb structure	The user employs the verb structures in his text correctly. 2.5 points	The user shows some deficiencies in the mastery of the verb structures. 1.5 point	No evidence of domain over the topic (verbs with to) and its components. 0 points

Criterion	Poor	Regular	Good	Excellent
Organization & structure	Few logical ideas. It lacks sufficient examples and details. 0 points	Some evidence of logical ideas. It is included some appropriate information but, he lacks of details. 1 point	Logical ideas. It is included relevant information and gives some details. 1.5 points	Clear and logical ideas. It is included all details about the anecdote. 2 points
Grammar & spelling	More than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling. 0 points	3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling. 1 point	1-2 errors in grammar and or spelling. 1.5 points	No errors in grammar or spelling. 2 points
Content	Content is different from the topic. The writer does not use past simple, past continuous nor conjunctions: when and while. 0 points	Content is slightly related to the topic. The writer uses rarely past simple, past continuous, and conjunctions: when and while in a correct way. 1 point	Content is related to the topic. The writer uses sometimes past simple, past continuous, and conjunctions: when and while in a correct way. 1.5 points	The content is highly related to the topic. The writer uses past simple, past continuous, and conjunctions: when and while in a correct way. 2 points
Capitalization & punctuation	More than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation. 0 points	3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation. 1 point	1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation. 1.5 points	No errors in capitalization and punctuation. 2 points
Length	Writing extension is around 60 words or less.. 0 points	Writing extension is around 70 words. 1 point	Writing extension is around 90 words. 1.5 points	Writing extension is between 110 - 130 words. 2 points

Self-assessment

Family epilogue

The family is the perfect excuse to keep improving your domain over verb patterns. This exercise was developed to test your learning.

References

Basic references

• ESL English Faby. (2013). English Grammar, like to, Want to, Need to. [video]. Retrieved on 2017, may 15 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_1wC3e1R_c
• Learn English with Ronnie. (2010). English vocabulary – The difference between “want” & “need”. [video]. Retrieved on 2017, may 15 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdEfBBCjDS4

Complementary

• (n. a.). (n. d.). Want + infinitive. Retrieved on 2017, may 15 from http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-60531.php

Verbs that involve desire or need:
need, want, have.

Presentation

Objective

Some verbs and preposition to

About my family and I

Grammar

Explanation and practice

Reading

Reading for advice

Speaking

How do they speak of family?

Listening

A surprise to take

Writing

Writing of my family

Self-assessment

Family epilogue

References

Basic references

Complementary

Ficha de créditos
Coordinación general	Dr.Jorge León Martínez
Coordinación de desarrollo	Edith Tapia Rangel
Coordinación académica	Ana Lilia Villegas Pacheco
Elaboración del contenido	Esteban Vicente Hernández González
Administración del proyecto	Maricarmen Hernández Cervantes
Coordinación de asesoría pedagógica	Elisa Campero Malo Susana Claudio Vargas
Asesoría pedagógica	Karina Serralde Muñoz
Coordinación de diseño gráfico e integración	Juan de Dios Fuentes Reyes Isaura Ovando Vázquez Fabiola Moncada Cortés
Diseño gráfico e integración	Norma Guadalupe Maldonado Santos

Verbs that involve desire or need: need, want, have.

Presentation

Objective

Some verbs and preposition to

About my family and I

Grammar

Explanation and practice

Reading

Reading for advice

Speaking

How do they speak of family?

Listening

A surprise to take

Writing

Writing of my family

Self-assessment

Family epilogue

References

Basic references

Complementary

Verbs that involve desire or need:
need, want, have.