Common structures in English

1. Look forward to something

For example:

• We are looking forward to go hiking next week.

• I am looking forward to hear from you.

This sentence is often used at the end of a letter or email, to show that you are waiting for the other person's response to the email or letter you sent.

2. Provide someone with something

For example:

• Could you please provide us with some food for our dinner?

• Mary can provide you with some potatoes.

3. Fail to do something

For example:

• He failed to pass the police test.

• John failed to do exercises.

4. Succeed in doing something

For example:

• She succeeded in finishing the race.

• Henry succeeded in the final exam.

5. Borrow something from someone

For example:

• I borrow those books from Mary.

• Anna borrows that glass from her mother.

6. Lend someone something

For example:

• Could you lend me some pens?

• Mary will lend him her bike.

7. Make someone do something

For example:

• He made her go to school.

• Lisa made her children clean the house.

8. Plan to do something

For example:

• We plan to go camping next week.

• He plans to check up tomorrow.

9. Invite someone to do something

For example:

• He invited me to hang out.

• They invited us to travel with them.

10. Offer someone something

For example:

• He offered his girlfriend a romantic dinner.

• Lisa offered her customer a discount.

11. Keep one's promise

For example:

• Harry keeps his promise not to cancel his schedule to Hanoi.

• Lana keeps her promise to pay the bill of party.

12. Be able to do something

For example:

• He is able to swim in the ocean.

• May is able to draw a picture.

13. Be good at something

For example:

• He is very good at music.

• She is good at playing games.

14. Be bad at something

For example:

• Lisa was bad at reading English book from the beginning.

• Harry is bad at singing.

15. Prefer doing something to do something

For example:

• I prefer going out with friends to staying at home alone.

• My Mom prefers having dinner at home to going out.

16. Prefer something to something

For example:

• My mom prefers beef steak over beef stew.

• I prefer sweet potato to potato.

17. Apologize for doing something

For example:

• He apologized for being late.

• I apologized for not call him back.

18. Had better do something

For example:

• You had better hang out with them.

• I had better go to sleep now.

19. Would rather do something

For example:

• I would rather go with my Mom.

• My brother would rather finish his homework.

20. Would rather somebody do something

For example:

• I would rather him went to school.

• Henry would rather his brother went swimming.

21. Suggest somebody (should) do something

For example:

• My Mom sugeested me should meet my cousins.

• The teacher suggested his students should learn that lesson hard.

22. Try to do something

For example:

• I tried to sleep last night.

• He tried to learn all lessons before the test on Monday.

23. Try doing something

For example:

• I try playing football.

• He tried playing piano.

24. Need to do something

For example:

• I need to see him next morning.

• We need to plan the trip first.

25. Need to do

For example:

• His shirt needs washing.

• Our kids needs cleaning.

26. Remember doing something

For example:

• We remembered turning the lights off before coming out.

• I tried to remember taking a day off because I was so sick.

27. Remember to do something

For example:

• I have to remember to call him when I am home.

• You should remember to clean up before leaving.

28. Have someone do something

For example:

• My boss asked me to have Jerry come to his office before 5pm.

• The receptionist has the porter bring my luggages up right after that.

29. Get/Have something done

For example:

• I have my Mom’s car washed.

• She gets her hair cut.

30. Be busy doing something

For example:

• I was busy finishing my reports.

• My family was busy cooking dinner at 7pm.

31. Let someone do something

For example:

• He let me run the project myself.

• My Mom let me choose the subjects I wanted to learn.

32. It is (very) kind of somebody to do something

For example:

• It is very kind of you to help him move the sofa.

• It is very kind of you to clean the kitchen for me.

33. Make sure that

For example:

• Please make sure that you will be back on time!

• I have to make sure that you will finish the report.

34. Find + it + Adjective + to do something

For example:

• I find it so lucky to be friend with you.

• I find it so bored to watch that film again.

35. Spend time/money on something

For example:

• I spend all my time yesterday on finding the file.

• I spend money on books every month.

36. Waste time/money on something

For example:

• He always wasted time on games.

• My brother wasted his money on shoes.

37. Give up something

For example:

• May I give up the book?

• Lisa gave up the tape already.

38. Bored with someone/something

For example:

• I am bored with him alot.

• She is bored with this book.

39. Hire someone to do something

For example:

• My father hired him to cut the tree in our garden.

• She hired a woman to clean her house every week.

40. Angry at + N/V-ing (Angry with something)

For example:

• Are you angry at me?

• I was angry at the heavy rain.

41. Be/Get tired of something

For example:

• I was tired of reading those files.

• She gets tired of walking around.

42. Be fond of N/V-ing

For example:

• Over years they have grown very fond of each other.

• Jonathan is fond of his wife.

43. Be amased of something

For example:

• I was amazed of the book.

• She is amazed of his talent.

44. Have something to do

For example:

• She had something to do yesterday, that’s why she didn’t come.

• I have homework to do, I can’t go.

45. Enjoy +V-ing (Enjoying something)

For example:

• I am always enjoy reading before going to sleep.

• She is enjoy listening music.

46. Not necessary for somebody to do something

For example:

• It is not necessary for her to look for him.

• It is not necessary for me to ask where he is from.

47. Adjective + enough + to do something (Having enough qualities to do something)

For example:

• She is good enough to pass the exams.

• He is nice enough to help me carry my luggages.

48. Have  enough + N + to do something

For example:

• At least, he had enough encourage to propose her.

• Doctors always have enough patient to study human thologies.

49. Be interested in something

For example:

• He is interested in playing poker.

• My Mom is interested in cooking.

50. By chance = By accident (Accidental)

For example:

• We met by chance.

• By accident, we talked to the same guy at the same place about each others.

51. Take care of somebody/something

For example:

• I will take care of her while she is in hospital.

• Henry will take care of our schedules.

52. Can't stand/help/bear/resist + V-ing (Can't stand it, can't stand it)

For example:

• I can’t help falling in love with him.

• I can’t stand seeing him hurt by others.

53. Be keen on something/somebody

For example:

• Henry is not keen on his new manager.

• May is keen on flowers.

54. Give up on something/somebody

For example:

• I am giving up on him.

• She is giving up on staying late.

55. Give up + V-ing (Give up doing something)

For example:

• She gave up staying late.

• I give up reading that book.

56. Have no idea of something (Don't know anything about something)

For example:

• I have no idea of his new phone number.

• My Mom has no idea of using her new cooker.

57. Complain about something

For example:

• Teacher complains about his students with the Principal.

• Customers are complaining about the unfair promotion.

58. Be confused at

For example:

• I am confused at using this machine.

• She is confused at the price.

59. Oner way or another

For example:

• The bills have to be paid one way or another.

• I bet that he will still call her one way or another.

60. keep on touch

For example:

• We will try to keep in touch with him anyway

• Let’s keep in touch!

61. Feel pity for

For example:

• I feel pity for his injury.

• Mary feels pity for not passing the drive test.

62. Put up with + V-ing (Endure something)

For example:

• I was too tired to put up with nonsenses.

• Henry can’t put up with his neighbour’s noise any longer.

63. In case of

For example:

• Take Jonathan with you in case of there are too many luggages.

• In case of fire, do not take the lift!

64. Be fined for something

For example:

• He is fined for driving too fast.

• They are fined for parking in the fire zone.

65. Have difficulty + V-ing (What to do if you have difficulty)

For example:

• A year after the accident, he still has difficulty driving.

• During stress time, I always have difficulty sleeping.

66. Be full of something

For example:

• The garden is full of colorful flowers.

• Life is always full of surprises.

67. For a long time = for year = for ages (A long time)

For example:

• I haven’t seen him for age.

• For a long time, I didn’t know my talent until my 18th birthday.

68.Leave somebody alone

For example:

• Leave him alone! Mary had just hurt him bad.

• Should we leave him alone or not?

69. By + V-ing (By some way)

For example:

• In the end, they loved each other more just by talking honestly.

• We could go by bike.

70. Go + V-ing (Recreational activities only)

For example:

• Let’s go fishing sometimes.

• We will go camping next week.

71. Take place of something/somebody

For example:

• Who will take place of his position?

• Smart TV began to take place off normal TV nowadays.

72. Expect somebody to do something

For example:

• The wife expected her husband to take her to a better restaurant. 

• My teacher expected us to do all our homeworks before test.

73. There (not) appear to be + N (Seems like nothing)

For example:

• There does not appear to be any sign that they will go ahead with that project.

• There did not appear to be any comment that should be deleted.

74. See for oneself (Someone looks at something himself)

For example:

• If you don’t believe me, then just come here and see for yourself.

• I see all that horror movie for myself.

75. Could hardly

For example:

• They could hardly make the homework done.

• He could hardly finish the race.

76. Could on somebody

For example:

• Count on me! I tried my best on this competition.

• I always count on you, you are my best friend.

77. In the nick of time

For example:

• He always comes in the nick of time.

• He scored in the nick of time.

78. Make it happen

For example:

• Congratulation, you made it happen!

• Don’t worry, I will make it happen!

79. Open one's eyes

For example:

• He refused to open his eyes to the truth.

• At last, she opens her eyes to the truth that he has gone.

80. Put an end to something

For example:

• I will put an end to everything.

• By saying that she loved him, Mary put an end to all their misunderstands.

81. Bump into somebody

For example:

• Last night, I bumped into Jane on the way to our favorite bar.

• Suddenly, on the way out, the robber bumped into police and was knocked down.

82. Look up to somebody

For example:

• I always look up to my Mom for everything she have done because of me.

• You are whom our children always look up to.

83. Ask somebody out

For example:

• Do you believe that Jane asked me out?

• I should ask my wife out tonight, it is our anniversary.

84. Add up to something

For example:

• These clues don't really add up to what we need.

• Just 100 extra calories each day add up to one pound of extra body fat each week.

85. Call something off

For example:

• They held a ballot on whether to call off the final.

• We have called off the trip.

86. Check something/somebody out

For example:

• We did decide to check the restaurant out.

• The police still check him out everyday.

87. Come across something/somebody (Walking by, encountering something by chance)

For example:

• Jerry came across some old love letters.

• Have you ever come across such a great person?

88. Do something over

• For example:

• To get used to something, I have to do it over and over.

• The teacher asked me to do the report over, it was so messy.

89. Figure something out

For example:

• In the end, Kate figured out why the washing machine wasn’t working.

• Mark finally figured out that it is not his fault.

90. Hold onto something/somebody

For example:

• Luckily, he hold onto a giant tree and waited for help.

• Martin hold onto his mom for really a long time.

91. Hold something/somebody up

For example:

• A man in a black mask held the bank up this morning.

• He is always held everyone up by coming late.

92. Let somebody down

For example:

• Don’t let me down! I always count on you!

• I will never let my parents down.

93. Make something uy

For example:

• He did make everything up for fun.

• I couldn’t believe that she did make up behind my back.

94. Use something uy

For example:

• He used up all the milk already.

• The resources are used up.

95. Sort something out

For example:

• They started to sort out the travelling arrangements.

• We need to sort our clothes out and decide what we're going to give away.

96. Pass out

For example:

• After shocked news, she did pass out.

• She passed out after seeing her husband’s accident herself.

97. Pass something out

For example:

• The teacher is passing out homeworks for his students.

• They are passing the story book out.

98. Pass away

For example:

• My grandmother passed out last month.

• After her husband passed out 20 years ago, she still lived alone.

99. Look out for somebody/something

For example:

• Although this is not the first time seeing him, I still look out for him.

• We were told to look out for a van.

100. Pay for something

For example:

• Failed the exam is something that he has to pay for his careless.

• I have to pay for my broken phone a lot of money.