English Course · Level 4 (B1+) · Week 7 of 12

Cities and Housing

Grammar: Reporting verbs — advise, suggest, promise, refuse, deny, admit

This week's plan

Day	Learn	Listen / Watch	Practise
Day 1	Words: City life · Sentences 1–2	BBC 6 Minute English: “Will Covid-19 change cities?” (podcast)	Exercise 1
Day 2	Words: Renting and buying · Sentences 3–4	British Council: “Renting a house” (C1) (listening)	Exercise 2
Day 3	Words: Describing a home · Sentences 5–6	British Council: “Reported speech: reporting verbs” (grammar) + BBC Learning English Grammar: “Gossip” (podcast)	Exercise 3
Day 4	Words: Reporting verbs 1 · Sentences 7–8	British Council: “Getting advice” (listening)	Exercise 4
Day 5	Words: Reporting verbs 2 · Sentences 9–10	TED-Ed: “How the world's first metro system was built” (video)	Write & Speak
Day 6	Review all 30 words + 10 sentences	BBC 6 Minute English: “Do you need to declutter your home?” (podcast)	Redo mistakes
Day 7	Free day ☺	BBC 6 Minute English: “Could humans live in underwater cities?” (podcast)	Tick your tracker

30 minutes a day: review, learn, listen, practise, speak. Day 7 is a free day. Tap a resource to find it.

30 words to learn

Set 1 · City life

crowdedمزدحم
a high-riseبرج سكني / عمارة عالية
a traffic jamزحمة مرور
public transportالمواصلات العامة
a neighbourhoodحيّ / منطقة
the suburbsالضواحي

Set 2 · Renting and buying

rentيستأجر / إيجار
a landlordالمالك / صاحب الشقة
a tenantمستأجر
a depositتأمين / مقدَّم
a mortgageقرض عقاري
move outينتقل من مسكنه / يسيب الشقة

Set 3 · Describing a home

spaciousواسع / فسيح
crampedضيق ومزدحم
furnishedمفروش
overlookingيطل على
run-downمتهالك / قديم ومهمل
cosyدافئ ومريح

Set 4 · Reporting verbs 1

recommendيوصي بـ / ينصح بـ
urgeيحثّ
threatenيهدّد
refuseيرفض
agreeيوافق
encourageيشجّع

Set 5 · Reporting verbs 2

denyينكر
accuse someone ofيتّهم شخصًا بـ
congratulate someone onيهنّئ شخصًا بـ
insist onيُصِرّ على
offerيعرض (أن يفعل شيئًا)
blame someone forيلوم شخصًا على

10 sentences to memorise

1The landlord promised to fix the air conditioner.وعد المالك بإصلاح المكيّف.
2My father advised me to rent a flat near my work.نصحني أبي بأن أستأجر شقة قريبة من عملي.
3The estate agent suggested looking at flats in New Cairo.اقترح السمسار أن نشاهد شققًا في القاهرة الجديدة.
4The tenant refused to pay the extra money.رفض المستأجر دفع المبلغ الإضافي.
5He denied breaking the window.أنكر أنه كسر النافذة.
6She admitted forgetting to pay the electricity bill.اعترفت بأنها نسيت دفع فاتورة الكهرباء.
7Our neighbour apologised for making so much noise.اعتذر جارنا عن إحداث كل هذه الضوضاء.
8Living in the suburbs is quieter, but the commute is longer.العيش في الضواحي أهدأ، لكن المشوار إلى العمل أطول.
9The flat was spacious and fully furnished.كانت الشقة واسعة ومفروشة بالكامل.
10They warned us not to sign the contract without reading it.حذّرونا من توقيع العقد دون قراءته.

Grammar: Reporting verbs — advise, suggest, promise, refuse, deny, admit

Reporting verbs show the speaker's purpose, not only their words. Each verb has its own pattern: verb + to-infinitive, verb + someone + to-infinitive, verb + -ing, verb + preposition + -ing, or verb + that.

بدلًا من تكرار said في الكلام المنقول، نستخدم أفعالًا تحمل المعنى: نصح، اقترح، رفض، أنكر، اعترف… والمشكلة أن لكل فعل تركيبًا ثابتًا يجب حفظه. أشهر أخطاء المتعلمين العرب: He suggested me to go (ترجمةً لـ«اقترح عليّ أن أذهب»)، والصحيح He suggested going أو He suggested that I (should) go. وكذلك He denied to take، والصحيح He denied taking. احفظ كل فعل مع تركيبه كأنه كلمة واحدة.

Pattern	Verbs	Example
verb + to-infinitive	promise, refuse, agree, offer, threaten	She refused to pay. He offered to help.
verb + someone + to-infinitive	advise, warn, remind, tell, ask, persuade, urge, encourage	He advised me to wait. She reminded me to lock the door.
verb + -ing	deny, admit, suggest, recommend	He denied stealing it. She suggested taking a taxi.
verb + preposition + -ing	apologise for, insist on, blame someone for, accuse someone of, congratulate someone on	He apologised for being late. They accused him of lying. We congratulated her on passing.
verb + that + clause	admit, deny, suggest, promise, explain	He admitted that he was wrong. She suggested that we (should) leave.

Wrong: She suggested me to go. ✔ She suggested going. / She suggested that I (should) go.

Negative: warn / advise someone not to do something: He warned us not to touch it.

“I'll help you,” he said. → He offered to help me. · “I didn't do it!” → He denied doing it.

Exercises

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct form.

1) The landlord agreed (to lower / lowering) the rent.
2) He denied (to take / taking) the money.
3) My friend suggested (to look / looking) for a flat in Maadi.
4) The doctor advised (me to move / me moving) out of the city.
5) She apologised (for being / to be) late.
6) They refused (to leave / leaving) the building.

Show the answers

1) to lower 2) taking 3) looking 4) me to move 5) for being 6) to leave

Exercise 2 · Report the sentences using the verb in brackets.

1) “I'll pay the rent tomorrow,” said the tenant. (promise)
2) “I didn't break the lift,” said the boy. (deny)
3) “Why don't we live in the suburbs?” said Mona. (suggest)
4) “You should read the contract carefully,” the lawyer told us. (advise)
5) “Yes, I forgot to lock the door,” said Omar. (admit)
6) “Don't park here!” the guard told me. (warn)

Show the answers

1) The tenant promised to pay the rent the next day. / The tenant promised (that) he would pay the rent the following day. 2) The boy denied breaking the lift. / The boy denied that he had broken the lift. 3) Mona suggested living in the suburbs. / Mona suggested that they (should) live in the suburbs. 4) The lawyer advised us to read the contract carefully. 5) Omar admitted forgetting (that he had forgotten) to lock the door. 6) The guard warned me not to park there.

Exercise 3 · Correct the mistake.

1) He suggested me to rent a bigger flat.
2) She denied to break the window.
3) They promised fixing the water heater.
4) I apologised to be so noisy.
5) My mother reminded me lock the door.
6) The landlord insisted to see the flat.

Show the answers

1) He suggested renting a bigger flat. / He suggested that I (should) rent a bigger flat. 2) She denied breaking the window. 3) They promised to fix the water heater. 4) I apologised for being so noisy. 5) My mother reminded me to lock the door. 6) The landlord insisted on seeing the flat.

Exercise 4 · Translate into English.

1) نصحني صديقي بألّا أستأجر تلك الشقة.
2) أنكر المالك أنه أخذ التأمين.
3) اقترحت أختي أن ننتقل إلى الإسكندرية.
4) وعدني بأن يصلح الباب غدًا.
5) الشقة واسعة، لكن الحي مزدحم ومزعج.

Show the answers

1) My friend advised me not to rent that flat. 2) The landlord denied taking the deposit. / The landlord denied that he had taken the deposit. 3) My sister suggested moving (that we move) to Alexandria. 4) He promised to fix the door tomorrow. / He promised to fix the door the next day. 5) The flat is spacious, but the neighbourhood is crowded and noisy.

Do each exercise in pencil first, then open the answers to check.

Write & Speak

Write & Speak — “The day we moved house”: write a story of 150–200 words (real or imagined). Report what people said using at least six different reporting verbs. Then tell the story to a friend or record it.

Example: Last summer we finally decided to move out of our old flat in Shubra. It was cramped and noisy, and the building was run-down. My wife suggested looking for something in the suburbs, and after a month of searching we found a spacious flat in 6th of October City. Moving day was a disaster. The removal men had promised to arrive at eight, but they didn't come until eleven. When they finally came, the driver apologised for being late and blamed the traffic. Then one of the men dropped a box full of glasses. At first he denied breaking anything, but later he admitted that it was his fault and offered to pay for them. I refused to take his money; he looked so tired. Our new landlord met us at the door. He reminded us to read the electricity meter and warned us not to use the lift until it was repaired. By midnight we were exhausted, but my son insisted on unpacking his toys first. Now, a year later, we love our new neighbourhood.