Page 145 - IELTS Preparation Grammar and Vocab

Substitution and ellipsis 20

2.4 Ellipsis: leaving out words after auxiliary verbs and after to

'Have you decided yet?"Yes, I have: (= Yes, I have decided.)
A lot of people go to the Great Barrier Reef when they're in Australia. Were you able to? (-= Were you able to go
to the Great Barrier Reef?)
We often leave out or change verbs to avoid repeating them.

We can sometimes use to instead of a clause beginning with a to-infinitive when it is clear what we are
talking about:
I'd certainly like to go back to Australia. I hope to next year. (= to go back to Australia)
We can use to or leave it out:
after certain verbs (e.g. agree, promise, start):
I want to read a lot about Australia before I go. I've started (to)already.
after most nouns (e.g. idea, opportunity) and adjectives (e.g. frightened, willing) that can be followed by a
to-infinitive clause
I've always wanted to go, but I've never had the chance (to)before.
I hope they don't ask us to swim f there are sharks around. I'd be afraid (to)
after want and would like in if-clauses and wh-clauses:
We must talk about it more. You can come over whenever you'd like (to)
We don't use to after like
You can come over whenever you like.
We have to use to:
after verbs (e.g. expect, mean, need) which must have a complement:
You can borrow mine if you need to.
after a negative
You don't have to sail on your own if you don't want to.
When have (got) is a main verb in the first clause or sentence, we can often use either have (got) or do to avoid
repetition in the following clause or sentence:
Have you got a sleeping bag? I'm sure you have. (= I'm sure you have got a sleeping bag.) or I'm sure you do.
(= I'm sure you do have a sleeping bag.)
When have is followed by a noun to describe an action (e.g. have a shower, have a shave, have a good time)
we usually use do:
I wasn't really expecting to have a good time, but I did.

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