Learn English Grammar
Written by 3/0 John Anthony Dana on August 10, 2018
INTRODUCTION
Communication is the heart and soul of the human experience. The process communication mainly includes speaking , listening, and writing. Nobody actually learns grammar to learn his/ her own mother tongue. It is a natural phenomenon that we start speaking what everybody speaks around us. We gradually develop a better sense of understanding with the passage of time.
We don’t study grammar of our own mother tongue to use it for daily speaking, but when we need to polish our own mother tongue, we have to study its grammar and we usually do that. When we come to learning a new language like English language, we need to study its grammar, the importance of grammar cannot be neglected and before we do that we need to understand what grammar is.
Grammar is the study of words and the ways words work together. An invisible force that guides us as we put words together into sentences. Any person who communicates using a particular language is consciously or unconsciously aware of the grammar of that language.
To speak in a clearer and more effective manner we study grammar. A person who has unconscious knowledge of grammar may be sufficient for simple language use, but the ones who wish to communicate in an artful manner and well, will seek greater depth of understanding and proficiency that the study of grammar provides
NOUN
It’s not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are “things” (and verbs are “actions”). Like food.Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Another example is “human being””. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).
What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing
teacher, school, book
Types
Countable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns
dog/dogs, rice, hair(s)
Proper Nouns (Names)
Do we say “Atlantic Ocean” or “the Atlantic Ocean”? Should I write “february” or “February”?
Shirley, Mr Jeckyll, Thailand, April, Sony
Possessive ‘s
Adding ‘s or ‘ to show possession.
John’s car, my parents’ house
Noun as Adjective
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun is “acting as” an adjective.
love story, tooth-brush, bathroom
PROPER NOUN AND COMMON NOUN
Nouns name people, places, and things. Every noun can further be classified as common or proper. A proper noun has two distinctive features: 1) it will name a specific [usually a one-of-a-kind] item, and 2) it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a sentence.
Check out the chart below:
Common Noun Proper Noun
writer Herman Melville
teacher Mrs. Hacket
beagle Snoopy
cookie Oreo
cityOrlando Orlando
restaurant Tito’s Taco Palace
document Declaration of Independence
school University of Southern California
Read the following sentences. Notice the difference between the common and proper nouns.
Tina offered Antonio one of her mother’s homemade oatmeal cookies but only an Oreo would satisfy his sweet tooth.
Cookies = common noun; Oreo = proper noun.
Charlie had wanted an easy teacherfor his composition class, but he got Mrs. Hacket, whose short temper and unreasonable demands made the semester a torture.
Teacher = common noun; Mrs. Hacket = proper noun.
Gloria wanted to try a newrestaurant, so Richard took her to Tito’s Taco Palace, where no one dips into the hot sauce until the drinks have arrived at the table. Restaurant = common noun; Tito’s Taco Palace = proper noun.
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE
In English grammar, words that refer to people, places, or things are called nouns. They can be classified in many ways.
One way to classify nouns is according to whether they can be counted or not. Many English mistakes are related to this point. By reading through this page, you will understand:
what countable and uncountable nouns are
how to use them correctly in a sentence
Countable (or count)nouns are words which can be counted. They have a singular form and a plural form. They usually refer to things. Most countable nouns become plural by adding an ‘s’ at the end of the word.
For example:
Singular Plural
chair chairs
bottle bottles
student students
Uncountable (or non-count)nouns are words which cannot be counted. Therefore, they only have a singular form. They have no plural forms. These words are thought of as wholes rather than as parts. They usually refer to abstractions (such as confidence or advice) or collectives (such as equipment or luggage).
For example:
Singular
money
furniture
information
COMPOUND NOUNS
Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. The second part identifies the object or person in question ( man, friend, tank, table, room ). The first part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is ( police, boy, water, dining, bed ):
What type / what purpose What or who
police man
boy friend
water tank
dining table
bed room
The two parts may be written in a number of ways :
1. as one word.
Example: policeman , boyfriend
2. as two words joined with a hyphen.
Example: dining-table
3. as two separate words.
Example: fish tank .
There are no clear rules about this – so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words.
The two parts may be: Examples:
noun + noun bedroom
water tank
motorcycle
printer cartridge
noun + verb rainfall
haircut
train-spotting
noun + adverb hanger-on
passer-by
verb + noun washing machine
driving licence
swimming pool
verb + adverb* lookout
take-off
drawback
adjective + noun greenhouse
software
redhead
adjective + verb dry-cleaning
public speaking
adverb + noun onlooker
bystander
adverb + verb* output
overthrow
upturn
input
Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words.
Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g. greenhouse ) and an adjective with a noun (e.g. green house ).
In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable:
a ‘ greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun)
a green ‘house = house painted green (adjective and noun)
a ‘ bluebird = type of bird (compound noun)
a blue ‘bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)
* Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb + adverb or adverb + verb).
Examples
breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out, feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each… If we didn’t have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:
Do you like the president? I don’t like the president. The president is too pompous.
With pronouns, we can say:
Do you like the president? I don’t like him. He is too pompous.
Personal Pronouns:
PRONOUN CASE
Pronouns (and nouns) in English display “case” according to their function in the sentence.
Their function can be:
subjective (they act as the subject)
objective (they act as the object)
possessive (they show possession of something else)
The following table shows the different forms for pronouns depending on case.
Subjective case Objective case Possessive case
personal pronouns singular 1st I me my, mine
2nd you you your, yours
3rd he she it
him her it his her, hers its
plural 1st we us our, ours
2nd you you your, yours
3rd they them their, theirs
relative/interrogative pronouns who whom whose
whoever whomever
which/that/what which/that/what
indefinite pronouns everybody everybody everybody’s
A problem of case: Mary and I or Mary and me?
Mary and I are delighted to be here today. (NOT Mary and me)
The letter was addressed to Mary and me. (NOT Mary and I)
In 1, Mary and I are subjects, which is why the pronoun takes the subjective case (“I”).
In 2, Mary and I are objects, which is why the pronoun takes the objective case (“me”).
An easy way to check the correct case is to try the sentence without Mary. Would you say “I am delighted to be here” or “Me am delighted to be here”? Would you say “The letter was addressed to me” or “The letter was addressed to I”?
PERSONAL NOUNS
I, you, he, me, your, his…
This summary of personal pronouns includes possessive adjectives for convenience and comparison.
number person gender* pronouns possessive
adjectives
subject object possessive reflexive
singular 1st m/f I me mine myself my
2nd m/f you you yours yourself your
3rd me he him his himself his
f she her hers herself her
n it it its itself its
plural 1st m/f we us ours ourselves our
2nd m/f you you yours yourselves your
3rd m/f/n they them theirs themselves their
pronoun subject She likes homework.
object The teacher gave mesome homework.
possessive This homework is yours.
reflexive John did the homework himself.
possessive adjective The teacher corrected ourhomework.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives describe or give information about nouns or pronouns.
For example:-
The grey dog barked. (The adjective grey describes the noun “dog”.
The good news is that the form of an adjective does not change. It does not matter if the noun being modified is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.
Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun – age, size colour etc (fact adjectives – can’t be argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody – nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives – not everyone may agree).
If you are asked questions with which, whose, what kind, or how many, you need an adjective to be able to answer.
There are different types of adjectives in the English language:
1)¬ Numeric: six, one hundred and one
2)¬Quantitative: more, all, some, half, more than enough
3)¬Qualitative: colour, size, smell etc.
4)¬Possessive: my, his, their, your
5)¬Interrogative: which, whose, what
6)¬Demonstrative: this, that, those, these
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
Ammu is tall.
Job is taller than Ammu.
Mohan is the tallest of the three.
In the second sentence, the word ‘taller’ is the comparative form of the adjective. The comparative form of the adjective denotes a higher degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when two people or things are compared.
In the third sentence, the word ‘tallest’ is the superlative form of the adjective. The superlative form of the adjective denotes the highest degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when more than two people or things are compared.
Here are some simple rules to keep in mind when forming comparatives and superlatives.
RULE 1
For most adjectives, ‘er’ is added for the comparative form and ‘est’ for the superlative form. Tall – Taller – Tallest
Strong – Stronger – Strongest
Short – Shorter – Shorter
Kind – Kinder – Kindest
RULE 2
For adjectives ending with ‘e’, ‘r’ is added for the comparative form and ‘st’ for the superlative form. Wise – Wiser – Wisest
Large – Larger – Largest
Nice – Nicer – Nicest
Fine – Finer – Finest
RULE 3
For adjectives ending with ‘y’, ‘y’ is removed and ‘ier’ is added for comparative form and ‘iest’ for the superlative form.
Lazy – Lazier – Laziest
Crazy – Crazier – Craziest
Wealthy – Wealthier – Wealthiest
Heavy – Heavier – Heaviest
RULE 4
Usually for longer adjectives, ‘more’ + adjective is used for comparative form and ‘most’ + adjective is used for superlative form.
Handsome – More Handsome – Most Handsome
Beautiful – More Beautiful – Most Beautiful
Intelligent – More Intelligent – Most Intelligent
Difficult – More Difficult – Most Difficult
RULE 5
Irregular Adjectives: There are some irregular adjectives for which the comparative and superlative form follow no particular rule.
Good – Better – Best
Bad – Worse – Worst
Many – More – Most
Little – Less – Least
WHAT ARE VERBS
The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: “Stop!” You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word.
Verbs are sometimes described as “action words”. This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of “doing” something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.
But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of “being”. For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.
A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence “John speaks English”, John is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:
• action (Ram plays football.)
• state (Anthony seems kind.)
There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:
to work, work, works, worked, working
Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or more forms for a single verb. In this lesson we look at the ways in which we classify verbs, followed by a quiz to test your understanding:
Verb Classification
We divide verbs into two broad classifications:
1)Main verbs
2)Helping verbs
MAIN VERBS
Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:
• I teach.
• People eat.
• The Earth rotates.
Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes!
Not a lot, but something. That’s because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs. In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs.
Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.
helping verb main verb
John likes coffee.
You lied to me.
They are happy.
The children are playing.
We must go now. I
do not want any.
Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following pages.
Forms of Main Verbs
Main verbs (except the verb “be”) have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. “Be” has 9 forms.
Main verbs are also called “lexical verbs”.
V1 V2 V3
infinitive base past simple past participle present participle present simple, 3rd person singular
regular (to) work work worked worked working works
irregular (to) sing
(to) make
(to) cut sing
make
cut sang
made
cut sung
made
cut singing
making
cutting sings
makes
cuts
(to) do*
(to) have* do
have did
had done
had doing
having does
has
infinitive base past simple past participle present participle present simple
(to) be* be was, were been being am, are, is
In the above examples:
• to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts
• to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works
• to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
• to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are
The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the “bare infinitive”.s
At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the
irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc.
They do not learn these for the regular verbs
because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding “-ed” to the base. They do not learn the present participle and 3rd person singular present simple by heart—for another very simple reason: they never change.
The present participle is always made by adding “-ing” to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding “s” to the base (though there are some variations in spelling).
* Note that “do”, “have” and “be” also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).
Example Sentences
These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.
Infinitive,
• I want to work
• He has to sing.
• This exercise is easy to do.
• Let him have one.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Base – Imperative
• Work well!
• Make this.
• Have a nice day.
• Be quiet!
Base – Present simple
(except 3rd person singular)
• I work in London.
• You sing well.
• They have a lot of money.
Base – After modal auxiliary verbs
• I can work tomorrow.
• You must sing louder.
• They might do it.
• You could be right.
Past simple
• I worked yesterday.
• She cut his hair last week.
• They had a good time.
• They were surprised, but I was not.
Past participle
• I have worked here for five years.
• He needs a folder made of plastic.
• It is done like this.
• I have never been so happy.
Present participle
• I am working.
• Singing well is not easy.
• Having finished, he went home.
• You are being silly!
3rd person singular, present simple
• He works in London.
• She sings well.
• She has a lot of money.
• It is Vietnamese.
HELPING VERBS
Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:
• I can.
• People must.
• The Earth will.
Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! That’s because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They “help” the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.
FUNCTION
The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.
Modify a verb:
– John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
– Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
– She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
Modify an adjective:
– He is really handsome.
Modify another adverb:
– She drives incredibly slowly. But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:
Modify a whole sentence:
– Obviously, I can’t know everything.
Modify a prepositional phrase:
– It’s immediately inside the door.
an adverb modifies other verbs(verbs are in bold/adverbs are in italics)
· The thief acts stupidly. (answers the question:how?)
· The thief never shoots, because he has no gun.(answers the question: when?)
· The thief robs locally. (answers the question:where?)
an adverb modifies other adjectives (adjectives are in bold/adverbs are in italics)
· The thief is extremely stupid.
· This very dumb thief is now in jail.
an adverb modifies other adverbs (adverbs in italics)
· The thief walks incredibly clumsily.
· The thief acts really stupidly.
Adverbs also have other functions. You may see them modify a prepositional phrase:
· The thief was arrested just outside the apartment.
You may find an adverb modifying an entire sentence:
· Certainly,the thief chose the wrong profession.
POSITION
Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:
Front (before the subject):
-Now we will study adverbs.
Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
– We often study adverbs.
End (after the verb or object):
– We study adverbs carefully.
Adverbs of Frequency
always, sometimes, never…
You will find adverbs occupying multiple positions within a sentence:
· Now,get in the police car. (front)
· The thief was immediately arrested. (before the verb)
· The thief sat nervously after being arrested. (after the verb)
· After the botched robbery, the thief decided to give up crime completely. (end)
FORM
Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some
Examples
quickly,softly,strongly,honestly,interestingly
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. “Friendly”, for example, is an adjective.
Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:
well, fast, very, never, always, often, still
adjective adverb
dangerous dangerously
careful carefully
nice nicely
horrible horriblely
easy easyly
irregular forms
good well
fast fast
hard hard
ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY
Adverbs of certainty express how certain or sure we feel about an action or event.
Usage
Common adverbs of certainty:
certainly , definitely, probably, undoubtedly, surely
1. Adverbs of certainty go before the main verb but after the verb ‘to be’:
He definitely left the house this morning.
He is probably in the park.
2. With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:
He has certainly forgotten the meeting.
He will probably remember tomorrow.
3. Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence:
Undoubtedly , Winston Churchill was a great politician.
BE CAREFUL! with surely. When it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker thinks something is true, but is looking for confirmation:
Surely you’ve got a bicycle?
INTODUCTION
Basically, auxiliary verbs are function words, a type of closed class which is constituted of words that have a grammatical function as opposed to content words, which are an open class of lexical words. An auxiliary verb is used to add functional or grammatical content to the information expressed by another verb, considered to be the main verb. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs
Examples:
I am writing a book.
He has done the work.
We will be there in a minute.
Would you help me with this homework?
Can you open the door?
Did you visit New York last holiday?
Do you like chocolate?
They must get there on time.
The 23 auxiliary verbs
am is are
was were
has have had
do does did
will would
shall should
can could
may might must
Be Been Being
STATEMENTS AND QUESTION
Negative Statements and Questions
In many languages, changing a statement to a question is as easy as changing your inflection or punctuation. In Spanish, for example, you can say, “Ella habla Inglés,” or you can ask, “¿Ella habla Inglés?” The word order does not change. In English, however, the statement is, “She speaks English,” whereas the question changes to, “Does she speak English?” English questions almost always use an auxiliary verb.
Negative statements in English also generally use an auxiliary verb. We can’t just say, “They liked the soup?” We have to rearrange a bit, adding in the past form of the auxiliary “do” to say, “Did they like the soup?”
Do / does / did
Do is common for forming questions and making negatives.
Did is used for do and does in the past tense. Do and does is never used for the past.
In statements In questions In negative sentences
I am 21. Am I in the right place? I am not. (I aren’t)
You are Indian. Are you my new boss? You are not. (you aren’t)
We are waiting. Are we nearly there? We are not. (we aren’t)
They are excited Are they the best players on the team? They are not. (they aren’t)
He/she is cool. Is he/she old enough to go to bars? He/she is not. (he/she isn’t)
Be = am / is / are
Be can be used as an auxiliary verb or the main verb in a sentence.
Is tells us that an action is happening now or is going to happen in the future.
Be is also used to make passives.
Are is used for they and we.
Was is used for the past tense of am and is.
Were is used for the past tense of you, we and they.
In statements In questions In negative sentences
I do my homework. Do I know you? I do not. (I don’t)
You do the laundry. Do you live here? You do not. (you don’t)
We do the washing up. Do we have time? We do not. (we don’t)
They do yoga. Do they come from Vietnam? They do not. (they don’t)
He/she does the cleaning. Does he/she drive to work? He/she does not. (he/she doesn’t)
Have = has / had
Have is used to make the present perfect tense (it is always followed by the past participle).
Has is used for the third person singular.
Had is used for past tenses especially the past perfect tense. It describes an action that began in the past and continues into the present or that occurred in the recent past.
In statements In negative sentences
I have a dog. I have not. (I haven’t/ I’ve not)
You have something on your shirt. You have not. (you haven’t/you’ve not)
We have seen it before. We have not. (we haven’t/we’ve not)
They have called me three times. They have not. (they haven’t/they’ve not)
He/she has lived in America. He/she has not (he/she hasn’t)
Others
Other common auxiliary verbs are:
can, could, may, might, must, ought, should, and would.
These are also known as modal verbs. We use them to show obligation, possibility and necessity.
USAGE
Progressive Verbs
In present progressive sentences, the verb expresses action that is in progress as the speaker says it. “I am typing” is an example of present progressive. In it, the main verb is “type” while the auxiliary verb “be” is conjugated according to the subject, “I.”
We also use past and future progressives to explain what was or will be happening when some other event occurred or will occur.
He was watching TV when the phone rang. Here, “was” is the auxiliary that helps us understand when the main verb (watch) happened.
We’ll be driving to Virginia during your party. The future progressive actually uses two auxiliary verbs (will and be) to tell us that this action (drive) takes place in the future.
Passive Voice
If you can add the phrase, “by a purple monster” to the end of your verb phrase and still have a grammatically correct sentence, you’re probably using passive voice. Here are some examples:
The chair was moved (by a purple monster) to the other side of the room.
I was hit in the head (by a purple monster) and knocked unconscious (by a purple monster).
It has been decided (by a purple monster) that the play will be canceled (by a purple monster).
There’s nothing grammatically wrong with passive voice; it’s an excellent use of the verb “be.” It’s just not very exciting writing. It’s more interesting to say:
A purple monster moved the chair across the room.
A purple monster hit me in the head and knocked me out.
A purple monster has decided to cancel the play. Take it up with him.
Perfect Tenses
The perfect tenses in English explain the order of things. When we use present perfect, we are explaining what has happened up until now. Past perfect explains what had happened in the past before something else happened in the past. And future perfect tells us what will have happened up to a certain point in the future.
All the perfect tenses use at least one auxiliary verb, “have.”
I have visited Stockholm many times.
He had seen many cathedrals, but none so grand as that one.
The future perfect also uses “will.”
We will have traveled to every country in the world after this trip.
And the progressive perfect tenses also use “be.”
She has been living in Sweden for 10 years.
He had been touring Europe for 3 months.
We will have been flying for 31 hours by the time we get home.
PREPOSITION
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element,as in:
She left before breakfast.
What did you come for?
(For what did you come?)
PREPOSITION LIST
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.
1. aboard 2. about 3. above 4. across
5. after 6. against 7. along 8. amid
9. among 10. anti 11. around 12. as
13. at 14. before 15. behind 16. below
17. beneath 18. beside 19. besides 20. between
21. beyond 22. but 23. by 24. concerning
25. considering 26. despite 27. down 28. during
29. except 30. excepting 31. excluding 32. following
33. for 34. from 35. in 36. inside
37. into 38. like 39. minus 40. near
41. of 42. off 43. on 44. onto
45. opposite 46. outside 47. over 48. past
49. per 50. plus 51. regarding 52. round
53. save 54. since 55. than 56. through
57. to 58. toward 59. towards 60. under
61. underneath 62. unlike 63. until 64. up
65. upon 66. versus 67. via 68. with
69. within 70. without … …
PREPOSITION RULE
There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.
Rule
A preposition is followed by a “noun”. It is never followed by a verb.
By “noun” we include:
noun (dog, money, love)
proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
pronoun (you, him, us)
noun group (my first job)
gerund (swimming)
A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the “-ing” form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form. In the following sentences, why is “to” followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule:
I would like to go now.
She used to smoke. Here are some examples:
Subject + verb preposition “noun”
The food is on the table.
She lives in Japan.
Tara is looking for you.
The letter is under your blue book.
Pascal is used to English people.
She isn’t used to working.
I ate before coming.
Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, “to” is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive
(“to go”, “to smoke”).
Prepositions of Place:
at, in, on
In general, we use:
at for a POINT
in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the entrance in a car on a page
Look at these examples:
• Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
• The shop is at the end of the street.
• My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
• When will you arrive at the office?
• Do you work in an office?
• I have a meeting in New York.
• Do you live in Japan?
• Jupiter is in the Solar System.
• The author’s name is on the cover of the book.
• There are no prices on this menu.
• You are standing on my foot.
• There was a “no smoking” sign on the wall.
• I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way
Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
We use:
• at for a PRECISE TIME
• in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
• on for DAYS and DATES
at in on
PRECISE TIME MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS DAYS and DATES
at 3 o’clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
at sunrise in the next century on Independence Day
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/future on New Year’s Eve
Look at these examples:
• I have a meeting at 9am.
• The shop closes at midnight.
• Jane went home at lunchtime.
• In England, it often snows in December.
• Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
• There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
• Do you work on Mondays?
• Her birthday is on 20 November.
• Where will you be on New Year’s Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend I don’t usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
at present He’s not home at present. Try later.
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s) on Monday evening
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
• I went to London last June. (not in last June)
• He’s coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
• I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
• We’ll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
CONJUCTIONS
A conjunction is a word that “joins”. A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.
Here are some example conjunctions:
Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.
Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:
• Single Wordfor example: and, but, because, although
• Compound (often ending with as or that)for example: provided that, as long as, in order that
• Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)for example: so…that
Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or “jobs”:
• Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
– Jack and Jill went up the hill.
– The water was warm, but I didn’t go swimming.
• Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example:
– I went swimming although it was cold.
Position
• Coordinating conjunctionsalways come between the words or clauses that they join.
• Subordinating conjunctions
COORDINATING CONJUCTIONS
The short, simple conjunctions are called “coordinating conjunctions”:
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so
A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating
conjunction shows that the elements it joins are similar in importance and structure:
Look at these examples
– the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in square brackets [ ]:
I like [tea] and [coffee].
[Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join. When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a comma before the conjunction: I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at university. However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really essential:
She is kind so she helps people.
When “and” is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:
He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.
He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.
The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short, simple words. They have only two or three letters. There’s an easy way to remember them – their initials spell:
F-For
A-And
N-Nor
B-But
O-Or
Y-Yet
S-So
SUBORDINATING CONJUCTIONS
A subordinating conjunction joins asubordinate clause to a main clause.
The following is a list of the most common subordinating conjunctions.
after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while
An adverb clause is always introduced by a subordinating conjunction. A noun clause and adjective clause sometimes are.
Adverb clause: Before you go, sign the log book.
Noun clause: He asked if he could leave early.
Adjective clause: That is the place where he was last seen.
A subordinating conjunction is always followed by a clause. Many subordinating conjunctions can be other parts of speech.
Adverb: Jill came tumbling after.
Preposition:Jill came tumbling after Jack.
Subordinating Conjunction: Jill came tumbling after Jack had fallen.
QUESTION AND TAGS
INTRODUCTION
A question tag is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a “tag question”, and the mini-question at the end is called a “question tag”.
We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a comment and so keep the conversation open.
Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag..
The basic structure is:
Statement Question Tag
+
Positive statement, –
negative tag?
Snow is white, isn’t it?
–
Negative statement, +
positive tag?
You don’t like me, do you?
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: “Am I right?” or “Do you agree?” They are very common in English.
Notice that the question tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive.
RULES
Here are some rules to follow:
1.QUESTION TAG = AUXILIARY + PERSONAL PRONOUN:
Tony can run really fast, can’t he?
The twins are very nice, aren’t they?
2.If there is no auxiliary in the statement, use a form of do in the question tag:
Mum cooks fantastic meals, doesn’tshe?
3. Positive statements => Negativequestion tags;
Negative statements => Positivequestion tags:
That’s your workbook, isn’t it?
That’s not true, is it?
They will help us, won’t they?
4. Orders and commands are followed by “will you”:
Don’t open the windows, will you?
Help your dad in the garage, will you?
5. Let’s is followed by “shall we”:
Let’s start homework now, shall we?
Let’s go shopping, shall we?
6. AND DON’T FORGET:
The question tag “am I not” is totally incorrect; always say: “aren’t I”:
I am late, aren’t I?
The statements and the question tags take the same tenses:
Bob helped you a lot, didn’t he?
You will help me tomorrow, won’t you?
EXAMPLE
There are five ways in which we normally use question tags and they are easily explained here.
1. Positive/negative
If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative.
Example: “He’s a doctor, isn’t he?”
Example: “You work in a bank, don’t you?” ( Note that if there is not an auxiliary use do, does, or didn’t at the end of the sentence)
If the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.
Example: “You haven’t met him, have you?”
Example: “She isn’t coming, is she?”
2. With auxiliary verbs
The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘have’, ‘be’) then the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.
Example: “They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?”
Example: “They weren’t here, were they?”
Example: “He had met him before, hadn’t he?”
Example: “This isn’t working, is it?”
3. Without auxiliary verbs
If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.
Example: “I said that, didn’t I?”
Example: “You don’t recognise me, do you?”
Example: “She eats meat, doesn’t she?”
4. With modal verbs
If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal verb.
Example: “They couldn’t hear me, could they?”
Example: “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
5. With ‘I am’
Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. The question tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’
Example: “I’m the fastest, aren’t I?”
or in a negative form we use the same “am” form at the end as in the positive form of the sentence.
Example: “I’m not fat , am I?”
ARTICLES
INTRODUCTION
The 3 articles in English are a, anand the. The learner has to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to use.
The word a (which becomes an when the next word begins with a vowel – a, e, i, o, u) is called the indefinite article because the noun it goes with is indefinite or general. The meaning of the article a is similar to the number one, but one is stronger and gives more emphasis. It is possible to say I have a book or I have one book, but the second sententence emphasizes that I do not have two or three or some other number of books.
The word the is known as the definite article and indicates a specific thing. The difference between the sentences I sat on a chair and I sat on the chair is that the second sentence refers to a particular, specific chair, not just any chair.
Many nouns, especially singular forms of countable nouns must have an article. In English, it is not possible to say I sat on chair without an article, but a demonstrative or possessive adjective can be used instead of an article as in the sentences I sat on that chair and I sat on his chair.
USAGE
Uncount nouns
You cannot say a/an with an uncount noun.
You cannot put a number in front of an uncount noun. (You cannot make an uncount noun plural.)
You use an uncount noun with no article if you mean that thing in general.
You use the with an uncount noun when you are talking about a particular example of that thing.
Count nouns
You can put a number in front of a count noun. (You can make a count noun plural.)
You can put both a/an and the in front of a count noun.
You must put an article** in front of a singular count noun.
You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing.
You usually use a/an with a count noun the first time you say or write that noun.
You use the with count nouns:
the second and subsequent times you use the noun in a piece of speech or writing
when the listener knows what you are referring to (maybe because there is only one of that thing)
You use an (not a) when the next word (adverb, adjective, noun) starts with a vowel sound.
Note:
The above rules apply whether there is or there is not an adjective in front of the noun.
Some nouns can be either count or uncount, depending on the context and meaning:
Do you have paper? I want to draw a picture. (uncount = a sheet of paper)
Can you get me a paper when you’re at the shop? (count = a newspaper)
Uncount nouns are often preceded by phrases such as: a lot of .. (luck), a piece of .. (cake), a bottle of .. (milk), a grain of .. (rice).
* Instead of an article, the noun can also be preceded by a determiner such as this, that, some, many or my, his, our, etc
Following are some of the most important guidelines listed above, with example sentences:
You use an uncount noun with no article
if you mean all or any of that thing. I need help!
I don’t eat cheese.
Do you like music?
You use the with an uncount
noun when you are talking about
a particular example of that thing. Thanks for the help you gave me yesterday.
I didn’t eat the cheese. It was green!
Did you like the music they played at the dance?
You usually use a/an with a count noun
the first time you say or write that noun. Can I borrow a pencil, please?
There’s a cat in the garden!
Do you have an mp3 player?
You use the with count nouns the second
and subsequent times you use the noun,
or when the listener already knows what you
are referring to (maybe because there is
only one of that thing). Where’s the pencil I lent you yesterday?
I think the cat belongs to the new neighbours.
I dropped the mp3 player and it broke.
Please shut the door!
You use a plural count noun with no
article if you mean all or any of that thing. I don’t like dogs.
Do they have children?
I don’t need questions. Give me answers!
INTERJECTIONS
Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah!They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written. The table below shows some interjections with examples.
Interjections like er and um are also known as “hesitation devices”. They are extremely common in English. People use them when they don’t know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.
interjection meaning example
ah expressing pleasure “Ah, that feels good.”
expressing realization “Ah, now I understand.” expressing resignation
“Ah well, it can’t be heped.” expressing surprise “Ah! I’ve won!”
alas expressing grief or pity “Alas, she’s dead now.”
dear expressing pity “Oh dear! Does it hurt?”
expressing surprise “Dear me! That’s a surprise!” eh
asking for repetition “It’s hot today.” “Eh?” “I said it’s hot today.” expressing enquiry
“What do you think of that, eh?” expressing surprise “Eh! Really?”
inviting agreement “Let’s go, eh?” er
expressing hesitation “Lima is the capital of…er…Peru.” hello, hullo
expressing greeting “Hello John. How are you today?” expressing surprise
“Hello! My car’s gone!” hey calling attention
“Hey! look at that!” expressing surprise, joyetc “Hey! What a good idea!”
hi expressing greeting “Hi! What’s new?”
hmm expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement “Hmm. I’m not so sure.”
oh, o expressing surprise “Oh! You’re here!”
expressing pain “Oh! I’ve got a toothache.” expressing pleading
“Oh, please say ‘yes’!” ouch expressing pain
“Ouch! That hurts!” uh expressing hesitation
“Uh…I don’t know the answer to that.” uh-huh expressing agreement
“Shall we go?” “Uh-huh.” um, umm expressing hesitation
“85 divided by 5 is…um…17.” well expressing surprise
“Well I never!” introducing a remark “Well, what did he say?”
TENSES
The English Tense System
Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100 native English speakers in the street and asked them about tense, one of them might give you an intelligent answer if you were lucky. The other 99 would know little about terms like “past perfect” or “present continuous”. And they would know nothing about aspect, voice or mood. But they can all speak fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it helps to know about tenses, but don’t become obsessed with them. Be like those native speakers! Speak naturally!
The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:
• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?
Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.
Present Tense
I do do, I do
Present Continuous Tense
I am doing, I am doing tomorrow
Present Perfect Tense
I have done
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been doing
Past Tense
I did do, I did
Past Continuous Tense
I was doing
Past Perfect Tense
I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been doing
Future Tense
I will do
Future Continuous Tense
I will be doing
Future Perfect Tense
I will have done
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been doing
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
How do we make the Simple Present Tense?
subject + auxillary verb + main verb
do – base
There are three important exceptions:
1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.
Look at these examples with the main verb like:
subject auxillary verb main verb
+ I, you, we, they like coffee.
He, she, it likes coffee.
– I, you, we, they do not like coffee.
He, she, it does not like coffee.
? Do I, you, we, they like coffee?
Does he, she, it like coffee?
Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:
subject main verb
+ I am French
You, we, they are French
He, she, it is French
– I am not old
You, we, they are not old
He, she, it is not old
? Am I late?
Are you, we, they late?
Is he, she, it late?
How do we use the Simple Present Tense?
We use the simple present tense when:
• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true
John drives a taxi.
past present future
It is John’s job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future
Look at these examples:
• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?
Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb “to be” in the simple present tense—some of them are general, some of them are now:
Am I right?
Tara is not at home.
You are happy.
past present future
The situation is now.
I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
past present future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.
PRESENT CONTINOUS
I am singing
We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use.
How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
be base + ing
Look at these examples:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I am speaking to you.
+ You are reading this
– She is not staying in London.
– We are not playing football.
? Is he watching TV?
? Are they waiting for John?
How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?
We use the present continuous tense to talk about:
• action happening now
• action in the future
Present continuous tense for action happening now
a) for action happening exactly now
I am eating my lunch.
past present future
The action is happening now.
Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time…
…the pages are turning. …the candle is burning. …the numbers are spinning.
b) for action happening around now
The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual.
Look at these examples:
• Muriel is learning to drive.
• I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.
Present continuous tense for the future
We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future—if we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. “Future words” include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking.
I am taking my exam next month.
past present future
. !!!
A firm plan or programme exists now. The action is in the future.
Look at these examples:
• We’re eating in a restaurant tonight. We’ve already booked the table..
• They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They’re not working.
• When are you starting your new job?
In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan were madebefore speaking.
How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?
Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb:
work > working
play > playing
assist > assisting
see > seeing
be > being
Exception1 If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter:
s t o p
consonant stressedvowel consonant
(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)
stop > stopping
run > running
begin > beginning
Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed:
open > opening
Exception2 If the base verb ends in ie, change the ieto y:
lie > lying
die > dying
Exception3 If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:
come > coming
mistake > mistaking
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
I have sung
The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, thestructure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with theuse of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.
How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
have past participle
Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I have seen ET.
+ You have eaten mine
She has not been to Rome
We have not played football
? Have you finished?
? Have they done it?
Contractions with the present perfect tense
When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.
He’s or he’s??? Be careful! The ‘s contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs have and be. For example, “It’s eaten” can mean:
• It haseaten. [present perfect tense, active voice]
• It is eaten. [present tense, passive voice]
It is usually clear from the context.
I have I’ve
You have You’ve
He has
She has
It has
John has
The car has
He’s
She’s
It’s
John’s
The car’s
We have We’ve
They have They’ve
Here are some examples:
• I’ve finished my work.
• John’s seen ET.
• They’ve gone home.
How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?
This tense is called the presentperfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:
experience
change
continuing situation
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINOUS
I have been singing
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:
subject + auxillary verb + auxillary verb + main verb
have
has been base+ing
Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:
subject auxillary verb auxillary verb main verb
+ I have been waiting for one hour.
+ You have been talking too much.
It has not been raining.
We have not been playing fotball.
? Have you . been seeing her?
? Have they been doing their homework?
Contractions
When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.
I have been I’ve been
You have been You’ve been
He has been
She has been
It has been
John has been
The car has been He’s been
She’s been
It’s been
John’s been
The car’s been
We have been we’ve been
They have been They’ve been
Here are some examples:
• I’ve been reading.
• The car’s been giving trouble.
• We’ve been playing tennis for two hours.
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
This tense is called the presentperfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with thepresent or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:
FOR CONTINUING SITUATION
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually usefor or since with this structure.
I have worked here since June.
He has been ill for 2 days.
How long have you known Tara?
past present future
~
The situation started in the past. It continues up to now. (It will probably continue into the future.)
Connection with past:. the situation started in the past
Connection with present:.the situation continues in the present.
For & Since with Present Perfect Tense
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
We use for to talk about aperiod of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.
We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o’clock, 1st January, Monday.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
~ x———-
20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
etc etc
Here are some examples:
• I have been here for 20 minutes.
• I have been here since 9 o’clock.
• John hasn’t called for 6 months.
• John hasn’t called since February.
• He has worked in New York for a long time.
• He has worked in New York sincehe left school.
FOR CHANGE
We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or newinformation:
I have bought a car.
past present future
– +
Last week I didn’t have a car Now I have a car.
John has broken his leg.
past present future
+ –
Yesterday John had a good leg. Now he has a bad leg.
Has the price gone up?
past present future
+ –
Was the price $1.50 yesterday? Is the price $1.70 today?
The police have arrested the killer.
past present future
– +
Yesterday the killer was free Now he is in prison.
Connection with past: the past is the
opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past. Americans do not use the present perfect tense so much as British speakers. Americans often use the past tense instead. An American might say “Did you have lunch?”, where a British person would say “Have you had lunch?”
FOR EXPERIENCE
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested inwhen you did something. We only want to know if you did it:
I have seen ET.
He has lived in Bangkok.
Have you been there?
We have never eaten caviar.
past present future
~ !!! ~
The action or state was in the past. In my head, I have a memory now. ~
Connection with past:the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head,now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it.
PAST TENSE
SIMPLE PAST
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:
• past form only
or
• auxiliary did + base form
Here you can see examples of thepast form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:
V1
base V2
past V3
past participle
regular verb work
explode
like worked
exploded
liked worked exploded liked The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed.
irregular verb go
see
sing went
saw
sang gone seen sung The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.
. You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only.
The structure forpositive sentences in the simple past tense is:
subject + main verb
past
The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
did base
The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:
auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
did base
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
+ I went to school
+ You worked very hard
She did not go with me
We did not work yesterday
? Did you go to London?
? Did they work at home?
Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we donotuse an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:
subject main verb
+ I, he/she/it was here.
+ You, we, they were in London.
I, he/she/it was not there.
You, we, they were not happy.
? Was I, he/she/it right?
? Were you, we, they late?
How do we use the Simple Past Tense?
We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation—an event—in the past. The event can be short or long.
Here are some short events with the simple past tense:
The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?
past present future
The action is in the past.
Here are some long events with the simple past tense:
I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?
past present future
The action is in the past.
Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:
• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the timeand/or place of the event
In general, if we say the time or placeof the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:
• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn’t like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?
Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to “set the scene”, but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story: “The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, andordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his…”
This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or ifsentences.
PAST CONTINOUS TENSE
I was singing
The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.
How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
conjugated in simple past tense present participle
was
were base + ing
For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:
subject auxillary verb main verb
+ I was watching TV
+ You were working hard
He, she, it was not helping Mary
We were not joking
? Were you being silly?
? Were they playing football?
How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?
The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.
past present future
At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV. At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV .
When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
• I was working at 10pm last night.
• They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
• What were you doing at 10pm last night?
• What were you doing when he arrived?
• She was cooking when I telephoned her.
• We were having dinner when it started to rain.
• Ram went home early because itwas snowing.
Some verbs cannot be used in
continuous/progressive tenses.
We often use the past continuous tense to “set the scene” in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:
” James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box…”
Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense
We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when orwhile.
In the following example, we have two actions:
1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense
2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense
past present future
Long action.
I was watching TV at 8pm.
8pm
You telephoned at 8pm.
Short action.
We can join these two actions withwhen:
• I was watching TV when you telephoned.
(Notice that “when you telephoned” is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)
We use:
• when + short action (simple past tense)
• while + long action (past continuous tense)
There are four basic combinations:
I was walking past the car when it exploded.
when the car exploded I was walking past it.
The car exploded while I was walking past it.
While I was walking past the car it exploded.
Notice that the long action and short action are relative.
• Notice that the long action and short action are relative.
• “Walking past the car” took a few seconds. “Exploded” took a few milliseconds
PAST PERFECT TENSE
I had sung
The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the “past in the past”.
How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?
The structure of the past perfect tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb
conjugated in simple past tense past participle
had V3
For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not. between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:
subject auxillary verb main verb
+ I had finished my work
+ You had stopped before me
– She had not gone to school
– We had not left
? Had you arrived?
? Had they eaten dinner
When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I had I’d
you had you’d
he had
she had
it had he’d
she’d
it’d
we had we’d
they had they’d
The ‘d contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we’d can mean:
• We had
or
• We would
But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:
• We had arrived (past participle)
• We would arrive (base)
It is always clear from the context.
How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?
The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past For example:
• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the trainhad left.
The train had left when we arrived.
past present future
Train leaves in past at 9am.
9
We arrive in past at 9.15am.
Look at some more examples:
• I wasn’t hungry. I had just eaten.
• They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
• I didn’t know who he was. I hadnever seen him before.
• “Mary wasn’t at home when I arrived.”
“Really? Where had she gone?”
You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.
past perfect tense present perfect tense
had
done
have
done
>
past now future past now future
For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:
• “You are too late. The train has left.”
Later, you tell your friends:
• “We were too late. The train had left.”
We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs likesaid, told, asked, thought, wondered:
Look at these examples:
• He told us that the train had left
• I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
• He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
• I wondered if I had been there before.
• I asked them why they had not finished.
PAST PERFECT CONTINOUS
I had been singing
How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
conjugated in simple past tense past participle present participle
had been base+ing
For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insertnot after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:
subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb
+ I had been working.
+ You had been playing tennis.
– It had not been working well.
– We had not been expecting her.
? Had you been drinking?
? Had they been waiting long?
When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb:
I had been I’d been
you had been you’d been
he had been
she had been
it had been
he’d been
she’d been
it’d been
we had been we’d been
they had been they’d been
How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the pastbefore another action in the past. For example:
• Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.
Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived.
past present future
Ram starts waiting in past at 9am.
9 11
I arrive in past at 11am.
Here are some more examples:
• John was very tired. He had been running
• I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.
• Suddenly, my car poke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time.
• Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?
You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.
past perfect continuous tense present perfect continuous tense
had |
been |
doing |
had |
been |
doing |
past now future past now future
For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:
• “I am angry. I have been waitingfor two hours.”
Later, you tell your friends:
• “Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours.”
FUTURE TENSE
I will sing
The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.
How do we make the Simple Future Tense?
The structure of the simple future tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb
invariable base
will V1
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:
. .
subject auxillary verb main verb
+ I will open the door
+ You will finish before me
She will not be at school tomorrow
We will not leave yet.
? Will you arrive on time?
? Will they want dinner?
When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I will I’ll
you will you’ll
he will
she will
it will he’ll
she’ll
it’ll
we will we’ll
they will they’ll
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won’t, like this:
I will not I won’t
you will not you won’t
he will not
she will not
it will not he won’t
she won’t
it won’t
we will not we won’t
they will not they won’t
How do we use the Simple Future Tense?
No Plan
We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:
• Hold on. I’ll get a pen.
• We will seewhat we can do to help you.
• Maybe we ‘ll stay inandwatchtelevision tonight.
In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.
We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:
• I think I’ll go to the gym tomorrow.
• I think I will have a holiday next year.
• I don’t think I’ll buy that car.
Prediction
We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
• It will rain tomorrow.
• Peoplewon’t goto Jupiter before the 22nd century.
• Who do you think will get the job
Be
When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples:
• I’ll be in London tomorrow.
• I’m going shopping. won’t be very long.
• Will yoube at work tomorrow?
FUTURE CONTINOUS TENSE
I will be singing
How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?
The structure of the future continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
invariable invariable present participle
will be base + ing
For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert notbetween will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subjectand will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:
subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb
+ I will be working at 10am.
+ You will be lying on a beach tommorow
– She will not be using the car.
– We will not be having dinner at home
? Will you be playing football?
? Will they be watching TV?
When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:
I will I’ll
you will you’ll
he will
she will
it will
he’ll
she’ll
it’ll
we will we’ll
they will they’ll
For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won’t, like this:
I will not I won’t
you will not you won’t
he will not
she will not
it will not
he won’t
she won’t
it won’t
we will not we won’t
they will not they won’t
We sometimes use shallinstead of will, especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:
At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
past present future
4 pm
At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
• I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
• They won’t be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
• What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
• What will you be doing when I arrive?
• She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
• We ‘ll be having dinner when the film starts.
• Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
I will have sung
The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.
How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?
The structure of the future perfect tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb
. invariable . invariable . past participle
will have V3
Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:
. subject auxiliary verb . auxiliary verb main verb .
+ I will . have finished by 10am.
+ You will . have forgotten me by then
– She will not have gone to school.
– We will not have left .
? Will you . have arrived? .
? Will they . have received it?
In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subjectand will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:
I will have I’ll have I’ll’ve
you will have you’ll have you’ll’ve
he will have
she will have
it will have
he’ll have
she’ll have
it’ll have
he’ll’ve
she’ll’ve
it’ll’ve
we will have we’ll have we’ll’ve
they will have they’ll have they’ll’ve
We sometimes use shall instead of will,especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?
The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example:
• The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.
The train will have left when you arrive.
past present future
. . Train leaves in future at 9am.
9 . 9.15
. . You arrive in future at 9.15am.
Look at some more examples:
• You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
• They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
• “Mary won’t be at home when you arrive.”
“Really? Where will shehave gone?”
You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:
present perfect tense . future perfect tense
.
have
bone . . . .
will
have
done
. . .
past now future . past now future
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINOUS
I will have been singing
How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
The Structure of the future perfect continous tense is:
subject + auxillary verb
WILL + auxillary verb
HAVE + auxillary verb
BE + main verb
invariable invariable past participle
will have been base+ing
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:
subject auxillary verb auxillary verb auxillary verb main verb
+ I will have been working for four hours.
+ You will have been travelling for two days.
– She will not have been using the car.
– We will not have been waiting long.
? Will you have been playing football?
? Will they have been watching TV?
When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I will I’ll
you will you’ll
he will
she will
it will he’ll
she’ll
it’ill
we will we’ll
they will they’ll
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won’t, like this:
I will not I won’t
you will not you won’t
he will not
she will not
it will not he won’t
she won’t
it won’t
we will not we won’t
they will not they won’t
How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples:
• I will have been working here for ten years next week.
• He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.
PHRASES
Phrase- A group of words, which makes sense, but not complete sense, is called a Phrase. It is a group of related words without a Subject and a Verb.A Phrase consists of two or more words lacking a complete sense and a complete verb. It may consist of one or more incomplete verbs – the Infinitives or the Participles standing on their own.
Words/group of words in italics are phrases in examples below:
1).The sun rises in the east.
2). Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
3). She wore a hat with blue trimming.
4). The accident on the bridge was not serious.
5). The girl with red hair is an artist.
6). Sasha took a long leave.
7). Holding the toy, the child slept.
TYPE OF PHRASES
Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is either a single noun or pronoun or a group of words containing a noun or a pronoun that function together as a noun or pronoun, as the subject or object of a verb.
Examples:
All the kids were sleeping.
The boy in the blue jeans says he’ll do it.
He bought her a beautiful red dress.
Mom baked tasty chocolate cookies.
Julia was thinking about her friends back home.
Will you talk with these rude people?
You are a true hero.
My dog is my best friend.
Under the Noun phrase comes three another phrase they are:
-Appositive Phrase
An appositive (single word, phrase, or clause) renames another noun, not technically modifying it.
Example: “Bob, my best friend, works here” or “My best friend Bob works here.”
-Gerund Phrase
A gerund phrase is just a noun phrase with a gerund as its head.
Example: “I love baking cakes.”
-Infinitive Phrase
An infinitive phrase is a noun phrase with an infinitive as its head. Unlike the other noun phrases, however, an infinitive phrase can also function as an adjective or an adverb.
Example: “I love to bake cakes.”
Verb Phrase
In simple words, a verb of more than one word is called a verb phrase. It is a phrase consisting of a verb, its auxiliaries (helping verbs), its complements, and other modifiers. Auxiliary verbs always come before the main verb. A verb phrase is a syntactic unit that corresponds to the predicate. There are two types of auxiliary verbs. Inflected auxiliary verbs e.g. be, have, do and Modal auxiliary verbs e.g. will, should, must etc.
Examples:
She kept working like a machine.
They were being exploited.
Mom is making the room.
I came across these old books today.
Take off your clothes and jump in the lake.
TYPE OF PHRASES CONT’D
Adverbial Phrase
An adverbial phrase (AdvP) is a linguistic term for a group of two or more words operating adverbially, when viewed in terms of their syntactic function.
Example:
I’ll go to bed soon.
Adjectival Phrase
An adjective phrase usually starts with a preposition (e.g., of, in, on) or a participle (e.g., taken, leaving) and follows the noun it is modifying.
Examples:
This is the end of a very long road.
Did you see the man leaving the shop?
Participial Phrase
participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed.
Examples:
Dancing under the moon, she found perfect happiness.
Bitten by dog, he limped home in pain. leaving the shop?
Prepositional Phrase
Examples:
There are two children on a sled.
In this garden there are many strawberries.
The woman in the blue coat is looking for her dog.
Absolute Phrase
An absolute phrase modifies an entire sentence instead of a single word in the sentence.An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or objects.
Examples:
Legs quivering
Her arms folded across her chest
Our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the plates
INTRODUCTION
Idioms combination of words that has a figurative meaning .Meaning Of Idioms cannot be understood by refering an english dictionary.
For example, ” easygoing “An English dictionary would explain that “easy ” means simple, not difficult “, and that ” going ” means traveling from one place to another. Thus you could literally translate easygoing as meaning the path from one place to another is not complicated or physically far, by adding together these dictionary meanings. But this interpretation is NOT CORRECT. Idiomatically, we mean that such a person’s personality is warm, friendly, pleasant, and helpful.
Examples:
A piece of cake
Meaning: Easy, simple to do, no difficulties.
A drop in the ocean
Meaning: A very small part of something.
Idioms and Their Meanings.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Meaning: You love a person more when they are away.
Et tu, Brutus?
Meaning: Apparently the last words of Julius Caesar.
Brand spanking new
Meaning: A new or unused object.
Break a leg
Meaning: To wish good luck.
Cat bird seat
Meaning: To be a vantage point.
Chew the fat
Meaning: To talk about unimportant things.
Clear as bell
Meaning: To be understood clearly.
Cold Turkey
Meaning: To quit something abruptly and experience severe withdrawal symptoms.
EXAMPLES
Idioms with Examples
* Blessing in disguise
Something good which isn’t recognized in the first instant.
Eg.Getting out of the place was a blessing in disguise for me.
* A doubting Thomas
A skeptic person who needs a tangible evidence to believe.
Eg.My boss is a doubting Thomas, there is no point trying to convince him.
* A dime a dozen
Something that is available in plenty and commonly.
Eg.Such bags are available dime a dozen on Fashion Street.
* A leopard can’t change his spots
You can’t change who you are.
Eg.It’s true a leopard can’t change his spots, but he sure can change his strategy.
* Against the clock
A hectic dash or running against time.
Eg.Finishing the paper was a race against the clock.
* Cry wolf
To intentionally give a false alarm.
Eg.”Stop crying wolf, or else no one will come to your help in case of need.”
* Devil’s advocate
Someone who takes a position in an argument without knowing the truth. Or someone who counters the argument without believing in it.
Eg.He is just playing devil’s advocate. Don’t fall for the trap.
* Turn over a new leaf
Changing for the better
Eg.After Ajith was released from prison, he decided to turn over a new leaf and become an honest man.
* Hit below the belt
To act in an unfair matter
Eg.The candidate of the opposition party spread false rumours about the Minister. People felt that he was hitting below the belt.
* Gift of the gab
The ability to speak well
Eg.The ability to speak well
DETERMINERS
A Determiner is a word, phrase or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. That is, a determiner may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.Common kinds of determiners include definite and indefinite articles (like the English the and a[n]), demonstratives (like this and that), possessive determiners (like my and their), and quantifiers (like many, few and several).
Examples
• The girl is a student.
• I’ve lost my keys.
• Some folks get all the luck.
• Which book is that?
• I only had thirty-seven drinks.
• I’ll take this one.
• Both windows were open.
TYPES
Types of determiners
Articles
The definite and indefinite articles are all determiners.
Definite article – the
Indefinite article – a or an (a is used before a consonant sound; an is used before a vowel sound.)
Close the door, please.
I’ve got a friend in Canada.
Demonstratives
There are four demonstrative determiners in English and they are: this, that, these and those
Note that demonstrative determiners can also be used as demonstrative pronouns. When they are used as determiners they are followed by the nouns they modify. Compare:
This is my camera. (Demonstrative used as a pronoun, subject of the verb is)
This camera is mine. (Demonstrative used as a determiner modifying the noun camera.)
Possessives
Possessive adjectives – my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their – modify the noun following it in order to show possession.
Possessive determiners are different from possessive pronouns – mine, his, hers, yours, ours, their.
Possessive pronouns can stand alone and are not followed by nouns.
Possessive determiners, on the other hand, are followed by nouns.
Compare:
This is my house. (my is a possessive determiner. It is followed by the noun house which it modifies)
Is that car yours? (yours is a possessive pronoun. It is not followed by a noun.)
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are followed by nouns which they modify. Examples of quantifiers include:
some, any, few, little, more, much, many, each, every, both, all, enough, half, little, whole, less etc.
Quantifiers are commonly used before either countable or uncountable nouns.
He knows more people than his wife.
Little knowledge is a dangerous thing .
Numerals
Numbers are cardinal (one, two, three, etc) and ordinal (first, second, third, etc). Cardinal numbers are adjectives that indicate quantity (There are five apples on the table), and ordinal numbers indicate rank or order (This is the first time for me on a plane).
There are five apples on the table
Distributives
The words all, both, half, each, every, either and neither are known as distributives.
All my life I have been waiting for this moment.
Both the dogs have passed away.
Half the village perished in the floods.
REPORTED SPEECH
Reported Speech also called Indirect Speech or indirect discourse , is a means of expressing the content of statements, questions or other utterances, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech.It is used to communicate what someone else said,think or believe but without using the exact words. A few changes are necessary; often a pronoun has to be changed and the verb is usually moved back a tense, where possible.
For example, He said “I’m coming” is direct speech, whereas He said he was coming is indirect speech.
Reported speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like “say“, “tell“, “ask“, and we may use the word “that” to introduce the reported words. Reported speech doesn’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said.
For example:
Direct speech:
– “I’m going to the English course”, he said.
Reported speech:
– He said that he was going to the English course.
When reporting questions, it is especially important to pay attention to sentence order. When reporting yes/ no questions connect the reported question using “if”. When reporting questions using question words (why, where, when, etc.) use the question word.
He asked, “Do you want to come with me to Ireland?”
* He asked me if I wanted to come with him to Ireland.
Peter asked, “Where did you go last summer?”
* Dave asked me where I had gone the previous summer.
REPORTED STATEMENTS
The tenses generally move backwards in this way(Backshift of tenses)
from to
Simple Present Simple Past
Simple Past Past Perfect
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
will would
Progressive forms
am/are/is was/were
was/were had been
has been
had been
Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech
present simple “I like ice cream” She said (that) she liked ice cream.
present continuous “I am living in London” She said she was living in London.
past simple “I bought a car” She said she had bought a car OR She said she bought a car.
past continuous “I was walking along the street” She said she had been walking along the street.
present perfect “I haven’t seen Julie” She said she hadn’t seen Julie.
past perfect* “I had taken English lessons before” She said she had taken English lessons before.
will “I’ll see you later” She said she would see me later.
would* “I would help, but..” She said she would help but…
can “I can speak perfect English” She said she could speak perfect English.
could* “I could swim when I was four” She said she could swim when she was four.
shall “I shall come later” She said she would come later.
should* “I should call my mother” She said she should call her mother
might* “I might be late” She said she might be late
must “I must study at the weekend” She said she must study at the weekend OR She said she had to study at the weekend
* doesn’t change
Occasionally, we don’t need to change the present tense into the past if the information in direct speech is still true (but this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):
Direct speech: “The sky is blue”
Reported speech: She said that the sky is/was blue
REPORTED QUESTIONS
So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about questions?
Direct speech: “Where do you live?”
How can we make the reported speech here?
In fact, it’s not so different from reported statements. The tense changes are the same, and we keep the question word. The very important thing though is that, once we tell the question to someone else, it isn’t a question any more. So we need to change the grammar to a normal positive sentence. Confusing? Sorry, maybe this example will help:
Direct speech: “Where do you live?”
Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.
Do you see how I made it? The direct question is in the present simple tense. We make a present simple question with ‘do’ or ‘does’ so I need to take that away. Then I need to change the verb to the past simple.
Another example:
Direct speech: “where is Julie?”
Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.
The direct question is the present simple of ‘be’. We make the question form of the present simple of be by inverting (changing the position of)the subject and verb. So, we need to change them back before putting the verb into the past simple.
Here are some more examples:
Direct Question Reported Question
“Where is the Post Office, please?” She asked me where the Post Office was.
“What are you doing?” She asked me what I was doing.
“Who was that fantastic man?” She asked me who that fantastic man had been.
So much for ‘wh’ questions. But, what if you need to report a ‘yes / no’ question? We don’t have any question words to help us. Instead, we use ‘if’:
Direct speech: “Do you like chocolate?”
Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.
No problem? Here are a few more examples:
Direct Question Reported Question
“Do you love me?” He asked me if I loved him.
“Have you ever been to Mexico?” She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.
“Are you living here?” She asked me if I was living here.
REPORTED ORDERS
Finally, how about if someone doesn’t ask so politely? We can call this an ‘order’ in English, when someone tells you very directly to do something. For example:
Direct speech: “Sit down!”
In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use ‘tell’ instead of ‘ask’:
Reported speech: She told me to sit down.
Direct Order Reported Order
“Go to bed!” He told the child to go to bed.
“Don’t worry!” He told her not to worry.
“Be on time!” He told me to be on time.
“Don’t smoke!” He told us not to smoke.
TIME EXPRESSIONS
Time Expressions with Reported Speech
Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change time expressions too. We don’t always have to do this, however. It depends on when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.
For example:
It’s Monday. Julie says “I’m leaving today”.
If I tell someone on Monday, I say “Julie said she was leaving today”.
If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say “Julie said she was leaving yesterday”.
If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say “Julie said she was leaving on Monday”.
If I tell someone a month later, I say “Julie said she was leaving that day”.
So, there’s no easy conversion. You really have to think about when the direct speech was said.
Here’s a table of some possible conversions:
now then / at that time
today yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June
yesterday the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December
last night the night before, Thursday night
last week the week before / the previous week
tomorrow today / the next day / the following day / Friday
ACTIVE OR PASSIVE VOICE
INTRODUCTION
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
Active voice
Passive voice
The active voice is the “normal” voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time.A feature of sentences in which the subject performs the action of the verb and the direct object is the goal or the recipient.
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action
RULES
Active/Passive Voice Rules Chart
The object of the verb takes the position of Subject.The Subject of the verb in the active voice becomes the object and is usually preceeded by the preposition ‘by’.The tense of the verb in the passive voice remains the same as in the active voice.In the passive voice, third form of the verb is used.
Tense Rules
Present Indefinite Tense is/am/are + V3
Present Continuous Tense is/am/are + being+V3;
Present Perfect Tense has/have + been + V3
Past Indefinite Tense was/were + V3
Past Continuous Tense was/were + being +V3
Past Perfect Tense had + been + V3;
Future Indefinite Tense ; will/shall + be + V3
Future Perfect Tense will/shall + have+been + V3
Modal Verb: will, shall, would should, can, could, may, might,must,ought to + V1 Modal Verb + be + V3
Infinity: to + V1 to be + V3
I, We, He, She, They are changed into tome, us, him, her, them
Take care of singular and plural nature of nouns or pronouns. Verb/helping verb requires to be adjusted accordingly.
Interrogative sentences beginning with ‘wh’ words like what, why, when etc. thequestion word is retained in the beginning of the sentence. An interrogative sentence in theactive voice remains an interrogative in the passive form. An imperative sentence is a sentence showing order, or request. So, accordingly, in the passive voice, we say: You are requested/ordered/advised + infinive with ‘to’.
Sentences involving order/advice are preferably changed into passive by using the word‘let’ or ‘should’. Please close the door. You are requested to close the door. Save your soul. Your soul should be saved. Let your soul be saved. Do it. Let it be done. It should be done. In some sentence the subject is understood type. Here the subject has to be suppliedaccording to the context while changing them into active form. The thief was arrested. (by the police.)
Preoposition attached with the verbs in the active form continue to be attached with themeven in the passive form. Please listen to him. You are requested to listen to him. He turneddown my proposal. My proposal was tuned down by him.k In the case of a verb having two objects in Active Voice, either of them can be retained inthe passive. Hari gave me an apple. I was given an apple by Hari. An apple was given to me byHari.
Intransitive verbs do not have passive forms. I go to school. Go is intransitive verb. Sono passive form. What is done, cannot be undone. What people do, they cannot undo.
Quasi Passive Verbs: The rose smells sweet. The rose is sweet when smelt. Quinine tastes bitter. Quinine is bitter when tasted. Lemons taste sour. Lemons are sour when tasted.
With some verbs, preposition ‘by’ is not used. Like know (to), surprise (at), annoy (with),contain (in), vex (with), please (with), displease (at), alarm (at), line (with), throng (with)
EXAMPLES
Examples of Passive
Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple Present Active: Rita writes a letter.
Passive: A letter is written by Rita.
Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.
Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
Present Perfect Active: Rita has written a letter.
Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.
Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.
Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.
Hilfsverben Active: Rita can write a letter.
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
Examples of Passive
Tense Subject Verb Object
Present Progressive Active: Rita is writing a letter.
Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.
Past Progressive Active: Rita was writing a letter.
Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.
Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter.
Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.
Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.
Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.
Conditional I Active: Rita would write a letter.
Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.
Conditional II Active: Rita would have written a letter.
Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2
Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.
Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita.
Passive: I was written a letter by Rita.
1. TYPE OF SENTENCE
The type of sentence is determined by the number and type of clauses it contains. It falls into one of the following:
Simple sentence
A simple sentence conveys a single idea. It has only one subject and one verb.
EXAMPLE: She is my girlfriend. / I am bored. / That is a fat monkey.
The verb in each sentence is in bold.
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The independent clause is called the main clause, and the dependent clause is called the subordinate clause. These clauses are joined by conjunctions which include: as, as if, even if, if, because, unless, etc.
EXAMPLE: As she is a big bully, I stay away from her. / I will do it if I have the time.
The main clauses are in bold; the subordinate clauses are not.
Compound Sentence
compound sentence is composed of at least two clauses or sentences joined together by a conjunction, i.e. words like: and, but, for, nor, or, so, therefore, either … or, neither … nor, not only … but also, etc., or punctuated by a semi-colon. A compound sentence consists of at least two Independent or Main Clauses and verbs. The subordinate or dependent clause may or may not be present in a compound sentence. It is possible for a compound sentence to have three, four or more independent clauses. But commonly, it contains only two clauses.
EXAMPLE:I am skinny and you are obese. (Two main clauses joined by a conjunction.)
EXAMPLE: I know what you know. (Main clause: I know; subordinate clause: what you know)
EXAMPLE: I always tell you what I know but you never tell me what you know.
The last example shows a sentence with two main clauses and two subordinate clauses.
Compound-complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
EXAMPLE: Although the car is old, it still runs well, and we intend to keep it.
2.PROPER SENTENCE CONJUNCTIONS
Time is usually placed at the end of a sentence.
EXAMPLE: I visited the Eiffel Tower in 1999.
Time may also be placed at the start of a sentence.
EXAMPLE: In 1999, I visited the Eiffel Tower.
Place comes before time in all cases.
EXAMPLE: I visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1999. I visited the Eiffel Tower in 1999 in Paris. (INCORRECT)
An adverb (in bold) is usually placed between the subject and the verb.
EXAMPLE: He often looks at the sky. EXAMPLE: She always grumbles about the weather. EXAMPLE: Tom seldom talks to anyone.
Some adverbs can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence.
EXAMPLE: Normally I go to the library with her. EXAMPLE: Sometimes I feel tired for nothing.
3. MODIFIER
A modifier is a word or a group of words that provide you with more information about a word or noun in a sentence. Modifiers can be adjectives, adverbs or phrases. They give sentences the exactness and accuracy of expression or detail that would otherwise be lacking. With the use of modifiers, we know how fast a duck walks, how fierce that dog is and how colourful the flowers on display are.
As mentioned, a modifier can be: an adjective: All her friends know she has a nasty temper. an adverb: I smiled sweetly at her, but she didn’t smile back. a phrase: How many of you love that monkey with the longest tail in the zoo?
DIRECT OBJECTSAND INDIRECT
As mentioned, a sentence has to be clear in its meaning. If I say “I saw”, my meaning is not clear to you. You may want to know what I saw. When I say, “I saw a ghost”, I named the thing or object that I saw, and my meaning becomes clear. The word “ghost” is the Direct Object of the verb “saw.” The object is the part of the sentence that undergoes the action of the verb, which in this case is saw. The direct object generally comes after the verb. (The verb saw is called a Transitive Verb. A transitive verb needs an object to complete a sentence and make its meaning clear.
. Some sentences have a subject and a verb. But most sentences have an object. The subject comes before the verb and the object comes after the verb.
EXAMPLE: The dog barks. (subject: dog; verb: barks. No object present).
EXAMPLE: The dog barks at him. (subject: dog; verb: barks: object: him).
. An object always comes after the verb.
EXAMPLE: A cat catches mice.
. Some verbs are not followed by an object.
EXAMPLE: His train departed at teno’clock. (No object).
. Some verbs have two objects a direct object and an indirect object. An Indirect Object is easily identified by its position in the sentence. It always comes before the direct object. It usually tells us why something is done.
EXAMPLE: He bought her a puppy. (A sentence that contains two/both objects.)
In the example, the indirect object is her and the direct object is a puppy.
Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object
A beggar gave me a coin
He showed the doctor his swollen nose
My parents lent us their bicycles
5. COMMON ERROR IN JOINING TWO SENTENCES
a) A common error is joining two sentences or two independent clauses incorrectly with an improper punctuation mark instead of using a correct punctuation mark which is the semi-colon, or using a conjunction as the following example shows. EXAMPLE: We don’t have a telephone, you will have to come round to the house. The two independent clauses in the sentence are incorrectly joined by a comma.
We can correct the sentence in the following ways:
Treat the two clauses as separate sentences with the use of a full-stop (period) for each sentence. We don’t have a telephone. You will have to come round to the house.
We can use a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) to create a compound sentence. We don’t have a telephone, so you will have to come round to the house.
We can turn one of the two clauses into a subordinate or dependent clause. Since we don’t have a telephone, you will have to come round to the house.
We can use the semicolon to create a compound sentence. We don’t have a telephone; you will have to come round to the hous
EXAMPLE: I helped them all I could, I even brought my tools to speed up the work. (INCORRECT) I helped them all I could; I even brought my tools to speed up the work. (CORRECT) I helped them all I could and I even brought my tools to speed up the work. (CORRECT)
b) A type of sentence error known as sentence fragment is a group of words that used together does not form a complete sentence.
A dependent clause is being used as a sentence. INCORRECT: Because she was the best candidate. INCORRECT: Since ten o’clock this morning. CORRECT: She got the job because she was the best candidate. CORRECT: I’ve been here since ten o’clock this morning.
The wrong form of a verb is used. INCORRECT: He eaten his lunch just a while ago. INCORRECT: He has showed her how to catch butterflies. CORRECT: He ate his lunch just a while ago. CORRECT: He has shown her how to catch butterflies.
c) Words and phrases should be put in their rightful places. EXAMPLES: The policeman is a very brave man who caught the thief. (INCORRECT) The policeman who caught the thief is a very brave man. (CORRECT)
PLURALS
How to make plurals?
Pluralisation in English can be a bit of a tricky game, and as with any language the key to mastering this aspect lies in practicing through reading and conversing until the variations that appear unpredictable in the beginning become second nature, a matter of habit. Having said that, there are certain principles that are generally applicable that make the task easier by giving us a broad idea of how common words are pluralised. Let us take a look at these.
For most nouns, add an ‘s’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Car Cars
Desk Desks
Tree Trees
Ball Balls
Hand Hands
For nouns that end with ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘z’, ‘ch’, or ‘sh’, add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Boss Bosses
Box Boxes
Topaz Topazes
Leech Leeches
Dish Dishes
For some words that end with ‘o’, add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Potato Potatoes
Echo Echoes
Hero Heroes
For some words that end with ‘o’, add ‘s’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Photo Photos
Piano Pianos
Logo Logos
Radio Radios
For some words ending with ‘f’, replace the ‘f’ with a ‘v’ and add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Thief Thieves
Loaf Loaves
Half Halves
Calf Calves
Leaf Leaves
For some words ending with ‘f’, add an ‘s’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Reefs Reefs
Roof Roofs
Chef Chefs
For some words ending with ‘ife’, replace the ‘f’ with a ‘v’ and add an ‘s’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Wife Wives
Knife Knives
Life Lives
For common nouns ending with a consonant followed by ‘y’, replace the ‘y’ with an ‘i’ and add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Nappy Nappies
Poppy Poppies
Fly Flies
Penny Pennies
Sty Sties
Some nouns are the same in both forms.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Fish Fish
Sheep Sheep
Deer Deer
Tuna Tuna
Trout Trout
For some nouns, other letters must be replaced or added, sometimes changing the words completely.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Person People
Ox Oxen
Child Children
Goose Geese
Man Men
Foot Feet
QUANTIFIERS
1.QUANTIFIERS INTRODUCTION
Quantifiers form a sub-class under determiners. They are adjectives or phrases that serve to answer two possible questions:
1. How many?
2. and How much?
For example: a few, a little, much, many, most, some, any, enough, etc., are quantifiers.
Quantifiers that describe quantity
Words and phrases that describe quantity include a little, none, a few, etc. Some of these are used only with:
Countable nouns – These are the nouns that answer the question How many? For example: a few, a number of, several, etc.
Uncountable nouns – These are the nouns that answer the question How much? For example: a little, a bit of, etc.)
Some of them are also used with both. These are the ones that answer both questions. For example: such as no/none, some, a lot of, etc.
2. QUANTIFIERS THAT EXPRESS
The words few, little and the phrases
– a few and a little serve to describe the speaker’s attitude to the quantity being described. The first two carry negative suggestions, whereas the last two carry positive suggestions. For e.g.:
The phrase I have little time means that the speaker hardly has time, whereas the phrase I have a little time means that while the speaker may not have all the time in the world, but s/he has enough for the purpose at hand.
‘Enough’
Enough is used to indicate the necessary amount or quantity; it is placed before nouns. For e.g.: There is enough time, You have enough money, Is there enough food?, etc.
3.COMPARATIVE QUANTIFIER
There are ten comparative or grade quantifiers: much, many, more, most, few, fewer, fewest, little, less, and least.
Much, many, more and most describe (in ascending order) increase; much is used only with uncountable nouns, many only with plural countable nouns, and more and most with both.
I have much time. < I have more time. < I have the most time.
I have many apples. < I have more apples. < I have the most apples.
Few, fewer, fewest, little, less and least chart decrease. The first three (in descending order) are used only with countable plural nouns. The last three (in descending order) are used only with uncountable nouns.
He has few friends. > He has fewer friends. > He has the fewest friends.
He has little time. > He has less time. > He has the least time.
CONDITIONAL
INTRODUCTION
What are conditionals in English grammar? Sometimes we call them ‘if clauses’. They describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened but didn’t (in the past) . They are made using different English verb tenses.
There are four kinds:
The Zero Conditional:
(if + present simple, … present simple)
If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
The First Conditional:
(if + present simple, … will + infinitive)
If it rains tomorrow, we’ll go to the cinema.
The Second Conditional:
(if + past simple, … would + infinitive)
If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
The Third Conditional
(if + past perfect, … would + have + past participle)
If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.
THE FIRST CONDITIONAL
The first conditional has the present simple after ‘if’, then the future simple in the other clause:
if + present simple, … will + infinitive
It’s used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we can’t know what will happen in the future, but this describes possible things, which could easily come true.
If it rains , I won’t go to the park.
If I study today, I ‘ll go to the party tonight.
If I have enough money, I ‘ll buy some new shoes.
She ‘ll be late if the train is delayed.
She ‘ll miss the bus if she doesn’t leave soon.
If I see her, I ‘ll tell her.
First vs. Zero Conditional:
The first conditional describes a particular situation, whereas the zero conditional describes what happens in general .
For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I’m talking about every time a person sits in the sun – the burning is a natural consequence of the sitting)
But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you’ll get burned (here I’m talking about what will happen today, another day might be different)
First vs. Second Conditional:
The first conditional describes things that I think are likely to happen in the future, whereas the second conditional talks about things that I don’t think will really happen. It’s subjective; it depends on my point of view.
For example (first conditional): If she studies harder, she’ll pass the exam (I think it’s possible she will study harder and so she’ll pass)
But (second conditional): If she studied harder, she would pass the exam (I think that she won’t study harder, or it’s very unlikely, and so she won’t pass)
THE SECOND CONDITIONAL
The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then ‘would’ and the infinitive:
if + past simple, …would + infinitive
(We can use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ with ‘I’ and ‘he/she/it’. This is mostly done in formal writing).
It has two uses.
First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. Maybe I’m imagining some dream for example.
If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won’t win the lottery)
If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
She would pass the exam if she ever studied .(She never studies, so this won’t happen)
Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible, because it’s not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:
If I had his number, I would call him. (I don’t have his number now, so it’s impossible for me to call him).
If I were you, I wouldn’t go out with that man.
How is this different from the first conditional?
This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more unlikely.
For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I’m probably not going to have this much money, it’s just a dream, not very real)
But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I’ll buy some new shoes (It’s much more likely that’ll have enough money to buy some shoes)
THE THIRD CONDITIONAL
We make the third conditional by using the past perfect after ‘if’ and then ‘would have’ and the past participle in the second part of the sentence:
if + past perfect, …would + have + past participle
It talks about the past. It’s used to describe a situation that didn’t happen, and to imagine the result of this situation.
If she had studied , she would have passed the exam (but, really we know she didn’t study and so she didn’t pass)
If I hadn’t eaten so much, I wouldn’t have felt sick (but I did eat a lot, and so I did feel sick).
If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn’t have missed the plane
She wouldn’t have been tired if she had gone to bed earlier
She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university
He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at nine
THE ZERO CONDITIONAL
We can make a zero conditional sentence with two present simple verbs (one in the ‘if clause’ and one in the ‘main clause’):
If + present simple, …. present simple.
This conditional is used when the result will always happen. So, if water reaches 100 degrees, it always boils. It’s a fact. I’m talking in general, not about one particular situation. The result of the ‘if clause’ is always the main cluase.
The ‘if’ in this conditional can usually be replaced by ‘when’ without changing the meaning.
For example: If water reaches 100 degrees, it boils . (It is always true, there can’t be a different result sometimes). If I eat peanuts, I am sick. (This is true only for me, maybe, not for everyone, but it’s still true that I’m sick every time I eat peanuts)
Here are some more examples:
If people eat too much, they get fat.
If you touch a fire, you get burned.
People die if they don’t eat .
You get water if you mix hydrogen and oxygen.
Snakes bite if they are scared
USE OF SHOULD
We use ‘should’ for giving advice.
You should speak to him about it.
He should see a doctor.
We should ask a lawyer.
We use ‘should’ to give an opinion or a recommendation.
He should resign now.
We should invest more in Asia.
They should do something about this terrible train service.
‘should’ expresses a personal opinion and is much weaker and more personal than ‘must’ or ‘have to’. It is often introduced by ‘ I think’.
I think they should replace him.
I don’t think they should keep the contract.
Do you think we should tell her.
We can use ‘should’ after ‘reporting verbs’ such as
demand insist propose recommend suggest
He demanded that we shouldpay for the repair.
She insisted that she should pay for the meal.
I have proposed that he shouldtake charge of the organization.
The committee recommends that Jane should be appointed.
We have suggested that Michael should be given a reward for his hard work.
However, it is also possible to say exactly the same thing by omitting the ‘should’ and just using the infinitive form without ‘to’ . Some people call this the ‘subjunctive’ form.
He demanded that we pay for the repair.
She insisted that she pay for the meal.
I have proposed that he take charge of the organization.
The committee recommends that Jane be appointed.
We have suggested that Michael be given a reward for his hard work.
We can use ‘should’ after various adjectives. Typical examples are :
funny interesting natural odd strange surprised surprising typical
It’s funny that you should say that. I was thinking exactly the same thing.
It’s interesting that they shouldoffer him the job. Not an obvious choice.
It’s natural that you should be anxious. Nobody likes speaking in public.
Isn’t it odd that he should be going to the same tiny hotel? What a coincidence.
It’s strange that you should think so. Nobody else does.
We can use ‘should’ in ‘if clauses’ when we believe that the possibility of something happening is small.
If you should happen to see him before I do, can you tell him that I want to speak to him urgently?
If there should be a problem, just give me a call and I’ll sort it out.
If anyone should ask where I am, say I’m in a meeting.
We use ‘should’ in various fixed expressions.
To show strong agreement
They’re paying you compensation? I should think so.
To express pleasure when you receive a gift
What a fantastic present. You really shouldn’t have.
To emphasize a visible emotion
You should have seen the look on her face when she found out that she had got the promotion.
1. USE OF WISH
Let’s start off with the easy part. ‘ I wish to’ can mean the same as ‘I want to’ but it is much, much more formal and much, much less common.
I wish to make a complaint.
I wish to see the manager.
You can also use ‘wish’ with a noun to ‘offer good wishes’.
I wish you all the best in your new job.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
Notice that when you want to offer good wishes using a verb, you must use ‘hope ‘ and not ‘wish’.
We wish you the best of luck.
We hope you have the best of luck.
I wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.
However, the main use of ‘wish’ is to say that we would like things to be different from what they are, that we have regrets about the present situation.
I wish I was rich.
He wishes he lived in Paris.
They wish they’d chosen a different leader.
2. USE OF WISH CONTINUED
Notice that the verb tense which follows ‘I wish’ is ‘more in the past’ than the tense corresponding to its meaning.
I’m too fat. I wish I was thin.
I never get invited to parties. I wish I got invited to parties.
It’s raining. I wish it wasn’t raining.
I went to see the latest Star Wars film. I wish I hadn’t gone.
I’ve eaten too much. I wish I hadn’t eaten so much.
I’m going to visit her later. I wish I wasn’t going to visit her later.
In the case of ‘will’ , where ‘will’ means ‘show willingness’ we use ‘would’.
He won’t help me. I wish he would help me.
You’re making too much noise. I wish you would be quiet.
You keep interrupting me. I wish you wouldn’t do that.
Where ‘will’ means a future event, we cannot use ‘wish’ and must use ‘hope’.
There’s a strike tomorrow. I hope some buses will still be running.
I hope everything will be fine in your new job.
In more formal English, we use the subjunctive form ‘were’ and not ‘was’ after ‘wish’.
I wish I were taller.
I wish it were Saturday today.
I wish he were here.
USE OF SHALL
We don’t use ‘Shall’ very frequently in modern English, particularly in American English.
It is used to make offers and suggestions and to ask for advice.
What time shall we meet?
Shall we vote on it now?
What dress shall I wear?
Shall I open the window?
You only really need to know that about ‘shall’ in modern English. Read the rest of this only if you want to know more about how some older speakers still use ‘shall’.
Formerly, in older grammar, ‘shall’ was used as an alternative to ‘will’ with ‘I’ and ‘we’. Today, ‘will’ is normally used. When we do use ‘shall’, it has an idea of a more personal, subjective future.
I shall go to see the boss and I shall ask him to explain this decision.
Notice that the negative of ‘ shall ‘ can be ‘ shall not ‘ or ‘ shan’t ‘ – though the second one is now very rare in American English.
I don’t like these people and I shall not go to their party.
I shan’t object if you go without me.
USED TO
Used to do
We use ‘used to’ for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens.
I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.
Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn’t.
I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.
We also use it for something that was true but no longer is.
There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn’t.
She used to have really long hair but she’s had it all cut off.
I didn’t use to like him but now I do.
‘Used to do’ is different from ‘to be used to doing’ and ‘to get used todoing’
to be used to doing
We use ‘to be used to doing’ to say that something is normal, not unusual.
I’m used to living on my own. I’ve done it for quite a long time.
Hans has lived in England for over a year so he is used todriving on the left now.
They’ve always lived in hot countries so they aren’t used tothe cold weather here.
to get used to doing
We use ‘to get used to doing’ to talk about the process of something becoming normal for us.
I didn’t understand the accent when I first moved here but I quickly got used to it.
She has started working nights and is still getting used tosleeping during the day.
I have always lived in the country but now I’m beginning to get used to living in the city.
HAD BETTER
We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice. Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give advice about the present or future.
You’d better tell her everything.
I’d better get back to work.
We’d better meet early.
The negative form is “had better not”.
You’d better not say anything.
I’d better not come.
We’d better not miss the start of his presentation.
We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use “should”.
You should brush your teeth before you go to bed.
I shouldn’t listen to negative people.
He should dress more appropriately for the office.
When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use “should”.
You shouldn’t say anything.
I should get back to work.
We should meet early.
However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the advice is not followed, that something bad will happen.
You’d better do what I say or else you will get into trouble.
I’d better get back to work or my boss will be angry with me.
We’d better get to the airport by five or else we may miss the flight.
COMMON ENGLISH ERROR
COMMON GRAMMER MISTAKE
Wrong : I have visited Niagara Falls last weekend.
Right : I visited Niagara Falls last weekend.
Wrong : The woman which works here is from Japan.
Right : The woman who works here is from Japan.
Wrong : She’s married with a dentist.
Right : She’s married to a dentist.
Wrong : She was boring in the class.
Right : She was bored in the class.
Wrong : I must to call him immediately.
Right : I must call him immediately.
Wrong : Every students like the teacher.
Right : Every student likes the teacher.
Wrong : Although it was raining, but we had the picnic.
Right : Although it was raining, we had the picnic.
Wrong : I enjoyed from the movie.
Right : I enjoyed the movie.
Wrong : I look forward to meet you.
Right : I look forward to meeting you.
Wrong : I like very much ice cream.
Right : I like ice cream very much.
Wrong : She can to drive.
Right : She can drive.
Wrong : Where I can find a bank?
Right : Where can I find a bank?
Wrong : I live in United States.
Right : I live in the United States.
Wrong : When I will arrive, I will call you.
Right : When I arrive, I will call you.
Wrong : I’ve been here since three months.
Right : I’ve been here for three months
Wrong : My boyfriend has got a new work.
Right : My boyfriend has got a new job. (or just “has a new job”)
Wrong : She doesn’t listen me.
Right : She doesn’t listen to me.
Wrong : You speak English good.
Right : You speak English well.
Wrong : The police is coming.
Right : The police are coming.
Wrong : The house isn’t enough big.
Right : The house isn’t big enough.
Wrong : You should not to smoke.
Right : You should not smoke.
Wrong : Do you like a glass of wine?
Right : Would you like a glass of wine?
Wrong : There is seven girls in the class.
Right : There are seven girls in the class.
Wrong : I didn’t meet nobody.
Right : I didn’t meet anybody.
Wrong : My flight departs in 5:00 am.
Right : My flight departs at 5:00 am.
About 3/0 John Anthony dana
My Sea knowledge by: 2/0 John Anthony Dana 