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ENGLISH GRAMMARCONTENTS
I. VERB………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1. Simple Present. Present Continuous2. Simple Past. Past Continuous3. Present Perfect Simple. Present Perfect Continuous4. Past Perfect Simple. Past Perfect Continuous5. Simple Future. Future Continuous6. Simple Present for future events. Present Continuous for future events7. Future Perfect. Future Perfect Continuous8. Conditional tenses9. Indicative10. Subjunctive11. Infinitive12. Gerund13. Modal verbs14. Auxiliary verbs15. Irregular verbs16. Diagram of all tenses. Table of tenses. Example sentences for all tenses
II. NOUN………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1. Gender2. Number3. Countable or uncountable4. Compound nouns5. Use of capital letters (proper nouns)6. Possessive form
III. PRONOUN…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1. Personal2. Reflexive3. Possessive4. Intensive5. Demonstrative6. Interrogative7. Relative8. Indefinite9. Reciprocal
IV. ADJECTIVE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1. Function2. Form3. Order4. Gradable and non-gradable5. Premodifiers with degrees6. Comparative7. Superlative8. Irregular comparatives and superlatives9. Comparisons of quantity
V. ADVERB…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1. Function2. Form3. Comparative4. Manner5. Time
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6. Location7. Frequency8. Purpose9. Certainty 10. Degree11. Interrogative 12. Relative13. Negative14. Viewpoint and commenting
VI. ARTICLE……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1. Definite2. Indefinite
VII. PREPOSITION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1. Time2. Location3. Direction4. Position
VIII. SYNTAX………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………........1. Sentence structure2. Direct speech. Reported speech3. Conditional sentences (clauses). The “zero”. Type 1. Type 2. Type 34. Mixed conditional sentences5. Unless6. Unreal past7. Relative clauses8. Active and Passive Voice
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IV E R B
1. Simple Present
FormA: S + VB -s/es N: S + don’t/doesn’t + VBI: Do/does + S + VB
Examples: You speak English.
You do not speak English.Do you speak English?
Use- repeated actions; can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It
can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.
Examples: I play tennis. Does he play tennis? The train does not leave at 9 AM.
- facts or generalizations; indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future.
Examples: Cats like milk. California is not in the United Kingdom. Windows are made of glass.
- scheduled events in the near future.
Examples: The train leaves tonight at 6 PM. The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM. When do we board the plane?
- now (non-continuous verbs); express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now.
Examples: I am here now.He does not need help now.
Do you have your passport with you?
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Present Continuous
FormA: S + to be + VB -ingN: S + to be + NOT + VB -ingI: to be + S + VB –ing
Examples: You are watching TV. You are not watching TV.
Are you watching TV?
Use- with normal verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment; it can also be
used to show that something is not happening now.
Examples: You are learning English now. Are you sleeping? I am not standing.
- longer actions in progress now; in English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.
Examples: I am studying to become a doctor. I am not studying to become a dentist. Aren't you teaching at the university now?
- to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.
Examples: I am meeting some friends after work. I am not going to the party tonight. Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
- with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb -ing".
Examples: She is always coming to class late. He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up. I don't like them because they are always complaining.
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2. Simple Past
FormA: S + VB –ed or irregular verbsN: S + didn’t + VB –ed or irregular verbsI: Did + S + VB –ed or 3rd or irregular verbs
Examples: You called Debbie. You did not call Debbie.
Did you call Debbie?
Use- to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past.
Examples: I saw a movie yesterday. Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
- list a series of completed actions in the past; these actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples: I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
- can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past; a duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for 2 years, for 5 minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples: I lived in Brazil for two years. They did not stay at the party the entire time.
- to describe a habit which stopped in the past;we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never,
Examples: I studied French when I was a child. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
- to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.
Examples: She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing. He didn't like tomatoes before.
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Past Continuous
FormA: S + was/were + VB –ingN: S + didn’t was/didn’t were + VB -ingI: Were/was + S + VB -ing
Examples: You were studying when she called. You were not studying when she called.
Were you studying when she called?
Use- to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted; the interruption is usually a shorter action in the
Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples: I was watching TV when she called. While we were having the picnic, it started to rain. What were you doing when you broke your leg?
- described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples: Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
! In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.
Examples: Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.I started eating at 6 PM. Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner .I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process…
- when use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time; the actions are parallel.
Examples: I was studying while he was making dinner.. Were you listening while he was talking? I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
- to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.
- with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb -ing."
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3. Present Perfect Simple
FormA: S + has/have + seen + VB at 3rd formN: S + hasn’t/haven’t + seen + VB at 3rd formI: Has/have + S + seen + VB at 3rd form
Examples: You have seen that movie many times. You have not seen that movie many times.
Have you seen that movie many times?
Use- to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now; the exact time is not important; you cannot
use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We can use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples: I have seen that movie twenty times. I think I have met him once before. There have been many earthquakes in California. People have not traveled to Mars. Have you read the book yet? Has there ever been a war in the United States?
- to describe your experience or to say that you have never had a certain experience; is not used to describe a specific event.
Examples: I have been to France. This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times. I have been to France three times. You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
- to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.
Examples: You have grown since the last time I saw you. The government has become more interested in arts education. Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established. My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
- to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity; you cannot mention a specific time.
Examples: Man has walked on the Moon. Our son has learned how to read. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Scientists have split the atom.
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- to say that an action which we expected has not happened; using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.
Examples: James has not finished his homework yet. Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate. Bill has still not arrived. The rain hasn't stopped.
- to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.
Examples: The army has attacked that city five times. I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester. We have had many major problems while working on this project. She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
- when we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now; remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.
- sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience; we can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.
Examples: Have you been to Mexico in the last year? I have seen that movie six times in the last month. They have had three tests in the last week. She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far. My car has broken down three times this week.
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Present Perfect Continuous
FormA: S + has/have + been + VB - ingN: S + hasn’t/haven’t + been + VB -ingI: Has/have + S + been + VB -ing
Examples: You have been waiting here for two hours. You have not been waiting here for two hours.
Have you been waiting here for two hours?
Use- to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now; "for five minutes", "for two weeks"
and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used
Examples: They have been talking for the last hour. She has been working at that company for three years. What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes? James has been teaching at the university since June. We have been waiting here for over two hours! Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?
- can also use the Present Perfect Continuous without a duration such as "for two weeks"; without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately"; we often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this
meaning.
Examples: Recently, I have been feeling really tired. She has been watching too much television lately. Have you been exercising lately? Mary has been feeling a little depressed. Lisa has not been practicing her English. What have you been doing?
! Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.
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4. Past Perfect Simple
FormA: S + had/has + VB -ed + beforeN: S + hadn’t/hasn’t + VB –ed + beforeI: Had/has + S + VB -ed + before
Examples: You had studied English before you moved to New York. You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
Use- expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past; it can also show that something
happened before a specific time in the past.
Examples: I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai. I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet. Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times. Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand? She only understood the movie because she had read the book. Kristine had never been to an opera before last night. We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
- to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
Examples: We had had that car for ten years before it broke down. By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years. They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
! Specific times with the Past PerfectUnlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect.
Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example: She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
! If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.
Examples: She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996. She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
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Past Perfect Continuous
FormA: S + had/has + been + VB -ingN: S + hadn’t/hasn’t + been + VB -ingI: Had/has + S + been + VB -ing
Example: You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived. You had not been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?
Use- to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past; "for five minutes"
and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous; notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples: They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived. She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business. How long had you been waiting to get on the bus? Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work. James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.
- using before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.
Examples: Jason was tired because he had been jogging. Sam gained weight because he had been overeating. Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous. If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather than the Past Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past. Study the examples below to understand the difference.
Examples: He was tired because he was exercising so hard. This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at that exact moment. He was tired because he had been exercising so hard. This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising over a period of time.
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5. Simple Future
Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific time in the future.
FormA: S + shall/will + VB A: S + to be + going to + VBN: S + shall/will not + VB N: S + to be not + going to +VBI: Shall/will + S + VB I: To be + S + going to + VB
Examples: I shall visit the seaside tomorrow.You will not visit the museum tomorrow.Shall I visit the museum tomorrow?You are going to meet Jane tonight.Are you going to meet Jane tonight?
Use - "will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily; a voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help; we also use "will" when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do something.
Examples: I will send you the information when I get it. Will you help me move this heavy table? I won't do all the housework myself!
- "will" is usually used in promises.
Examples: I will call you when I arrive. I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party. Don't worry, I'll be careful. I won't tell anyone your secret.
- expresses that something is a plan; it expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future; it does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.
Examples: He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii. Michelle is going to begin medical school next year. They are going to drive all the way to Alaska. Who are you going to invite to the party?
- both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about the future; predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore.
Examples: The year 2222 will be a very interesting year. The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.
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Future Continuous
Future Continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing". Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.
FormA: S + will + be + VB –ing A: S + to be + going to be + VB -ingN: S + will + not be + VB –ing N: S + to be + not going to be + VB -ingI: Will + S + be + VB – ing I: To be + S + going to be + VB -ing
Examples: You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight. You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
You are not going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.Are you going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
Use
- to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future; remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
- to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future; remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples: I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight. I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives. I am going to be staying at the Madison Hotel, if anything happens and you need to contact me. He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when she arrives.
- specific time as an interruption in the future
Examples: Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner. I will be in the process of eating dinner. At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert. We will be in the process of driving through the desert.
- describing atmosphere: When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating. Some will be dancing. Others are going to be talking. A few people will be eating pizza, and several people are going to be drinking beer. They always do the same thing.
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6. Simple Present for future events. Present Continuous for future events
The simple present is used to make statements about events at a time later than now, when the statements are based on present facts, and when these facts are something fixed like a time-table, schedule, calendar.
Examples: The plane arrives at 18.00 tomorrow. She has a yoga class tomorrow morning. The restaurant opens at 19.30 tonight. Next Thursday at 14.00 there is an English exam.
The present continuous is used to talk about arrangements for events at a time later than now. There is a suggestion that more than one person is aware of the event, and that some preparation has already happened.
Example: I'm meeting Jim at the airport = and both Jim and I have discussed this. I am leaving tomorrow. = and I've already bought my train ticket. We're having a staff meeting next Monday = and all members of staff have been told about it.
7. Future Perfect
Future Perfect has two different forms: "will have done" and "be going to have done". Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Perfect forms are usually interchangeable.
FormA: S + will have + VB -edN: S + will not have + VB -edI: Will + S + have + VB
Examples: You are going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. Are you going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? You are not going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.
Use- expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future; it can also show that
something will happen before a specific time in the future.
Examples: By next November, I will have received my promotion. I am not going to have finished this test by 3 o'clock. Will she have learned enough Chinese to communicate before she moves to Beijing?
- with non-continuous verbs and some non-continuous uses of mixed verbs, we use the future perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.
Examples: I will have been in London for six months by the time I leave. By Monday, Susan is going to have had my book for a week.
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Although the above use of future perfect is normally limited to non-continuous verbs and non-continuous uses of, mixed verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.
Future Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous has two different forms: "will have been doing " and "be going to have been doing." Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Perfect Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.
FormA: S + will + have been + VB –ing A: S + to be + going to + have been + VB -ingN: S + will not + have been + VB –ing N: S + to be + going to + have been + VB -ingI: Will + S + have been + VB –ing I: To be + not going to + have been + VB -ing
Examples: You will have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. You will not have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.
Will you have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives? You are going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. You are not going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.
Are you going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives?
Use- to show that something will continue up until a particular event or time in the future. "For five minutes," "for
two weeks," and "since Friday" are all durations which can be used with the Future Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous; however, with Future Perfect Continuous, the duration stops at or before a reference point in the future.
Examples: They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives. She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it finally closes. How long will you have been studying when you graduate?
- before another action in the future is a good way to show cause and effect.
Examples: Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over an hour. Claudia's English will be perfect when she returns to Germany because she is going to have been studying English in the United States for over two years.
Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect ContinuousIf you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," many English
speakers choose to use the Future Continuous rather than the Future Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Future Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Future Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the future. Study the examples below to understand the difference.
Examples: He will be tired because he will be exercising so hard. This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will be exercising at that exact moment in the future.
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8. Conditional tenses
The verb tense that is used to indicate that an action or state of being is dependent on the occurrence of a condition. The condition does not need to be explicitly stated. For example, in the sentence "I would eat it", the condition is not stated but would be implied by the context.
The conditional tense is formed using the auxiliary verb "would," although "would" also has other uses.
Present conditionalUse- for something that might happen.- in the main clause in type II of the Conditional sentences.Formwould + infinitiveExamples: I would play football. (You'll probably do it.)
I would not play football. I'd not play football.Would you play football?
Present continuous conditionalUse- for something that might happen.- in the main clause in type II of the Conditional sentences.Formwould + infinitiveExamples: I would be playing football. (You'll probably do it. Here you concentrate more on the progress of
the action.)I would not be playing football.I wouldn't be playing football.I'd not be playing football.Would you be playing football?
Perfect conditionalUse- for something that might have happened in the past.- in the main clause in type III of the if clauses.Formwould + have + past participlepast participle -> (infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs)Examples: I would have played football. (You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in
the future. Here you concentrate on the fact)I would not have played football.Would you have played football?
Conditional Perfect Progressive (Perfect continuous conditional)Use- for something that might have happened in the past.- in the main clause in type III of the if clauses.Formwould + have + been + infinitive + ingExamples: I would have been playing football. (You'll probably have finished playing football at a special
time in the future. Here you concentrate on the progress of playing)
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9. Indicative
The declarative mood or indicative mood is the simplest and most basic mood. The overwhelming majority of verb use is in the indicative, which may be considered the "normal" form of verbs, with the subjunctive as an "exceptional" form of verbs. (If any other forms are considered a mood (e.g. imperative), they may also be considered other "exceptional" verb forms.)
Examples are most commonly used verb forms: I think I thought He was seen I am walking home. They are singing. He is not a dancer. We are very happy.
10. Subjunctive
The subjunctive is easily distinguished in a great variety of contexts where the sense is past tense, but the form of the subjunctive verb required is present: It was required that we go to the back of the line.
Were it not for the subjunctive, the form of "to go" for something in the past would be went. Compare with the indicative: Everyone knows that we went to the back of the line.
to ownPresent indicativeI ownhe/she/it ownswe/you/they own
Present subjunctiveI ownhe/she/it ownwe/you/they own
Past indicativeI ownedhe/she/it ownedwe/you/they owned
Past subjunctiveI ownedhe/she/it ownedwe/you/they owned
to be
Present indicativeI amhe/she/it iswe/you/they are
Present subjunctiveI behe/she/it bewe/you/they be
Past indicativeI washe/she/it waswe/you/they were
Past subjunctiveI werehe/she/it werewe/you/they were
As shown in the above, the form of the subjunctive is distinguishable from the indicative in only three circumstances: - in the third person singular of the present tense; - with the verb to be in the present tense; - in the first person singular and third person singular of verb to be in the past tense.
! The modal auxiliaries do not have present subjunctive forms.
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11. Infinitive
FormThe infinitive is the base form of a verb. It may be preceded by 'to' (the to-infinitive) or stand alone (the base or
zero infinitive).Infinitive with or without 'to' is used: -after certain verbs. e.g. want, wish, agree, fail, mean, decide, learn
- after the auxiliaries to be to, to have to, and ought to - in the pattern 'it is + adjective + to-infinitive'
Examples:with 'to' : The elephant decided to marry the mouse
The mouse agreed to marry the elephant You will have to ask her She has to go to Berlin next week It's easy to speak English
without 'to' : I would rather visit Rome. She would rather live in Italy. Would you rather eat steak or fish?
Negative Infinitive. To form the negative infinitive, place not before the to- or zero infinitive:Examples: I decided not to go to London.
He asked me not to be late.
Use- to indicate the purpose or intention of an action (where the 'to' has the same meaning as 'in order to' or 'so as
to'): She's gone to collect her pay cheque. The three bears went into the forest to find firewood.
- as the subject of the sentence: To be or not to be, that is the question. To know her is to love her.
- with nouns or pronouns, to indicate what something can be used for, or what is to be done with it:Would you like something to drink?
I haven't anything to wear. The children need a garden to play in.
- after adjectives in these patterns: It is + adjective +to-infinitive It is + adjective + infinitive + for someone + to-infinitive. It is + adjective + infintive + of someone + to-infinitive.
- after an adjective + noun when a comment or judgement is being made: It was a stupid place to park the car. This is the right thing to do. It was an astonishing way to behave.
- with too and enough in these patterns: too much/many (+ noun) + to-infinitivetoo + adjective + to-infinitive
too + adverb + to-infinitive enough (+ noun) + to-infinitive adjective + enough + to-infinitive not enough (+noun) + to-infinitive not + adjective + enough + to-infinitive
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12. Gerund
This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. However it is useful to understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:
- as the subject of the sentence: Eating people is wrong. Flying makes me nervous.
- as the complement of the verb 'to be': One of his duties is attending meetings. One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.
- after prepositions: She is good at painting. She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road. We arrived in Madrid after driving all night. My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
- after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb: to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on: I look forward to hearing from you soon.
When are you going to give up smoking? She always puts off going to the dentist. He kept on asking for money.
! There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognize that 'to' is a preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund: We are looking forward to seeing you. I am used to waiting for buses. She didn't really take to studying English.
It is possible to check whether 'to’ is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund: I am accustomed to it (the cold). I am accustomed to being cold.
- in compound nouns: a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting
- after the expressions: can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:
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13. Modal verbs
The nine modals verbs in English are: can could may might must shall should will would
Position of modal verbsModal verbs always appear in the first position at the beginning of the verb phrase in English. Unlike other
verbs, modal verbs do not show tense or number. The seven possible verb phrase combinations that contain modal verbs in English are:
modal verb + base form will eat modal verb + be + present participle will be eating modal verb + have + past participle will have eaten modal verb + be + past participle will be eaten modal verb + have + been + present participle will have been eating modal verb + have + been + past participle will have been eaten modal verb + have + been + being + past participle will have been being eaten
Double modalsAlthough most varieties of English only allow for the use of one modal verb per verb phrase, some English
dialects such as Southern American English allow for double modals. For example, the double modal might could as in He might could build a new machine shed expresses both possibility and ability. However, prescriptive grammars proscribe against the use of double modals.
Definitions can – ability, permission, possibility, request
could – ability, permission, possibility, request, suggestion may – permission, probability, request might – possibility, probability, suggestion must – deduction, necessity, obligation, prohibition shall – decision, future, offer, question, suggestion should – advice, necessity, prediction, recommendation will – decision, future, intention, offer, prediction, promise, suggestion would – conditional, habit, invitation, permission, preference, request, question, suggestion
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14. Auxiliary verbs
Auxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb to give grammatical information and therefore add extra meaning to a sentence, which is not given by the main verb.They are used to form the passive voice, to form the continuous tense, to form the perfect tense.
To be - is the most common verb in the English language; It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is used a
lot in its other forms:Base form = bePresent form = am/is/arePast form = was/werePresent Participle / Gerund = beingPast Participle = been
To do - is one of the most common verbs in English; it can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is often used in
questions:Base form = do Present form = do/does Past form = didPresent Participle / Gerund = doingPast Participle = done
! Note - The auxiliary verb 'do' is always followed by the base form (infinitive).
To have - is one of the most common verbs in the English language. Base form = have Present form = have / has Past form = hadPresent Participle / Gerund = havingPast Participle = had
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15. Irregular verbs
Simple Present Simple Past Past Pariciple
arise awake be bear beat become begin bite bleed blow break bring build burn buy catch choose cling come cost creep cut deal dig dive do draw dream drink drive eat fall feed feel fight find flee fly forbid forget forgive freeze get
arose awoke was, were bore beat became began bit bled blew broke brought built burned or burnt bought caught chose clung came cost crept cut dealt dug dived or dove did drew dreamed or dreamt drank drove ate fell fed felt fought found fled flew forbade or forbad forgot forgave froze got
arisen awoken been borne beaten or beat become begun bitten bled blown broken brought built burned or burnt bought caught chosen clung come cost crept cut dealt dug dived done drawn dreamed or dreamt drunk driven eaten fallen fed felt fought found fled flown, forbidden or forbade forgotten forgiven frozen gotten or got
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give go grind grow hang have hear hide hit hold hurt keep kneel knit know lay lead leap leave lend let lie (down) light lose make mean meet pay prove put quit read ride ring rise run saw say see seek sell send set sew shake shave shear
gave went ground grew hung or hanged had heard hid hit held hurt kept knelt or kneeled knitted or knit knew laid led leapt or leaped left lent let lay lit or lighted lost made meant met paid proved put quit read rode rang rose ran sawed said saw sought sold sent set sewed shook shaved sheared
given gone ground grown hung or hanged had heard hidden hit held hurt kept knelt or kneeled knitted or knit known laid led leapt or leaped left lent let lain lit or lighted lost made meant met paid proved or proven put quit read ridden rung risen run sawed or sawn said seen sought sold sent set sewn or sewed shaken shaved or shaven sheared or shorn
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shine shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit slay sleep slide sneak speak speed spend spill spin spread spring stand steal stick sting stink strew strike swear sweep swim swing take teach tear tell think thrive throw undergo understand wake wear weave weep win wind wring write
shone or shined shot showed shrank or shrunk shut sang sank sat slew slept slid sneaked or snuck spoke sped spent spilled or spilt spun spread sprang stood stole stuck stung stank or stunk strewed struck swore swept swam swung took taught tore told thought thrived or throve threw underwent understood woke or waked wore wove wept won wound wrung wrote
shone or shined shot shown or showed shrunk or shrunken shut sung sunk sat slain slept slid sneaked or snuck spoken sped spent spilled or spilt spun spread sprung stood stolen stuck stung stunk strewn struck or stricken sworn swept swum swung taken taught torn told thought thrived or thriven thrown undergone understood woken or waked worn woven wept won wound wrung written
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16. Diagram of all tenses. Table of tenses. Example sentences for all tenses
moment in time
action that takes place once, never or several times actions that happen one after another actions that suddenly take place
period of time
action that started before a certain moment and lasts beyond that moment actions taking place at the same time
Result action taking place before a certain moment in time puts emphasis on the result
Course / Duration
action taking place before a certain moment in time puts emphasis on the course or duration of the action
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Tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words
Simple Present A: He speaks.N: He does not speak.Q: Does he speak?
action in the present taking place once, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule
always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usuallyif sentences type I (If I talk, …)
Present Progressive A: He is speaking.N: He is not speaking.Q: Is he speaking?
action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Simple Past A: He spoke.N: He did not speak.Q: Did he speak?
action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Fridayif sentence type II (If I talked, …)
Past Progressive A: He was speaking.N: He was not speaking.Q: Was he speaking?
action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another action
when, while, as long as
Present Perfect Simple A: He has spoken.N: He has not spoken.Q: Has he spoken?
putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
Present Perfect Progressive A: He has been speaking.N: He has not been speaking.Q: Has he been speaking?
putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result) action that recently stopped or is still going on finished action that influenced the present
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
Past Perfect Simple A: He had spoken.N: He had not spoken.Q: Had he spoken?
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that dayif sentence type III (If I had talked, …)
Past Perfect Progressive A: He had been speaking.N: He had not been speaking.Q: Had he been speaking?
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action
for, since, the whole day, all day
Future I Simple A: He will speak.N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak?
action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future
in a year, next …, tomorrowIf-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.)assumption: I think, probably, perhaps
Future I Simple(going to)
A: He is going to speak.N: He is not going to speak.Q: Is he going to speak?
decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future I Progressive A: He will be speaking.N: He will not be speaking.Q: Will he be speaking?
action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future II Simple A: He will have spoken.N: He will not have spoken.Q: Will he have spoken?
action that will be finished at a certain time in the future by Monday, in a week
Future II Progressive A: He will have been speaking.N: He will not have been speaking.Q: Will he have been speaking?
action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action
for …, the last couple of hours, all day long
Conditional I Simple A: He would speak.N: He would not speak.Q: Would he speak?
action that might take place if sentences type II(If I were you, I would go home.)
Conditional I Progressive A: He would be speaking.N: He would not be speaking.Q: Would he be speaking?
action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action
Conditional II Simple A: He would have spoken.N: He would not have spoken.Q: Would he have spoken?
action that might have taken place in the past if sentences type III(If I had seen that, I would have helped.)
Conditional II Progressive A: He would have been speaking.N: He would not have been speaking.Q: Would he have been speaking?
action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action
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IIN O U N
1. Gender
In general there is no distinction between masculine, feminine and neuter in English nouns. However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or different words.
Different words: Different forms: masculine / feminine
man woman actor actressfather mother prince princessuncle aunt hero heroineboy girl waiter waitresshusband wife widower widow
Some nouns can be used for either a masculine or a masculine subject: cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, cook, student, parent, friend, relation, colleague, partner, leader.
Mary is a doctor. She is a doctor. Peter is a doctor. He is a doctor. Arthur is my cousin. He is my cousin. Jane is my cousin. She is my cousin.
It is possible to make the distinction by adding the words 'male' or 'female'. (a female student; a male cousin). For professions, we can add the word 'woman' (a woman doctor; a woman journalist). In some cases nouns describing things are given gender.
I love my car. She (the car) is my greatest passion. France is popular with her (France's) neighbors at the moment. I traveled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth; she (the Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.
2. Number
Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es.boat boatshat hatshouse housesriver rivers
A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies.a cry criesa fly fliesa nappy nappiesa poppy poppiesa city citiesa lady ladiesa baby babies
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There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are listed below:womanman
womenmen
child tooth
children
teeth
foot feet
person people
leaf leaves
half halves
knife knives
wife wives
life lives
loaf loaves
potato potatoes
cactus cacti
focus foci
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
analysis analyses
diagnosis diagnoses
oasis oases
thesis theses
crisis crises
phenomenon phenomena
criterion criteria
datum data
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural: sheep, fish, species, aircraft
Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb:news The news is on at 6.30 p.m. athletics Athletics is good for young people. linguistics Linguistics is the study of language. darts Darts is a popular game in England. billiards Billiards is played all over the world.
Some nouns have a plural form and take a plural verb:trousers My trousers are too tight. jeans Her jeans are black. glasses Those glasses are his. Others include: savings, thanks, steps, stair, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts,
goods, wits .
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3. Countable or uncountable
C ountable nouns are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns: dog, cat, animal, man, person, bottle, box, liter, coin, note, dollar, cup, plate, fork, table, chair, suitcase, bag, etc.
- countable nouns can be singular or plural: My dog is playing. My dogs are hungry.- we can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns: A dog is an animal.- when a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it: I want an orange.(not I want
orange). Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?).- when a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone: I like oranges. Bottles can break.- we can use some and any with countable nouns: I've got some dollars. Have you got any pens?- we can use a few and many with countable nouns: I've got a few dollars. I haven't got many pens.- "people" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person"
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "liters of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns: music, art, love, happiness, advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, rice, sugar, butter, water, electricity, gas, power, money, currency.
- we usually treat uncountable nouns as singular; we use a singular verb: This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy.
- we do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns; we cannot say "an information" or "a music" but we can say a something of: a piece of news, a bottle of water, a grain of rice
- we can use some and any with uncountable nouns: I've got some money. Have you got any rice?- we can use a little and much with uncountable nouns: I've got a little money. I haven't got much rice.
!Nouns that can be countable and uncountable. Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Countable / Uncountablehair: There are two hairs in my coffee! / I don't have much hair.light: There are two lights in our bedroom. / Close the curtain. There's too much light!noise: Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. / It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.paper: Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper) / I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?room: Our house has seven rooms. / Is there room for me to sit here?time: We had a great time at the party. / Have you got time for a coffee?work: Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works. / I have no money. I need work!
! Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example): Two teas and one coffee please.
! Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. Some of the most common of these are: accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel,trouble, weather, work , etc.
! In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and countable nouns by [C].
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4. 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.- as one word: policeman, boyfriend- as two words joined with a hyphen: dining-table- as two separate words: 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.
noun + noun noun + verb noun + adverb verb + nounbedroom rainfall hanger-on washing machinewater tank haircut passer-by driving licensemotorcycle train-spotting swimming pool
printer cartridge
verb + adverb adjective + noun adjective + verb adverb + nounlookout greenhouse dry-cleaning onlookertake-off software public speaking bystanderdrawback redhead
adverb + verboutputoverthrowupturninput
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): breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out, feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.
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5. Use of capital letters (proper nouns)
- names and titles of people- the personal pronoun 'I' is always written with a capital letter. - titles of works, books etc- months of the year, days of the week, seasons, holydays- geographical names- adjectives relating to nationality nouns- names of streets, buildings, parks etc.
6. Possessive form
The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses.
John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner). It is John's car.America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner). They are America's gold reserves.
- where someone works or studies or spends time: John goes to this school. This is John's school. John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.
- family relationship: John's mother… The Queen's daughter…
- qualities: John's patience. The politician's hypocrisy.
To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun. If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an apostrophe).For names ending in –s inn speaking we add the sound /ª z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common. e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.
The car of John = John's car.The room of the girls = The girls' room.Clothes for men = Men's jobs.The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.
There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used :Time expressions / Other expressions a day's work / For God's sake!a fortnight's holiday / a pound's worth of apples.a month's pay / the water's edgetoday's newspaper / a stone's throw away (= very near)in a year's time / at death's door (= very ill)
The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner. Examples: the grocer's, the doctor's, the vet's, the newsagent's, the chemist's, Smith's, the dentist's, etc.
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IIIP R O N O U N S
Pronoun is a word such as we, them, or anyone that replaces a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns must match the number and gender of the noun they stand for and be in a case (form) that matches its function.
Pronouns have the same functions as nouns: they may act as subjects and subject complements, direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions
The noun that a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun (In the sentence “George wrote the essay in class and typed it later” the noun essay is the antecedent of the pronoun it) If you cannot point to the antecedent of a pronoun in your writing, you need to change the wording so that your meaning will be clear to the reader.
1. Personal (refer to specific persons, places, or things)
Subjective case: A personal pronoun should be in the subjective case (form) if the pronoun functions as a subject or subject complement. A subject pronoun usually comes before the verb; a subject complement pronoun follows a linking verb.
Singular Plural Examples
First person I WE We are successful.They like pizza.The winners were Kim and I.
Second person YOU YOUThird person HE/SHE/IT THEY
Objective case: If a pronoun stands for any other noun than a subject or subject complement, use the objective case. Object pronouns can be direct objects (DO), indirect objects (IO), or objects of prepositions (OP). Notice that you and it are in both lists.
Singular Plural ExamplesFirst person ME US The secretary notified us today.
My aunt wrote me a letter.For her, I would do anything.
Second person YOU YOUThird person HIM/HER/IT THEM
2. Reflexive (rename subjects of action verbs)
They function as various types of objects. If the reflexive pronoun is omitted, the sentence will not make sense. Note that the following list is the same as the list of intensive pronouns above.
Singular Plural ExamplesFirst person MYSELF OURSELVES The logger cut himself with his ax.
Kim poured herself a cup of coffee. The old man was talking loudly to himself.
Second person YOURSELF YOURSELVES
Third person HIMSELF/HERSELF/ITSELF THEMSELVES
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3. Possessive (act as adjectives that show ownership)
Singular Plural ExamplesFirst person MY OUR My friend found his dog.
Their cat sharpened its claws.Second person YOUR YOURThird person HIS/HER/ITS THEIR
! Do not confuse the pronoun its with the contraction it’s, which means it is.
These possessive pronouns stand for an adjective possessive pronoun plus a noun:
Singular Plural ExamplesFirst person MINE OURS The decision is yours to make.
That backpack is mineSecond person YOURS YOURSThird person HIS/HERS THEIRS
4. Intensive (emphasize nouns or other pronouns) They immediately follow the noun they emphasize; if an intensive pronoun is omitted, the sentence will still
make sense grammatically.
Singular Plural ExamplesFirst person MYSELF OURSELVES The bank president himself called to
apologize for the error.She herself was not as concerned as others were about the problem.
Second person YOURSELF YOURSELVES
Third person HIMSELF/HERSELF/ITSELF THEMSELVES
5. Demonstrative (the four demonstrative pronouns point out nouns)
They often act as adjectives, indicating which person(s), places(s), or thing(s) are being referred to or as noun substitutes when the noun is understood.
thisthat
these those
Examples: These problems are easy to solve. (adjective modifying problems) Do you like this wallpaper? (adjective modifying wallpaper) You like these apples, but I prefer those. (These acts as an adjective modifying apples; those
acts as a pronoun that stands for the noun apples.)
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6. Interrogative (introduces a question)
whowhomwhatwhich
whosewhoeverwhomeverwhateverwhichever
Like relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns can have different grammatical functions. As in all questions, the word order may not be normal.
Examples: Whose books are those? (adjective modifying books) Whom will Mr. Broder select as head of the committee? (direct object of the verb will select) In which of his two poems does the author express himself most effectively? (object of the
preposition in)
7. Relative (connects an adjective clause or a noun clause to the rest of the sentence)
Introduce adjective clauses: When a relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause, the pronoun refers to a noun already mentioned in the main clause of the sentence.
whowhosewhom
whichthat
Examples: The mystery novel that she recently completed will be published next year. Healing is more rapid for patients who have a positive attitude.
Introduce noun clauses:
whowhomwhatwhich whose,whoever whomever whatever whicheverthat
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Within a sentence, a noun clause may function as a subject, complement, appositive, or object of a verb or preposition. The relative pronoun acts as a subject or object within the noun clause, though the normal word order may be changed.
! Who and whoever are used as subject pronouns, and whom and whomever are used as object pronouns.
Examples: Whoever uses the kitchen should wash the dishes.
8. Indefinite (are noun substitutes that are not specific, definite in meaning)
Pronouns that refer to a non-specific noun:
anybody, anyone, anything everybody, everyone, everythingnobody, none, no one, nothing somebody, someone, something
Pronouns that refer to a specific noun whose meaning is clear only because of a previous mention or because of words that follow the indefinite pronoun:
all, another, any few, many, neitherboth, each, either one, some, several
! Function simply as adjectives when they are directly followed by nouns.Examples: Several students received awards. My mother baked some pies for the picnic.
Singular another anybodyanyoneanythingeacheithereverybodyeveryoneeverything
neithernobodyno onenothingonesomebodysomethingsomeone
Examples: There are four groups of students, and each has it own assignment. Something unexpected is happening.
Plural bothfewmanyseveral
Examples: Both of the documents were signed. Many in the audience agree with the speaker.
! When these indefinite pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase, the pronoun should agree in number with the noun that is the object of the preposition
Singular or plural (depending on with the noun it stands for)
all any some more either most none
Examples: Some of the planning s finished.
9. Reciprocal (refer to individual parts of a preceding plural noun)
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each other , one another
IVA D J E C T I V E
1. Function
- describe feelings or qualities: He is a lonely man. They are honest people. - give nationality or origin: Pierre is French. This clock is German. Our house is Victorian - tell more about a thing's characteristics: A wooden table. The knife is sharp. - tell us about age: He's young man. My coat is very old - tell us about size and measurement: John is a tall man. This is a very long film. - tell us about color: Paul wore a red shirt. The sunset was crimson and gold. - tell us about material: It was a wooden table. She wore a cotton dress - tell us about shape: A rectangular box. A square envelope - express a judgment or a value: A fantastic film. Grammar is boring.
2. Form
Adjectives are invariable (they do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun):a hot potato; some hot potatoes.To emphasis or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or 'really': a very hot potato; some really hot potatoes.
Position of adjectives:- usually in front of a noun: A beautiful girl.- after verbs like "to be", "to seem" , "to look", "to taste": The girl is beautiful. You look tired. This meat tastes
funny. - after the noun, in some fixed expressions: The Princess Royal, The President elect - after the noun with the adjectives involved, present, concerned: I want to see the people involved/concerned (=
the people who have something to do with the matter)
3. Order
Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order is:
Value/opinionSizeTemperatureShapeColorOriginMaterial
Examples: a lovely old red post-box some small round plastic tables
some charming small silver ornaments
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4. Gradable and non-gradable
Gradable- a gradable adjective can be used with "grading adverbs" that vary the adjective's grade or intensity. Look at
these examples:grading adverbs: a little, dreadfully, extremely, fairly, hugely, immensely, intensely, rather, reasonably, slightly,
unusually, very +gradable adjectives: angry, big, busy, clever, cold, deep, fast, friendly, good, happy, high, hot, important, long,
popular, rich, strong, tall, warm, weak, young
- a gradable adjective can also have comparative and superlative forms:
!"Gradable adjectives" are also called "qualitative adjectives". "Grading adverbs" are also called"submodifiers".
big, bigger, the biggest hot, hotter, the hottest important, more important, the most important My teacher was very happy with my homework. That website is reasonably popular. But this one is more popular. He said that Holland was a little cold and Denmark was rather cold. But Sweden was the coldest.
! The adjective dead is non-gradable because it is an absolute. Dead is dead. We cannot be more or less dead. One person cannot be "deader" than another. Other absolutes include: correct, unique, perfect.
Non-gradable- a non-gradable adjective cannot be used with grading adverbs:
It was rather freezing outside. (wrong!) The dog was very dead. (wrong!) He is investing in slightly nuclear energy. (wrong!)
- non-gradable adjectives do not normally have comparative and superlative forms: freezing, more freezing (wrong!), the most freezing (wrong!) dead, deader (wrong!), the deadest (wrong!) nuclear, more nuclear (wrong!), the most nuclear (wrong!)
- often, non-gradable adjectives are used alone: It was freezing outside. The dog was dead. He is investing in nuclear energy.
However, a non-gradable adjective can be used with "non-grading adverbs" (which usually just give the adjective extra impact), for example:
non-grading adverbs non-gradable adjectivesabsolutely awful extremeutterly excellentcompletely terrifiedtotally dead absolutenearly impossible
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virtually uniqueessentially chemical classifyingmainly digitalalmost domestic
Her exam results were absolutely awful. She will have to take the exam again. Is there anything like it in the world? It must be virtually unique. It starts an essentially chemical reaction.
Adjectives that can be gradable and non-gradableSome adjectives may have more than one meaning or sense. It's possible for the same adjective to be gradable
with one sense and non-gradable with another sense. For example:
sentence adjective commonHe's got a very old car. gradable not youngI saw my old boyfriend yesterday. non-gradable former, ex-He has some dreadfully common habits. gradable vulgar"The" is a very common word in English. gradable prevalentThe two countries' common border poses problems. non-gradable shared
Adverbs used with gradable and non-gradable adjectivesThe adverbs really (very much) and fairly and pretty (both meaning "to a significant degree, but less than very")
can often be used with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:
gradable non-gradablePlease don't forget! It's really important. He was really terrified.He's a fairly rich man. It's a fairly impossible job.He's pretty tall. It's pretty ridiculous when you think about it.
"Quite" with gradable and non-gradable adjectivesThe meaning of the adverb "quite" changes according to the type of adjective we use it with:
sentence adjective quiteIt's quite warm today. gradable fairly, ratherAre you quite certain? non-gradable completely, absolutelyReference Non-gradable adjectives
5. Premodifiers with degrees
Both adverbs and adjectives in their comparative and superlative forms can be accompanied by premodifiers, single words and phrases, that intensify the degree. Examples: We were a lot more careful this time. He works a lot less carefully than the other jeweler in town. We like his work so much better. You'll get your watch back all the faster.
The same process can be used to downplay the degree: Examples: The weather this week has been somewhat better.
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He approaches his schoolwork a little less industriously than his brother does.
And sometimes a set phrase, usually an informal noun phrase, is used for this purpose: Examples: He arrived a whole lot sooner than we expected. That's a heck of a lot better.
If the intensifier very accompanies the superlative, a determiner is also required: Examples: She is wearing her very finest outfit for the interview. They're doing the very best they can.
Occasionally, the comparative or superlative form appears with a determiner and the thing being modified is understood: Examples: Of all the wines produced in Connecticut, I like this one the most. The quicker you finish this project, the better. Of the two brothers, he is by far the faster.
Less versus FewerWhen making a comparison between quantities we often have to make a choice between the words fewer and
less. Generally, when we're talking about countable things, we use the word fewer; when we're talking about measurable quantities that we cannot count, we use the word less. "She had fewer chores, but she also had less energy." The managers at our local Stop & Shop seem to have mastered this: they've changed the signs at the so-called express lanes from "Twelve Items or Less" to "Twelve Items or Fewer." Whether that's an actual improvement, we'll leave up to you.
We do, however, definitely use less when referring to statistical or numerical expressions: It's less than twenty miles to Dallas. He's less than six feet tall. Your essay should be a thousand words or less. We spent less than forty dollars on our trip. The town spent less than four percent of its budget on snow removal.
Taller than I / meWhen making a comparison with "than" do we end with a subject form or object form, "taller than I/she" or
"taller than me/her." The correct response is "taller than I/she." We are looking for the subject form: "He is taller than I am/she is tall." (Except we leave out the verb in the second clause, "am" or "is.") Some good writers, however, will argue that the word "than" should be allowed to function as a preposition. If we can say "He is tall like me/her," then (if "than" could be prepositional like like) we should be able to say, "He is taller than me/her." It's an interesting argument, but — for now, anyway — in formal, academic prose, use the subject form in such comparisons.
We also want to be careful in a sentence such as "I like him better than she/her." The "she" would mean that you like this person better than she likes him; the "her" would mean that you like this male person better than you like that female person. (To avoid ambiguity and the slippery use of than, we could write "I like him better than she does" or "I like him better than I like her.")
More than / overIn the United States, we usually use "more than" in countable numerical expressions meaning "in excess of" or
"over." In England, there is no such distinction. For instance, in the U.S., some editors would insist on "more than 40,000 traffic deaths in one year," whereas in the UK, "over 40,000 traffic deaths" would be acceptable. Even in the U.S., however, you will commonly hear "over" in numerical expressions of age, time, or height: "His sister is over forty; she's over six feet tall. We've been waiting well over two hours for her."
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6. Comparative
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.
! We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).
In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":A1 A2A1 is bigger than A2.
There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective: short adjectives: add "-er"; long adjectives: use "more"
Short adjectivesone syllable adjectives: old, fast
two syllable adjectives ending in –y: happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-er" old > olderVariation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late > laterVariation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant big > biggerVariation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy > happier
Long adjectivesone syllable adjectives not ending in –y: modern, pleasantall adjectives of 3 or more syllables: expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "more" modern > more modern expensive > more expensive
! With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':
quiet > quieter/more quiet clever > cleverer/more clever narrow > narrower/more narrow simple > simpler/more simple
ExceptionThe following adjectives have irregular forms:
good > better well (healthy) > better bad > worse far > farther/further
Use of Comparative AdjectivesWe use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things).Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
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If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below:Earth / Mars Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 Mars is smaller than Earth.Distance from Sun (million km) 150 228 Mars is more distant from the Sun.Moons 1 2 Mars has more moons than Earth.Surface temperature 22 -23 Mars is colder than Earth.
7. Superlative
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things. We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).
In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":
A B CB is the biggest.
As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective: short adjectives: add "-est" long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
Short adjectivesone syllable adjectives: old, fasttwo syllable adjectives ending in –y: happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-est" old > the oldestVariation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late > the latestVariation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant big > the biggestVariation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy > the happiest
Long adjectivesone syllable adjectives not ending in –y: modern, pleasantall adjectives of 3 or more syllables: expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "most" modern > the most modern expensive > the most expensive
! With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':
quiet > the quietest/most quiet clever > the cleverest/most clever
narrow > the narrowest/most narrow simple > the simplest/most simple
ExceptionThe following adjectives have irregular forms: good > the best; bad > the worst; far > the furthest
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Use of Superlative AdjectivesWe use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these examples:
John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest. Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table below:
Earth / Mars / Jupiter Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest.Distance from Sun 150 228 778 Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.Length of day (hours) 24 25 10 Jupiter has the shortest day.Moons 1 2 16 Jupiter has the most moons.Surface temp. 22 -23 -150 Jupiter is the coldest.
! When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":
England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest) My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)
8. Irregular comparatives and superlatives
These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:Adjective Comparative Superlativegood better bestbad worse worstlittle less leastmuch more mostfar further, farther furthest, farthest
9. Comparisons of quantity
To show difference: more, less, fewer + thanTo show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as
With countable nouns: more / fewerEloise has more children than Chantal. Chantal has fewer children than Eloise. There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol I have visited fewer countries than my friend has. He has read fewer books than she has.
With uncountable nouns: more / lessEloise has more money than Chantal. Chantal has less money than Eloise. I spend less time on homework than you do. Cats drink less water than dogs.
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This new dictionary gives more information than the old one.
So, the rule is:MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountableFEWER + countable nounsLESS + uncountable nouns
To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as as many as / as few as + countable nouns as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns
Examples: With countable nouns: They have as many children as us. We have as many customers as them. Tom has as few books as Jane. There are as few houses in his village as in mine. You know as many people as I do. I have visited the States as many times as he has.
With uncountable nouns: John eats as much food as Peter. Jim has as little food as Sam. You've heard as much news as I have. He's had as much success as his brother has. They've got as little water as we have.
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IVA D V E R B
1. Function
Adverbs are words that modify: a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?); an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?); another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)
Adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause: When this class is over, we're going to the movies.
When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the verb): He went to the movies. She works on holidays. They lived in Canada during the war.
Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why): She hurried to the mainland to see her brother. The senator ran to catch the bus.
Other kinds of adverbial phrases: He calls his mother as often as possible.
Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" .
Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree: Walk faster if you want to keep up with me. The student who reads fastest will finish first.
We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients.
The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen. She worked less confidently after her accident. That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.
The as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality: "He can't run as fast as his sister."
A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two forms have different meanings: He arrived late. Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.
In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations: She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers.
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He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.
Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something. Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone: Emphasizes: o I really don't believe him. o He literally wrecked his mother's car. o She simply ignored me. o They're going to be late, for sure. Amplifiers: o The teacher completely rejected her proposal. o I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings. o They heartily endorsed the new restaurant. o I so wanted to go with them. o We know this city well. Downtoners: o I kind of like this college. o Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister. o His mother mildly disapproved his actions. o We can improve on this to some extent. o The boss almost quit after that. o The school was all but ruined by the storm.
Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers: She runs very fast. We're going to run out of material all the faster
2. Form
In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective:cheap cheaplyquick quicklyslow slowly
Examples: Time goes quickly. He walked slowly to the door. She certainly had an interesting life. He carefully picked up the sleeping child.
- if the adjective ends in '-y', replace the 'y' with 'i' and add '-ly':easy easilyangry angrilyhappy happilylucky luckily
- if the adjective ends in -'able', '-ible', or '-le', replace the '-e' with '-y':probable probablyterrible terriblygentle gently
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- if the adjective ends in '-ic', add '-ally':basic basicallyeconomic economicallytragic tragically! Exception: public – publicly
Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:early latefast nearhard straighthigh wrong
Compare: It is a fast car. He drives very fast. This is a hard exercise. He works hard. We saw many high buildings. The bird flew high in the sky.
Well' and 'good'. 'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good':He is a good student.He studies well.She is a good pianist.She plays the piano well.They are good swimmers.They swim well.
3. Comparative and superlative
In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives.
- add -er or -est to short adverbs:Adverb Comparative Superlativehard harder the hardestlate later the latestfast faster the fastest
- with adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:Adverb Comparative Superlative
quietly more quietly most quietlyslowly more slowly most slowlyseriously more seriously most seriously
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- some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:Adverb Comparative Superlativebadly worse worstfar farther, further farthest, furthestlittle less leastwell better best! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':
4. Manner
Adverbs of manner name an entire, global category of adverbs. Specific to it--and to all subcategories of manner adverbs--is, they explain "how" is the action performed; further, each subcategory deals with specific characteristics/circumstances. Some adverbs of manner are: slowly; very; badly; beautifully; fluently; etc.
! Although the position of the adverbs within the sentence structure is very important to create accentuations, (sometimes) by moving adverbs we could lose the meaning:
Aunt Jane, who had recently been ill, came to town. (clear meaning)Aunt Jane who had been ill recently came to town. (here recently may very well qualify the verb "came",
therefore the meaning is unclear)I just did it for a joke. (this is a common mistake in spoken English)I did it just for a joke. (correct form)I only want to buy some milk. (common mistake in spoken English)I want to buy only some milk. (correct form)
The adverbs of manner are further sub-classified in: adverbs of quality, intensifier adverbs, adverbs of affirmation, negation, and probability, restrictive adverbs, explanatory adverbs, adverbs of quantity, amount, degree, introductory adverbs.
5. Time
Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often.When today, yesterday, later, now, last yearFor how long all day, not long, for a while, since last yearHow often sometimes, frequently, never, often, yearly
"When" adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence: Goldilocks went to the Bears' house yesterday. I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.
This is a "neutral" position, but some "when" adverbs can be put in other positions to give a different emphasis.
Compare: Later Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is more important) Goldilocks later ate some porridge. (this is more formal, like a policeman's report) Goldilocks ate some porridge later. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)
"For how long" adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence: She stayed in the Bears' house all day. My mother lived in France for a year
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'For' is always followed by an expression of duration: for three days, for a week, for several years, for two centuries.
'Since' is always followed by an expression of a point in time: since Monday, since 1997, since the last war.
"How often" adverbs expressing the frequency of an action are usually placed before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may, must):
I often eat vegetarian food. (before the main verb) He never drinks milk. (before the main verb) You must always fasten your seat belt. (after the auxiliary must) She is never sea-sick.(after the auxiliary is) I have never forgotten my first kiss. (after the auxiliary have and before the main verb forgotten)
Some other "how often" adverbs express the exact number of times an action happens and are usually placed at the end of the sentence: This magazine is published monthly. He visits his mother once a week.
!When a frequency adverb is placed at the end of a sentence it is much stronger.
Compare: She regularly visits France. She visits France regularly.
'Yet' and 'still'- yet is used in questions and in negative sentences, and is placed at the end of the sentence or after not.Have you finished your work yet? (= a simple request for information) No, not yet. (= simple negative answer)They haven't met him yet. (= simple negative statement)Haven't you finished yet? (= expressing slight surprise)- still expresses continuity; it is used in positive sentences and questions, and is placed before the main verb and
after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, might, will)I am still hungry.She is still waiting for you
If you need to use more than one adverb of time at the end of a sentence, use them in this order:1-'how long', 2-'how often', 3-'when' (think of 'low')
1 + 2 : I work (1) for five hours (2) every day 2 + 3 : The magazine was published (2) weekly (3) last year. 1 + 3 : I was abroad (1) for two months (3) last year. 1 + 2 + 3 : She worked in a hospital (1) for two days (2) every week (3) last year.
6. Location
Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object: - after the main verb: I looked everywhere. John looked away, up, down, around... - after the object: They built a house nearby.
She took the child outside.48
'Here' and 'there'With verbs of movement, here means towards or with the speaker: Come here (= towards me)
It's in here (= come with me to see it)There means away from, or not with the speaker: Put it there (= away from me)
It's in there (= go by yourself to see it)- are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases: down here, down there; over here,
over there; under here, under there; up here, up there.- are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when emphasis is needed.- are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun: Here comes the bus. (followed by the verb) or by a pronoun if
this is the subject (it, she, he etc.): Here it is! (followed by the pronoun) There she goes! (followed by the pronoun)
Most common adverbs of place also function as prepositions. Examples: about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, in, off, on, over, round, through, under, up.
Other adverbs of place: ending in '-wards', expressing movement in a particular direction: backwards, forwards, downwards, upwards, inwards, outwards, northwards, southwards, eastwards, westwards, homewards, onwards.
! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun
Expressing both movement and location: ahead, abroad, overseas, uphill, downhill, sideways, indoors, outdoors.
7. Frequency
Adverbs of Frequency answer the question "How often?" or "How frequently?" They tell us how often somebody does something. Are adverbs of frequency: always, usually, regularly, normally, often, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom, never.
Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb "to be"): I have often done that. She is always late.
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"): We see them rarely. John eats meat very seldom.
The position of these adverbs is:- before the main verb: I always get up at 6.45.- after a form of to be am, are, is (was, were): Susan is never late.
8. Purpose
The Adverb Clause of Purpose may indicate the purpose which the verb may address: We have to eat so that we may live. Here the Adverb-Clause ‘so that we can live’ is the purpose for which we eat. That means the verb ‘eat’ is
addressing the purpose.
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Such an Adverb Clause of Purpose will begin with: So that, In order that, In order to, LestExample: I will give you a map so that you can find the way to your relative’s house.In this sentence also the purpose for giving the map has been noted in the sentence in the form of an adverb-
clause.
Such is the nature of an Adverb-Clause-of-Purpose. In the following sentences you can see the Adverb Clauses of Purpose: Sleep well lest you will not write your exam very well. He was extra polite to his superiors lest something adverse should be written into his records. He was invited to the function in order to show him how wonderfully this function has been organized.
Let us go now itself so that we can catch the train. He drew the sword so that he could defend himself. Come here so that I could bless you.
9. Certainty
These adverbs express how certain or sure we feel about an action or event. Common adverbs of certainty: certainly, definitely, probably, undoubtedly, surely
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.
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.
Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence: Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.
! `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?
10. Degree
Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or another adverb. Common adverbs of degree: almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly, scarcely, completely, very, extremely.
Adverbs of degree are usually placed: - before the adjective or adverb they are modifying: The water was extremely cold. - before the main verb: He was just leaving. She has almost finished.
Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary degree'.- goes after adjectives and adverbs: Is your coffee hot enough? (adjective)
He didn't work hard enough. (adverb)- it also goes before nouns, and means 'as much as is necessary'. In this case it is not an adverb, but a
'determiner': We have enough bread. They don't have enough food.
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Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is necessary or useful' - goes before adjectives and adverbs: This coffee is too hot. (adjective)
He works too hard. (adverb)
`Enough` and `too` with adjectives can be followed by 'for someone/something' : The coffee was too hot for me. The dress was too small…
We can also use 'to + infinitive' after enough and too with adjectives/adverb: The coffee was too hot to drink. You're too young to have
children!
Very goes before an adverb or adjective to make it stronger: The girl was very beautiful. (adjective) He worked very quickly. (adverb)
- if we want to make a negative form of an adjective or adverb, we can use a word of opposite meaning, or not very: The girl was ugly OR The girl was not very beautiful. He worked slowly OR He didn't work very quickly.
! There is a big difference between too and very.- `very` expresses a fact: He speaks very quickly.
- `too` suggests there is a problem: He speaks too quickly (for me to understand).
Other adverbs like very: extremely, especially, particularly, pretty, rather, quite, fairly, rather, not especially, not particularly. ! `rather` can be positive or negative, depending on the adjective or adverb that follows: Positive: The teacher was rather nice. Negative: The film was rather disappointing.
Other adverbs and adverbial expressions that can be used like this: seldom, scarcely, hardly, not only ..... but also, no sooner ..... than, not until, under no circumstances…
11. Interrogative
These are: why, where, how, whenThey are usually placed at the beginning of a question. `How` can be used in four different ways:- meaning 'in what way?': How did you make this sauce?
How do you start the car? - with adjectives: How tall are you?
- with much and many: How much are these tomatoes? How many people are coming to the party?
- with other adverbs: How quickly can you read this? How often do you go to London?
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12. Relative
Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: where, when, and why. Although the entire clause is adjectival and will modify a noun, the relative word itself fulfills an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own clause).
The relative adverb where will begin a clause that modifies a noun of place: My entire family now worships in the church where my great grandfather used to be minister.
The relative pronoun "where" modifies the verb "used to be" (which makes it adverbial), but the entire clause ("where my great grandfather used to be minister") modifies the word "church."
A when clause will modify nouns of time: My favorite month is always February, when we celebrate Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day.
And a why clause will modify the noun reason: Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today?
We sometimes leave out the relative adverb in such clauses, and many writers prefer "that" to "why" in a clause referring to "reason": Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today? I always look forward to the day when we begin our summer vacation. I know the reason that men like motorcycles.
13. Negative
Negative adverbs include adverbs with an explicit negative meaning, such as never, not and nowhere, as well as adverbs with an implied negative meaning, such as hardly, scarcely and seldom.
In modern English, there is a rule that a clause containing one negative word expresses a negative meaning, but a clause containing two negative words expressed an affirmative meaning. In the case of a clause with two negative words, it is considered that one of these words negates the other, so that an affirmative meaning results. The presence of two negative words in a clause is referred to as a double negative.
In some dialects of English, clauses containing two negative words may be used to express a negative meaning:I'm not saying nothing about it.
He never told nobody the secret.However, this use of the double negative is considered to be grammatically incorrect in standard English.
For each of the above examples, the double negative can be eliminated by omitting or altering one of the negative words. Thus, the meaning of the first example could be correctly expressed by either of the following sentences: I'm saying nothing about it. or I'm not saying anything about it.
Similarly, the meaning of the second example could be correctly expressed by either of the following sentences: He told nobody the secret. or He never told anybody the secret.
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14. Viewpoint and commenting
Adverbs of ViewpointFrankly, I think he is a liar. (= this is my frank, honest opinion)Theoretically, you should pay a fine. (= from a theoretical point of view but there may be another way of
looking at the situation)These adverbs are placed at the beginning of the sentence and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a
comma.Some common Viewpoint adverbs: honestly, seriously, confidentially, personally, surprisingly, ideally,
economically, officially, obviously, clearly, surely, undoubtedly.
Adverbs of Commenting These are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words, but they go in a different position - after the verb to be and before the main verb.
Some common Commenting adverbs: definitely, certainly, obviously, simply.
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VIA R T I C L E
1. Definite
Articles in English are invariable. That is, they do not change according to the gender or number of the noun they refer to e.g. the boy, the woman, the children.
THE- refer to something which has already been mentioned:
An elephant and a mouse fell in love.The mouse loved the elephant's long trunk, and the elephant loved the mouse's tiny nose.
- when both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about, even if it has not been mentioned before:Where's the bathroom? It's on the first floor.
- in sentences or clauses where we define or identify a particular person or object: The man who wrote this book is famous.Which car did you scratch? The red one.My house is the one with a blue door. - to refer to objects we regard as unique: the sun, the moon, the world. - before superlatives and ordinal numbers: the highest building, the first page, the last chapter. - with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people: the Japanese, the old. - with names of geographical areas and oceans: the Caribbean, the Sahara, the Atlantic.
- with decades, or groups of years: she grew up in the seventies.
2. Indefinite
A / AN- use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels), 'an' with nouns starting with a vowel
(a,e,i,o,u)Examples: a boy, an apple, a car, an orange, a house, an opera ! ‘An’ before an h mute - an hour, an honor. ‘A’ before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a European, a university, a unit.- to refer to something for the first time: An elephant and a mouse fell in love.
Would you like a drink? I've finally got a good job.
- with names of jobs: John is a doctor. Mary is training to be an engineer. He wants to be a dancer. - with nationalities and religions: John is an Englishman. Kate is a Catholic. - with musical instruments: Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
- with names of days: I was born on a Thursday.- to refer to a kind of, or example of something: the mouse had a tiny nose, the elephant had a long trunk- with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such': What a shame! She's such a beautiful girl. - referring to a single object or person: I'd like an orange and two lemons please.
The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.! We usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.That we use 'one' to add emphasis or to contrast with other numbers: We've got six computers but only one
printer.
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VIIP R E P O S I T I O N
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most often they come before a noun. They never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to.
1. Time
On - days of the week: on Monday
In - months / seasons: in August / in winter - time of day: in the morning
- year: in 2006 - after a certain period of time (when?): in an hour
At - for night: at night - for weekend: at the weekend - a certain point of time (when?): at half past nine
Since - from a certain point of time (past till now): since 1980
For - over a certain period of time (past till now): for 2 years
Ago - a certain time in the past: 2 years ago
Before - earlier than a certain point of time: before 2004
To - telling the time: ten to six (5:50)
Past - telling the time: ten past six (6:10)
To / till / until - marking the beginning and end of a period of time: from Monday to/till Friday
Till / until - in the sense of how long something is going to last: He is on holiday until Friday.
By - in the sense of at the latest: I will be back by 6 o'clock. - up to a certain time: By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
2. Location
In - room, building, street, town, country, etc: in the kitchen, in London -book, paper, etc.: in the book - car, taxi, etc: in the car, in a taxi - picture, world, etc: in the picture, in the world
At - next to, by an object: at the door, at the station - for table: at the table
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- for events: at a concert, at the party - place: where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work): at the cinema, at
school, at work
On - attached: the picture on the wall - for a place with a river: London lies on the Thames. - being on a surface: on the table - for a certain side (left, right): on the left - for a floor in a house: on the first floor - for public transport: on the bus, on a plane - for television, radio: on TV, on the radio
By, next to, beside -left or right of somebody or something: Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
Under - on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else: the bag is under the table
Below - lower than something else but above ground: the fish are below the surface
Over - covered by something else: put a jacket over your shirt - meaning more than: over 16 years of age - getting to the other side (also across): walk over the bridge - overcoming an obstacle: climb over the wall
Above - higher than something else, but not directly over it: a path above the lake
Across - getting to the other side (also over): walk across the bridge - getting to the other side: swim across the lake
Through - something with limits on top, bottom and the sides: drive through the tunnel
To - movement to person or building: go to the cinema - movement to a place or country: go to London / Ireland - for bed: go to bed
Into - enter a room / a building: go into the kitchen / the house
Towards - movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it): go 5 steps towards the house
Onto - movement to the top of something: jump onto the table
From - in the sense of where from: a flower from the garden
3. Direction
Around - in a circular direction: I've driven around this neighborhood three times and I still can’t find their house.
At - in the (general) direction of: The little boy threw a stone at the little girl.
Away from - leaving a place, a person or an object: She ran away from home when she was sixteen.
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Down - descending motion: Raindrops ran down the windscreen making it difficult to see the road.
Down to - descending motion expressing a final destination: The child fell down to the ground.
For - having the view or destination of : The Israelites set out for The Promised Land when they left Egypt.
Into - a destination within something: The frightened deer disappeared into the forest.
Onto - a destination on something: He put the plate onto the table and began to eat his dinner.
Out of - a destination outside of something: He ran out of the room as if he were on fire.
To - in the specific direction of: To the hospital, please. And hurry! This is an emergency. Could you give this DVD to Jill, please?
Towards - in the general direction of: We were driving towards the city center when we had an accident.
Up - ascending, in a general motion: The smoke from the fire went up into the sky.
Up to - ascending, expressing specific destination: You'll be able to reach the cat if you climb up to the top of the tree.
4. Position
Place prepositions , are prepositions that are used to describe the place or position of all types of nouns. It is common for the preposition to be placed before the noun.
In - is usually used to state that someone or something is in a place that is enclosed or within boundaries: in the city, in the box, in the park.
On - is usually used to state someone or something is on top of a surface: on the table, on the floor, on the wall.
At - is usually used to state something or someone is at a specific place: at the mall, at the table , at the work.
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VIIIS Y N T A X
1. Sentence structure
Word order
Positive: Subject–Verb–Object: I speak English. Subject–Verb–Indirect object–Direct object–Place–Time: I’ll tell you the story at school
tomorrow.Negative: Subject–Verb and negation–Indirect object–Direct object–Place–Time: I’ll not tell you the story
at school tomorrow.
2. Direct speech. Reported speech
Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing, we place the words spoken between inverted commas ("....") and there is no change in these words. We may be reporting something that's being said NOW (for example a telephone conversation), or telling someone later about a previous conversation.
Examples: She says "What time will you be home?" She said "What time will you be home?" and I said "I don't know! " "There's a fly in my soup!" screamed Simone. John said, "There's an elephant outside the window."
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. Inverted commas are not used.
Examples: She said, "I saw him." -> She said that she had seen him. 'That' may be omitted: She told him that she was happy.
She told him she was happy.Use 'say' when there is no indirect object: He said that he was tired.Use 'tell' when you say who was being spoken to (i.e. with an indirect object): He told me that he was tired. 'Talk' and 'speak' are used - to describe the action of communicating: He talked to us.
She was speaking on the telephone. - with 'about' to refer to what was said: He talked (to us) about his parents.
Tense changes when using reported speech Normally, the tense in reported speech is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech:She said, "I am tired." -> She said that she was tired.
Simple Present -> Simple Past"I always drink coffee", she said. She said that she always drank coffee.
Present Continuous -> Past Continuous
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"I am reading a book", he explained. He explained that he was reading a book.
Simple Past -> Past Perfect"Bill arrived on Saturday", he said. He said that Bill had arrived on Saturday.
Present Perfect -> Past Perfect"I have been to Spain", he told me. He told me that he had been to Spain.
Past Perfect -> Past Perfect"I had just turned out the light," he explained. He explained that he had just turned out the light.
Present Perfect Continuous -> Past Perfect ContinuousThey complained, "We have been waiting 4 h". They complained that they had been waiting 4 h.
Past continuous -> Past perfect continuous"We were living in Paris", they told me. They told me that they had been living in Paris.
Future -> Present Conditional"I will be in Geneva on Monday", he said. He said that he would be in Geneva on Monday.
Future Continuous -> Conditional ContinuousShe said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". She said that she would be using the car next….
Note- you do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present, or if the original statement was
about something that is still true.e.g. He says he has missed the train but he'll catch the next one.
We explained that it is very difficult to find our house. - these modal verbs do not change in reported speech: might, could, would, should, ought to.
e.g. We explained that it could be difficult to find our house. She said that she might bring a friend to the party.
3. Conditional sentences(clauses). The “zero”. Type 1 . Type 2. Type 3
In ‘zero’ conditional sentences, the tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present:
‘If’ clause (condition) Main clause (result) If + Simple Present Simple Present If you heat ice it melts. If it rains you get wet. In these sentences, the time is now or always and the situation is real and possible. They are used to make statements about the real world, and often refer to general truths, such as scientific facts.
Examples: If you freeze water, it becomes a solid. Plants die if they don't get enough water. If my husband has a cold, I usually catch it. If public transport is efficient, people stop using their cars.
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This structure is often used to give instructions, using the imperative in the main clause: If Bill phones, tell him to meet me at the cinema! Ask Pete if you're not sure what to do!
In a Type 1 conditional sentences, the tense in the ‘if’ clause is the simple present, and the tense in the main clause is the simple future:
‘If’ clause (condition) Main clause (result)If + Simple Present Simple FutureIf it rains you will get wet.If you don't hurry we will miss the train
In these sentences, the time is the present or future and the situation is real. They refer to a possible condition and its probable result. They are based on facts, and they are used to make statements about the real world, and about particular situations. We often use such sentences to give warnings: If you don't leave, I'll call the police.
If you don't drop the gun, I'll shoot!Examples: If you drop that glass, it will break.
Nobody will notice if you make a mistake. If I have time, I'll finish that letter. What will you do if you miss the plane?
In a Type 2 conditional sentences, it is theoretically possible to fulfill a condition which is given in the if-clause.
‘If’ clause (condition) Main clause (result)Simple Past {would + infinitive or could + infinitive or might + infinitive}
If I studied I would pass the exams.If I studied I could pass the exams.If I studied I might pass the exams.
The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence: If I studied, I would pass the exams. I would pass the exams if I studied.
In a Type 3 conditional sentences, it is impossible to fulfill a condition which is given in the if-clause.
‘If’clause (condition) Main clause (result) Past Perfect {would + have + past participle or could + have + past participle or might
+ have + past participle} If I had studied I would have passed the exams.
If I had studied I could have passed the exams.If I had studied I might have passed the exams.
The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence: If I had studied, I would have passed the ex. I would have passed the exams if I had stud.
4. Mixed conditional sentences
Unreal conditionals (type II + III) sometimes can be mixed, that is, the time of the if clause is different from the one of the main clause.
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Past -> PresentIf I had taken an aspirin, I wouldn't have a headache now.
Past -> FutureIf I’d known that you’re going to come by tomorrow, I would be in then.
Present -> PastIf she had enough money, she could have done this trip to Hawaii.
Present -> FutureIf I were you, I would be spending my vacation in Seattle.
Future -> PastIf I weren't flying to Detroit, I would have planned a trip to Vancouver.
Future -> PresentIf I were taking this exam next week, I would be high-strung.
5. ‘Unless’
Unless means the same as ‘if...not’. Like ‘if’, it is followed by a present tense, a past tense or a past perfect (never by 'would'). It is used instead of if + not in conditional sentences of all types:
Type 1- (Unless + present): You'll be sick unless you stop eating. (= You will be sick if you don't stop eating)
I won't pay unless you provide the goods immediately. (= If you don't provide them I
won't
pay)
You'll never understand English unless you study this grammar carefully. (= You'll
never understand if you don't
study...)
Type 2- (Unless + past): Unless he was very ill, he would be at work.
I wouldn't eat that food unless I was really hungry.
She would be here by now unless she was stuck in the traffic.
Type 3- (Unless + past perfect): Our marketing director would not have signed the contract unless she'd had the
company legal expert
present.
I wouldn't have phoned him unless you'd suggested it.
They would have shot her unless she'd given them the money.
6. Unreal past
The past tense is sometimes used in English to refer to an 'unreal' situation. So, although the tense is the past, we are usually talking about the present:
e.g. in a Type 2 conditional sentence: If an elephant and a mouse fell in love, they would have many problems.Although fell is in the past tense, we are talking about a hypothetical situation that might exist now or at any
time, but we are not referring to the past. We call this use the unreal past.
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Other situations where this occurs are: after other words and expressions like 'if' (supposing, if only, what if); after the verb 'to wish'; after the expression 'I'd rather..'
Expressions like 'if' can be used to introduce hypothetical situations. ‘supposing’, ‘if only’, ‘what if’ are followed by a past tense to indicate that the condition they introduce is unreal:
Supposing an elephant and a mouse fell in love? (= but we know this is unlikely or impossible)
What if we painted the room purple? (= that would be very surprising) If only I had more money. (= but I haven't).
These expressions can also introduce hypothetical situations in the past and then they are followed by the past perfect.
If only I hadn't kissed the frog (= I did and it was a mistake because he turned into a horrible prince, but I can't change it now.)
What if the elephant had trodden on the mouse? (She didn't, but we can imagine the result!) Supposing I had given that man my money! (I didn't, so I've still got my money now.)
The verb ‘to wish’ is followed by an unreal past tense when we want to talk about situations in the present that we are not happy about but cannot change: I wish I had more money (=but I haven't)
She wishes she was beautiful (= but she's not) We wish we could come to your party (but we can't)
When we want to talk about situations in the past that we are not happy about or actions that we regret, we use the verb to wish followed by the past perfect: I wish I hadn't said that (= but I did)
He wishes he hadn't bought the car (= but he did buy it.) I wish I had taken that job in New York (= but I didn't, so I'm stuck
in Bristol) !When we want to talk about situations we are not happy about and where we want someone else to change
them, we use to wish followed by would + infinitive:I wish he would stop smoking. (= I don't like it, I want him to change it) I wish you would go away. (= I don't want you here, I want you to take some action) I wish you wouldn't squeeze the toothpaste from the middle! (= I want you to change your habits.)
‘I'd rather’ and ‘it's time’ are also followed by an unreal past. The verb is in the past tense, but the situation is in the present. When we want to talk about a course of action we would prefer someone else to take, we use I'd rather + past tense: I'd rather you went
He'd rather you called the police I'd rather you didn't hunt elephants.
Similarly, when we want to say that now is a suitable moment to do something, either for ourselves or for someone else, we use it's time + past tense: It's (high) time I went.
It's time you paid that bill. Don't you think it's time you had a haircut?
7. Relative clauses
There are two different types of relative clause: a "defining" or identifying clause, which tells us which person or thing we are talking about. This kind of clause could often be information included in brackets (...); a "non-defining" or non-essential clause, which gives us more information about the person or thing we are talking about.
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Example: The farmer (his name was Fred) sold us some potatoes. -> The farmer, whose name was Fred, sold us some potatoes.
It is important to see the difference between the two types of clause, as it affects:- the choice of pronoun used to introduce the clause;- the punctuation - you must use commas with a non-defining clause.
Defining relative clauses. As the name suggests, these clauses give essential information to define or identify the person or thing we are talking about. Obviously, this is only necessary if there is more than one person or thing involved.
Example: Dogs that like cats are very unusual. In this sentence we understand that there are many dogs, but it is clear that we are only talking about the ones
that like cats.
The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses:
Person Thing Place / Time ReasonSubject who/ that which/ that where/ when whyObject who/ whom/ that which/ that where/ when why
Possessive whose whose where/ when why
! The relative pronoun stands in place of a noun. This noun usually appears earlier in the sentence:The woman who/ that spoke at the meeting was very knowledgeable.Noun, subject relative pronoun verb + rest of relative verb + rest of main clauseof main clause cause
! ‘Who’, ‘whom’ and ‘which’ can be replaced by ‘that’. This is very common in spoken English. The relative pronoun can be omitted when it is the object of the clause: The woman that the man loved was living in New York.
‘Whose’ is used for things as well as for people: The man whose car was stolen. A tree whose leaves have fallen.
‘Whom’ is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who/that, or omit the pronoun completely: The doctor whom/who/that/ I was hoping to see wasn't on duty.
That normally follows words like something, anything, everything, nothing, all, and superlatives.Examples: There's something that you should know.
It was the best film that I've ever seen. A clown is someone who makes you laugh. Has anyone seen the book I was reading? Nothing that anyone does can replace my lost bag.
Non-defining relative clauses . The information in these clauses is not essential. It tells us more about someone or something, but it does not help us to identify them or it.
Compare:Dogs that like cats are very unusual. (This tells us which dogs we are talking about). Gorillas, which are large and originate in Africa, can sometimes be found in zoos. (This gives us some extra
information about gorillas - we are talking about all gorillas, not just one type or group).
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John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren. (We know who John's mother is, and he only has one. The important information is the number of grandchildren, but the fact that she lives in Scotland might be followed with the words "by the way" - it is additional information).
Punctuation: are always separated from the rest of the sentence by commas; the commas have a similar function to brackets: My friend John has just written a best-selling novel. (He went to the same school as me)
My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.
Relative pronouns in non-defining clauses:
Person Thing PlaceSubject who whichObject who/ whom which where
Possessive whose
! In non-defining clauses, you cannot use 'that' instead of who, whom or which.
You cannot leave out the relative pronoun, even when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause: He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope. He gave me the letter, which I read immediately
Non-defining clauses can be introduced by expressions like: ….+ whom + which
Personall ofAny of(a) few ofBoth ofEach ofEither ofHalf ofMany ofMost ofMuch ofNone ofOne ofTwo of
Examples: There were a lot of people at the party, many of whom I had known for years. He was carrying his belongings, many of which were broken.
The relative pronoun which at the beginning of a non-defining relative clause, can refer to all the information contained in the previous part of the sentence, rather than to just one word.
Chris did really well in his exams, which was a big surprise. (= the fact that he did well in his exams was a big surprise).
A socialist and a conservative agreed on the new law, which is most unusual. (= the fact that they agreed is unusual).
Examples: My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England. I spoke to Fred, who explained the problem.
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The old man looked at the tree, under which he had often sat. We stopped at the museum, which we'd never been into. She's studying mats, which many people hate. I've just met Susan, whose husband works in London. He had thousands of books, most of which he had read.
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