Grammar

English Grammar Prepared By:

Mr Mohamed Mesbah Egypt Cairo Maadi

/

) ( :

http://www.geocities.com/general_mesbah1/Grammar.pdf Acrobat 6.0 ME --

: http://www.winsoft.fr/products/AcrobatStd/East/acrobat.html :

[email protected] :

20105243274

INDEX

English Grammar What is Grammar? Glossary of English Grammar Terms English Parts of Speech Parts of Speech Table Parts of Speech Examples Words with More than One Job 1. Verbs What are Verbs? Verb Classification

1. Helping Verbs 2. Main Verbs

Helping Verbs Primary helping verbs (3 verbs) Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

Verb Forms Forms of Main Verbs

Example Sentences Infinitive Base - Imperative

English Grammar.....English Grammar.....English Grammar

Page 1 of 118English Grammar

05/02/2005file://F:\Grammar.htmPDF created with FinePrint pdfFactory Pro trial version http://www.fineprint.com

Base - Present simple (except 3rd person singular) Base - After modal auxiliary verbs Past simple Past participle Present participle 3rd person singular, present simple

Forms of Helping Verbs Tenses Simple Present Tense

How do we make the Simple Present Tense? How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

Present Continuous Tense How do we make the Present Continuous Tense? How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?

Present continuous tense for action happening now Present continuous tense for the future

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense? Present Perfect Tense How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?

Contractions with the present perfect tense How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

1. Present perfect tense for experience 2. Present perfect tense for change 3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense Present Perfect Continuous Tense

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense? Contractions

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense? 1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped 2. An action continuing up to now

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense Simple Past Tense How do we make the Simple Past Tense? How do we use the Simple Past Tense? Past Continuous Tense How do we make the Past Continuous Tense? How do we use the Past Continuous Tense? Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense Past Perfect Tense How do we make the Past Perfect Tense? How do we use the Past Perfect Tense? Past Perfect Continuous Tense

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense? How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

Simple Future Tense How do we make the Simple Future Tense? How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

No Plan Prediction Be



Future Continuous Tense How do we make the Future Continuous Tense? How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

Future Perfect Tense How do we make the Future Perfect Tense? How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense? How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs Phrasal Verbs

Separable Phrasal Verbs Prepositional Verbs Phrasal-prepositional Verbs English Conditionals Structure of Conditional Sentences First Conditional: real possibility Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream Third Conditional: no possibility Zero Conditional: certainty Conditionals: Summary Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries) Can, Could, Be able to Can

Structure of Can Use of Can

can: Possibility and Ability can: Requests and Orders can: Permission

Could Structure of Could Use of Could

could: Past Possibility or Ability could: Requests

Be able to Structure of Be able to Use of Be able to

be able to: ability Gerunds (-ing) Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement Gerunds after Prepositions Gerunds after Certain Verbs Gerunds in Passive Sense Questions Basic Question Structure Basic Question Types

1. Yes/No Questions 2. Question Word Questions 3. Choice Questions

Tag Questions Intonation



Answers to tag questions Question tags with imperatives Same-way question tags

Subjunctive Structure of the Subjunctive Use of the Subjunctive

Why do we say I were, he were? Active Voice, Passive Voice Passive Voice

Construction of the Passive Voice Use of the Passive Voice Conjugation for the Passive Voice

Infinitive or -ing? When to use the infinitive When to use -ing

Plural Verbs with Singular Subjects Verb Meanings with Continuous Tenses Verbs not Used with Continuous Tenses Verbs with Two Meanings Be and Continuous Tenses Used to do & Be used to Used to do

Use of Used to do Be used to

Structure of Be used to Use of Be used to

Tenses Going to

Structure of Going to Use of Going to

Going to - intention Going to - prediction

2. Nouns What are Nouns?

Countable and Uncountable Nouns Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable 3. Adjectives Determiners Determiners: A, An or The? Determiners: Each, Every Determiners: Some, Any Adjective Order Adjective Before Noun Adjective After Verb Comparative Adjectives Formation of Comparative Adjectives Superlative Adjectives Formation of Superlative Adjectives Use of Superlative Adjectives



4. Adverbs Adverbs of Frequency 5. English Pronouns Personal Pronouns Personal Pronouns 6. English Prepositions English Prepositions List English Preposition Rule Prepositions of Place: at, in, on Prepositions of Time: at, in, on 7. Conjunctions

Form Function Position

Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions 8. Interjections

What is Grammar?

Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the rules of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the word rules, we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call grammar is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.

Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is no. Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word grammar. But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently. Its important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.

So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.

Glossary of English Grammar Terms

Active Voice In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the President). See also Passive Voice.

Adjective A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.



Adverb A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.

Article The indefinite articles are a and an. The definite article is the.

Auxiliary Verb A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs.

Clause A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he arrived).

Conjunction A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).

Infinitive The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.

Interjection An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection (for example: oh!, ah!, ouch!, well!).

Modal Verb An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called modal auxiliary verb.

2. Nouns A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an object, concept, person or place. A concrete noun is something you can see or touch like a person or car. An abstract noun is something that you cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness. A countable noun is something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar). An uncountable noun is something that you cannot count (for example: water, music, money).

Object In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb.

Participle The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the present participle. The -ed form is called the past participle (for irregular verbs, this is column 3).

Part Of Speech One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

Passive Voice In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was killed). See also Active Voice.



Phrase A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the girl in a red dress).

Predicate Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The predicate is what is said about the subject.

Preposition A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun and give information about things like time, place and direction.

Pronoun A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.

Sentence A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement, question, exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a subject and a predicate. In simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and (usually) a subject. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).

Subject Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which something is said.

Tense The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past, present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to when the action happens. The present continuous tense, for example, can be used to talk about the present or the future.

Verb A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or state.

English Parts of Speech

There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For example, some words express action. Other words express a thing. Other words join one word to another word. These are the building blocks of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the windows, and door frames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word has its own job.

We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called parts of speech.

Its quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.

In this lesson, we have an overview of the eight parts of speech, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:



Parts of Speech Table Parts of Speech Examples Words with More than One Job

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.

Parts of Speech Examples

Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:

part of speech function or job example words example sentences

Verb action or state (to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must

EnglishClub.com is a web site. I like EnglishClub.com.

Noun thing or person pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John

This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.

Adjective describes a noun a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting

My dog is big. I like big dogs.

Adverb describes a verb, adjective or adverb

quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really

My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.

Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she, some Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.

Preposition links a noun to another word

to, at, after, on, but We went to school on Monday.

Conjunction joins clauses or sentences or words

and, but, when I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I dont like cats.

Interjection short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence

oh!, ouch!, hi!, well Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I dont know.

verb

Stop!

noun verb

John works.

noun verb verb

John is working.

pronoun verb noun noun verb adjective noun



Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

Words with More than One Job

Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For example, work can be a verb and a noun; but can be a conjunction and a preposition; well can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives.

To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: What job is this word doing in this sentence?

In the table on the right you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some of the words in the table. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word but has six jobs to do:

verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjunction!

She loves animals. Animals like kind people.

noun verb noun adverb

Tara speaks English well.

noun verb adjective noun

Tara speaks good English.

pronoun verb preposition adjective noun adverb

She ran to the station quickly.

pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.

She likes big snakes but I hate them.

interjection pron. conj. adj. noun verb prep. noun adverb

Well, she and young John walk to school slowly.

word part of speech example

work noun My work is easy.

verb I work in London.

but conjunction John came but Mary didnt come.

preposition Everyone came but Mary.

well adjective Are you well?

adverb She speaks well.

interjection Well! Thats expensive!



1. Verbs

What are Verbs?

The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: Stop! You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word.

Verbs are sometimes described as action words. This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of doing something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.

But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of being. For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.

A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence John speaks English, John is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:

action (Ram plays football.) state (Anthony seems kind.)

There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:

to work, work, works, worked, working

Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or more forms for a single verb.

In this lesson we look at the ways in which we classify verbs, followed by a quiz to test your understanding:

Verb Classification Helping Verbs Main Verbs

Verb Classification

We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

1. Helping Verbs

Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

afternoon noun We ate in the afternoon.

noun acting as adjective We had afternoon tea.



I can. People must. The Earth will.

Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! Thats because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They help the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

2. Main Verbs

Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:

I teach. People eat. The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. Thats because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.

In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.

Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following pages.

Helping Verbs

Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They help the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping verbs in English,

helping verb main verb

John likes coffee.

You lied to me.

They are happy.

The children are playing.

We must go now.

I do not want any.

Helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs.



and we divide them into two basic groups:

Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)

These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following cases:

be o to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.) o to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)

have o to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)

do o to make negatives (I do not like you.) o to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?) o to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.) o to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

We use modal helping verbs to modify the meaning of the main verb in some way. A modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These are the modal verbs:

can, could may, might will, would, shall, should must ought to

Here are examples using modal verbs:

I cant speak Chinese. John may arrive late. Would you like a cup of coffee? You should see a doctor. I really must go now.

Semi-modal verbs (3 verbs) The following verbs are often called semi-modals because they are partly like modal helping verbs and partly like main verbs:



Verb Forms

English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. To be has 9 forms. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses, but they are not the same thing.

In this lesson we look at the forms of main verbs and helping (auxiliary) verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Forms of Main Verbs Forms of Helping Verbs

l need l dare

l used to

Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbsexcept the verb behave only 4, 5 or 6 forms. Be has 9 forms.

Main verbs are also called lexical verbs.

V1 V2 V3

infinitive base past simple past participle

present participle

present simple, 3rd person singular

regular (to) work work worked worked working works

irregular

(to) sing (to) make (to) cut

sing make cut

sang made cut

sung made cut

singing making cutting

sings makes cuts

(to) do* (to) have*

do have

did had

done had

doing having

does has

infinitive base past simple past participle

present participle present simple

(to) be* be was, were been being am, are, is



In the above examples:

l to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts l to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works l to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings l to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding -ed to the base. They do not learn the past participle and 3rd person singular present simple by heartfor another very simple reason: they never change. The present participle is always made by adding -ing to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding s to the base (though there are some variations in spelling).

Note that do, have and be also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).

Example Sentences

These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Infinitive

l I want to work l He has to sing. l This exercise is easy to do. l Let him have one. l To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative

l Work well! l Make this. l Have a nice day. l Be quiet!

The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the bare infinitive.



Base - Present simple (except 3rd person singular)

l I work in London. l You sing well. l They have a lot of money.

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

l I can work tomorrow. l You must sing louder. l They might do it.

You could be right.

Past simple

l I worked yesterday. l She cut his hair last week. l They had a good time. l They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle

l I have worked here for five years. l He needs a folder made of plastic. l It is done like this. l I have never been so happy.

Present participle

l I am working. l Singing well is not easy. l Having finished, he went home. l You are being silly!

3rd person singular, present simple



l He works in London. l She sings well. l She has a lot of money. l It is Vietnamese.

Forms of Helping Verbs

All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2 groups of helping verbs:

Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and in making questions and negatives.

Modal helping verbs, used to change the mood of the main verb.

Study the table opposite. It shows the principal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains the differences between primary and modal helping verbs.

Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main verb. In fact, the main verb is understood. Look at the following examples:

Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is expressed.) Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is understood from the

context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.

But if somebody walked into the room and said Hello. I can, we would understand nothing!

Helping Verbs

Primary Modal

do (to make simple tenses, and questions and negatives) can could

be (to make continuous tenses, and the passive voice) may might

have (to make perfect tenses) will would

shall should

must

ought (to)



Tenses

The English Tense System

The links opposite are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

Structure: How do we make the tense? Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

Simple Present Tense

Do, be and have as helping verbs have exactly the same forms as when they are main verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never used in infinitive forms).

Modal helping verbs are invariable. They always have the same form.

Primary helping verbs are followed by the main verb in a particular form:

l do + V1 (base verb) l be + -ing (present participle) l have + V3 (past participle)

Ought is followed by the main verb in infinitive form. Other modal helping verbs are followed by the main verb in its base form (V1).

l ought + to... (infinitive) l other modals + V1 (base verb)

Do, be and have can also function as main verbs.

Modal helping verbs cannot function as main verbs.

Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100 native English speakers in the street and asked them about tense, one of them might give you an intelligent answerif you were lucky. The other 99 would know little about terms like past perfect or present continuous. And they would know nothing about aspect, voice or mood. But they can all speak fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it helps to know about tenses, but dont become obsessed with them. Be like those native speakers! Speak naturally!

I sing



How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary. 2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary. 3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb do base

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I, you, we, they like coffee.

He, she, it likes coffee.

- I, you, we, they do not like coffee.

He, she, it does not like coffee.

? Do I, you, we, they like coffee?

Does he, she, it like coffee?

subject main verb

+ I am French.

You, we, they are French.

He, she, it is French.

- I am not old.

You, we, they are not old.

He, she, it is not old.

? Am I late?

Are you, we, they late?

Is he, she, it late?



How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

the action is general the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future the action is not only happening now the statement is always true

Look at these examples:

I live in New York. The Moon goes round the Earth. John drives a taxi. He does not drive a bus. We do not work at night. Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb to be in the present simple tensesome of them are general, some of them are now:

John drives a taxi. past present future

It is Johns job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Am I right? Tara is not at home.

You are happy. past present future

The situation is now.

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful?



Present Continuous Tense

We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use.

In this lesson we look the structure and use of the present continuous tense, follwed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Structure: how do we make the present continuous tense? Use: when and why do we use the present continuous tense? Spelling: how do we spell verbs with -ing for the present continuous tense?

How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?

The structure of the present continuous tense is:


Ram is tall. past present future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

This page shows the use of the simple present tense to talk about general events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple present tense, for example in conditional or if sentences, or to talk about the future. You will learn about those later.

I am singing

Continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses. So the present progressive tense is the same as the present continuous tense.

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb be base + ing




How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?

We use the present continuous tense to talk about:

action happening now action in the future

Present continuous tense for action happening now

a) for action happening exactly now

Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time...

b) for action happening around now

The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual.

+ I am speaking to you.

+ You are reading this.

- She is not staying in London.

- We are not playing football.

? Is he watching TV?

? Are they waiting for John?

I am eating my lunch. past present future

The action is happening now.

...the pages are turning. ...the candle is burning. ...the numbers are spinning.




Muriel is learning to drive. I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.

Present continuous tense for the future

We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the futureif we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. Future words include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking.


Were eating in a restaurant tonight. Weve already booked the table.. They can play tennis with you tomorrow. Theyre not working. When are you starting your new job?

In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan were made before speaking.

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?

We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally its simplewe just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double the last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how to spell the present continuous tense.

John is going out with Mary. past present future

The action is happening around now.

I am taking my exam next month. past present future

!!!

A firm plan or programme exists now. The action is in the future.



Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In

Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb:

work > working

play > playing

assist > assisting

see > seeing

be > being

Exception 1 If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter:

(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)

s t o p consonant stressed vowel consonant

stop > stopping

run > running

begin > beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed:

open > opening

Exception 2 If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:

lie > lying

die > dying

Exception 3 If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:

come > coming

mistake > mistaking

I have sung



addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the present perfect, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Structure: how to make the present perfect tense Use: when and why to use the present perfect tense For and Since with the present perfect tense. Whats the difference?

How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?

The structure of the present perfect tense is:

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

Contractions with the present perfect tense

When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.

The present perfect tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try not to translate the present perfect tense into your language. Just try to accept the concepts of this tense and learn to think present perfect! You will soon learn to like the present perfect tense!

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb have past participle


+ I have seen ET.

+ You have eaten mine.

- She has not been to Rome.

- We have not played football.

? Have you finished?

? Have they done it?



Here are some examples:

Ive finished my work. Johns seen ET. Theyve gone home.

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:

1. experience 2. change 3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

I have Ive

You have Youve

He has She has It has John has The car has

Hes Shes Its Johns The cars

We have Weve

They have Theyve

Hes or hes??? Be careful! The s contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs have and be. For example, Its eaten can mean:

l It has eaten. [present perfect tense, active voice]

l It is eaten. [present tense, passive voice] It is usually clear from the context.

I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok.



Connection with past: the event was in the past. Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it.

2. Present perfect tense for change

We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:

Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar.

past present future

!!!

The action or state was in the past.

In my head, I have a memory now.

I have bought a car. past present future

- + Last week I didnt have a car. Now I have a car.

John has broken his leg. past present future

+ - Yesterday John had a good leg. Now he has a bad leg.

Has the price gone up? past present future

+ - Was the price $1.50 yesterday? Is the price $1.70 today?



Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present. Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

Connection with past: the situation started in the past. Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

We use for to talk about a period of time5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. We use since to talk about a point in past time9 oclock, 1st January, Monday.

The police have arrested the killer. past present future

- + Yesterday the killer was free. Now he is in prison.

Americans do not use the present perfect tense so much as British speakers. Americans often use the past tense instead. An American might say Did you have lunch?, where a British person would say Have you had lunch?

I have worked here since June. He has been ill for 2 days.

How long have you known Tara? past present future

The situation started in the past. It continues up to now. (It will probably continue into the future.)




I have been here for 20 minutes. I have been here since 9 oclock. John hasnt called for 6 months. John hasnt called since February. He has worked in New York for a long time. He has worked in New York since he left school.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:

for since a period of time a point in past time

20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

etc etc

For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

I have been singing

subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb



Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:

Contractions

When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.


Ive been reading. The cars been giving trouble. Weve been playing tennis for two hours.

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

have has been base + ing

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I have been waiting for one hour.

+ You have been talking too much.

- It has not been raining.

- We have not been playing football.

? Have you been seeing her?

? Have they been doing their homework?

I have been Ive been

You have been Youve been

He has been She has been It has been John has been The car has been

Hes been Shes been Its been Johns been The cars been

We have been Weve been

They have been Theyve been



This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:

1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.

Im tired [now] because Ive been running.

Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?

You dont understand [now] because you havent been listening.

2. An action continuing up to now

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.

I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]

Weve been studying since 9 oclock. [Were still studying now.] How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.] We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

We use for to talk about a period of time5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. We use since to talk about a point in past time9 oclock, 1st January, Monday.

Im tired because Ive been running. past present future

!!!

Recent action. Result now.

I have been reading for 2 hours. past present future

Action started in past. Action is continuing now.




I have been studying for 3 hours. I have been watching TV since 7pm. Tara hasnt been feeling well for 2 weeks. Tara hasnt been visiting us since March. He has been playing football for a long time. He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Structure: how do we make the simple past tense? Use: how do we use the simple past tense?

for since a period of time a point in past time

20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

etc etc

For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

I sang



How do we make the Simple Past Tense?

To make the simple past tense, we use:

past form only or

auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:

The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:

The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:

The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work:

V1 base V2 past

V3 past participle

regular verb

work explode like

worked exploded liked

worked exploded liked

The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed.

irregular verb

go see sing

went saw sang

gone seen sung

The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.

You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only.

subject + main verb past

subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb did base

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb did base




Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situationan eventin the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

+ I went to school.

You worked very hard.

- She did not go with me.

We did not work yesterday.

? Did you go to London?

Did they work at home?

subject main verb

+ I, he/she/it was here.

You, we, they were in London.

- I, he/she/it was not there.

You, we, they were not happy.

? Was I, he/she/it right?

Were you, we, they late?

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door.

We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car?

past present future



Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

the event is in the past the event is completely finished we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

Here are some more examples:

I lived in that house when I was young. He didnt like the movie. What did you eat for dinner? John drove to London on Monday. Mary did not go to work yesterday. Did you play tennis last week? I was at work yesterday. We were not late (for the train). Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to set the scene, but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He

The action is in the past.

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.

We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night?

past present future

The action is in the past.

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.



sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his...

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.

In this lesson we look at the structure and the use of the past continuouse tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Structure: how do we make the past continuous tense? Use: how do we use the past continuous tense?

How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past continuous tense is:

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:

This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.

I was singing

Continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses.

subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense

present participle

was were base + ing


+ I was watching TV.

+ You were working hard.



How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

I was working at 10pm last night. They were not playing football at 9am this morning. What were you doing at 10pm last night? What were you doing when he arrived? She was cooking when I telephoned her. We were having dinner when it started to rain. Ram went home early because it was snowing.

We often use the past continuous tense to set the scene in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:

- He, she, it was not helping Mary.

- We were not joking.

? Were you being silly?

? Were they playing football? The spelling rules for adding ing to make the past continuous tense are the same as for the present continuous tense.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV. past present future

8pm

At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV.

Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses.



James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box...

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.

In the following example, we have two actions:

1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense 2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense

We can join these two actions with when:

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that when you telephoned is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)

We use:

when + short action (simple past tense) while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

past present future

Long action.

I was watching TV at 8pm.

8pm

You telephoned at 8pm.

Short action.

I was walking past the car when it exploded.

When the car exploded I was walking past it.

The car exploded while I was walking past it.

While I was walking past the car it exploded.



Watching TV took a few hours. Telephoned took a few seconds. Walking past the car took a few seconds. Exploded took a few milliseconds.

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the past in the past.

In this lesson we look at:

Structure: how do we make the past perfect tense? Use: how do we use the past perfect tense?

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:

I had sung

subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense

past participle

had V3


+ I had finished my work.

+ You had stopped before me.

- She had not gone to school.

- We had not left.

? Had you arrived?

? Had they eaten dinner?



When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:

The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

I had Id

you had youd

he had she had it had

hed shed itd

we had wed

they had theyd

The d contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, wed can mean:

l We had or

l We would But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

l We had arrived (past participle) l We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

The train had left when we arrived. past present future

Train leaves in past at 9am.

9 9.15

We arrive in past at 9.15am.



Look at some more examples:

I wasnt hungry. I had just eaten. They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours. I didnt know who he was. I had never seen him before. Mary wasnt at home when I arrived.

Really? Where had she gone?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

You are too late. The train has left.

Later, you tell your friends:

We were too late. The train had left.

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:


He told us that the train had left. I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong. He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain. I wondered if I had been there before. I asked them why they had not finished.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:

past perfect tense present perfect tense had |

done | > |

have | done |

> |

past now future past now future

I had been singing



For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb:

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:

subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + auxiliary verb

BE + main verb

conjugated in simple past

tense past participle

present

participle

had been base + ing


+ I had been working.

+ You had been playing tennis.

- It had not been working well.

- We had not been expecting her.

? Had you been drinking?

? Had they been waiting long?

I had been Id been

you had been youd been

he had she had been it had been

hed been shed been itd been

we had been wed been

they had been theyd been



Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.

Here are some more examples:

John was very tired. He had been running. I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking. Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time. Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:

I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours.

Later, you tell your friends:

Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours.

Simple Future Tense

Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived. past present future

Ram starts waiting in past at 9am.

9 11

I arrive in past at 11am.

past perfect continuous tense present perfect continuous tense had |

been | doing | >>>> |

| | | |

| | | |

have | been |

doing | >>>> |


I will sing



The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.

How do we make the Simple Future Tense?

The structure of the simple future tense is:

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb

invariable

base

will V1


+ I will open the door.

+ You will finish before me.

- She will not be at school tomorrow.

- We will not leave yet.

? Will you arrive on time?

? Will they want dinner?

I will Ill

you will youll

he will she will it will

hell shell itll

we will well

they will theyll



For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with wont, like this:

How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

No Plan

We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

Hold on. Ill get a pen. We will see what we can do to help you. Maybe well stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.

We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

I think Ill go to the gym tomorrow. I think I will have a holiday next year. I dont think Ill buy that car.

Prediction

We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

It will rain tomorrow. People wont go to Jupiter before the 22nd century. Who do you think will get the job?

Be

When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples:

Ill be in London tomorrow.

I will not I wont

you will not you wont

he will not she will not it will not

he wont she wont it wont

we will not we wont

they will not they wont



Im going shopping. I wont be very long. Will you be at work tomorrow?

Future Continuous Tense

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future continuous tense is:

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:

Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other tenses or expressions, such as the present continuous tense or going to.

I will be singing

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb

BE + main verb

invariable

invariable

present

participle

will be base + ing


+ I will be working at 10am.

+ You will be lying on a beach tomorrow.

- She will not be using the car.

- We will not be having dinner at home.

? Will you be playing football?

? Will they be watching TV?



For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with wont, like this:

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

I will Ill

you will youll


hell shell itll

we will well

they will theyll

I will not I wont




we will not we wont


We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past present future

4pm

At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.



I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow. They wont be watching TV at 9pm tonight. What will you be doing at 10pm tonight? What will you be doing when I arrive? She will not be sleeping when you telephone her. We ll be having dinner when the film starts. Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

I will have sung

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb

HAVE + main verb

invariable

invariable

past

participle

will have V3


+ I will have finished by 10am.

+ You will have forgotten me by then.

- She will not have gone to school.

- We will not have left.



In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example:

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

? Will you have arrived?

? Will they have received it?

I will have Ill have Illve

you will have youll have youllve

he will have she will have it will have

hell have shell have itll have

hellve shellve itllve

we will have well have wellve

they will have theyll have theyllve

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

The train will have left when you arrive. past present future

Train leaves in future at 9am.

9 9.15



Look at some more examples:

You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8. They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time. Mary wont be at home when you arrive.

Really? Where will she have gone?

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For

You arrive in future at 9.15am.

present perfect tense future perfect tense

| have | done |

> |

will | have | done |

> |


I will have been singing

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary

verb HAVE

+ auxiliary verb BE + main verb

invariable

invariable

past participle

present

participle

will have been base + ing



question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with wont, like this:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I will have been working for four hours.

+ You will have been travelling for two days.

- She will not have been using the car.

- We will not have been waiting long.

? Will you have been playing football?

? Will they have been watching TV?

I will Ill

you will youll


hell shell itll

we will well

they will theyll

I will not I wont




we will not we wont




How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples:

I will have been working here for ten years next week. He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called multi-word verbs. Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English. A multi-word verb is a verb like pick up, turn on or get on with. For convenience, many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words. The other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multi-word verbs form a short phrasewhich is why these verbs are often all called phrasal verbs.

The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. Get is a verb. Get up, is also a verb, a different verb. Get and get up are two different verbs. They do not have the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are three types of multi-word verb:

In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Phrasal Verbs Prepositional Verbs Phrasal-prepositional Verbs

single-word verb look direct your eyes in a certain direction

You must look before you leap.

multi-word verbs

prepositional verbs

look after take care of Who is looking after the baby?

phrasal verbs look up search for and find information in a reference book

You can look up my number in the telephone directory.

phrasal-prepositional verbs

look forward to

anticipate with pleasure I look forward to meeting you.

Like many grammar books, we divide multi-word verbs into:



Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.

Phrasal verbs are made of:

verb + adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

intransitive (no direct object) transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the two parts. For example, turn down is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: turn down my offer or turn my offer down. Look at this table:

l prepositional verbs l phrasal verbs

l phrasal-prepositional verbs Other grammars, however, call all multi-word verbs phrasal verbs.

phrasal verbs meaning examples

direct object

intransitive phrasal verbs

get up rise from bed I dont like to get up.

break down cease to function He was late because his car broke down.

transitive phrasal verbs

put off postpone We will have to put off the meeting.

turn down refuse They turned down my offer.



However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the separable phrasal verb switch on:

Prepositional Verbs

Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs.

Prepositional verbs are made of:

transitive phrasal verbs are separable

(RIGHT) They turned down my offer.

(RIGHT) They turned my offer down.

direct object pronouns must go between the two parts of transitive phrasal verbs

(RIGHT) John switched on the radio.

These are all possible. (RIGHT) John switched the radio on.

(RIGHT) John switched it on.

(WRONG) John switched on it. This is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are separable. If a dictionary writes look (something) up, you know that the phrasal verb look up is separable, and you can say look something up and look up something. Its a good idea to write something/somebody as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:

l get up

l break down

l put something/somebody off l turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).



verb + preposition

Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects. Here are some examples of prepositional verbs:

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object between the two parts. For example, we must say look after the baby. We cannot say look the baby after:

Phrasal-prepositional Verbs

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal-prepositional verbs.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + adverb + preposition

prepositional verbs meaning examples

direct object

believe in have faith in the existence of I believe in God.

look after take care of He is looking after the dog.

talk about discuss Did you talk about me?

wait for await John is waiting for Mary.

prepositional verbs are inseparable (RIGHT)

Who is looking after the baby? This is possible.

(WRONG) Who is looking the baby after? This is not possible.

It is a good idea to write something/somebody in your vocabulary book when you learn a new prepositional verb, like this:

l believe in something/somebody

l look after sthg/sby This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).



Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object. And, like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these examples:

English Conditionals

There are several structures in English that are called conditionals.

Condition means situation or circumstance. If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.

phrasal-prepositional verbs meaning

examples

direct object

get on with have a friendly relationship with He doesnt get on with his wife.

put up with tolerate I wont put up with your attitude.

look forward to anticipate with pleasure I look forward to seeing you.

run out of use up, exhaust We have run out of eggs.

phrasal-prepositional verbs are inseparable

(RIGHT) We ran out of fuel.

(RIGHT) We ran out of it.

It is a good idea to write something/somebody in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal-prepositional verb, like this:

l get on with somebody l put up with sthg/sby l run out of something

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).



If y = 10 then 2y = 20 If y = 3 then 2y = 6

There are three basic conditionals that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often.

In this lesson, we will look at the three basic conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. Well finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

Structure of Conditional Sentences First Conditional Second Conditional Third Conditional Zero Conditional Summary

Structure of Conditional Sentences

The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities. Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this:

or like this:

First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

People sometimes call conditionals IF structures or sentences, because there is usually (but not always) the word if in a conditional sentence.

IF condition result

IF y = 10 2y = 20

result IF condition

2y = 20 IF y = 10



Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?):

Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are

IF condition result

present simple WILL + base verb

If it rains I will stay at home.

IF condition result

present simple WILL + base verb

If I see Mary I will tell her.

If Tara is free tomorrow he will invite her.

If they do not pass their exam their teacher will be sad.

If it rains tomorrow will you stay at home?

If it rains tomorrow what will you do?

result IF condition

WILL + base verb present simple

I will tell Mary if I see her.

He will invite Tara if she is free tomorrow.

Their teacher will be sad if they do not pass their exam.

Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?

What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.



thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning

Documents

Grammar