8A – THE PASSIVE

 THE PASSIVE (ALL FORMS)

Use:

- When you talk about an action, but you aren’t interested in saying who or what
does/did the action.
- If you also want to say who did the action, use by.

SUBJECT + AUX. VERB (TO BE) + V3 (+ BY + SB.)

Present simple: Murderers are usually sentenced to life imprisonment. IS/ARE + V3

Present continuous: The trial is being held at the moment. IS/ARE BEING + V3

Present perfect: My car has been stolen. HAS BEEN + V3

Past simple: Jim was arrested last month. WAS/WERE + V3

Past continuous: The cinema was being rebuilt when it was set on fire. WAS/WERE
BEING + V3

Past perfect: We saw that one of the windows had been broken. HAD BEEN + V3

Future: The prisoner will be released next month. The verdict is going to be given
tomorrow. WILL / IS GOING TO + BE + V3

Infinitive with to: People used to be imprisoned for stealing bread. TO BE + V3

Infinitive without to: You can be fined for parking on a yellow line. BE + V3

Gerund: He paid a fine to avoid being sent to jail. –ING + V3

 IT IS SAID THAT…, HE IS THOUGHT TO…, ETC.

Use:

- It is a formal structure and the information sound more impersonal. Normally is

used in news report and on TV with the verbs: know, tell, understand, report,
expect, say and think.
- (1) You can use: It is said, believed, etc. + that + clause
- (2) You can use: He, The man, etc. (the subject of the clause) + is said, believed, etc.
+ to + infinitive (e.g. to be) or perfect infinitive (e.g. to have been)

ACTIVE PASSIVE
1 They say that the fire was started inmedi. It is said that the fire was started inmedi.
People think that the mayor will resign. It is thought that the mayor will resign.
2 People say the man is in his 40s. The man is said to be in his 40s.
The police believed he has left the country. He is believed to have left the country.
 8B – REPORTING VERBS

 STRUCTURES AFTER REPORTING VERBS

Use:
- To report what other people have said, you can use say or a specific verb.

e.g. “I’ll drive you to the airport”  Jack said he would drive me to the airport
OR Jack offered to drive me to the airport.

- In negative sentences, use the negative infinitive (not to do) or the negative
gerund (not doing).

e.g. He reminded me not to be late. / She regretted not going to the party.

- With agree, admit, deny, promise, regret, you can also use that + clause.

e.g. Leo admitted stealing the watch. OR Leo admitted he had stolen the watch.

Advise Apologize (to sb) for

Ask Insist on
Agree Convince Accuse sb of
Refuse Encourage sb. Recommend
Threaten (not) to (not)
Invite (not) to Admit
Offer + Inf + ING
Persuade + Inf Regret
Promise Remind Blame sb for
Tell Suggest
Warm Deny

9A – CLAUSES OF CONTRAST AND PURPOSE

 CLAUSES OF CONTRAST

Although, though, even though + clause Aunque, a pesar de

Use:
- To express a big or surprising contrast.
- Although and even though  at the beginning or in the middle of the
sentence. (Even though is stronger.)
- Though  in the middle of a sentence. (Is more informal than although.)

In spite of, despite + (noun) + ing

+ the fact that + subj. + verb.

- Never put of after despite. (despite of…).

 CLAUSES OF PURPOSE
Use: Para

- To, in order (not) to and so as (not) to + Inf.

- For + noun or + ing.
- So that + subj. + modal verb (can, could, would, may, will…)
 9B – UNCONTABLE AND PLURAL NOUNS

 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

- The following words are always UNCONTABLE:

Accommodation Rubbish
Advice
Behaviour Scenery Luck
Bread
Health Traffic Luggage
Equipment
Politics Weather News
Furniture
Progress Work Research
Homework Toast
(other words ending in -ics: athletics, Information
economics).

- They always need a singular verb. is/was - Use a piece of to talk about an individual item.
- They don’t have plurals. are/were - Use some to talk about more than one item.
- They can’t be used with a/an.

 COUNTABLE OR UNCONTABLE

e.g. GLASS (the material used to make windows) or A GLASS (the thing you drink out of).

Other e.g. Iron, business, paper, light, time, space.

 PLURAL AND COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Arms, guns, belongings, clothes, manners, outskirts, scissors, trousers / shorts.

- Are plural nouns with no singular.

- They need always plural verbs (are/were).
- Can’t be used with a/an.
- If they are tow parts we can use a pair of or some.

Crew, staff, etc.

- Collective nouns and they refer to a group of people.

- We can use singular (is/was) or plural (are/were) verbs.

Police
- Always with plural verb (are/were)

10A – QUANTIFIERS: ALL, EVERY, BOTH, ETC.

 ALL, EVERY, MOST

Use:
- All (in general) or all (of) the (specific) + plural or uncountable noun
- Before the main verb or after be.
- Everything / everybody (all things, all people) + singular verb (is/was)
- Most (general) or most of (specific)  to express the majority.
- All of / most of + an object pronoun (us, them, you, it…)
- Every + singular countable noun (day, Saturday, room…) to mean “all of a group”
  NO, NONE, ANY
Use:
- Positive verb + no + noun
- Negative verb + any (+ noun)
- None
- In short answers
- Positive verb + none (to express zero quantity).e.g. there’s none
- None + of + pronoun (us, them…) / noun.
- Any (anything, anyone…) + positive verb. (it doesn’t matter what, who, etc) e.g.
any weekend

10B – ARTICLES

 BASIC RULES: A / AN / THE, NO ARTICLE

Use:
- A or An
- When you mentioned sth. or sb. for the first time.
- To say who or what sb. or sth. is.
- The
- When it’s clear who or what sb or sth. is (it has been mentioned before
or it’s unique).
- No article
- To speak in general with plural and uncountable nouns, or in phrases like at
home / work, go home / to bed, next / last (week)

 INSTITUTIONS

With words like prison, church, school, hospital and university

- When you are thinking about and institution and the normal purpose it is
used it for  NO ARTICLE
- When you are thinking about the building  A or THE.

 MORE RULES: GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

THE:
- Most countries, continents, regions ending with the name of the country continent
(North America…), islands, states, provinces, towns and cities.
- Exceptions: The USA, the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the
demographic republic of Chorea / Congo.
- Roads, streets, parks, bridges, shops and restaurants.
- Exceptions: motorways and numbered roads, the M6, the A25)
- Individual mountains and lakes.

THE:
- Mountain ranges, rivers, seas, canals, deserts and island groups.
- The names of theatres, cinemas, hotels, galleries and museum.