Manual
Indefinite pronouns: something, anything,
nothing
We can use indefinite pronouns when it is not possible or not necessary to
specify or be precise:
Places People Objects
Somewher
Someone / Somebody Something
e
Nowhere No one / Nobody Nothing
Anywhere Anyone / Anybody Anything
"Some-" indefinite pronouns often appear in affirmative sentences:
There is a supermarket somewhere near here.
Somebody called earlier.
I want to talk to you about something.
"Some-" and "any-" indefinite pronouns can be used in interrogative
structures with a slight difference in meaning. Compare:
Would you like something to eat? (The speaker expects an affirmative
answer.)
Would you like anything to eat? (The speaker doesn't know if the answer
will be affirmative or negative.)
"Any-" indefinite pronouns are normally used in phrases with a negative
meaning:
I don't want to go anywhere today.
You never help me with anything.
“No-” indefinite pronouns are also used in phrases with a negative meaning.
We use an affirmative verb to avoid double negatives:
There is nothing in the refrigerator. (NOT There isn't nothing in the
refrigerator.)
Speak to nobody. = Don't speak to anybody.
She wants nothing. = She doesn't want anything.
In informal American English, indefinite pronouns with "-where" are
sometimes replaced with "-place":
Let's go someplace where we can talk.
Present perfect vs. past simple
a) Form:
PRESENT PERFECT PAST SIMPLE
I talked to him
I have travelled /
Affirmative yesterday.
traveled a lot.
(+) She asked him for the
She has read many books.
time.
They haven’t seen that film I didn't believe him.
Negative
yet. She didn't answer my
(-)
He has not been to Italy. question.
Have you talked to him
Did you enjoy the party?
Interrogative today?
Did you take the train
(?) Has she spent all of her
yesterday?
money already?
Past form vs. Past participle
The past and past participle forms of regular verbs have the same "-
ed" ending. Irregular verbs have different forms:
Infinitiv
Past Past participle
e
to ask asked asked
regular to travel travelled / traveled travelled / traveled
to enjoy enjoyed enjoyed
to be was / were been
irregular to see saw seen
to read read read
b) Use:
PRESENT PERFECT PAST SIMPLE
- To refer to an exact moment
- To refer to actions in the past when
in the past:
we don't say when:
I went to the USA in 2017.
I have been to the USA twice.
- To refer to a finished action in
- To refer to actions in the past that
the past:
are not finished yet:
I learned to write when I was
I've been married for two years.
six.
- With “ever, never, before, already,
- With “yesterday, then, ago,
yet, this week, this year”, etc.:
last week, last year”, etc.:
Have you ever read this book?
I read it last year.
The use of 'just' in the present perfect
Just
We use “just” to indicate that something happened a very short time ago.
We use the particle “just” with the perfect tenses and place it between the
auxiliary “have” and the past participle.
Have + just + past participle
I have just eaten.
I have just returned from Austria.
American English
In American English, it's common to use "just" with the same meaning as
above, but with past tenses instead of perfect tenses:
I just ate.
I just returned from Austria.
Past simple: regular affirmative
To make the past form of regular verbs, we can add the ending "-ed":
Infinitive Past form
to work worked
to walk walked
The past form is the same for each person:
I worked yesterday.
She worked last week.
They worked this morning.
If the verb ends in "-y", we usually remove the “y” and add "-ied":
Infinitive Past form
to try tried
to study studied
Present perfect
Form: The present perfect is formed with the auxiliary "have" or "has" and
the past participle of the main verb:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative Short answer
Yes, I / you /
I / you / they / I / you / they / they / we have
Have I / you /
we have we haven't No, I / you /
they / we visited?
visited visited they /
we haven't
Yes, he / she /
he / she / it has
he / she / it has Has he / she /
it hasn't
visited it visited? No, he / she /
visited
it hasn't
Use: This structure usually implies that there is some kind of connection
between the past and the present:
I can't drive you to the airport. I have sold my car. (the action of selling
the car happened in the past, but there is a present consequence)
We can use the present perfect to talk about past actions when we don't
say when. Compare:
I have been to London.
I went to London last year.
We can also use the present perfect with the word "just" to indicate a
recently finished action*:
I’ve just had breakfast.
* This structure is less common in American English. Instead, the past
simple is often used; especially in spoken situations.
Present simple: affirmative
We use the present simple to talk about habits, permanent situations or
general truths. Most verbs have two forms in the present simple which are
based on the infinitive:
infinitive to eat
I / you / we / they eat
he / she / it eats
For the third person singular of most verbs, we just add -s to the infinitive:
to make he makes
to read she reads
to eat it eats
For verbs ending in -s, -x, -sh, or -ch, we add -es:
to
he watches
watch
to go it goes
to mix she mixes
to wash he washes
Verbs ending in consonant + -y, we remove the -y and add -ies:
to
he studies
study
to reply she replies
Some verbs are irregular:
to have she has
to do it does
to be he is
'To be going to + infinitive'
We can use the structure "to be going to + infinitive" to refer to intentions,
plans, and predictions based on evidence:
I am going to see a movie tonight. (plan or intention)
They aren't going to win the match. (prediction)
Are you going (to go*) on holiday this year? (plan or intention)
* when the verb in infinitive is "to go", we often omit it to avoid repetition.
For short answers, we use same short answers for "to be":
Yes, I am.
No, she's not.
Comparatives and superlatives:
adjectives and nouns
ADJECTIVES
more ... than ... (long adjective)
Comparative of She is more intelligent than you.
superiority -er than ... (short adjective)
She is taller than Jim.
less ... than ...
Comparative of Jim is less tall than her.
inferiority not as ... as ...
Jim is not as tall as her.
Comparative of as ... as ...
equality Ron is as tall as her.
NOUNS
more ... than ...
Comparative of
She has more problems than Bill.
superiority
I drink more milk than juice.
Comparative of less ... than ...
inferiority (uncountable nouns)
People now drink less wine than before.
fewer ... than ...
(countable nouns)
He has fewer children than Sean.
as much as
(uncountable nouns)
We have used as much sugar as flour to make
Comparative of the cookies.
equality as many as
(countable nouns)
There were as many adults as children at the
movie theater.
The comparative forms of superiority and inferiority can go with quantifiers
in order to emphasize or to soften the comparison:
MUCH, A LOT, FAR are used in the same way:
Traveling by bus is much cheaper than by car.
My last exam was a lot more difficult than this one.
He is far less interested than I expected.
A BIT, A LITTLE, SLIGHTLY are used in the same way:
Could you speak a little more slowly, please?
I'm a bit less tired today.
This box is slightly bigger than the other one.
ADJECTIVES
the most (long adjectives)
Superlative He’s the most interesting person in the group.
of
superiority the -est (short adjectives)
His hair is the longest in the class.
Superlative the least
of inferiority She is the least shy person I’ve ever met.
NOUNS
Superlative the most
of
superiority He has the most money.
the least
Superlative He does the least work of the whole team.
of inferiority the fewest
He has got the fewest worries.
The superlative forms of superiority and inferiority can sometimes be
modified with BY FAR, NEARLY, and EASILY:
This is by far the least enjoyable meal I have ever had.
It was nearly the biggest disaster in history.
His last novel was easily the best in the series
