GRAMMAR

STUDENT
BOOK

PRE-SAT

A1+2
 2024-2025
Academic year
Prepared for

Leznik & Co students

Prepared by

Sabina Abdullayeva

Sources
“EF education First” EF.
https://www.ef.com/wwen/
Signum International AG 2024

1
 Table of Contents
To be in English .............................................................................................. 6-10

• To be in the present
• To be in the past

Nouns ............................................................................................................... 11-25

• Gendered nouns
• Singular and plural nouns including irregular plural nouns
• Countable and uncountable nouns
• Definite pronouns
• Indefinite pronouns
• Compound nouns
• Forming the possessive

Adjectives ........................................................................................................ 26-31

• Definition of adjectives
• Recognizing and placing adjectives in sentences
• The order of adjectives when using several in a row
• Forming comparative and superlative adjectives
• Using adjectives to compare attributes
• Adjectives describing equal quantities
• Adjectives describing unequal quantities

Adverbs ...................................................................................................... 32-44

• What adverbs are and what they are for

• Forming adverbs from adjectives
• Forming the comparative and the superlative of adverbs
• Adverbs of place
• Adverbs of time
• Adverbs of manner
• Adverbs of degree
• Adverbs of certainty

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 • Viewpoint and commenting adverbs
• Relative adverbs
• Interrogative adverbs

Determiners in English …………………………………………………... 45-67

• Definite article : the

• Indefinite articles : a, an
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Pronouns and possessive determiners : my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Quantifiers : a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough
• Numbers : one, ten, thirty
• Distributives : all, both, half, either, neither, each, every
• Difference words : other, another

Tenses ……………………………………………………………………… 68-97

Present Tenses in English

• Simple present
• Present continuous

Past tenses

• Simple past
• Past continuous

Future tenses in English

• Simple future tense

• Future continuous tense
• Using the present continuous to talk about future arrangements
• Using the simple present to talk about scheduled events
• Using "going" to talk about the future
• Future obligations
• The immediate future

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Perfect tenses in English

• Present perfect tense

• Past perfect tense
• Present perfect Continuous
• Past perfect continuous
• Future perfect
• Future perfect Continuous

Agreement ................................................................................................... 98-101

• Subject and verb agreement

Conditional tenses in English .....................................................................102-111

• Zero conditional
• Type 1 conditional
• Type 2 conditional
• Type 3 conditional
• Mixed conditional

The -ing forms in English .......................................................................... 112-120

• Gerund
• Present participle
• Infinitives

Passive voice in English ............................................................................ 120-126

• Passive voice

Reporting speech in English ……………………………………………127-143

• Direct and indirect speech

• Tense changes when reporting speech
• Changing time and place references when reporting speech
• Question forms and reporting speech
• Verbs used for reporting speech in English
• Reporting orders, requests, and suggestions
• Reporting hopes, intentions, and promises

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Punctuation rules in English ……………………………………………143-157

• The period (or full stop in British English)

• The comma
• The exclamation mark
• The question mark
• The colon
• The semicolon
• The quotation mark
• The apostrophe
• The hyphen and the dash
• Parentheses and brackets

Relative clauses ……………………………………………………………157-159

• defining relative clauses
• non-defining relative clauses

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 To be in the
present
To Be - Affirmative
Subject To Be Examples

I am I am from New Zealand.

You are You are Chilean.
He is He is twenty years old.
She is She is a nurse.
It is It is a big dog.
We are We are intelligent.
You are You are students.
They are They are married.

To Be - Contractions
Contractions of To Be are very frequent when we are speaking.

To Be Contraction Examples

I am I'm I'm from New Zealand.

You are You're You're Chilean.
He is He's He's twenty years old.
She is She's She's a nurse.
It is It's It's a big dog.
We are We're We're intelligent.
You are You're You're students.
They are They're They're married.

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To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb.

Subject To Be Examples

I am not I am not from Spain.

You are not You are not Australian.
He is not He is not thirty years old.
She is not She is not a secretary.
It is not It is not a small cat.
We are not We are not stupid.
You are not You are not teachers.
They are not They are not single.

To Be - Negative Contractions
There are two ways of forming contractions of To Be in negative sentences. One is with a
contraction of the subjectand the verb (e.g. I am = I'm) OR a contraction of
the verb and not (e.g. are not = aren't)
I'm not from Spain. --- --------------*
You're not Australian. OR You aren't Australian.
He's not thirty years old. OR He isn't thirty years old.
She's not a secretary. OR She isn't a secretary.
It's not a small cat. OR It isn't a small cat.
We're not stupid. OR We aren't stupid.
You're not teachers. OR You aren't teachers.
They're not single. OR They aren't single.
* Notice that the only possible contraction for I am not is I'm not.

To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
You are happy.
Affirmative

Subject Verb

Question Are you happy?

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 Verb Subject

Affirmative Question

I am intelligent. Am I intelligent?

You are a student. Are you a student?

He is a pilot. Is he a pilot?

She is from Spain. Is she from Spain?

It is a big house. Is it a big house?

We are ready. Are we ready?

You are doctors. Are you doctors?

They are rich. Are they rich?

To Be - Short Answers
In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.
Are you a student? - Yes, I am (a student). The last part (a student) is not necessary. We use
shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.

Question Short Answers** Short Answers

Am I intelligent? Yes, you are. No, you aren't.

Are you a student? Yes, I am. No, I am not.
Is he a pilot? Yes, he is. No, he isn't.
Is she from Spain? Yes, she is. No, she isn't.
Is it a big house? Yes, it is. No, it isn't.
Are we ready? Yes, we are. No, we aren't.
Are you doctors? Yes, we are. No, we aren't.
Are they rich? Yes, they are. No, they aren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers unless there is additional
information after it (in which case they are no longer considered short answers).

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 To be in the past
The past tense of To Be in English has two forms: WAS and WERE

To Be - Affirmative
Subject To Be Examples

I was I was tired this morning.

You were You were very good.
He was He was the best in his class.
She was She was late for work.
It was It was a sunny day.
We were We were at home.
You were You were on holiday.
They were They were happy with their test results.

To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).

Subject To Be Examples

I was not I was not tired this morning.

You were not You were not crazy.
He was not He was not married.
She was not She was not famous.
It was not It was not hot yesterday.
We were not We were not invited.
You were not You were not at the party.
They were not They were not friends.

To Be - Negative Contractions
We can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was
or were) and n't (e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and
the verb (e.g. I was).

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 I was not tired this morning. OR I wasn't tired this morning.

You were not crazy. OR You weren't crazy.

He was not married. OR He wasn't married.

She was not famous. OR She wasn't famous.

It was not hot yesterday. OR It wasn't hot yesterday.

We were not invited. OR We weren't invited.

You were not at the party. OR You weren't at the party.

They were not friends. OR They weren't friends.

To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
You were happy.
Affirmative

Subject Verb

Question Were you happy?

Verb Subject

Affirmative Question

I was late Was I late?

You were sick. Were you sick?
He was surprised. Was he surprised?
She was from Italy. Was she from Italy?
It was a big house. Was it a big house?
We were ready. Were we ready?
You were early. Were you early?
They were busy. Were they busy?

Before the verb you can also have a WH- Question word (Why, Who, What, Where etc.)
Were you happy? Yes, I was.
Why were you happy? Because I was promoted at work.

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 Noun
Nouns answer the questions "What is it?" and "Who is it?" They give names to things, people,
and places.

Examples

• dog
• bicycle
• Mary
• girl
• beauty
• France
• world

In general there is no distinction between masculine, feminine in English nouns.

However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or different words when
referring to people or animals.

Examples

Masculine Feminine Gender

neutral

man woman person

father mother parent

boy girl child

uncle aunt

husband wife spouse

actor actress

prince princess

waiter waitress server

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 Masculine Feminine Gender
neutral

rooster hen chicken

stallion mare horse

Singular and plural nouns

Regular nouns
Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.

Examples,

Singular Plural

boat boats

house houses

cat cats

river rivers

A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.

Examples,

Singular Plural

bus buses

wish wishes

pitch pitches

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 Singular Plural

box boxes

A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and
adding-ies.
Examples

Singular Plural

penny pennies

spy spies

baby babies

city cities

daisy daisies

Irregular nouns
There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.

Singular Plural

woman women

man men

child children

tooth teeth

foot feet

person people

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Singular Plural

leaf leaves

mouse mice

goose geese

half halves

knife knives

wife wives

life lives

elf elves

loaf loaves

potato potatoes

tomato tomatoes

cactus cacti

focus foci

fungus fungi

nucleus nuclei

syllabus syllabi/syllabuses

analysis analyses

diagnosis diagnoses

oasis oases

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 Singular Plural

thesis theses

crisis crises

phenomenon phenomena

criterion criteria

datum data

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

Examples

Singular Plural

sheep sheep

fish fish

deer deer

species species

aircraft aircraft

Irregular verb/noun agreement

Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Plural nouns used with a singular verb Sentence

news The news is 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.

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 Plural nouns used with a singular verb Sentence

billiards Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in the singular, or
they have a different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this include: trousers, jeans, glasses,
savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts,
goods, wits.

Plural noun with plural verb Sentence

trousers My trousers are too tight.

jeans Her jeans are black.

glasses Those glasses are his.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural
form. The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an". If you want to ask about the quantity
of a countable noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural countable noun.

Singular Plural

one dog two dogs

one horse two horses

one man two men

one idea two ideas

one shop two shops

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Examples

• She has three dogs.

• I own a house.
• I would like two books please.
• How many friends do you have?

Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the
names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous
to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb.
They usually do not have a plural form.

Examples

• tea
• sugar
• water
• air
• rice
• knowledge
• beauty
• anger
• fear
• love
• money
• research
• safety
• evidence

Note: We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a
word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact
measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of.
If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"

Examples

• There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
• He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
• Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
• He did not have much sugar left.
• Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
• How much rice do you want?

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Tricky spots
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the
rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news,
progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work

Examples

• I would like to give you some advice.

• How much bread should I bring?
• I didn't make much progress today.
• This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
• We did an hour of work yesterday.

Be careful with the noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the
plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.

Examples

• She has long blond hair.

• The child's hair was curly.
• I washed my hair yesterday.
• My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
• I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)

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 Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns. A different pronoun is required depending on two elements: the noun
being replaced and the function that noun has in the sentence. In English, pronouns only take the
gender of the noun they replace in the 3rd person singular form.

Subject Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive or

pronoun pronoun adjective pronoun intensive pronoun
(determiner)

1st person singular I me my mine myself

2nd person singular you you your yours yourself

3rd person singular, male he him his his himself

3rd person singular, female she her her hers herself

3rd person singular, neutral it it its itself

1st person plural we us our ours ourselves

2nd person plural you you your yours yourselves

3rd person plural they them their theirs themselves

Subject pronouns
Subject pronouns replace nouns that are the subject of their clause.
Examples

• I am 16.
• You seem lost.
• Jim is angry, and he wants Sally to apologize.
• This table is old. It needs to be repainted.
• We aren't coming.
• They don't like pancakes.

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Possessive adjectives (determiners)
Possessive adjectives are not pronouns, but rather determiners. It is useful to learn them at the
same time as pronouns, however, because they are similar in form to the possessive pronouns.
Possessive adjectives function as adjectives, so they appear before the noun they modify. They
do not replace a noun as pronouns do.

Examples

• Did mother find my shoes?

• Mrs. Baker wants to see your homework.
• Can Jake bring over his baseball cards?
• Samantha will fix her bike tomorrow.
• The cat broke its leg.
• This is our house.
• Where is their school?

Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns replace possessive nouns as either the subject or the object of a clause.
Because the noun being replaced doesn't appear in the sentence, it must be clear from the
context.

Examples

• This bag is mine.

• Yours is not blue.
• That bag looks like his.
• These shoes are not hers.
• That car is ours.
• Theirs is parked in the garage.

Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject.

Examples

• I told myself to calm down.

• You cut yourself on this nail?
• He hurt himself on the stairs.
• She found herself in a dangerous part of town.
• The cat threw itself under my car!

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 • We blame ourselves for the fire.
• The children can take care of themselves.

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, place, or thing. In English, there is a
particular group of indefinite pronouns formed with a quantifier or distributive preceeded by any,
some, every and no.
Person Place Thing

All everyone everywhere everything

everybody

Part (positive) someone somewhere something

somebody

Part (negative) anyone anywhere anything

anybody

None no one nowhere nothing

nobody

Indefinite pronouns with some and any are used to describe indefinite and incomplete
quantities in the same way that some and any are used alone.Indefinite pronouns are placed in
the same location as a noun would go in the sentence.
Noun Indefinite pronoun

I would like to go to Paris this summer. I would like to go somewhere this summer.

Jim gave me this book. Someone gave me this book.

I won't tell your secret to Sam. I won't tell your secret to anyone.

I bought my school supplies at the mall. I bought everything at the mall.

Indefinite and incomplete quantities

Some and any can be used with countable and uncountable nouns to describe an undefined or
incomplete quantity.

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Using "some"
Some can be used in descriptive sentences.
Examples

• I had some rice for lunch.

• He got some books from the library.
• I will have some news next week.
• Philip wants some help with his exams.
• There is some butter in the fridge.

Some is also used in interrogative sentences when you think you already know the answer.
Examples

• Did he give you some tea? = I think he did.

• Is there some fruit juice in the fridge? = I think there is.
• Would you like some help? = Probably you do.
• Will you have some roast beef? = Probably you will

Some can also be used in interrogative sentences to ask for something or to offer something.
Examples

• Could I have some books, please?

• Why don't you take some apples home with you?
• Would you like some tea?
• Will you have some cake?

Using "any"
Any is used in interrogative sentences when you do not know the answer.

Examples

• Do you have any friends in London?

• Do they have any children?
• Do you want any groceries from the shop?
• Are there any problems with your work?

Any is also used with not to form negative sentences. In these sentences, the word anyemphasizes
the negativity to make it more absolute.

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Examples

• She doesn't want any kitchen appliances for Christmas.

• They don't need any help moving to their new house.
• I don't want any cake.
• There isn't any reason to complain.

Affirmative
In affirmative sentences, indefinite pronouns using some are used to describe an indefinite
quantity, the indefinite pronouns with every are used to describe a complete quantity, and the
pronouns with no are used to describe an absence. Indefinite pronouns with no are often used in
affirmative sentences with a negative meaning, but these are nevertheless not negative sentences
because they are lacking the word not.

Examples

• Everyone is sleeping in my bed.

• Someone is sleeping in my bed.
• No one is sleeping in my bed.
• I gave everything to Sally.
• He saw something in the garden.
• There is nothing to eat.
• I looked everywhere for my keys.
• Keith is looking for somewhere to live.
• There is nowhere as beautiful as Paris.

Any and the indefinite pronouns formed with it can also be used in affirmative sentences with a
meaning that is close to every: whichever person, whichever place, whichever thing, etc.

Examples

• They can choose anything from the menu.

• You may invite anybody you want to your birthday party.
• We can go anywhere you'd like this summer.
• He would give anything to get into Oxford.
• Fido would follow you anywhere.

Negative sentences
Negative sentences can only be formed with the indefinite pronouns that include any.

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Examples

• I don't have anything to eat.

• She didn't go anywhere last week.
• I can't find anyone to come with me.

Many negative sentences that include an indefinite pronoun with any can be turned into
affirmative sentences with a negative meaning by using an indefinite pronoun with no. However,
there is a change in meaning with this transformation: the sentence that includes an indefinite
pronoun with no is stronger, and can imply emotional content such as definsiveness,
hopelessness, anger, etc.
Examples

• I don't know anything about it. = neutral

• I know nothing about it. = defensive
• I don't have anybody to talk to. = neutral
• I have nobody to talk to. = hopeless
• There wasn't anything we could do. = neutral
• There was nothing we could do. = defensive/angry

Forming the possessive

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and
animals. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. To form the
possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an
apostrophe after the s.
Examples

• the car of John = John's car

• the room of the girls = the girls' room
• clothes for men = men's clothes
• the boat of the sailors = the sailors' boat

For names ending in s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just an apostrophe. The first
option is more common. When pronouncing a possessive name, we add the sound /z/ to the end
of the name.

Examples

• Thomas's book (or Thomas' book)

• James's shop (or James' shop)
• the Smiths's house (or the Smiths' house)

Functions of the possessive

'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is the most common relationship the possessive expresses.

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Examples

• John owns a car. = It is John's car.

• America has some gold reserves. = They are America's gold reserves.

The possessive can also express where someone works, studies or spends time
Examples

• John goes to this school. = This is John's school.

• John sleeps in this room. = This is John's room.

The possessive can express a relationship between people.

Examples

• John's mother is running late.

• Mrs Brown's colleague will not be coming to the meeting.

Fixed expressions
There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used.

Examples with time

• a day's work
• a month's pay
• today's newspaper
• in a year's time

Other examples

• For God's sake! (= exclamation of exasperation)

• a stone's throw away (= very near)
• at death's door (= very ill)
• in my mind's eye (= in my imagination)

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name
or job title of the owner.
Examples

• Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?

• I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
• Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?

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 Adjectives
Adjectives describe the aspects of nouns. When an adjective is describing a noun, we say it is
"modifying" it. Adjectives can:

Describe feelings or qualities,

Examples

• He is a lonely man.
• They are honest.

Give nationality or origin,

Examples

• I heard a French song.

• This clock is German.
• Our house is Victorian.

Tell more about a thing's characteristics,

Examples

• That is a flashy car.

• The knife is sharp.

Tell us about age,

Examples

• He's a young man.

• My coat is old.

Tell us about size and measurement,

Examples

• John is a tall man.

• This film is long.

Tell us about colour,

Examples

• Paul wore a red shirt.

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 • The sunset was crimson.

Tell us what something is made of,

Examples

• The table is wooden.

• She wore a cotton dress.

Tell us about shape,

Examples

• I sat at a round table.

• The envelope is square.

Express a judgement or a value.

Examples

• That was a fantastic film.

• Grammar is complicated.

Using adjectives in English

Adjectives in English are invariable. They do not change their form depending on the gender or
number of the noun.

Examples

• This is a hot potato.

• Those are some hot potatoes.

To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective, use the adverbs very or really in front of
the adjective you want to strengthen.

Examples

• This is a very hot potato

• Those are some really hot potatoes.

Adjectives in English usually appear in front of the noun that they modify.
Examples

• The beautiful girl ignored me.

• The fast red car drove away.

Adjectives can also appear after being and sensing verbs like to be, to seem , to look & to taste.

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Examples

• Italy is beautiful.
• I don't think she seems nice at all.
• You look tired.
• This meat tastes funny.

The comparative and the superlative adjectives

Comparative adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify
(larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in sentences where two nouns are compared, in
this pattern:

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

The second item of comparison can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final example
below).

Test your knowledge

Examples

• My house is larger than hers.

• This box is smaller than the one I lost.
• Your dog runs faster than Jim's dog.
• The rock flew higher than the roof.
• Jim and Jack are both my friends, but I like Jack better. ("than Jim" is understood)

Superlative adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a
quality (the tallest, the smallest, the fastest, the highest). They are used in sentences where a
subject is compared to a group of objects.

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

The group that is being compared with can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final
example below).

Examples

• My house is the largest one in our neighborhood.

• This is the smallest box I've ever seen.

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 • Your dog ran the fastest of any dog in the race.
• We all threw our rocks at the same time. My rock flew the highest. ("of all the rocks" is
understood)

Forming regular comparatives and superlatives

Forming comparatives and superlatives is easy. The form depends on the number of syllables in
the original adjective.

One syllable adjectives

Add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative. If the adjective has a consonant + single
vowel + consonant spelling, the final consonant must be doubled before adding the ending.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

tall taller tallest

fat fatter fattest

big bigger biggest

sad sadder saddest

Two syllables
Adjectives with two syllables can form the comparative either by adding -er or by preceeding the
adjective with more. These adjectives form the superlative either by adding -est or by preceeding
the adjective with most. In many cases, both forms are used, although one usage will be more
common than the other. If you are not sure whether a two-syllable adjective can take a
comparative or superlative ending, play it safe and use more and most instead. For adjectives
ending in y, change the y to an i before adding the ending.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

happy happier happiest

simple simpler simplest

busy busier busiest

tilted more tilted most tilted

tangled more tangled most tangled

Three or more syllables

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Adjectives with three or more syllables form the comparative by putting more in front of the
adjective, and the superlative by putting most in front.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

important more important most important

expensive more expensive most expensive

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

These very common adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

good better best

bad worse worst

little less least

much more most

far further / farther furthest / farthest

Examples

• Today is the worst day I've had in a long time.

• You play tennis better than I do.
• This is the least expensive sweater in the store.
• This sweater is less expensive than that one.
• I ran pretty far yesterday, but I ran even farther today.

Comparing attributes
When comparing the attributes of two things, we use a standard set of constructions.
Test your knowledge

When attributes are equal

Comparing equal attributes is simple. To compare the attributes of two things that are equal, we
use the pattern:

30
as + adjective describing the attribute + as

Examples

• Tom is as tall as his brother.

• I am as hungry as you are.
• Sally is as nice as Jane.

When attributes are not equal

When the two attributes are not equal, there are three constructions with equivalent meanings.

Either use the pattern:

not as + adjective describing the attribute + as

Or use the pattern:

less + adjective describing the attribute + than : This construction is more frequent with some
adjectives than with others.

Or use the pattern:

comparative adjective + than : This construction may require changing the order of the phrase or
using the opposing adjective.

Examples

• Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest.

• Mont Blanc is less high than Mount Everest.
• Mont Blanc is lower than Mount Everest.
• Mount Everest is higher than Mont Blanc.
• Norway is not as sunny as Thailand.
• Norway is less sunny than Thailand.
• Thailand is sunnier than Norway.

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 Adverbs
Using adverbs in English

Adverbs modify, or tell us more about, other words. Usually adverbs modify verbs, telling us
how, how often, when, or where something was done. The adverb is placed after the verb it
modifies.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• The bus moved slowly.

• The bears ate greedily.
• The car drove fast.

Sometimes adverbs modify adjectives, making them stronger or weaker.

Examples

• You look absolutely fabulous!

• He is slightly overweight.
• You are very persistent.

Some types of adverbs can modify other adverbs, changing their degree or precision.
Examples

• She played the violin extremely well.

• You're speaking too quietly.

Forming adverbs from adjectives

In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding -ly to an adjective

Adjective Adverb

cheap cheaply

quick quickly

32
 Adjective Adverb

slow slowly
If the adjective ends in -y, replace the y with i and add -ly

Adjective Adverb

easy easily

angry angrily

happy happily

lucky luckily
If the adjective ends in -able, -ible, or -le, replace the -e with -y.

Adjective Adverb

probable probably

terrible terribly

gentle gently
If the adjective ends in -ic, add -ally. Exception: public -> publicly

Adjective Adverb

basic basically

tragic tragically

economic economically
Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective: early, fast, hard, high, late, near, straight, &
wrong

Examples

• 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.

33
Well is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective good.
Examples

• 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.

Comparative and superlative adverbs

With adverbs ending in -ly, you must use more to form the comparative, and most to form the
superlative.

Adverb Comparative Superlative

quietly more quietly most quietly

slowly more slowly most slowly

seriously more seriously most seriously

Examples

• The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.

• Could you sing more quietly please?

With short adverbs that do not end in -ly comparative and superlative forms are identical to
adjectives: add -er to form the comparative and -est to form the superlative. If the adverb ends
in e, remove it before adding the ending.
Adverb Comparative Superlative

hard harder hardest

fast faster fastest

late later latest

Examples

• Jim works harder than his brother.

• Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

34
Some adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.
Adverb Comparative Superlative

badly worse worst

far farther/further farthest/furthest

little less least

well better best

Examples

• The little boy ran farther than his friends.

• You're driving worse today than yesterday !
• He played the best of any player.

Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. Adverbs of place are usually placed after the
main verb or after the clause that they modify. Adverbs of place do not modify adjectives or
other adverbs. Some examples of adverbs of place: here, everywhere, outside, away, around

Examples

• John looked around but he couldn't see the monkey.

• I searched everywhere I could think of.
• I'm going back to school.
• Come in!
• They built a house nearby.
• She took the child outside.

Adverbs of place ending in -where

Adverbs of place that end in -where express the idea of location without specifying a specific
location or direction.

Examples

• I would like to go somewhere warm for my vacation.

• Is there anywhere I can find a perfect plate of spaghetti around here?
• I have nowhere to go.
• I keep running in to Sally everywhere!

35
Adverbs of place ending in -wards
Adverbs of place that end in -wards express movement in a particular direction.

Examples

• Cats don't usually walk backwards.

• The ship sailed westwards.
• The balloon drifted upwards.
• We will keep walking homewards until we arrive.

Be careful: Towards is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a

pronoun.
Examples

• He walked towards the car.

• She ran towards me.

Adverbs of place expressing both movement & location

Some adverbs of place express both movement & location at the same time.

Examples

• The child went indoors.

• He lived and worked abroad.
• Water always flows downhill.
• The wind pushed us sideways.

Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often.
Adverbs of time are invariable. They are extremely common in English. Adverbs of time have
standard positions in a sentence depending on what the adverb of time is telling us.
Test your knowledge

Adverbs that tell us when

Adverbs that tell us when are usually placed at the end of the sentence.
Examples

• Goldilocks went to the Bears' house yesterday.

• I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.
• I saw Sally today.

36
 • I will call you later.
• I have to leave now.
• I saw that movie last year.

Putting an adverb that tells us when at the end of a sentence is a neutral position, but these
adverbs can be put in other positions to give a different emphasis. All adverbs that tell us when
can be placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the time element. Some can also be
put before the main verb in formal writing, while others cannot occupy that position.
Examples

• Later Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is 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)

Adverbs that tell us for how long

Adverbs that tell us for how long are also usually placed at the end of the sentence.

Examples

• She stayed in the Bears' house all day.

• My mother lived in France for a year.
• I have been going to this school since 1996.

In these adverbial phrases that tell us for how long, for is always followed by an expression of
duration, while since is always followed by an expression of a point in time.
Examples

• I stayed in Switzerland for three days.

• I am going on vacation for a week.
• I have been riding horses for several years.
• The French monarchy lasted for several centuries.
• I have not seen you since Monday.
• Jim has been working here since 1997.
• There has not been a more exciting discovery since last century.

Adverbs that tell us how often

Adverbs that tell us how often express the frequency of an action. They are usually placed before
the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may, & must). The only exception is
when the main verb is "to be", in which case the adverb goes after the main verb.

Examples

• I often eat vegetarian food.

37
 • He never drinks milk.
• You must always fasten your seat belt.
• I am seldom late.
• He rarely lies.

Adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed either after the main
verb or after the object.
Examples

• He swims well.
• He ran quickly.
• She spoke softly.
• James coughed loudly to attract her attention.
• He plays the flute beautifully. (after the direct object)
• He ate the chocolate cake greedily. (after the direct object)

Adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity of something. Adverbs of degree are usually
placed before the adjective, adverb, or verb that they modify, although there are some
exceptions. The words "too", "enough", "very", and "extremely" are examples of adverbs of
degree.
Test your knowledge
Adverb of degree Modifying Example

extremely adjective The water was extremely cold.

quite adjective The movie is quite interesting.

just verb He was just leaving.

almost verb She has almost finished.

very adverb She is running very fast.

too adverb You are walking too slowly.

enough adverb You are running fast enough.

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Usage of "enough"
Enough can be used as both an adverb and as a determiner.

Enough as an adverb
Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary degree' goes after the adjective or adverb that it is
modifying, and not before it as other adverbs do. It can be used both in positive and negative
sentences.

Examples,

• Is your coffee hot enough?

• This box isn't big enough.
• He didn't work hard enough.
• I got here early enough.

Enough is often followed by "to" + the infinitive.

Examples,

• He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.

• Is your coffee hot enough to drink?
• She's not old enough to get married.
• I got here early enough to sign up.

Enough can also be followed by "for someone" or "for something".

Examples,

• The dress was big enough for me.

• She's not experienced enough for this job.
• Is the coffee hot enough for you?
• He didn't work hard enough for a promotion.

Enough as a determiner
Enough as a determiner meaning 'as much/many as necessary' goes before the noun it modifies.
It is used with countable nouns in the plural and with uncountable nouns.

Examples,

• We have enough bread.

• You have enough children.
• They don't have enough food.
• I don't have enough apples.

39
Usage of "too"
"Too" is always an adverb, but it has two distinct meanings, each with its own usage patterns.

Too meaning "also"

Too as an adverb meaning "also" goes at the end of the phrase it modifies.

Examples,

• I would like to go swimming too, if you will let me come.

• Can I go to the zoo too?
• Is this gift for me too?
• I'm not going to clean your room too!

Too meaning "excessively"

Too as an adverb meaning "excessively" goes before the adjective or adverb it modifies. It can be
used in both affirmative and negative sentences.

Examples,

• This coffee is too hot.

• He works too hard.
• Isn't she too young?
• I am not too short!

Too is often followed by "to" + the infinitive.

Examples,

• The coffee was too hot to drink.

• You're too young to have grandchildren!
• I am not too tired to go out tonight.
• Don't you work too hard to have any free time?

Too can also be followed by "for someone" or "for something".

Examples,

• The coffee was too hot for me.

• The dress was too small for her.
• He's not too old for this job.
• Sally's not too slow for our team.

Usage of "very"
Very goes before an adverb or adjective to make it stronger.

40
Examples,

• The girl was very beautiful.

• The house is very expensive.
• He worked very quickly.
• She runs very fast.

If we want to make a negative form of an adjective or adverb, we can add "not" to the verb, we
can use an adjective or adverb of opposite meaning, or we can use "not very" with the original
adjective or adverb. The meanings of the phrases are not identical. Usually the phrase using "not
very" is less direct, and thus more polite, than the other phrases.
Examples,

Original Opposite meaning Opposite meaning Opposite meaning with

phrase with "not" with "not very" an opposite word

The girl was The girl was not The girl was not very The girl was ugly.
beautiful. beautiful. beautiful.

He worked He did not work He did not work very He worked slowly.
quickly. quickly. quickly.

Difference in meaning between "very" and "too"

There is a big difference in meaning between "too" and "very". "Very" expresses a fact while
"too" suggests there is a problem.

Examples,

• He speaks very quickly.

• He speaks too quickly for me to understand.
• It is very hot outside.
• It is too hot outside to go for a walk.

Negative adverbs
Adverb Normal word order

Never I have never seen such courage.

Rarely She rarely left the house.

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 Adverb Normal word order

Not only She did not only the cooking but the cleaning as well.

Scarcely I scarcely closed the door before he started talking.

Seldom We seldom cross the river after sunset.

Adverbs of certainty

Adverbs of certainty express how certain we feel about an action or event. Adverbs of certainty
go before the main verb unless the main verb is 'to be', in which case the adverb of certainty goes
after.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• He definitely left the house this morning.

• He surely won't forget.
• He is probably in the park.
• He is certainly a smart man.

If there is an auxiliary verb, the adverb of certainty goes between the auxiliary and the main
verb.
Examples

• He has certainly forgotten the meeting.

• He will probably remember tomorrow.
• He is definitely running late.

Sometimes these adverbs of certainty can be placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Examples

• Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.

• Certainly, I will be there.
• Probably, he has forgotten the meeting.

When the adverb of certainty surely is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the
speaker thinks something is true, but is looking for confirmation.
Examples

• Surely you've got a bicycle.

• Surely you're not going to wear that to the party.

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Relative adverbs

The relative adverbs where, when & why can be used to join sentences or clauses. They replace
the more formal structure of preposition + which used to introduce a relative clause.

Formal structure, preposition + which More common stucture using a relative

adverb

That's the restaurant in which we met for the That's the restaurant where we met for the
first time. first time.

That picture was taken in the park at which I That picture was taken in the park where I
used to play. used to play.

I remember the day on which we first met. I remember the day when we first met.

There was a very hot summer the year in There was a very hot summer the
which he was born. year when he was born.

Tell me the reason for which you came Tell me (the reason) why you came home
home late. late.

Do you want to know the reason for Do you want to know (the reason) why he is
which he is angry with Sally? angry with Sally?

Interrogative adverbs

The interrogative adverbs why, where, how, & when are placed at the beginning of a question.
These questions can be answered with a sentence or a prepositional phrase. After an interrogative
adverb in a question, you must invert the subject and verb so that the verb comes first.

Examples

• Why are you so late? There was a lot of traffic.

• Where is my passport? In the drawer.
• How are you? I'm fine.
• When does the train arrive? At 11:15.

Uses of how
How can be used to form questions in four different ways. How can be used by itself to mean "in
what way".

43
Examples

• How did you make this sauce?

• How do you start the car?
• How can I get to your house?

How can be used with adjectives to ask about the degree of an attribute.
Examples

• How tall are you?

• How old is your house?
• How angry is mother?

How can be used with much and many to ask about quantity. Much is used with uncountable
nouns and many is used with countable nouns.
Examples

• How many people are coming to the party?

• How much flour do I need?
• How much are these tomatoes?

How can be used with other adverbs to ask about the frequency or degree of an action.
Examples

• How quickly can you read this?

• How often do you go to London?
• How loudly does your brother scream?

44
 Determiners
Determiners are words placed in front of a noun to make it clear what the noun refers to.

The definite article

The word "the" is one of the most common words in English. It is our only definite article.
Nouns in English are preceded by the definite article when the speaker believes that the listener
already knows what he is referring to. The speaker may believe this for many different reasons,
some of which are listed below.
Test your knowledge

When to use "the"

General rules
Use the to refer to something which has already been mentioned.
Examples

• On Monday, an unarmed man stole $1,000 from the bank. The thief hasn't been caught
yet.
• I was walking past Benny's Bakery when I decided to go into the bakery to get some
bread.
• There's a position available in my team. The job will involve some international travel.

Use the when you assume there is just one of something in that place, even if it has not been
mentioned before.
Examples

• We went on a walk in the forest yesterday.

• Where is the bathroom?
• Turn left and go to number 45. Our house is across from the Italian restaurant.
• My father enjoyed the book you gave him.

Use the in sentences or clauses where you define or identify a particular person or object.
Examples

• The man who wrote this book is famous.

• I scratched the red car parked outside.
• I live in the small house with a blue door.

45
 • He is the doctor I came to see.

Use the to refer to people or objects that are unique.

Examples

• The sun rose at 6:17 this morning.

• You can go anywhere in the world.
• Clouds drifted across the sky.
• The president will be speaking on TV tonight.
• The CEO of Total is coming to our meeting.

Use the before superlatives and ordinal numbers.

Examples

• This is the highest building in New York.

• She read the last chapter of her new book first.
• You are the tallest person in our class.
• This is the third time I have called you today.

Use the with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

Examples

• The French enjoy cheese.

• The elderly require special attention.
• She has given a lot of money to the poor.

Use the with decades.

Examples

• He was born in the seventies.

• This is a painting from the 1820's.

Use the with clauses introduced by only

Examples

• This is the only day we've had sunshine all week.

• You are the only person he will listen to.
• The only tea I like is black tea.

Proper nouns
Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and
oceans.

46
Examples

• They are travelling in the Arctic.

• Our ship crossed the Atlantic in 7 days.
• I will go on a cruise down the Nile.
• Hiking across the Rocky Mountains would be difficult.

Use the with countries that have plural names

Examples

• I have never been to the Netherlands.

• Do you know anyone who lives in the Philippines?

Use the with countries that include the words "republic", "kingdom", or "states" in their names.
Examples

• She is visiting the United States.

• James is from the Republic of Ireland.

Use the with newspaper names.

Examples

• I read it in the Guardian.

• She works for the New York Times.

Use the with the names of famous buildings, works of art, museums, or monuments.
Examples

• Have you been to the Vietnam Memorial?

• We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa.
• I would like to visit the Eiffel Tower.
• I saw King Lear at the Globe.

Use the with the names of hotels & restaurants, unless these are named after a person.
Examples

• They are staying at the Hilton on 6th street.

• We ate at the Golden Lion.

Use the with the names of families, but not with the names of individuals.
Examples

• We're having dinner with the Smiths tonight.

• The Browns are going to the play with us.

47
When not to use "the"
Do not use the with names of countries (except for the special cases above).

Examples

• Germany is an important economic power.

• He's just returned from Zimbabwe.

Do not use the with the names of languages.

Examples

• French is spoken in Tahiti.

• English uses many words of Latin origin.
• Indonesian is a relatively new language.

Do not use the with the names of meals.

Examples

• Lunch is my favorite meal.

• I like to eat breakfast early.

Do not use the with people's names.

Examples

• John is coming over later.

• Mary Carpenter is my boss.

Do not use the with titles when combined with names.

Examples

• Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son.

• President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Do not use the after the 's possessive case

Examples

• His brother's car was stolen.

• Peter's house is over there.

Do not use the with professions

Examples

• Engineering is a well-paid career.

• He'll probably study medicine.

48
Do not use the with names of shops
Examples

• I'll get the card at Smith's.

• Can you go to Boots for me?

Do not use the with years

Examples

• 1948 was a wonderful year.

• He was born in 1995.

Do not use the with uncountable nouns

Examples

• Rice is an important food in Asia.

• Milk is often added to tea in England.
• War is destructive.

Do not use the with the names of individual mountains, lakes and islands
Examples

• Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in Alaska.

• She lives near Lake Windermere.
• Have you visited Long Island?

Do not use the with most names of towns, streets, stations and airports
Examples

• Victoria Station is in the centre of London.

• Can you direct me to Bond Street?
• She lives in Florence.
• They're flying into Heathrow.

Indefinite articles

In English, the two indefinite articles are a and an. Like other articles, indefinite articles are
invariable. You use one or the other, depending on the first letter of the word following the
article, for pronunciation reasons. Use a when the next word starts with a consonant, or before
words starting in u and eu when they sound like you. Use an when the next word starts with a
vowel (a,e,i,o,u) or with a mute h.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• a boy

49
 • an apple
• a car
• a helicopter
• an elephant
• a big elephant
• an itchy sweater
• an ugly duck
• a european
• a university
• a unit
• an hour
• an honor

The indefinite article is used to refer to something for the first time or to refer to a particular
member of a group or class. Some use cases and examples are given below.

Use a to refer to something for the first time.

Examples

• Would you like a drink?

• I've finally got a good job.
• An elephant and a mouse fell in love.

Naming members of a group

Use a with names of jobs.

Examples

• John is a doctor.
• Mary is training to be an engineer.
• He wants to be a dancer.

Use a with nationalities and religions in the singular.

Examples

• John is an Englishman.
• Kate is a Catholic.

Use a with the names of days of the week when not referring to any particular day.
Examples

• I was born on a Thursday.

• Could I come over on a Saturday sometime?

Use a to refer to an example of something.

50
Examples

• The mouse had a tiny nose .

• The elephant had a long trunk .
• It was a very strange car .

Use a with singular nouns after the words 'what' and 'such'.
Examples

• What a shame!
• She's such a beautiful girl.
• What a lovely day!

Use a meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person, or a single unit of measure. In these
sentences using "one" instead of the indefinite article is grammatically correct. It will add
emphasis to the number, and contrast with other numbers.
Examples

• I'd like an orange and two lemons please.

• I'd like one orange and two lemons please.
• The burglar took a diamond necklace and some valuable paintings.
• I can think of a hundred reasons not to come.
• I need a kilogram of sugar.
• I need one kilogram of sugar.
• You can't run a mile in 5 minutes!

51
 Demonstratives
Demonstratives show where an object, event, or person is in relation to the speaker. They can
refer to a physical or a psychological closeness or distance. When talking about events, the near
demonstratives are often used to refer to the present while the far demonstratives often refer to
the past.
Test your knowledge
Near the speaker Far from the speaker

Adverb Here There

Demonstrative with singular nouns This That

& uncountable nouns

Demonstrative with These Those

plural countable nouns

Demonstrative usage
Examples

Near the speaker Far from the speaker

Is this John's house? Is that John's house over there?

This is a nice surprise! That must have been a nice surprise for you.

These apples are mine. Those apples are yours.

What are you up to these days? Those days are long gone.

This time I won't be late. We really surprised you that time.

This sugar is for my crepes. You can use that sugar for your cake.

52
 Quantifiers
Quantifiers are adjectives and adjectival phrases that give approximate or specific answers to the
questions "How much?" and "How many?"
The cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) are adjectives referring to quantity, and the ordinal
numbers (first, second, third, etc.) refer to distribution.
Test your knowledge

Number Cardinal Ordinal

1 one first

2 two second

3 three third

4 four fourth

5 five fifth

6 six sixth

7 seven seventh

8 eight eighth

9 nine ninth

10 ten tenth

11 eleven eleventh

12 twelve twelfth

13 thirteen thirteenth

14 fourteen fourteenth

53
Number Cardinal Ordinal

15 fifteen fifteenth

16 sixteen sixteenth

17 seventeen seventeenth

18 eighteen eighteenth

19 nineteen nineteenth

20 twenty twentieth

21 twenty-one twenty-first

22 twenty-two twenty-second

23 twenty-three twenty-third

24 twenty-four twenty-fourth

25 twenty-five twenty-fifth

26 twenty-six twenty-sixth

27 twenty-seven twenty-seventh

28 twenty-eight twenty-eighth

29 twenty-nine twenty-ninth

30 thirty thirtieth

31 thirty-one thirty-first

40 forty fortieth

50 fifty fiftieth

60 sixty sixtieth

54
 Number Cardinal Ordinal

70 seventy seventieth

80 eighty eightieth

90 ninety ninetieth

100 one hundred hundredth

500 five hundred five hundredth

1,000 one thousand thousandth

1,500 one thousand five hundred, or fifteen hundred one thousand five hundredth

100,000 one hundred thousand hundred thousandth

1,000,000 one million millionth

Examples

• There are twenty-five people in the room.

• He was the fourteenth person to win the award.
• Six hundred thousand people were left homeless after the earthquake.
• I must have asked you twenty times to be quiet.
• He went to Israel for the third time this year.

Reading decimals
Read decimals aloud in English by pronouncing the decimal point as "point", then read each digit
individually. Money is not read this way.

Written Said

0.5 point five

0.25 point two five

0.73 point seven three

0.05 point zero five

55
 Written Said

0.6529 point six five two nine

2.95 two point nine five

Reading fractions
Read fractions using the cardinal number for the numerator and the ordinal number for the
denominator, making the ordinal number plural if the numerator is larger than 1. This applies to
all numbers except for the number 2, which is read "half" when it is the denominator, and
"halves" if there is more than one.

Written Said

1/3 one third

3/4 three fourths

5/6 five sixths

1/2 one half

3/2 three halves

Pronouncing percentages
Percentages are easy to read aloud in English. Just say the number and then add the word
"percent".

Written Pronounced

5% five percent

25% twenty-five percent

36.25% thirty-six point two five percent

56
 Written Pronounced

100% one hundred percent

400% four hundred percent

Reading sums of money

To read a sum of money, first read the whole number, then add the currency name. If there is a
decimal, follow with the decimal pronounced as a whole number, and if coinage has a name in
the currency, add that word at the end. Note that normal decimals are not read in this way. These
rules only apply to currency.

Written Spoken

25$ twenty-five dollars

52€ fifty-two euros

140₤ one hundred and forty pounds

$43.25 forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents (shortened to "forty-three twenty-five" in

everyday speech)

€12.66 twelve euros sixty-six

₤10.50 ten pounds fifty

Pronouncing measurements
Just read out the number, followed by the unit of measurement, which will often be abbreviated
in the written form.

Written Spoken

60m sixty meters

25km/h twenty-five kilometers per hour

57
Written Spoken

11ft eleven feet

2L two liters

3tbsp three tablespoons

1tsp one teaspoon

Pronouncing years

Written Spoken

2014 twenty fourteen or two thousand fourteen

2008 two thousand eight

2000 two thousand

1944 nineteen forty-four

1908 nineteen o eight

1900 nineteen hundred

1600 sixteen hundred

1256 twelve fifty-six

58
 Written Spoken

1006 ten o six

866 eight hundred sixty-six or eight sixty-six

25 twenty-five

3000 BC three thousand BC

3250 BC thirty two fifty BC

How to say 0
There are several ways to pronounce the number 0, used in different contexts. Unfortunately,
usage varies between different English-speaking countries. These pronunciations apply to
American English.

Pronunciation Usage

zero Used to read the number by itself, in reading decimals, percentages, and
phone numbers, and in some fixed expressions.

o (the letter Used to read years, addresses, times and temperatures

name)

59
 Pronunciation Usage

nil Used to report sports scores

nought Not used in the USA

Examples

Written Said

3.04+2.02=5.06 Three point zero four plus two point zero two makes five
point zero six.

There is a 0% chance of rain. There is a zero percent chance of rain.

The temperature is -20⁰C. The temperature is twenty degrees below zero.

You can reach me at 0171 390 You can reach me at zero one seven one, three nine zero,
1062. one zero six two

I live at 4604 Smith Street. I live at forty-six o four Smith Street

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 Written Said

He became king in 1409. He became king in fourteen o nine.

I waited until 4:05. I waited until four o five.

The score was 4-0. The score was four nil.

Pick the right quantifier

To answer the questions *How much?* and *How many?* certain quantifiers can be used with
countable nouns (friends, cups, people), others with uncountable nouns (sugar, tea, money) and
still others with all types of noun

Examples

Only with uncountable nouns With all types of nouns Only with countable nouns

a little no, none, not any a few

a bit of some a number of

any several

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 Only with uncountable nouns With all types of nouns Only with countable nouns

a great deal of a lot of, lots of a great number of

a large amount of plenty of a large number of

• Would you like some tea and a few cookies?

• I always put a little milk and some carrots in my soup.
• He has several apples. I don't have any fruit at all.
• She has plenty of clothes for the winter.
• I recieved a large amount of feedback from my survey.

Using "much" and"many"

Much and many are mainly used in interrogative and negative sentences. They are also used in
affirmative and negative sentences in combination with too and so. Notice: the word many can be
used alone in affirmative sentences while the word much cannot. Much is replaced in affirmative
sentences with a lot of or lots of (these expressions can also replace many).

Uncountable nouns Countable nouns

How much sugar do you have? How many people came to the concert?

There's not much sugar at the Not many people came to the concert.
store.

I have too much sugar at home. There were too many people at the concert.

I don't know what to do with so It's a problem when there are so many people.
much sugar.

I wish there was not so much There were not so many people last year.
sugar here.

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 Uncountable nouns Countable nouns

There is a lot of sugar in candy. There are many people who want to come. = There are a lot of
people who want to come.

Distributives
Distributive determiners refer to a group of people or things, and to individual members of the
group. They show different ways of looking at the individuals within a group, and they express
how something is distributed, shared, or divided.

Using "each" and "every"

Each is a way of seeing the members of a group as individuals, while every is a way of seeing a
group as a series of members. These distributives can only be used with countable nouns. They
are normally used with singular nouns, and are placed before the noun. In many cases, they are
interchangeable.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• Each child received a present.

• Every child received a present.
• I gave each plant some water.
• I gave every plant some water.

Each can also be used with plural nouns and pronouns but must be followed by 'of'. Everycannot
be used with plural nouns.
Examples

• Each of the children received a present.

• I gave each of the plants some water.
• He told each of us our jobs.
• I gave each of them a kiss.

Every can express different points in a series, especially with time expressions. Each works in
the same way, but is less common.

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Examples

• Every morning John goes jogging.

• This magazine is published every week.
• I have my coffee here every day.
• I go visit my mother each week.
• Each Monday, he buys a kilo of apples.

Using "all" as a distributive

The distributive determiner all is used to talk about a whole group, with a special emphasis on
the fact that nothing has been left out. All can be used as a distributive in several different
patterns.

All can be used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns by itself. In this usage, it
refers to the group as a concept rather than as individuals.

Examples

• All cheese contains protein.

• I like all dogs.
• All children need affection.
• This soap is for all purposes.

All can be used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns preceeded by the or a
possessive adjective. In this case, the meaning is shifted towards referring to a concrete, physical
group rather than the group as a concept. In these uses, the word of can be added just
after all with no change in meaning.
Examples

• All the people in the room were silent.

• All of the birds flew away.
• Have you eaten all the bread?
• I will need all of the sugar.
• I've invited all my friends to the party.
• I've used up all of our eggs.
• You wasted all your time.

All can be used with plural pronouns preceeded by of.

Examples

• All of us are going.

• He scolded all of you.
• Did you find all of them?

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All can be used in questions and exclamations with uncountable nouns preceeded by thisor that.
In these uses, the word of can be added just after all with no change in meaning.
Examples

• Who has left all this paper on my desk?

• Look at all this snow!
• Why is all of that sugar on the floor?
• Where did all of this confetti come from?

All can be used in questions and exclamations with countable nouns preceeded by these or those.
In these uses, the word of can be added just after all with no change in meaning.
Examples

• Look at all those balloons!

• Where did all of those books come from?
• Why are all these children crying?

Using "either"
Either is positive and when used alone, refers to one of the two members of the pair. It is
equivalent to "one or the other". Because it refers to just one member of a pair, either must be
used before a singular noun. It can also be used with a plural noun or pronoun if followed by
"of".

Examples

• I can stay at either hotel.

• Either day is fine for me.
• There are two chairs here. You can take either of them.
• Either of you can come.
• Either of the hotels will be fine.
• I can eat either of the salads.

Either can also be used with or in a construction that talks about each member of the pair in
turn. The meaning remains the same, but in this case either is not functioning as a distributive. It
is functioning as a conjunction.
Examples

• You can have either ice cream or chocolate cake.

• I will come on either Thursday or Friday.
• You can either come inside or put on your raincoat.

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Using "neither"
Neither is negative and when used alone, refers to the whole pair. It is equivalent to "not one or
the other". Because it refers to just one member of a pair, neither must be used before a singular
noun. It can also be used with a plural noun or pronoun if followed by "of".

Examples

• Neither chair is any good.

• Neither brother came.
• Which bag do you want? Neither of them.
• Neither of us were on time.
• I think neither of these dresses fits me.
• Neither of the children wanted to go.

Neither can also be used with nor in a construction that talks about each member of the pair in
turn. The meaning remains the same, but in this case neither is not functioning as a distributive.
It is functioning as a conjunction.
Examples

• You can have neither cookies nor candy.

• It is neither raining nor snowing.
• She is neither tall nor short.

Determiners of difference

The determiners other and another refer to something different, remaining, or additional. They
are placed before a noun. The other is treated separately because its usage is slightly different.

Other Plural countable nouns and all uncountable nouns

Another Singular countable nouns

The other Any noun that can take the definite article "the"

Using "other"
Other can be used alone or after the determiners some, any, and no.

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Examples

• Do you have other shoes?

• There are other jobs you could try.
• Is there any other bread?
• I have some other sugar we could use.
• We have no other ideas.

If used with a plural countable noun and one of these determiners, the noun may be omitted
when it is understood from the context. In that case, other becomes plural (others). This can also
happen with other used by itself, but it is less common.
Examples

• Do you have any others?

• I know some others who might like to come.
• There are no others in this box.
• I know others like vanilla, but I prefer chocolate.
• She doesn't have to wear that dress. She has others.

Using "another"
Another is used with singular countable nouns. For uncountable nouns, another is often used
with measure words that are singular.

Examples

• Have another cookie.

• Would you like another cup of tea?
• He has another brother.
• I don't have another car.
• I'll come by another time.

Using "the other"

If the other is modifying a plural countable noun, the noun may be omitted when it is understood
from the context. In that case, other will become plural.

Examples

• Where is the other box of cereal?

• I work on the weekend and go to school on the other days of the week.
• May I use the other honey for my recipe?
• I enjoyed the first book but I didn't read the other books in the series.
• Have you seen the others?
• Jim ate two cookies. I ate the others.

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 Tenses
Simple present tense

The simple present tense is one of several forms of present tense in English. It is used to
describe habits, unchanging situations, general truths, and fixed arrangements. The simple
present tense is simple to form. Just use the base form of the verb: (I take, you take, we take, they
take) The 3rd person singular takes an -s at the end. (he takes, she takes)
Test your knowledge

The simple present tense is used:

• To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and
wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large
city (general truth)
• To give instructions or directions:
You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.
• To express fixed arrangements, present or future:
Your exam starts at 09.00
• To express future time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.

Be careful! The simple present is not used to express actions happening now.
Examples

• For habits
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.
• For repeated actions or events
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.
• For general truths
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.

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 • For instructions or directions
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.
• For fixed arrangements
His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March
• With future constructions
She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.

Forming the simple present tense: to think

Affirmative Interrogative Negative

I think Do I think? I do not think

You think Do you think? You do not think

He thinks Does he think? He does not think

She thinks Does she think? She does not think

It thinks Does it think? It does not think

We think Do we think? We do not think.

They think Do they think? They do not think.

Notes on the simple present, third person singular

• In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
• Negative and question forms use DOES (= the third person of the auxiliary 'DO') + the
infinitive of the verb.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.
• Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays
• Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

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Examples

• He goes to school every morning.

• She understands English.
• It mixes the sand and the water.
• He tries very hard.
• She enjoys playing the piano.

Present Continuous

Forming the present continuous

The present continuous of any verb is composed of two parts - the present tense of the verb to be
+ the present participle of the main verb.

(The form of the present participle is: base+ing, e.g. talking, playing, moving, smiling)

Affirmative

Subject + to be + base + ing

She is talking.

Negative

Subject + to be + not + base + ing

She is not (isn't) talking

Interrogative

to be + subject + base + ing

Is she talking?

Examples: TO GO, present continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I am going I am not going Am I going?

70
 Affirmative Negative Interrogative

You are going You aren't going. Are you going?

He, she, it is going He, she, it isn't going Is he, she, it going?

We are going We aren't going Are we going?

You are going You aren't going Are you going?

They are going They aren't going Are they going?

Note: alternative negative contractions: I'm not going, you're not going, he's not going etc.

Functions of the present continuous

As with all tenses in English, the speaker's attitude is as important as the time of the action or
event. When someone uses the present continuous, they are thinking about something that
is unfinished or incomplete

The present continuous is used:

• to describe an action that is going on at this moment: You are using the Internet. You are
studying English grammar.
• to describe an action that is going on during this period of time or a trend: Are you still
working for the same company? More and more people are becoming vegetarian.
• to describe an action or event in the future, which has already been planned or
prepared: We're going on holiday tomorrow. I'm meeting my boyfriend tonight. Are they
visiting you next winter?
• to describe a temporary event or situation: He usually plays the drums, but he's
playingbass guitar tonight. The weather forecast was good, but it's raining at the
moment.
• with "always, forever, constantly", to describe and emphasise a continuing series of
repeated actions: Harry and Sally are always arguing! You're constantly
complainingabout your mother-in-law!

71
Be careful: Some verbs are not usually used in the continuous form

Verbs that are not usually used in the continuous form

The verbs in the list below are normally used in the simple form because they refer to states,
rather than actions or processes.

Senses / perception

• to feel*
• to hear
• to see*
• to smell
• to taste

Opinion

• to assume
• to believe
• to consider
• to doubt
• to feel (= to think)
• to find (= to consider)
• to suppose
• to think*

Mental states

• to forget
• to imagine
• to know
• to mean
• to notice
• to recognise
• to remember
• to understand

Emotions / desires

• to envy
• to fear
• to dislike
• to hate
• to hope
• to like
• to love

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 • to mind
• to prefer
• to regret
• to want
• to wish

Measurement

• to contain
• to cost
• to hold
• to measure
• to weigh

Others

• to look (=resemble)
• to seem
• to be (in most cases)
• to have (when it means "to possess")*

Exceptions
Perception verbs (see, hear, feel, taste, smell) are often used with can: I can see... These verbs
may be used in the continuous form but with a different meaning

• This coat feels nice and warm. (your perception of the coat's qualities)
• John's feeling much better now (his health is improving)
• She has three dogs and a cat. (possession)
• She's having supper. (She's eating)
• I can see Anthony in the garden (perception)
• I'm seeing Anthony later (We are planning to meet)

Simple past tense

Definition of the simple past tense

The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, is used to talk about a completed action in
a time before now. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the
action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important.
Examples

• John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.

• My father died last year.
• He lived in Fiji in 1976.
• We crossed the Channel yesterday.

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You always use the simple past when you say when something happened, so it is associated with
certain past time expressions

• frequency: often, sometimes, always

I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.
• a definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work atseven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night
• an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago
People lived in caves a long time ago.
She played the piano when she was a child.

Note: the word ago is a useful way of expressing the distance into the past. It is placed after the
period of time: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.

Be Careful: The simple past in English may look like a tense in your own language, but the
meaning may be different.

Forming the simple past tense

Patterns of simple past tense for regular verbs

Affirmative

Subject + verb + ed

I skipped.

Negative

Subject + did not + infinitive without to

They didn't go.

Interrogative

Did + subject + infinitive without to

Did she arrive?

Interrogative negative

74
 Did not + subject + infinitive without to

Didn't you play?

To Walk

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I walked I didn't walk Did I walk?

You walked You didn't walk Did you walk?

He walked He didn't walk Did he walk?

We walked We didn't walk Did we walk?

They walked They didn't walk Did they walk?

Simple past tense of to be, to have, to do

Subject Verb

Be Have Do

I was had did

You were had did

He/She/It was had did

We were had did

You were had did

They were had did

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Notes on affirmative, negative, & interrogative forms
Affirmative
The affirmative of the simple past tense is simple.

• I was in Japan last year

• She had a headache yesterday.
• We did our homework last night.

Negative and interrogative

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "to do" as an ordinary verb, use the
auxiliary "did", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary "did", but
sometimes by simply adding not or the contraction "n't".

The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary "did".

Examples

• They weren't in Rio last summer.

• We didn't have any money.
• We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
• We didn't do our exercises this morning.
• Were they in Iceland last January?
• Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
• Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Note: For the negative and interrogative form of all verbs in the simple past, always use the
auxiliary 'did''.

Simple past, irregular verbs

Some verbs are irregular in the simple past. Here are the most common ones.

to go

• He went to a club last night.

• Did he go to the cinema last night?
• He didn't go to bed early last night.

to give

• We gave her a doll for her birthday.

76
 • They didn't give John their new address.
• Did Barry give you my passport?

to come

• My parents came to visit me last July.

• We didn't come because it was raining.
• Did he come to your party last week?

Past continuous tense

Test your knowledge

Functions of the past continuous

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past
and were still going on when another event occurred.

It is used:

• Often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun was
shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other
animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly.
She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the hunter who was watching her
through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
• to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or action, e.g.
"I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
• to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've
decided to get my homework done instead."
• with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit
for me tonight."

Examples

• They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
• Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
• When we arrived he was having a bath.
• When the fire started I was watching television.

Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used.

77
Forming the past continuous
The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb "to be"
(was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.

Subject +was/were +base + ing

They were watching

Affirmative

She was reading

Negative

She wasn't reading

Interrogative

Was she reading?

Interrogative negative

Wasn't she reading?

To play, past continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was playing I was not playing Was I playing?

You were playing You were not playing Were you playing?

He was playing He wasn't playing Was he playing?

We were playing We weren't playing Were we playing?

They were playing They weren't playing Were they playing?

Present perfect

Definition of the present perfect tense

The present perfect is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. The time of the
action is before now but not specified, and we are often more interested in the result than in the
action itself.

78
Test your knowledge

BE CAREFUL! There may be a verb tense in your language with a similar form, but the
meaning is probably NOT the same.

The present perfect is used to describe

• An action or situation that started in the past and continues in the present. I have lived in
Bristol since 1984 (= and I still do.)
• An action performed during a period that has not yet finished. She has been to the cinema
twice this week (= and the week isn't over yet.)
• A repeated action in an unspecified period between the past and now. We have
visitedPortugal several times.
• An action that was completed in the very recent past, expressed by 'just'. I have just
finished my work.
• An action when the time is not important. He has read 'War and Peace'. (= the result of
his reading is important)

Note: When we want to give or ask details about when, where, who, we use the simple past.
Read more about choosing between the present perfect and the simple past tenses.

Actions started in the past and continuing in the present

• They haven't lived here for years.

• She has worked in the bank for five years.
• We have had the same car for ten years.
• Have you played the piano since you were a child?

When the time period referred to has not finished

• I have worked hard this week.

• It has rained a lot this year.
• We haven't seen her today.

Actions repeated in an unspecified period between the past and now.

• They have seen that film six times

• It has happened several times already.
• She has visited them frequently.
• We have eaten at that restaurant many times.

Actions completed in the very recent past (+just)

• Have you just finished work?

• I have just eaten.
• We have just seen her.

79
 • Has he just left?

When the precise time of the action is not important or not known

• Someone has eaten my soup!

• Have you seen 'Gone with the Wind'?
• She's studied Japanese, Russian, and English.

Read more about using the present perfect with the words "ever", "never", "already", and
"yet", and about using the present perfect with the words "for" and "since".

Forming the present perfect

The present perfect of any verb is composed of two elements : the appropriate form of the
auxiliary verb to have (present tense), plus the past participle of the main verb. The past
participle of a regular verb is base+ed, e.g. played, arrived, looked. For irregular verbs, see
the Table of irregular verbs in the section called 'Verbs'.

Affirmative

Subject +to have +past participle

She has visited.

Negative

Subject +to have + not +past participle

She has not (hasn't) visited.

Interrogative

to have +subject +past participle

Has she visited?

Negative interrogative

to have + not +subject +past participle

Hasn't she visited?

80
To Walk, present perfect

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I have walked I haven't walked Have I walked?

You have walked You haven't walked. Have you walked?

He, she, it has walked He, she, hasn't walked Has he, she, it walked?

We have walked We haven't walked Have we walked?

You have walked You haven't walked Have you walked?

They have walked They haven't walked Have they walked?

Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous is used to refer to an unspecified time between 'before now' and
'now'. The speaker is thinking about something that started but perhaps did not finish in that
period of time. He/she is interested in the process as well as the result, and this process may
still be going on, or may have just finished.
Test your knowledge

Actions that started in the past and continue in the present

She has been waiting for you all day (= and she's still waiting now).
I've been working on this report since eight o'clock this morning (= and I still haven't finished
it).
They have been travelling since last October (= and they're not home yet).

Actions that have just finished, but we are interested in the results
She has been cooking since last night (= and the food on the table looks delicious).
It's been raining (= and the streets are still wet).
Someone's been eating my chips (= half of them have gone).

Forming the present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous is made up of two elements: the present perfect of the verb 'to
be' (have/has been), and the present participle of the main verb (base+ing)

Subject +has/have been +base+ing

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 She has been swimming
Affirmative: She has been / She's been running.
Negative: She hasn't been running.
Interrogative : Has she been running?
Interrogative negative: Hasn't she been running?

Example: present perfect continuous, TO LIVE

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I have been living I haven't been living Have I been living?

You have been living You haven't been living Have you been living?

He, she, it has been living He hasn't been living Has she been living?

We have been living We haven't been living Have we been living?

You have been living You haven't been living Have you been living?

They have been living They haven't been living Have they been living?

Verbs without continuous forms

With verbs not normally used in the continuous form, use the simple present perfect instead
(verbs such as: know, hate, hear, understand, want).
I've wanted to visit China for years.
She's known Robert since she was a child.
I've hated that music since I first heard it.
I've heard a lot about you recently.
We've understood everything.

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Past perfect tense

Functions of the past perfect

The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one
event happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned first -
the tense makes it clear which one happened first.

In these examples, Event A is the event that happened first and Event B is the second or more
recent event:

Event A Event B

John had gone out when I arrived in the office.

Event A Event B

I had saved my document before the computer crashed.

Event B Event A

When they arrived we had already started cooking.

Event B Event A

He was very tired because he hadn't slept well.

Forming the past perfect

The Past Perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have
(had) + the past participle of the main verb.

Subject +had +past participle

Affirmative

She had given

Negative

She hadn't asked.

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 Subject +had +past participle

Interrogative

Had they arrived?

Interrogative Negative

Hadn't you finished?

To decide, past perfect

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I had decided I hadn't decided Had I decided?

You had decided You hadn't decided Had you decided?

She had decided She hadn't decided Had she decided?

We had decided We hadn't decided Had we decided?

They had decided They hadn't decided Had they decided?

Past perfect + just

'Just' is used with the past perfect to refer to an event that was only a short time earlier than
before now, e.g.

• The train had just left when I arrived at the station.

• She had just left the room when the police arrived.
• I had just put the washing out when it started to rain.

Past perfect continuous

Functions of the past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous, but with reference to a
time earlier than 'before now'. As with the present perfect continuous, we are more interested in
the process.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?

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 • We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
• It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
• Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.

This form is also used in reported speech. It is the equivalent of the past continuous and the
present perfect continuous in direct speech:

• Jane said, "I have been gardening all afternoon." = Jane said she had been gardening all
afternoon.
• When the police questioned him, John said, "I was working late in the office that night."
= When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late in the
office that night.

Forming the past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements - the past perfect of the verb to be
(=had been) + the present participle (base+ing).

Subject +had been +verb + ing

I had been walking

Affirmative

She had been trying

Negative

She hadn't been sleeping

Interrogative

Had you been eating?

Interrogative negative

Hadn't they been living?

To buy, past perfect continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I had been buying I hadn't been buying Had I been buying?

You had been buying You hadn't been buying Had you been buying?

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 Affirmative Negative Interrogative

She had been buying She hadn't been buying Had she been buying?

We had been buying We hadn't been buying Had we been buying?

They had been buying They hadn't been buying Had they been buying?

Simple future tense

Functions of the simple future tense

The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. In this case
there is no 'attitude'.

The simple future is used:

• To predict a future event:

It will rain tomorrow.
• With I or We, to express a spontaneous decision:
I'll pay for the tickets by credit card.
• To express willingness:
I'll do the washing-up.
He'll carry your bag for you.
• In the negative form, to express unwillingness:
The baby won't eat his soup.
I won't leave until I've seen the manager!
• With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to make an offer:
Shall I open the window?
• With we in the interrogative form using "shall", to make a suggestion:
Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
• With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to ask for advice or instructions:
What shall I tell the boss about this money?
• With you, to give orders:
You will do exactly as I say.
• With you in the interrogative form, to give an invitation:
Will you come to the dance with me?
Will you marry me?

Note:In modern English will is preferred to shall. Shall is mainly used with I and we to make an
offer or suggestion, or to ask for advice (see examples above). With the other persons (you, he,

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she, they) shall is only used in literary or poetic situations, e.g. "With rings on her fingers and
bells on her toes, She shall have music wherever she goes."

Forming the simple future

The simple future tense is composed of two parts: will / shall + the infinitive without to

Subject +will +infinitive without "to"

Affirmative

I will go

I shall go

Negative

They will not see

They won't see

Interrogative

Will she ask?

Interrogative negative

Won't they try?

Contractions
I will = I'll
We will = we'll
You will = you'll
He will = he'll
She will = she'll
They will = they'll
Will not = won't

The form "it will" is not normally shortened.

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To see: simple future tense

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrogative negative

I will see I won't see Will I see? Won't I see?

I will see Will I see?

You will see You won't see Will you see? Won't you see?

He will see He won't see Will he see? Won't he see?

We will see We won't see Will we see? Won't we see?

We will see Will we see?

They will see They won't see Will they see? Won't they see?

Future continuous

Form
The future continuous is made up of two elements:
the simple future of the verb "to be" + the present participle (base+ing)
Test your knowledge
Subject +simple future of the verb "to be" +present participle

You will be watching

I will be staying

To stay, future continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

interrogative

I will be staying. I won't be staying. Will I be staying? Won't I be staying?

You will be staying. You won't be staying. Will you be staying? Won't you be staying?

He will be staying. He won't be staying. Will he be staying? Won't he be staying?

She will be staying. She won't be staying. Will she be staying? Won't she be staying?

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 Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative
interrogative

It will be staying. It won't be staying. Will it be staying? Won't it be staying?

We will be staying. We won't be staying. Will we be staying? Won't we be staying?

They will be They won't be Will they be Won't they be staying?

staying. staying. staying?

Functions
The future continuous refers to an unfinished action or event that will be in progress at a time
later than now. The future continuous is used for quite a few different purposes.

The future continuous can be used to project ourselves into the future.

Examples

• This time next week I will be sun-bathing in Bali.

• By Christmas I will be skiing like a pro.
• Just think, next Monday you will be working in your new job.

The future continuous can be used for predicting or guessing about future events.
Examples

• He'll be coming to the meeting, I expect.

• I guess you'll be feeling thirsty after working in the sun.
• You'll be missing the sunshine once you're back in England.

In the interrogative form, the future continuous can be used to ask politely for information about
the future.
Examples

• Will you be bringing your friend to the pub tonight?

• Will Jim be coming with us?
• Will she be going to the party tonight?
• Will I be sleeping in this room?

The future continuous can be used to refer to continuous events that we expect to happen in the
future.
Examples

• I'll be seeing Jim at the conference next week.

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 • When he is in Australia he will be staying with friends.
• I'll be eating with Jane this evening so I can tell her.

When combined with still, the future continuous refers to events that are already happening now
and that we expect to continue some time into the future.
Examples

• In an hour I'll still be ironing my clothes.

• Tomorrow he'll still be suffering from his cold.
• Next year will she still be wearing a size six?
• Won't stock prices still be falling in the morning?
• Unfortunately, sea levels will still be rising in 20 years.

Present continuous for future arrangements

Using the present continuous to talk about the future

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. e.g.

• I'm meeting Jim at the airport = Jim and I have discussed this.
• I am leaving tomorrow. = I've already bought my train ticket.
• We're having a staff meeting next Monday = all members of staff have been told about
it.

Examples

• Is she seeing him tomorrow?

• He isn't working next week.
• They aren't leaving until the end of next year.
• We are staying with friends when we get to Boston.

Note: In the first example, "seeing" is used in a continuous form because it means "meeting".
Be careful: The simple present is used when a future event is part of a programme or time-table.
Notice the difference between:

a. We're having a staff meeting next Monday = just that once

b. We have a staff meeting every Monday

Test your knowledge

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Simple present 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.
Test your knowledge
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 plane leaves in ten minutes.

Future with "going"

Form
When we use going in a phrase to talk about the future, the form is composed of three elements:
the verb to be conjugated to match the subject + going + the infinitive of the main verb
Test your knowledge
Subject + to be (conjugated) + going + infinitive

She is going to leave.

I am going to stay.

Affirmative

He is going to jog.

Negative

He is not going to jog.

Interrogative

Is he going to jog?

Negative interrogative

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 Isn't he going to jog?

Function
The use of going to refer to future events suggests a very strong association with the present. The
time is not important, it is later than now, but the attitude is that the event depends on something
in the present situation that we know about. Going is mainly used to refer to our plans and
intentions or to make predictions based on present evidence. In everyday speech, going to is
often shortened to gonna, especially in American English, but it is never written that way.

Using "going" for plans and intentions

Examples

• Is Freddy going to buy a new car soon?

• Are John and Pam going to visit Milan when they are in Italy?
• I think Nigel and Mary are going to have a party next week.
• We are going to have dinner together tomorrow.
• Aren't you going to stay at the library until your report is finished?

Using "going" for predictions

Examples

• He's going to be a brilliant politician.

• I'm going to have a hard time falling asleep.
• You're going to be sorry you said that.
• Is it going to rain this afternoon?
• Aren't they going to come to the party?

Future obligation

Form
When we write about future obligations, we can use a formal pattern composed of two elements
the verb to be in the present tense conjugated to match the subject + the infinitive of the
main verb
Test your knowledge

To travel, as a future obligation

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 Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative interrogative

I am to travel. I am not to travel. Am I to travel? Am I not to travel?

You are to travel. You are not to travel. Are you to travel? Aren't you to travel?

He is to travel. He is not to travel. Is he to travel? Isn't he to travel?

It is to travel. It is not to travel. Is it to travel? Isn't it to travel?

We are to travel. We are not to travel. Are we to travel? Aren't we to travel?

They are to travel. They are not to travel. Are they to travel? Aren't they to travel?

Function
In written English, we can use this pattern to refer to an obligation or requirement that we do
something at a time later than now. It is similar in meaning to must, but there is a suggestion that
something has been arranged or organised for us. It is not normally used in spoken English.
Examples

• You are to leave this room at once, and you are to travel by train to London.
• In London you are to pick up your ticket from Mr Smith, and you are to fly to your
destination alone.
• When you arrive, you are to meet our agent, Mr X, who will give you further
information.
• You are to destroy this message now.

Immediate future

Form
When we talk about the immediate future, we can use a pattern composed of three elements:
the verb "to be", conjugated in the present tense, + about + the infinitive of the main verb
Test your knowledge
Subject + to be + about (or just about) + infinitive

I am about to be sick

They are about to arrive.

It is just about to explode.

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To leave, in the immediate future

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

interrogative

I am about to leave. I am not about to Am I about to leave? Am I not about to

leave. leave?

You are about to You are not about to Are you about to Aren't you about to
leave. leave. leave? leave?

He is about to leave. He is not about to Is he about to leave? Isn't he about to leave?

leave.

We are about to We aren't about to Are we about to Aren't we about to

leave. leave. leave? leave?

They are about to They aren't about to Are they about to Aren't they about to
leave. leave. leave? leave?

Function
This pattern is used to refer to a time immediately after the moment of speaking, and emphasises
that the event or action will happen very soon. We often add the word justbefore the word about,
which emphasises the immediacy of the action.
Examples

• She is about to cry.

• You are about to see something very unusual.
• I am about to go to a meeting.
• We are just about to go inside.
• Sally is just about to jump off that diving board.

This pattern can also be used with the simple past tense of to be in place of the present tense, to
refer to an action that was imminent, but was interrupted. That pattern is often followed by a
clause introduced by when.
Examples

• She was about to leave when Jim arrived.

• When it started to rain, I was about to go out for a walk.
• I was just about to call her when she walked in.
• The car was just about to flip over when he regained control.

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Future perfect
Form
The future perfect is composed of two elements
the simple future of the verb "to have" (will have) + the past participle of the main verb

Subject + will have + past participle of the main verb

He will have finished.

I will have finished.

To arrive, future perfect tense

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

interrogative

I will have arrived I won't have arrived Will I have arrived? Won't I have arrived?

You will have You won't have Will you have Won't you have
arrived arrived arrived? arrived?

He will have arrived He won't have Will he have arrived? Won't he have
arrived arrived?

We will have We won't have Will we have Won't we have

arrived arrived arrived? arrived?

They will have They won't have Will they have Won't they have
arrived arrived arrived? arrived?

Function
The future perfect tense refers to a completed action in the future. When we use this tense we are
projecting ourselves forward into the future and looking back at an action that will be completed
some time later than now. It is most often used with a time expression.

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Examples

• I will have been here for six months on June 23rd.

• By the time you read this I will have left.
• You will have finished your report by this time next week.
• Won't they have arrived by 5:00?
• Will you have eaten when I pick you up?

Future perfect continuous

Form
The future perfect continuous is composed of two elements
the future perfect of the verb "to be" (will have been) + the present participle of the main
verb (base + ing)

Subject + will have been + present participle

He will have been playing.

I will have been playing.

To live, future perfect continuous tense

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

interrogative

I will have been I won't have been Will I have been Won't I have been
living living living? living?

You will have been You won't have Will you have been Won't you have been
living been living living? living?

He will have been He won't have been Will he have been Won't he have been
living living living? living?

We will have been We won't have been Will we have been Won't we have been
living living living? living?

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 Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative
interrogative

They will have been They won't have Will they have been Won't they have been
living been living living? living?

Function
Like the future perfect simple, this form is used to project ourselves forward in time and to look
back. It refers to events or actions that are currently unfinished but will be finished at some
future time. It is most often used with a time expression.

Examples

• I will have been waiting here for three hours by six o'clock.
• By 2001 I will have been living in London for sixteen years.
• When I finish this course, I will have been learning English for twenty years.
• Next year I will have been working here for four years.
• When I come at 6:00, will you have been practicing long?

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 Subject-Verb
Agreement
All sentences have a Subject and a Verb. Subject –Verb agreement refers to the rule in English
that a Verb must agree with its Subject at all times.

1. When the Subject is singular, the Verb is singular.

She is a police officer.

That boy sings well.
It licks its paw gently.

2. When the Subject is plural, the Verb is plural.

They are police officers.

Those boys sing well.
Most people like chocolates.

3. When there are two or more singular Subjects joined by ‘and’, the Verb is
plural.

Gladys and Ruby are police officers.

John, Andy, and Ming sing well.
Kim and Wang have come to school today.

4. When a singular Subject is joined to other subjects by ‘with’, ‘as well as’,
‘together with’, ‘in addition to’, ‘no less’ etc., the Verb is singular.

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 My son, as well as my daughter, likes reading.
Mari, together with his sister, is going to France.
The gate, in addition to the wall, was painted bright yellow.

5. When Subjects are separated by ‘all but’, ‘both…and’, the Verb is plural.

All but Harry have left.

Both Tina and Anna enjoy singing.

6. When two or more Subjects are preceded by ‘each’, and ‘every’ the Verb is
singular.

Each adult and child has to pay to enter the showroom.

Every boy and girl likes presents.

7. ‘Either’, ‘neither’, and ‘many a’ must be followed by a singular Verb.

Neither of the two men was very strong.

He asked me whether either of the applicants was suitable.

8. Two or more singular Subjects connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ require a singular

Verb.

No nook or corner was left unexplored.

Either the cat or the dog has been here.

9. When one of the subjects joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ is plural, the Verb must be
plural, and the plural Subject should be place nearest the Verb.

Neither the Chairman nor the directors are present.

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10. When the Subjects joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ are of different Persons, the Verb
agrees with the nearer.

Either he or I am mistaken.
Neither you nor he is to blame.

11. When two singular Subjects refer to the same person or thing, the Verb is
singular.

Wendy, my good friend and neighbor, is a musician.

Mr. John, my boss and guide, has taught me how to be a good salesperson.

12. When two Subjects are used to express one idea, the Verb may be singular.

Bread and butter is all I take for breakfast.

Time and tide waits for no man.

13. Indefinite pronouns like ‘anybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘everybody’, ‘nobody’, ‘no

one’, and ‘somebody’ require a singular Verb.

Is anyone feeling cold here?

Everybody loves Carl.
Somebody has taken my bag.

14. Where a sentence begins with ‘it’, the verb is always singular.

It is the cat that ate the fish.

It is the Tans.

15. When a sentence begins with ‘there’ or ‘here’, the verb agrees with the
following Subject, not the introductory word.

Here is your pen.

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 Here are the drinks.
There is nobody in the library.

16. A collective noun takes a singular Verb when it means a group.

The team wins every time.

The committee is going to decide.

17. Titles of books, magazines, movies, and newspapers or plays take a singular
Verb.

‘The Sound of Music’ is a musical film.

‘Little Women’ has been read by millions of people.

18. Plural numbers take a singular Verb when they are used in a phrase to mean
a sum or unit.

A million dollars is a lot of money.

Three years is a long time.

19. Some nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning. They usually take a
singular Verb.

Examples of such nouns are dynamics, economics, electronics, physics, statistics,

and mathematics.

Electronics bores me to death.

No news is good news

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 Conditionals
Conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened,
and what we wish would happen. In English, most sentences using the conditional contain the
word if.

Conditional Usage If clause Main clause verb tense

sentence type verb tense

Zero General truths Simple Simple present

present

Type 1 A possible condition and its Simple Simple future

probable result present

Type 2 A hypothetical condition and Simple past Present conditional or

its probable result Present continuous
conditional

Type 3 An unreal past condition and Past perfect Perfect conditional

its probable result in the past

Mixed type An unreal past condition and Past perfect Present contditional
its probable result in the
present

Zero Conditional

Form
In zero conditional sentences, the tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present.

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 If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple present simple present

If this thing happens that thing happens.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical. In zero conditional sentences, you can replace "if" with "when", because both
express general truths. The meaning will be unchanged.

Examples

• If you heat ice, it melts.

• Ice melts if you heat it.
• When you heat ice, it melts.
• Ice melts when you heat it.
• If it rains, the grass gets wet.
• The grass gets wet if it rains.
• When it rains, the grass gets wet.
• The grass gets wet when it rains.

Function
The zero conditional is used to make statements about the real world, and often refers to general
truths, such as scientific facts. In these sentences, the time is now or always and the situation
is real and possible.

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.
• If you mix red and blue, you get purple.

The zero conditional is also often used to give instructions, using the imperative in the main
clause.
Examples

• If Bill phones, tell him to meet me at the cinema.

• Ask Pete if you're not sure what to do.
• If you want to come, call me before 5:00.
• Meet me here if we get separated.

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Type 1 conditional

Form
In a type 1 conditional sentence, the tense in the "if" clause is the simple present, and the tense in
the main clause is the simple future.
Test your knowledge

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple present simple future

If this thing happens that thing will happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical.
Examples

• If it rains, you will get wet.

• You will get wet if it rains.
• If Sally is late again I will be mad.
• I will be mad if Sally is late again.
• If you don't hurry, you will miss the bus.
• You will miss the bus if you don't hurry.

Function
The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result. These sentences 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. In type 1 conditional sentences, the
time is the present or future and the situation is real.

Examples

• If I have time, I'll finish that letter.

• What will you do if you miss the plane?
• Nobody will notice if you make a mistake.
• If you drop that glass, it will break.

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 • If you don't drop the gun, I'll shoot!
• If you don't leave, I'll call the police.

In type 1 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of the future
tense to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
Examples

• If you drop that glass, it might break.

• I may finish that letter if I have time.
• If he calls you, you should go.
• If you buy my school supplies for me, I will be able to go to the park.

Type 2 conditional

Form
Test your knowledge

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple past present conditional or present continuous conditional

If this thing happened that thing would happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical.
Examples

• If it rained, you would get wet.

• You would get wet if it rained.
• If you went to bed earlier you wouldn't be so tired.
• You wouldn't be so tired if you went to bed earlier.
• If she fell, she would hurt herself.
• She would hurt herself if she fell.

Function
The type 2 conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its probable result.
These sentences are not based on the actual situation. In type 2 conditional sentences, the time
is now or any time and the situation is hypothetical.

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Examples

• If the weather wasn't so bad, we would go to the park. (But the weather is bad so we can't
go.)
• If I was the Queen of England, I would give everyone a chicken. (But I am not the
Queen.)
• If you really loved me, you would buy me a diamond ring.
• If I knew where she lived, I would go and see her.

It is correct, and very common, to say "if I were" instead of "if I was" (subjunctive mood).
Examples

• If I were taller, I would buy this dress.

• If I were 20, I would travel the world.
• If I were you, I would give up smoking.
• If I were a plant, I would love the rain.

In type 2 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
Examples

• We might buy a larger house if we had more money

• He could go to the concert if you gave him your ticket.
• If he called me, I couldn't hear.

The present conditional tense

The present conditional of any verb is composed of two elements:
would + the infinitive of the main verb, without "to"

Subject + would + infinitive

He would go

They would stay

To Go: present conditional

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrogative negative

I would go I wouldn't go Would I go? Wouldn't I go?

You would go You wouldn't go Would you go? Wouldn't you go?

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 Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrogative negative

He would go He wouldn't go Would he go? Wouldn't he go?

She would go She wouldn't go Would she go? Wouldn't she go?

We would go We wouldn't go Would we go? Wouldn't we go?

They would go They wouldn't go Would they go? Wouldn't they go?

Type 3 conditional

Form
In a type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the "if" clause is the past perfect, and the tense in
the main clause is the perfect conditional or the perfect continuous conditional.
Test your knowledge

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + past perfect perfect conditional or perfect continuous conditional

If this thing had happened that thing would have happened.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical.
Examples

• If it had rained, you would have gotten wet.

• You would have gotten wet if it had rained.
• You would have passed your exam if you had worked harder.
• If you had worked harder, you would have passed your exam.
• I would have believed you if you hadn't lied to me before.
• If you hadn't lied to me before, I would have believed you.

Function
The type 3 conditional refers to an impossible condition in the past and its probable result in the
past. These sentences are truly hypothetical and unreal, because it is now too late for the
condition or its result to exist. There is always some implication of regret with type 3 conditional

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sentences. The reality is the opposite of, or contrary to, what the sentence expresses. In type 3
conditional sentences, the time is the past and the situation is hypothetical.

Examples

• If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam. (But I didn't work hard, and I didn't
pass the exam.)
• If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake. (But I didn't know and I
didn't bake a cake.)
• I would have been happy if you had called me on my birthday. (But you didn't call me
and I am not happy.)

In type 3 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead of "would" to
express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
Examples

• If I had worked harder I might have passed the exam.

• You could have been on time if you had caught the bus.
• If he called you, you could go.
• If you bought my school supplies for me, I might be able to go to the park.

Contractions
Both would and had can be contracted to 'd, which can be confusing if you are not confident with
type 3 conditional sentences. Remember 2 rules:
1. would never appears in the if-clause so if 'd appears in the if clause, it must be
abbreviating had.
2. had never appears before have so if 'd appears on a pronoun just before have, it must be
abbreviating would.

Examples

• If I'd known you were in hospital, I'd have visited you.

• If I had known you were in hospital, I would have visited you.
• I'd have bought you a present if I'd known it was your birthday.
• I would have bought you a present if I had known it was your birthday.
• If you'd given me your e-mail, I'd have written to you.
• If you had given me your e-mail, I would have written to you.

The perfect conditional tense

The perfect conditional of any verb is composed of three elements:
would + have + past participle
Have followed by the past participle is used in other constructions as well. it is called the
"perfect infinitive".

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 Subject + would + have + past participle

He would have gone

They would have stayed

To Go: perfect conditional

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrogative

negative

I would have gone I wouldn't have gone Would I have gone? Wouldn't I have gone?

You would have You wouldn't have Would you have Wouldn't you have
gone gone gone? gone?

He would have He wouldn't have Would he have Wouldn't he have

gone gone gone? gone?

She would have She wouldn't have Would she have Wouldn't she have
gone gone gone? gone?

We would have We wouldn't have Would we have Wouldn't we have

gone gone gone? gone?

They would have They wouldn't have Would they have Wouldn't they have
gone gone gone? gone?

Mixed conditional

It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the
resulting sentence is a "mixed conditional" sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional
sentence.
Test your knowledge

Present result of a past condition

Form
In this type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the
tense in the main clause is the present conditional.

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 If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + past perfect present conditional

If this thing had happened that thing would happen.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical.

Examples

• If I had worked harder at school, I would have a better job now.

• I would have a better job now if I had worked harder at school.
• If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be lost.
• We wouldn't be lost if we had looked at the map.
• If you had caught that plane you would be dead now.
• You would be dead now if you had caught that plane.

Function
This type of mixed conditional refers to an unreal past condition and its probable result in the
present. These sentences express a situation which is contrary to reality both in the past and in
the present. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time is the past in the "if" clause and in
the present in the main clause.

Examples

• If I had studied I would have my driving license. (but I didn't study and now I don't have
my license)
• I would be a millionaire now if I had taken that job. (but I didn't take the job and I'm not a
millionaire)
• If you had spent all your money, you wouldn't buy this jacket. (but you didn't spend all
your money and now you can buy this jacket)

In these mixed conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause instead
of would to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a recommendation about the outcome.
Examples

• If you had crashed the car, you might be in trouble.

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 • I could be a millionaire now if I had invested in ABC Plumbing.
• If I had learned to ski, I might be on the slopes right now.

Past result of present or continuing condition

Form
In this second type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past,
and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional.

If clause (condition) Main clause (result)

If + simple past perfect conditional

If this thing happened that thing would have happened.

As in all conditional sentences, the order of the clauses is not fixed. You may have to rearrange
the pronouns and adjust punctuation when you change the order of the clauses, but the meaning
is identical.

Examples

• If I wasn't afraid of spiders, I would have picked it up.

• I would have picked it up if I wasn't afraid of spiders.
• If we didn't trust him we would have sacked him months ago.
• We would have sacked him months ago if we didn't trust him.
• If I wasn't in the middle of another meeting, I would have been happy to help you.
• I would have been happy to help you if I wasn't in the middle of another meeting.

Function
These mixed conditional sentences refer to an unreal present situation and its probable (but
unreal) past result. In these mixed conditional sentences, the time in the if clause is now or
always and the time in the main clause is before now. For example, "If I wasn't afraid of
spiders" is contrary to present reality. I am afraid of spiders. "I would have picked it up" is
contrary to past reality. I didn't pick it up.

Examples

• If she wasn't afraid of flying she wouldn't have travelled by boat.

• I'd have been able to translate the letter if my Italian was better.
• If I was a good cook, I'd have invited them to lunch.
• If the elephant wasn't in love with the mouse, she'd have trodden on him by now.

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 The -ing forms
A verb ending in -ing is either a present participle or a gerund. These two forms look identical.
The difference is in their functions in a sentence.

Gerund

The gerund looks exactly the same as a present participle, but 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). Some uses of the gerund are covered on this page. A separate page deals
with verbs that are followed by the gerund.
Test your knowledge

The gerund as the subject of the sentence

Examples

• Eating people is wrong.

• Hunting tigers is dangerous.
• Flying makes me nervous.
• Brushing your teeth is important.
• Smoking causes lung cancer.

The gerund as the complement of the verb 'to be'

Examples

• One of his duties is attending meetings.

• The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
• One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

The gerund after prepositions

The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. This is also true of certain
expressions ending in a preposition, for example the expressions in spite of & there's no point in.
Examples

• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?

• 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.

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 • My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
• There's no point in waiting.
• In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

The gerund after phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + preposition or adverb.

Examples

• When will you give up smoking?

• She always puts off going to the dentist.
• He kept on asking for money.
• Jim ended up buying a new TV after his old one broke.

There are some phrasal verbs that include the word "to" as a preposition for example to look
forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to get around to, & to be used to. It is important to
recognise that the word "to" is a preposition in these cases because it must be followed by a
gerund. It is not part of the infinitive form of the verb. You can check whether "to" is a
preposition or part of the infinitive. If you can put the pronoun "it" after the word "to" and form a
meaningful sentence, then the word "to" is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund.
Examples

• I look forward to hearing from you soon.

• I look forward to it.
• I am used to waiting for buses.
• I am used to it.
• She didn't really take to studying English.
• She didn't really take to it.
• When will you get around to mowing the grass?
• When will you get around to it?

The gerund in compound nouns

In compound nouns using the gerund, it is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a
continuous verb. For example, with the word "swimming pool" it is a pool for swimming in, it is
not a pool that is swimming.

Examples

• I am giving Sally a driving lesson.

• They have a swimming pool in their back yard.
• I bought some new running shoes.

The gerund after some expressions

The gerund is necessary after the expressions can't help, can't stand, to be worth, & it's no use.

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Examples

• She couldn't help falling in love with him.

• I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
• It's no use trying to escape.
• It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

Present participle

The present participle of most verbs has the form base+ing. It is used in many different ways.

The present participle as part of the continuous form of a verb

Test your knowledge
Examples,

• I am working.
• He was singing.
• They have been walking.
• We will be staying.
• She would have been expecting me.

The present participle after verbs of movement & position

This construction is particularly useful with the verb to go.
Examples,

• She went shopping.

• I go running every morning.
• He lay looking up at the clouds.
• She came running towards me.

The present participle after verbs of perception

The pattern for this usage is verb + object + present participle. There is a difference in
meaning when such a sentence contains a zero infinitive rather than a participle. The infinitive
refers to a complete action while the present participle refers to an ongoing action.

Examples,

• I heard someone singing.

• He saw his friend walking along the road.
• I can smell something burning!
• I watched the birds flying away.

The present participle as an adjective

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Examples,

• It was an amazing film.

• Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm.
• He was trapped inside the burning house.
• Many of his paintings show the setting sun.

The present participle with the verbs spend and waste

The pattern with these verbs is verb + time/money expression + present participle.

Examples,

• My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work.

• Don't waste time playing computer games!
• They've spent the whole day shopping.
• I wasted money buying this game.

The present participle with the verbs catch and find

The pattern with these verbs is verb + object + present participle. With catch, the participle
always refers to an action which causes annoyance or anger. This is not the case with find, which
is unemotional.

Examples,

• If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be trouble!

• Don't let him catch you reading his letters.
• I caught him going through my bag.
• We found some money lying on the ground.
• They found their mother sitting in the garden.

The present participle for two actions at the same time

When two actions occur at the same time, and are done by the same person or thing, we can use a
present participle to describe one of them. When one action follows very quickly after another
done by the same person or thing, we can express the first action with a present participle.

Examples,

• Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = He whistled to himself as he walked

down the road.
• They went laughing out into the snow. = They laughed as they went out into the snow.
• Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air. = She dropped the gun and put her hands
in the air.
• Putting on his coat, he left the house. = He put on his coat and left the house.

The present participle to explain a reason

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The present participle can be used instead of a phrase starting with as, since, or because. In this
usage the participial phrase explains the cause or reason for an action.

Examples,

• Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
• Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes.
• Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.
• He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep.

Infinitives
Forming the infinitive
Test your knowledge
The infinitive is the base form of a verb. In English, when we talk about the infinitive we are
usually referring to the present infinitive, which is the most common. There are, however, four
other forms of the infinititive: the perfect infinitive, the perfect continuous infinitive, the
continuous infinitive, & the passive infinitive.

the to-infinitive = to + base The present infinitive has two forms:

• the zero infinitive = base

The present infinitive base is the verb form you will find in a dictionary.

To-infinitive Zero infinitive

to sit sit

to eat eat

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 To-infinitive Zero infinitive

to have have

to remember remember

The negative infinitive is formed by putting not in front of any form of the infinitive.

Examples

• I decided not to go to London.

• He asked me not to be late.
• I'd like you not to sing so loudly.
• I'd rather not eat meat.
• I might not come.

Functions of the to-infinitive

The to-infinitive is used in many sentence constructions, often expressing the purpose of
something or someone's opinion about something. The to-infinitive is used following a large
collection of different verbs as well. See this page about verbs followed by infinitives.

The to-infinitive to indicate the purpose or intention of an action

In this case to has the same meaning as in order to or so as to.

Examples

• She came to collect her pay cheque.

• The three bears went to find firewood.
• I am calling to ask you about dad.
• You sister has gone to finish her homework.

The to-infinitive as the subject of the sentence

This is a formal usage and is far more common in written English than spoken

Examples

• To be or not to be, that is the question.

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 • To know her is to love her.
• To visit the Grand Canyon is my life-long dream.
• To understand statistics, that is our aim.

The to-infinitive to indicate what something can or will be used for

In this pattern, the to-infinitive follows a noun or pronoun.

Examples

• The children need a garden to play in.

• I would like a sandwich to eat.
• I don't have anything to wear.
• Would you like something to drink?

The to-infinitive after adjectives

There is a common pattern using the to-infinitive with an adjective. These phrases are formed:
subject + to be + adjective + (for/of someone) + to-infinitive + (rest of sentence)

Subject + to + (+ for/of + to- (+ rest of sentence)

be adjective someone) infinitive

It is good to talk.

It is good of you to talk to me.

It is important to be patient.

It is important for Jake to be patient with his little

brother.

I am happy to be here.

The dog is naughty to destroy our couch.

The to-infinitive to make a comment or judgement

To use the to-infinitive when making a comment or judgement about a noun, the pattern is:
Subject + to be + noun phrase + to-infinitive

Subject + to be + noun phrase + to-infinitive

It was a stupid place to park.

That is a dangerous way to behave.

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 Subject + to be + noun phrase + to-infinitive

What you said was a rude thing to say.

This is the right thing to do.

Those were the wrong kind of eggs to buy.

Jim is the best person to hire.

The to-infinitive with adverbs

The to-infinitive is used frequently with the adverbs too and enough to express the reasoning
behind our satisfaction or insatisfaction. The pattern is that too and enough are placed before or
after the adjective, adverb, or noun that they modify in the same way they would be without the
to-infinitive. We then follow them by the to-infinitive to explain the reason why the quantity is
excessive, sufficient, or insufficient. Normally the to-infinitive and everything that follows can
be removed, leaving a sentence that still functions grammatically.

Examples

• There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.

• I had too many books to carry.
• This soup is too hot to eat.
• She was too tired to work.
• He arrived too late to see the actors.
• I've had enough food to eat.
• She's old enough to make up her own mind.
• There isn't enough snow to ski on.
• You're not old enough to have grand-children!

The to-infinitive with question words

The verbs ask, decide, explain, forget, know, show, tell, & understand can be followed by a
question word such as where, how, what, who, & when + the to-infinitive.

Examples

• She asked me how to use the washing machine.

• Do you understand what to do?
• Tell me when to press the button.
• I've forgotten where to put this little screw.
• I'm not sure I know who to call.

Functions of the zero infinitive

The zero infinitive after auxiliaries

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Examples

• She can't speak to you.

• He should give her some money.
• Shall I talk to him?
• Would you like a cup of coffee?
• I might stay another night in the hotel.
• They must leave before 10.00 a.m.

The zero infinitive after verbs of perception

With verbs of perception, the pattern is verb + object + zero infinitive.

Examples

• He saw her fall from the cliff.

• We heard them close the door.
• They saw us walk toward the lake.
• She felt the spider crawl up her leg.

The zero infinitive after the verbs "make" and "let"

Examples

• Her parents let her stay out late.

• Let's go to the cinema tonight.
• You made me come with you.
• Don't make me study that boring grammar book!

The zero infinitive after the expression "had better"

Examples

• We had better take some warm clothing.

• She had better ask him not to come.
• We had better reserve a room in the hotel.
• You'd better give me your address.
• They had better work harder on their homework.

The zero infinitive with "why"

The question word why is followed by the zero infinitive when making suggestions.

Examples

• Why wait until tomorrow?

• Why not ask him now?
• Why leave before the end of the game?
• Why walk when we can go in the car?

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 Passive voice
Functions of the passive voice
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action
rather than the person or object that performs the action. In other words, the most important thing
or person becomes the subject of the sentence.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive voice, not in who
uses it.)
• The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who built it.)
• The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the people who are
doing the repairs.)

Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express who
performed the action.
Examples

• I noticed that a window had been left open.

• Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
• All the cookies have been eaten.
• My car has been stolen!

The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make your
writing clearer and easier to read.

Passive Active

A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few A few well-chosen words convey a great
well-chosen words. deal of meaning.

Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases. A mass of gases wrap around our planet.

Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of The city disposes of waste materials in a
ways. variety of ways.
If we want to say who or what performs the action while using the passive voice, we use the
preposition by. When we know who performed the action and are interested in him, it is always
better to switch to the active voice instead.

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 Passive Active

"A Hard Day's Night" was written by the The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's
Beatles. Night".

The movie ET was directed by Spielberg. Spielberg directed the movie ET.

This house was built by my father. My father built this house.

To keep, active and passive voice

Forming the passive voice

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:
the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative

interrogative

The house was built The house wasn't Was the house built Wasn't the house built
in 1899. built in 1899. in 1899? in 1899?

These houses were These houses Were these houses Weren't these houses
built in 1899. weren't built in built in 1899? built in 1899?
1899.
To clean, passive voice

Subject + to be + past participle + rest of sentence

(conjugated)

Simple present

The house is cleaned every day.

Present continuous

The house is being cleaned at the moment.

Simple past

The house was cleaned yesterday.

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Subject + to be + past participle + rest of sentence
(conjugated)

Past continuous

The house was being cleaned last week.

Present perfect

The house has been cleaned since you left.

Past perfect

The house had been cleaned before they arrived.

Future

The house will be cleaned next week.

Future continuous

The house will be being cleaned tomorrow.

Present conditional

The house would be cleaned if they had visitors.

Past conditional

The house would have cleaned if it had been dirty.

been

Inifinitive

The house must be cleaned before we arrive.

Tense Active voice Passive Active sentence Passive equivalent

voice

Simple keep is kept I keep the butter in the The butter is kept in
present fridge. the fridge.

Present is keeping is being John is keeping my My house is being

continuous kept house tidy. kept tidy.

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Subject + to be + past participle + rest of sentence
(conjugated)

Simple past kept was kept Mary kept her Mary's schedule was
schedule kept meticulously.
meticulously.

Past was keeping was being The theater was A seat was being
continuous kept keeping a seat for you. kept for you.

Present have kept have been I have kept all your All your old letters
perfect kept old letters. have been kept.

Past perfect had kept had been He had kept up his His training regimen
kept training regimen for a had been kept up for
month. a month.

Simple will keep will be Mark will keep the The ficus will be
Future kept ficus. kept.

Conditional would keep would be If you told me, I If you told me, your
Present kept would keep your secret would be kept.
secret.

Conditional would have would have I would have kept Your bicycle would
Past kept been kept your bicycle here if have been kept here
you had left it with if you had left it with
me. me.

Present to keep to be kept She wants to keep the The book wants to be
Infinitive book. kept.

Perfect to have kept to have Judy was happy to The puppy was
Infinitive been kept have kept the puppy. happy to have been
kept.

Present keeping being kept I have a feeling that I have a feeling that a
Participle & you may be keeping a secret may be being
Gerund secret. kept.

Perfect having kept having Having kept the bird The bird, having
Participle been kept in a cage for so long, been kept in a cage
Jade wasn't sure it for so long, might not
could survive in the survive in the wild.
wild.

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Passive voice with infinitives
The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs normally followed by
an infinitive.

Examples

• You have to be tested on your English grammar.

• John might be promoted next year.
• She wants to be invited to the party.
• I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
• You may be disappointed.

Passive voice with gerunds

Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.

Examples

• I remember being taught to drive.

• The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
• The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
• Most film stars hate being interviewed.
• Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
• Poodles like to be pampered.
• Poodles like being pampered.

Using "to be born"

"To be born" is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. However, in some
cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.

Examples

• I was born in 1976.

• Where were you born?
• Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
• We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.

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 Alternative ways to form the passive voice
You can form sentences that are passive in meaning but not in form by using the verb to get or
the verb to have in place of the verb to be. These constructions often describe situations where
we want someone else to do something for us or where we are going to hire someone else to do
something for us. The subject is active, but he is only doing the "getting". It is the unnamed
person who is gotten who will perform the action of the main verb in the sentence. That second
person is not explicit in the sentence when the sentence has a passive meaning. We are more
interested in the result of the activity than in the person that performs the activity.

Examples

• I must get my hair cut.

• I must have my hair cut.
• When are you going to get that window mended?
• We're having the house painted.

This type of construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially if a time
expression is used.
Examples

• We'll get the work done as soon as possible.

• I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime.
• She said she'd have my lunch delivered by noon.
• You should have your roof repaired before next winter.

If the verb refers to something unwanted, it has the same meaning as a passive sentence.
Examples

• Jim had his car stolen last night.

• Jim's car was stolen.
• They had their roof blown off in the storm.
• Their roof was blown off in the storm.

Using "to need" in passive constructions

You can also use the verb to need followed by the gerund in an active construction with a passive
meaning. The important thing in our minds in these sentences is the person or thing that will
experience the action, not the person performing the action.

Examples

• The ceiling needs painting.

• The ceiling needs to be painted.
• My hair needs cutting.

126
 Direct and Indirect
speech
Direct and indirect speech

Direct and indirect speech can be a source of confusion for English learners. Let's first define the
terms, then look at how to talk about what someone said, and how to convert speech from direct
to indirect or vice-versa.

You can answer the question What did he say? in two ways:

• by repeating the words spoken (direct speech)

• by reporting the words spoken (indirect or reported speech).

Direct Speech
Direct speech repeats, or quotes, the exact words spoken. When we use direct speech in writing,
we place the words spoken between quotation marks (" ") 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."

Indirect speech
Reported or indirect 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.

127
She said, "I saw him." (direct speech) = She said that she had seen him. (indirect speech)

"That" may be omitted:

She told him that she was happy. = She told him she was happy.

"Say" and "tell"

Use 'say' when there is no indirect object:
He said that he was tired.

Always 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"

Use these verbs to describe the action of communicating:
He talked to us.
She was speaking on the telephone.

Use these verbs 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.
Test your knowledge

Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

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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Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

"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 He explained that he had just turned outthe
explained. light.

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

They complained, "We have been They complained that they had been
waiting for hours". waiting for hours.

129
 Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

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 continuous

She said, "I'll be using the car next Friday". She said that she would be using the car next
Friday.

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:

130
 • We explained, "It could be difficult to find our house." = We explained that it could be
difficult to find our house.
• She said, "I might bring a friend to the party." = She said that she might bring a friend to
the party.

Changing time and place references

Time and place must often change when going from direct to reported speech.
Test your knowledge

Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

today that day

"I saw him today", she said. She said that she had seen him that day.

yesterday the day before

"I saw him yesterday", she said. She said that she had seen him the day before.

The day before yesterday two days before

"I met her the day before yesterday", He said that he had met her two days before.
he said.

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Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

Tomorrow the next/following day

"I'll see you tomorrow", he said He said that he would see me the next day.

The day after tomorrow in two days time/ two days later

"We'll come the day after They said that they would come in two days time/
tomorrow", they said. two days later.

Next week/month/year the following week/month/year

"I have an appointment next week", She said that she had an appointment the following
she said. week.

Last week/month/year the previous/week/month/year

"I was on holiday last week", he told He told us that he had been on holiday the previous
us. week.

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 Phrase in direct speech Equivalent in reported speech

ago before

"I saw her a week ago," he said. He said he had seen her a week before.

this (for time) that

"I'm getting a new car this week", she She said she was getting a new car that week.
said.

this/that (adjectives) the

"Do you like this shirt?" he asked He asked if I liked the shirt.

here there

He said, "I live here". He told me he lived there.

In general, personal pronouns change to the third person singular or plural, except when the
speaker reports his own words:
I/me/my/mine, you/your/yours = him/his/her/hers
we/us/our/ours, you/your/yours = they/their/theirs

133
He said: "I like your new car." = He told her that he liked her new car.
I said: "I'm going to my friend's house." = I said that I was going to my friend's house.

Question forms and reported speech

Word order
Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject comes before the verb, and it
is not necessary to use 'do' or 'did':
Test your knowledge
Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

"Where does Peter live?" She asked him where Peter lived.

"Where are you going?" She asked where I was going.

"Why is she crying?" He asked why she was crying.

Yes / no questions
This type of question is reported by using 'ask' + 'if / whether' + clause:
Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

"Do you speak English?" He asked me if I spoke English.

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 Direct speech Indirect speech

"Are you British or American?" He asked me whether I was British or American.

"Is it raining?" She asked if it was raining.

"Have you got a computer?" He wanted to know whether I had a computer.

"Can you type?" She asked if I could type.

"Did you come by train?" He enquired whether I had come by train.

"Have you been to Bristol before?" She asked if I had been to Bristol before.

Question words
This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another verb like 'ask') + question word +
clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the necessary tense
change.

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Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

"What is your name?" he asked me. He asked me what my name was.

"How old is your mother?", he asked. He asked how old her mother was.

The policman said to the boy, "Where do you The policeman asked the boy where he
live?" lived.

"What time does the train arrive?" she asked. She asked what time the train arrived.

"When can we have dinner?" she asked. She asked when they could have dinner.

Peter said to John, "Why are you so late?" Peter asked John why he was so late.

Reporting verbs

Some reporting verbs may appear in more than one of the following groups because they can be
used in several ways.
Test your knowledge

Verbs followed by "if" or "whether"

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 ask say
know see
remember

Verbs followed by a "that"

add doubt reply

admit estimate report
agree explain reveal
announce fear say
answer feel state
argue insist suggest
boast mention suppose
claim observe tell
comment persuade think
complain propose understand
confirm remark warn
consider remember
deny repeat

Verbs followed by either "that" or an infinitive with "to"

decide promise
expect swear
guarantee threaten
hope

Verbs followed by a "that" clause containing should, which may be omitted, leaving a
subject + zero-infinitive

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 advise insist recommend
beg prefer request
demand propose suggest

Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question word

decide imagine see

describe know suggest
discover learn teach
discuss realise tell
explain remember think
forget reveal understand
guess say wonder

Verbs followed by object + infinitive with "to"

advise forbid teach

ask instruct tell
beg invite warn
command

Reported speech: orders, requests & suggestions

Reporting orders and requests

When we want to report an order or request, we can use a verb like 'tell' with a to-clause: He told
me to go away. The pattern is verb + indirect object + to-clause. The indirect object is the
person spoken to. Other verbs used to report orders and requests in this way are: command,
order, warn, ask, advise, invite, beg, teach, & forbid.

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Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

The doctor said to me, "Stop smoking!". The doctor told me to stop smoking.

"Get out of the car!" said the policeman. The policeman ordered him to get out of the
car.

"Could you please be quiet," she said. She asked me to be quiet.

The man with the gun said to us, "Don't The man with the gun warned us not to move.
move!"

Requests for objects

Requests for objects are reported using the pattern "asked for" + object.

Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

"Can I have an apple?", she asked. She asked for an apple.

"Can I have the newspaper, please?" He asked for the newspaper.

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 Direct speech Indirect speech

"May I have a glass of water?" he said. He asked for a glass of water.

"Sugar, please." She asked for the sugar.

"Could I have three kilos of onions?" He asked for three kilos of onions.

Suggestions
Suggestions are most often reported using the verbs suggest, insist, recommend, demand,
request, and propose followed by a that clause. 'That' and 'should' are optional in these clauses, as
shown in the first two examples below. Note that suggest, recommend, and propose may also be
followed by a gerund in order to eliminate the indirect object (the receiver of the suggestion) and
thus make the suggestion more polite. This usage of the gerund is illustrated in the fourth and
fifth examples below.

Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

She said, "Why don't you get a mechanic to She suggested that I should get a mechanic to
look at the car?" look at the car. OR
She suggested I should get a mechanic to look
at the car. OR
She suggested that I get a mechanic to look at
the car.OR

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Direct speech Indirect speech

She suggested I get a mechanic to look at the

car.

"Why don't you go to the doctor?" he said. He suggested I go to the doctor. OR

He suggested that I go to the doctor. OR
He suggested I should go to the doctor.OR
He suggested that I should goto the doctor.

"It would be a good idea to see the dentist", My mother suggested I seethe dentist.
said my mother.

The dentist said, "I think you should use a The dentist recommended using a different
different toothbrush". toothbrush.

You said, "I don't think you have time to see You suggested postponingmy visit to the
the dentist this week." dentist.

I said, "I don't think you should see the I suggested postponing your visit to the
dentist this week." dentist.

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 Direct speech Indirect speech

My manager said, "I think we should My manager proposed that we examine the
examine the budget carefully at this budget carefully at the meeting.
meeting."

"Why don't you sleep overnight at my She suggested that I sleepovernight at her
house?" she said. house.

Reported speech: hopes, intentions, & promises

Reporting hopes, intentions, and promises

When we report an intention, hope or promise, we use an appropriate reporting verb followed by
a 'that' clause with 'would' in it, or a to-infinitive clause. Verbs used in this pattern include: hope,
promise, threaten, guarantee, & swear. Note that the word 'that' is optional when using a that
clause, as in the first example below.

Examples

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I'll pay you the money tomorrow," he He promised to pay me the money the next
said. day. OR
He promised that he would pay me the money the
next day. OR
He promised he would pay me the money the next
day.

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Direct speech Indirect speech

"I'll be back by lunchtime," he said. He promised to be back by lunchtime. OR

He promised that he would be back by lunchtime.

"We should arrive in London before They hoped to arrive in London before
nightfall," they said. nightfall. OR
They hoped they would arrive in London before
nightfall.

"Give me the keys to the safe or I'll He threatened to shoot me if I didn't give him the
shoot you!" he shouted. keys to the safe. OR
He threatened that he would shoot me if I didn't
give him the keys to the safe.

"I will not tell anyone your secret" he He swore that he would not tell anyone my
said. secret. OR
He swore not to tell anyone my secret.

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 Punctuation
The period, full stop or point

The period (known as a full stop in British English) is probably the simplest of the punctuation
marks to use. You use it like a knife to cut the sentences to the required length. Generally, you
can break up the sentences using the full stop at the end of a logical and complete thought that
looks and sounds right to you.

Mark the end of a sentence which is not a question or an

exclamation
Examples

• Rome is the capital of Italy.

• I was born in Australia and now live in Indonesia.
• The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.

Indicate an abbreviation
Many abbreviations require a period. Dr, Mr, Mrs, and Ms do not take a period in British
English, nor do most abbreviations taken from the first capital letters such as MA, Phd, or CIA.
In American English, some of these do require periods or both usages are correct (with and
without periods). If you require 100% accuracy in your punctuation, refer to a detailed style
guide for the abbreviation usage rules in the variety of English you are using.

Examples

• I will arrive between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

• We are coming on Fri., Jan. 4.

Ellipsis
Often you will see a sentence concluding with three dots. This indicates that only part of the
sentence or text has been quoted or that it is being left up to the reader to complete the thought.

Examples

• The Lord's Prayer begins, "Our Father which art in Heaven..."

• He is always late, but you know how I feel about that...

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Period after a single word
Sometimes a single word can form the sentence. In this case you place a fullstop after the word
as you would in any other sentence. This is often the case when the subject is understood as in a
greeting or a command.

Examples

• "Goodbye."
• "Stop."

Periods in numbers
Numbers use periods in English to separate the whole number from the decimal. A period used
in a number is also called a "decimal point" and it is read "point" unless it refers to money.

Examples

• $10.43 = ten dollars and 43 cents

• 14.17 = fourteen point one seven

The comma

There are some general rules which you can apply when using the comma. However, you will
find that in English there are many other ways to use the comma to add to the meaning of a
sentence or to emphasise an item, point, or meaning.
Test your knowledge
Although we are often taught that commas are used to help us add 'breathing spaces' to sentences
they are, in fact, more accurately used to organise blocks of thought or logical groupings. Most
people use commas to ensure that meaning is clear and, despite grammatical rules, will drop a
comma if their meaning is retained without it.

Separate phrases, words, or clauses in lists

When making a list, commas are the most common way to separate one list item from the next.
The final two items in the list are usually separated by "and" or "or", which should be preceeded
by a comma. Amongst editors this final comma in a list is known as the "Oxford Comma".

A series of independent clauses (sentences)

Examples

• I met Harry, we went for a swim together, and afterwards Harry went home.
• I like your son, I might even love him, but he is not a very good soccer player.

A series of nouns

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Examples

• For dinner I had soup, fish, chicken, dessert, and coffee.

• This afternoon I went to Oxford Circus, Picadilly, Hamstead, and Gatwick Airport.

A series of adjectives
A list of adjectives usually requires commas. However, if an adjective is modifying another
adjective you do not separate them with a comma (sentence 3).

Examples

• She was young, beautiful, kind, and intelligent.

• The house we visited was dark, dreary, and run-down.
• She was wearing a bright red shirt.

A series of verbs
Examples

• Tony ran towards me, fell, yelled, and fainted.

• The boy leapt, spun, twisted, and dove into the water.

A series of phrases
Examples

• The car smashed into the wall, flipped onto its roof, slid along the road, and finally
stopped against a tree.
• The dog leapt into the air, snatched the frisbee in its mouth, landed, and ran off into the
forest.

Enclosing details

Use a comma to enclose non-defining relative clauses and other non-essential details and
comments. The comma is placed on either side of the insertion.

Examples

• China, one of the most powerful nations on Earth, has a huge population.
• Jason's grandmother, who was born in 1930, lived through the Second World War.
• Cats, unlike dogs, do not respect their masters.
• My friend, Jim, likes to go scuba diving.

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Participial phrases
Examples

• Hearing that her father was in hospital, Jane left work immediately.
• Walking to the bus stop that morning, Sam knew it was going to be a special day.

Tag questions
Examples

• She lives in Paris, doesn't she?

• We haven't met, have we?

Interjections
Examples

• Yes, I will stay a little longer, thank you.

• No, he isn't like other boys.
• Wait, I didn't mean to scare you.

A final warning
Putting a comma in the wrong place can lead to a sentence with a completely different meaning,
look at these two sentences:
I detest liars like you; I believe that honesty is the best policy. = I detest you because you are a
liar.
I detest liars, like you; I believe that honesty is the best policy. = You and I both detest liars.

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 The exclamation
mark
The exclamation mark is used to express exasperation, astonishment, or surprise, or to emphasise
a comment or short, sharp phrase. In professional or everyday writing, exclamation marks are
used sparingly if at all.

Examples

• Help! Help!
• That's unbelievable!
• Get out!
• Look out!

You can also use exclamation marks to mark a phrase as humourous, ironic or sarcastic.
Examples

• What a lovely day! (when it obviously is not a lovely day)

• That was clever! (when someone has done something stupid)

In very informal writing styles (SMS, chat, Twitter or Facebook, etc.), an exclamation mark is
sometimes combined with a question mark to indicate both surprise and slight uncertainty.
Double and triple exclamation marks are common in very informal writing styles, but are a sign
of being uneducated in less casual correspondance.

Examples of casual writing

• He's getting married!?

• That's insane!!!

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 The question mark
Use the question mark at the end of all direct questions.
Test your knowledge
Examples

• What is your name?

• Do you speak Italian?
• You're spanish, aren't you?

Do not use a question mark for reported questions

Examples

• He asked me what my name was.

• She asked if I was Spanish.
• Ask them where they are going.

Long questions still need question marks

Examples

• Isn't it true that global warming is responsible for more and more problems which are
having a disastrous effect on the world's climate and leading to many millions of
people in countries that can least afford it having to contend with more and more
hardship?
• Why is it that even though you are unkind to me, ignore me when I ask you for help, and
consistently forget to thank me when I do favors for you, you still claim to want me to
be your friend and appear surprised when I prefer to hang out with other people?

Question marks can sometimes appear within sentences

Examples

• There is cause for concern (isn't there?) that the current world economic balance is so
fragile that it may lead to a global economic downturn.
• "Why is she here?" asked Henry.

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 The colon
The colon expands on the sentence that precedes it, often introducing a list that demonstrates or
elaborates whatever was previously stated.

Examples

• There are many reasons for poor written communication: lack of planning, poor
grammar, misuse of punctuation marks, and insufficient vocabulary.
• He collected a strange assortment of items: bird's eggs, stamps, bottle tops, string, and
buttons.
• Peter had an eclectic taste in music: latin, jazz, country and western, pop, blues, and
classical.
• He had just one fault: an enormous ego.

The colon is also used to divide the hour from the minutes in writing a time in English.
Examples

• 4:15 = "four fifteen"

• 6:45 = "six forty-five"

The semicolon
The semicolon is somewhere between a full stop and a comma. Semicolons can be used in
English to join phrases and sentences that are thematically linked without having to use a
conjunction (example 1 below). Semicolons can also be used instead of commas to separate the
items in a list when the items themselves already contain commas (example 2 below).

Examples

• I like your brother; he's a good friend.

• Many great leaders, Churchill, leader of Britain during the Second World War;
Alexander, the great Emperor and general; and Napolean, the brilliant French general,
had strong characters, which were useful when their countries were at war but which
did not serve them well in times of peace.

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 Quotation marks
Use quotation marks to cite something someone said exactly. When rephrasing what someone
told you, no quotation marks are needed.

Examples

• "I'm going to the store now," she said.

• Harry told me, "Don't forget your soccer jersey."
• Harry told me not to forget my soccer jersey.

If quoting others within a quote, both single and double quotation marks are used to set the two
separate quotations off from each other.
Example
'I haven't spoken to Peter for months,' Dianne said.'The last time I spoke to him he said, "I'm
going to Bahrain and won't be back for about three years", I've heard nothing since then'.

You may see single or double quotation marks used to mark out idiomatic or unfamiliar
expressions
Examples

• I've always thought that he was very annoying, a bit of a 'pain in the neck.'
• I'm not sure what you mean by "custodial care", but I'm sure you will explain it to me.

Quotation marks both single and double are also used for specific purposes in bibliographic
references or when citing sources in academic writing. There are a number of ways of organising
bibliographies which set out standard formats. Most organisations and academic institutions will
prefer one of these or have their own format published in a 'style guide'.
Example

• "The Migration Flight of the Lesser Tweazle", by Jeremey Adams, The Bird Spotter
Magazine, July 2009.

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 The apostrophe
The apostrophe probably causes more grief than all of the other punctuation marks put together!
The problem nearly always seems to stem from not understanding that the apostrophe has two
very different (and very important) uses in English: possession and contractions.

The apostrophe in contractions

The most common use of apostrophes in English is for contractions, where a noun or pronoun
and a verb combine. Remember that the apostrophe is often replacing a letter that has been
dropped. It is placed where the missing letter would be in that case.

Type Without contractions Contractions

Using "not" is not, has not, had not, did not, would isn't, hasn't, hadn't, didn't, wouldn't,
not, can not can't

Using "is" she is, there is, he is, it is, Mary is, Jim she's, there's, he's, it's, Mary's, Jim's,
is, Germany is, who is Germany's, who's

Using "am" I am I'm

Using I will, you will, she will, we will, they I'll, you'll, she'll, we'll, they'll
"will" will

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 Type Without contractions Contractions

Using I would, you would, he would, we I'd, you'd, he'd, we'd, they'd
"would" would, they would

Using I have, you have, we have, they have I've, you've, we've, they've
"have"

Using "are" you are, they are, we are you're, they're, we're

People, even native English speakers, often

mistake its and it's, you're and your, who's and whose, and they're, their and there. See below for
the difference.

Examples

• It's a nice day outside. (contraction)

• The cat is dirty. Its fur is matted. (possession)
• You're not supposed to be here. (contraction)
• This is your book. (possession)
• Who's at the door? (contraction)
• Whose shoes are these? (possession)
• They're not here yet. (contraction)
• Their car is red. (possession)
• His car is over there. (location)

The possessive apostrophe

In most cases you simply need to add 's to a noun to show possession

Examples

• a ship's captain
• a doctor's patient
• a car's engine
• Ibrahim's coat

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 • Mirianna's book

Plural nouns that do not end in s also follow this rule:

Examples

• the children's room

• the men's work
• the women's club

Ordinary (or common) nouns that end in s, both singular and plural, show possession simply by
adding an apostrophe after the s.
Examples

• the bus' wheel

• the babies' crying
• the ladies' tennis club
• the teachers' journal

Proper nouns (names of people, cities, countries) that end in s can form the possessive either by
adding the apostrophe + s or simply adding the apostrophe. Today both forms are considered
correct (Jones's or Jones'), and many large organisations now drop the apostrophe completely
(e.g. Barclays Bank, Missing Persons Bureau) when publishing their name.
Examples

• The Hughes' home (or the Hughes's home)

• Mr Jones's shop (or Mr Jones' shop)
• Charles' book (or Charles's book)

Hyphens and
dashes
A hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical
statements. The two are sometimes confused because they look so similar, but their usage is
different. Hyphens are not separated by spaces, while a dash has a space on either side.

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Hyphens
Generally, hyphens are used to join two words or parts of words together while avoiding
confusion or ambiguity. Consult your dictionary if you are not sure if a hyphen is required in a
compound word, but remember that current usage may have shifted since your dictionary was
published.

Examples

• run-down
• up-to-date

There are some cases where hyphens preserve written clarity such as where there are letter
collisions, where a prefix is added, or in family relations. Many words that have been hyphenated
in the past have since dropped the hyphen and become a single word (email, nowadays).
Examples

• co-operate
• bell-like
• anti-nuclear
• post-colonial
• great-grandmother
• son-in-law

In some cases though, a hyphen does change the meaning of a sentence.

Example

• I am thinking of re-covering my sofa (= to put a new cover on it)

• I would like to recover my sofa. (= from someone who has borrowed or stolen it)

Hyphens in numbers
Use a hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.

Examples

• fifty-one
• eighty-nine
• thirty-two
• sixty-five

In written fractions place a hyphen between the numerator and denominator except if there is
already a hyphen in either the numerator or the denominator.
Examples

• two-fifths
• one-third

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 • three-tenths
• nine-hundredths
• sixty-nine eighty-ninths

Use a hyphen when a number forms part of an adjectival compound

Examples

• France has a 35-hour working week.

• He won the 100-metre sprint.
• Charles Dickens was a great nineteenth-century novelist.

Dashes
Dashes can be used to add parenthetical statements or comments in much the same way as you
would use brackets. In formal writing you should use the bracket rather than the dash as a dash is
considered less formal. Dashes can be used to create emphasis in a sentence.

Examples

• You may think she is a liar - she isn't.

• She might come to the party - you never know.

Brackets and
parentheses
The difference between a 'bracket' and a 'parentheses' can be a bit confusing. Generally,
'parentheses' refers to round brackets ( ) and 'brackets' to square brackets [ ]. However, we are
more and more used to hearing these referred to simply as 'round brackets' or 'square brackets'.

Usually we use square brackets - [ ] - for special purposes such as in technical manuals. Round
brackets - ( ) - are used in a similar way to commas when we want to add further explanation, an
afterthought, or comment that is to do with our main line of thought but distinct from it. Many
grammarians feel that the parentheses can, in fact, be replaced by commas in nearly all cases.

Examples

• The government's education report (April 2005) shows that the level of literacy is rising
in nearly all areas.

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 • I visited Kathmandu (which was full of tourists) on my way to the Himalayas for a
trekking expedition.
• You can eat almost anything while travelling in Asia if you are careful to observe simple
rules (avoiding unboiled or unbottled water is one of the main rules to be aware of.)

Types of Clauses

Independent
Clauses
Conjunctive
Meaning Coordinators Example
Adverbs
in addition,
To add an Women follow more healthful diets, and they
and furthermore,
idea go to doctors more often.
moreover, also
First, robots can perform repetitive tasks
first, second, then,
To show time without becoming tired or bored. Second,
next, later,
or sequence they can fulfill tasks requiring pinpoint
meanwhile, finally
accuracy.
however, Increasing the size of airports is one solution
nevertheless, in to traffic congestion; however, this is a long-
To contrast but yet
contrast, term solution whose benefits may not be seen
on the other hand for many years into the future.
therefore, thus, Native and nonnative English speakers have
To show
so consequently, as a different needs; therefore, most schools
result
result provide separate classes for each group.

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To introduce Students must take final exams; otherwise,
or otherwise
an alternative they receive a grade of incomplete.
in fact, of course, The little girl hated spiders; in fact, she was
To emphasize
indeed, certainly terrified by them.
In the operating room, robotic equipment can
To provide an for example, for
assist the surgeon. For instance, a robot can
example instance
kill a brain tumor.
Hermes is not only the messenger of Zeus,
To generalize in general, overall, in
but the patron of thieves. In general, he is the
or summarize short
god of authorized and unauthorized transfers.

Dependent Clauses
Types of clauses Subordinators Examples

what, where, why, how, He knows that his business will

1. Noun clauses where, when, who be successful.
whom, which, whose, That there is a hole in the ozone
whether, that, if layer of the earth’s atmosphere
is well known.

who, whom, which, Men who are not married are

2. Adjective clauses whose, that, where, called bachelors.
when Last year we traveled to San
Francisco, which is famous for
its architecture.

a. time when, before, after, When he won the money, he

until, since, as soon as decided to buy a car.

b. place where, wherever She drove wherever she wanted.

c. cause because, as, since She got a parking ticket because

she parked illegally.
3. Adverb clauses

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 d. purpose so that, in order that He drove fast so that he could
get to work on time.

e. result so ... that, such ... that He drove so fast that he got a
speeding ticket.

f. condition if, unless If she hadn’t won the lottery,

she would have been very
unhappy.

g. concession although, even though Although she thought she was a

good driver, she got a lot of
tickets for speeding.

Punctuation marking
With noun clauses, no commas are used. Adjective restrictive clauses are not separated by
commas, but with adjective descriptive clausescommas are used. Adverb clauses that
come before the independent clause are followed by a comma, but if they comeafter the
independent clause, no comma is used.

159