Advanced Grammar

Third Conditional
A third conditional sentence is comprised of two halves.

If + Past Perfect Then Would have + Past Participle

We use the third conditional to say what would have happened in the past.

We have seen how the zero conditional, the first conditional and the second conditional are all
used to talk about possibility and result in the present and future. The third conditional is what
we use to talk about the past.

Examples:

What would have you done if the boss had asked you to work overtime?
If my teacher had been stricter with me when I was young, I would have studied harder.
We would have gone for a picnic if the weather had been better.

Second or Third Conditional?

Compare these two sentences:

If I went to the party, I would be tired tomorrow.

If I had gone to the party, I would have been tired.

In the first sentence, we use the second conditional because the party is in the future and we are
imagining what the situation would be. In the second sentence, the party is in the past. We didn't
go but we are imagining what would have happened if we had gone to it.

Don't use would in the if part of the sentence. With if, we must use the past perfect:

If I had seen Hugo, I would have said hello.

NOT If I would have seen Hugo, ....

Mixed Conditionals
Compare these two sentences:

If I had gone to the disco on Saturday night, I would have met Sarah.
If I had gone to the disco on Saturday night, I would be tired now.
In the first sentence, we use the third conditional - a past possible action with the past result.

In the second sentence however, we use a mixed third and second conditional to describe a past
possible action (third conditional) with a present result (second conditional).

Look at these other possible situations:

If I had gone to university, my mother would have been happy.

If I had gone to university, I would be a lawyer now.

If we had gone to that new restaurant, we wouldn't have got a table as it was so busy.
If we had gone to that new restaurant, we wouldn't be hungry now.

Alternatives to "Would".

If it hadn't rained, we would have gone for a walk.

Here we are saying we definitely would have gone for a walk if it hadn't rained. No rain = walk.
Now compare with this:

If it hadn't rained, we could have gone for a walk.

This is a little different and means that the possibility to go for a walk would have existed. No
rain = possible walk.

If it hadn't rained, we might have gone for a walk.

Here the possibility is smaller still. No rain = maybe walk. We can also use "may" in this
sentence.

Mixed Conditionals
Compare these two sentences:

If I had gone to the disco on Saturday night, I would have met Sarah.
If I had gone to the disco on Saturday night, I would be tired now.

In the first sentence, we use the third conditional - a past possible action with the past result.

In the second sentence however, we use a mixed third and second conditional to describe a past
possible action (third conditional) with a present result (second conditional).

Look at these other possible situations:

If I had gone to university, my mother would have been happy.

If I had gone to university, I would be a lawyer now.
If we had gone to that new restaurant, we wouldn't have got a table as it was so busy.
If we had gone to that new restaurant, we wouldn't be hungry now.

Alternatives to "Would".

If it hadn't rained, we would have gone for a walk.

Here we are saying we definitely would have gone for a walk if it hadn't rained. No rain = walk.
Now compare with this:

If it hadn't rained, we could have gone for a walk.

This is a little different and means that the possibility to go for a walk would have existed. No
rain = possible walk.

If it hadn't rained, we might have gone for a walk.

Here the possibility is smaller still. No rain = maybe walk. We can also use "may" in this
sentence.

Wishes And Regrets

Present

When we make a wish or a regret about a present situation, we use a second conditional
structure:

I wish I was thinner. or I wish I were thinner.

As with the second conditional, though we are talking about a future wish, we use the past
simple.

We can also use the phrase "if only" to express the same idea:

If only I had more money!

If only she had a better job, she would be happier.

As you can see in the first sentence, it's not necessary to put the second half of the sentence.

Past

When we make a regret about a past situation, we use a third conditional structure:

I wish I had studied harder at school when I was a teenager.

If only we had seen that special offer yesterday.
Reported Speech
When we report what someone has said, we make certain changes:

"I smoke five cigarettes a day," said Mike.

Mike said he smoked five cigarettes a day.

The main change in reported speech sentences is that the tenses change. Here is a summary of
the tense changes that take place:

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

Direct Speech Reported Speech
Present Simple Past Simple
Present Continuous Past Continuous
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Simple Past Perfect
Past Perfect Past Perfect
Will Would
Going to Was going to
Can Could

Examples:

"I am going to France when I finish university."

He said he was going to France when he finished university.

"I will tell you where I have been on holiday."

She said she would tell me where she had been on holiday.

"I was reading this book all day yesterday."

He said he had been reading that book all the previous day.

You can see in the last sentence how "this" becomes "that" and how "yesterday" becomes
"the previous day" (or "day before"). Here are some other changes that take place:

Other Changes in Reported Speech

Direct Speech Reported Speech
Today That day
Tomorrow The next/following day
Yesterday The previous day/the day before
Ago Before
Next The following
Last The _____ before
This That
Here There
Now Then

Examples:

"I didn't go last week, I went 3 weeks ago."

He said he hadn't gone the week before, he had gone 3 weeks before.

"I don't want that report today, I want it here and now!!"
The boss said he didn't want the report that day, he wanted it there and then.

It is not necessary to change the tenses if what you are reporting is still true:

"Milan is bigger than Turin."

He said that Milan is bigger than Turin.

We stay with the present simple because Milan is still bigger than Turin.

Be careful when you use say and tell as they are used differently:

Say something (to someone).

Tell someone something.

He told me he was getting married.

He said (to me) (that) he was getting married.

Reported Questions
In reported questions, tenses and word order change.

"Where is the bank?"

He asked me where the bank was.

You can note:

1. The word order is that of an affirmative sentence.

2. The tense changes as in reported speech.
3. We don't use any question marks.

Look at these other examples:

"How many cigarettes do you smoke?"
He asked me how many cigarettes I smoked.

"How long have you worked in this office?"

She asked me how long I had worked in that office.

When we ask yes/no questions, we used if or whether:

"Do you live in a big flat?"

He asked me if I lived in a big flat.

"Do we pay extra for the breakfast?"

They asked whether they paid extra for the breakfast.

Be Used To
We use "to be used to" to say someone is accustomed to something or to doing something.
After this structure, we can use a noun or a verb in the -ing form:

I'm not used to living in Britain.

I'm not used to British coffee.

Consider Jane. She worked in a supermarket in a small village for many years and now she lives
in the city and works in a bigger supermarket. There are many things that are very different for
her:

She isn't used to all the traffic.

She isn't used to living in a big city.
She is used to working in a supermarket - because she worked in one in her village.

We use "get used to" to describe the change from being not used to something to becoming
used to it.

I wasn't used to working so hard, but after two months in this company, I got used to it.
When Sarah worked as a nurse, she got used to getting up early.

Don't confuse "be used to doing" with "used to do" which we saw in the Intermediate level on
this page. "used to do" means a past habit.

I used to drive a Ferrari, but now I drive a Mercedes.

I am used to driving on the left in Britain because I have been here for over a year.

British And American English

The English spoken in places like London, Manchester and Liverpool is 98% identical to that
spoken in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. Only 2% difference!! Having said that, there is
the same difference in the genes of the chimpanzee and the human!

The biggest difference between British and American English is in vocabulary. For example:

In America In Britain
Trash Rubbish
Sidewalk Pavement
Mailman Postman
Faucet Tap
Elevator Lift
Chips Crisps
Interstate Motorway
French Fries Chips

And the list goes on and on and on!

Grammar

There are not many differences in grammar, but there are some between the two types of
English.

The present perfect is used in British English to describe an action that happened at some time in
the past.

Have you seen the new Spike Lee film?

Has John already left for the mountains?

Whereas in American English, it is alright to use the past simple:

Did you see the new Spike Lee film yet?

Did John already leave for the mountains?

Shall is used with I and We in positive and interrogative sentences in British English:

Shall I help you with that bag?

Shall we go to the cinema tonight?

But shall is unusual in American English:

Will I help you with that bag?

Should we go to the cinema tonight?

British people have a bath or a shower - Americans take both.

 British people live in a street and write to somebody at the weekend. Americans live on a
street and write somebody on the weekend.
An American sports team is playing well. A British team are playing well.

There are many examples of differences in UK and US spelling

In America In Britain
Defense Defence
Traveled Travelled
Color Colour
Spoiled Spoilt
Plow Plough

gotten is the past participle of get in American - in Britain, it's got.

This beer has gotten hot in the sun. (US)

This beer has got hot in the sun. (UK)

Future Continuous Structure

We make the future continuous tense by using the future of the verb "to be" plus the main verb
in the "-ing" form.

So, for the verb "sit":

Present Continuous
Positive Negative Question
I will be sitting I won't be sitting Will I be sitting?
You will be sitting You won't be sitting Will you be sitting?
He will be sitting He won't be sitting Will he be sitting?
She will be sitting She won't be sitting Will she be sitting?
It will be sitting It won't be sitting Will it be sitting?
We will be sitting We won't be sitting Will we be sitting?
You will be sitting You won't be sitting Will you be sitting?
They will be sitting They won't be sitting Will they be sitting?

Future Continuous Use

We use the future continuous tense to talk about what will be happening at a certain time in the
future. Compare this with the past continuous which we use to talk about what was happening at
a certain time in the past.

Examples:
When your mother arrives at 6pm tomorrow, you will still be working.
As you arrive at work on Monday morning, I will be sitting on a beach in Cuba!
Don't call us at 9pm. We'll be eating dinner at that time.

Just like the past continuous, it can also be used to give information about what will be
happening in the background. Using the tense like this is quite unusual.

Examples:

I hope when I get up tomorrow, the birds will be singing and my mum will be cooking my
breakfast!

Gerund Or Infinitive
In the Intermediate level, we saw that some verbs take the infinitive and some take gerund:

I enjoy swimming in the summer.

I want to go to Egypt this winter.

Some verbs can take both the infinitive or the gerund without any change in meaning.

I love going to the cinema on a Saturday evening.

I love to go to the cinema on a Saturday evening.

But there are some verbs that change their meaning depending on whether they are followed by
the infinitive or the gerund.

Here are the most important:

Stop

With the gerund, stop means to give up something:

He stopped smoking on the doctor's advice.

With the infinitive, it means to take a break in order to do something.

While driving through France, we stopped to visit a famous vineyard.

Go on

With the gerund, go on means continue.

I asked him to listen to me but he went on listening to his music.

With the infinitive, it means to pass to the next stage, to proceed to do something else.

After studying history at university, he went on to work in a museum.

Remember

With the gerund, remember means you have a memory now of having done something before:

I drank too much last night. I don't remember going to the last pub.
I remember seeing her shocked face when I told her the news.

With the infinitive, it means you remember at the time that there is something you have to do in
the future.

Remember to close the windows before you leave the house.

It was Joan's birthday yesterday and I only remembered to buy her a card in the morning.

Regret

With the gerund, you regret something that you said in the past:

I regret telling Simon that he was a moody person.

After she told him the news, she instantly regretted saying anything.

With the infinitive, you regret something that you are about to say:

I regret to inform you that we will have to let you go, Mr. Jenkins.

Try

With the gerund, try means to attempt to do something as an experiment, a solution to a

problem:

If your back hurts so much, try having a bath before bed every night.
I'm not happy with my job. I tried speaking to the boss about it but nothing he said convinced me
that I want to stay.

With the infinitive, it means to attempt to do something (often unsuccessfully) that is very
difficult.

I tried to speak to the boss yesterday, but his secretary wouldn't let me in.
My back hurts. I try to lift heavy things and I just can't!

'The ___ The ____' Comparatives

We use this structure to say that the more one thing changes, the more another thing changes.
The larger a bottle of whiskey you drink, the drunker you will be.
The further the hotel is from the sea, the longer it will take us to walk there every morning.

After each "the", we can use either an adjective or an adverb in the comparative form.

The more in a hurry we are, the more slowly he eats!

The angrier the teacher got, the more we laughed.

These sentences are often truncated when the rest is understood:

The earlier we arrive at the beach, the better. (...it is for us.)
The closer you sit to the TV, the worse. (...it will be for your eyes.)

And there is one expression in English which talks about the fact that a party is better when there
are a lot of people present:

The more, the merrier.

Modals Of Deduction
We can use modal verbs to express doubt and certainty in certain situations in the present and
past. The modal verbs we use in these sentences are can't, may, might, could and must.

Here are examples in the present and past using each of these modals:

Can't

We use can't in these situations to say that something is not possible:

Winston can't be at the theater tonight, I saw him in a caf ten minutes ago.
You can't have gone to school today. Your teacher phoned me to see where you were!

May, Might and Could

May, Might and Could can be used to say something is possible. We are not sure if it is true or
not, but it is possible.

She might be a teacher. She did study education at university.

That pizzeria could be good. It's often quite busy.
Your wife may have seen us together. She didn't look happy this evening.
He could've failed his exams. He didn't study very much.

Must

We use must when we are convinced, totally sure about something.

They must be out. Look, all the lights are off!
She must have accepted his marriage proposal. Look how happy he is!

Despite, Although, etc.

There are many ways in English of joining two contrasting ideas together. But each one has its
own particular set of rules.

Take these two ideas:

It rained.
We played tennis.

But

It rained but we played tennis.

Although

This can come at the beginning or in the middle of one sentence.

Although it rained, we played tennis.

We played tennis although it rained.

Though

Though is used exactly as although is used.

Though it rained, we played tennis.

We played tennis though it rained.

Even Though

Even though is used exactly as although is used.

Even though it rained, we played tennis.

We played tennis even though it rained.

However

However is used at the start of a second sentence.

It rained. However, we played tennis.

Nevertheless

Nevertheless is used exactly as however is used.

It rained. Nevertheless, we played tennis.

Despite

We can use despite with a noun following, a gerund verb or the expression "despite the fact
that".

Despite the rain, we played tennis.

Despite it raining, we played tennis.
Despite the fact that it rained, we played tennis.

In spite of

In spite of is used exactly as despite is used.

In spite of the rain, we played tennis.

In spite of it raining, we played tennis.
In spite of the fact that it rained, we played tennis.

Relative Pronouns
We saw in the first relative pronoun section that there are various relative pronouns that we can
use to join sentences.

Now we will consider two different types of relative clauses. What is the difference between
these two sentences:

My sister who lives in Rome is a teacher.

My sister, who lives in Rome, is a teacher.

There doesn't seem to much of a difference! In the second sentence, there are a pair of commas
as the information in bold is extra. It's not important to understanding which sister. This means
that in the first sentence, the person has more than one sister and only the one in Rome is a
teacher. In the second sentence, the person has only one sister and, extra information, she is a
teacher.

The relative clause in the first sentence in called a defining clause as it defines, it tells us exactly
which person or thing we are talking about. The relative clause in the second sentence is called a
non-defining clause as it only gives us extra, non-crucial information.

Look at these other examples:

Defining

We tried that restaurant which you told us.

People who spit in the street make me sick.
Jobs that are interesting and pay well are hard to find.

In these sentences, without the relative pronouns, we don't know which restaurant, which people
or which type of job.

Non-defining

We tried Ristorante Italia, which you told us about.

Danish people, who are blond and tall, speak a wonderful language.
My job, which I've had for ten years, was hard to find.

In these sentences, though, we don't need the extra information given to us by the relative clause.
We know it is Ristorante Italia, Danish people and "my" job.

One easy way of seeing this difference is to see if the sentence makes sense if you take away the
relative clause:

We can't say: People make me sick.

But we can say: Danish people speak a wonderful language.

The Causative
We use the causative "have" when we ask someone to do something for us. Look at these two
sentences:

I cut my hair yesterday. It was a disaster!

I had my hair cut yesterday. Do you like it?

In the first, the person tried to cut his own hair - in front of the bathroom mirror we can imagine.
In the second the person asked someone else, probably a professional hairdresser, to cut his hair
for him. Look at these other examples:

I finally had my leaking roof repaired last week.

They must have their car's exhaust fixed. What a noise!

Here is the structure we use:

I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow.

She's had her nose altered I think.
We can also use get instead of have but this is more informal English.

You need to get your car fixed before the holidays.

I must get this knee of mine seen to by the doctor.

Inversion
Inversion is a way of reversing the usual or expected word order to bring emphasis to a
sentence, to make it more negative, to make it stronger, more dramatic. Compare these two
sentences:

I have never seen such a large cat!

Never have I seen such a large cat!

You can see the effect of inverting the subject/verb and bringing the frequency adverb to the start
of the sentence. Here are some similar examples.

Rarely had he been spoken to in such a way.

Never had he known about the child and it was a huge shock to him.

Apart from these adverbs, there are other time expressions which are often used in this way.

Examples:

Hardly had he entered the room when she left.

No sooner had he asked for silence than one of the student laughed loudly.
Scarcely had he opened the front door when the phone rang.

The words "so" and "such" also employ inversion for dramatic effect.

Examples:

So fat was the cat that they went to see a specialist vet.
Such is the age of the tree that local police are worried it will soon fall down.

Conditional sentences can become far more formal sounding when inversion is used.

Examples:

Were I to win the lottery, I would buy a new dictionary.

Had he known about the fire, he wouldn't have mentioned it to her.

Note: Be careful not to use inversion too much. Its use has a very special meaning, either to
formalise or dramatise statements. Its overuse, particularly in conversation, is not advised.
Advanced Quantifiers
Some & Any

These words are seen at lower levels, but the rules controlling their use can be quite complicated.

We use "some" in positive sentences, but also in questions where we expect the answer to be
"yes".

Compare:

Isn't there anything we can do?

Isn't there something we can do?

The first is a neutral question not giving much idea of the speaker's attitude. The second example
is a question that tells us the speaker is certain there is something we can do, letting us know
he/she is frustrated or angry about the situation.

Some can also be used:

to talk about "not all": Some people didn't like the proposal.
to talk about a large amount, without being specific: I may be some time. Don't wait for
me.

Any can also be used:

to give a general idea of "all": Any of you could have helped me!
to give a meaning of "if there are": Any questions, ask me at the end of the class.

Lots, Many Of, Much Of, Plenty

These expressions are used to talk about large quantities of things.

Examples

Many of you know him from the TV show "Breakdown".

We had plenty of courses to choose from, it was a very good college.
Lots of the apples are bad. Throw them away.

Lots of and a lot of is more informal than much/many of. Many/much, used alone, sound more
informal and can be more often found in writing.

Examples
Much of what we thought we knew has now been disproven.
Many consider the theory to be outdated.

All (Of), Whole, Both

We use all (of) and whole when we are talking about the entirety of something or a group of
things.

Examples

All (of) the rice has gone cold. Heat it up again.

The whole fridge is filthy! Clean it immediately.

In negative sentences, there is a difference between not all and none.

None of my friends came to the party.

Not all my friends came to the party.

The first sentence means there were zero friends there. In the second sentence, some came,
perhaps half, but not all of them.

We don't generally use "all" on its own in English to mean "everything" or "everyone" like many
other languages can.

All were waiting in the airport departure lounge.

Everyone was waiting in the airport departure lounge.

Both is used to talk about two things together.

Both of you were feeling ill yesterday, weren't you?

Both (of) the dogs look very aggressive.

We don't use both in negative sentences. We use "neither" without a negative verb.

Both are you aren't happy.

Neither of you are happy.

Each & Every

We use each and every to talk about all the countable nouns in a group.

I love every movie that Tom Cruise has made.

I wrote each composition I had to do very carefully.

Verbs that follow are singular.

Every apple costs 50 cents.

With expressions such as "nearly" and "almost", we use every.

Examples

Nearly every plane was delayed due to the snow and high winds.
Virtually everyone in the classroom was confused.

We also use every when talking about a large group with an indefinite number in it.

Every homeowner must have home insurance. (not "each")

And when we are talking about frequency, how often something happens.

I go to the dentist every three months.

We use each when it's clear we are referring to a pair of things.

I had a baby in each arm.

Each twin had long black hair.

There can be a subtle difference in how we use each and every.

Compare

I read every book with great attention.

I read each book with great attention.

The first sentence has a meaning of "all the books" whereas we are emphasising in the second
sentence how much attention every book was given.

Purpose, Reason, Result

In high level English, there are many expressions that can be used to talk about why something
happened or the consequences of an action. Good knowledge of these words and structures are
important as your English progresses.

Reasons

Because and as can be used both in the middle of sentences and at the beginning.

Examples
We left because/as it was late.
As it was so wet, the match never took place.
Because the rain never stopped, they postponed the match.

There are other words that can be used to give reasons. Many of these are more formal.

Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you why I didn't go to your dinner party.
The crowd grew angry at the statement, for they felt their demands had been ignored.
The weather is unusual, in that it's usually much warmer at this time of the year.
My job isn't very challenging, inasmuch as I rarely have to think about what I'm doing.

There are also several expressions using "of" that you can put in front of a noun or noun phrase.

Because of the high cost, we cancelled the vacation and stayed at home instead.
Owing to unforeseen circumstances, we won't be able to offer you the job after all.
She left him due to his disloyalty.

Purpose & Results

The most common expression to talk about purpose in the Infinitive of Purpose, simply the
word "to".

I crossed the road to speak to Gabriel.

More formally, this can be extended to "in order to" or "so as to" with the same meaning.

Examples

So as to get a better view, I opened the window.

We're going to Berlin in order to increase our European market.

In negative sentences, the not goes before "to".

I walked fast so as not to arrive too late.

For Doing vs. To Do

For + gerund and the infinitive of purpose are both used to talk about why you do/use something.

Compare

This is a liquid for removing oily stains.

She's using the liquid to remove an oily stain from the floor.

In the first, this is its general purpose. The second sentence talks about why she is using
something.
So...That

We use so...that to talk about to connect a cause and a result.

Examples

He spoke so quietly (that) I couldn't hear a word he was saying.

So late was our boss that we thought he wasn't coming at all.