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INTRODUCTION TO CDI
The Career Development Institute was established to achieve the following objectives:
You might have a professional degree ,you might be a good student you might be very
good in the subject knowledge but if you lack communication you will not be able to communicate your knowledge to the other person henceforth losing out on the future prospects even if you get through it you would not get the desired package.
Recognizing the importance of English Language Fluency is the success of every career,
CDI has introduced a range of programs to enhance English communication skills for Individuals. Whether you wish to start learning English as a beginner or whether you are a student, Executive, House wife, we have the right learning package for you, based on your level.
CDI teaches English in a very easy way making it as a part of your daily life. The institute
emphasize in teaching British English because it is the most acceptable language over the world with the use of correct grammar and neutral accent.
CDI offers programs catering to various levels of learners from the basics to the advances
level.
Other career Options - In todays work culture every carrier option would require an
individual to be good in communication as well as in interpersonal skills no matter how qualified you are in the respected subject of interest.
English Grammar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topic No Topic Name Page No
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
The Sentence Noun Pronoun Verb Adverb Adjective Conjunction Preposition Articles Case Clauses Determiners Gerunds Direct and Indirect Speech Pluralisation Guide Punctuation Guide Asking Questions Spelling Guide Prefix & Suffix Tenses Grammar Chants English Grammar Summary - Miscellaneous Topics
39 9 14 14 16 17 28 28 - 33 33 44 44 46 46 50 51 55 55 57 57 62 62 63 63 66 66 70 70 71 71 73 74 78 79 80 80 83 83 95 95 - 98 98 - 145
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English Grammar
In other words, we must have a subject to speak about and we must say or predicate something about that subject. Hence every sentence has 2 parts SentenceLucknowis a Beautiful city.
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Subject
Predicate
PARTS OF SPEECH
Lets take an example Interrogative Sentences Ask Questions Exclamatory Sentence Expresses strong Feeling Group 1 Red Green Yellow Assertive or Declarative Sentence Those which make statements or assertions; as, E.g.: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Interrogative Sentences Those which ask questions; as, E.g. Where do you live? Imperative Sentences A sentence that expresses a command or an entreaty. E.g. - Be Quite, Stand Up. Now can you tell which is the odd word in these groups? Blue Pen Violet Purple Group 2 Apple Mango Banana Orange Spinach Grapes Guava Group 3 January April July September December Monday June
English Grammar
Group 1 Colors - Pen Group 2- Fruits - Spinach Group 3 - Months - Monday By this example we can observe that everything has its own category and if something comes in between we come to know about it. Similarly English Grammar has 8 categories of speeches which are also called as Parts of Speech. Lets learn them. There are 8 parts of Speech 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Noun Verb Pronoun Adjective Adverb Conjunction Interjection Articles
If you want to say more about how he climbed the tree you can use an adverb. For example: The young boy quickly climbed a tall tree. The sentence becomes more interesting as it gives the reader or listener more information. There are more things you can add to enrich your sentence.
Description Parts of a sentence Adjective Adverb Describes things or people. Alters the meaning of the verb slightly a, an - indefinite articles the - definite articles Joins words or sentences together A short word showing emotion or feeling Names things Relates one thing to another used instead of a noun to avoid repetition The actual names of people or places etc. Action or doing word
Article
Conjunction
Simple sentences have one clause. Compound sentences and complex sentences have two or more clauses. Sentences can contain subjects and objects.
Pronoun Noun Preposition
The subject in a sentence is generally the person or thing carrying out an action. The object in a sentence is involved in an action but does not carry it out; the object comes after the verb.
Verb Proper noun (subject)
For example: The boy climbed a tree. If you want to say more about the subject (the boy) or the object (the tree), you can add an adjective. For example: The young boy climbed a tall tree. WHAT MAKES A COMPLETE SENTENCE? If it helps you, think about a sentence as if it were a skeleton, the skeleton contains various bones and these bones are put together to form different parts of the body. So are sentences formed by words, the words are the bones and they are put together in different ways to form sentences.
English Grammar
SIMPLE SENTENCES
A simple sentence contains a single subject and predicate. It describes only one thing, idea or question, and has only one verb - it contains only an independent (main) clause. Any independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. For example:
Jill reads.
"The sun was setting in the west. The moon was just rising." Every clause is like a sentence with a subject and a verb. A coordinating conjunction goes in the middle of the sentence, it is the word that joins the two clauses together, the most common are (and, or, but) For example:
I walked to the shops, but my husband drove. I might watch the film, or I might visit my friends. My friend enjoyed the film, but she didn't like the actor.
Even the addition of adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to a simple sentence does not change it into a complex sentence. For example:
The brown dog with the red collar always barks loudly.
COMPLEX SENTENCES
Complex sentences describe more than one thing or idea and have more than one verb in them. They are made up of more than one clause, an independent clause (that can stand by itself) and a dependent (subordinate) clause (which cannot stand by itself). For example:
Even if you join several nouns with a conjunction, or several verbs with a conjunction, it remains a simple sentence. Dependent clauses can be nominal, adverbial or For example:
The dog barked and growled loudly.
adjectival.
COMPOUND SENTENCES
Compound sentences are made up of two or more simple sentences combined using a conjunction such as and, ororbut. They are made up of more than one independent clause joined together with a coordinating conjunction. For example:
The verb is the fundamental part of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the exception of the subject, depends very much on the verb. It is important to have a good knowledge of the forms used after each verb (verb patterns), for example: to tell [someone] TO DO [something] Here we can see that the verb to tell is followed
"The sun was setting in the west and the moon was just rising." Each clause can stand alone as a sentence.
immediately by a person (the indirect object, explained later), an infinitive with 'to', and, possibly, an object for the verb you substitute for DO. Verbs also show a state of being. Such verbs, called BE
For example:
VERBS or LINKING VERBS, include words such as: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, became, seem, Confidence, Fluency & Personality
English Grammar
appear, and sometimes verbs of the senses like tastes, feels, looks, hears, and smells. For example:
of the sentence. The subject will usually be a noun phrase (a noun and the words, such as adjectives, that modify it) followed by a verb.
FINDING THE SUBJECT
"Beer and wine are my favourite drinks." The verb "are" is a linking (be) verb.
Once you determine the verb, ask a wh...?Question of the verb. This will locate the subject(s).
Fortunately, there are only a limited number of different verb patterns. Verbs can descibe the action (something the subject actually does) or state (something that is true of the subject) of the subject. For example:
ACTION: I play football twice a week. STATE: I've got a car.
For example:
David works hard.
Some verbs can represent both actions and states, depending on the context. For example work:
ACTION: David's working in the bank. STATE: David works in a bank.
Once you have identified the subject, the remainder of the sentence tells us what the subject does or did. This part of the sentence is the predicate of the sentence.
The predicate always includes the verb and the words When you analyze a sentence, first identify the verb. The verb names and asserts the action or state of the sentence. For example:
"Working at the computer all day made David's head ache."
Verb conjugation and contraction - in other words; The main verb of the sentence is "made", not working. Verbs identify our activity or state. For example:
eat, sleep, run, jump, study, think, digest, shout, walk .... THE SUBJECT
"The short form". In English we use the short form a lot. We say things like: I'm / you're / didn't etc. instead of I am / you are / did not etc. We also use these short forms in informal written English. When we write in the short form, we use an apostrophe (') for the missing letter(s).
The subject is the person or thing the sentence is 'about'. Often (but not always) it will be the first part Confidence, Fluency & Personality
English Grammar
Forms of the auxiliary verbs to be, to do and to have:To be - Simple Present Form Positive Statement Negative Statement
It does You do We do
Long form Short form Long form I am He is She is It is I'm He's She's It's I am not He is not She is not It is not
Short form They do I'm not He isn't or He's not She isn't or She's not It isn't or It's not You aren't or You're not We aren't or We're not To have - Simple Present Form Positive Statement Negative Statement Long form Short form Long form Short form To do - Simple Past Form Positive Statement Negative Statement
You are
You're
We're They're
We are not
To be - Simple Past Form Positive Statement Long form I was He was She was It was You were We were They were --Short form Negative Statement Long form I was not He was not She was not It was not You were not We were not They were not Short form I wasn't He wasn't She wasn't It wasn't
Short form
She has not She hasn't or She's not It has not You have not It hasn't or It's not You haven't or You've not We haven't or We've not They haven't or They've not
You have You've You weren't We weren't They weren't We have We've
We have not
They have
They've
To do - Simple Present Form Positive Statement Long form I do He does She does --Short form Negative Statement Long form I do not He does not She does not Short form I don't He doesn't She doesn't Long form Short form Long form Short form To have - Simple Past Form Positive Statement Negative Statement
English Grammar
orhe'd not she hadn't or she'd not it hadn't or it'd not you hadn't oryou'd not we hadn't or we'd not they hadn't or they'd not
Long form
Short form
Long form
Short form
SHOULD
Positive Statement Short form Negative Statement
Long form The long and short forms of the modal verbs can, could, shall, should, must, will and would I / he / she / it / you / we / they should Negative Statement
Long form
Short form
I / he / she / it /
---
CAN
Positive Statement Short form
Long form
Long form
Short form
WILL
Positive Statement Short form Negative Statement
Long form
Long form
Short form
I won't or I'll
COULD
Positive Statement Short form Negative Statement I'll He'll Long form Short form I / he / she / it / you / we / they I / he / she/ it / you I / he / she / it / --/ we / they could not you / we / they couldn't will She'll It'll You'll We'll They'll I / he / she / it / you / we / they will not
not He won't or He'll not She won't or She'll not It won't or It'll not You won't or You'll not We won't or We'll not They won't or They'll not Negative Statement
Long form
MUST
Positive Statement Short form
Long form
Long form
Short form
WOULD
Positive Statement Negative Statement
Long form
Short form
SHALL
Positive Statement Negative Statement
English Grammar
We'd They'd
wouldn't or She'd not It wouldn't or It'd not* You wouldn't or You'd not We wouldn't or We'd not They wouldn't or They'd not
CHAPTER 2 - NOUN
Isa name of the person, place or things? Here are some examples of nouns: boy, river, friend, Mexico, triangle, day, school, truth, university, idea, John F. Kennedy, movie, aunt, vacation, eye, dream, flag, teacher, class, grammar. John F. Kennedy is a noun because it is the name of a person; Mexico is a noun because it is the name of a place; and boy is a noun because it is the name of a thing. Lets take some examples Ram was a great king. Allahabad is on the banks of river Ganga. The sunshines bright. Note Things includes All objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell. Something that we can think of but cannot perceive by senses. 3. 4. 1. 2. Sita is proper Noun Hari is a proper Noun Kolkatta is a proper noun India is proper noun 4. 3. Some examples of proper nouns are: Mexico, John F. Kennedy, Atlantic Ocean, February, Monday, New York City, Susan, Maple Street, Burger King. 2. 1. Girl is a common noun Boy is a common noun City is a common noun Country is a common noun Some examples of proper nouns are: class, girl, boy, city, country.
English Grammar
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(or Collecti on) of persons or things taken together and spoken as one E.g. Crowd, team, heard, army, Fleet, jury ,family, nation, Commit tee.
Goodness, Kindness, whiteness, Hardness, brightness, Honesty, Wisdom, Bravery. Countable Action Laughter, Theft, movement, Judgment, hatred. E.g. we say State childhood, Boyhood, youth, slavery, Sleep,sickness, death, Poverty. The names of Books but we cannot say milks nouns have Plural form but uncountable nouns do not. Book,Pen,App le,boy, Sister, doctor, horse. E.g.
THE NOUN GENDERMasculine Gender Feminine Gender Comm on Gende r Def. The Def. The noun that denotes a female. E.g. E.g. Boy,Lion,H ero Girl,Lioness,Her oine Def. The noun that denote s either a male or a female. E.g. Parent, Child, Servant E.g. Book,Pen,T ree Def. the noun that denotes neither male nor female. Neuter Gender
Arts and Sciences are also abstract nouns (E.g. Grammer,Mus ic, Chemistry
E.g. Boy,Girl,Cow
NOUNS
A noun is the word that refers to a person, thing or abstract idea. A noun can tell you who or what. There are several different types of noun:
There are common nouns such as dog, car, chair etc. Nouns that refer to things which can be counted (can be singular or plural) are countable nouns. Nouns that refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances, feelings and types of activity (can only be singular) are uncountable nouns.
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Nouns that refer to a group of people or things are collective nouns. Nouns that refer to people, organizations or places are proper nouns, only proper nouns are capitalized.
Groups of things - bunch, bundle, clump, pair, set, stack When such a group is considered as a single unit, the collective noun is used with a singular verb and singular pronouns. For example - The committee has reached its decision. But when the focus is on the individual members of the group, British English uses a plural verb and plural pronouns. For example - "The committee have been arguing all morning." This is the same as saying "The people in the committee have been ...." A determiner in front of a singular collective noun is always singular: this committee, never these committee (but of course when the collective noun is pluralized, it takes a plural determiner: these committees).
Nouns that are made up of two or more words are called compound nouns. Nouns that are formed from a verb by adding ingare called gerunds
ABSTRACT NOUNS
An abstract noun is a noun that you cannot sense; it is the name we give to an emotion, ideal or idea. They have no physical existence, you can't see, hear, touch, smell or taste them. The opposite of an abstract noun is a concrete noun. For example:Justice; an idea, bravery and happiness are all abstract nouns.
COMMON NOUNS
A common noun is a word that names people, places, things, or ideas. They are not the names of a single person, place or thing. A common noun begins with a lowercase letter unless it is at the beginning of a sentence. For example:People:-
Groups of animals - colony, flock, herd, pack, pod, school, swarm school, city, building, shop Confidence, Fluency & Personality
English Grammar
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COMPOUND NOUNS
A good dictionary will tell you how you should write A compound noun is a noun that is made up of two or more words. Most compound nouns in English are formed by nouns modified by other nouns or adjectives. A concrete noun is the name of something or someone For example: The words tooth and paste are each nouns in their own right, but if you join them together they form a new word - toothpaste. The word black is an adjective and board is a noun, but if you join them together they form a new word blackboard.
Countable / Uncountable Nouns Concrete Nouns
that we experience through our senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. Most nouns are concrete nouns. The opposite of a concrete noun is an abstract noun. For example:Cats, dogs, tables, chairs, buses, and teachers are all concrete nouns.
In both these example the first word modifies or describes the second word, telling us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is. And the second part identifies the object or person in question. Compound nouns can also be formed using the following combinations of words:Noun Adjective Verb Preposition Noun Noun Adjective Preposition + Noun + Noun + Noun + Noun + Verb + Preposition + Verb + Verb toothpaste monthly ticket swimming pool underground haircut hanger on dry-cleaning output
Water Work Information Coffee Sand Countable Uncountable (there is no a/an or number with uncountable nouns)
A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form . For example:
A book, two books, three books ..... An apple, two apples, three apples ....
Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are not separate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of them. For example:
The two parts may be written in a number of ways:1. Sometimes the two words are joined together. Example: tooth + paste = toothpaste | bed + room = bedroom 2. Sometimes they are joined using a hyphen. Example: check-in
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An Apple / 1 Apple
Rice I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice every day.) There is no plural form for an uncountable noun rice I eat rice every day. Rice is good for you. To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting
You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front of the noun. For example:
A piece of information. 2 glasses of water. 10 litres of coffee. Three grains of sand. A pane of glass.
Add (s) to make a countable noun plural apples I eat an apple every day. Apples are good for you.
word, such as a unit of measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......."
The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing. Some nouns can be countable or uncountable
depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object). For example:glass - A glass of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable) Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types. This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted. Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. (Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day." The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. (Here coffees refers to different types of coffee) You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian."
Water=a glass of water Rain=a drop of rain Music=a piece of music You can use some and any with countable nouns. Some dogs can be dangerous. I don't use any computers at work. You can use some and any with uncountable nouns. I usually drink some wine with my meal. I don't usually drink any water with my wine. You only use many and few with plural countable nouns. So many elephants have been hunted that they are an endangered species. There are few elephants in England. You can use a lot of and no No computers were bought last week. A lot of computers were reported broken the week before.
You only use much and little with uncountable nouns. I don't usually drink much coffee. Little wine is undrinkable though.
You can use a lot of and no A lot of wine is drunk in France. No wine is drunk in Iran.
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!Note- In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and countable nouns by [C].
GERUND NOUNS
A gerund (often known as an -ing word) is a noun formed from a verb by adding -ing. It can follow a preposition, adjective and most often another verb. For example: I enjoy walking.
PREDICATE NOUNS
A predicate noun follows a form of the verb "to be". He is an idiot. (Here idiot is a predicate noun because it follows is; a form of the verb "be".)
A predicate noun renames the subject of a sentence. the Civil War - the Industrial Revolution - World War I Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister. (Margaret Thatcher is the subject and Prime Minister is the predicate noun - notice it follows 'was' the past tense of 'to be'.)
Months, days of the week, holidays:-
PROPER NOUNS
Proper nouns (also called proper names) are the words which name specific people, organizations or places. They always start with a capital letter. For example:Each part of a person's name is a proper noun:-
God - Christ - Jehovah - Christianity - Judaism - Islam the Bible - the Koran - the Torah
Awards, vehicles, vehicle models and names, brand names:-
the Nobel Peace Prize - the Scout Movement - Ford Focus - the Bismarck - Kleenex Hoover
CHAPTER 3 - PRONOUN
instead of nouns to prevent repetition of the noun to which they refer. One of the most common pronouns is it. A pronoun usually refers to something already mentioned in a sentence or piece of text. They are used Example (Singular): Confidence, Fluency & Personality
English Grammar
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Without a pronoun: The train was late, the train had been delayed. (Sounds horrid, doesn't it?) With a pronoun: The train was late, it had been delayed. (Much better!)
In this example the train is singular, therefore the pronoun must be singular also - it. The personal pronoun is used to refer to someone or Example (Plural): Without a pronoun: The trains were late, the trains had been delayed. (Still sounds horrid, doesn't it?)
First Person Pronoun
something already mentioned (he, she, it etc.), or to refer to the person speaking (I, me etc.) or the person listening (you).
FORM FUNCTION
With a pronoun:
singular I me plural we us Second Person Pronoun singular you you plural you you Third Person Pronoun singular he,she,it him,her,it plural they them subject object subject object subject object subject object subject object subject object
The trains were late, they had been delayed. (Much better!) In this example the trains are plural, therefore the pronoun must be plural also - they.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Indefinite pronouns refer to things or people without mentioning what or who they are. another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything,
Singular:
little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something
For example:
Somebody stole my car. Does anybody know who she is?
! Note
English Grammar
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I, me, he, she, him, her, you = a person you, we, us = people it = thing they, them = things or people
! Note
My, your, his/her/its, our and their arepossessive determiners (sometimes called possessive adjectives). Watch out for the following:Possessive Pronoun He/She/It We They Short Form of 'it is'
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
he possessive pronoun shows who the thing being referred to belong to or is associated with.
You I (singular and plural) Possessive Pronouns
mine
yours
his/hers/its ours
theirs
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
you I he/she/it (singu lar) Form Reflex ive Prono singular plural mine ours uns mys himself/hersel yourse yoursel oursel themse elf f/itself lf ves ves lves
you (plura l)
we they
something affected by an action is the same as the person or thing doing it. This form is used less in English than some other languages. For example:
She looked at herself in the mirror. He washed himself. They tested themselves.
NOTES
For example:Q. Whose is this web site? A. It'smine. Q. Does Lynne own this web site? A. Yes, it's hers.
English Grammar
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CHAPTER 4 - VERB
VERBS - AN OVERVIEW ACTION VERBS Verbs are a class of words used to show the performance of an action (do, throw, run), existence (be), possession (have), or state (know, love) of a subject. To put it simply a verb shows what something or someone does. Most statements in speech and writing have a main verb. These verbs are expressed in tenses which place everything in a point in time. Verbs are conjugated (inflected) to reflect how they are used. There are two general areas in which conjugation occurs; for person and for tense .
Use Action / Dynamic Verbs Action Verbs
Action verbs are verbs that show the performance of an action. They are dynamic verbs that show something happening. There are regular and irregular action verbs. For example:
To walk is a regular action verb - see example. To run is an irregular action verb - see example.
Conjugation for tense is carried out on all verbs. All conjugations start with the infinitive form of the verb. The infinitive is simply the toform of the verb For example, to begin. The present participle form (the -ing form), is formed by adding ingto the bare infinitive. For example, the present participle of the verb to begin is beginning. There are two other forms that the verb can take, depending on the tense type and time, the simple past form (began) and the past participle (begun). See here for a list of irregular verbs. Conjugation for person occurs when the verb changes form, depending on whether it is governed by a first, second, or third person subject. This gives three conjugations for any verb depending on who is acting as the subject of the verb. For example, we have: to begin, you begin , and he begins. Note that only the third conjunction really shows a difference. While most English verbs simply do not show extensive conjugation forms for person, an exception is the verb to be. Q - "What are they doing?" Verb = to laugh A- "He's laughing." Q - "What's he doing?" Verb = to stand A- "I'm standing." Q - "What am I doing?"
We, you, they + are I + am He/She/It + is
Verb = to fish
A- "They're fishing."
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AUXILIARY VERBS
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb to give grammatical information and therefore add extra meaning to a sentence, which is not given by the main verb.
They are used to form the passive voice. They are used to form the continuous tense. Q - "What is she doing?" They are used to form the perfect tense. Be, Do and Have are auxiliary verbs, they are irregular Verb = to teach A- "She's teaching the alphabet." verbs and can be used as main verbs. The verbs 'to be' and 'to have' are the most commonly used auxiliary verbs and work alongside the main verbs in any statement. Modal verbs are also auxiliary verbs, but will be Q - "What are you doing?" treated separately, these are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would, they differ from the others in that they can never function as a main Verb = to learn A- "You're learning English." verb.
TO BE
Be is the most common verb in the English language. It Q - "What's the chair doing?" can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is used a lot in its other forms. Verb = to spin A- "It's spinning." Present form = am/is/are Past form = was/were Q - "And what are we doing?" Present Participle / Gerund = being Past Participle = been A- "We're surfing the net." Base form = be
Verb = to surf
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I live in Germay. (I is the subject - live describes what the subject does - live is a finite verb).
TO DO
The verb do is one of the most common verbs in English. It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is often used in questions. Base form = do Present form = do/does Past form = did Present Participle / Gerund = doing Past Participle = done
More on the Verb To Do !Note - The auxiliary verb 'do' is always followed by the base form (infinitive).
NON-FINITE VERBS
A non-finite verb has no subject, tense or number. The only non-finite verb forms are the infinitive (indicated by to), the gerund or the participle. For example:I lived in Germany to improve my German. (To improve is in the infinitive form - improve is nonfinite).
IRREGULAR VERBS
Irregular verbs have no rules for conjugation. These can only be learnt in context - sorry! They all have a base form. e.g. to run
To have
A gerund (ing) form where ingis added to the end of Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language. An -s form where s is added to the end of the Base form = have Present form = have / has Past form = had Present Participle / Gerund = having Past Participle = had
More on the Verb To Have
the verb.e.g.running
verb.e.g.runs A past tense form which must be learnt.e.g.ran A past participle form which must be learnt.e.g.run See this comprehensive list of irregular verbs for the past and past participle forms, along with a pronunciation guide.
Past Simple Form arose awoke was /were beat became began bent
Past Participle Form arisen awoken been beaten become begun bent
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bet bid bite blow break bring broadcast build burst buy catch choose come cost creep cut deal dig do draw drink drive eat fall feed feel fight find flee fly forbid forget forgive freeze get give go grow hang have hear hide hit hold hurt
bet bid bit blew broke brought broadcast built burst bought caught chose came cost crept cut dealt dug did drew drank drove ate fell fed felt fought found fled flew forbade forgot forgave froze got gave went grew hung had heard hid hit held hurt
bet bid bitten blown broken brought broadcast built burst bought caught chosen come cost crept cut dealt dug done drawn drunk driven eaten fallen fed felt fought found fled flown forbidden forgotten forgiven frozen got given gone grown hung had heard hidden hit held hurt
interweave keep kneel know lay lead leave lend let lie light lose make mean meet mistake offset pay put quit read ride ring rise run say see seek sell send set sew shake shine shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit sleep slide speak spend
interwove kept knelt knew laid led left lent let lay lit lost made meant met mistook offset paid put quit read* rode rang rose ran said saw sought sold sent set sewed shook shone shot showed shrank shut sang sank sat slept slid spoke spent
interwoven kept knelt known laid led left lent let lain lit lost made meant met mistaken offset paid put quit read* ridden rung risen run said seen sought sold sent set sewn shaken shone shot shown shrunk shut sung sunk sat slept slid spoken spent
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spit split spread spring stand steal stick sting stink strike swear sweep swim swing take teach tear tell think throw understan d undo wake wear weave weep win write
spat split spread sprang stood stole stuck stung stank struck swore swept swam swung took taught tore told thought threw understood undid woke wore wove wept won* wrote
spat split spread sprung stood stolen stuck stung stunk struck sworn swept swum swung taken taught torn told thought thrown understood undone woken worn woven wept won* written
The main verb changes its form according to the verb form (perfect tense, past tense, simple tense etc). For example:
Dogs usually chase cats. But my cat chases my dog. My cat is chasing my dog. My dog has sometimes chased my cat. But, only because my cat ate my dog's dinner. My cat has been eating my dog's dinner a lot.
MODAL VERBS
All the auxiliary verbs except be, do and have are called modals. Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals only exist in their helping form; they cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence. Be, do, and have also differ from the other auxiliaries in that they can also serve as ordinary verbs in a given sentence. The modal verbs are:CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD
Modal Can Example They can control their own budgets. Uses Ability / Possibility
Inability / We cant fix it. Can I smoke here? Can you help me? Request
Could I borrow your dictionary? Asking for permission.
Could you say it Most statements in speech and writing have a main verb. We could try to fix it Confidence, Fluency & Personality again more slowly?
Request Suggestion
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ourselves. I think we could have another Gulf War. He gave up his old job so he could work for us.
May May I have another cup of coffee?
Will
Instant decisions
Offer I'll do that for you if you like. Ill get back to you first thing on Monday. Promise Certain prediction
Present possibility
Request Would you pass the salt please? Would you mind waiting a moment? Request Making arrangements
might be eating their Future possibility dinner now. They might give us a 10% discount.
Must We must say good-bye Necessity / now. Obligation
"Would three o`clock Invitation suit you?" - "Thatd be fine." Would you like to play golf this Friday? "Would you prefer tea or coffee?" - "Id like tea please."
! Note the modal auxiliary verbs are always followed by the base form.
Preferences
Suggestion Shall we say 2.30 then? Shall I do that or will you? Asking what to do
The verb used to, which is explained here, can also be used like a modal verb.
Should
We should sort out this Saying whats right problem at once. or correct
PHRASAL VERBS
What is a Phrasal Verb? A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition. A phrasal verb has a meaning which is different from
prediction
the original verb. That's what makes them fun, but Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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confusing. You may need to try to guess the meaning from the context, or, failing that, look it up in a dictionary.
LITERAL USAGE
Many verbs in English can be combined with an adverb or a preposition, a phrasal verb used in a literal sense with a preposition is easy to understand.
"He walked across the square.
Verb and adverb constructions are also easy to understand when used literally.
"She opened the shutters and looked outside." "When he heard the crash, he looked up."
they are separable or inseparable. In inseparable verbs, the object comes after the particle. For example:
"She got on the bus ." "On weekdays, we look after our grandchildren."
An adverb in a literal phrasal verb modifies the verb it is attached to, and a preposition links the subject to the verb.
Separable verbs have several ways of separating verb, particle and object. Usually, the object comes between verb and particle. For example:
"She looked up the word in her dictionary." "She looked it up in her dictionary."
IDIOMATIC USAGE
It is, however, the figurative or idiomatic application in everyday speech which makes phrasal verbs so important:
"I hope you will get over your operation quickly."
However, with some separable verbs, the object can The literal meaning of to get over, in the sense of to climb over something to get to the other side, is not relevant here. Here "get over" means "recover from" or "feel better". For example:
"Switch the light off." "Switch off the light." "Switch it off."
! Note - There is usually no way of telling whether they are separable, inseparable, transitive or intransitive. In most cases you have to get a feel for them.
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where the verb is commonly used in everyday conversation. One irregular verb in bold is shown in all its forms.
VERBS The Verb (infinitive form) The Meaning An example ( Simple Past Tense) Regular /Irregular
the truth.
with buildings. An example is provided only where the verb is commonly used in everyday conversation. One irregular verb in bold is shown in all its forms.
To break
To eye
Irregular
She To touch or feel To finger something with your fingers: fingered all the material to find the best. To pull or tear Owen To head To hit a ball with your head. headed the ball into the back of the net. To extend Regular To increase in size or area. To Forming words with To mouth your lips without making any sound. The singers only mouthed the words. To move Regular add to an existing building. To change ones place of dwelling or business. Regular To demolish down a structure.
PHRASAL VERBS
To look around or To nose search in order to discover somethin, especially She nosed around until she found out The Phrasal Verb The Meaning An example ( Simple Past Tense) S=Separable I=Inseparable
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She dressed To add a new part build on to an existing structure They built a double garage on to improve their house. They built the business up bit S by bit. They tore the tear down To destroy or take village down apart. before the dam was built. S To fasten To secure an item of clothing, using zips, buttons or buckles. S To dress or more common To get dressed To put clothes on (yourself or or someone else). To construct or build up erect gradually, little by little She got dressed before she went to work. before she went to work. R (get is irregular)
To undress or more To take off clothes (your own or someone elses). He undressed before getting into the shower. R (get is irregular)
Many verbs have different meanings, however this section deals with verbs and phrasal verbs connected with buildings. An example is provided only where the verb is commonly used in everyday conversation. One irregular verb in bold is shown in all its forms.
VERBS The Verb (infinitive form) The Meaning An example ( Simple Past Tense) R=Regular Verb I=Irregular Verb
To undo or clothing.
To unfasten an She unzipped her To unzip item of clothing jacket when she using a zip. To have an got too warm. R
To wear
To fasten an To buckle
She buckled up R
To zip
item of clothing her daughters using a buckle. shoes. She buttoned up her cardigan before she went outside.
PHRASAL VERBS R The Phrasal Verb The Meaning An example ( Simple Past Tense) S=Separable I=Inseparable
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She did his do up To fasten an item of clothing. jacket up for him before he left the house. To dress (oneself or another) in your best clothes. or dress up To put on fancy dress (disguise oneself or another to be someone else) in children's games. S try on
To put on an item She always of clothing to find tried shoes on out whether it fits before she or is suitable. bought them. She was in such To put on an item a hurry she just throw on of clothing quickly and without thought. I threw on a few clothes before she left the house. To shorten turn up trousers, a dress or a skirt so that they fit better. Her jeans were too long, so she turned them up. His mother told S S S
She enjoyed dressing up to go out. or The children enjoyed dressing up in their mother's clothes.
hang out
The weather was fine, so she hung out the washing. She was a very S wrap up To put warm clothes on.
To put something neat child. She hang up on a hook or a hanger. hung her clothes up every night. To wear an item have on of clothing on one's person. She had a red tshirt on when he saw her. He kicked his kick off To remove your shoes quickly. shoes off as soon as he got home. To dress yourself put on or someone else with an item or items of clothing. S S S zip up
She slipped her slip on To put on an item sandals on of clothing easily. before she went into the sea. He took his shoes off before S he went to bed. To breakfast S To tear, cut or grip To bite food with the teeth. He bit into the apple. Irregular
take off
To eat breakfast.
Regular
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To work food To chew between the jaws masticate) To consume (Rarely used in conversation.) He chewed his and teeth (see also food well. Regular To munch
To chew food steadily, especially with a crunchy noise, such as when eating an apple. To take small The rabbit nibbled on the carrot. Regular He munched the apple. Regular
See to eat.
Regular
What happens to food after it is To digest swallowed. (Not something you do consciously.) To eat dinner. To dine Especially related to eating out. The complete action of putting food in the mouth To eat and then biting, chewing and swallowing it. To eat a lot or to enjoy eating To feast something out of the ordinary.) To eat or swallow To gobble food too quickly and in large amounts. To eat food greedily. To take food into the body. To pass the tongue To lick over food in order She licked the to taste or consume it. (Rarely used in conversation.) ice cream. Regular They feasted on Regular salmon. something. (Often caviar and She ate her dinner. Irregular They dined at their friend's house. Regular (Rarely used in conversation.) Regular
To nibble
To eat a light meal, She snacked on To snack or eat between main meals. The act of passing To swallow food from the mouth to the stomach. To take a small To taste amount of food in it. To eat food To wolf quickly. (Often followed by down.) He tasted the soup before he salt. Regular She swallowed a fish bone. Regular biscuits and sweets all day. Regular
Regular
PHRASAL VERBS The little boy gobbled his sandwich. Regular The Phrasal The Meaning Verb To go out to eat out a restaurant. An example ( Simple Past Tense) They were both I out. He was very S everything up. He always makes a mess when he's plating up the food. He enthusiastically I tucked in to his S S=Separable I=Inseparable
To guzzle
Regular
To ingest
Regular eat up
To lunch
To eat lunch.
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enthusiasm.
dinner.
PHRASAL VERBS The Phrasal Verb (infinitive form) The Meaning An example ( Simple Past Tense)
S=Separable I=Inseparable
To obtain
He learnt English
CHAPTER 5 - ADVERBS
Adverbs can tell you where, when, how, why and to what extent something happens. There are several different classes of adverb (see above). Some adjectives ending in -ly need no changes. They are often formed from adjectives or nouns be adding the suffix -ly. For example: Quick becomes quickly, sudden becomes suddenly, intelligent becomes intelligently, For example: sly becomes slyly, shy becomes shyly, To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -y change the y to i before adding the -ly. For example: angry becomes angrily, busy becomes busily Some adverbs do not end in -ly. For example: fast, hard, straight, Adjective Pretty Confidence, Fluency & Personality Serious Fast Quiet For example: heavenly, However there are exceptions. To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -e drop the -e before adding the -ly. For example: feeble becomes feebly, true becomes truly,
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She was He was a Example a pretty serious girl. boy. Adverb Prettily Seriously The Example bird sang The spoke
Adverbs such as almost, nearly, hardly, about, etc., can be used: For example:Nearly everyone, who was invited, came to the party.
Adverbs can modify sentences
For example:Luckily the car stopped in time. In this sentence luckily That's really nice.
Adverbs can modify adverbs
modifies the whole sentence, it shows that it was good luck that the car stopped in time.
ADVERBS OF DEGREE
Some adverbs can modify others. As with adjectives, the adverb precedes the one it is modifying. For example:She did it really well.
Adverbs can modify nouns
Adverbs of degree tell us the strength or intensity of something that happens. Many adverbs are gradable, that is, we can intensify them. Basically they answer the sort of question that asks How much ...? or How little...? Adverbs of degree include; adequately, almost, entirely, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, immensely, moderately, partially, perfectly, practically, profoundly, strongly, totally, tremendously, very, virtually etc. For example:The man drove badly. = The man drove really badly. - In this sentence really shows us just how badly he drove. They enjoyed the film. = They enjoyed the film immensely. - In this sentence immensely shows us how much they enjoyed the film. These intensifiers are not gradable though, you cannot say The man drove extremely very badly.
Adverbs can modify nouns to indicate time or place. For example:The concert tomorrow. The room upstairs.
Adverbs can modify noun phrases
Some adverbs of degree such as quite, rather, so, such ... can modify noun phrases. For example:We had quite a good time. They're such good friends.
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ADVERBS OF DURATION
Adverbs of duration tell us how long something happened. They include; briefly, forever, long, shortly, permanently, temporarily . . . For example: "They were occupied." = "They were briefly occupied." - In this sentence briefly shows us the duration. "The phone was out of order." = "The phone was temporarily out of order." - In this sentence temporarily shows us the duration. ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something is done. These include; always, constantly, continually, frequently, infrequently, intermittently, normally, occasionally, often, periodically, rarely, regularly, seldom, sometimes, For example: I always do my homework on time. - In this sentence always shows us the frequency. She goes out occasionally. - In this sentence occasionally shows us the frequency. Most frequent always constantly nearly always almost always usually generally normally regularly often frequently sometimes periodically occasionally now and then adjective anxious bad beautiful capable lucky For example: Least frequent
once in a while rarely seldom infrequently hardly ever scarcely ever almost never never
When something happens regularly at a fixed time we can use the following as adverbs:Every day Every week Ever fortnight (two weeks) Every month Every year = Daily = Weekly = Fortnightly = Monthly = Yearly/Annually
I get a newspaper every day. = I get the newspaper daily. I pay my rent every month. = I pay my rent monthly.
ADVERBS OF MANNER
Some adverbs tell us how an action is or should be performed. Often these adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective. Adjectives ending -l add -ly; careful-carefully. Adjectives ending -y change to -ily; lucky-luckily Adjectives ending ble change to -bly; responsibleresponsibly adverb anxiously badly beautifully capably luckily
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quickly weakly
For example:Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. - In this sentence yesterday shows us when. Other adverbs of time include:Time Example I am going to the shops on Monday. I've been to the shops today. I went yesterday. I am going next week. I went last year. I finally went. I eventually went to the shops. I've already been to the shops. I'm going to the shops soon. I'm just going to the shops. I'm still at the shops.
The little girl ran quickly. In this sentence quickly modifies the verb ran (to run).
ADVERBS OF PLACE
Saturday, Sunday ...
These include; abroad, anywhere, here, outside, somewhere, there, underground, upstairs ... For example: My passport is here in my bag. Place Upstairs Example The children were playing upstairs.
Yesterday Next week/month/year Last week/month/year Finally Eventually Already Soon Adverbs of Probability Just
In London The people demonstrated in London. Outside The children were playing outside.
Adverbs of probability tell us the likelihood of something happening. If you imagine playing dice, what's the likelihood (probability) of rolling a six? It's possible, but it's not certain. You'll certainly throw something between one and six, but your not likely to throw two sixes. Adverbs of probability include; certainly, definitely, doubtless, maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably etc. For example: We will win the game. = We will certainly win the game. In this sentence certainly shows us the probability.
Still
ADVERBS OF COMPARISON
When we compare what two things or people do we look at what makes one different from the other. Adverbs of comparison are used to show what one thing does better or worse than the other. When an adverb ends in -ly, more is put in front of the adverb. For example: "Jill did her homework more frequently."
ADVERBS OF TIME
Some adverbs tell us when something happened. These include:afterwards, later, now, soon, yesterday, . . ..
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The rule for forming the comparative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective add the suffix -er to the end. For example: "Jill did her homework faster."
The following irregular adverbs are exceptions to this rule: 'well' becomes 'better' 'badly' becomes 'worse' 'little' becomes 'less' For example:
fast -"Jill ran the fastest."
The rule for forming the superlative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective add the suffix -est. to the end.
For example: "Jill was better." "Jack was worse." "To lose weight you need to eat less."
When an adverb ends in -ly, most is put in front of the adverb. For example:-
When comparing two things you need to put than between the adverb and what is being compared. For example: "Jill did her homework faster than Jack." "Jill did her homework more frequently than Jack." For example:
"Jill did the bestin the test." "Jack did theworstin the test."
CHAPTER 6 - ADJECTIVE
Is often defined as a word which describes or gives more information about a noun or pronoun. Adjectives describe nouns in terms of such qualities as size, color, number, and kind. In the sentence The lazy dog sat on the mat, the word lazy is an adjective which gives more information about the noun dog. Confidence, Fluency & Personality We can add more adjectives to describe the dog as well as in the sentence The lazy, old, brown dog sat on the rug. We can also add adjectives to describe the rug as in the sentence the lazy, old, brown dog sat on the beautiful, expensive, new rug.
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The adjectives do not change the basic meaning or structure of the sentence, but they do give a lot more information about the dog and the rug. As you can see in the example above, when more than one adjective is used, a comma (,) is used between the adjectives. Lets take some more examples He is a brave boy. (Boy is Noun and Adjective Brave tells about boys personality) There are twenty boys in this class. (Boys and class are nouns here and twenty, this (Adjectives) because they are adding information. Sita is a clever Girl. (Girl of what kind) clever shows what kind of girl Sita is; or clever describes Sita I dont like that boy. (Which Boy?) that points out which boy is meant. He gave me five mangoes. (How many mangoes) five shows how many mangoes he gave me. There is a little time for preparation. (How much time) little shows how much time there is for preparation.
(a) India is a vast country. (b) Harish Chandra was a truthful man. (c) Kabir Dar was a great poet. (d) The brave boy did not leave the burning deck.
in what order a person or thing stands. E.g. (a) There are seventeen hundred students in our college. (b) Few Indians hate their culture. (c) How many players were awarded for their best performa nce? (d) No teachers were present in the meeting. (e) The cat drank
adjective. For example: E.g. 1. What a boy you are! 2. What folly! 3. What a lucky girl she is! 4. What an idea! 5. What a game! 1. I saw all this with my own eyes. 2. This is the very man who was disturbing the meeting. 4. Mind your own business. 5. I am my own master.
KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
Descript ive Adjectiv es Or Adjectiv es of Quality
Show the kind or quality of a person or thing E.g. Show the quantity of a thing. Some adjective Show how many persons or things are meant, or, Word 'what' is sometime s used as an exclamato ry E.g. Are used to emphasize the statement 2. 3. 4.
Adjectiv es of Number s
E.g. 1.1
Adjectives of Quantity
The cat drank all the milk. I have no difficulty. any bread. There is enough sugar in the milk.
S.No
1.
Adjectives of Number
The boy sold all his books. I have no pens. the garden? I have not enough plates in my kitchen at present.
The man did not eat Are there any mango trees in
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5.
My grandfather lost All the books in the bookshelf all his wealth. have gone out-dated.
COMPARISONS OF ADJECTIVES
By adding 'r' to form the Comparative and 'st' to form Positive Ramas mango is sweet. Def. The adjective is in its simple form. It is used when no comparison is made. Def.It denotes the higher degree of the quality that the positive and is used when two things are compared. E.g. This boy is stronger than that. Which of these two pens is the better? Def. It denotes the highest degree of quality and is used when more than two things are compared. E.g. This boy is the strongest in the class Positive Happy Healthy Early Costly Heavy Comparative Happier Healthier Earlier Costlier Heavier Superlative Happiest Healthiest Earliest Costliest Heaviest By changing 'y' into 'i' before adding 'er' and 'est' when the Positive ends in 'y' preceded by a consonant. Comparative Haris mango is sweeter than Ramas. Superlative Govinds mango is sweetest of all. the Superlative when the Positive ends in 'e'. Positive Brave Fine Noble Wise Able Large Comparative Braver Finer Nobler Wiser Abler Larger Superlative Bravest Finest Noblest Wisest Ablest Largest
When the positive is a word of one syllable and ends in a single consonant, preceded by a short vowel, this consonant is doubled before adding 'er' and 'est'. Positive Sad Thin Fat Hot Big Comparative Sadder Thinner Fatter Hotter Bigger Superlative Saddest Thinnest Fattest Hottest Biggest
Note There is another way which we can compare things. Instead of saying Ram is stronger than Babu we can say Babu is less strong than Ram.
Adjective of more than two syllables form the Comparative and Superlative by putting 'more' and 'most' before the Positive. Positive Beautiful Industrious Careful Comparative more beautiful more industrious more careful more courageous Superlative most beautiful most industrious most careful most courageous
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Magnificent
more magnificent
most magnificent
Some adjectives take either 'er' and 'est' or 'more' and 'most'. Positive Polite Polite Common Common Gentle Gentle Handsome Handsome Pleasant Pleasant Comparative Politer more polite Commoner more common Gentler more gentle Handsomer more handsome Pleasanter more pleasant Superlative Politest most polite Commonest most common Gentlest most gentle Handsomest most handsome Pleasantest most pleasant
Many Adjectives are formed from Verbs Verb Sustain Think Tickle Tire Talk Cease Move Throw Work Watch Understand Forget Relate Go Giggle Arrogate Breathe Breeze Beautify Fantasize Adjective Sustainable Thinking (intelligent) Ticklish Tireless Talkative Ceaseless Moveable Throwaway Workable Watchful Understandable Forgetful Related Gait Giggly Arrogant Breathy Breezy Beautiful Fantastic
Some adjectives are compared irregularly, that is, their Comparative and Superlative are not formed from the Positive. Positive Little Much Many Fore Fore Late Comparative Less (Lesser) More More Former Further Later, Latter Superlative Least Most Most Foremost, First Furthest Latest, Last
FORMATION OF ADJEVCTIVES
Many Adjectives are formed from Nouns Noun Man Girl Boy Friend Mother Care Silk Gold Difficulty Honesty Trouble Adjective Manly Girlish Boyish Friendly Motherly Careful, Careless Silken Golden Difficult Honest Troublesome
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ADJECTIVES
Adjectives describe or give information about nouns or pronouns. For example:The grey dog barked. (The adjective grey describes the noun "dog".) The good news is that the form of an adjective does not change. It does not matter if the noun being modified is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.
good, pretty, right, wrong, funny, light, happy, sad, full, soft, hard etc. For example: He was a silly boy. SIZE
Adjectives can be used to describe size. Big, small, little, long, tall, short, same as, etc.
Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size color etc (fact adjectives - can't be argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree). If you are asked questions with which, whose, what kind, or how many, you need an adjective to be able to answer. There are different types of adjectives in the English language: AGE "The big man." or "The big woman".
For example:
For example:
Numeric: six, one hundred and one Quantitative: more, all, some, half, more than enough Qualitative: color, size, smell etc. Possessive: my, his, their, your Interrogative: which, whose, what Demonstrative: this, that, those, these Adjectives can be used to describe shape. SHAPE "He was an old man." or "She was an old woman."
! Note - The articles a, an, and the and the possessives my, our, your, and there are also adjectives. Round, circular, triangular, rectangular, square, oval, OPINION Adjectives can be used to give your opinion about etc. For example: "It was a square box." or "They were square boxes." something.
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COLOUR Adjectives can be used to describe color. Blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, etc.
TEMPERATURE
For example:
"The day was hot." or "The days were hot."
For example:"It was a German flag." or "They were German flags." MATERIAL
Late, early, bed, nap, dinner, lunch, day, morning, night, etc.
For example:
"She had an early start."
PURPOSE Adjectives can be used to describe purpose. (These adjectives often end with "-ing".)
"It was a cotton cushion." or "They were cotton cushions." DISTANCE Adjectives can be used to describe distance. l -- o -- n -g / short long, short, far, around, start, high, low, etc. For example: "She went for a long walk." or "She went for lots of long walks."
For example: "She gave them a sleeping bag." or "She gave them sleeping bags." !Note - In each case the adjective stays the same, whether it is describing a masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun. When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a conjunction (and) or by commas (,). For example:
"Her hair was long and blonde." or "She had long, blonde hair."
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Adjective Pretty
Fast
Ugly Big
Ne Circu w lar
Blue
Example
This is just a guide as you wouldn't normally see so many adjectives in one description. For example: "She had a big, ugly, old, baggy, blue, cotton, British, knitting bag." Is grammatically correct but a bit too long-winded. * You might swap opinion and fact adjectives depending on what you wish to emphasize:For example: "She had a long, ugly nose." emphasizing the length of her nose.
! Note - Adjectives that go immediately before the noun are called attributive adjectives. Adjectives can also be used after some verbs. They do not describe the verb, adverbs do that. Adjectives after a verb describe the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun). They are called predicative adjectives. For example:
"David looks tired." The subject (in this case David) is being described as tired not the verb to look.
There is also the adjective used to, which is explained here. "He was a silly, little man." emphasizing that the man was silly.
For example:
Tall / Short
Plastic British
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A car is faster than a bicycle. A bicycle is slower than a car. Comparative adjectives are used to show what quality one thing has more or less than the other. They normally come before any other adjectives.
'good' becomes 'better' 'bad' becomes 'worse' 'far' becomes 'farther' or 'further' ! Note - When comparing two things like this we put than between the adjective and the thing being compared.
For example:
For example:Big / Small "Mount Everest is higher than Mount Snow don." "Arguably, Rome is more beautiful than Paris.
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
The red bag is bigger than the blue bag. The blue bag is smaller than the red bag. Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership or possession. Subject pronoun For example I you he she it Possessive adjective my your his her its our their
Words of one
Add -r to the
wide wider
syllable ending in 'e'. end of the word. Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one Double the consonant and add -er to the
big bigger
consonant at the end. end of the word. Words of one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Change 'y' to 'i', and add -er to the end of the word. Place 'more' adjective. Add - er to the
high -
I own a laptop. = It is my laptop. You own this computer (I presume). = It is your computer. My husband owns a car. = It is his car. My sister owns a house. = It is her house. My dog owns a collar. = It is its collar. We use this website. = It is our website. Manchester United own a football ground. = It is their football ground.
happy happier
SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a particular quality within a group or of its
The following adjectives are exceptions to this rule: Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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For example:
"Jill is thebest student in the class ." "Jack is theworst student in the class." "In our solar system the planet Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun."
Snowdon is not the highest mountain in Mount Snowdon is 3,559 feet high. Ben Nevis is 4,408 feet high. Britain, Ben Nevis is.
Words of one
wide widest
syllable ending in 'e'. end of the word. Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one Double the consonant and add -est to the
big biggest
consonant at the end. end of the word. Words of one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Change 'y' to 'i', and add -est to the end of the word. Place 'the most' before the adjective. Add - est to the
high -
My I have a car and I have a dog called Sam. This is my car with my dog Sam.
happy happiest
Your You aren't using my You have a computer to read this. You are using your computer. computer.
Her | His
I don't have a crown. Prince Charles doesn't have a crown. The Queen has a crown.
This is the queen's crown. It isn't my crown and it isn't your crown. It isn't his crown, either. It is her crown.
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Its This padlock has a key. This is the padlock's key. It is its key.
mad modern open outgoing outstanding poor powerful puzzled real rich right robust sane scary shy sleepy stupid super tame thick tired wild wrong
Our We have a website called Learn English. It is my website and it is your website. It is our website.
Their The pop group Elbow have a CD. This is their CD.
Feelings negative afraid angry annoyed anxious arrogant ashamed awful bad bewildered bored concerned condemned confused creepy cruel dangerous defeated defiant depressed disgusted Confidence, Fluency & Personality
Feelings positive agreeable alert amused brave bright charming cheerful comfortable cooperative courageous delightful determined eager elated enchanting encouraging energetic enthusiastic excited exuberant
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disturbed doubtful eerie embarrassed envious evil fierce foolish frantic frightened grieving guilty helpless hungry hurt ill jealous lonely mad naughty nervous obnoxious outrageous panicky repulsive safe scared shy sleepy sore strange tense terrible tired troubled unusual upset uptight weary wicked worried Shape broad crooked Size average big
faithful fantastic friendly frowning funny gentle glorious good happy healthy helpful hilarious innocent jolly kind lively lovely lucky obedient perfect proud relaxed relieved silly smiling splendid successful thoughtful victorious vivacious well witty wonderful
curved deep even flat hilly jagged round shallow square steep straight thick thin triangular uneven
fat gigantic huge large little long massive medium miniature narrow petite short skinny small tall tiny wide
faint harsh high-pitched hissing hushed husky loud melodic moaning mute noisy purring quiet raspy screeching shrill silent soft squeaky squealing thundering voiceless whispering
Taste
Time ancient brief. early late long modern new old old-fashioned quick short young
bland delicious different fresh greasy hot juicy repulsive revolting ripe rotten salty sour spicy stale strong sweet tasteless tasty terrible
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wonderful Touch blunt boiling breakable breezy broken bumpy chilly clean cold cool crooked cuddly curly damaged damp different dirty dry dusty filthy flaky fluffy fuzzy greasy grubby hard icy loose plastic prickly ripe rough rubbery scratchy shaky shaggy sharp silky slimy slippery smooth soft solid Confidence, Fluency & Personality
steady sticky tight uneven unusual unripe warm weak wet wooden wooly
Summary Adjectives are used to describe nouns. They give more details or information about the nouns they are associated with. A: Tell me about your boyfriend B: Well, he is tall, dark, and handsome. A: Sounds like mine.
Adjectives can be used to answer the questions "What kind (of) ?" or "Which one?" A: Hi. I'm calling about the car you're selling? B: It's a great car. (It's) in excellent condition. A: What kind of seats does it have? B: They're very comfortable seats, (soft, plush, just like a sofa.) A: Uh. I think I'll sleep on it. A: Hand me a book. B: Which one do you want? A: The red book. The red one.
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CHAPTER 7 - CONJUNCTION
Poetria has a dog and Karen has two cats. You can spend your life writing or speaking short sentences, but (and that's a conjunction) if you want your English to flow a bit more naturally you need to learn how to join sentences together and (another conjunction) you need some linking words to do this. The coordinating conjunction or expresses choice. Basically a conjunction connects two words, sentences or clauses together: although, and, because, but, if, or, so,
unless, when, while ...
The coordinating conjunction but expresses a contrast. We were tired but happy.
There are two types of conjunction: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. You can also use conjunctions in pairs, these are called correlatives. For example:She spoke neither German nor French. ("nor" must always be part of the "neither ... nor" construction). A coordinating conjunction, also called a coordinator, links parts of a sentence with the same status. This could be two independent (main) clauses, two noun phrases, adjectives, adverbials etc of equal importance. They include: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, A subordinating conjunction, also called a There's a mnemonic for remembering them: FANBOYS. For example:It was cold. I wore a coat. Both sentences are valid on their own, but they can be written as, "It was cold, so I wore a coat." Because it was snowing ... makes no sense on its own. I attended the meeting. + My friend attended the meeting. = My friend and I attended the meeting. Be warned, there are a lot of them. The three most often used coordinating conjunctions are and, or, and but. The coordinating conjunction and usually expresses addition or combination. For example: For example:Confidence, Fluency & Personality Subordinating conjunctions include: after, although, because, before, if, in case, so that, therefore, unless, when, while... We went skiing, because it was snowing. Aha! For example:subordinator, joins a dependent / subordinate clause to a main verb. They are used to show any relationship between them and they turn the clause into something that is dependant on the rest of the sentence for its meaning. ! Note - nor, for, and so can only join independent clauses. There are two negative coordinating conjunctions: neither and no.
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
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Before you came here, you thought you understood English grammar. We left the party when the police arrived. !Note - The subordinate clause sometimes comes at the beginning of a sentence.
For example:Either the president or the vice-president will go to the conference. (The president will go to the conference, or the vice-president will go, not both of them though.) We use neithernor together when we want to link
CORRELATIVES
Some conjunctions are used in pairs, they are called correlative conjunctions. They are used to show the relationship between ideas expressed in different parts of a sentence. Most are coordinating correlatives. They include:both ... and either ... or neither ... nor not only ... but also For example:He was not only a scoundrel, but also a cruel man. We use eitheror together when we want to link two positives:-
two negative ideas:For example:Neither the president nor the vice-president were able to solve the problem. (The president couldn't solve the problem and the vice-president couldn't solve it either.) Some are subordinating correlatives. if ... then less ... than more ... than so ... that For example:She was so hungry that she could have eaten a horse.
CHAPTER 8 - PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most often they come before a noun. Compound prepositions are more than one word - in The good news is that they never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to. Prepositions are classified as simple or compound. Simple prepositions are single word prepositions across, after, at, before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on, to, under, with and without are all single word prepositions. Confidence, Fluency & Personality between and because of - are prepositions made up of two words - in front of, on behalf of - are prepositions made up of three words. For example: The book is in between War and Peace and The Lord of the Rings. The book is in front of the clock. The book is on the table. For example:-
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PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT
Prepositions can be used to show movement. For example:To, through, across We use to show movement with the aim of a specific destination For example:I moved to Germany in 1998. He's gone to the shops. We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other. For example: The train went through the tunnel. We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another. For example: She swam across the river.
More prepositions of movement She ran to the door. the tunnel. (from one side of through an enclosed space to the other) The road. (from one side of an open space to the other) The road. (the length of the road) The road. (the length of the road) The bridge. (from one side of an open space to the other) The stage.
round into
to
"He carried the rubbish to the bin." "The train came through the tunnel." "He swam across the channel." "He walked along the road." "He skied down the mountain." "They walked over the bridge."
through
across
along
down
over
off
"The man ran off the cliff." "The arrow is moving round the ball." "The man poured the sand into the timer.
round
across
into
along
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.
The prepositions at, on, and in
down
over
off
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For example: Someone is at the door. They are waiting at the bus stop. I used to live at 51 Portland Street.
The man was standing at the taxi stand. at The secretary was sitting at her desk.
We use on to show position on a horizontal or vertical surface. For example: The cat sat on the mat. The satellite dish is on the roof. We also use on to show position on streets, roads, etc.
between behind The car park is He never won a race, he was always behind the building.
behind
the others.
For example: I used to live on Portland Street. We use in to show that something is enclosed or surrounded. For example: The dog is in the garden. She is in a taxi. Put it in the box. We also use in to show position within land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents). For example: I used to live in Nottingham.
More prepositions of place Prepositions of Place after She slammed the door They ran after after her. the thief.
between
between
in front of The teacher stands The car was parked in front of in front of the class. the garage.
next to / beside / by In my English lesson I always next to/ sit beside/by next to/ beside/by my friend.
The bank is
the hotel.
on among I enjoy being I found my handbag among among my friends. my luggage. over/above The sign hanging over/above the door read 'No smoking'. The painting was hanging The boy was sitting on on the wall. the chair.
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over
the table.
above
me.
The man under / below The temperature outside was under/below The woman was sheltering When flying I enjoy watching the clouds under 0. a tree. looked through the telescope in his below me. hands. The man wrote the address on the package. The man looked at the mail in the post box. The man the clock on the wall. The sat at his desk on his chair. looked at manager
John's house
Jane's house
We use on for specific days and dates . For example: My birthday is on Monday.
We're having a party on 7th September. We also use on for some special days. For example: On Christmas day. We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month,
The man stood The climbers stood on top of the mountain. The man stood between the two enemies. The enemies stood opposite each other. The gardners stood next to the gopher
a season, or a year. For example: In summer it's too hot to work. I started this web site in 1999. She woke up in the night.
More prepositions of time
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POINT IN TIME
at 6 o'clock Midnight Saturday on April 10th Christmas Day by the end of July (indicates a deadline=at the latest) till / until / up to
Example "I got to work at 8.00 this morning." "I'll see you on Tuesday." "I have an appointment on the 31st." "My birthday is in June"
March
(indicates an end point) April 10th March (indicates a beginning point in time)
since
"I get up in the morning." "I have lunch in the afternoon." "I go home in the evening." "I go to bed at night." "It usually snows in the winter."
LENGTH OF TIME
(the afternoon)
in July the autumn the morning the middle of . night the weekend the meeting the lesson
in (the evening) at
at
(night) in (a season)
during
for
PRONOUNS
Personal Pronoun Subject Personal Pronoun - Object Possessi ve my your his/hers/its ours theirs me you him/her/it us them
throughout
you
he/she/it
we
they
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CHAPTER 9 - ARTICLES
2. We use the when we are talking about a specific
There are only three articles in English: a, an andthe. There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. INDEFINITE ARTICLES
A or an is called the Indefinite article because it usually leaves indefinite the person or thing spoken of E.g. He saw the doctor. E.g. A doctor It is used before a singular countable noun E.g. A book, an orange, a girl. It is used before singular countable nouns plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Meaning some particular doctor. The is called the definite article because it normally points out some particular person or thing.
person or thing, or if there is only one, or if it is clear which one we are talking about.
DEFINITE ARTICLES
She took a glass of water and started to drink. -- one of many glasses of water She took the glass of water nearest to her. -- a specific glass She took the glass of water and started to drink. -There is only one glass of water Can you turn on the TV? -- Its clear we are talking about the TV in this room I have to see the doctor tomorrow. -- Its clear I am talking about my usual doctor I need to see a doctor. -- Not any specific doctor how many people have walked on the moon? -- There is only one moon the best film I've ever seen is Top Gun. -- There can only be one best film 3. We use no article when we are talking about people or things in general. Carrots are good for you. -- Carrots in general
The carrots growing in my garden are almost ready to eat. -- Specific carrots English people drink a lot of tea. -- English people in general The English people in this hotel are very nice. -specific English people 4. We use a / an to say what kind of person or thing
someone or something is (often with an adjective, or to say it belongs to a particular group. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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You have a nice house. That's a very expensive car! A cat is an animal a bus is a vehicle.
9. We use no article with continents, countries, regions, cities, streets, mountains, lakes and parks. Asia, Italy, California, Bristol, Main St., Mount Everest,
5. With school, university, prison, hospital, church, bed, work and home we use the when we are talking about a particular one, and no article when we are talking about the idea of school, university...
Lake Superior, Central Park -- we use the if the country contains Kingdom, Republic, State, Union 10. We use the with plural names of people and places.
The church on our street was built in the 17th Century. -- a particular church I go to church every Sunday -- the idea of church, not a particular building My friend works at the prison outside the city centre. My husband is in prison. The work isn't finished yet. I was feeling sick yesterday so I didn't go to work. The new bed is bigger than the old one. I put my children to bed at 8pm. 6. We use the with singular countable nouns to talk about a type of thing.
The Smiths, The Netherlands, The United States, The Bahamas, The Alps (also The Caribbean) 11. We use the with oceans, seas, rivers and canals.
The Atlantic Ocean, The Red Sea, The Nile, The Panama Canal 12. We use the with north, south, east and west to talk about the location of a place within another place, but no article to compare the location of two places. Greece is in the south of Europe.
The computer was invented in the 20th Century. -- not a particular computer The computer in my office is broken. -- a particular one The crocodile is very dangerous. -- this type of animal The crocodile in the river is very big. -- a particular one She plays the piano. -- not a particular piano but this type of instrument The piano she is playing is very old. -- a particular one 7. We use the + adjective to talk about a group of people (including nationalities). I always give money to the homeless. The unemployed receive money from the government. The French produce good wine. 8. We use a / an to talk about someone's job. My wife is an optician. She works as a mechanic.
Spain is south of France. -- we use no article with northern, southern, eastern and western: Greece is in southern Europe 13. We normally use the with buildings, except if the first word is the name of a place.
The White House, the Sheraton Hotel. Oxford University, Buckingham Palace.
ARTICLES
First the good news: There are only three articles in English: a, an and the. There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article. The bad news is that their proper use is complex, especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to work it out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.
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You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
For example:
For example:
For example: You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling. If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example "hour" then we use an. For We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "youniversity". So, "a university" IS correct. We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our". So, "an hour" IS correct. (Lots of people get this wrong - including native speakers.) For example: example: For example:
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an. "I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing." "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her." The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:
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"Harry's Bar is the place to go." For example: "You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"
Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the
!Note - The doesn't mean all:"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking For example: "Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)
No article
An = a, e, i, o, u A = b, c, d,
This is an apple.
about.)
This is a banana.
This is a coat.
People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article) You do not use an article when talking about sports. My son plays football. Tennis is expensive.
This is an ice cream. This is a dress.
For example:
This is an egg.
You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally. Information is important to any For example: organisation. Coffee is bad for you. You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article. For example: Confidence, Fluency & Personality No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England
This is the house where I live. This is an umbrella. This is an orange.
A/An or The
This is a house.
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This is a bed. This is a dress. This is the bed in my bedroom. This is the dress that I bought.
CHAPTER 10 CASE
Case is the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun. There are only three cases in modern English, they are subjective (he), objective (him) and possessive (his). They may seem more familiar in their old English form - nominative, accusative and genitive. There is no dative case in modern English. Yippee! First more good news. You cannot really go wrong here, we got rid of most of our cases and as a result English is easier than many other languages because nouns and some indefinite pronouns (anyone, someone, everyone, and so on) only have a distinctive case form for the possessive. There are a few remnants of old English though, and pronouns have distinctive forms in all three cases and should be used with a bit more care. The pronoun cases are simple though. There are only three:1. Subjective case: pronouns used as subject. 2. Objective case: pronouns used as objects of verbs or prepositions. 3. Possessive case: pronouns which express ownership. These pronouns, and who and its compounds, are the only words that are inflected in all three cases (subjective, objective, possessive). In nouns the first two cases (subjective and objective) are indistinguishable, and are called the common case. One result of this simplicity is that, the sense of case being almost lost, the few mistakes that can be made are made often, even by native speakers, some of them so often that they are now almost right by prescription.
Personal Pronoun Subjective/Nominati Objective/Accusati Possessive/Geniti ve Referring to the ve Referring to the ve The apostrophe Who Whom Whose They Them Theirs He She It We Him Her It Us His Hers Its Ours I You Me You Mine Yours subject in a sentence object in a sentence form of the word ("Lynne's).
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A noun which is directly affected by the action of a verb is put into the objective case. In English we call this noun the "direct object" which is a little more descriptive of its function. It's the direct object of some action.
For example:
The members' forum. The dogs' tails.
In the example above, the "car" is in the objective case because it's the direct object of Robert's action of fixing. Pronouns are inflected to show the objective case.
PERSONAL PRONOUN
Objective/Accusative
People's names that end in "s" you can write (') or ('s). For example: or
Charles's job was on the line. Charles' job was on the line.
POSSESSIVE CASE
The possessive case is used to show ownership. The good news is that the genetive case is used less and less in English today. Hooray!
Try to avoid sounding like hissing Sid though. When an added - s would lead to three closely bunched s or z sounds just use an apostrophe at the end.
The map of Ulysses' journey.
You may still hear someone say something like "The mother of the bride," but it could equally be; "The bride's mother." However, the possessive pattern ('s) is generally used when indicate a relation of ownership or association with a person, rather than a thing. For example:
Lynne's web site kept growing larger and larger.
If you have to show joint ownership, give the possessive form to the final name only.
Abbott and Costello's famous baseball sketch.
PERSONAL PRONOUN/DETERMINER
Possessive Lynne's Lynne's
There are, as ever, exceptions to this rule. When a group of people is involved or animals.
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This is Lynne's web site. It's my website!. It's mine! It's not Zozanga's web site. It's not his website. It's not his. Have you seen herbook?It'sher book. It's hers.
Genitive Case
You should still use the genetive case when talking about things that belong to other things. For example:
The door of the car. The content of the website. The top of thepa
For example:-
CHAPTER 11 - CLAUSES
What is a clause?
opened." "The man walked in." = The door opened and the man walked in.
A clause is a part of a sentence. There are two main types: independent (main clauses), dependent (subordinate clauses). A dependent (subordinate) clause is part of a sentence;
Independent Clauses
DEPENDENT CLAUSES
it contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. They can make sense on their own, but, they are dependent on the rest of the sentence for context and meaning. They are usually joined to an independent clause to form a complex sentence. Dependent clauses often begin with aa subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun (see below) that makes the clause unable to stand alone.
An independent clause is a complete sentence; it contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought in both context and meaning. For example: The door opened. Independent clauses can be joined by a coordinating conjunction to form complex or compound sentences.
CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
and
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
after before although even if once so that unless as even though provided that because if rather than
but
nor
for
or
yet
so
in order that since
than until
that when
For example: Take two independent clauses and join them together with the conjunction and: " The door though Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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whenever whether
where while
whereas
why
wherever
!Note - When an adverb clause introduces the sentence (as this one does), it is set off with a comma.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
that
Adverb clauses answer questions like "when?", "where?", "why?" An adjectival clause (adjective clause or relative clause) does the work of an adjective and describes a noun, it's usually introduced by a relative pronoun: who | whom | whose | that | which
which
whoever whosever
whichever
who
whose
whom
whomever
For example: The door opened because the man pushed it. Dependent clauses can be nominal, adverbial or adjectival. A nominal clause (noun clause) functions like a noun or noun phrase. It is a group of words containing a subject and a finite verb of its own and contains one of the following: that | if | whether For example:
I wondered whether the homework was necessary.
For example:
I went to the show that was very popular.
This kind of clause is used to provide extra information about the noun it follows. This can be to define something (a defining clause), or provide unnecessary, but interesting, added information (a non-defining clause). For example:
The car that is parked in front of the gates will be towed away. (Defining relative clause.)
Noun clauses answer questions like "who(m)?" or "what?" An adverbial clause (adverb clause) is a word or expression in the sentence that functions as an adverb; that is, it tells you something about how the action in the verb was done. An adverbial clause is separated from the other clauses by any of the following subordinating conjunctions: after | although | as | because | before | if | since | that | though | till | unless | until | when | where | while
Information contained in the defining relative clause is absolutely essential in order for us to be able to identify the car in question.
My dog, who is grey and white, chased the postman. ( Non-defining relative clause)
A non-defining relative clause is separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. If you take away the non-defining clause the basic meaning of the sentence remains intact. For example:
For example:
They will visit you before they go to the airport. My dog chased the postman.
Adjective clauses answer questions like "which?" or Adverbial clauses can also be placed before the main clause without changing the meaning. For example: Confidence, Fluency & Personality "what kind of?"
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Summary
In English a non-restrictive relative clause is preceded by a pause in speech or a comma in writing, unlike a restrictive clause. For example:The builder, who erects very fine houses, will make a large profit. This example, with commas, contains a non-restrictive relative clause. It refers to a specific builder, and assumes we know which builder is intended. It tells us firstly about his houses, then about his profits.
An adjective clause functions as an adjective (modifies a noun or pronoun); an adverb clause functions as an adverb (describes a verb, adjective or other adverb); a noun clause is used as a noun (subject of a verb, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative or object of the preposition). !Note - The difference between a clause and a phrase is that a phrase does not contain a finite verb.
RELATIVE CLAUSES
A relative clause follows the noun it modifies. It is generally indicated by a relative pronoun at the start of the clause, although sometimes you can tell simply by word order. The choice of relative pronoun, or choice to omit one, can be affected by the following:Human or Non-human?
The builder who erects very fine houses will make a large profit. This second example uses a restrictive relative clause. Without the commas, the sentence states that any builder who builds such houses will make a profit. NONRESTRICTIVE
Human Nonhuman
RESTRICTIVE
We make a distinction between an antecedent that is a human who(m) and an antecedent which is a nonhuman which. Who(m) is used when the antecedent is a person. That is used to refer to either a person or thing. Which is used to refer to anything exept a person.
I met a man and a woman yesterday. The woman, who had long blonde hair, was very pretty. The man she was with, was the man that / who won the race. The race was the one that I lost. The man, to whom the winnings were given, was with the woman who was very pretty.
Human
Nonhuman
Subject
who, that
who
which
Object
who, whom
which
After preposition
whom
which
whom
which
whose, of
Possessive
whose, of which
whose, of whom
whose, of which
whom
RESTRICTIVE OR NON-RESTRICTIVE?
Restrictive relative clauses are sometimes called defining relative clauses, or identifying relative clauses. Similarly, non-restrictive relative clauses are called non-defining or non-identifying relative clauses.
something else. The two most common conditionals are real and unreal, they are sometimes called ifclauses. The real conditional (often named 1st Conditional or Conditional Type I) describes situations based on fact.
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The unreal conditional (often named 2nd Conditional or Conditional Type II) describes unreal or imaginary situations. There is also what we call the 3rd conditional (often named Conditional Type III), used to express no possibility of something having happened in the past, and the 0 conditional (often called the zero conditional), used to express absolute certainty.
(Main Clause)
or...
(IF Clause)
Unless you are studying English to pass an exam or test don't try to remember the types, just learn the structure so that you know how to express the meaning conveyed by each type.
means I won't mark your homework if you don't hand it in.
The first conditional is used to express situations based on fact in the present or future (things which may happen).
real).
If I go to England, I will buy some Cheddar cheese. = I will buy some Cheddar cheese, if I go to England. (It is possible that I will go to England therefore the condition is real).
or...
(Main Clause) I will buy you a drink (IF Clause) if I see you tomorrow.
Uses the simple past tense:Formation (IF Clause) If I won the lottery, (Main Clause) I would buy a new house.
or...
(Main Clause) (IF Clause)
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For example:
If I hadn't helped you, you would have failed. = You would have failed, if I hadn't helped you. (I helped you so you didn't fail).
For example: If I were you, I wouldn't do that. = I wouldn't do that, if I were you. (I am not you - therefore the condition is unreal). If I had more time, I would do more on my websites. = I would do more on my websites, if I had more time. (I don't have more time therefore the condition is unreal).
If it had been sunny, we could have gone out. = We could have gone out, if it had been. (We didn't go out because it wasn't sunny).
Uses the simple present tense:Formation (IF Clause) If you heat water to 100C, (Main Clause) it boils.
or...
(Main Clause) Water boils (IF Clause) if you heat it to 100C,
I would have passed my exam. I could have passed my exam. I should have passed my exam.
For example:
If you drop an apple, it falls. = An apple falls, if you drop it. (This is an absolute truth based on scientific fact - gravity).
or...
(Main Clause) I would have passed my exam I could have passed my exam I should have passed my exam (IF Clause) if I had worked harder. if I had worked harder. if I had worked harder.
If you don't do your homework, I will be disappointed. = I will be disappointed, if you don't do your homework. (This is a general truth based on previous knowledge - you know that I am disappointed if people don't do their homework).
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CHAPTER 12 - DETERMINERS
Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of a particular type.
few the indefinite articles : a, an
Determiners are different to pronouns in that a determiner is always followed by a noun. Therefore personal pronouns ( I, you , he , etc.) and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, etc.) cannot be determiners. The definite and indefinite articles a/an/the are all determiners. You use a specific determiner when people know exactly which thing(s) or person/people you are talking about. The specific determiners are:
fewer less little many more most much neither no other several some
For example:"A man sat under an umbrella." "Have you got any English books that I could have?" "There is enough food to feed everyone."
Either can mean one or the other (of two) or each of two.
For example:"The dog barked at the boy." "These apples are rotten." "Their bus was late." You use general determiners to talk about people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. The general determiners are:
For example:I've got tea and coffee, so you can have either. (One or the other) The room has a door at either end. (Both) Neither means not the first one and not the second one.
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Some verbs can take either the gerund or the infinitive with no loss of meaning. For example:
With the verb start - "It started to rain." or "It started raining." Both sentences have the same meaning.
I detest going to discos. We postponed making any decision in the meeting. I quit smoking. Do you recall seeing someone like that?
VERBS - INFINITIVE
Verbs which are normally followed by the infinitive form:-
Sometimes the use of the gerund or infinitive changes the meaning of the sentence. For example:
With the verb remember - "I remembered to do my homework". or "I remembered doing my homework."
Afford | agree | appear | arrange | ask | attempt | care | choose | claim | come | consent dare | decide | demand | deserve | determine | elect | Endeavour | expect | fail | get | guarantee hate | help | hesitate | hope | hurry | incline | intend | learn | long | manage | mean | need offer | plan | prepare | pretend | promise | refuse | resolve | say | seem | tend | threaten | want | wish
In the first sentence (I remembered to do my homework), the person speaking remembered they had some homework first and then carried out the action and did it. In the second sentence (I remembered doing my homework.), the person speaking carried out the action (their homework) first and then remembered doing it. Other verbs only take one or the other, unfortunately there is no rule as to which form the verb takes. The same is true when the verb follows an adjective. The best way to learn their correct use is with practice - these lists may help:With no change in meaning
For example:
I can't afford to go to the pub. He agreed to practice more. You should learn to express yourself. They managed to fix the problem.
VERBS - GERUND
Verbs that are normally followed by the gerund form:-
Begin | continue | hate | like | love | neglect | prefer | start | try For example:
He began to learn English when he was eight. He began learning English when he was eight. I hate to leave. I hate leaving.
acknowledge | admit | adore | anticipate | appreciate | avoid | celebrate | confess | contemplate delay | deny | describe | detest | discuss | dislike | dread | endure | enjoy fancy | finish | imagine | involve | keep | justify | mention | mind | miss | omit | postpone | practice quit | recall | recommend | regret | report | resent | resume | risk | suggest | tolerate | understand For example:
I adore reading your books. They anticipated winning the election.
! Note - We often use the gerund when we speak about things in general, and the infinitive for particular situations.
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For example:
With the verb start - "It started to rain." or "It started raining." Both sentences have the same meaning.
The gerund (-ing form) must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:against | at | after | by | on | instead of | talk about | tired of | without
In the first sentence (I remembered to do my homework), the person speaking remembered they had some homework first and then carried out the action and did it. In the second sentence (I remembered doing my homework.), the person speaking carried out the action (their homework) first and then remembered doing it. Other verbs only take one or the other, unfortunately there is no rule as to which form the verb takes. The same is true when the verb follows an adjective. The best way to learn their correct use is with practice - these lists may help:List of verbs which are normally followed by the gerund - with some examples. List of verbs which are normally followed by the infinitive - with some examples. List of verbs which can be followed by the gerund or infinitive - with some examples.
Gerunds after Prepositions
For example:
I am against smoking in public places. She is good at speaking English. I went home after leaving the party. You can improve your English by using the Internet. We need to keep ongoing. You should tell the truth instead of lying all the time. We can talk about going home. I'm tired of hearing excuses. You can't learn English without making mistakes.
When a verb is used after a preposition the verb takes the -ing form. For example:
You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.
List of gerunds after prepositions. Some verbs can take either the gerund or the infinitive with no loss of meaning. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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PARTICIPLES
What is a participle?
It can also be used as an adjective. For example:As an adjective: He had a broken arm. (Broken is used here as an adjective.) Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs.
A participle is a word formed from a verb that can function as part of a verb phrase. For example:Has been Or independently as an adjective. For example:Working woman hot water bottle
PERFECT PARTICIPLES
What is the perfect participle?
The perfect participle indicates completed action. You form the perfect participle by putting the present participle having in front of the past participle. For example:-
There are three forms of participle: The present participle, the past participle and the perfect participle. ! Note - We use past participles (-ed) to describe how we feel. We use present participles [-ing] to describe what caused the feelings. For example:Having improved her English Pia's promotion prospects were much better.
What is a past participle?
Having done, having finished, having read, having spoken It can be used to form the passive voice.
PAST PARTICIPLES
Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs. A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it is formed by adding d or ed, to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in various other ways for irregular verbs. The present participle is a participle that ends in ing. It It can be used to form a verb phrase as part of the present perfect tense. For example:I have learnt English. (Learnt is part of the verb phrase 'have learnt') It can be used to form the passive voice. For example:We were running through the woods. (Running is part of Her hair was well brushed. the continuous verb phrase 'were running' ). For example:I am learning English. (Learning is part of the continuous verb phrase 'am learning') can be used with the auxilliary verb 'to be' to form the continuous tense. It always takes the ing form of the verb, even irregular verbs have an ...ing form, in fact virtually all English words that end with ing are present participles.
What is the present participle?
PRESENT PARTICIPLES
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It can also be used as an adjective. For example:As an adjective: I am a working woman. (Working is used here as an adjective.)
! Note:-
The present participle can also be used as a noun denoting the action of a verb a gerund. But remember the present participle can be used as a verb or an adjective whilst the gerund is used as a noun.
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech) Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word. For example: She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations." or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
Direct speech Indirect speech Past simple
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right):
Past perfect
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Past perfect She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived."
Past perfect
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Past perfect continuous She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes."
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
TIME CHANGE
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting. For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
Today "Today's lesson is on presentations." + 24 hours - Indirect speech She said yesterday's lesson was on presentations.
this (evening) that (evening) today these (days) yesterday ... those (days) then
! Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
Direct speech "I might go to the cinema", he said. Indirect speech He said he might go to the cinema. here there the following (week) the next/following day now
(a week) ago (a week) before the weekend before last / the previous weekend
last weekend
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-
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In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it you must change the place (here) to the place (there). For example:-
For example: Lynne told me that she'd never been to China. There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked. These include:-
At work
At home accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologized, begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought.
"How long have you worked She asked me how long I'd here?" worked there.
PRONOUN CHANGE
Using them properly can make what you say much In reported speech, the pronoun often changes. For example:
Me You She said she teaches English online. He begged me to come to the party.
more interesting and informative. For example: He asked me to come to the party:He invited me to the party.
REPORTING VERBS
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
He ordered me to come to the party. He advised me to come to the party. He suggested I should come to the party.
For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started. In reported speech, the word that is often used. We use told with an object. For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich. For example: Lynne told me she felt tired. However, that is optional. ! Note- Here me is the object. For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich. We usually use said without an object. !Note - That is never used in questions, instead we For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online. If said is used with an object we must include to ; For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China. Capital letters are used for two main purposes in !Note - We usually use told. English: Confidence, Fluency & Personality often use if. For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
CAPITALIZATION
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The first letter of every new sentence is capitalized. For example:The postman delivered the parcel. It was very heavy.
the Civil War - the Declaration of Independence - the Freedom of Information Act - World War I Months, days of the week, holidays and special days:-
The pronoun I is always capitalized. For example:My name is Lynne, I am a teacher. Proper nouns (also called proper names) are the words which name specific people, organizations or places. They always start with a capital letter.
December - Monday - Christmas - Valentine's Day (note seasons are not capitalized spring - summer autumn - winter)
Religions, deities, scriptures:-
Christ - God - Jehovah - Mohammed - Christianity Islam - Judaism - the Bible - the Koran - the Torah
Awards, vehicles, vehicle models and names, brand names:-
The Nobel Peace Prize - the Scout Movement - Ford Focus - the Bismarck - Kleenex - Hoover ! Note - You don't need to capitalize the name of any
currency in English
Manvers Road (the road), the Taj Mahal - the Eiffel Tower (the tower) - Room 222 (the room)
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For example:
calf - calves | half - halves | wolf - wolves
Most words ending in -is, drop the -is and add -es. For example:
crisis - crises | hypothesis - hypotheses | oasis oases Irregular Plurals
Nouns that end in -ch, -x, -s, -sh, z or s-like sounds, the plural is formed by adding 'es' to the end of the word. For example:
church - churches | box - boxes | gas - gases | bush - bushes | ass - asses
There are many common nouns that have irregular plurals. For example:
child - children | person - people | foot - feet | mouse - mice | tooth - teeth
Nouns that end in a single -z, the plural is formed by adding 'zes' to the end of the word. For example:
quiz - quizzes
Some nouns have identical plural and singular forms, although they are still considered to have a plural form. For example:
aircraft - aircraft | fish - fish | headquarters headquarters | sheep - sheep | species - species
Most nouns ending in -o preceded by a consonant also form their plurals by adding 'es' . For example:
potato - potatoes | tomato - tomatoes | volcano volcanoes
Uncountable nouns on the other hand have no plural form and take a singular verb (is / was ...). For example:
advice | information | luggage | news
However many newly created words and words with a Spanish or Italian origin that end in -o just add an 's'. For example:
things) exist only in the plural form and take a plural verb (are / were...). For example:
cattle | scissors | trousers | tweezers | congratulations | pyjamas
Nouns ending in a consonant + y, drop the y and add 'ies'. For example:
party - parties | lady - ladies
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Nouns that stem from older forms of English or are of foreign origin often have odd plurals.
For example:
court martial - courts martial | son-in-law - sons-inlaw | passer-by - passers-by
For example:
ox - oxen | index - indices or indexes
!Note - Some nouns just create controversy. Did you know that the proper plural spelling for roof is rooves and not the more common roofs
In compound nouns the plural ending is usually added to the main noun.
Common Punctuation Marks . full stop (period USA) ! exclamation mark ? question mark
Commas point out brief pauses in a complex sentence or Apostrophes next to the letter ('s) indicate possession or belonging. No space is needed before or after the apostrophe. separate items in long lists. They are useful for breaking up long sentences, but only to show a natural break. You do not put a space before a comma, but you do need a space after one.
There were a lot of people in the room, teachers, students and parents. The teachers were sitting, the students were listening and the parents were just worrying.
For example:It's a nice day today, isn't it? I've got an idea. Let's go out.
COLONS [:]
Colons precede a list, an explanation or an example. You do not put a space before a colon, but you do need a
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For example:"I'm looking forward to our next lesson; I'm sure it will be a lot of fun."
For example:"There are two main shopping areas in Nottingham: Broadmarsh Centre and Victoria Centre."
Quotation marks (Speech marks) | Double quotes [" "] Single quotes [ ' ' ] Quotation marks (single or double) are used to show words that are directly spoken (direct speech). Only the words actually being quoted are enclosed by speech marks. You need a space before the opening speech mark, but no space after it, and a space after the closing one, but no space before it.
For example:For example:My name is Lynne. I am a teacher. "Could everyone sit down please," said the teacher. Another general rule is to use a comma after the
Hyphens are used to connect words or syllables, or to divide words into parts. You don't use a space on either side of a hyphen.
HYPHENS [-]
introduction to quoted speech or writing. For example:Jamie said, "I love you." For example:Sometimes when writing a spoken sentence it is split There were ninety-nine red balloons. in two. The speech marks must then be placed at the beginning and end of each part of the sentence. Commas are used to separate the spoken part from the
Question marks go at the end of sentences that are questions. As with full stops you do not put a space before a question mark, but you do need at least one space after one (two spaces for purists).
rest of the sentence. For example:"I wonder, she said quietly, "whether people will ever truly understand each other." However if you need a question mark or exclamation mark the markers that punctuate the quoted words are enclosed by the speech marks. Spot the difference:"I don't understand," replied Nathan. Nathan replied, "I don't understand." "Do you understand?" asked Nathan.
For example:Is my name Lynne? Of course it is. You need a question mark at the end of tag questions too. For example:It's a nice day, isn't it?
SEMICOLONS [;]
Semicolons are used to separate two sentences that would otherwise be joined with a word such as 'and', 'because', 'since', 'unless' or 'while'. You do not put a space before a semicolon, but you do need a space after one.
Nathan asked, "Do you understand?" "I don't understand!" shouted Nathan. Nathan shouted, "I don't understand!"
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When Alexander Dumas completed his sequel to 'The Three Musketeers', he sent the manuscript to his publishers. After a few weeks he had heard nothing and wrote a short note:Dear Henri ? Alexander
You are speaking English. = Are you speaking English? He She It We is is is speaking English. = Is speaking English. = Is speaking English. = Is he speaking English?
CLOSED QUESTIONS
Closed questions demand a yes/no, true/false or right/wrong answer. When we want to ask yes/no questions we can use do/does, am/is/are or have/has as question words. We use do or have or am with personal pronouns (I), we use does or has or is with third person singular pronouns (he, she, it) and with singular noun forms. We use do or have or are with other personal pronouns (you, we they) and with plural noun forms.
When forming questions in the present simple tense use the verb be, do, or have. The auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.
TO BE
If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is a
Yes/no questions with the verb be are created by moving the verb be to the beginning of the sentence. In other words the subject and the verb change their positions in statements and questions.
Am I from England?
When forming questions in the present continuous tense use the verb be.
She It
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We They
are are
English. English.
= =
Are
we they
English? English?
We can also form this style of question with Dohave?here there is no subject-verb inversion, do is placed before the subject.
have breakfast every morning. have breakfast every morning. has breakfast every morning. has breakfast every morning. has breakfast every morning. have breakfast every morning. have breakfast every morning. have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning? have breakfast every morning?
Are
TO DO
If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is do, simply switch the positions of the subject and verb.
I You He She It We They do. = do. = does. = does. = does. = do. = do. = Do Do Does Does Does Do Do I?
= Do
You
= Do
you
= Does he
= Does she
= Does
it
= Do
we
= Do they
TO HAVE If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is have, (with or without got to show possession), switch the positions of the subject and verb.
(got) an English book. (got) an English book (got) an English book (got) an English book (got) an English book (got) an English book (got) an English book (got) an English book? (got) an English book? He He has = Has he (got) an English book? (got) an English book? We It has = Has it (got) an English book? (got) an English book? (got) an English book? They She It I You
If there is one verb, and the verb is not a form of be, the process is more complex. To form a question add the correct form of the verb 'to do' to the beginning. Here there is no subject verb inversion.
have
= Have
speak English. = speak English. = speaks English. = speaks English. = speaks English. = speak English. = speak English. =
speak English? speak English? speak English? speak English? speak English? speak English? speak English?
You have
= Have you
She
has
= Has
she
We have
= Have we
They have
= Have they
For example: "Are you from England?" You can answer closed questions with "Yes" or "No".
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You can also answer closed questions with a slightly longer answer "Yes, I am." or "No, I'm not."
How are
Finally you can answer closed questions in the long form "Yes, I am from England." or "No, I'm not from England." What, which and whose can be used with or without a noun as a question word. For example:What time is it? = What is the time? Which car is yours? = Which is your car? Whose web site is this? = Whose is this web site? Open questions are often called Wh...questions:Whom can only be used to elicit information about the There are eight wh-questions - what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose and why and to this list we usually add how as they are all used to elicit particular kinds of information. For example:You use what when you are asking for information about something. You use when to ask about the time that something happened or will happen. You use where to ask questions about place or position. You use which when you are asking for information about one of a limited number of things. You use who or whom when you are asking about someone's identity. You use whose to ask about possession. You use why to ask for a reason. You use how to ask about the way in which something is done. If the answer is "I ate the banana." the object question would be "What did you eat?" and the subject question would be "Who ate the banana?" For example:Who, what, which and whose can all be used to elicit information about the subject or object of the sentence. "Whom did you see?" would normally be expressed as "Who did you see?" object of the sentence. Although using whom would be grammatically correct, we normally use who instead because it doesnt sound so formal.
OPEN QUESTIONS
Open questions leave room for a description or opinion, and are more useful in eliciting information
OBJECT QUESTIONS
Question word What Verb + Answer
Object questions ask about the object of a sentence. The word order of the question must be changed and the question requires the use of the auxiliary verb 'to do'. For example:-
is
your name?
My name is Lynne. The party is on Tuesday. I'm from England. The red car is mine. I'm Lynne. It's mine. Because it is!
When
is
the party?
are is are is is
you from? your car? you? this web site? this web site
If the answer is "I caught the train to London." the question would be "Which train did you catch?" If the answer is "I saw a film yesterday." the question would be "What did you do yesterday?"
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SUBJECT QUESTIONS
There are also subject questions. These are questions that we ask to find out about the subject. When what, which, who or whose refers to the subject, the question word comes before the verb without the use of the auxiliary verb. For example:If the answer is "The train to London was late." the question would be "Which train was late?" If the answer is "I won the race." the question would be "Who won the race?"
Normally a positive statement is followed by a negative tag, and a negative statement is followed by a positive tag. For example:-
+
You're English,
Arent you?
+
Are you?
More examples:Object questions:What did you do today? Which film did you like best? Who did I phone? Subject questions:What happened today? Which film is best? Who phoned me?
Present tense You are a good singer, Past tense You didn't go to work yesterday, Present perfect tense You have been to He is, He does, He will, He can, isn't he? doesn't he? London, present tense aren't you? past tense
The statement and the tag are always separated by a comma. The verb in the statement should be the same tense as the verb in the tag. For example:-
TAG QUESTIONS
What is a tag question?
A tag question is a short question added to the end of a positive or negative statement. For example:-
did you?
haven't you?
then the verb used in the tag must match it. If a modal (can, could, will, should, etc.) is used in the statement, then the same modal is used in the tag part. If the statement doesn't use an auxilliary verb, then the auxiliary do is used in the tag part. For example:-
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Auxiliary verb She is from England, They aren't very nice, She doesn'tlike it here, Modal verb You can sing, They shouldn't do that, No auxiliary He eats meat, doesn't he? can't you? should they? isn't she? are they? does she?
They're all the same question as "What time is the Tag questions are used to verify or check information that we think is true or to check information that we aren't sure is true. Sometimes we just use them for effect. Other ways of starting indirect questions are:We show the meaning of the tag question through intonation. If the tag is a real question it has a rising intonation. For example:The chairman's coming at 3.00, isnt he? If the tag is not a real question it has a flat or falling intonation. For example:Would you mind telling me... Can you tell me... Have you any idea what .... !Note - when you're asking an indirect question there's no change in word order. What time is it? The time is ... Could you tell me what the time is? Just to confuse you, some people include what I call "reported questions" under the term "indirect It's a nice day today, questions", the confusion arises from direct and indirect speech. To me a reported question is when you are reporting what someone else asked. For ! It is possible for a positive statement to be followed by a positive tag for even more effect (sarcasm, anger, disbelief, shock, concern etc.). Other people include things like, "Tell me the time!" For example:Oh you will, will you? Confidence, Fluency & Personality but to me that's not a question, it's a command. (Again no question mark). example: "She asked me what the time was." (No question mark.) meeting?", but we think it's more polite to rephrase it, it can be confusing, and some people even think it's long-winded and unnecessary.
isn't it?
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NOTES -
I often apologise about the horrors of British spelling, but it's a fact: To speak English well, you need grammar. To write English well, you need grammar, punctuation and good spelling. In Old England words were written as they sounded (phonetically) and so one word could often be spelt in many different ways. In addition English has adopted words from many other languages. Eventually spelling was standardised, and although many English words have irregular spellings there are some rules that can help you. Watch out though, for every rule there are always some exceptions! English has over 1,100 different ways to spell its 44 separate sounds, more than any other language.
A silent letter is a letter that must be included when you HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPELLING 1. Keep a notebook of words you find difficult to spell. Underline the part of the word that you find most difficult. 2. Use a dictionary, not a spell-checker! OK use a spell-checker, but don't rely on it. Spell-checkers don't check for meaning, the most common misspelt words I have seen on the net are there and their. 3. 4. Learn words with their possible prefixes and suffixes. Learn the rules, but don't rely on them. As I mentioned earlier for every rule there is at least one exception. For example:i before e except after c One of the first English spelling rules learnt in most schools is "i before e except after c". This only works when the pronunciation of the word is like a long ee as in shield. For example:piece, relief, niece, priest, thief Silent e a - treadle, bread b - lamb, bomb, comb c - scissors, science, scent d - edge, bridge, ledge e - see below h - honour, honest, school k - know, knight, knowledge l - talk, psalm, should n - hymn, autumn, column p - pneumatic, psalm, psychology s - isle, island, aisle t - listen, rustle, shistle u - biscuit, guess, guitar w - write, wrong, wrist For example:write the word even though you don't pronounce it. Over half the alphabet can appear as silent letters in words. They can be found at the beginning, end or middle of the words and, from the sound of the word, you wouldn't know that they were there. What is a silent letter? when A or I is the sound it's the other way round
with an 'a' sound - deign, eight, neighbour, feign, reign, vein, weight with an 'i' sound either, feisty, height, neither, sleight Exceptions: seize, weird, conscientious, conscience, efficient . . .
SILENT LETTERS
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believable + y Silent e is the most commonly found silent letter in the alphabet. There are some hard and fast rules for spelling when a word ends with a silent e. When you wish to add a suffix to a word and it ends with a silent e, if the suffix begins with a consonant you don't need to change the stem of the word. For example: force + ful manage + ment sincere + ly =forceful criticise + ism
=believably =criticism
=management
=sincerely
If however the suffix begins with a vowel or a y, drop the e before adding the suffix. For example: fame + ous nerve + ous =famous =nervous
Adding a suffix to a word often changes the spelling of the stem of the word. The following may help you work out the changes. Again there are exceptions, so if you're not sure - look it up in your dictionary.
WORDS ENDING IN A CONSONANT When the suffix begins with a consonant, just add the ending without any changes. For example:-
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treat + ment
treatment
For words endling in l after a vowel, double the l before adding er, ed or ing. For example:carol + ing travel + er carolling travelling
WORDS ENDING IN IE
When you want to add ingto verbs ending in ie, drop the e and change the i to a y. For example:-
EXCEPTIONS:
CONSONANT
When you want to add suffixes such -as, -ed, -es, -er, -eth, ly, -ness, -ful and -ous to a word ending in y after a consonant, change the y to an i before adding the suffix. For example:eighty + eth duty + es lazy + ness mystery +ous beauty + ful multiply + ed eightieth duties laziness mysterious beautiful multiplied
And if your main word has two consonants at the end, or more than one vowel, don't double the consonant. rain + ing (two vowels a + i) keep + er (two vowels e + e) break + ing (two vowels e + a) hang + er (two consonants n + g) raining keeper breaking hanger
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busy + ly
hyperemesis leukemia , anaemia mesenchyma , karyenchyma actress , waitress , stewardess synesthesia, kinesthesis
-enchyma
cellular tissue
-ess destroy pry buy play destroying prying buying playing destroyed -esthesis, pried buyer player -ful Simple Guide to Suffixes Suffix -agogy General Meaning leading Example pedagogy , demagogy gynarchy , anarchy mucocoel or mucocoele -holic -ic -id -hedron esthesia
female
sensation, feeling
-fugal
fuge, driving or travelling away from, expelling full of, having some or much
centrifugal
hopeful , useful
geometric solid
love , addiction
rule, leadership
body cavity
skin rash
syphilid Protestantism ,
tumor, hernia
-ism
-centesis
puncturing
-ist -chondrion small grainlike structure mitochondrion -itis -cide murder, killing agent suicide , vespacide, regicide kakistocracy , -cracy rule, government democracy , androcracy circle, cycle, unit of radio frequency -kinesis epicycle , hydrocycle -less -ectasia, ectasis stretching out brochiectasis , telangiectasia laryngectomy , vasectomy hematemesis , -ly -itude
-ium
metallic element (exception: helium) movement (ability thereof) lack of -like, having the attributes of; In modern English, primarily changes adjectives to adverbs; also changes some nouns to adjectives and some (past-
sodium , Calcium
telekinesis
-cycle
homeless , useless quick(adj) > quickly(adv), state(n) > stately(adj), abashed(v) > abashedly(adv)
-ectomy
surgical removal
-emesis
vomiting
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tense) verbs to adverbs an irrational but -mania irresistible motive for a belief or action kleptomania , megalomania , mythomania stenography , writing, description geography , ideogram resembling solenoid , hominoid
-philia
attraction
-phobia
fear
-phone
sound, audio
-ography or -ogram
-science
-oid
-scope planetology , -ology study, science thyroidology , phthisiology -omics -onomy area of biology knowledge of proteomics -stan astronomy -tropism -onym name, word antonym , consonym , heteronym mitosis , osmosis ostosis psychosis -us -ward -wise -ship
microscope , telescope
eating
monophagy
ways to talk about the future some of which use the present tenses, these are:
Time can be split into three periods The Present (what you are doing), The Past (what you did) and The Future (what you are going to do). The tenses we use to show what time we are talking about are split into the Simple, Continuous and Perfect tenses. In English we use two tenses to talk about the present and six tenses to talk about the past. There are several
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Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect Continuous Using the Simple Present Using the Present Continuous Using the Present Perfect Simple Future Using the Present Perfect Continuous
happened at a specific time in the past. You state when it happened using a time adverb. You form the simple past of a verb by adding -ed onto
SIMPLE TENSES
The simple tenses are used to show permanent characteristics of people and events or what happens regularly, habitually or in a single completed action.
the end of a regular verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learned.
To be Statements + I was. He was. She was. I wasn't. He wasn't. She wasn't. It wasn't. You weren't. We weren't. They weren't. To be Statements Was I? Was he? Was she? Was it? Were you? Were we? Were they? Questions ?
CONTINUOUS TENSES
The continuous tenses are used when talking about a particular point in time.
PERFECT TENSES
It was.
Sometimes you need to give just a little bit more information about an action or state...and that is where the perfect tenses come in.
We were. You were.
The perfect tenses are used when an action or situation in the present is linked to a moment in the past. It is often used to show things that have happened up to now but aren't finished yet or to emphasize that something happened but is not true anymore. When they end determines which of them you use. Perfect tenses are never used when we say when something happened i.e. yesterday, last year etc. but can be used when discussing the duration of something i.e. often, for, always, since etc..
He worked. He didn't work. Did he work? Yes, he No, he did. didn't. I worked. I didn't work. Regular Verb Regular Verb (to work) Statements + (to work) Statements Did I work? Short + Short Questions answer answer They were.
Yes, I did.
No, I didn't.
She worked.
She didn't
Did she
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work.
It worked.
It didn't work.
You worked.
We worked.
Yes we No, we did. Yes they did. didn't. No, they didn't.
For example: Q) "What were they doing yesterday?" A) "They were working all day." It can be used to describe what someone was doing at a particular point in time.
They worked.
For example: Q) "What were you doing at 7.30 last night?" A) "I was watching television." The past continuous can also be used to show that an
For example: "Last year I took my exams." "I got married in 1992."
activity frequently took place over a period of time. Q) "What did you do on holiday?" A) "I went skiing a lot." Often the past continuous is mixed with the past
It can be used to describe events that happened over a period of time in the past but not now. For example: "I lived in South Africa for two years." The simple past tense is also used to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took place in the past.
simple to show what was happening when something happened. The past continuous refers to the longer event and the simple past to the event that interrupted it. For example: "I was driving to work when I crashed my car." or
For example: As I was driving to work, I crashed my car." "When I was a child we always went to the seaside on bank holidays."
We use the past continuous tense to describe a past action over a period of time.
can make it clear that something had already happened at the time we are talking about.
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I'd visited the city many times before. It can also be used to express unfulfilled wishes or dreams. Sometimes called the Third Conditional. For example:
We form the past perfect simple by using the auxilliary verb had and the -ed form of the regular verb (the past participle) irregular verb forms have to be learned:
Short Questions answer + Had I worked...? Had he worked...? Had she worked...? Had it worked...? Had you worked...? Had we worked...? Had they worked...? Yes, I had. Yes, he had. Short answer No, I hadn't.
"If I had won the lottery I would have bought a new car." Note: If I had done something I would have done something else. The past perfect continuous tense is used to talk about longer situations that continued up to the moment in the past we are talking about. For example: "By the time I left England we had been living in Bristol
Statements +
Statements -
He'd worked He hadn't ... She'd worked ... It had worked ... You'd worked ... We'd worked ... They'd worked ... worked ... She hadn't worked ... It hadn't worked ... You hadn't worked ... We hadn't worked ... They hadn't worked ...
No, he hadn't.
for five years." "Her back was sore because she had been sitting at the
Yes, she No, she had. Yes, it had. hadn't. No, it hadn't.
computer all day." It is also used to say how long something went on for, up to a time in the past. For example:We apologized because we had kept them waiting for 3 hours. We apologized because we had kept them waiting since
Yes you No, you had. Yes we had. hadn't. No, we hadn't.
lunchtime.
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It works you work we work they work Short + Do I work? Does he work? Yes, I do. Short No, I don't.
Q) "Where does he live?" A) "He lives in Germany." Q) "What do you do?" A) "I'm a teacher." Q) "What does he do?" A) "He's a teacher."
FREQUENCY
The simple present tense is also used to show how often something happens with adverbs of frequency always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, seldom, rarely, never, etc.... And when discussing daily, weekly, monthly etc. routines. For example: "I always get up at 6.00." "I never drink coffee before 12.00." "I work on my website every day." "Every Monday and Thursday I go to the gym." We also use the simple present to ask for and give instructions or to discuss a series of actions. For example: Q) How do I make pancakes?" A) Well, first you take 4 eggs and crack them into a bowl, then you weigh out 4 oz. of flour and sieve it into the eggs. etc. The simple present tense can also be used to discuss future events.
I work.
He works.
Yes, he No, he does. Yes, she does. Yes, it does. doesn't. No, she doesn't. No, it doesn't.
She works.
She doesn't Does she work. It doesn't work. You don't work. We don't work. They don't work. work? Does it work? Do you work? Do we work? Do they work?
It works.
You work.
We work.
Yes we No, we do. Yes they do. don't. No, they don't.
They work.
When something happens regularly or is a permanent situation we usually use the simple present tense. When using the simple present the verb (with the exception of the auxiliary verbs) remains in the dictionary form (verb + s with he/she/it).
Simple Present Timeline
Statements +
Statements -
For example:
I'm I'm not working.
working.
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He isn't working. She isn't working. It isn't working. You aren'tt working. We aren't working. They aren't working.
Is he working? Is she working? Is it working? Are you working? Are we working? Are they working?
Yes, he is.
No, he isn't.
Yes, she No, she is. Yes, it is. isn't. No, it isn't.
The present continuous tense can also be used to discuss future events:
It's working.
Note:The present continuous is usually used with doing verbs (verbs of action) not with verbs of state. The following verbs are not used in the continuous form:Conditions: belong, cost, need, own, seem
Yes you No, you are. Yes we are. aren't. No, we aren't.
Feelings: like, love, hate, want, wish Beliefs: believe, feel, know, mean, remember, think,
understand
PICTURE THIS - PRESENT CONTINUOUS - "I AM DOING." USE ACTION / DYNAMIC VERBS
I + am
For example:
She/he/It + is
Q) "What are you doing?" A) "I'm building a website." We also use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening around now but are temporary. For example: Q) "What are you doing these days?" A) "Unfortunately I'm working a lot." It is also used to describe trends or situations that are happening but may be temporary.
Q - "What am I doing?"
Verb = to stand
A- "I'm standing."
Q - "What's he doing?" For example: "Nowadays more and more people are shopping on the Internet." ...and habitual actions (usually negative). Confidence, Fluency & Personality Verb = to laugh A- "He's laughing."
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The present perfect simple tense is used to talk about a past time, which has very strong meaning for the present.
Present Perfect Simple Timeline
Verb = to shop
A- "He's shopping for food." For example: Q) Where's Jane? Q - "What is she doing?" A) She has gone out. She should be back in an hour. We form the present perfect simple by using the
auxilliaryverb have/has and the -ed form of the regular verb (the past participle) irregular verb forms have to be learned:
Short Questions answer + Have I worked? Has he worked? Has she worked? Has it worked? Have you worked? Have we worked? Yes, I have. Yes, he has. Short answer No, I haven't. No, he hasn't.
Statements
Statements -
I've worked.
I haven't worked. He hasn't worked. She hasn't worked. It hasn't worked. You haven't worked. We haven't worked.
Yes, she No, she has. Yes, it has. hasn't. No, it hasn't.
It's worked.
You've
Yes you No, you have. Yes we have. haven't. No, we haven't.
They've
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worked.
worked.
worked?
have.
haven't.
Q) "How long have you studied English for?" A) "I've studied English for 2 years now."
The present perfect simple is used to discuss events that have just been completed at the moment of speaking. For example: Q) Have you done your homework?" A) "Yes, I've just finished it." It is often used to suggest that a past action still has an effect upon something happening in the present. For example: "The pound has fallen against the dollar." It is also used to discuss unfinished time. For example: Q) Have you done your homework today? A) No, I haven't done it yet. Note - You are talking about today and today isn't finished, so you may do your homework later! Q) Have you ever been to England?" A) "Yes I have." Note - You are talking about something that has happened in your life and your life isn't finished! You can also use the present perfect to discuss something from the past but you don't want to say exactly when. For example:
However it is better (grammatically speaking) to use the Present Perfect Continuous to express yourself in this way. For example: Q) "How long have you been studying English for?" A) "I've been studying English for 2 years now."
The present perfect continuous tense is often used (with for or since) to describe how long something has been happening up to now.
Present Perfect Continuous Timeline
For example:Q) How long have you been studying English?" A) I've been studying English for four years." Note - You can just say "For four years." Q) How long have you been living in Germany? A) I've been living here since 1998. Note - You can just say "Since 1998". The present perfect continuous is also used to refer to
Q) "Are you learning any languages?" A) "Yes, I've begun to learn English." This tense is often used to discuss events that have been happening over a period of time, but aren't finished yet. For example:
an event that may or may not be finished when it's effect can be seen now. For example:Look! It's been snowing. Note - It's not necessarily snowing now but you can see the effect (the snow on the ground).
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You should also use the present perfect continuous when talking about how long you have been doing your current job or working on unfinished projects:-
I have been working at BT for three years. We have been exporting to China since 1999. ! Note It is always for a length of time and since a
For example:I have been working at BT for three years. We have been exporting to China since 1999.
point in time.
The future continuous tense is the present continuous tense recycled. It is often used to ask about and discuss future arrangements or plans with just the addition of a future time, but you only use it when these arrangements are certain. For example: Q) What are you doing next week?" A) "I'm working." Q) What's he doing tomorrow?" A) "He's playing tennis." The present continuous tense is also used to talk about and make future appointments and arrangements
For example:Q) How long have you been studying English?" A) I've been studying English for four years." Note - You can just say "For four years." Q) How long have you been living in Germany? A) I've been living here since 1998. Note - You can just say "Since 1998". The present perfect continuous is also used to refer to an event that may or may not be finished when its effect can be seen now. For example:Look! It's been snowing. Note - It's not necessarily snowing now but you can see the effect (the snow on the ground). You should also use the present perfect continuous when talking about how long you have been doing your current job or working on unfinished projects:For example:-
using the words go or come.... For example: Q) When are you coming to see me?" A) "Next week." Q) What are you doing tomorrow?" A) "I'm going to the dentist." ...and using verbs of arrival and departure. "We're arriving in London at 2.30." "The train leaving from platform one is the 2.45 to Edinburgh."
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Next week we will be having a party. Can you come? You can also use it (or the present continuous form) to talk about future plans. For example: We will be leaving here at 7.30pm.
"It looks as though Manchester United are going to win the European cup. "I think my friend Louise is going to have a baby."
! Note
FUTURE TENSE
"I'm going to Germany." isn't really the future tense.
Discussing the future using going to
We say something is going to happen when it has already been planned. For example:Q) Are you going to fly to Germanys? A) No, we're going to drive. We also use it to show something has already been decided. For example:"We're going to buy a new car next year." We also use going to when we can see something is about to happen. For example:-
For example:The phone is ringing - If I decide to answer the phone I would say - "I'll (I will) get it." It can also be used in formal situations to express planned events and is preferred in formal written English.
"Watch out! He's going to crash into that tree!" You can also use going toto predict the future based upon the evidence now. For example:Confidence, Fluency & Personality For example:The party will start at 10.00pm
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Future Simple Future Future I shall / will love I shall / will be loving I shall / will have
Present Continuous
I am loving
Past Continuous
I was loving
Continuous
Present Tense Simple Present I speak You speak He speaks We speak They speak Simple Past I spoke You spoke Present continuous I am speaking You are speaking He is speaking We are speaking They are speaking Past continuous I was speaking You were speaking Present Perfect I have spoken You have spoken He has spoken We have spoken They have spoken Past Tense Past Perfect I had spoken You had spoken Past Perfect continuous I had been speaking You had been speaking Present Perfect continuous I have been speaking You have been speaking He has been speaking We have been speaking They have been speaking
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He spoke We spoke They Spoke Simple Future I will/shall speak You will speak He will speak We will speak They will speak
TENSE
He was speaking We were speaking They were speaking Future continuous I shall/will be speaking You will be speaking He will be speaking We will be speaking They will be speaking
He had spoken We had Spoken They had spoken Future Tense Future Perfect I shall/will have spoken You will have spoken He will have spoken We will have spoken They will have spoken
He had been speaking We had been speaking They had been speaking Future Perfect continuous I shall / will have been speaking You will have been speaking He will have been speaking We will have been speaking They will have been speaking
USE SIGNAL WORDS always, every , never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, )
AFFIRMATIVE/NEGATIVE/QUESTION
SIMPLE PRESENT
action in the present taking place once, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
SIMPLE PAST
action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, ) when, while, as long as
PAST PROGRESSIVE
action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another
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action
putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking?
long?, the action that recently stopped or is still going on whole week finished action that influenced the present
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, ) for, since, the whole day, all day
A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action
If-Satz Typ I (If assumption with regard to you ask her, she the future will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, we might , Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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perhaps
decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future action that will be finished at a certain time in the future action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action action that might take place
FUTURE I PROGRESSIVE
FUTURE II SIMPLE
A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken?
by Monday, in a week
FUTURE II PROGRESSIVE
A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?
for , the last couple of hours, all day long if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)
CONDITIONAL I SIMPLE
CONDITIONAL I PROGRESSIVE
action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action action that might have taken place in the past if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)
CONDITIONAL II SIMPLE
A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken?
CONDITIONAL II PROGRESSIVE
A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?
action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action
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GRAMMAR CHANTS
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME AT AND ON GRAMMAR CHANTS - QUESTION WORDS
At, on at - with time on - with days We eat at eight. We meet on Mondays. She leaves at five. They play on Saturdays. Go! Who goes? He goes. Where does he go? He goes to school. When does he go to school? He goes to school in the morning. How does he go to school? He goes to school by bus. What does he do at school? He learns lots of things. Why does he go to school? Because he wants to learn.
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It's a pleasure. How much is it? Rs 20. How many are there? Ten! How!
Teacher/Leader: Fine
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Our book That's ours They They, them Their book That's theirs.
expensive more expensive He's tall. He's taller than you. She's funny. She's funnier than Jack. It's beautiful. It's more beautiful than a picture. One syllable - hot. Add - er - hotter. Two syllables y - happy. Add - ier - happier. Three or more -interesting. Add 'more' before! - more interesting Exceptions to the rule good - better bad - worse far - farther
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One syllable - thin. Add - er, Add the -est - thinner - thethinnest. Two syllables y - add -ier, add the -iest - noisy - noisier - the noisiest. Exceptions to the rule good - better - best bad - worse - the worst far - farther - the farthest
If I had a brand new car ... If I had a brand new car, I'd take you for a drive. What about me? What ABOUT you? What would you do if you were me? If ... If I were you ... If I were you, I'd study hard! What would he do ... What would he do if he were the teacher? He'd help us all .. He'd help us all if he were the teacher. We'd have a great time ... We'd have a great time if we went ... We'd have a great time if we went on a trip!
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The group of alphabets THE SENTENCE A group of words that make complete sense GROUP OF WORDS: - The east in rises the sun. SENTENCE: - The sun rises in the east. RULES: --1. 2. The first word of a sentence always begins with a capital letter. A full stop (.) must be place at the end of a sentence.
THE PHRASE The group of words that make sense but not complete sense. At ten oclock , for two hours , in the west , in the east , by day , by night , at night , on a table.
VERB
A sentence has a VERB in it; but a Phrase hasnt. SENTENCE: I will be giving you a presentation (giving Verb) PHRASE: For an hour (has no Verb) VERB - A verb is a word which says something about a subject. KINDS OF SENTENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. DECLARATIVE SENTENCES INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES IMPERATIVE SENTENCES EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
A SENTENCE THAT DECLARES SOMETHING. EXAMPLE: 1. The boys were swimmingin the river. 2. The sun risesin the east.
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EXAMPLE: 1. Who has broken the glass? 2. Where is the aero plane?
A SENTENCE THAT EXPRESSES A COMMAND, A REQUEST OR A DESIRE. EXAMPLE:
IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
1. Peter, shut the door. 2. Please bring me a glass of water 3. I wish to play chess A SENTENCE CAN EXPRESS SOME STRONG OR SUDDEN FEELING. 1. How beautifulthis rose is! 2. What a noisethey are making! PARTS OF A SENTENCE SUBJECT - Thepersonorthing we speak about. PREDICATE - What is said aboutthe subject? SUBJECT
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
We are talking about cow PREDICATE The cow is grazing in the field.
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THE PARTS OF SPEECH 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. EXAMPLE Noun - Every name is called a NOUN, As field and fountain, street and tow In place of noun the PRONOUN stands As he and she can clap their hands The ADJECTIVE describes a thing, Asmagic wand and bridal ring The VERB means action, something done - To read, to write, to jump, to run How things are done, the ADVERBS tell, As quickly, slowly, badly, well The PREPOSITION shows relation, Asin the street, or at the station CONJUNCTIONS join, in many ways, Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase
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TENSES
TYPES OF TENSES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE FUTURE PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS FUTURE CONTINUOUS PRESENT PRFECT PAST PERFECT Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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9.
FUTURE PERFECT
10. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS 11. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS 12. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS SIMPLE & PERFECT TENSES SIMPLE TENSES Simple present Simple Past Simple future PERFECT TENSES Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect Bill has walked his dog. Bill had walked his dog. Bill will have walked his dog. Bill walks his dog. Bill walked his dog. Bill will walk his dog.
CONTINUOUS TENSES Present Continuous Tense Future Continuous Tense PERFCT CONTINUOUS Present Perfect ContinuousTenseBill has been walking his dog. Past Perfect Continuous Tense Future Perfect Continuous Tense Bill had been walking his dog. Bill will have been walking his dog. Bill is walking his dog. Bill will be walking his dog.
VOICE
ACTIVE VOICE
In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject Performs the action denoted by the verb. These examples show that the subject is doing the verb Action. The man must have eaten 5 Burgers The man (Subject) is doing the eating (verb) Rashmi mailed the letter. Rashmi(subject) is doing the mailing (verb)
PASSIVE VOICE One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive.
Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed. Five burgers must have been eaten by the man.
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Colorful parrots live in the forest. Parrots (subject) are doing the living (verb)
The letter was mailed by Rashmi. The letter (Subject) was being mailed (verb)
ACTIVE TO PASSIVE Move the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject slot ACTIVE VOICE Rashmi mailed the letter DIRECT OBJECT PASSIVE VOICE The Letter SUBJECT
Place the active sentence's subject into a phrase beginning with the prepositionby ACTIVE VOICE Rashmi mailed the letter SUBJECT PASSIVE VOICE The letter . . . . . . . . byRashmi Prepositional Phrase
Add a form of the auxiliary verbbe to the main verb and change the main verb's form
PASSIVE TO ACTIVE To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above. 1. Move the passive sentence's subject into the active sentence's direct object slot
2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb's form if needed
Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot.
NARRATION DIRECT SPEECH / QUOTED SPEECH Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech) Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word. For example: She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations. Or Todays lesson is on presentations," she said. INDIRECT SPEECH / REPORTED SPEECH Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word. When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. For example:
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NARRATION Tense change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): Direct speech Present simplePast simple She said, "Its cold." She said it was cold. Indirect speech
Present continuousPast continuous She said, "I'm teaching English onlineshe said she was teaching Englishonline. Present perfect simplePast perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999She said she had been on web since 1999." Present perfect continuousPast perfect continuous She said, "I've been teaching English for seven Years She said she had beenTeachingEng for 7 y
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Past continuousPast perfect continuous She said, "I was teachingearlier." Modal verb forms also sometimes change: Direct speechIndirect speech willwould She said, "I'll teach English tomorrow." cancould She said, "I can teach English online." Expressions of time if reported on a different day this (evening) today these (days) now then (a week) before the previous weekend that (evening) She said she could teach English online. She said she would teach tomorrow. She said she had been teaching earlier.
(a week) ago last weekend here next (week) tomorrow Reporting Verbs there
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech. We use asked to report questions:For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started. We use told with an object. For example: Lynne told me she felt tired. There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told andasked. These include:Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologized, begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought. Use of 'That' in reported speech In reported speech, the word that is often used. For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich. However, that is optional. For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich. ! Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if. For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are used to describe nouns. They give more details or information about the nouns they are associated with. A: Tell me about your boyfriend B: Well, he is tall, dark, and handsome. A: Sounds like mine. Adjectives can be used to answer the questions "What kind (of)?" or "Which one?" A: Hi. I'm calling about the car you're selling? B: It's a great car. (It's) in excellent condition. A: What kind of seats does it have? B: They're very comfortable seats, (soft, plush, just like a sofa.) A: Uh. I think I'll sleep on it. A: Hand me a book. B: Which one do you want? A: The red book. The red one.
Three happy hippies lived in the Heart quake Hotel. WRONG: Three hippies happy lived in the Heartquake Hotel. Adjectives can also be used with linking verbs to describe the subject of a sentence. When used in this manner, the adjective(s) come after the linking verb. My mother is tall and slender. WRONG: My mother tall and slender. (No linking verb.) Seem, become, appear, and verbs of perception can also be used as linking verbs. Note how they are used with adjectives in the following. Can you identify the linking verbs and the adjectives? The journey seemed long. (It appeared strenuous and boring.) You smell nice today. What kind of cologne are you wearing? A: What do you want to do this weekend? Bowling? Shopping? A movie? B: Bowling sounds good.
CAUTION/BE CAREFUL: Adjectives come before the nouns they modify (not after). Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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Tom looked greedy. (He appeared to be a greedy person.) The adjective greedy is used to describe Tom.
Greg is quite happy with his new boss. Sue eats very slowly. You're absolutely right!
Tom looked greedily at the pie on the table. (He saw it and wanted it for himself.) The adverb greedily is used to describe Tom's action.
Many adverbs can be formed by adding "ly" to adjectives: Carl is a quick runner.
Adjectives are the same for all nouns. They do not change for plurals. Example: Three tired tigers tried to tie a triangular tie. Not: three "tireds" tigers
Carl runs quickly. Some adverbs are identical to adjectives in form. Others are completely different. Carl is a fast runner. (Adjective) Carl runs fast. (Adverb) Jill is a good student. (Adjective) Jill studies well. (Adverb)
ADVERBS
Adverbs are used to describe actions. They may come before or after a verb, but not between a verb and its object. Mrs.Jenner sang softly. (Most common word order.) Mrs. Jenner softly sang. (Also possible.) Some time and frequency adverbs are "movable." That is, they can be placed at various points in a sentence. Yesterday I visited the dentist. I visited the dentist yesterday. Jack Prompt is here already. Jack Prompt is already here. Caution: Even though some adverbs can be used in certain sentence positions, others cannot. I yesterday visited the dentist. (Not okay.) I already visited the dentist. (Okay.) Already I visited the dentist. (Not okay.) Adverbs such as quite, very, really, extremely, and absolutely are used to modify adjectives and other adverbs.
Be careful with words like hardly and lately, which have no relation to the adjectives/adverbs hard and late. Jacob kicked the ball hard. He kicked the ball with Jacob hardly kicked the tremendous force.) ball. (He barely touched the ball.) Trudy came to class late. (She was tardy.) Trudy hasn't come to class lately. (She hasn't been to class recently.)
They come directly before the words they describe. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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*Do not use adverbs as objects of prepositions. Incorrect: I went to somewhere. I was busy at last night. John works in downtown. She came to home on yesterday. Correct: I went somewhere. I was busy last night. John works downtown. She came home yesterday.
I would pay (In this case), expresses reservation. If I my taxes. had the money (but I don't). . . I must pay my taxes. Expresses strong obligation. I am required and have to comply.
Modals are followed by only the base form of the verb and are not used alone unless there is a clear connection to a main verb. He must to finish his homework. He must finish his homework. WRONG RIGHT WRONG RIGHT WRONG RIGHT
Be careful with words such as home, downtown, today, next/last week, etc. which are sometimes used as adverbs and sometimes used as nouns. As adverbsAs nouns I will go back tomorrow. She went home last night. Next week I will travel to Iowa.
Tomorrow is another day. They built a home in Oregon. Next week is my vacation.
Jack could heard the bell. Jack could hear the bell. Penny will going to the movie. Penny will go to the movie.
BASIC MODALS
Modal auxiliary verbs are used to moderate the main verb that is to enhance or restrict the verb to a certain context. The most common modal auxiliaries in English are: can could may should might will must would
There are many ways to make requests in English. The most common involves using the imperative and modals. See the examples below: Using the Imperative The imperative is the simple form of the verb. The subject of an imperative sentence is understood as "you" although it is usually not spoken. Open the door. (You) open the door.
Notice the usage of modals in the following sentences: I pay my taxes. General declaration of fact. Paying taxes is something I normally do.
Will you help me?Yes, I will (help you). Pick up your toys. (You) pick up your toys. Please help me. (You) please help me.
I can pay my Expresses ability. I have the means taxes. (funds) to pay. I might pay Expresses possibility, but not certainty. my taxes. Maybe I will pay; maybe I won't. I will pay my Expresses future intent. I resolve to do it taxes. at some later time. I should pay Expresses mild obligation. It is required, my taxes. and I expect to comply. I could pay Expresses possibility. If I have nothing my taxes. else to do with the money, I might pay taxes.
The imperative is often used by persons of authority when speaking to subordinates, e.g. parent to child. Using Modals To show respect and politeness, most people use modal expressions when making requests. For example: Will you...? Will you open the door for me?
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Mr. Jones is the teacher. Would you...? Would you please...? Could you (please)...? Could you possibly...? Would you kindly...? Would you mind (Ving )...? Would you be so kind as to...? Would you open the door for me? Would you please open the door (for me)? Could you (please)...? Could you (please) open the door? Could you possibly open the door? Would you kindly open the door? Would you mind opening the door? Would you be so kind as to open the door? She sleeps soundly. An adverb is added to describe how she sleeps. She sleeps on the A prepositional phrase is added sofa. to tell where she sleeps. She sleeps every A time expression is added to tell afternoon. when she sleeps. She is sleeping right Verb tense is changed, but S-V now. relationship remains the same. Mary will sleep later.Subject is named and another tense is used. The dogs are New subject may require a sleeping in the different form of the verb. garage. Note: Any action verb can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-O pattern. They like rice. The people like rice. Core sentence Specific subject At the heart of every English sentence is the SubjectVerb relationship. Other elements can be added to make a sentence more interesting, but they are not essential to its formation. The following sentences are examples of the S-V pattern. She sleeps. Core sentence
The friendly people like Subject modified with an rice. adjective The people in the Subject modified with a restaurant like rice. prepositional phrase The people like boiled Object modified with an rice. adjective The people like hot, Object modified with more white rice. than one adjective Note: Only transitive action verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adj pattern. He is fine. Basic sentence with "be" verb
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He seems happy. Jordan is tall, dark and handsome. He appears very comfortable. George became sick last night.
Basic sentence with another linking verb Series of adjectives Adverb or intensifier added Different tense and linking verb
1. Change the verb in tense or aspect or a combination of the two. He eats. He will eat. He is eating. He has eaten. He has been eating. He should have been eating. (simple present) (future/modal) (continuous) (perfect) (combination) (combination)
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adv pattern. The teacher is here. Basic sentence
The teacher is over Using an adverb phrase there. Teachers are Plural noun and verb used everywhere. The teachers are in the Prepositional phrase lobby. functioning as adverb Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-N pattern. The man is a doctor. The women are doctors. My father is a nice guy. My grandparents are senior citizens. Basic sentence Using plural noun and verb
2. Add an adverb or adverb phrase, or prepositional phrase. He should have eaten already/ by now. He was eating in the kitchen. 3. Add an adverbial clause. He was eating when the bus arrived. 4. Add a participial phrase. Having finished his homework, he ate. (SUBJECT enhancements) 5. Change the noun to a pronoun or vice versa. He eats. John eats. 6. Add an article, demonstrative, or possessive. The man eats. This man eats. His father eats. Note: Subjects and Objects may be enhanced in similar ways. Subject Object
7. Add an object. Modified subject and complement Modified plural subject and complement John eats rice. The man eats an apple. 8. Add an adjective or adjectives. The man eats the big, The handsome man eats. red apple. 9. Add a prepositional phrase. The man in the kitchen The man eats an apple eats. from the bowl. 10. Add a relative (adjective) clause. The man who lives next The man ate the apple door eats. that I bought. 11. Use quantifiers. They eat some of the Some of the men eat. apples. 12. Use a noun clause. Whoever gets here first He eats whichever apple he can eat. chooses.
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
BUILDING SENTENCES
Remember, the S - V relationship is at the "heart" of every sentence. All sentences are built around this core. To give a sentence more substance, you may enhance the subject or verb: (VERB enhancements)
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Enhance both the subject and the verb to make sentences more interesting. The man who lives on the corner is eating his lunch now. The men from the health club eat every day after working out. The tall, green men from Mars are eating tuna sandwiches. Some of the men ate the apples (that) I left on the table. Whenever he feels like exercising, the fat man eats a huge meal instead. Basic Sentence Structures S-V S-V-O S-V-IODO He sleeps. She eats rice. She told him a lie. S-LV-N He is a doctor. S-LV-Adj The doctor is sick. S-LVThe doctor is Adv here. Although S + V , S + V
SENTENCE CONNECTORS Sentence Connectors connect paragraphs or show relationship between very different ideas. S + V . However, S + (however, therefore, thus, V moreover, nevertheless, first*, then*, next*, still* S + V ; however, S + besides, consequently, V furthermore)
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions show relationship among elements of a sentence. They are followed by noun phrases only and cannot take on a S + V. S + V (prep. phrase) (during, after*, before*, in, on, at despite, in spite of, for*, since*, by like, except, but*, about, to*, from between [A and B], among, with within, without, beside, near, next to)
(Prep. phrase), S + V S + V , but S+V (and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet)
S + V and V S and S + V
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COMMON ERRORS The most common error is writing "every day" as one word (everyday) as in the following sentences: 1. I used to jog three miles everyday (Incorrect)
A: Do you always carry a briefcase? B: (Yes,) I usually do. No, I usually don't. No, I rarely do.
2. I used to jog three miles every day. (Correct) No, I hardly ever do.
FREQUENCY ADVERBS
The most common frequency adverbs in English are: Always 100% of the time Frequently Usually Often Sometimes Occasionally Seldom Rarely Never about 90% of the time about 80% of the time about 70% of the time about 50% of the time about 40% of the time about 20% of the time about 10% of the time about 00% of the time
Other frequency adverbs and expressions are as follows: Every day/week/month Every other day/week Once a week/month/year Twice a year/day, etc. (Every) once in a while Every so often These expressions are used at the beginning and end of sentences, not before main verbs. Every once in a while I visit my grandmother in Minnesota. I visit my grandmother in Minnesota every once in a while. I every once in a while visit my grandmother in Minnesota. (Incorrect) Regularly Normally Traditionally (according to schedule) (commonly nowadays) (commonly in the past)
Note: The percentages here are rough estimates only. Frequency adverbs can be placed at various points in the sentence, but are most commonly used before the main verbs and after be verbs. I always come to work on time. They are seldom home when we call. He's usually eating breakfast at this time. She's never been to Maine. A: Do you come here often? B: Yes. I'm here occasionally. A: What do you usually do here? B: Sometimes I just sit and ponder the meaning of life.
These words can come at various points in the sentence. I regularly floss my teeth. I floss my teeth regularly. Traditionally, that was considered child's play.
Note: The adverbs seldom, rarely, never and hardly ever I normally get up around 6 o'clock. are considered negative. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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Noun Phrases are groups of words that can function as subjects or objects in sentences. They may take on various forms: Water is important for survival. (Single words) Mr. Jones spoke to Dr. James. (Proper names) The boy ate an apple. (Nouns and articles) My friend works with her father. (Nouns and possessives) The young girl wore a long, (Nouns and white dress. adjectives) Some of the kids ate all of the (Nouns and cake. quantifiers) The man with the gun frightened (Nouns and prep. the people in the bank. phrases) The woman who lives there is (Nouns and relative my aunt. clauses) (Nouns and phrases) The dogs sleeping on the deck should be left alone. Whoever wrote this is in trouble. (Noun clauses) Pronouns and similar words can also function as subjects and objects: He gave the money to us. Someone left this. Give me one of each.
NON-ACTION VERBS
Some verbs cannot be used in the progressive tenses. They are called non-action verbs. Non-action verbs indicate state, sense, desire, possession, or opinion. The most common non-action verbs are: be* look* like seem appear* (existence) taste* feel* (senses) love* (desire) (possession) (opinion)
have* own
Note the usage in the following sentences: Mr. Tactful is seeming like a nice guy. (Wrong!) Mr. Tactful seems like a nice guy. (Correct) This salad is tasting delicious. This salad tastes delicious. I am liking banana cream pie. I like banana cream pie. (Wrong!) (Correct) (Wrong!) (Correct)
VERB PHRASES
Verb phrases are groups of words that express action or state of being. They take on various forms. The men live in the dormitory. (Single verbs) He stayed at the Hi Hat Hotel. (Past tense verbs) I am learning many new (Progressive verbs) things. She has been there before. (Perfect verbs) They have been working here (Perfect progressive five years. verbs) I could use some assistance. (Verbs and modals) The trip was approved by the (Passive verbs) professor. Do you want some more pie? (Verbs in questions) Other words can be added to enhance verb phrases: The mayor works here. Neil is not a candidate. They live in the suburbs. She'll leave whenever she wants. (adverbs) (negatives) (prepositional phrases) (adverbial clauses)
Some verbs have both action and non-action meanings. They are indicated by an asterisk* in the table above. The situation determines whether the action or non-action form of the verb is used. Those flowers look beautiful. Flora is looking out the window. I think that's a great idea. I am thinking about my upcoming speech. We have a brand new car. We are having a party this weekend. Craig is a real estate agent. Billy is being naughty today. (Non-action) (Action) (Non-action) (Action) (Non-action) (Action) (Non-action) (Action)
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(phrases)
Preposition Time In Year, Month, In 1999, In December Day, Date On Saturday, On May 1 Time At 8:00, At 7:30
Place Country, State, City In Japan, In Utah, InTaipei Street On Main Street, On 1st Ave. Address At 815 East Main Street
On
At
In many languages, there is only one preposition for the above situations. In English there are three. Just remember that in usually indicates the "largest" time or place, and at usually indicates the "smallest" time or place. Examples: A: Where's your office? B: In Taipei, Taiwan. A: Really? What part of Taipei? B: It's on Chung Shan North Road. A: I know that area. Where exactly is it? B: It's at 105 Chung Shan North Road, next to the bookstore. C: When is the wedding? D: It's in June. C: What day? D: It's on Saturday, the 25th. C: What time? D: It starts at 6:00.
in school (studying, listening to in the school teacher, etc.) (building) in jail/prison (staying there as a in the jail/prison criminal) (temporary) in church (praying, listening to a in the church sermon, etc.) (building) Where's Dad? in church (attending in the church (fixing the services) windows) at church at the church Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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In English, the present progressive is used to indicate actions happening at the time of speaking, or right now. Jake is speaking to his mother right now. Please keep quiet. The baby is sleeping. The present progressive can also be used to indicate actions occurring over a period of time which includes the present. I'm taking five classes at the university. Grace is working at a chemical factory. What are you doing these days? The present progressive is sometimes used to indicate ongoing, developing, imminent or future actions. Ongoing Don't bother Mr. Grumpy while he is watching the football game. Developing I'm beginning to like this place! Imminent A: Honey, where are you? B: I'm coming. Just let me put on my shoes. Future (Note the presence of future time words.) A: Are you going to the concert this weekend? B: I wish I could, but I'm meeting an important client from Oklahoma. Some non-action verbs do not occur in the present progressive tense. The simple present is sufficient.
SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS
In On At In the house On the desk At school Above average Below 100 Over the fireplace Under the table Around the building Through the door Before lunch After 10:00 (Go) to Colorado (Come) from Arizona A story about dogs Written by me She wouldn't go with us. So we went without her. Just between you and me There are no secrets among us (three). Inside the room Outside the box In front of the house
Above Over
Below Under
Between Among
Outside Behind
Behind the tree Next to the bank Near the library On top of UnderneathOn top of the file cabinet Underneath the refrigerator Near
Note: Most prepositions have many meanings and are often used in combination with other words. This is only a list of the most common prepositions and their simplest meanings.
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are used in place of nouns. They enable speakers to refer to something or someone without having to repeat its name. Example: Mr. Jones lives in Kentucky. He frequently travels to Memphis to see his wife. She is a lawyer and only sees him on weekends.
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had a little lamb. The subject and object pronouns in English are as follows: Subject I You He She It We They Object Me You Him Her It Us Them WRONG: Correct: Mr. Smith has gone to Washington. I'll give her the message. Mr. Smith has gone to Washington. I'll give him the message.
SENTENCE SUBJECTS
What can be the subject of a sentence? A noun: Jonathan loves chocolates. Mrs. Smith lives next door to the barber shop. The yellow dog makes me nervous. Crocodiles are very dangerous. A pronoun: It isn't time yet. They went to sleep at 9:00. Are you coming to the dance? Words like everyone, everybody, everything, something, anybody, nothing, no one Everything is ready. Is everyone here? Is anybody home? Some of the pie was Some (count) are here. Some gone. (non-count) is not. Some of the pies were All is well. All are watching. gone. Both of them are in theBoth are correct. (as a group) foyer. Neither of them is in Neither is correct. (separately) the foyer. None of those people (all of them are not nice) are nice. None of those people (not any individual) is my friend. Noun clauses Whoever left the food on the table is in trouble. What you say is not important. How you do it is up to you.
Use subject pronouns when the pronoun refers to the doer of the action or the main topic (subject) of the sentence. Henry hit a baseball over the fence. He didn't know where it would land. It went right through Mrs. Crabby's window. She was furious. She called Henry's parents and told them what happened. Henry had to pay for the window with his hardearned money. He wasn't too happy about that, but he learned a lesson. Now, he only plays baseball at the ball park. Use object pronouns when the pronoun refers to the receiver of the action or is the object of a prepositional phrase. Ms. Lindon met her husband in a gold mine. The first time she saw him, she was in love. He also liked everything about her. He asked her to marry him the next day. Many friends joined them in the wedding celebration. Reminders: Do not uses subject pronouns in the object position or vice versa. WRONG: Give the balloon to he. Correct: Give the balloon to him. WRONG: Correct: Her is the one I want to see. She is the one I want to see.
Remember to use he/him when referring to males and she/her when referring to females! WRONG: Correct:
"Dummy" subjects Mary lived on a farm. He had There are five people in the room. a little lamb. There is some milk in the refrigerator. Mary lived on a farm. She Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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Be careful In most cases, the words before the verb are the subject of the sentence. It is just the three of us. The three of us are going to be there. Prepositional phrases cannot be subjects, even if they come at the beginning of a sentence. On the table was a red hat. On the table were a red hat, white gloves and a blue scarf. Some words look plural but are actually singular: Physics is my favorite subject. The news was good. Scotch and soda is my favorite drink. (This is very uncommon usage.) My faithful friend and companion is Terry. Mass or "group" nouns may be singular or plural, depending on focus. The family is more important than the individual. The family are going in separate directions. With either/neither...or/nor, the subject closest to the verb determines agreement. Neither John nor Jane was the winner. Either the men or the women are going to take the cake. Neither Mr. Jones nor his sons have a car. Neither the boys nor their father has a car. Some can sometimes be used to indicate an unidentified person. Some woman was here to see you. Some guy keeps calling you. Relative clauses do not affect the main subject-verb relationship; however, S-V agreement within the relative clause may be different, depending on the meaning. The people who live there are my friends. The house that the Jacksons built needs to be remodeled. One of the men who live there is deranged. He is the only one who lives there.
With be going to, make sure the verb be agrees with its subject. I'm going to eat a whole watermelon. She's going to eat a whole watermelon. Actually, we're going to eat a whole watermelon together. In speech, the words going to are often pronounced ?gonna .? Don't forget the be verb. A: What are you gonna do this weekend? B: I'm gonna stay home and clean my carpet. NOT: I gonna stay? NOT: I'm gonna to stay? What the difference is between will and be going to? Both can be used interchangeably in some cases. (Predictions and guesses) My prints will be here tomorrow. My prints are going to be here tomorrow. Be going to is preferable for strong intentions or for describing the inevitable. I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. There's no way they can score 21 points in 2 minutes. We're going to win! Will is the preferable form for making offers or expressing pop decisions. A: Who will help me finish this chocolate cake? B: I will. A: I have two tickets left for the front row. B: I'll take them.
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Sometimes future time can be expressed with either the present or present progressive tense. In such cases, time words must be expressed or clearly implied. I fly to Beijing tomorrow. I'm flying to Beijing tomorrow. Sorry I can't attend the picnic on Saturday. I'm flying to Beijing .
1. Using the present tense when the past tense is required. Last week, Tonya fix her neighbor's car. (Incorrect) Last week, Tonya fixed her neighbor's car. (Correct) 2. Using "was" with verbs in the past tense. It was happened one night in September. (Incorrect) It happened one night in September. (Correct)
Specific past action Completed action I ate lunch at noon today. He drove to work yesterday. She finally mailed the letter. Jan finished her report on time.
Past status John was still single in 1995. Jane was a movie star. Subjects followed by verb in base form: I like rice. She makes toys. You look nice. He rakes leaves. They think twice. It takes time. We throw dice. Mom bakes pies. Chefs use spice. Water slakes thirst. The boys ring the doorbell. Jill loves dates. Children sing on special occasions. Some people bring gifts to parties. Bees sting when they are Mr. Smith fills crates. Grandpa washes plates. The dog jumps gates. Subjects with verb in ?s form:
Note the usage of the past tense in the following story. Yesterday Mrs. Hubbard had a very rough day. In the morning, she went to the kitchen and looked in the cupboard for some food for her dog, but the cupboard was empty. Her poor dog stared up at her with its hungry eyes, and she knew she had to do something quickly. She hurried to the grocery store to buy some dog food, but unfortunately the store was out of her dog's favorite brand, so she had to catch a bus downtown. After buying the food, she waited for a half hour in the rain to get a taxi. When she finally got home, her dog was sound asleep on the living room sofa. Common problems with the past tense
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disturbed. 1C. Exercises 1. Jerry (come/comes) to school on time. 2. Jerry and Linda (come/comes) to school on time. 3. Ms. Jones (teach/teaches) geography.
They live in Crete. The Smiths live in Rome. -s form He lives in Cyprus. She lives in Malta. Tim lives in Naples. Ms. Conner lives in Milan. The verb have
4. The cat (sleep/sleeps) on the sofa every day. The -s form of the verb have is has. 5. Milk (cost/costs) two dollars a quart. We have a winner. 2A. Explanation He has a trophy. Use the simple present tense to indicate: The verb be 1. Routine actions 2. Facts Common Mistakes with the simple present tense 1. Not using the -s form with singular subjects: Jack likes Chinese food. Jack like Chinese food. (Correct) (Incorrect) The -s form (present tense) for beisis. For the past tense, it is was. Was is also used with first person singular subjects (I) in the past tense. (Am is used in the present tense. Are is used with other subjects in the present, and wereis used in the past.) She is here. He is not here. I am here too. You are right. They are wrong. She was home yesterday. Ron wasn't home yesterday. I was here yesterday. We were here too. Auxiliary verbs When auxiliary verbs are used, only the first verb carries the third person singular -s. Jean does not like spaghetti. (Correct) Jean does not likes spaghetti. (Wrong!) Jean do not likes spaghetti. (Wrong!) Elsa is eating her dinner. (Correct) Elsa is eats her dinner. (Wrong!) Leo is going to eat later. Frank has eaten lunch already. (Correct) Frank have eaten lunch already. (Wrong!) Confidence, Fluency & Personality
2. Using the simple present tense when another tense is required. Last night I watched television for two hours. (Correct) Last night I watch television for two hours. (Incorrect)
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Third person singular -s Use the -s form of a verb in the present tense when the subject is third person singular. For all other subjects, use the base form in the present tense. Example: base form I live in Athens.
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Modals Do not use the -s form of the verb with modals, regardless of the subject. Ian can eat twelve bowls of rice. (Correct) Ian can eats twelve bowls of rice. (Wrong!)
Prepositional collocations: Tracy is fond of chocolates. Cassie is not afraid of snakes. I'm interested in making money.
THE VERB BE
The verb be takes on different forms in the present and past. Present Contraction Past
am 'm was I is 's was He is 's was She is 's was It are 're were You are 're were They are 're were we The verb be indicates existence, temporary condition or permanent status. It is really hot today. Grady's not here right now. Greg and Tim are engineers. Trudy was sick yesterday. Hawaiiis in the Pacific Ocean. The base form is be, the past participle is been, and the -ing form is being. I'll be back tomorrow. He has been a doctor since 1998. She is being nice today. The verb be is also used in progressive tenses, passives and prepositional collocations: Progressive tenses: He is writing a letter to his brother. Jeff was cleaning the house this morning. The Holleyshave been living there since April. Passive voice: The people were surprised by the news. Craig was stopped by the policeman.
This milk is fresh. Sometimes demonstratives can be used as pronouns (to refer to a particular noun.) Give me that! Whose are these? Give me that (spoon). Whose are these (socks)?
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This and that can also be used with one. However, these and those are more commonly used alone. I want this one. I'll take that one. I want these. (not these ones) I'll take those.
"predicate" of a sentence. For the subject pattern, simply replace the person or thing being asked about with the appropriate wh-word. (Someone has my baseball.) Who has my baseball?
(Something is bothering you.) What is bothering you? On the telephone, this and that are used differently in British and American English to identify callers. For the predicate pattern, wh- question formation depends on whether there is an "auxiliary" verb in the original sentence. Auxiliary or "helping" verbs are verbs that precede main verbs. Auxiliary verbs are italicized in the following sentences. I can do it. They are leaving. I have eaten my lunch. I should have finished my homework. To make a question using the predicate pattern, first form a yes/no question by inverting the subject and (first) auxiliary verb. Then, add the appropriate whword to the beginning of the sentence. (You will leave some time.) (He is doing something.) (They have been somewhere.) ? will you leave When will you leave? ? is he doing What is he doing? ? have they been Where have they been?
WH QUESTIONS
Wh- Questions allow a speaker to find out more information about topics. They are as follows: When? Time Where? Who? Why? How? What? Place Person Reason Manner Object/Idea/Action
Other words can also be used to inquire about specific information: Choice of alternatives Which (one)? Whose? Whom? How much? How many? How long? How often? How far? What kind (of)? Possession Person (objective formal) Price, amount (noncount) Quantity (count) Duration Frequency Distance Description The "grammar" used with wh- questions depends on whether the topic being asked about is the "subject" or
If there is no auxiliary and the verb is "be," invert the subject and verb, then add the appropriate wh- word to the beginning of the sentence. (He is someone.) ? is he Who is he? (The meeting was some time.) ? was the meeting When was the meeting? If there is no auxiliary and the verb is not "be," add do to the beginning of the sentence. Then add the appropriate wh-question word. Be sure to "transfer" the tense and number from the main verb to the word do. (You want something.) ? do you want What do you want? (You went somewhere.) ? did you go (past tense) Where did you go? (She likes something.) ? does she like (third person s) What does she like?
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YES/NO QUESTIONS
There are many types of questions in English. The easiest are questions that can be answered "yes" or "no." A: Are you from around here? B: Yes, I am. A: Do you come here often? B: Yes, I do. A: Can I buy you a drink? B: No, thanks. A: Are you married? B: Yes, I am. To form a question from a statement, first count the number of verbs. John is a doctor. Jane drives a sports car. Joan played basketball last night. Jan is eating her dinner. June has rented an apartment. Jen has been living there since 1969. One verb: is (be) One verb: drives One verb: played Two verbs: is eating Two verbs: has rented Three verbs: has been living
that house.
that house?
2. If the main verb "carries" a third person singular s, move the s to Do, making it Does. Do Jane drives a car? (Not finished yet!) Does Jane drive a car? (Good question!) 3. If the main verb "carries" past tense, move the past tense to Do, making it Did. Joan played Do Joan played basketball last night. basketball? (Not finished yet!) Did Joan play basketball? (Good question!) In conversation, most questions are asked of the second person (you) and answered in the first (I). A: Are you from California? B: No, I'm from Oregon. Are you? A: Yes, I'm from Hollywood. B: Do you know any movie stars? A: No, I don't go out at night. In British English, the main verb have sometimes functions like be in questions. This is not common in American English. Statement Question Jane drives a car.
If there is one verb in the statement and the verb is a form of be, simply switch the positions of the subject and verb. Statement John is a doctor. The Jensens are here. Question Is John a doctor? Are the Jensens here?
If there are two verbs, simply switch the positions of the subject and first verb. Statement Jan is eating dinner. June has rented an apartment. Jen has been living here since 1969. Question Is Jan eating dinner? Has June rented an apartment? Has Jen been living here since 1969?
You have a pet ferret. Have you a pet ferret? (British) Do you have a pet ferret? (American)
ARTICLES
Singular count nouns cannot stand alone in a sentence. Apple is on table. (Wrong!) They must be preceded by one of the following: An article (the, a, an) An apple is on the table. The professor gave us a test. A number or quantifier (one, another, the other, each, every, either, neither) One man was in Chicago. The otherman was in Saint
If there is one verb, and the verb is not a form of be, the process is more complex. 1. Add Do to the beginning of the sentence. The Johnsons live in Do the Johnsons live in
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Neither man was with his Paul. wife. Either man could be in trouble. Note: Never use theand another, each, every, neither, either together: The another man was in Milwaukee. (Wrong!) This, that, some* This artist created that painting. Some woman came to see you. (*unidentified subject) A possessive pronoun or noun. It is my bicycle now. It was John's bicycle. Note: Do not use articles and possessives together. The Mary's bicycle was stolen. (Wrong!) Proper nouns have their own article usage. Don Smith lived next door to Dr. Zimbango. The Empire State Building is in New York City. Non-count and plural nouns can be used without articles only in the "generic" sense: Cats are enemies of dogs. Water is essential for survival.
I will be leaving tomorrow. Future with Present Continuous tense I am leaving tomorrow Future with Present tense I leave tomorrow. Past Time Facts: Use Simple Past Tense only I ate my breakfast at 7:00 this morning. Relationship between two times. I had eaten my breakfast when my roommate left. Relationship between events. I was eating my breakfast when the telephone rang.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Some nouns can be considered either singular or plural, depending on whether the speaker is referring to them as a one group or individually. Examples of collective nouns are: group family committee team management
The committee has not made a decision yet. The committee have not made a decision yet. The team is posing for a photograph. The team are signing autographs.
(It will submit one conclusion as a group.) They are still arguing among themselves.) (as a group) (as individuals)
Be careful when using collective nouns with pronouns. The Jones family is having a reunion this Sunday. It meets every summer. The Jones family are going home on Monday. They all live in different states.
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Past Dinosaurs roamed the earth for millions of years. My grandmother passed away last March.
To express opinions (I think) smoking is a disgusting habit. The Internet is more useful than the library. I think it was a beautiful concert. That was delicious. Gambling should be banned in the US. He must really like ice cream.
To indicate actions which occur every day or on a regular basis I get up at 7:30 every day. When I was in high school, I got up at 6:30. My mother rode the bus until she bought a car. I have to be at the office at 7.
I can use I can some help help. you. Could you Could I I could I could help me? help you? use some help help. you. May I help I may need I may you? some help you. help. (probably) I might I might need some help you help. (probably) Will you I will need I will help me? some help you. help. (most likely) Would you I would I help me? need some would help. help you. (I guess I probably can't do it by myself.) Would you Would you mind mind if helping me? I helped you?
COMPARATIVES
Comparatives Use -er to compare one syllable adjectives and adverbs as well as two-syllable adjectives ending in y. A horse is bigger than a dog. He is shorter than his brother. I'm busier today than I was yesterday. I can run faster than you can. My house is smaller. It's the lesser of two evils.
With frequency adverbs Jerry always comes to class on time. At camp, she usually ate breakfast before 7:00. You should never be late for work.
Use more or less to compare most other adjectives and adverbs. She is more helpful than her sister. Mr. Gallant is more courageous than his
Requesting Asking Possibility Hinting Other Permission Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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cousin. Craig is less practical than Kay. Celine sings more beautifully than Barbara. For better or worse Use better and worse for comparisons with good or well. That's a good movie, but this one is better. Actually, I think that one is worse. Use as . . . as to show similarity He's as quick as his brother. This chair is not as comfortable as that one.
Negative Questions Aren't you going to the dance? Haven't you been there before? Isn't that Doctor Zimbango? Questions with Or Is it the blue one, or the red one? Would you like some tea or coffee?
COORDINATORS
Coordinators (and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet*) connect elements of equal importance. S + V , but S + V S + V and V S or S + V N and N Adj. and Adj. Phrase and Phrase Can be used in a series: A, B, C, or D Examples:
He drinks coffee, but she drinks tea.
SUPERLATIVES
Use the -est to indicate the superlative of one-syllable adjectives and adverbs as well as two-syllable adjectives ending in -y. He's the fastest man alive. That's the funniest clown I've ever seen. Ben works the hardest of them all. Use the best or the worst as the superlative of good or well. This is the best deal I can offer you. That was the best time I've ever had. It was the worst dinner I've ever cooked. I like this one (the) best. Use the most + adjective/adverb to indicate the superlative of longer adjectives and adverbs. He's the most wonderful man I've met. That was the most difficult exam I've ever taken. Chris sings the most beautifully of them all.
(S + V , coordinator S +V)
Gary lives in Ohio, and Deana lives in Michigan. She loves to dance, so she bought a studio. You could buy a car, or you could put the money in the bank. When there is a new subject and verb, a comma is used before (not after) the coordinator. I hate to sing but, I love to dance. (Incorrect) I hate to sing, but I love to dance. (Correct) John and George both play football. Paul listens to music and reads books. John, Paul, George, and Harry are classmates. (two subjects) (two verbs) (series) *For is also commonly used as a preposition. Yet can sometimes be used as an adverb.
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COUNT/NON-COUNT NOUNS
Count nouns have two forms: singular and plural. They can be used with numbers and quantifying expressions such as many, several, and few. One potatotwo potatoesseveral potatoesfew potatoes
Luggage
When used as subjects in present tense sentences, count nouns require the ?s form of the verb in the singular and the base form of the verb in the plural. The bear has large The dog sleeps. The dogs sleep. claws. Non-count nouns have only one form. When used as subjects in present tense sentences, non-count nouns require the ?s form of the verb. Juice contains many Honesty is the best vitamins. policy. Some nouns can be either count or non-count. Job experience is essential. Milk contains calcium. Some experiences can be funny. Two milks, please. (informal)
I will be singing at Symphony Hall next month. We'll be leaving next Monday. When you arrive, I'll be cooking dinner. The future progressive tense is formed by adding will be to the ?ing form of the main verb. She will be coming around the mountain in a few minutes. She'll be riding a white horse into town. The future progressive tense is not as common as other tenses, and it can some-times be replaced by simple future, present progressive or even simple present. I'll be leaving in a few minutes. I'll leave in a few minutes. I'm going to leave in a few minutes. I'm leaving in a few minutes. I leave in a few minutes.
Both count and non-count nouns can be quantified. That is, they can be used with expressions which divide them into parts or groups which can be counted. For example, Two apples One cookie milk sugar Two bags of apples A box of cookies Two cartons of milk A cup of sugar
Go + Ving
Some activities are commonly expressed in English by the phrase Go + Ving. See the list below. go go hiking camping go go diving swimming go water go scuba skiing diving go skiing go snowboarding go go bowling shopping go fishing go surfing go wind surfing go (ice) skating go roller skating go hunting go snorkeling
Sometimes a non-count noun is used to indicate a ?group? of items, whereas individual items within the group are countable. For example, Non-count Count Money Time Clothing Furniture dollars, bills, fives, cents, dimes, coins years, months, days, hours, minutes dresses, pants, shirts, socks, shoes tables, chairs, sofas, lamps
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PASSIVE VOICE
How to construct the passive. How to construct the passive. Check to see if the active sentence contains an object. John ate an apple. possible. John ate yesterday. possible. (S V O) Passive is
A: Would you like to go skiing this weekend? B: No, I'd rather go ice skating. A: Did you go bowling last night? B: Actually, I went shopping instead. Common mistakes: I want to camping on Saturday. I want to go camping on Saturday. They went to jogging this morning. They went jogging this morning. I like to swimming. I like to swim. I like swimming. I like to go swimming. I like going swimming. (Incorrect) (Correct) (Incorrect) (Correct) (Incorrect) (Okay) (Okay) (Okay) (Okay)
(S V)
Passive is not
2. Move the object to the front of the sentence. Put the original subject in a "by" phrase. An apple (V) by John. 3. Put the verb in the form "be" +3 (of main verb)* An apple "be" eaten by John. 4. Put the "be" in the same tense as the original active sentence. An apple was/were eaten by John. ( past tense) 5. Make the first verb agree with the new subject. An apple was eaten by John. (Put other elements of the sentence in grammatical and logical order.) Yesterday the large green apple was quickly eaten by John, who didnt realize that it belonged to his sister. When other (auxiliary) verbs and modals are used in combination with the passive, remember: *Note, to simplify things, we refer to the forms of the verbs with numbers, as follows: 1 base form (be, go, do) 2 past form (was/were, went, did) 3 past participle (been, gone, done)
INTENSIFIERS
Intensifiers are adverbs that enhance adjectives and adverbs. In English, they come before the words they modify. Examples: It's quite hot today. Ms. Stress is really busy right now. He's my very best friend. I'm a little tired today. That was a pretty good shot. Sam just got a brand new car. I know her fairly well. It's extremely hot outside. You're absolutely right!
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(Something caused him to die.) Get is often used in idiomatic expressions. For example, What time will you get done? (What time will you be finished?) James got drunk at the party. (He became drunk at the party.) I hope you get better soon. We got engaged last week. (I hope you become well soon.) (We became an engaged couple.)
The Russians are here.* The Koreans are here. The Americans are here The Italians are here. The New Zealanders are here The Pakistanis are here.
The Japanese are here. The British are here. The Swiss are here. The French are here. The Portuguese are here.
It's mostly phonetic. That is, it depends on the final sound of the word. Words ending in -an, -ian, -er, -i require an s in the plural Words ending in -ese, -ish, -iss, -ch do not change
Languages (no article) Russian is easy. Korean is easy. Italian is easy. Generalizations** Russians are friendly The Chinese are friendly. Chinese people are Koreans are friendly. friendly. The Japanese are friendly. New Zealanders are Japanese people are friendly. friendly. The French are friendly. Frenchmen are friendly. *If you are talking about a specific group (of Russians, etc.), the article the must be used. Most of the Italians (in this class) are female. Most of the Japanese (in the restaurant) are from Kyoto. **If you are talking generally, no article or preposition is needed. With s: Most Americans speak English. Not: Most of Americans No s: Most Vietnamese live in Asia. Not: Most of Vietnamese Chinese is easy. Japanese is easy. French is easy.
POSSESSIVES
Possessives take many forms in English. Pronouns in the possessive case can be used as adjectives to modify nouns or stand alone as subjects, objects or complements. For example,
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My book is on the table. Mine is on the table. I put mine in the refrigerator. The red one is mine. See the table below. Pronouns as adjectives
(used to modify a noun) Ongoing Action (used as a subject) (used as an object) (used as a complement)
June.
Mr. Barnes is watching television now. While he was watching television, the phone rang. He will be watching television tonight when his wife gets home. Duration: "How Long?"
Pronouns as subjects, objects and complements mine his hers its (not common) yours ours theirs
How long have you been in I have been here since the U.S.? 1999/for two years. How long were you in I was in California for three California? weeks. How long will you be in I will be there for a month. Maine? Completed Action I have finished my homework already. (before now) After I had finished my homework, I started to cook dinner. I will have finished my homework, when I start to cook dinner. Notes: In + (amount of time) usually refers to the future: But it can also indicate a length of time: I will see you in two days (from now). I finished the job in two hours.
The possessive is formed by adding ?s to singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s. Such possessives can be used as modifiers, or they can stand alone. It is John's bicycle. Those are the children's toys. Jack's is the white one. I'm going to Joe's. With plural nouns ending in ?s, only an apostrophe (?) is used to form the possessive. The girls' bicycles are in the repair shop. All the students' books were stolen.
Ago follows time word(s) and is used to indicate the amount of time before the present: I called her two weeks ago. She returned my call five minutes ago.
(decade, long timeDuring the 1960s, during the period) 20th Century Specific Time: "When?" (Use simple tenses.) I ate my breakfast at When did you eat your breakfast? 9:00. When were you born? I was born in 1979. My birthday party When is your birthday party? is on Friday. When will you graduate? I wil graduate in
Words indicating actions occurring at the ?same? time (or nearly the same time) When I was in high school, When I had a car. As soon as I got to the As soon as theater, I looked for a seat. Once I finish my Once geometry, I will start studying chemistry. The moment (that) I saw The moment (that) her, I knew who she was. Words indicating actions occurring at ?different? times
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Before
After
Before my husband left, I had already packed his bags. After she eats her dinner, Ms. Warner will go shopping. By the time I get to Denver, I will have traveled 200 miles. I cleaned the house until my wife came home.
Sometimes, but not always, present perfect continuous can be used instead of present perfect. I have lived there for ten years. (Okay) I have been living there for ten years. I have exercised a lot recently. I have been exercising a lot recently. I have seen that movie ten times. (Okay) (Okay) (Okay) (Okay)
Combinations: One verb or one subject (no comma) SV S and S V S V and V Jack is drinking. Jack and Jill are drinking. Jack is eating and drinking.
S and S V O and OJack and Jill drink tea and coffee. Combinations: Two subjects, two verbs Subordination (One idea is stronger.) Jack drinks coffee although Jill drinks tea. (without a comma) Although Jack drinks coffee, Jill drinks tea. (with a comma) Coordination (equal ideas, with coordinator: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) Jack is drinking, and Jill is eating. (A comma [,] is needed here.)
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Jack drinks coffee, but Jill drinks tea. (closest connection between ideas) Closely related ideas (without coordinator) Jack drinks coffee; Jill drinks tea. (A semicolon [;] is used here.) Jack drinks coffee; however, Jill drinks tea. (with a sentence connector) Separate sentences (strongest break between ideas) Jack drinks coffee. Jill drinks tea. (Use a period [.] to separate complete sentences.) Jack drinks coffee. However, Jill drinks tea. (with a sentence connector) Jack drinks coffee. Jill, however, drinks tea. (variation) Note: Do not use subordinators and coordinators to connect ideas in the same sentence: Although Jack drinks coffee, but Jill (INCORRECT) drinks tea. (Okay) Jack drinks coffee, but Jill drinks tea. (Okay) Although Jack drinks coffee, Jill drinks tea.
Be careful when using some and any alone in sentences. I don't have some. (Incorrect) I don't have any. (Correct) Some can also be used in certain types of questions, such as offers and requests. For example, Would you like some more pie? Could I have some candy?
SUBORDINATORS
The most common subordinators are: although, even though, because, since*, so that, when, while, before*, after*, whenever, wherever, anywhere, if, unless, whether?[or not] as, as [adjective] as, whereas (to show slight contrast) (to give reasons) (to indicate time relationships) (to indicate place) (to indicate conditions) (to give comparisons) (to show major contrast)
*These words can also be used as prepositions. Subordinators have an interesting effect on words in a sentence. A clause (S +V) without a subordinator can stand alone as a complete statement. I went to the store yesterday. (Complete statement) However, when a subordinator is added, the statement seems incomplete. When I went to the store yesterday, (Well, what ... happened?) The subordinating clause becomes dependent on something else to complete its meaning: When I went to the store yesterday, I (Idea is saw an old friend. complete) Subordinating or ?dependent? clauses can occur at the beginning or end of a sentence. When used at the beginning of a sentence, a comma is necessary after the clause itself. S + V although S + V Although S + V , S + V In English, the subordinator always comes before the subject and verb in a clause. I went to the grocery store after, I stopped at the bank. (Incorrect) After I went to the grocery store, I stopped (Correct) at the bank.
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Subordinators and coordinators should not be used in the same sentence to introduce clauses. Choose one or the other, but do not use both together. Although Nina won the prize, but she was not happy. (Wrong) Although Nina won the prize, she was (Correct) not happy. (Also correct) Nina won the prize, but she was not happy.
USED TO
The expression used to is commonly used when talking about past habits. It means "something was true in the past, but it is not anymore." For example, I used to live in Toronto, but I don't anymore. Now I live in Vancouver. I used to ride a bicycle to school, but I don't anymore. Now I drive a car. I used to be married, but I'm not anymore. Now I'm divorced.
THERE IS/ARE
There is/There are is a common phrase in English, used to indicate that something "exists" or is in a certain location. The main subject follows the verb when there is/are is used. There is an apple on the table. There are some apples on the table. Other forms of "be" can also be used with there is/there are. There will be a party at Bill's house on Saturday. There were four witnesses at the crime scene. There have been two robberies in the last five months. Contractions are possible, but they are mostly used informally in speech. There's a fly in my soup. There're plenty of oranges left. There'll be a lot of people in attendance. There's is by far the most common contraction, and it is sometimes used inadvertently with plural subjects by native speakers. There's ten people outside! Common mistakes Since the expression there is/are usually has no equivalent in other languages, students sometimes use have instead. Have a lot of food on the table. It has a lot of food on the table. There have a lot of food on the table. Present
We usually eat breakfast before my father leaves for work. Simple Past Before my father left for work, we ate breakfast. We ate breakfast before my father left. After my father left for work, we ate breakfast. When my father left for work, we ate breakfast. As soon as my father left for work, we ate breakfast. When my father left for work, we were eating breakfast. While we were eating breakfast, my father left for work. We ate breakfast until my father left for work.
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We had been eating breakfast when my father left for work. Future/Future Continuous/Future Perfect We will eat breakfast after my father leaves for work. We will be eating breakfast when my father leaves for work. When my father leaves for work, we will have eaten breakfast. Present Perfect/Present Perfect Continuous We have (not) eaten breakfast since my father left for work. We have been eating breakfast since my father left for work.
get/aquire fall asleep fall in love For example, I got married last May. I was single last April. I am married now. How long have you gotten married? How long have you been married?
(The ceremony occurred last May.) (Status previous to last May) (Current status) (Wrong!) (Correct)
I met Mr. Carter last week. I have met Mr. Carter for one week. I have known Mr. Carter for one week.
(We saw each other the first time.) (Wrong! I only met him once.) (Correct)
Some common action/status pairs are as follows: Action/Event (one time occurrence) (present or past) become get married get engaged get divorced graduate die meet learn find out buy/purchase Status/Condition (long time) (present or present perfect) be be married be engaged be divorced be out of school be dead know know know have
Nathan has become a doctor (Wrong!) for two years. Nathan has been a doctor for two years. (Correct)
I graduated last August. How long have you graduated? How long have you been out of school?
The baby fell asleep two hours ago. The baby has fallen asleep for two hours. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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The baby has been asleep for (Specific time) two hours (Wrong!) I found out the news yesterday. I have found out the news since yesterday. I have known the news since yesterday. (Correct)
S + V + O + to V (O)
S + V + O + V (O)
I allowed Jim to clean up the I let Jim clean up the mess. mess. I asked Jim to clean up the mess. I told Jim to clean up the mess. I had Jim clean up the mess. I made Jim clean up the mess.
ADJECTIVE ORDER
When several adjectives modify the same noun, there is a particular order they must follow in English. Certain adjectives come before others. (Not all have to be used in the same sentence.) See the chart below.
Quantifier Article Number Quality Possessive SequenceSize Demonstrative Some of All of Both the, a, an this, that my, his three second next Shape Color Origin Material
I persuaded Jim to clean up the mess.* *Other verbs which use this pattern are require, command, force, order, remind, and urge. The verb help can be used with or without "to": Help Jim (to) clean up the mess. Some verbs use the pattern, S + V that S + V (the second verb is in the base form) I insisted that Laura do her homework. (not "does") I suggested that Laura do her homework. I recommended that Laura do her homework. *Other verbs which can be used with this pattern are ask, require, request, and demand. The most common error with causatives is using "to" unnecessarily. For example, We made Kevin to finish his supper. (Incorrect) (Correct) (Incorrect) (Correct)
wonderfulround red Japanesemetal clean squareyellowItalian ceramic large flat black French wood
Examples: Some of the hungry gentlemen The last great civilization Ten big round metal rings
We made Kevin finish his supper. The beautiful Japanese ceramic vase They suggested Irene to take music lessons. Either of the small green apples My three lovely daughters An interesting wooden statue The third red plastic container They suggested that Irene take music lessons.
CAUSATIVE VERBS
By the time I begin studying Chinese, I will Certain verbs can be used to express a causal have finished my Russian course. relationship between the subject and object in a sentence. Some of them require a "to" while others do When I finish this race, I will have run a total of not. Note the following patterns: five miles. With "to" Without "to" Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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Before they leave for Miami, they will have visited Houston and New Orleans. The important thing to remember is the time of completion. (Beginning time may vary.) I started studying last year. I will have passed my exams when I graduate next June. I am studying right now. I will have passed my exams when I graduate next June. I will start studying next month. I will have passed my exams when I graduate next June.
ce prefer mind recall regret remem quit resist stop ber resent tolerate suggest threate n
GERUNDS
Gerunds are defined as the -ing form of a verb. They have several functions. 1. Used as subjects and complements Skiing is my favorite sport. Hiking can be very strenuous. Seeingisbelieving After I had gone shopping, I stopped at the health spa. 2. Used as objects following prepositions and prepositional expressions Thanks for tending my children. The job consists of typing, filing, and answering the phone. 3. Used as objects following certain verbs*. The children enjoyed watching the parade. Ms. Terrell avoided paying her taxes until it was too late. Gerunds can sometimes take objects of their own: Roland is afraid of making mistakes. Sandy is considering leaving New York. *These verbs are commonly followed by gerunds. admit advise anticip appreci attem avoid begin can't ate ate pt deny discu help comple conside delay go ss dislike te r forget like hate hesitate enjoy finish keep postpone love mentio imagin intend neglec recomme practi n e miss t nd After I went shopping, I stopped at the health spa. The most common error with the past perfect is using it where it does not belong. When I was young, I had (Incorrect: no reference to been a cowboy. other events) When I was young, I was a (Correct) cowboy. Yesterday the Johnsons had opened their new business. (Incorrect) Yesterday the Johnsons opened their new business. (Correct) Before I arrived at the theater, the movie had already begun. Sometimes, when the meaning is clear from context, the simple past tense can be used. When I woke up this morning, my roommate had left already. After I had eaten my dinner, I went to see a movie.
*In some very unusual cases, the past perfect tense can refer to the second past action. Before I had finished my homework, the telephone rang. (The telephone interrupted me before I finished my homework.)
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PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions indicate relationships between words or ideas. Most prepositions deal with location and are easy to learn. above below over under inside beside near up before* with into between like despite outside beyond nearby down after* without out (of) among as in spite of around behind by toward during within off except than beneath through
Do not go outside after it is dark. Do not go outside after dark. I worked until 9:00 this evening. I worked until my replacement showed up.
I cannot tell a lie, for that would be dishonest. (for means because) For in phrases of duration He lived in New Jersey for five years.
For to indicate "on behalf of" He fixed the TV for his daughter. For to indicate intended recipient I bought this for you. For to indicate occasion I bought this for Christmas. For to indicate cost
*These can also be used as conjunctions. Some prepositions, however, have more than one meaning and can be very confusing. in to on from at for of
I bought this for $399. For to indicate purpose I bought this for fun.
X During I was a child, I lived in Denmark During my childhood, I lived in Denmark. While I was a child, I lived in Denmark.
Before, After, and Until can be used as either prepositions or subordinators. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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prepositional phrases: for + amount of time and since + point in time. I have been living in Minneapolis since 1999. I have been living in Minneapolis for three years. The present perfect progressive tense is made by placing have been (or has been) immediately in front of the -ing form of the main verb. The present perfect progressive can sometimes be interchanged with the present perfect tense with little or no deviation in meaning. Esther has worked there for nine years. Esther has been working there for nine years. However, in cases where the present perfect tense carries the meaning before now (non-specific time in the past), the present perfect progressive cannot be used. I have been seeing that movie five times (Incorrect!) already. I have seen that movie five times already. (Correct)
PRESENT WISHES
Present wishes indicate something that is? Contrary to fact. That is, wishes are something that is untrue but desired. For example, I wish that I had a sports car. (The truth is I don't have a sports car.) I wish that I were a doctor. (I'm really not a doctor.) For present wishes, the past tense is used in the that clause, because it indicates a situation that is only imagined. Sometimes the word that is omitted. She wishes (that) she had a diamond ring. He wishes (that) he were rich. To express possibility (can) and future intention (will), use the modals could and would respectively. She wishes that she could sing. They wish that she would stop. When a ?be? verb is required, the word were is used, regardless of the subject.
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A. The person whom you see is my father. B. The person you see is my father. A. This is the place where I live. B. This is the place I live. A. I don't know the reason why she is late. B. I don't know the reason she is late (Also : I don't know why she is late. ) A. The woman whom he likes is married. B. The woman he likes is married. Notes:
The research shows that . . . Mr. Tracy concluded (that) . . . In their study, Meyers and Blake claim . . . According to Dr. Bill, . . .
SENTENCE CONNECTORS
Do not delete a relative pronoun that is followed by a verb other than be: The man who likes lasagna is my father. X The man likes lasagna is my father. Never delete the relative pronoun whose: The man whose car broke down went to the station. X The man car broke down went to the station. She drinks coffee, and he drinks tea. She drinks coffee; he drinks tea. Although she drinks coffee, he drinks tea. She drinks coffee although he drinks tea. (Closely related ideas) (Subordination) (One idea is stronger) She drinks coffee. He drinks tea. She drinks coffee, but he drinks tea. (Coordination) (Both ideas are equal) (Two separate sentences)
REPORTED SPEECH
Reported Speech comes in two forms: direct quotes and indirect quotes. For direct quotes, the original speaker's exact words are used within quotation marks. For indirect quotes, the original words are paraphrased and no quotation marks are used. George said, "I cannot tell a lie." (Direct quote)
Although she drinks coffee, but he drinks tea. (INCORRECT!) She drinks coffee; however, he drinks tea. She drinks coffee. However, he drinks tea. She drinks coffee. He, however, drinks tea. Remember: A period (.) provides the strongest break between ideas. A semicolon (;) is next, and a comma (,) provides the weakest separation. Coordinators provide connection between equal ideas. (Sentence connector) (Stronger break between ideas) (Variation)
George said that he couldn't tell a lie. (Indirect quote) Molly asked, "May I have a cookie?" Molly asked if she could have a cookie. (Direct quote) (Indirect quote)
In conversation, the past tense is normally used when reporting what someone else has said. However, present tense is also possible. Grandpa said (that) he would come to visit us next week.
Calvin told me that he was from North Carolina. I heard that you were a computer programmer. Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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(and, but, or, nor, so, for, yet) Examples: Mom and red or Dad green
one believes to be true. They restate, in question form, the previously spoken sentence. For example, (Positive statement, He is an engineer. Isn't he? They're not from Colorado. Are they? Zack is really tired. Isn't he? negative tag) (Negative statement, positive tag) (Positive statement, negative tag)
Subordinators provide connection between unequal ideas. (because, although, when, while, if, as, since, whenever, wherever?) Example: He didn't go to work because he was sick. Although John was unhappy, he still smiled. Sentence Connectors provide connection between large groups of ideas/sentences. (Usually paragraphs)
She is going to Taiwan, isn't she? You have never been to Las Vegas. Have you? The Rays are playing the Jays. Aren't they? You went to the supermarket. Didn't you? Zane doesn't live in Missouri. Does he? Ms. Zeller has a new car. Doesn't she?
(Positive statement, negative tag) (Negative statement, positive tag) (Positive statement, negative tag) (Positive statement, negative tag) (Negative statement, positive tag) (Positive statement, negative tag)
In tag questions, the corresponding pronoun and the first verb of the corresponding yes/no question are used. Also, notice that with positive statements, negative tag questions are used and vice versa. See also: Grammar: Yes/No Questions
Common mistakes:
You are the zookeeper. Yes? You're the zookeeper. Aren't you? (Incorrect) (Correct)
The team is scheduled to play next Friday. (as a unit) The team are negotiating for pay raises. (as individual members) The management does not allow smoking inside the building. The staff is/are giving the boss a "going-away party." The herd is/are running in different directions.
You come from Canada. No? (Incorrect) You come from Canada. (Correct) Don't you? (Incorrect--in most You're the boss. Are you? situations) You're the boss. Aren't you? (Correct) Simon is from Singapore. Isn't it? Simon is from Singapore. Isn't he?
could, should and must. Mr. James will be at the ceremony. Won't he?
(Incorrect) (Correct)
TAG QUESTIONS
They couldn't do it. Could they? Note: When the subject is ?I? and the statement is in present tense, aren't is commonly used for tag questions.
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TOO / ENOUGH
Too and Enough are used with adjectives and indicate degree. Too means more than necessary, and it precedes the adjective. Enough means sufficient and usually follows the adjective. (NOT: He is too old to ride the Merry-Go-Round. enough She has too much money. tall) Tony was tall enough to play on the basketball (NOT: team. enough They were smart enough to pass the test. smart) Enough can also be used with nouns. In such cases, enough usually precedes the word it modifies. I have enough money for the CD player. I don't have enough (money) for the computer. There aren't enough people to make a team. In some cases, enough can stand alone. I have had enough of this nonsense. Enough is enough! Common problems include using very in place of too or enough. (Wrong) (Correct) She is very young to drink alcohol. She is too young to drink alcohol. (Wrong) (Correct) He is not very tough to play football. He is not tough enough to play football.
How long have you owned that car? I have owned it for two months.
"Actions" usually happen at a point in time, whereas things such as possession, status, condition, awareness refer to something that continues over a period of time. (See: Grammar: Action vs. Status.) For example,
action (When did you . . .?) status/condition (How long have you. . . ?)
meet your best friend get that new watch become a lawyer
known your best friend had that new watch been a lawyer
A common mistake is using an action verb to indicate something that exists over a period of time.
How long have you bought that car? Incorrect!
Correct
In the above statement, the present perfect tense is used to indicate that you still have the car now. How long can also be used to indicate conditions that existed totally in the past.
How long did you live in Denver? I lived in Denver for two years. (You do not live there now.) (from 1997 to 1999)
Notice that with when and how long, different tenses and different verbs are often used.
When did you buy that car? (simple past tense)
APPOSITIVES
I bought it two months ago. ("buy" indicates action) Appositives involve renaming or giving more information about the subject or object, within Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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parentheses or commas. Appositives should come immediately after the nouns they rename. My wife (Mary) is a doctor. My wife, Mary, is a doctor. His brother (who lives in New York) drives a bus. His brother, who lives in New York, drives a bus.
Can you tell me who she is? (Correct) When using adjectives as complements, it is okay to use question order for embedded questions: Who's hungry? (Question) I wonder who is hungry. (Okay) In some cases, depending on the focus of the sentence, question order may be used: Who is the doctor? I know who the doctor is. Who is a doctor? I know who is a doctor (and who is not).
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Modifying words and phrases should be as close as possible to words they modify. I only have two dollars. I have only two dollars. (Better)
(The woman is The man likes the woman from Florida. from Florida.) The man from Florida likes the woman. (The man is from Florida.) The dog belongs to Jerry that bit my son. (Wrong) The dog that bit my son belongs to (Correct) Jerry. (Wrong) I saw a UFO looking out my window. (Correct) Looking out my window, I saw a UFO. Be aware that introductory phrases imply that the main subject is the doer of the action. (My aunt called While taking a shower, my aunt from the shower.) called. (I was in the While I was taking a shower, my shower when she aunt called. called.)
EMBEDDED QUESTIONS
Embedded questions are questions within another statement or question. They function as noun clauses and as such should generally follow statement, not question, order. What time is it? (question order) I know what time is it. (Incorrect) I know what time it is. (Statement order: S+ V) Where did she go? (Question) I don't know where did she go. (Incorrect) I don't know where she went. (Correct) What does he do for a living? (Question) I wonder what does he do. (Incorrect) I wonder what he does. (Correct) Who is she? Can you tell me who is she?
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(but you probably did) Wish and hope are also used in certain types of requests and pleasantries. In such situations, wish carries a more definite and formal tone. (right now) I wish to see the doctor. I hope to see you again. (anytime in the future)
This structure is typically used with linking verbs (be, appear, seem, etc.) or words that function as linking verbs. In the doorway were two strangers. In the doorway appeared two strangers. On the table is my On the table lies my textbook. textbook. In the kitchen, he ate an apple. (Action verb: no inversion necessary.)
INVERSIONS
When to Invert the Subject and Verb: Questions Negatives (Necessary) Prepositional Phrases of Place Conditionals Comparisons
In some situations, the conditional if is omitted and an inversion is used in its place. (Only with verbs, were, should or had.) Note the following examples: If I were a doctor, I would be rich. Were I a doctor, I would be rich. If I had taken the subway, I would have arrived on time.
Questions He is a doctor. He ate an apple. Negatives He is a doctor. He ate an apple. Not only is he a doctor, (but) he is also a millionaire. Not only did he eat an apple, (but) he also ate an orange. Is he a doctor? Did he eat an apple? (Direct inversion) (With ?do?)
Had I taken the subway, I would have arrived on time. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake. Had I known you were coming, I would have baked a cake. If I go to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother. XX Go I to Chicago, I will visit my grandmother. If I have enough money, I will buy a horse. XX Have I enough money, I will buy a horse. Comparisons with than may also be inverted, but the inversion is optional. Note the following examples. He has more marbles than John does. He has more marbles than does John. He has more marbles than John. (informal okay.)
Prepositional Phrases of Place (Necessary) On the table is a book. On the table (there) is a book.
The prepositional phrase is necessary here, because without it, the sentence would be incomplete: (?is a book?is not a complete sentence.) Inversion is necessary. At the restaurant, the food was too (inversion is not spicy. necessary) Without the prepositional phrase, the sentence ?the food was too spicy ?is still complete.
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**Be careful. On the TOEFL, when comparisons are used, sometimes important words are left out or in error, thereby requiring only one of the possible options. She loves her cat more than Jim. She loves her cat more than she loves Jim. She loves her cat more than Jim loves her cat./more than Jim does. My dog is smarter than Jack. My dog is smarter than Jack's. My dog is smarter than Jack's dog. My dog is smarter than that of Jack. My classes are more challenging than those of Mindy.
IT / THAT CONSTRUCTIONS
Sometimes It is used to fill the subject position of a sentence, even though it carries little or no meaning. It is raining outside. It was John who turned out the lights. It was nice of you to call. It would be better if you didn't say things like that. It doesn't matter if you don't bring a gift. It isn't necessary to tell her. When certain adjectives (important, imperative, necessary, essential, mandatory) are followed by that, the base form of the verb is used in the "that" clause. It is important that you arrive on time. It is imperative that you be here tomorrow. It is essential that he learn these things. These types of words can also be followed directly by infinitives. It is important to be punctual. Is it mandatory to attend the meeting? It's not necessary to fill out the form.
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Saying you are 'sorry to' expresses a feeling of sympathy or regret. Here are some examples: "I'm sorry to be so late." "I'm sorry to hear about your sick mother." "I'm sorry to waste your time." "I'm sorry to make you feel so sad." "I'm sorry to frighten you." "I'm sorry to disagree with your decision." "I'm sorry to call so late." "I'm sorry to admit what I did." "I'm sorry to end this relationship."
"I'll help you register for your class online." "I'll help you move to your new house." "I'll help you prevent that from happening again." "I will help you park your car." "I will help you provide all the information you need." "I will help you realize your potential." "I will help you stop smoking." "I will help you shop for groceries."
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"I do not think I should attend that event." "I do not think I should borrow more money." "I do not think I should doubt you." "I do not think I should decide until later."
Here are some examples: "I'm having a hard time writing." "I'm having a hard time understanding you." "I'm having a hard time answering your question." "I'm having a hard time downloading songs to my iPod." "I'm having a hard time agreeing to the terms." With the addition of a verb you can express in more detail just how difficult something is for you. Here are some examples: "I'm having an extremely hard time trusting you." "I'm having an extremely hard time with my wife." "I'm having a very hard time finding a job." "I'm having a very hard time finding parts for my car."
"I've heard that you want to leave your job." "I've heard that you got a new car." "I've heard that you like to jog." "I've heard that you fix computers." "I've heard that you've never been to Canada." "I've heard that you like to shop." "I've heard that you and your boss don't get along." "I've heard that there is no school next week." "I've heard that your wife is a yoga instructor."
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"Let me taste the soup before you add more spices." "Let me treat you to some ice cream."
Can I + (verb)
Here are some examples: When ending a sentence with a question mark (?) you "It had occurred to me that I forgot something at the grocery." "It had occurred to me I might need to change my email address." "It has occurred to me I forgot my mom's birthday." "It has occurred to me before." "Can I answer your question?" Here are some examples: are asking the person or people you are talking to a question for which you would like an answer. Here you are asking permission to do a particular action.
Let me + (verb)
'Let me' is suggesting that you are asking for permission or an opportunity to do something. Here are some examples: "Let me make my own decisions." "Let me offer to help you." "Let me open the door for you." "Let me pause and think about what we are doing." "Let me welcome you to the neighborhood." "Let me save you the trouble." "Let me make a suggestion." "Let me try and fix your car."
"Can I attend the event?" "Can I move to another spot?" "Can I call you tomorrow?" "Can I complete this later?" "Can I explain myself?" "Can I help you with your homework?" "Can I include you in our plans?" "Can I introduce you to my co-workers?" "Can I inform you of some bad news?"
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Here are some examples: "Can I get a cup of water?" "Can I get a dog?" "Can I get lunch?" "Can I get sugar in my coffee?" "Can I get popcorn at the movie?"
"Do you mind if I ask your mom?" "Do you mind if it snows?" You could also use the word 'would' Here are some examples: "Would you mind if we went out to eat?"
You can also use it when offering to help someone or do something for them. Here are some examples: "Can I get you another drink?" "Can I help you move that?" "Can I recommend a good place to eat?" "Can I take you home?" "Can I help you finish your project?"
"Would you mind if I opened the window?" "Would you mind telling me what you're doing?" "Would you mind being quiet for a minute?" "Would you mind if I changed the channel?"
"I should have studied more for my test." "I should have read the directions before starting." "I should have eaten breakfast this morning." "I should have listened to your advice." "I should have married her when I had the chance." Confidence, Fluency & Personality
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"Are you trying to reflect on the past?" "You'd better exercise." "You'd better help out." "You'd better invite your brother." "You'd better impress the judges." "You'd better listen to your parents." "You had better not come home late." "You had better hope for the best." "You had better change your attitude." "You would be good at teaching." "You would do well at math." Here are some examples: "Please pass me the salt." "Please order me the steak and potatoes." "Please stop bothering me." "Please wash your hands before dinner." "Please wait outside until we are ready." "Please zip up your coat before you go outside." "Please stand back." The word 'please' can also mean to give enjoyment or satisfaction to. Here are some examples: "The smell of the flowers was very pleasing." "May it please the court to admit this into evidence?" "I was very pleased with how the children behaved in class." "You cannot please everyone all the time." "She was pleased with the dress." 'Please' is generally used in a polite request when asking someone to do something. "Are you trying to switch flights?"
Please + (verb)
Don't + (verb)
The word 'don't' is a contraction of the words 'do not.' It is said to convey a message of what NOT should be done. Here are some examples: "Don't try and fool me." "Don't allow this to happen." "Don't watch scary movies before you go to bed." "Don't cause any more trouble." "Don't chew gum in class." "Do not concern yourself with other people's problems." "Do not behave that way." "Do not announce your decision until you're ready."
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"Do not argue with me." "Do not arrive late for your meeting."
"Do you like skiing or snowboarding?" "Do you like going to bed early?" "Do you like spending time with me?" "Do you like repeating the class?" "Do you like playing video games?" "Do you like listening to music?" "Do you like practicing playing the piano?" "Do you like jogging with me?"
Do you like
With this question you are asking someone what they prefer or enjoy. Here are some examples: "Do you like traveling on a plane?" "Do you like watching baseball on TV?"
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ENGLISH VOCABULARY
LEARN NEW WORDS PICTURE VOCABULARY NAMES & MEANINGS DIFFICULT WORDS MEMORY CHARTS LEARNING TABLES
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
BASIC GRAMMAR SENTENCE STRUCTURE TENSE CHART GRAMMAR CHANTS USE & TECHNIQUES
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GROUP DISCUSSION 64 INTERVIEW QUES PERSONALITY DEVELOP LEADERSHIP TIME MANAGEMENT STRESS MANAGEMENT ENG LEARNING TIPS PHRASES & IDIOMS
AASAN ENGLISH
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COMPLETE ENGLISH SPEAKING COURSE PACKAGE 4 BOOKS 1. 2. 3. 4. Aaasan English Basic Course Book English Grammar English Vocabulary Group Discussion, Interviews & Personality
5 D.V.Ds Level 1 English Basics Level 2 Conversation Level 1 Level 3 Conversation Level 2 Level 4 Advanced Conversation Level 5 Vocabulary and Word Building
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