Grammar

What is Grammar?.....................................................................................................................5 Glossary of English Grammar Terms.........................................................................................5 English Parts of Speech..............................................................................................................7 Parts of Speech Table.................................................................................................................8 What are Verbs?..........................................................................................................................9 Verb Classification.....................................................................................................................9 1. Helping Verbs.....................................................................................................................9 2. Main Verbs.......................................................................................................................10 Helping Verbs...........................................................................................................................11 Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)...........................................................................................11 Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)............................................................................................11 Main Verbs...............................................................................................................................12 Transitive and intransitive verbs..........................................................................................12 Linking verbs........................................................................................................................12 Dynamic and stative verbs...................................................................................................13 Regular and irregular verbs..................................................................................................13 Verb Forms...............................................................................................................................14 Forms of Main Verbs................................................................................................................14 Example Sentences...............................................................................................................15 Infinitive...........................................................................................................................15 Base - Imperative.............................................................................................................15 Base - Present simple (except 3rd person singular).............................................................................................15 Base - After modal auxiliary verbs...................................................................................15 Past simple........................................................................................................................16 Past participle...................................................................................................................16 Present participle..............................................................................................................16 3rd person singular, present simple..................................................................................16 Forms of Helping Verbs...........................................................................................................16 Nouns.......................................................................................................................................17 What are Nouns?..................................................................................................................18 Countable Nouns......................................................................................................................19 Uncountable Nouns..................................................................................................................20 Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable........................................................................21 Proper Nouns (Names).............................................................................................................22 Possessive 's..............................................................................................................................22 Adjectives.................................................................................................................................24 Determiners: A, An or The?.....................................................................................................24 Determiners: Each, Every........................................................................................................25 Determiners: Some, Any..........................................................................................................26 Adjective Order........................................................................................................................27 Adjective Before Noun.............................................................................................................28 Adjective After Verb.................................................................................................................29 Comparative Adjectives...........................................................................................................29 Formation of Comparative Adjectives.....................................................................................30 Use of Comparative Adjectives................................................................................................31 Superlative Adjectives..............................................................................................................32 Formation of Superlative Adjectives........................................................................................32 Use of Superlative Adjectives..................................................................................................33 Adverbs....................................................................................................................................34

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Adverbs of Frequency..............................................................................................................35 English Pronouns......................................................................................................................36 Personal Pronouns....................................................................................................................36 English Prepositions.................................................................................................................37 English Prepositions List..........................................................................................................37 English Preposition Rule..........................................................................................................39 Prepositions of Place: at, in, on....................................................................................................................................40 Prepositions of Time: at, in, on....................................................................................................................................42 Conjunctions.............................................................................................................................43 Form.....................................................................................................................................44 Function................................................................................................................................44 Position.................................................................................................................................44 Coordinating Conjunctions......................................................................................................44 Subordinating Conjunctions.....................................................................................................45 Interjections..............................................................................................................................47 Parts of Speech Examples........................................................................................................48 Words with More than One Job................................................................................................49 Active Voice, Passive Voice.....................................................................................................49 Passive Voice............................................................................................................................50 Construction of the Passive Voice........................................................................................50 Use of the Passive Voice.......................................................................................................51 Conjugation for the Passive Voice........................................................................................51 Tenses.......................................................................................................................................52 English Tense System...............................................................................................................53 What is Tense?..........................................................................................................................53 Mood....................................................................................................................................53 Voice.....................................................................................................................................54 Aspect...................................................................................................................................54 Tense & Time...........................................................................................................................54 Basic Tenses.............................................................................................................................55 Basic Tenses: Regular Verb......................................................................................................57 Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb.....................................................................................................58 Basic Tenses: Be.......................................................................................................................59 Simple Present Tense................................................................................................................61 How do we make the Simple Present Tense?.......................................................................62 How do we use the Simple Present Tense?..........................................................................63 Present Continuous Tense.........................................................................................................64 How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?....................................................................64 How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?.......................................................................65 Present continuous tense for action happening now............................................................65 Present continuous tense for the future................................................................................66 How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?.....................................................................66 Present Perfect Tense................................................................................................................67 How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?...........................................................................67 Contractions with the present perfect tense......................................................................68 How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?..............................................................................69 1. Present perfect tense for experience.................................................................................69 2. Present perfect tense for change.......................................................................................69

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3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation..................................................................70 For & Since with Present Perfect Tense...................................................................................71 Present Perfect Continuous Tense............................................................................................72 How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?...................................................72 How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?.......................................................73 1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped.....................................................73 2. An action continuing up to now...................................................................................73 For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense.........................................................74 Simple Past Tense.....................................................................................................................75 How do we make the Simple Past Tense?................................................................................75 How do we use the Simple Past Tense?...................................................................................77 Past Continuous Tense..............................................................................................................78 How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?.........................................................................78 How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?............................................................................79 Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense............................................................................80 Past Perfect Tense.....................................................................................................................81 How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?................................................................................81 How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?...................................................................................82 Past Perfect Continuous Tense.................................................................................................83 How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?.........................................................83 How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?............................................................84 Simple Future Tense.................................................................................................................85 How do we make the Simple Future Tense?........................................................................86 How do we use the Simple Future Tense?............................................................................87 No Plan.............................................................................................................................87 Prediction.........................................................................................................................87 Be.....................................................................................................................................87 Future Continuous Tense..........................................................................................................88 How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?.................................................................88 How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?....................................................................89 Future Perfect Tense.................................................................................................................90 How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?........................................................................90 How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?............................................................................91 Future Perfect Continuous Tense..............................................................................................92 How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?.....................................................92 How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?........................................................93 Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries)..............................................................................................93 Can, Could, Be able to.............................................................................................................93 Can...........................................................................................................................................94 Structure of Can...................................................................................................................94 Use of Can............................................................................................................................94 can: Possibility and Ability..............................................................................................94 can: Requests and Orders.................................................................................................95 can: Permission................................................................................................................95 Could........................................................................................................................................95 Structure of Could................................................................................................................95 Use of Could.........................................................................................................................96 could: Past Possibility or Ability......................................................................................96 could: Requests................................................................................................................96 Be able to..................................................................................................................................96

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Structure of Be able to..........................................................................................................97 Use of Be able to..................................................................................................................97 be able to: ability..............................................................................................................97 Have to Must, Must not/Mustn't............................................................................................................98 Have to (objective obligation)..................................................................................................98 Structure of Have to.............................................................................................................98 Use of Have to......................................................................................................................98 Must (subjective obligation).....................................................................................................99 Structure of Must..................................................................................................................99 Use of Must........................................................................................................................100 Must not, Mustn't (prohibition)..............................................................................................100 Structure of Must not..........................................................................................................100 Use of Must not..................................................................................................................101 Shall versus Will.....................................................................................................................101

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What is Grammar? Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time. Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is "no". Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word "grammar". But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.

So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map. * Except invented languages like Esperanto. And if Esperanto were widely spoken, its rules would soon be very different. Glossary of English Grammar Terms Active Voice In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the President). See also Passive Voice. Adjective A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. Adverb A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb. Article The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the. Auxiliary Verb A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs. Clause A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he arrived). Conjunction A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).

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Infinitive The basic form of a verb as in to work or work. Interjection An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection (for example: oh!, ah!, ouch!, well!). Modal Verb An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary verb". Noun A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an object, concept, person or place. A "concrete noun" is something you can see or touch like a person or car. An "abstract noun" is something that you cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness. A "countable noun" is something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar). An "uncountable noun" is something that you cannot count (for example: water, music, money). Object In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb. Participle The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present participle". The -ed form is called the "past participle" (for irregular verbs, this is column 3). Part Of Speech One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection. Passive Voice In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was killed). See also Active Voice. Phrase A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the girl in a red dress). Predicate Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The predicate is what is said about the subject. Preposition A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun and give information about things like time, place and direction. Pronoun A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun. Sentence A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement, question, exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a subject and a predicate. In simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and (usually) a subject. A sentence starts

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with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!). Subject Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which something is said. Tense The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past, present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to when the action happens. The "present continuous tense", for example, can be used to talk about the present or the future. Verb A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or state.

English Parts of Speech There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one word to another word. These are the "building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the windows, and door frames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word has its own job. We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts of speech". Some grammar books categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the traditional categorization of 8 parts of speech.

It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.

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Parts of Speech Table This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech. part of speech

function or "job"

example words

example sentences

Verb

action or state

(to) be, have, do, EnglishClub.com is a web like, work, sing, can, site. I like must EnglishClub.com.

Noun

thing or person

pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John

This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.

Adjective

describes a noun

a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting

My dog is big. I like big dogs.

Adverb

describes a verb, adjective or adverb

quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really

My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.

Pronoun

replaces a noun

I, you, he, she, some

Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.

Preposition

links a noun to another word

to, at, after, on, but

We went to school on Monday.

Conjunction

joins clauses or sentences or words

and, but, when

I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.

Interjection

short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence

oh!, ouch!, hi!, well

Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know.

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What are Verbs? The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word. Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action. But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state. A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "John speaks English", John is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe: • •

action (Ram plays football.) state (Anthony seems kind.)

There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms: •

to work, work, works, worked, working

Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or more forms for a single verb.

Verb Classification We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

1. Helping Verbs Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says: • • •

I can. People must. The Earth will.

Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much Sethu

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alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

2. Main Verbs Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says: • • •

I teach. People eat. The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.

In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.

helping verb

main verb

John

likes

coffee.

You

lied

to me.

They

are

happy.

The children

are

playing.

We

must

go

now.

I

do

want

any.

not

Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following pages.

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Helping Verbs Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs".

Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:

Primary helping verbs (3 verbs) These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following cases: •

be o o

•

•

to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.) to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)

have o

to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)

o o o o

to make negatives (I do not like you.) to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?) to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.) to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

do

Modal helping verbs (10 verbs) We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main verb in some way. A modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These are the modal verbs: • • • •

can, could may, might will, would, shall, should

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must ought to

Here are examples using modal verbs: • • • • •

I can't speak Chinese. John may arrive late. Would you like a cup of coffee? You should see a doctor. I really must go now.

Semi-modal verbs (3 verbs) The following verbs are often called "semi-modals" because they they are partly like modal helping verbs and partly like main verbs: • • •

need dare used to

Main Verbs Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".

Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

Transitive and intransitive verbs A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look at these examples: transitive: • • •

I saw an elephant. We are watching TV. He speaks English.

intransitive: • • •

He has arrived. John goes to school. She speaks fast.

Linking verbs A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or

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place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs). • • • • •

Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher) Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful) That sounds interesting. (that = interesting) The sky became dark. (the sky > dark) The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous tenses with a change in meaning). dynamic verbs (examples): •

hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples): • • • • • •

be like, love, prefer, wish impress, please, surprise hear, see, sound belong to, consist of, contain, include, need appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart. regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle • •

look, looked, looked work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle • • •

buy, bought, bought cut, cut, cut do, did, done

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Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs. One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the so-called regular verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.

Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

Verb Forms English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. To be has 9 forms. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses, but they are not the same thing.

Forms of Main Verbs Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".

regular

irregular

V1

V2

V3

infinitive

base

past simple

past participle

present participle

present simple, 3rd person singular

(to) work

work

worked

worked

working

works

(to) sing (to) make (to) cut

sing sang make made cut cut

sung made cut

singing making cutting

sings makes cuts

(to) do* do (to) have* have

did had

done had

doing having

does has

infinitive

base

past simple

past participle

present participle

present simple

(to) be*

be

was, were

been

being

am, are, is

In the above examples: • • •

to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings Sethu

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to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the "bare infinitive".

At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not learn the past participle and 3rd person singular present simple by heart—for another very simple reason: they never change. The present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in spelling). * Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).

Example Sentences These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Infinitive • • • • •

I want to work He has to sing. This exercise is easy to do. Let him have one. To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative • • • •

Work well! Make this. Have a nice day. Be quiet!

Base - Present simple (except 3rd person singular) • • •

I work in London. You sing well. They have a lot of money.

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs •

I can work tomorrow.

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You must sing louder. They might do it. You could be right.

Past simple • • • •

I worked yesterday. She cut his hair last week. They had a good time. They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle • • • •

I have worked here for five years. He needs a folder made of plastic. It is done like this. I have never been so happy.

Present participle • • • •

I am working. Singing well is not easy. Having finished, he went home. You are being silly!

3rd person singular, present simple • • • •

He works in London. She sings well. She has a lot of money. It is Vietnamese.

Forms of Helping Verbs Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs".

All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2 groups of helping verbs: • •

Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and in making questions and negatives. Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.

Study the table opposite. It shows the prinicipal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains the differences between primary and modal helping verbs. * Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main verb. In fact, the main verb is "understood". Look at the following examples:

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Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is "expressed".) Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is "understood" from the context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.

But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand nothing! Helping Verbs Primary

Modal

do

(to make simple tenses, and questions and negatives)

can

could

be

(to make continuous tenses, and the passive voice)

may

might

have

(to make perfect tenses)

will

would

shall

should

must ought (to) "Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have exactly the same forms as when they are main verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never used in infinitive forms). Primary helping verbs are followed by the main verb in a particular form: • •

do + V1 (base verb) be + -ing (present participle)

•

have + V3 (past participle)

"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main verbs.

Modal helping verbs are invariable. They always have the same form. "Ought" is followed by the main verb in infinitive form. Other modal helping verbs are followed by the main verb in its base form (V1). •

ought + to... (infinitive)

•

other modals + V1 (base verb)

Modal helping verbs cannot function as main verbs.

Nouns It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).

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What are Nouns? The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples: • • •

person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary place: home, office, town, countryside, America thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb. Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its: 1. Ending 2. Position 3. Function 1. Noun Ending There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example: • • • • •

-ity > nationality -ment > appointment -ness > happiness -ation > relation -hood > childhood

But this is not is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful. 2. Position in Sentence We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence. Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such): • • • • • •

a relief an afternoon the doctor this word my house such stupidity

Nouns often come after one or more adjectives: • • • •

a great relief a peaceful afternoon the tall, Indian doctor this difficult word

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my brown and white house such crass stupidity

3. Function in a Sentence Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example: • • •

subject of verb: Doctors work hard. object of verb: He likes coffee. subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.

But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".

Countable Nouns Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns: • • • • •

dog, cat, animal, man, person bottle, box, litre coin, note, dollar cup, plate, fork table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural: • •

My dog is playing. My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns: •

A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it: • •

I want an orange. (not I want orange.) Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone: • •

I like oranges. Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

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I've got some dollars. Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns: • •

I've got a few dollars. I haven't got many pens.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people. There is one person here. There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns: • • • • • •

music, art, love, happiness advice, information, news furniture, luggage rice, sugar, butter, water electricity, gas, power money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example: • •

This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of: • • •

a piece of news a bottle of water a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns: • •

I've got some money. Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns: •

I've got a little money.

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I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns. When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable. Countable

Uncountable

dollar

money

song

music

suitcase

luggage

table

furniture

battery

electricity

bottle

wine

report

information

tip

advice

journey

travel

job

work

view

scenery

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. Countable

Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair

I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light

Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

noise

It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)

paper

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

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Our house has seven rooms.

room

Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

time

Have you got time for a coffee?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

work

I have no money. I need work!

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example): •

Two teas and one coffee please.

Proper Nouns (Names) A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun—a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules. common noun

proper noun

man, boy

John

woman, girl

Mary

country, town

England, London

company

Ford, Sony

shop, restaurant

Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week

January, Sunday

book, film

War & Peace, Titanic

Possessive 's When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example: • •

the boy's ball (one boy) the boys' ball (two or more boys)

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Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the possessed.

one boy

more than one boy

one ball

more than one ball

the boy's ball

the boy's balls

the boys' ball

the boys' balls

Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:

• •

the boyfriend of my sister my sister's boyfriend

The structure can be used for a whole phrase: • • •

the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door) the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England) the President of the USA's secretary (the secretary of the President of the USA)

Proper Nouns (Names) We very often use possessive 's with names: • • • •

This is Mary's car. Where is Ram's telephone? Who took Anthony's pen? I like Tara's hair.

When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's: •

This is Charles's chair.

But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ': •

Who was Jesus' father?

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Irregular Plurals Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun

plural noun

my child's dog

my children's dog

the man's work

the men's work

the mouse's cage

the mice's cage

a person's clothes people's clothes

Adjectives An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and noun phrases.) An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a big dog). Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard). We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady). It is sometimes said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. This is because, very often, if we use the precise noun we don't need an adjective. For example, instead of saying "a large, impressive house" (2 adjectives + 1 noun) we could simply say "a mansion" (1 noun).

Determiners: A, An or The? When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.) The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this: Articles Definite

Indefinite

the

a, an

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular. We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general. When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.

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Think of the sky at night. In the sky there is 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we could say: • •

I saw the moon last night. I saw a star last night.

Look at these examples: the

a, an The capital of France is Paris. I have found the book that I lost. Have you cleaned the car? There are six eggs in the fridge. Please switch off the TV when you finish.

I was born in a town. John had an omelette for lunch. James Bond ordered a drink. We want to buy an umbrella. Have you got a pen?

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation. Look at these examples: We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.) Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.) This little story should help you understand the difference between the and a, an: A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."

Determiners: Each, Every Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings. Each = every one separately Every = each, all Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning: •

Prices go up each year.

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Prices go up every year.

But often they are not exactly the same. Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality. Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general. Consider the following: • • • •

Every artist is sensitive. Each artist sees things differently. Every soldier saluted as the President arrived. The President gave each soldier a medal.

Each can be used in front of the verb: •

The soldiers each received a medal.

Each can be followed by 'of': • •

The President spoke to each of the soldiers. He gave a medal to each of them.

Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used: •

He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Every is used to say how often something happens: • •

There is a plane to Bangkok every day. The bus leaves every hour.

Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.

Determiners: Some, Any Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount Any = one, some or all Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.

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some

+

any

I have some money.

example I have $10.

-

I don't have any money.

I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have $1,000,000. I have $0.

?

Do you have any money?

Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.

Look at these examples: • • • •

He needs some stamps. I must go. I have some homework to do. I'm thirsty. I want something to drink. I can see somebody coming.

• • • •

He doesn't need any stamps. I can stay. I don't have any homework to do. I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink. I can't see anybody coming.

• • • •

Does he need any stamps? Do you have any homework to do? Do you want anything to drink? Can you see anybody coming?

We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative. • •

I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money) She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.) • •

Would you like some more tea? Could I have some sugar, please?

Adjective Order There are 2 basic positions for adjectives: 1. before the noun

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2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)

adj. 1

I like big

2

noun

verb adj.

cars. My car

is

big.

In this lesson we look at the position of adjectives in a sentence, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Adjective Before Noun We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun: • •

I like big black dogs. She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.

What is the correct order for two or more adjectives? 1. The general order is: opinion, fact: •

a nice French car (not a French nice car)

("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is definitely true about something.) 2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin: •

a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table

3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives: • • • • •

articles (a, the) possessives (my, your...) demonstratives (this, that...) quantifiers (some, any, few, many...) numbers (one, two, three)

Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:

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adjectives determiner

two

opinion

nice

noun fact age

shape

colour

old

round

red

candles

When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and": • •

Newspapers are usually black and white. She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.

The rules on this page are for the normal, "natural" order of adjectives. But these rules are not rigid, and you may sometimes wish to change the order for emphasis. Consider the following conversations: Conversation 1 A "I want to buy a round table." B "Do you want a new round table or an old round table?" Conversation 2 A "I want to buy an old table". B "Do you want a round old table or a square old table?"

Adjective After Verb We can use an adjective after certain verbs. Even though the adjective comes after the verb, it does not describe the verb. It describes the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun). Look at the examples: subject verb adjective • • • • • • • • •

Ram is English. Because she had to wait, she became impatient. Is it getting dark? The examination did not seem difficult. Your friend looks nice. This towel feels damp. That new film doesn't sound very interesting. Dinner smells good tonight. This milk tastes sour.

Comparative Adjectives

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When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences. In the example opposite, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big": We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).

A

A

The first A is bigger than the second A.

Formation of Comparative Adjectives There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective: • •

short adjectives: add "-er" long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives •

1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

•

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-er"

old > older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r

late > later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant

big > bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy > happier

Long adjectives •

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

•

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "more"

modern > more modern

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expensive > more expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more': • • • •

quiet > quieter/more quiet clever > cleverer/more clever narrow > narrower/more narrow simple > simpler/more simple

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms: • • • •

good > better well (healthy) > better bad > worse far > farther/further

Use of Comparative Adjectives We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things). Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than". Look at these examples: John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John. America is big. But Russia is bigger. I want to have a more powerful computer. Is French more difficult than English? If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table opposite: Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things. Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.

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Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).

Earth

Mars

Diameter (km)

12,760

6,790

Mars is smaller than Earth.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150

228

Mars is more distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth.

Moons

1

2

Mars has more moons than Earth.

Surface temperature (°C)

22

-23

Mars is colder than Earth.

Superlative Adjectives A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things. In the example opposite, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big": We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).

AC B

A is the biggest.

Formation of Superlative Adjectives As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective: • •

short adjectives: add "-est" long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

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Short adjectives 1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-est"

old > the oldest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st

late > the latest

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant

big > the biggest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy > the happiest

Long adjectives 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "most"

modern > the most modern expensive > the most expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most': • • • •

quiet > the quietest/most quiet clever > the cleverest/most clever narrow > the narrowest/most narrow simple > the simplest/most simple

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms: • • •

good > the best bad > the worst far > the furthest

Use of Superlative Adjectives We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these examples:

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John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest. Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table opposite: When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the": • •

England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest) My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

12,760

6,790

142,800

Jupiter is the biggest.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150

228

778

Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

10

Jupiter has the shortest day.

Moons

1

2

16

Jupiter has the most moons.

Surface temp. (°C)

22

-23

-150

Jupiter is the coldest.

Diameter (km)

Adverbs An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works very well). Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise an adverb by its: 1. Function (Job) 2. Form 3. Position 1. Function The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics. •

Modify a verb: - John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?) Sethu

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- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?) - She never smokes. (When does she smoke?) •

Modify an adjective: - He is really handsome.

•

Modify another adverb: - She drives incredibly slowly.

But adverbs have other functions, too. They can: •

Modify a whole sentence: - Obviously, I can't know everything.

•

Modify a prepositional phrase: - It's immediately inside the door.

2. Form Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some examples: •

quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective. Some adverbs have no particular form, for example: •

well, fast, very, never, always, often, still

3. Position Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence: •

Front (before the subject): - Now we will study adverbs.

•

Middle (between the subject and the main verb): - We often study adverbs.

•

End (after the verb or object): - We study adverbs carefully.

Adverbs of Frequency Adverbs of Frequency answer the question "How often?" or "How frequently?" They tell us how often somebody does something. Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb "to be"):

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We usually go shopping on Saturday. I have often done that. She is always late.

Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence: • •

Sometimes they come and stay with us. I play tennis occasionally.

Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"): • •

We see them rarely. John eats meat very seldom.

100% always usually frequently often 50% sometimes occasionally rarely seldom hardly ever 0% never

English Pronouns Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like: •

Do you like the President? I don't like the President. The President is too pompous.

With pronouns, we can say: •

Do you like the President? I don't like him. He is too pompous.

Personal Pronouns

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This summary of personal pronouns includes possessive adjectives for convenience and comparison. pronouns number

person

gender* subject

object

possessive reflexive

possessive adjectives

1st

m/f

I

me

mine

myself

my

2nd

m/f

you

you

yours

yourself

your

m

he

him

his

himself

his

f

she

her

hers

herself

her

n

it

it

its

itself

its

1st

m/f

we

us

ours

ourselves

our

2nd

m/f

you

you

yours

yourselves

your

3rd

m/f/n

they

them

theirs

themselves

their

singular 3rd

plural

* m=male f=female n=neuter Examples: pronoun

subject

She likes homework.

object

The teacher gave me some homework.

possessive

This homework is yours.

reflexive

John did the homework himself.

possessive adjective

The teacher corrected our homework.

English Prepositions A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, as in: •

She left before breakfast.

•

What did you come for? (For what did you come?)

English Prepositions List Sethu

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There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage. • • • • • • • • • • • • •

aboard about above across after against along amid among anti around as at

• • • • • • • • • •

before behind below beneath beside besides between beyond but by

• •

concerning considering

• • •

despite down during

• • •

except excepting excluding

• • •

following for from

• •

in inside

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into

•

like

•

minus

•

near

• • • • • • •

of off on onto opposite outside over

• • •

past per plus

• •

regarding round

• •

save since

• • • • •

than through to toward towards

• • • • • •

under underneath unlike until up upon

• •

versus via

• • •

with within without

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English Preposition Rule

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There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions. Rule A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb. By "noun" we include: • • • • •

noun (dog, money, love) proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary) pronoun (you, him, us) noun group (my first job) gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form. Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule: • •

I would like to go now. She used to smoke.

Here are some examples: Subject + verb preposition

"noun"

The food is

on

the table.

She lives

in

Japan.

Tara is looking

for

you.

The letter is

under

your blue book.

Pascal is used

to

English people.

She isn't used

to

working.

I ate

before

coming.

Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive ("to go", "to smoke").

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on In general, we use:

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at for a POINT in for an ENCLOSED SPACE on for a SURFACE

at

in

on

POINT

ENCLOSED SPACE

SURFACE

at the corner

in the garden

on the wall

at the bus stop

in London

on the ceiling

at the door

in France

on the door

at the top of the page

in a box

on the cover

at the end of the road in my pocket

on the floor

at the entrance

in my wallet

on the carpet

at the crossroads

in a building

on the menu

at the entrance

in a car

on a page

Look at these examples: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop. The shop is at the end of the street. My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late. When will you arrive at the office? Do you work in an office? I have a meeting in New York. Do you live in Japan? Jupiter is in the Solar System. The author's name is on the cover of the book. There are no prices on this menu. You are standing on my foot. There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall. I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions: at

in

on

at home

in a car

on a bus

at work

in a taxi

on a train

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at school

in a helicopter

on a plane

at university

in a boat

on a ship

at college

in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike

at the top

in the newspaper

on a horse, on an elephant

at the bottom in the sky

on the radio, on television

at the side

in a row

on the left, on the right

at reception

in Oxford Street

on the way

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on We use: • • •

at for a PRECISE TIME in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS on for DAYS and DATES

at

in

on

PRECISE TIME

MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS

DAYS and DATES

at 3 o'clock

in May

on Sunday

at 10.30am

in summer

on Tuesdays

at noon

in the summer

on 6 March

at dinnertime

in 1990

on 25 Dec. 2010

at bedtime

in the 1990s

on Christmas Day

at sunrise

in the next century

on Independence Day

at sunset

in the Ice Age

on my birthday

at the moment

in the past/future

on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

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I have a meeting at 9am. The shop closes at midnight. Jane went home at lunchtime. In England, it often snows in December. Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future? There should be a lot of progress in the next century. Do you work on Mondays? Her birthday is on 20 November. Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions: Expression

Example

at night

The stars shine at night.

at the weekend

I don't usually work at the weekend.

at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas. at the same time

We finished the test at the same time.

at present

He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions: in

on

in the morning

on Tuesday morning

in the mornings

on Saturday mornings

in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons in the evening(s)

on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on. • • • •

I went to London last June. (not in last June) He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday) I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter) We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

Conjunctions A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.

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Here are some example conjunctions: Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

Form Conjunctions have three basic forms: •

Single Word for example: and, but, because, although

•

Compound (often ending with as or that) for example: provided that, as long as, in order that

•

Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective) for example: so...that

Function Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs": •

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example: - Jack and Jill went up the hill. - The water was warm but I didn't go swimming.

•

Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example: - I went swimming, although it was cold.

Position •

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

•

Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

Coordinating Conjunctions The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions": •

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

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A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it joins are similar in importance and structure:

+ Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in square brackets [ ]: • •

I like [tea] and [coffee]. [Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a comma before the conjunction: •

I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at university.

However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really essential: •

She is kind so she helps people.

When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional: • •

He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum. He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.

The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short, simple words. They have only two or three letters. There's an easy way to remember them - their initials spell:

F

A

N

B

O

Y

S

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

Subordinating Conjunctions The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating conjunctions are: •

after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while

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A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent) clause:

+

Look at this example: main or independent clause

subordinate or dependent clause

Ram went swimming

although

it was raining.

subordinating conjunction

A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand very well if somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram went swimming."

A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It "introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after and sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:

+ Ram went swimming although it was raining.

+

Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.

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Interjections Hi! That's an interjection. :-) Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written. The table shows some interjections with examples. Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.

interjection

meaning

example

expressing pleasure

"Ah, that feels good."

expressing realization

"Ah, now I understand."

expressing resignation

"Ah well, it can't be heped."

expressing surprise

"Ah! I've won!"

expressing grief or pity

"Alas, she's dead now."

expressing pity

"Oh dear! Does it hurt?"

expressing surprise

"Dear me! That's a surprise!"

asking for repetition

"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot today."

expressing enquiry

"What do you think of that, eh?"

expressing surprise

"Eh! Really?"

inviting agreement

"Let's go, eh?"

expressing hesitation

"Lima is the capital of...er...Peru."

expressing greeting

"Hello John. How are you today?"

expressing surprise

"Hello! My car's gone!"

calling attention

"Hey! look at that!"

expressing surprise, joy etc

"Hey! What a good idea!"

ah

alas dear

eh

er hello, hullo

hey

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hi

expressing greeting

"Hi! What's new?"

hmm

expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement

"Hmm. I'm not so sure."

expressing surprise

"Oh! You're here!"

expressing pain

"Oh! I've got a toothache."

expressing pleading

"Oh, please say 'yes'!"

ouch

expressing pain

"Ouch! That hurts!"

uh

expressing hesitation

"Uh...I don't know the answer to that."

uh-huh

expressing agreement

"Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."

um, umm

expressing hesitation

"85 divided by 5 is...um...17."

expressing surprise

"Well I never!"

introducing a remark

"Well, what did he say?"

oh, o

well

Parts of Speech Examples Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech: verb

noun

verb

noun

verb

verb

Stop!

John

works.

John

is

working.

pronoun

verb

noun

She

loves animals.

noun

verb adjective noun

Animals

like

kind

people.

noun

verb

noun

adverb

noun

verb

adjective noun

Tara

speaks

English

well.

Tara

speaks

good

pronoun

verb

preposition

adjective noun

She

ran

to

the

adverb

station quickly.

pron.

verb adj.

noun

conjunction

pron.

verb

pron.

She

likes

snakes

but

I

hate

them.

big

English.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech: Sethu

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interjection

pron.

conj.

adj.

noun

verb prep.

noun

adverb

Well,

she

and

young

John

walk to

school

slowly.

Words with More than One Job Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition; "well" can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives. To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in this sentence?" In the table on the right you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some of the words in the table. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word but has six jobs to do: •

verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjuction!

word

part of speech

example

work

noun

My work is easy.

verb

I work in London.

conjunction

John came but Mary didn't come.

preposition

Everyone came but Mary.

adjective

Are you well?

adverb

She speaks well.

interjection

Well! That's expensive!

noun

We ate in the afternoon.

noun acting as adjective

We had afternoon tea.

but

well

afternoon

Active Voice, Passive Voice There are two special forms for verbs called voice: 1. Active voice 2. Passive voice

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The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb: subject

verb object

>

active Cats

eat

fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb: subject

verb

object

<

passive Fish

are eaten

by cats.

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb: subject

verb

object

active

Everybody

drinks

water.

passive

Water

is drunk

by everybody.

Passive Voice The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.

Construction of the Passive Voice The structure of the passive voice is very simple:

subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle) The main verb is always in its past participle form. Look at these examples: subject

auxiliary verb (to be)

main verb (past participle)

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Water

is

drunk

by everyone.

100 people

are

employed

by this company.

I

am

paid

in euro.

We

are

not paid

in dollars.

Are

they

paid

in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice We use the passive when: • •

we want to make the active object more important we do not know the active subject subject

verb

object

give importance to active object (President Kennedy)

President Kennedy

was killed

by Lee Harvey Oswald.

active subject unknown

My wallet

has been stolen.

?

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats). Look at this sentence: •

He was killed with a gun.

Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example: • • •

present simple: It is made present continuous: It is being made present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

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infinitive

to be washed present

It is washed.

past

It was washed.

future

It will be washed.

conditional

It would be washed.

present

It is being washed.

past

It was being washed.

future

It will be being washed.

conditional

It would be being washed.

present

It has been washed.

past

It had been washed.

future

It will have been washed.

conditional

It would have been washed.

present

It has been being washed.

past

It had been being washed.

future

It will have been being washed.

conditional

It would have been being washed.

simple

continuous

perfect simple

perfect continuous

Tenses •

Structure: How do we make the tense?

•

Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding. Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100 native English speakers in the street and asked them about tense, one of them might give you an intelligent answer—if you were lucky. The other 99 would know little about terms like "past perfect" or "present continuous". And they would know nothing about aspect, voice or mood. But they can all speak fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it helps to know about tenses, but don't become obsessed with them. Be like those native speakers! Speak naturally!

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English Tense System In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English, the concept of tense is very important. In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing tense with time, and the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb be.

What is Tense? tense (noun): a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. (From Latin tempus = time).

Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time—past, present and future. Many languages use tenses to talk about time. Other languages have no tenses, but of course they can still talk about time, using different methods. So, we talk about time in English with tenses. But, and this is a very big but: • •

we can also talk about time without using tenses (for example, going to is a special construction to talk about the future, it is not a tense) one tense does not always talk about one time (see Tense & Time for more about this)

Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.

Mood indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be positive (affirmative) or negative • •

I like coffee. I do not like coffee.

interrogative mood expresses a question •

Why do you like coffee?

imperative mood expresses a command •

Sit down!

subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible •

The President ordered that he attend the meeting.

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Voice Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active voice, the subject does the action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (mice are eaten by cats). Among other things, we can use voice to help us change the focus of attention.

Aspect Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or duration. Present simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we wish we can stress with other tenses that: •

the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant), for example: I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report) (This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)

•

the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is, uncompleted), for example: We are eating. (This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)

Tense & Time It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time. For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time: •

I hope it rains tomorrow. "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time: •

If I had some money now, I could buy it. "had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times. TIME TENSE past

present

future

I want a coffee.

I leave tomorrow.

Present Simple She

likes

coffee.

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I am having dinner. Present Continuous They Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Continuous

are

I have seen ET.

living

I am taking my exam next month. in

London.

I have finished.

I have been playing tennis. We have been working for four hours.

Past Simple

I finished one hour ago.

Past Continuous

I was working at 2am this morning.

Past Perfect Simple

I had not eaten for 24 hours.

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Simple Future Continuous

Future Perfect Simple

We had been working for 3 hours.

If she loved you now, she would marry you.

If you came tomorrow, you would see her.

If I had been working now, I would have missed you.

If I had been working tomorrow, I could not have agreed.

Hold on. I'll do it now.

I'll see you tomorrow. I will be working at 9pm tonight. I will have finished by 9pm tonight.

We will have been married for ten years next month.

Future Perfect Continuous

They may be tired when you arrive because they will have been working. In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

Basic Tenses

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For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses. 24 Tenses

ACTIVE

past

present

future*

simple tenses

past

present

future

complex tenses formed with auxiliary verbs

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

past

present

future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

PASSIVE

Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the same.

The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice. structure auxiliary

past

present

future*

I worked

I work

I will work

I did work

I do work

main verb

normal simple intensive perfect

do

base

have

past participle I had

I have

I will have

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worked

worked

worked

continuous

be

present I was participle -ing working

I am working

I will be working

continuous perfect

have been

present I had been participle -ing working

I have been working

I will have been working

* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.

Basic Tenses: Regular Verb This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?). The basic structure is: positive: negative: question:

+ ?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses: base verb past

past participle

present participle -ing

work

worked

working

worked

SIMPLE do + base verb (except future: will + base verb)

SIMPLE PERFECT have + past participle

past

present

future

+

I did work I worked

I do work I work

I will work

-

I did not work

I do not work

I will not work

?

Did I work?

Do I work?

Will I work?

+

I had worked

I have worked

I will have worked

-

I had not worked

I have not worked

I will not have worked

?

Had I worked?

Have I worked?

Will I have worked?

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CONTINUOUS be + ing

CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing

+

I was working

I am working

I will be working

-

I was not working

I am not working

I will not be working

?

Was I working?

Am I working?

Will I be working?

+

I had been working

I have been working

I will have been working

-

I had not been working

I have not been working

I will not have been working

?

Had I been working?

Have I been working?

Will I have been working?

Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?). The basic structure is: positive: negative: question:

+ ?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses: base verb past

past participle present participle -ing

sing

sung

sang

SIMPLE do + base verb (except future: will + base verb)

singing

past

present

future

+

I did sing I sang

I do sing I sing

I will sing

+

I did not sing

I do not sing

I will not sing

+

Did I sing?

Do I sing?

Will I sing?

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SIMPLE PERFECT have + past participle

CONTINUOUS be + -ing

CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + -ing

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+

I had sung

I have sung

I will have sung

+

I had not sung

I have not sung

I will not have sung

+

Had I sung?

Have I sung?

Will I have sung?

+

I was singing

I am singing

I will be singing

+

I was not singing I am not singing

I will not be singing

+

Was I singing?

Am I singing?

Will I be singing?

+

I had been singing

I have been singing

I will have been singing

+

I had not been singing

I have not been singing

I will not have been singing

+

Had I been singing?

Have I been singing?

Will I have been singing?

The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same (except to be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are always the same (worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not always the same (sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really understand that.

Basic Tenses: Be This page shows the basic tenses with the verb be. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?). The basic structure is: positive: negative: question:

+ ?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure: positive: negative: question:

+ ?

subject + main verb subject + main verb + not main verb + subject

These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:

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base past simple

past participle present participle

present simple

be

been

am, are, is

was, were

SIMPLE present simple or past simple (except future: will + be)

SIMPLE PERFECT have + been

CONTINUOUS be + being

CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + being

being

past

present

future

+

I was

I am

I will be

-

I was not

I am not

I will not be

?

Was I?

Am I?

Will I be?

+

I had been

I have been

I will have been

-

I had not been

I have not been

I will not have been

?

Had I been?

Have I been?

Will I have been?

+

I was being

I am being

I will be being

-

I was not being

I am not being

I will not be being

?

Was I being?

Am I being?

Will I be being?

+

I had been being I have been being I will have been being

-

I had not been being

I have not been being

I will not have been being

?

Had I been being?

Have I been being?

Will I have been being?

In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses. SIMPLE

singular

past

present

future

I

was

am

will be

you

were

are

will be

he/she/it

was

is

will be

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plural

we

were

are

will be

you

were

are

will be

they

were

are

will be

past

present

future

I

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

he/she/it

had been

has been

will have been

we

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

they

had been

have been

will have been

past

present

future

I

was being

am being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

he/she/it

was being

is being

will be being

we

were being

are being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

they

were being

are being

will be being

past

present

future

I

had been being

have been being

will have been being

you

had been being

have been being

will have been being

he/she/it

had been being

has been being

will have been being

we

had been being

have been being

will have been being

you

had been being

have been being

will have been being

they

had been being

have been being

will have been being

PERFECT

singular

plural

CONTINUOUS

singular

plural

CONTINUOUS PERFECT

singular

plural

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Simple Present Tense

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I sing

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb do

base

There are three important exceptions: 1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary. 2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary. 3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives. Look at these examples with the main verb like: subject

+ ?

auxiliary verb

main verb

I, you, we, they

like

coffee.

He, she, it

likes

coffee.

I, you, we, they do

not like

coffee.

He, she, it

does

not like

coffee.

Do

I, you, we, they

like

coffee?

Does

he, she, it

like

coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

+

-

subject

main verb

I

am

French.

You, we, they

are

French.

He, she, it

is

French.

I

am

not

old.

You, we, they

are

not

old.

He, she, it

is

not

old.

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Am

I

late?

Are

you, we, they

late?

Is

he, she, it

late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense? We use the simple present tense when: • • • •

the action is general the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future the action is not only happening now the statement is always true

John drives a taxi. past

present

future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future. Look at these examples: • • • • • •

I live in New York. The Moon goes round the Earth. John drives a taxi. He does not drive a bus. We do not work at night. Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb to be in the present simple tense—some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy. past

present

future

The situation is now.

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I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall. past

present

future

The situation is general. Past, present and future. This page shows the use of the simple present tense to talk about general events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple present tense, for example in conditional or if sentences, or to talk about the future. You will learn about those later.

Present Continuous Tense I am singing We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use.

How do we make the Present Continuous Tense? The structure of the present continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb be

base + ing

Look at these examples: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

am

speaking

to you.

+

You

are

reading

this.

-

She

is

not

staying

in London.

-

We

are

not

playing

football.

?

Is

he

watching

TV?

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they

waiting

for John?

How do we use the Present Continuous Tense? We use the present continuous tense to talk about: • •

action happening now action in the future

Present continuous tense for action happening now a) for action happening exactly now

I am eating my lunch. past

present

future

The action is happening now. Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time...

...the pages are turning.

...the candle is burning.

...the numbers are spinning.

b) for action happening around now The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual.

John is going out with Mary. past

present

future

The action is happening around now. Look at these examples: •

Muriel is learning to drive.

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I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.

Present continuous tense for the future We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future—if we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words" include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking.

I am taking my exam next month. past

present

future

!!! A firm plan or programme exists now.

The action is in the future.

Look at these examples: • • •

We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table.. They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working. When are you starting your new job?

In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan were made before speaking.

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense? We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's simple— we just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double the last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how to spell the present continuous tense. Basic rule

Just add -ing to the base verb: work

>

working

play

>

playing

assist

>

assisting

see

>

seeing

be

>

being

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If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter:

s

t

o

p

consonant

stressed vowel

consonant

(vowels = a, e, i, o, u) stop

>

stopping

run

>

running

begin

>

beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed: open Exception 2

Exception 3

>

opening

If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y: lie

>

lying

die

>

dying

If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e: come

>

coming

mistake

>

mistaking

Present Perfect Tense I have sung The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English. The present perfect tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try not to translate the present perfect tense into your language. Just try to accept the concepts of this tense and learn to "think" present perfect! You will soon learn to like the present perfect tense!

How do we make the Present Perfect Tense? The structure of the present perfect tense is:

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subject + auxiliary verb + main verb have

past participle

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

have

seen

ET.

+

You

have

eaten

mine.

-

She

has

not

been

to Rome.

-

We

have

not

played

football.

?

Have

you

finished?

?

Have

they

done

it?

Contractions with the present perfect tense When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write. I have

I've

You have

You've

He has She has It has John has The car has

He's She's It's John's The car's

We have

We've

They have

They've

Here are some examples: • • •

I've finished my work. John's seen ET. They've gone home.

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He's or he's??? Be careful! The 's contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs have and be. For example, "It's eaten" can mean: • •

It has eaten. [present perfect tense, active voice] It is eaten. [present tense, passive voice]

It is usually clear from the context.

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense? This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense: 1. experience 2. change 3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar. past

present

future

!!! The action or state was in the past.

In my head, I have a memory now.

Connection with past: the event was in the past. Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it.

2. Present perfect tense for change We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:

I have bought a car. past

present

future

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-

+

Last week I didn't have a car.

Now I have a car.

John has broken his leg. past

present

+

-

Yesterday John had a good leg.

Now he has a bad leg.

future

Has the price gone up? past

present

+

-

Was the price $1.50 yesterday?

Is the price $1.70 today?

future

The police have arrested the killer. past

present

-

+

Yesterday the killer was free.

Now he is in prison.

future

Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present. Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past. Americans do not use the present perfect tense so much as British speakers. Americans often use the past tense instead. An American might say "Did you have lunch?", where a British person would say "Have you had lunch?"

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

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I have worked here since June. He has been ill for 2 days. How long have you known Tara? past

present

future

The situation started in the past.

It continues up to now.

(It will probably continue into the future.)

Connection with past: the situation started in the past. Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense We often use for and since with the present perfect tense. • •

We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.

for

since

a period of time

a point in past time

· 20 minutes

6.15pm

three days

Monday

6 months

January

4 years

1994

2 centuries

1800

a long time

I left school

ever

the beginning of time

etc

etc

Here are some examples:

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I have been here for 20 minutes. I have been here since 9 o'clock. John hasn't called for 6 months. John hasn't called since February. He has worked in New York for a long time. He has worked in New York since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been singing

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense? The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb have has

been

base + ing

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

have

been

waiting

for one hour.

+

You

have

been

talking

too much.

-

It

has

not

been

raining.

-

We

have

not

been

playing

football.

?

Have

you

been

seeing

her?

?

Have

they

been

doing

their homework?

Contractions When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing. I have been

I've been

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You have been

You've been

He has been She has been It has been John has been The car has been

He's been She's been It's been John's been The car's been

We have been

We've been

They have been

They've been

Here are some examples: • • •

I've been reading. The car's been giving trouble. We've been playing tennis for two hours.

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense? This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:

1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.

I'm tired because I've been running. past

present

future

!!! Recent action. • • •

Result now.

I'm tired [now] because I've been running. Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining? You don't understand [now] because you haven't been listening.

2. An action continuing up to now We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.

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I have been reading for 2 hours. past

present

Action started in past.

Action is continuing now.

• • • •

future

I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.] We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still studying now.] How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.] We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense We often use for and since with the present perfect tense. • •

We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.

for

since

a period of time

a point in past time

· 20 minutes

6.15pm

three days

Monday

6 months

January

4 years

1994

2 centuries

1800

a long time

I left school

ever

the beginning of time

etc

etc

Here are some examples: •

I have been studying for 3 hours.

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I have been watching TV since 7pm. Tara hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks. Tara hasn't been visiting us since March. He has been playing football for a long time. He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

Simple Past Tense I sang The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.

How do we make the Simple Past Tense? To make the simple past tense, we use: • •

past form only or auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs: V1 base

V2 past

V3 past participle

regular verb

work explode like

worked exploded liked

worked exploded liked

The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed.

irregular verb

go see sing

went saw sang

gone seen sung

The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.

You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only. The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:

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past The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb did

base

The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb did

base

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work: subject

+ ?

auxiliary verb

main verb

I

went

to school.

You

worked

very hard.

She

did

not

go

with me.

We

did

not

work

yesterday.

Did

you

go

to London?

Did

they

work

at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:

+ ?

subject

main verb

I, he/she/it

was

here.

You, we, they

were

in London.

I, he/she/it

was

not

there.

You, we, they

were

not

happy.

Was

I, he/she/it

right?

Were

you, we, they

late?

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How do we use the Simple Past Tense? We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation—an event—in the past. The event can be short or long. Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car? past

present

future

The action is in the past. Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night? past

present

future

The action is in the past. Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when: • • •

the event is in the past the event is completely finished we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

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Here are some more examples: • • • • • • • • •

I lived in that house when I was young. He didn't like the movie. What did you eat for dinner? John drove to London on Monday. Mary did not go to work yesterday. Did you play tennis last week? I was at work yesterday. We were not late (for the train). Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story: "The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..." This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.

Past Continuous Tense I was singing The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.

How do we make the Past Continuous Tense? The structure of the past continuous tense is:

subject +

auxiliary verb BE

+

main verb

conjugated in simple past tense

present participle

was were

base + ing

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:

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subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

was

watching

TV.

+

You

were

working

hard.

-

He, she, it

was

not

helping

Mary.

-

We

were

not

joking.

?

Were

you

being

silly?

?

Were

they

playing

football?

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense? The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV. past

present

future

8pm At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV. When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples: • • • • • • •

I was working at 10pm last night. They were not playing football at 9am this morning. What were you doing at 10pm last night? What were you doing when he arrived? She was cooking when I telephoned her. We were having dinner when it started to rain. Ram went home early because it was snowing.

Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses.

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We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example: " James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while. In the following example, we have two actions: 1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense 2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense past

present

future

Long action. I was watching TV at 8pm. 8pm You telephoned at 8pm. Short action. We can join these two actions with when: •

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].) We use: • •

when + short action (simple past tense) while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations: I was walking past the car When

the car exploded The car exploded

when

it exploded. I was walking past it.

while I was walking past it.

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I was walking past the car

it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative. • •

"Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds. "Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

Past Perfect Tense I had sung The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past in the past".

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense? The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb conjugated in simple past tense

past participle

had

V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

had

finished

my work.

+

You

had

stopped

before me.

-

She

had

not

gone

to school.

-

We

had

not

left.

?

Had

you

arrived?

?

Had

they

eaten

dinner?

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When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I had

I'd

you had

you'd

he had she had it had

he'd she'd it'd

we had

we'd

they had

they'd

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean: • •

We had or We would

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example: • •

We had arrived (past participle) We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense? The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example: •

The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived. past

present

future

Train leaves in past at 9am. 9

9.15

We arrive in past at 9.15am. Look at some more examples:

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I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten. They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours. I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before. "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived." "Really? Where had she gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past. past perfect tense had | done | >| past

present perfect tense have | done | >| now

future

past

now

future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you: •

"You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends: •

"We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered: Look at these examples: • • • • •

He told us that the train had left. I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong. He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain. I wondered if I had been there before. I asked them why they had not finished.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been singing

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense? The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:

subject +

auxiliary verb HAVE

+

auxiliary verb + main verb BE

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conjugated in simple past tense

past participle

present participle

been

had

base + ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

had

been

working.

+

You

had

been

playing

tennis.

-

It

had

not

been

working

well.

-

We

had

not

been

expecting

her.

?

Had

you

been

drinking?

?

Had

they

been

waiting

long?

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb: I had been

I'd been

you had been

you'd been

he had she had been it had been

he'd been she'd been it'd been

we had been

we'd been

they had been they'd been

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense? The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:

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Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.

Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived. past

present

future

Ram starts waiting in past at 9am. 9

11 I arrive in past at 11am.

Here are some more examples: • • • •

John was very tired. He had been running. I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking. Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time. Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past. past perfect continuous tense had | | been | | doing | | >>>> | | past

now

present perfect continuous tense | have | | been | | doing | | >>>> | future

past

now

future

For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you: •

"I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours."

Later, you tell your friends: •

"Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours."

Simple Future Tense I will sing The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.

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How do we make the Simple Future Tense? The structure of the simple future tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb invariable

base

will

V1

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

will

open

the door.

+

You

will

finish

before me.

-

She

will

not

be

at school tomorrow.

-

We

will

not

leave

yet.

?

Will

you

arrive

on time?

?

Will

they

want

dinner?

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will she will it will

he'll she'll it'll

we will

we'll

they will they'll

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For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this: I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not she will not it will not

he won't she won't it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

How do we use the Simple Future Tense? No Plan We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples: • • •

Hold on. I'll get a pen. We will see what we can do to help you. Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking. We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it: • • •

I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow. I think I will have a holiday next year. I don't think I'll buy that car.

Prediction We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples: • • •

It will rain tomorrow. People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century. Who do you think will get the job?

Be When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples: •

I'll be in London tomorrow. Sethu

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I'm going shopping. I won't be very long. Will you be at work tomorrow?

Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other tenses or expressions, such as the present continuous tense or going to.

Future Continuous Tense I will be singing

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense? The structure of the future continuous tense is:

subject +

auxiliary verb WILL

+

auxiliary verb + main verb BE

invariable

invariable

will

be

present participle base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

will

be

working

at 10am.

+

You

will

be

lying

on a beach tomorrow.

-

She

will

not

be

using

the car.

-

We

will

not

be

having

dinner at home.

?

Will

you

be

playing

football?

?

Will

they

be

watching

TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will: I will

I'll

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you'll

he will she will it will

he'll she'll it'll

we will

we'll

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they will they'll For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this: I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not she will not it will not

he won't she won't it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense? The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past

present

future

4pm At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working. When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples: •

I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow. Sethu

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They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight. What will you be doing at 10pm tonight? What will you be doing when I arrive? She will not be sleeping when you telephone her. We 'll be having dinner when the film starts. Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

Future Perfect Tense I will have sung The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense? The structure of the future perfect tense is:

subject +

auxiliary verb WILL

+

auxiliary verb HAVE

invariable

invariable

will

have

+

main verb past participle V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense: subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

will

have

finished

by 10am.

+

You

will

have

forgotten

me by then.

-

She

will

not

have

gone

to school.

-

We

will

not

have

left.

?

Will

you

have

arrived?

?

Will

they

have

received

it?

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In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together: I will have

I'll have

I'll've

you will have

you'll have

you'll've

he will have she will have it will have

he'll have she'll have it'll have

he'll've she'll've it'll've

we will have

we'll have

we'll've

they will have

they'll have they'll've

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense? The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example: •

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

The train will have left when you arrive. past

present

future Train leaves in future at 9am.

9

9.15 You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples: • • •

You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8. They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time. "Mary won't be at home when you arrive." "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

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present perfect tense

future perfect tense

| have | done | >| past

now

will | have | done | >| future

past

now

future

Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been singing

How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense? The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:

auxiliary auxiliary auxiliary subject + verb + verb + + verb BE WILL HAVE invariable

invariable

past participle

will

have

been

main verb present participle base + ing

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense: subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

will

have

been

working

for four hours.

+

You

will

have

been

travelling

for two days.

-

She

will

not have

been

using

the car.

-

We

will

not have

been

waiting

long.

?

Will

you

have

been

playing

football?

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have

been

watching

TV?

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will she will it will

he'll she'll it'll

we will

we'll

they will they'll For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this: I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not she will not it will not

he won't she won't it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense? We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples: • •

I will have been working here for ten years next week. He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries) Modal auxiliary verbs may sound difficult but in fact they're easy. They are invariable (no conjugation). And the main verb is always the "bare infinitive" (the infinitive without "to").

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Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience.

Can Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to: • • •

talk about possibility and ability make requests ask for or give permission

Structure of Can

subject + can + main verb The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

+

I

can

play

tennis.

-

He

play

tennis.

?

Can

play

tennis?

cannot can't you

Notice that: • •

Can is invariable. There is only one form of can. The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:

Use of Can can: Possibility and Ability We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do: • • • •

She can drive a car. John can speak Spanish. I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.) Can you hear me?

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Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present decisions about future ability. A. Can you help me with my homework? (present) B. Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)

can: Requests and Orders We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real question we do not really want to know if the person is able to do something, we want them to do it! The use of can in this way is informal (mainly between friends and family): • • • •

Can you make a cup of coffee, please. Can you put the TV on. Can you come here a minute. Can you be quiet!

can: Permission We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something: A. Can I smoke in this room? B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden. (Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of can for permission is informal.)

Could Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to: • •

talk about past possibility or ability make requests

Structure of Could

subject + could + main verb The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). subject

+ -

auxiliary verb

My grandmother could

main verb swim.

could not She

walk. couldn't

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your grandmother

swim?

Notice that: • •

Could is invariable. There is only one form of could. The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:

Use of Could could: Past Possibility or Ability We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do: • • • •

I could swim when I was 5 years old. My grandmother could speak seven languages. When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn't open the door.) Could you understand what he was saying?

We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when we talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive) and couldn't (negative). Look at these examples: Past General

Specific Occasion

+

My grandmother could speak Spanish.

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were able to save him.

-

My grandmother couldn't speak Spanish.

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police couldn't save him.

could: Requests We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in this way is fairly polite (formal): • •

Could you tell me where the bank is, please? Could you send me a catalogue, please?

Be able to

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Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we sometimes use it instead of can and could. We use be able to: •

to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to The structure of be able to is:

subject + be + able + infinitive be

able

subject

main verb

adjective

infinitive

+

I

am

able

to drive.

-

She

able

to drive.

?

Are

able

to drive?

is not isn't you

Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example: • • •

I was able to drive... I will be able to drive... I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form: •

I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

Use of Be able to be able to: ability We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or means to do something. If we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can swim". We sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able to" is possible in all tenses—but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive form. So we use "be able to" when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these examples: •

I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect)

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You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple) I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.

Have to Must, Must not/Mustn't Must is a modal auxiliary verb. Have to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb have as a main verb). We include have to here for convenience.

Have to (objective obligation) We often use have to to say that something is obligatory, for example: •

Children have to go to school.

Structure of Have to Have to is often grouped with modal auxiliary verbs for convenience, but in fact it is not a modal verb. It is not even an auxiliary verb. In the have to structure, "have" is a main verb. The structure is:

subject + auxiliary verb + have + infinitive (with to) Look at these examples in the simple tense: subject

+

She

-

I

?

Did

auxiliary verb main verb have

infinitive (with to)

has

to work.

do not

have

to see

the doctor.

you

have

to go

to school?

Use of Have to In general, have to expresses impersonal obligation. The subject of have to is obliged or forced to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or school rules). Have to is objective. Look at these examples: • •

In France, you have to drive on the right. In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform. Sethu

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John has to wear a tie at work.

In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea. The obligation is imposed from outside. We can use have to in all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate it just like any other main verb. Here are some examples: subject

auxiliary verb

main verb have

infinitive

past simple

I

had

to work

yesterday.

present simple

I

have

to work

today.

future simple

I

will

have

to work

tomorrow.

present continuous

She

is

having

to wait.

present perfect

We

have

had

to change

the time.

modal (may)

They

may

have

to do

it again.

Must (subjective obligation) We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example: •

I must go.

Structure of Must Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is:

subject + must + main verb The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to"). Look at these examples: subject auxiliary must

main verb

I

must

go

home.

You

must

visit

us.

We

must

stop

now.

Like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by to. So, we say:

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I must go now. (not *I must to go now.)

Use of Must In general, must expresses personal obligation. Must expresses what the speaker thinks is necessary. Must is subjective. Look at these examples: • • •

I must stop smoking. You must visit us soon. He must work harder.

In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the person speaking. In fact, it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from outside. It is sometimes possible to use must for real obligation, for example a rule or a law. But generally we use have to for this.

We can use must to talk about the present or the future. Look at these examples: • •

I must go now. (present) I must call my mother tomorrow. (future)

We cannot use must to talk about the past. We use have to to talk about the past.

Must not, Mustn't (prohibition) We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for example: •

Passengers must not talk to the driver.

Structure of Must not Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for must not is:

subject + must not + main verb The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to"). Must not is often contracted to mustn't.

Look at these examples: subject

auxiliary must + not

main verb

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I

mustn't

forget

my keys.

You

mustn't

disturb

him.

Students

must not

be

late.

NB: like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by "to". So, we say: •

You mustn't arrive late. (not You mustn't to arrive late.)

Use of Must not Must not expresses prohibition - something that is not permitted, not allowed. The prohibition can be subjective (the speaker's opinion) or objective (a real law or rule). Look at these examples: • • • •

I mustn't eat so much sugar. (subjective) You mustn't watch so much television. (subjective) Students must not leave bicycles here. (objective) Policemen must not drink on duty. (objective)

We can use must not to talk about the present or the future: • •

Visitors must not smoke. (present) I mustn't forget Tara's birthday. (future)

We cannot use must not to talk about the past. We use other structures to talk about the past, for example: • •

We were not allowed to enter. I couldn't park outside the shop.

Shall versus Will People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true. The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract them in speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist. The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will: 1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact) Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

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I

shall

I shall be in London tomorrow.

I'll

you

will

You will see a large building on the left.

You'll

he, she, it

will

He will be wearing blue.

He'll

we

shall

We shall not be there when you arrive.

We shan't

you

will

You will find his office on the 7th floor.

You'll

they

will

They will arrive late.

They'll

2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command)

Singular

Plural

Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

I

will

I will do everything possible to help.

I'll

you

shall

You shall be sorry for this.

You'll

he, she, it

shall

It shall be done.

It'll

we

will

We will not interfere.

We won't

you

shall

You shall do as you're told.

You'll

they

shall

They shall give one month's notice.

They'll

It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make assertions such as "People in the USA never use 'shall'" peruse a good USA English dictionary, or many USA legal documents which often contain phrases such as: •

Each party shall give one month's notice in writing in the event of termination.

Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and would. It is perfectly normal, and somewhat more elegant, to write, for example: •

I should be grateful if you would kindly send me your latest catalogue.

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