Index

++Pronouns
+Personal pronouns…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
+'it' and 'there' as dummy subjects…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
+Demonstratives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
+'one' and 'ones'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
+Pronouns in questions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
+Reflexive pronouns………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
+Reciprocal pronouns………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16
+Indefinite pronouns……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
+Relative pronouns and relative clauses…………………………………………………………………………………………………..19

++Determiners and quantifiers

+Specific and general determiners……………………………………………………………………………………………………………23
+The indefinite article: 'a' and 'an'……………………………………………………………………………………………………………25
+The definite article: 'the'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..26
+Interrogative determiners: 'which' and 'what'………………………………………………………………………………………..29
+Quantifiers…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30

++Possessives
+Possessives: nouns…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………34
+Possessives: adjectives…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..35
+Possessives: pronouns……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………36
+Possessives: questions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..37
+Possessives: reciprocal pronouns……………………………………………………………………………………………………………37

++Adjectives
+Where adjectives go in a sentence………………………………………………………………………………………………………….38
+Adjectives with '-ing' and '-ed'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..39
+Adjective order………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40
+Comparative and superlative adjectives…………………………………………………………………………………………………43
+Intensifiers…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….46
+Mitigators……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..49
+Noun modifiers………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………51

1
Index
++Adverbials
+How we make adverbials……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….53
+Where adverbials go in a sentence…………………………………………………………………………………………………………54
+Adverbials of manner…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….55
-Intensifiers and mitigators………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………57
+Adverbials of place…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………58
-Adverbials of location…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….60
-Adverbials of direction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………61
-Adverbials of distance…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….62
+Adverbials of time………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….63
-When (time and dates)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………64
-How long………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..66
-'still' and 'no longer', 'already' and 'yet'…………………………………………………………………………………………………..67
-How often………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………69
+Adverbials of probability……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….71
+Comparative and superlative adverbs…………………………………………………………………………………………………….72

++Nouns
+Count nouns………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….74
+Uncount nouns………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………76
+Common problems with count and uncount nouns…………………………………………………………………………………78
+Group nouns………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….80
+Things with two parts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….81
+Proper nouns…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………82
+Noun phrases…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………83

2
Index
++Verbs
+Verb phrases………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….85
+Irregular verbs……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….88
+Questions and negatives………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..89
+Short forms……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………94
+The verb 'be'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….99
+Present tense………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………102
-Present simple……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..104
-Present continuous………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………107
-Present perfect…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….110
+Past tense……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………114
-Past simple…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..116
-Past continuous……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………118
-Past perfect………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….120
+Perfect aspect………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………122
+Continuous aspect..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..125
+Modal verbs…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………127
-Probability……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………128
-Ability…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..130
-Permission……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………131
-Requests, offers and invitations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………132
-Suggestions and obligations………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….133
-'can' and 'could'……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………134
-'may' and 'might'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….137
-'will' and 'would'…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..139
-'will have' and 'would have'………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….143
-Modals with 'have'……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….144
+Active and passive voice………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………145
+'to'-infinitives………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………147
+'-ing' forms…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..150
+Talking about the present…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….152
+Talking about the past………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….154
+Talking about the future………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………157
+Verbs in time clauses and 'if' clauses…………………………………………………………………………………………………….160
+Wishes and hypotheses……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….163
+Clause structure and verb patterns……………………………………………………………………………………………………….166
-Link verbs……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..169
-Multi-word verbs………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….170
-Double object verbs………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………173
-Verbs followed by the infinitive…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….175
-Reporting verbs with 'that', 'wh-' and 'if' clauses……………………………………………………………………………………179
-Reported speech…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..181
-Ergative verbs………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………183
-Verbs followed by the '-ing' form…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..185
+Delexical verbs: 'have', 'take', 'make', 'give', 'go' and 'do'………………………………………………………………………187

3
++Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. We often use them to avoid repeating the nouns
that they refer to. Pronouns have different forms for the different ways we use them.

+Personal pronouns
Level: beginner

We have both subject pronouns and object pronouns:

Subject Object Subject Object

I me it It
you you we us
he him you you
she her they them

We use subject pronouns as the subject of a verb:

I like your dress.

You are late.
He is my friend.
It is raining.
She is on holiday.
We live in England.
They come from London.

Be careful!
English clauses always have a subject.

His father has just retired. > He was a teacher. (NOT Was a teacher.)
I'm waiting for my wife. > She is late. (NOT Is late.)

The imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and requests, is an exception:

Stop!
Go away.
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again, please.

If there is no other subject, we use it or there. We call this a dummy subject.

4
We use object pronouns as the object of a verb:

Can you help me, please?

I can see you.
She doesn't like him.
I saw her in town today.
We saw them in town yesterday, but they didn't see us.

and after prepositions:

She is waiting for me.

I'll get it for you.
Give it to him.
Why are you looking at her?
Don't take it from us.
I'll speak to them.

he, she and they

We use he/him to refer to men, and she/her to refer to women. When we are not sure if we are
talking about a man or a woman, we use they/them:

This is Jack. He's my brother. I don't think you have met him.
This is Angela. She's my sister. Have you met her before?
You could go to a doctor. They might help you.
Talk to a friend. Ask them to help you.

you and they

We use you to talk about people in general, including the speaker and the hearer:

You can buy this book everywhere. = This book is on sale everywhere.
You can't park here. = Parking is not allowed here.

We use they/them to talk about institutions and organisations:

They serve good food here. (they = the restaurant)

Ask them for a cheaper ticket. (them = the airline)

especially the government and the authorities:

They don't let you smoke in here.

They are going to increase taxes.
They are building a new motorway.
They say it’s going to rain tomorrow.

5
it

We use it to talk about ourselves:

• on the telephone:

Hello. It's George.

• when other people cannot see us:

It's me. It's Mary. (Mary is knocking on the door.)

We also use it to talk about other people:

• when we point people out for the first time:

Look. It's Paul McCartney.

Who's that? I think it's John's brother.

• when we cannot see someone and we ask them for their name:

Hello. Who is it? (someone answering the phone)

Who is it? (someone about to answer the door)

6
+'it' and 'there' as dummy subjects
Level: beginner

English clauses always have a subject:

His father has just retired. > He was a teacher. (NOT Was a teacher.)
I'm waiting for my wife. > She is late. (NOT Is late.)

... except for the imperative:

Go away.
Play it again, please.

there

If there is no other subject, we use there to talk about:

• where or when something is:

There's an interesting book on the shelf.

There'll be an eclipse of the moon tonight.

• a number or amount:

There is plenty of bread left.

There were twenty people at the meeting.

• something existing or happening:

There's a small problem.

There was a nasty fight.

it

We use it to talk about:

• times and dates:

It's nearly one o'clock.

It's my birthday.

• the weather:

It's raining.
It's a lovely day.
It was getting cold.
7
We use it with the verb be and an –ing form or to-infinitive to express opinions:

It's great living here.

It's nice to meet you.

8
+Demonstratives
Level: beginner

this and these

We use this (singular) and these (plural) as pronouns:

• to talk about people or things near us:

This is a nice cup of tea.

Whose shoes are these?

• to introduce people:

This is Janet.
These are my friends John and Michael.

Be careful!
We say, This is John and this is Michael. (NOT These are John and Michael.)

• to begin a conversation on the phone:

Hello, this is David. Can I speak to Sally?

that and those

We use that (singular) and those (plural) as pronouns to talk about things that are not near us:

What's that?
Those are very expensive shoes.
This is our house, and that's Rebecca's house over there.

We also use that to reply to something someone has said:

'Shall we go to the cinema?' 'Yes, that’s a good idea.'

'I've got a new job.' 'That's great.'
'I'm very tired.' 'Why is that?'

9
With nouns

We can also use this, these, that and those with nouns. We use this and these for people or things
near us:

We have lived in this house for twenty years.

Have you read all of these books?

and that and those for people or things that are not near us:

Who lives in that house?

Who are those people?

10
+'one' and 'ones'
Level: beginner

We use one (singular) and ones (plural):

• after an adjective:

See those two girls? Helen is the tall one and Jane is the short one.
Which is your car, the red one or the blue one?
My trousers are torn. I need some new ones.

• after the:

See those two girls? Helen is the one on the left.

Let's look at the photographs – the ones you took in Paris.

after which in questions:

You can borrow a book. Which one do you want?

Which ones are yours?

11
+Pronouns in questions
Level: beginner

We use who to ask questions about people:

Who is that?
Who lives here?
Who did you see?

We use whose to ask about possession:

Whose coat is this? or Whose is this coat?

Whose book is that? or Whose is that book?
Whose bags are those? or Whose are those bags?

We use what to ask questions about things:

What is that?
What do you want?

We use which to ask someone to choose something:

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I've got two books. Which do you want?

We can also use what and which with nouns:

What subjects did you study at school?

What newspaper do you read?
Which newspaper do you read – The Times or The Guardian?
Which book do you want?
Which one is yours?

We often have a preposition at the end of a question:

Who does this book belong to?

What are you looking for?
Which university did you go to?

12
+Reflexive pronouns
Level: beginner

The reflexive pronouns are:

singular: myself yourself himself herself itself

plural: ourselves yourselves themselves

We use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the
verb:

I fell over and hurt myself.

Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself.

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these are the most
common:

amuse enjoy kill

blame help prepare
cut hurt satisfy
dry introduce teach

Be careful!
We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for
themselves:

He washed in cold water.

He always shaved before going out in the evening.
Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.

She’s old enough to wash herself.

Level: intermediate

We use reflexive pronouns as an indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the
subject of the verb:

Would you like to pour yourself a drink?

We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

13
We use reflexive pronouns as the object of a preposition when the object is the same as the
subject of the verb:

They had to cook for themselves.

He was feeling very sorry for himself.

but we use object pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place:

He had a suitcase beside him. (NOT himself)

and after with when it means accompanied by:

She had a few friends with her. (NOT herself)

We use reflexives with the preposition by:

• to show that someone did something without any help:

The children got dressed by themselves.

I prepared the whole meal by myself.

• to show that someone was alone:

He lived by himself in an enormous house.

She walked home by herself.

We use reflexive pronouns intensively to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to:

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

• especially if we are talking about someone very famous:

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it intensively for
emphasis:

I baked the bread myself.

She mended the car herself.

14
Level: advanced

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

Would you like to help yourself to another drink?

= Would you like to take another drink?
I wish the children would behave themselves.
= I wish the children would behave well.
He found himself lying by the side of the road.
= He was surprised when he realised that he was lying by the side of the road.
I saw myself as a famous actor.
= I imagined that I was a famous actor.
She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.
= She worked very hard to mend the lights.
He busied himself in the kitchen.
= He worked busily in the kitchen.
I had to content myself with a few euros.
= I had to be satisfied with a few euros.

15
+Reciprocal pronouns
Level: intermediate

We use the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another when two or more people do the
same thing.

Peter and Mary helped each other.

= Peter helped Mary and Mary helped Peter.
We sent one another Christmas cards.
= We sent them a Christmas card and they sent us a Christmas card.
They didn't look at each other.
= X didn't look at Y and Y didn't look at X.

We also use the possessive forms each other's and one another's:

They helped to look after each other's children.

The group of students often stayed in one another's houses.

Note that we do not use reciprocal pronouns as the subject of a clause.

Be careful!
Reciprocal pronouns and plural reflexive pronouns (ourselves, yourselves, themselves) have
different meanings:

John and Fred talk to each other regularly.

= John talks to Fred and Fred talks to John.
John and Fred regularly talk to themselves.
= John talks to himself and Fred talks to himself.

16
+Indefinite pronouns
Level: beginner

Some of the indefinite pronouns in English are:

anybody everybody nobody somebody

anyone everyone no one someone
anything everything nothing something

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they
are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -thing for things:

Everybody enjoyed the concert.

I opened the door but there was no one at home.
It was a very clear day. We could see everything.

We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:

Everybody loves Sally.

Everything was ready for the party.

When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun, we normally use a plural pronoun:

Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped.

I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting a long time.

Be careful!
In negative clauses, we use pronouns with no-, not pronouns with any-:

Nobody came. (NOT Anybody didn't come.)

We do not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing:

Nobody came. (NOT Nobody didn't come.)

Nothing happened. (NOT Nothing didn't happen.)

17
We can add 's to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive:

They were staying in somebody's house.

Is this anybody's coat?

We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to other people or things:

All the family came, but no one else.

If Michael can't come, we'll ask somebody else.
I think this is somebody else's coat.

18
+Relative pronouns and relative clauses
Level: beginner

The relative pronouns are:

Subject Object Possessive

who who/whom whose
which Which whose
that That -

We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. Relative clauses tell us more about people
and things:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

This is the house which Jack built.
Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

We use:

• who and whom for people

• which for things
• that for people or things.

Two kinds of relative clause

There are two kinds of relative clause:

1. We use relative clauses to make clear which person or thing we are talking about:

Marie Curie is the woman who discovered radium.

This is the house which Jack built.

In this kind of relative clause, we can use that instead of who or which:

Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

This is the house that Jack built.

We can leave out the pronoun if it is the object of the relative clause:

This is the house that Jack built. (that is the object of built)

19
 Be careful!
The relative pronoun is the subject/object of the relative clause, so we do not repeat the
subject/object:

Marie Curie is the woman who she discovered radium.

(who is the subject of discovered, so we don't need she)

This is the house that Jack built it.

(that is the object of built, so we don't need it)

2. We also use relative clauses to give more information about a person, thing or situation:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

We had fish and chips, which I always enjoy.
I met Rebecca in town yesterday, which was a nice surprise.

With this kind of relative clause, we use commas (,) to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Be careful!
In this kind of relative clause, we cannot use that:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

(NOT Lord Thompson, that is 76, has just retired.)

and we cannot leave out the pronoun:

We had fish and chips, which I always enjoy.

(NOT We had fish and chips, I always enjoy.)

Level: intermediate

whose and whom

We use whose as the possessive form of who:

This is George, whose brother went to school with me.

We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition:

This is George, whom you met at our house last year.

(whom is the object of met)

This is George’s brother, with whom I went to school.

(whom is the object of with)

20
but nowadays we normally use who:

This is George, who you met at our house last year.

This is George’s brother, who I went to school with.

Relative pronouns with prepositions

When who(m) or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning of the
clause:

I had an uncle in Germany, from who(m) I inherited a bit of money.

We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood.

or at the end of the clause:

I had an uncle in Germany, who(m) I inherited a bit of money from.

We bought a chainsaw, which we cut all the wood up with.

But when that has a preposition, the preposition always comes at the end:

I didn't know the uncle that I inherited the money from.

We can't find the chainsaw that we cut all the wood up with.

when and where

We can use when with times and where with places to make it clear which time or place we are
talking about:

England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year when we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the tsunami happened.

Do you remember the place where we caught the train?

Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.

We can leave out when:

England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the tsunami happened.

21
We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns:

all of which/whom most of which/whom many of which/whom

lots of which/whom a few of which/whom none of which/whom
one of which/whom two of which/whom etc.

She has three brothers, two of whom are in the army.

I read three books last week, one of which I really enjoyed.
There were some good programmes on the radio, none of which I listened to.

22
++Determiners and quantifiers
Determiners and quantifiers are words we use in front of nouns. We use determiners to identify
things (this book, my sister) and we use quantifiers to say how much or how many (a few people, a
lot of problems).

+Specific and general determiners

Level: beginner

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of noun phrases. They tell us whether a noun
phrase is specific or general.

Specific determiners

The specific determiners are:

• the definite article: the

• possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
• demonstratives: this, that, these, those

We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are
referring to:

Can you pass me the salt, please?

Thank you very much for your letter.
Whose coat is this?
Look at those lovely flowers.

General determiners

We use a general determiner when we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader
does not know exactly what we are referring to.

The general determiners are:

a/an 0 (no determiner) any another other

The most frequent general determiner is the indefinite article a/an used with singular nouns:

A man came this morning and left a parcel.

He was wearing a big coat and a cap.

23
We use no determiner with plural nouns and uncount nouns:

Girls normally do better in school than boys. (plural nouns)

Milk is very good for you. (uncount noun)
Health and education are very important. (uncount nouns)

We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking
about all of those people or things:

It's very easy. Any child can do it. = All children can do it.
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car. = all cars
I like bananas, oranges, apples – any fruit. = all kinds of fruit

(Note that any is also used as a quantifier in negative and interrogative sentences.)

We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing:

Would you like another glass of wine?

The plural form of another is other:

I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.

24
+The indefinite article: 'a' and 'an'
Level: beginner

We use the indefinite article, a/an, with singular nouns when the listener/reader does not know
exactly which one we are referring to:

Police are searching for a 14-year-old girl.

We also use it to show that the person or thing is one of a group:

She is a pupil at London Road School.

Police have been looking for a 14-year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.

Jenny Brown is a pupil at London Road School. She is 1.6 metres tall, with short, blonde hair. When
she left home, she was wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse, dark blue jeans and blue
shoes.

Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800 349 781.

We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns or uncount nouns:

She was wearing blue shoes. (plural noun)

She has short, blonde hair. (uncount noun)

We use a before a consonant sound:

a banana (starts with /b/) a university (starts with /j/)

and an before a vowel sound:

an orange (starts with /o/) an hour (starts with /au/)

Note that the choice of a or an depends on sound, not spelling.

25
+The definite article: 'the'
Level: beginner

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.

We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly
what we are referring to:

• because there is only one:

The Pope is visiting Russia.

The moon is very bright tonight.
Who is the president of France?

This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:

He is the tallest boy in the class.

It is the oldest building in the town.

• because there is only one in that context:

We live in a small house next to the church. (= the church in our village)
Dad, can I borrow the car? (= the car that belongs to our family)
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house, we went to the beach every day. (= the beach near
my grandmother’s house)
Look at the boy over there. (= the boy I am pointing at)

• because we have already mentioned it:

A young man got a nasty shock when he tried to rob a jewellery shop in Richmond. The man used a
heavy hammer to smash the windows in the shop.

We also use the definite article:

• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:

The wolf is not really a dangerous animal. (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals.)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia. (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia.)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies.)

26
We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:

Joe plays the piano really well.

She is learning the guitar.

• to refer to a system or service:

How long does it take on the train?

I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.

Level: intermediate

We can also use the definite article with adjectives like rich, poor, elderly and unemployed to talk
about groups of people:

Life can be very hard for the poor.

I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the disabled.

Level: beginner

The definite article with names

We do not normally use the definite article with names:

William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.

But we do use the definite article with:

• countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:

the United Kingdom the Kingdom of Bhutan

the United States the People's Republic of China

• countries which have plural nouns as their names:

the Netherlands the Philippines

• geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans
and canals:

the Himalayas the Canaries the Atlantic (Ocean) the Amazon the Panama Canal

27
 • newspapers:

The Times The Washington Post

• well-known buildings or works of art:

the Empire State Building the Taj Mahal the Mona Lisa

• organisations:

the United Nations the Seamen's Union

• hotels, pubs and restaurants:

the Ritz the Ritz Hotel the King's Head the Déjà Vu

But note that we do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name
of the owner:

Brown's Brown's Hotel Morel's Morel's Restaurant

• families:

the Obamas the Jacksons

28
+Interrogative determiners: 'which' and 'what'
Level: intermediate

The interrogative determiners are which and what.

which is a specific determiner

Here are three books. Which book do you think is the most interesting?
They have four boys. Which boy is the oldest?
I can’t remember which house Janet lives in.
Which restaurant did you go to?

what is a general determiner

What food do you like?

I don’t know what job she does.

29
+Quantifiers
Level: beginner

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something:
how much or how many.

Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:

Most children start school at the age of five.

We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.

Quantifiers with count and uncount nouns

We can use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all some more a lot of enough

no any most lots of less

We have lots of time.

Joe has lots of friends.
I can't go out. I've got no money.
There was a lot of food but no drinks.

Level: intermediate

These more colloquial forms are also used with both count and uncount nouns:

plenty of heaps of a load of loads of tons of

We have loads of time.

Joe has plenty of friends.
There was heaps of food.

30
Level: beginner

some and any

We do not normally use the quantifier some in negative and interrogative sentences. We normally
use any:

Do you have any children?

Did you see any friends?
We don't have any children.
I didn't see any friends.
We saw some lions at the zoo, but we didn't see any tigers.

but we can use some for offers and requests:

Would you like some tea?

I want some apples, please.

Quantifiers with count nouns

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

(not) many each either (a) few

several both neither fewer

These more colloquial forms are used only with count nouns:

a couple of hundreds of thousands of

I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.

There were hundreds of people at the meeting.

Quantifiers with uncount nouns

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

(not) much a bit of a little

Would you like a little wine?

Could I have a bit of butter, please?

31
These quantifiers are used particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money and trouble:

a great deal of a good deal of

It will probably cost a great deal of money.

He spent a good deal of time watching television.

Level: intermediate

Members of groups

We put a noun directly after a quantifier when we are talking about members of a group in
general:

Few snakes are dangerous.

Most children like chocolate.
I never have enough money.

but if we are talking about members of a specific group, we use of the as well:

Few of the snakes in this zoo are dangerous.

Most of the boys at my school play football.
He’s spent all (of) the money that we gave him.
Both (of) the chairs in my office are broken.

Note: with all and both, we don’t need to use of. We can say all the … and both the … .

both, either and neither

If we are talking about two people or things, we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket Two supermarkets More than two supermarkets

The supermarket Both the supermarkets All the supermarkets
was closed. were closed. were closed.
The supermarket Neither of the supermarkets None of the supermarkets
wasn’t open. was open. were open.
I don’t think the I don’t think either of the I don’t think any of the
supermarket supermarkets supermarkets
was open. was open. were open.

Note that nouns with both have a plural verb but nouns with either and neither have a singular
verb.

32
every and each

We use the quantifiers every and each with singular nouns to mean all:

There was a party in every street. (= There were parties in all the streets.)
Every shop was decorated with flowers. (= All the shops were decorated with flowers.)
Each child was given a prize. (= All the children were given a prize.)
There was a prize in each competition. (= There were prizes in all the competitions.)

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:

When we were children, we had holidays at our grandmother's every year.

When we stayed at my grandmother's house, we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.

We do not use a determiner with every and each:

Every shop was decorated with flowers. (NOT The every shop)
Each child was given a prize. (NOT The each child)

33
++Possessives
Possessives are forms that we use to talk about possessions and relationships between things and
people. They take different forms depending on how they are used.

+Possessives: nouns
Level: beginner

We add 's to singular nouns to show possession:

We are having a party at John's house.

Michael drove his friend's car.

We add ' to plural nouns ending in -s:

This is my parents' house.

Those are ladies' shoes.

But we use 's with irregular plural nouns:

men women children people

These are men's shoes.

Children's clothes are very expensive.

We can use a possessive instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating words:

Is that John's car?

No, it's Mary's. (NOT No, it's Mary's [car].)

Whose coat is this?

It's my wife's. (NOT It's my wife's [coat].)

34
+Possessives: adjectives
Level: beginner

Subject Object Possessive adjective

I me my
you you your
he him his
she her her
it it its
we us our
they them their

We use possessive adjectives:

• to show something belongs to somebody:

That's our house.

My car is very old.

• for relations and friends:

My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?

• for parts of the body:

He's broken his arm.

She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.

Be careful!
The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ('):

That bird has broken its (NOT it's) wing.

(it's always means it is or it has.)

35
+Possessives: pronouns
Level: beginner

Subject Object Possessive adjective Possessive pronoun

I me my mine
you you your yours
he him his his
she her her hers
it it its -
we us our ours
they them their theirs

Be careful!
Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:

Is that car yours/hers/ours/theirs?

(NOT Is that car your's/her's/our's/their's?)

We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating words:

Is that John's car?

No, it's mine. (NOT No, it's [my car].)

Whose coat is this?

Is it yours? (NOT Is it [your coat]?)

Her coat is grey.

Mine is brown. (NOT [My coat] is brown.)

Level: intermediate

We can use possessive pronouns and nouns after of. We can say:

Susan is one of my friends. > Susan is a friend of mine.

(NOT Susan is a friend of me.)

I am one of Susan's friends. > I am a friend of Susan's.

(NOT I am a friend of Susan.)

36
+Possessives: questions
Level: beginner

We use whose to ask questions about possession:

Pattern A Pattern B
Whose coat is this? or Whose is this coat?
Whose book is that? or Whose is that book?
Whose pens are those? or Whose are those pens?
Whose bags are those? or Whose are those bags?

Be careful!
Be careful not to confuse whose and who's (= who is). They are pronounced in the same way but
spelled differently:

Whose coat is this?

Who's (= Who is) Stefan?

+Possessives: reciprocal pronouns

Level: intermediate

When two or more people do the same thing, we can use the possessive forms of the reciprocal
pronouns each other’s and one another’s:

They helped to look after each other’s children.

37
++Adjectives
Adjectives are words that give more information about a noun or pronoun and can go in different
positions in a sentence.

+Where adjectives go in a sentence

Level: beginner

We use adjectives to describe nouns.

Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun:

They have a beautiful house.

We saw a very exciting film last night.

or after a link verb like be, look or feel:

Their house is beautiful.

That film looks interesting.

38
+Adjectives with '-ing' and '-ed'
Level: beginner

A lot of adjectives are made from verbs by adding -ing or -ed:

-ing adjectives

The commonest -ing adjectives are:

amusing frightening
annoying tiring
boring shocking
disappointing surprising
exciting worrying
interesting

If you say something is interesting, you mean it interests you:

I read a very interesting article in the newspaper today.

If you say something is terrifying, you mean it terrifies you:

That Dracula film was absolutely terrifying.

-ed adjectives

The commonest -ed adjectives are:

annoyed excited
bored frightened
closed tired
delighted worried
disappointed

If something bores you, you can say you feel bored.

We had nothing to do. We were really bored.

If something terrifies you, you can say you are terrified.

I didn't really enjoy the Dracula film. Most of the time I was terrified.

39
+Adjective order
Level: intermediate

Two adjectives

We often have two adjectives in front of a noun:

a handsome young man

a big black car
that horrible big dog

Some adjectives give a general opinion. We can use these adjectives to describe almost any noun:

good nice awful

bad beautiful important
lovely brilliant wonderful
strange excellent nasty

He's a good/wonderful/brilliant/bad/dreadful teacher.

That's a good/wonderful/brilliant/bad/dreadful book.

Some adjectives give a specific opinion. We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds
of noun, for example:

Food Furniture, buildings People, animals

clever
delicious comfortable
intelligent
tasty uncomfortable
friendly

We usually put a general opinion in front of a specific opinion:

nice tasty soup

a nasty uncomfortable armchair
a lovely intelligent animal

We usually put an opinion adjective in front of a descriptive adjective:

a nice red dress

a silly old man
those horrible yellow curtains

40
Adjectives after link verbs

We use some adjectives only after a link verb:

afraid ill
alive ready
alone sorry
asleep sure
content unable
glad well

Some of the commonest -ed adjectives are normally used only after a link verb:

annoyed
bored
finished
pleased
thrilled

We say:

Our teacher was ill.

My uncle was very glad when he heard the news.
The policeman seemed to be very annoyed.

but we do not say:

We had an ill teacher.

When he heard the news he was a very glad uncle.
He seemed to be a very annoyed policeman.

Level: advanced

Three or more adjectives

Sometimes we have three adjectives in front of a noun, but this is unusual:

a nice handsome young man

a big black American car
that horrible big fierce dog

It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives.

41
Adjectives usually come in this order:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
General opinion Specific opinion Size Shape Age Colour Nationality Material

Adjectives in front of nouns

A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun:

north northern countless indoor

south southern occasional outdoor
east eastern lone
west western mere

We say:

He lives in the eastern district.

There were countless problems with the new machinery.

but we do not say:

The district he lives in is eastern.

The problems with the new machinery were countless.

42
+Comparative and superlative adjectives
Level: beginner

Comparative adjectives

We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons:

This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.

I'm feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden.

We use than when we want to compare one thing with another:

She is two years older than me.

New York is much bigger than Boston.
He is a better player than Ronaldo.
France is a bigger country than Britain.

When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives
with and:

The balloon got bigger and bigger.

Everything is getting more and more expensive.
Grandfather is looking older and older.

We often use the with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another:

The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.

(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)

The higher they climbed, the colder it got.

(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)

Superlative adjectives

We use the with superlative adjectives:

It was the happiest day of my life.

Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
That’s the best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters: Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest.

43
How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives:

old older oldest

long longer longest

If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

nice nicer nicest

large larger largest

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:

big bigger biggest

fat fatter fattest

If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est:

happy happier happiest

silly sillier silliest

We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two syllable adjectives
and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:

careful more careful most careful

interesting more interesting most interesting

However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or
use more and most:

common narrow
cruel pleasant
gentle polite
handsome simple
likely stupid

He is certainly handsomer than his brother.

His brother is handsome, but he is more handsome.
She is one of the politest people I have ever met.
She is the most polite person I have ever met.

44
The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives:

good better best

bad worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthest

45
+Intensifiers
Level: intermediate

We use words like very, really and extremely to make adjectives stronger:

It's a very interesting story.

Everyone was very excited.
It's a really interesting story.
Everyone was extremely excited.

We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are:

amazingly particularly
exceptionally remarkably
incredibly unusually

We also use enough to say more about an adjective, but enough comes after its adjective:

If you are seventeen, you are old enough to drive a car.

I can't wear those shoes. They're not big enough.

Intensifiers with strong adjectives

Strong adjectives are words like:

very big enormous, huge

very small tiny
very clever brilliant
very bad awful, terrible, disgusting, dreadful
very sure certain
very good excellent, perfect, ideal, wonderful, splendid
very tasty delicious

We do not normally use very with these adjectives. We do not say something is very enormous or
someone is very brilliant.

46
With strong adjectives, we normally use intensifiers like:

absolutely really
completely quite
exceptionally totally
particularly utterly

The film was absolutely awful.

He was an exceptionally brilliant child.
The food smelled really disgusting.

Be careful!
Level: advanced

Intensifiers with particular adjectives

Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives depending on the meaning of the adjective:

I'm afraid your wife is dangerously ill.

The engine was dangerously hot.
The car was seriously damaged.
Fortunately none of the passengers was seriously hurt.

Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives. For example, we use the intensifier highly with
the adjectives successful, intelligent, likely and unlikely:

He was highly intelligent.

She’s a highly successful businesswoman.

but we do NOT say:

We had a highly tasty meal.

That is a highly good idea.

We use the intensifier bitterly with the adjectives disappointed, unhappy and cold:

I was bitterly unhappy at school.

We were bitterly disappointed to lose the match.
It can get bitterly cold in winter.

You need to use your dictionary to find which nouns these intensifiers go with.

47
Level: intermediate

Intensifiers with comparatives and superlatives

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparative adjectives:

much a great deal

far a good deal
a lot a good bit
quite a lot a fair bit

He is much older than me.

New York is a lot bigger than Boston.

We use much and far as intensifiers with comparative adjectives in front of a noun:

France is a much bigger country than Britain.

He is a far better player than Ronaldo.

We use easily and by far as intensifiers with superlative adjectives:

The blue whale is easily the biggest animal in the world.

This car was by far the most expensive.

Level: Advanced

Adjectives as intensifiers

We use some adjectives as intensifiers with nouns:

absolute perfect
complete real
total utter

We say:

He's a complete idiot.

They were talking utter nonsense.

but we do NOT say:

The idiot was complete.

The nonsense they were talking was utter.

48
+Mitigators
Level: intermediate

Mitigators are the opposite of intensifiers. When we want to make an adjective less strong we
use these words: fairly, rather, quite

By the end of the day, we were rather tired.

The film wasn't great, but it was quite exciting.

and in informal English: pretty

We had a pretty good time at the party.

Be careful!
Level: advanced

quite

When we use quite with a normal adjective, it makes the adjective less strong:

The food was quite bad.

(= The food was bad but not very bad.)

My nephew is quite clever.

(= My nephew is clever but not very clever.)

But when we use quite with a strong adjective, it means the same as absolutely:

The food was quite awful.

(= The food was absolutely awful.)

As a child he was quite brilliant.

(= As a child he was absolutely brilliant.)

Level: intermediate

Mitigators with comparatives

We use these words and phrases as mitigators:

a bit rather
just a bit slightly
a little just a little bit
a little bit

49
She's a bit younger than I am.
It takes two hours on the train but it is a little bit longer by road.
This one is rather bigger.

We use slightly and rather as mitigators with comparative adjectives in front of a noun:

This is a slightly more expensive model than that.

This is a rather bigger one than that.

50
+Noun modifiers
Level: beginner

We often use two nouns together to show that one thing is a part of something else:

the village church

the car door
the kitchen window
the chair leg
my coat pocket
London residents

In these examples, the first noun is called a noun modifier.

Be careful!
We do not use a possessive form for these things. We do NOT talk about:

the car's door

the kitchen's window
the chair's leg

We can use noun modifiers to show what something is made of:

a gold watch
a leather purse
a metal box

We often use noun modifiers with nouns ending in –er:

an office worker
a jewellery maker
a potato peeler

We use measurements, age or value as noun modifiers:

a thirty-kilogram suitcase
a two-minute rest
a five-thousand-euro platinum watch
a fifty-kilometre journey

51
We often use nouns ending in -ing as noun modifiers:

a shopping list
a swimming lesson
a walking holiday
a washing machine

We often put two nouns together and readers/listeners have to work out what they mean:

an ice bucket
(= a bucket to keep ice in)

an ice cube
(= a cube made of ice)

an ice breaker
(= a ship which breaks ice)

the ice age

(= the time when much of the Earth was covered in ice)

Sometimes we find more than two nouns together:

London office workers

grammar practice exercises

Noun modifiers come after adjectives:

the old newspaper seller

a tiring fifty-kilometre journey

52
++Adverbials
Adverbials are words that we use to give more information about a verb. They can be one word
(angrily, here) or phrases (at home, in a few hours) and often say how, where, when or how often
something happens or is done, though they can also have other uses.

+How we make adverbials

An adverbial can be an adverb:

He spoke angrily.
They live here.
We will be back soon.

or an adverb with an intensifier:

He spoke really angrily.

They live just here.
We will go quite soon.

or a prepositional phrase:

He spoke in an angry voice.

They live in London.
We will go in a few minutes.

or a noun phrase:

It rained this morning.

They went to Cambodia last summer.

or a clause:

They went to the mountains because they like to ski.

She played tennis when she was young.

53
+Where adverbials go in a sentence
Level: beginner

We normally put adverbials after the verb:

He spoke angrily.
They live just here.
We will go in a few minutes.

If the verb has an object or complement we put the adverbial after the object or complement:

He opened the door quietly.

She left the money on the table.
We saw our friends last night.
You are looking tired tonight.

But adverbials of frequency (how often) usually come in front of the main verb:

We usually spent our holidays with our grandparents.

I have never seen William at work.

If we want to emphasise an adverbial, we can put it at the beginning of a clause:

Last night we saw our friends.

In a few minutes we will go.
Very quietly he opened the door.

If we want to emphasise an adverb of manner, we can put it in front of the main verb:

He quietly opened the door.

She had carefully put the glass on the shelf.

54
+Adverbials of manner
Level: beginner

Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding –ly:

bad > badly quiet > quietly sudden > suddenly

but sometimes there are changes in spelling:

easy > easily gentle > gently careful > carefully

The adverb formed from good is well:

You speak English very well.

Adverbs of manner normally come after the verb:

He spoke angrily.

or after the object:

He opened the door quietly.

Level: intermediate

If an adjective already ends in -ly, we use the phrase in a …. way to express manner:

silly: He behaved in a silly way.

friendly: She spoke in a friendly way.

A few adverbs of manner have the same form as the adjective:

They all worked hard.

She usually arrives late/early.
I hate driving fast.

Be careful!
hardly and lately have different meanings from hard and late:

He could hardly walk. = It was difficult for him to walk.

I haven't seen John lately. = I haven't seen John recently.

55
We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner:

She slept like a baby.

He ran like a rabbit.

Adverbials of manner and link verbs

We very often use adverbials with like after link verbs:

Her hands felt like ice.

It smells like fresh bread.

Be careful!
We do not use adverbs of manner after link verbs. We use adjectives instead:

They looked happy. (NOT happily)

That bread smells delicious. (NOT deliciously)

56
-Intensifiers and mitigators

Level: intermediate

Intensifiers

We use words like very, really and extremely to make adverbs stronger:

She speaks English very well.

They behaved really foolishly.
He put the glass down extremely carefully.

We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are:

amazingly exceptionally incredibly remarkably particularly

We also use enough to say more about an adverb, but enough comes after its adverb:

She didn't win. She didn't play well enough.

Mitigators

We use words like fairly, rather and quite to make adverbs less strong:

She speaks English fairly well.

They behaved rather foolishly.
The children played quite happily.

We call these words mitigators. Mitigators are the opposite of intensifiers.

57
+Adverbials of place
Level: beginner

Most adverbials of place are prepositional phrases:

They are in France at present.

Come and sit next to me.

But we also use adverbs:

abroad downstairs nearby overseas

ahead here next door there
away indoors out of doors upstairs

They are abroad at present.

Come and sit here.

We use adverbials of place to describe location, direction and distance.

Location

We use adverbials to talk about where someone or something is:

He was standing by the table.

You'll find it in the cupboard.
You'll find it inside.
Sign your name here – at the bottom of the page.
Stand here.
They used to live nearby.

Direction

We use adverbials to talk about the direction in which someone or something is moving:

Walk past the bank and keep going to the end of the street.
It's difficult to get into the car because the door is so small.
They always go abroad for their holidays.

Distance

We use adverbials to show how far things are:

Birmingham is 250 kilometres from London.

We live in Birmingham. London is 250 kilometres away.

58
Level: intermediate

We often have an adverbial of place at the end of a clause:

The door is very small, so the car is difficult to get into.

We're in Birmingham. London is 250 kilometres away.
Our house is down a muddy lane, so it's very difficult to get to.
Can I come in?

59
-Adverbials of location

Level: beginner

We use prepositions to talk about where someone or something is:

above among at behind below beneath

beside between by in in between inside
near next to on opposite outside over
round through under underneath

He was standing by the table.

She lives in a village near Glasgow.
You'll find it in the cupboard.

We use phrases with of as prepositions:

at the back of at the top of at the bottom of at the end of

on top of at the front of in front of in the middle of

There were some flowers in the middle of the table.

Sign your name here – at the bottom of the page.
I can't see. You're standing in front of me.

We can use right as an intensifier with some of these adverbials:

He was standing right next to the table.

There were some flowers right in the middle of the table.
There's a wood right behind our house.

We also use adverbs for location:

abroad here indoors upstairs

overseas there outdoors downstairs
away round out of doors home
nearby around next door

Children love to play out of doors.

Did you see anybody there?
We have one bedroom downstairs.
Don't leave things lying around.

60
-Adverbials of direction

Level: beginner

We use prepositions to talk about direction:

across along back back to down into

onto out of past through to towards

She ran out of the house.

Walk past the bank and keep going to the end of the street.

We use adverbs and adverb phrases for both location and direction:

everywhere abroad indoors upstairs home

anywhere away outdoors downstairs back
somewhere here inside up in
nowhere there outside down out

I would love to see Paris. I've never been there. (place)

We're going to Paris. We fly there tomorrow. (direction)

The bedroom is upstairs. (place)

He ran upstairs to the bedroom. (direction)

Level: intermediate

We often have adverbials of direction or location at the end of a clause:

This is the room we have our meals in.

Be careful you don't let the cat out.
There were only a few people around.

61
-Adverbials of distance

Level: elementary

We use prepositions to show how far things are:

Birmingham is 250 kilometres from London.

Birmingham is 250 kilometres away from London.
It is 250 kilometres from Birmingham to London.

Sometimes we use an adverbial of distance at the end of a clause:

We were in London. Birmingham was 250 kilometres away.

Birmingham was 250 kilometres off.
London and Birmingham are 250 kilometres apart.

62
+Adverbials of time
Level: beginner

We use adverbials of time to describe:

• when something happens:

I saw Mary yesterday.

She was born in 1978.
I will see you later.
There was a storm during the night.

• how long:

We waited all day.

They have lived here since 2004.
We will be on holiday from 1 July until 3 August.

• how often (frequency):

They usually watched television in the evening.

We sometimes went to work by car.

63
-When (time and dates)

Level: elementary

We use phrases with prepositions as time adverbials:

• We use at with:

clock times: at seven o'clock at nine thirty at fifteen hundred hours

mealtimes: at breakfast at lunchtime at teatime
these phrases: at night at the weekend at Christmas at Easter

• We use in with:

seasons of the in (the)

year: spring/summer/autumn/winter
years, centuries, in the 20th in the in the
in 2009 in 1998
decades: century 60s 1980s
months: in January/February/March etc.
in the in the
parts of the day: in the morning
afternoon evening

• We use on with:

days: on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday etc. on Christmas day on my birthday

dates: on the thirty-first of July on June the fifteenth

Be careful!
We say at night when we are talking about all of the night:

When there is no moon, it is very dark at night.

He sleeps during the day and works at night.

but we say in the night when we are talking about a specific time during the night:

He woke up twice in the night.

I heard a funny noise in the night.

64
We often use a noun phrase as a time adverbial:

yesterday today tomorrow

last week/month/year this week/month/year next week/month/year
last Saturday this Tuesday next Friday
the day before yesterday the day after tomorrow
one day/week/month
the other day/week/month

We can put time phrases together:

We will meet next week at six o'clock on Monday.

I heard a funny noise at about eleven o'clock last night.
It happened last week at seven o'clock on Monday night.

We use ago with the past simple to say how long before the time of speaking something
happened:

I saw Jim about three weeks ago.

We arrived a few minutes ago.

We use in with a future form to say how long after the time of speaking something will happen:

I'll see you in a month.

Our train's leaving in five minutes.

65
-How long

Level: beginner

We use for to say how long:

We have been waiting for twenty minutes.

They lived in Manchester for fifteen years.

We can also use a noun phrase without for:

Let’s go. We’ve been waiting nearly an hour.

I’ve worked here twenty years.

We use since with the present perfect or the past perfect to say when something started:

I have worked here since December.

They had been watching since seven o’clock in the morning.

We use from … to/until to say when something starts and finishes:

They stayed with us from Monday to Friday.

We will be on holiday from the sixteenth until the twentieth.

Be careful!
We can use to or until with a noun phrase:

My great-grandmother lived in Liverpool from 1940 to her death.

My great-grandmother lived in Liverpool from 1940 until her death.

But we can only use until with a clause:

My great-grandmother lived in Liverpool from 1940 to she died.

My great-grandmother lived in Liverpool from 1940 until she died.

66
-'still' and 'no longer', 'already' and 'yet'

Level: beginner

still

We use still to show that something continues up to a time in the past, present or future. It goes
in front of the main verb:

Even when my father was 65, he still enjoyed playing tennis.

It's past midnight but she's still doing her homework.
I won't be at work next week. We'll still be on holiday.

or after the present simple or past simple of be:

Her grandfather has been very ill, but he is still alive.

We tried to help them, but they were still unhappy.

no longer

We use no longer to show the idea of something stopping in the past, present or future. It goes in
front of the main verb:

At that moment, I realised that I no longer loved him.

We no longer live in England. We've moved to France.
From midnight tonight, Mr Jones will no longer be the president.

or after the present simple or past simple of be:

Sadly, Andrew and Bradley are no longer friends. They had an argument.
It was no longer safe to stay in the country. We had to leave immediately.

In a negative sentence, we use any longer or any more. It goes at the end of the sentence:

We don't live in England any longer.

It wasn't safe to stay in the country any more.

67
already

We use already to show that something has happened sooner than it was expected to happen.
It goes in front of the main verb:

The car is OK. I've already fixed it.

It was early but they were already sleeping.

or after the present simple or past simple of be:

It was early but we were already tired.

We are already late.

Sometimes already comes at the end of the sentence for emphasis:

It's very early but they are sleeping already.

It was early but we were tired already.
When we got there, most people had arrived already.

yet

We use yet in a negative or interrogative clause, usually with perfective aspect (especially in
British English), to show that something has not happened by a particular time. yet comes at the
end of a sentence:

It was late, but they hadn't arrived yet.

Have you fixed the car yet?
She won't have sent the email yet.

68
-How often

Level: beginner

The commonest adverbials of frequency are:

always never normally

rarely seldom sometimes
occasionally often usually

We usually put these one-word adverbials of frequency in front of the main verb:

We often spend Christmas with friends.

I have never enjoyed myself so much.

but they usually come after the verb be:

He was always tired in the evening.

We are never late for work.

Sometimes these adverbials have an intensifier or mitigator:

He is very rarely late for work.

We nearly always spend Christmas with friends.

We use the adverbial a lot to mean often or frequently. It comes at the end of the clause:

We go to the cinema a lot.

We can also use a lot with another time adverbial:

We go to the cinema a lot at the weekend.

We use much/a lot with a negative to mean not often:

We don't go out much/a lot. (= We don't go out often.)

We often use phrases with every as adverbials of frequency. We use every with words like minute,
hour, day, week, month and year:

There is a big celebration every year.

We have a meeting twice every week.
I usually go home once every two months.
There is a leap year every four years.

69
We also use every with days of the week and months of the year:

We have a meeting every Monday.

We go on holiday every August.

We use the phrase every other:

We will email you every other day. (= on alternate days)

We go to see my mother every other week. (= in alternate weeks)

We use phrases with once, twice, three times, four times, etc. and a period of time:

I go swimming twice a week.

I see my old school friends four or five times a year.

We use how often and ever to ask questions about frequency. how often comes at the beginning
of the clause:

How often do you go to the cinema?

How often have you been here?

ever comes before the main verb:

Do you ever go to the cinema at the weekend?

Have you ever been there?

70
+Adverbials of probability
Level: beginner

We use adverbials of probability to show how certain we are about something. The commonest
adverbials of probability are:

certainly definitely maybe possibly

clearly obviously perhaps probably

maybe and perhaps usually come at the beginning of the clause:

Perhaps the weather will be fine.

Maybe it won't rain.

Other adverbs of possibility usually come in front of the main verb:

He is certainly coming to the party.

Will they definitely be there?
We will possibly come to England next year.

or after the present simple or past simple of be:

They are definitely at home.

She was obviously very surprised.

But these adverbs sometimes come at the beginning of a clause for emphasis:

Obviously she was very surprised.

Possibly we will come to England next year.

71
+Comparative and superlative adverbs
Comparative adverbs

Level: beginner

We can use comparative adverbs to show change or make comparisons:

I forget things more often nowadays.

She began to speak more quickly.
They are working harder now.

We often use than with comparative adverbs:

I forget things more often than I used to.

Girls usually work harder than boys.

Level: intermediate

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparatives:

much far a lot quite a lot

a great deal a good deal a good bit a fair bit

I forget things much more often nowadays.

We use these words and phrases as mitigators:

a bit slightly rather

a little a little bit just a little bit

She began to speak a bit more quickly.

Level: beginner

Superlative adverbs

We can use superlative adverbs to make comparisons:

His ankles hurt badly, but his knees hurt worst.

It rains most often at the beginning of the year.

72
Level: intermediate

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with superlatives:

easily by far much

When we intensify a superlative adverb, we often put the in front of the adverb:

In our office, Jill works by far the hardest.

Of the three brothers, Brian easily runs the fastest.

Level: beginner

How to form comparative and superlative adverbs

We make comparative and superlative adverbs using the same rules as for comparative and
superlative adjectives. For example:

One syllable: Jill works fast. > faster > fastest

One syllable ending in –e: They arrived late. > later > latest
Two or more syllables: Alan finished the test quickly. > more quickly > most quickly
well: She speaks English well. > better > best
badly: She speaks German badly. > worse > worst
far: He'll go far. > farther/further > farthest/furthest

73
++Nouns
Nouns are words that give a name to people, places or things, though they can also refer to ideas
and other abstract objects.

+Count nouns
Count nouns have two forms: singular and plural.

Singular count nouns refer to one person or thing:

a teacher a book a wish an idea

Plural count nouns refer to more than one person or thing:

teachers books wishes ideas

Singular count nouns

Singular count nouns cannot be used alone. They must have a determiner:

the English teacher that book a wish my latest idea

Plural count nouns

We usually add –s to make a plural noun:

book > books

school > schools
friend > friends

We add –es to nouns ending in –s, –ch, –sh, –ss, –x and –o:

class > classes

watch > watches
gas > gases
wish > wishes
box > boxes
potato > potatoes

74
When a noun ends in a consonant and –y, we make the plural with –ies:

lady > ladies

country > countries
party > parties

If a noun ends in a vowel and –y, we simply add –s:

boy > boys

day > days
play > plays

Some common nouns have irregular plurals:

man > men

woman > women
child > children
person > people
foot > feet

Plural count nouns do not have a general determiner when they refer to people or things in
general:

Computers are very expensive.

Do you sell old books?

But they may have a specific determiner:

Those computers are very expensive.

The books in that shop are very expensive.
Her sisters live there.

or a quantifier:

some new books a few teachers lots of good ideas

or a numeral:

two new books three wishes

75
+Uncount nouns
Level: beginner

Some nouns in English are uncount nouns. We do not use uncount nouns in the plural and we do
not use them with the indefinite article a/an:

We ate a lot of food. (NOT foods)

We bought some new furniture. (NOT furnitures)
That's useful information. (NOT a useful information)

We can use some quantifiers with uncount nouns:

He gave me some useful advice.

They gave us a lot of information.

Uncount nouns often refer to:

Substances: food, water, wine, salt, bread, iron

Human feelings or qualities: anger, cruelty, happiness, honesty, pride
Activities: help, sleep, travel, work
Abstract ideas: beauty, death, fun, life

Common uncount nouns

Some common nouns in English like information are uncount nouns even though they have plurals
in other languages:

advice accommodation baggage equipment

furniture homework knowledge luggage
machinery money news traffic

Let me give you some advice.

How much luggage have you got?

If we want to make these things countable, we use expressions like:

a piece of ... a bit of ... an item of ...

pieces of ... bits of ... items of ...

Let me give you a piece of advice.

That's a useful piece of equipment.
We bought a few bits of furniture for the new apartment.
She had six separate items of luggage.

76
However, accommodation, money and traffic cannot be made countable in this way. We need to
use other expressions:

I've lived in three flats/apartments. (NOT bits of accommodation)

Smith received three large sums of money. (NOT pieces of money)
We got stuck in two traffic jams. (NOT pieces of traffic)

77
+Common problems with count and uncount nouns
Level: beginner

Substances as count or uncount nouns

Substances are usually uncount nouns:

Would you like some cheese?

Coffee keeps me awake at night.
Wine makes me sleepy.

but they can also be used as count nouns:

I'd like a coffee, please. = I'd like a [cup of] coffee.

May I have a white wine? = May I have a [glass of] white wine?
They sell a lot of coffees. = They sell a lot of [different kinds of] coffee.
I prefer white wines to red. = I prefer [different kinds of] white wine to red.
They had over twenty cheeses. = They had over twenty [types of] cheese.
This is an excellent soft cheese. = This [kind of] soft cheese is excellent.

Nouns with both a count and an uncount form

Some nouns have both a count and an uncount form. Their meanings are closely related:

George had hopes of promotion.

We should always have hope.

There's a danger of avalanches on the mountain.

Some people enjoy danger.

Level: intermediate

Nouns with two meanings

Some nouns have two meanings, one count and the other uncount:

Can I have a glass of water?

I cut myself on some glass.

Is English a difficult language?

Linguistics is the study of language.

The Times is an excellent paper.

It's made of paper.

78
Other nouns like this are:

business industry property wood

power time work hair

Uncount nouns that end in –s

Some uncount nouns end in –s. They look like plural count nouns, but they are not.

Nouns like this generally refer to:

Subjects of study: mathematics, physics, economics, etc.

Activities: gymnastics, athletics, etc.
Games: cards, darts, billiards, etc.
Diseases: mumps, measles, rabies, etc.

Economics is a very difficult subject.

Billiards is easier than pool or snooker.

79
+Group nouns
Level: intermediate

Some nouns refer to groups of people, animals or things:

army audience committee company

crew enemy family flock
gang government group herd
public regiment staff team

We can use these group nouns either as singular nouns or as plural nouns:

My family is very dear to me.

I have a large family. They are very dear to me. = The members of my family …

The government is very unpopular.

The government are always changing their minds.

Sometimes we think of the group as a single thing:

The audience always enjoys the show.

The group consists of two men and three women.

Sometimes we think of the group as several individuals:

The audience clapped their hands.

The largest group are the boys.

The names of many organisations and teams are also group nouns, but they are usually plural in
spoken English:

Barcelona are winning 2–0.

The United Oil Company are putting prices up by 12 per cent.

and the police is always plural:

The police are offering a £5,000 reward.

80
+Things with two parts
Level: intermediate

A few plural nouns refer to things that have two parts. They have no singular form. These are
always things we wear:

glasses/spectacles trousers shorts

pyjamas pants boxers
tights jeans knickers

Those trousers are too long.

or implements:

pliers scissors binoculars pincers

These binoculars were very expensive.

To make it clear we are talking about one of these items, we use a pair of …:

I need a new pair of spectacles.

I've bought a pair of blue jeans.

If we want to talk about more than one, we use pairs of …:

We've got three pairs of scissors, but they are all blunt.
I always carry two pairs of binoculars.

81
+Proper nouns
Level: beginner

Names of people, places and organisations are called proper nouns. We spell proper nouns with a
capital letter:

Muhammad Ali Birmingham China Oxford University the United Nations

We use capital letters for festivals:

Christmas Deepavali Easter Ramadan Thanksgiving

We use capital letters for people's titles:

I was talking to Doctor Wilson recently.

Everything depends on President Obama.

When we give the names of books, films, plays and paintings, we use capital letters for the nouns,
adjectives and verbs in the name:

I have been reading The Old Man and the Sea.

Beatrix Potter wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
You can see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

Level: intermediate

Sometimes we use a person's name to refer to something they have created:

Recently a Van Gogh was sold for 15 million dollars.

We were listening to Mozart.
I'm reading an Agatha Christie.

82
+Noun phrases
Level: intermediate

Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:

People like to have money.

I am tired.

Premodifiers

But noun phrases can also include:

• determiners: Those houses are very expensive.

• quantifiers: I've lived in a lot of houses.
• numbers: My brother owns two houses.
• adjectives: I love old houses.

These parts of the noun phrase are called premodifiers because they go before the noun.

We use premodifiers in this order:

determiners and quantifiers > numbers > adjectives + NOUNS

For example:

Determiners and quantifiers Numbers Adjectives NOUNS

The six children
Our young children
Six young children
These six young children
Some young children
All those six young children
Their many young children

83
Postmodifiers

Other parts of a noun phrase go after the noun. These are called postmodifiers.

Postmodifiers can be:

• prepositional phrases:

a man with a gun

the boy in the blue shirt
the house on the corner

• –ing phrases :

the man standing over there

the boy talking to Angela

• relative clauses :

the man we met yesterday

the house that Jack built
the woman who discovered radium
an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop

• that clauses. These are very common after nouns like idea, fact, belief, suggestion:

He's still very fit, in spite of the fact that he's over eighty.
She got the idea that people didn't like her.
There was a suggestion that the children should be sent home.

• to infinitives :

I've got no decent shoes to wear.

These are very common after indefinite pronouns and adverbs:

You should take something to read.

I need somewhere to sleep.

There may be more than one postmodifier:

an eight-year old boy with a gun who tried to rob a sweet shop
that girl over there in a green dress drinking a Coke

84
++Verbs
Verbs are words that describe an action or talk about something that happens. They take many
different forms depending on their subjects, the time they refer to and other ideas we want to
express.

+Verb phrases
Level: beginner

Verbs in English have four basic parts:

Most verbs are regular: they have a past tense and past participle with –ed (worked, played,
listened). But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.

Base form -ing form Past tense Past participle

work working worked worked
play playing played played
listen listening listened listened

Basic parts

Verbs in English have four basic parts:

Base form -ing form Past tense Past participle

work working worked worked
play playing played played
listen listening listened listened

Most verbs are regular: they have a past tense and past participle with –ed (worked, played,
listened). But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.

85
Verb phrases

Verb phrases in English have the following forms:

1. a main verb:

main verb
We are here.
I like it.
Everybody saw the accident.
We laughed.

The verb can be in the present tense (are, like) or the past tense (saw, laughed).

2. the auxiliary verb be and a main verb in the –ing form:

auxiliary be -ing form

Everybody is watching.
We were laughing.

A verb phrase with be and –ing expresses continuous aspect. A verb with am/is/are expresses
present continuous and a verb with was/were expresses past continuous.

3. the auxiliary verb have and a main verb in the past participle form:

auxiliary have past participle

They have enjoyed themselves.
Everybody has worked hard.
He had finished work.

A verb phrase with have and the past participle expresses perfect aspect. A verb with have/has
expresses present perfect and a verb with had expresses past perfect.

4. a modal verb (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would) and a main verb:

modal verb main verb

They will come.
He might come.

86
Level: intermediate

5. the auxiliary verbs have and been and a main verb in the –ing form:

auxiliary have been -ing form

Everybody has been working hard.
He had been singing.

A verb phrase with have been and the -ing form expresses both perfect aspect and continuous
aspect. A verb with have/has expresses present perfect continuous and a verb with had expresses
past perfect continuous.

6. a modal verb and the auxiliaries be, have and have been:

modal auxiliary verb

They will be listening.
He might have arrived.
She must have been listening.

7. the auxiliary verb be and a main verb in the past participle form:

auxiliary be past participle

English is spoken all over the world.
The windows have been cleaned.
Lunch was being served.
The work will be finished soon.
They might have been invited to the party.

A verb phrase with be and the past participle expresses passive voice.

Level: advanced

We can use the auxiliaries do and did with the infinitive for emphasis:

It was a wonderful party. I did enjoy it.

I do agree with you. I think you are absolutely right.

We can also use do for polite invitations:

Do come and see us some time.

There will be lots of people there. Do bring your friends.

87
+Irregular verbs
Level: beginner

Most verbs have a past tense and past participle with –ed:

worked
played
listened

But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular:

Base form Past tense Past participle Base form Past tense Past participle
be was/were been let let let
begin began begun lie lay lain
break broke broken lose lost lost
bring brought brought make made made
buy bought bought mean meant meant
build built built meet met met
choose chose chosen pay paid paid
come came come put put put
cost cost cost run ran run
cut cut cut say said said
do did done see saw seen
draw drew drawn sell sold sold
drive drove driven send sent sent
eat ate eaten set set set
feel felt felt sit sat sat
find found found speak spoke spoken
get got got spend spent spent
give gave given stand stood stood
go went gone take took taken
have had had teach taught taught
hear heard heard tell told told
hold held held think thought thought
keep kept kept understand understood understood
know knew known wear wore worn
leave left left win won won
lead led led write wrote written

88
+Questions and negatives
Level: beginner

Yes/No questions

Yes/No questions are questions which we answer with Yes or No. Look at these statements:

They are working hard.

They will be working hard.
They had worked hard.
They have been working hard.
They might have been working hard.

We make Yes/No questions by putting the first part of the verb in front of the subject:

Are they working hard?

Will they be working hard?
Had they worked hard?
Have they been working hard?
Might they have been working hard?

Negatives

We make negatives by putting not after the first part of the verb:

They are not working hard.

They will not be working hard.
They had not worked hard.
They have not been working hard.
They might not have been working hard.

In spoken English, we often reduce not to n’t:

They aren't working hard.

They won't be working hard.
They hadn't been working hard.
They haven't been working hard.
They mightn't have been working hard.

89
Present simple and past simple questions and negatives

For all verbs except be and have, we use do/does or did to make Yes/No questions in the present
simple and past simple:

They work hard. > Do they work hard?

He works hard. > Does he work hard?
They worked hard. > Did they work hard?

For all verbs except be and have, we use do/does + not or did + not to make negatives in the
present simple and past simple:

They work hard. > They do not (don't) work hard.

He works hard. > He does not (doesn't) work hard.
They worked hard. > They did not (didn't) work hard.

Here are the question forms and negative forms for be in the present simple and past simple:

Positives Questions Negatives

I am (I'm) Am I? I am not (I'm not)
He is (he's) Is he? He is not (He's not/He isn't)
She is (she's) Is she? She is not (She's not/She isn't)
It is (it's) Is it? It is not (It's not/It isn't)
You are (you're) Are you? You are not (You're not/You aren't)
They are (they're) Are they? They are not (They're not/They aren't)

Positives Questions Negatives

I was Was I? I was not (I wasn't)
He was Was he? He was not (He wasn't)
She was Was she? She was not (She wasn't)
It was Was it? It was not (It wasn't)
You were Were you? You were not (You weren't)
They were Were they? They were not (They weren't)

90
We make questions and negatives with have in two ways. Usually we use do/does or did:

Do you have plenty of time?

Does she have enough money?
Did they have any useful advice?

I don't have much time.

She doesn't have any money.
They didn't have any advice to offer.

but we can also make questions by putting have/has or had in front of the subject:

Have you plenty of time?

Has she enough money?
Had they any useful advice?

and make negatives by putting not or n't after have/has or had:

I haven't much time.

She hasn't any money.
He hadn't any advice to offer.

Wh-questions

Wh-questions are questions which start with a word like what, when, where, which, who, whose,
why and how.

Questions with when, where, why

We form wh-questions with these words by putting the question word in front of a Yes/No
question:

They are working in a shop. > Where are they working?

They have been working hard for their exams. > Why have they been working hard?
They arrived at six. > When did they arrive?

Questions with who, what, which

When we ask who, what and which about the object of the verb, we put the question word in
front of a Yes/No question:

He is seeing Joe tomorrow. > Who is he seeing tomorrow?

I want a computer for my birthday. > What do you want for your birthday?
I'd prefer some tea. > Which would you prefer, tea or coffee?

91
When we ask who, what and which about the subject of the verb, the question word takes the
place of the subject:

Barbara gave me the chocolates. > Who gave you the chocolates?
Something funny happened. > What happened?
The dog frightened the children. > Which dog frightened the children?

We sometimes use what or which with a noun:

What subjects did you study at school?

Which English newspaper started in 1986?
What subjects does everyone have to study?
Which newspaper do you prefer, The Times or the Guardian?

Questions with how

We use how for many different questions:

How are you?

How do you make questions in English?
How long have you lived here?
How often do you go to the cinema?
How much is this dress?
How old are you?
How many people came to the meeting?

Questions with verbs and prepositions

When we have a question with a verb and a preposition, the preposition usually comes at the end
of the question:

I gave the money to my brother. > Who did you give the money to?
She comes from Madrid. > Where does she come from?
They were waiting for an hour. > How long were they waiting for?

Level: intermediate

Other ways of asking questions

We sometimes use phrases like these in front of a statement to ask questions:

Do you know …?
I wonder …
Can you tell me …?

92
For Yes/No questions, we use the phrases with if:

This is the right house. > Do you know if this is the right house?
Everyone will agree. > I wonder if everyone will agree.
Mr Brown lives here. > Can you tell me if Mr Brown lives here?

For wh-questions, we use the phrases with a question word:

Do you know who lives here?

I wonder how much this dress is.
Can you tell me where she comes from?

We often use do you think …? after question words:

How much do you think this dress is?

Where do you think she comes from?
Who do you think lives here?

Negatives with the to-infinitive

When we make a negative with the to-infinitive, we put not in front of the to-infinitive:

He told us not to make so much noise.

We were asked not to park in front of the house.

93
+Short forms
Level: beginner

Short answers

1. We often use short forms to answer questions. Usually we repeat the first word of
the verb phrase:

A: Can you come round tomorrow? B: Yes, I can. / No, I can't.

A: Have you seen Jack lately? B: Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

A: Do you like living here? B: Yes, I do. / No, I don't.

Sometimes we change the verb:

A: Will you come to the party? B: Yes, we might.

A: Do you think they might come? B: Yes, I think they will.

2. We often use verbs like think, suppose, expect and hope to answer questions. When the
answer is positive, we add so:

A: Can you come tomorrow? B: I hope so.

A: Will they be at home? B: I expect so.

When the answer is negative, we use don’t and so:

A: Is Amsterdam the capital of the Netherlands? B: I don't think so.

but with hope we use not:

A: Do you think it's going to rain? B: I hope not.

3. We often use adverbials of probability like perhaps, probably, possibly, maybe, definitely
and certainly as short answers:

A: Do you think it's going to rain? B: Yes, possibly.

A: Can you come round tomorrow? B: Definitely!

94
When the answer is negative, we put not after the adverbial:

A: Do you think it's going to rain? B: Probably not.

A: Can you come round tomorrow? B: Maybe not.

Agreeing and disagreeing

4. We can use short forms to agree or disagree with what someone says. Usually we repeat
the first word of the verb phrase:

A: It's a lovely day. B: Yes, it is.

A: I think they might have missed their train. B: Yes, I think they might.

A: The children will be coming to see us next week.

B: No, they won't. They're going to their grandparents'.

Sometimes we change the verb:

A: The children will be coming to see us next week. B: Yes, they might.

A: The children might be coming to see us next week.

B: No, they won't. They're going to their grandparents'.

We use do/does/don't/doesn't to agree or disagree with statements in the present simple:

A: Your grandmother looks very well. B: Yes, she does.

A: I think Jack lives here. B: No, he doesn't.

and we use did/didn't for the past simple:

A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip. B: Yes, they did.

A: The children went to Malaysia last year. B: No, they didn't. They went to Singapore.

Tags

5. We sometimes put a short tag at the end of an agreeing comment. We use a Yes/No
question form for the tag. If the comment is positive, we normally use a negative tag:

A: It's a lovely day. B: Yes, it is, isn't it?

A: Your grandmother looks very well. B: Yes, she does, doesn't she?

A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip. B: Yes, they did, didn't they?

95
If the comment is negative, we normally use a positive tag:

A: They didn't seem to enjoy the trip very much. B: No, they didn't, did they?

A: It's not a very nice day. B: No, it isn't, is it?

A: They haven't done much. B: No, they haven't, have they?

6. Sometimes we put a tag at the end of a statement:

It's a lovely day, isn't it?

Your grandmother looks very well, doesn't she?
They haven't done much, have they?
They all seemed to enjoy the trip, didn't they?

so and neither/nor

7. We use so and neither/nor to add to what other people say. We use so to add to
a positive statement:

A: John is working in Barcelona. B: So is Maria. (= Maria is working in Barcelona too.)

A: I love Indian food. B: Yes, so do I. (= I love Indian food too.)

A: They've just bought a new computer.

B: Really? So have we. (= We’ve also bought a new computer.)

We use neither or nor to add to a negative statement:

A: I don't smoke any more. B: Neither do I. (= I also don't smoke.)

A: They haven't written to us for ages. B: Nor has Peter. (= Peter hasn't written to us for ages too.)

A: We won't be taking a holiday this year.

B: Neither will we. (= We also won't be taking a holiday this year.)

A: I never have time for breakfast. B: Nor have I. (= I am as busy as you.)

Short questions

8. We often use short forms to ask questions when we want more information:

A: I'll see you on Monday. B: What time?

A: We are going on holiday next week. B: Where?

A: You can get a new computer very cheaply. B: How?

96
If we want to be more polite, we can use a longer question:

A: I'm going to London on Monday. B: What time are you going?

A: We are going on holiday next week. B: Where are you going?

A: You can get a new computer very cheaply. B: How can I do that?

9. We often use questions with What about … or How about … to refer back to what we’ve
just said:

A: I love the Beatles. What about you? B: Yes, me too.

A: Your father seems well. What about your mother? B: Yes, she's fine too.

A: I'm exhausted. How about you? B: No, I'm fine.

A: I really enjoyed the film. How about you? B: No, I didn't like it very much.

10. We can use echo questions to check what someone has just said. In this kind of question,
we repeat the first word of the verb phrase:

A: They've just had a baby. B: Have they?

A: He'll be here soon. B: Will he?

or we use do/does/did:

A: Sophie wants to move to another school. B: Does she?

A: George phoned last week. B: Did he?

Leaving words out

11. When we speak, we can often leave words out if our meaning is still clear. For example,
we could use any of these to offer someone a cup of coffee:

Would you like a cup of coffee?

You like a cup of coffee?
Like a cup of coffee?
A cup of coffee?
Cup of coffee?
Coffee?

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and someone could reply:

Yes, please. I would like a cup.

Yes, please. I would.
Yes, please.
Please.

12. We often leave words out to avoid unnecessary repetition:

I asked him to come but he wouldn't come.

Jack can come but Jill can't come.
He didn't come even though she asked him to come.
Jack wanted to come but Jill didn't want to come.

He opened the door and he went in.

They play billiards but they do not play snooker.
I know George but I do not know his brother.
She likes Indian food but she does not like Chinese food.

98
+The verb 'be'
Level: beginner

The verb be has the following forms:

The verb be
Infinitive form Be
I am, I'm We are, we're
+ You are, You're You are, you're
He/She/It is, He/She/It's They are, they're
Am I? Are we?
? Are you? Are you?
Present simple:
Is he/she it? Are they?
I am not, I’m not We are not, We aren’t, We're not
You are not, You aren’t, You're not You are not, You aren’t, You're not
-
He/She/It is not, He/She/It isn’t, He's They are not, They aren't, They're
not not
I was We were
+ You were You were
He/She/It was They were
Was I? Were we?
Past simple ? Were you? Were you?
Was he/she/it? Were they?
I was not, I wasn't We were not, We weren't
- You were not, You weren't You were not, You weren't
He/She/It was not, He/She/It wasn't They were not, They weren't
Past participle been
Present perfect has/have been
Past perfect had been
Present participle being
Present
am/is/are being
continuous
Past continuous was/were being

99
We use the infinitive form be with modal verbs:

It will be dark soon.

They might be tired.

The verb be is a link verb. It is used:

• with a noun phrase:

My mother is a teacher.
Bill Clinton was the president of the US.

• with an adjective:

This soup is very tasty.

The children were good.

• with a prepositional phrase:

John and his wife are from Manchester.

The flowers are on the table.

Level: intermediate

• with the -ing form to make the continuous aspect:

We were walking down the street. Everything was wet.

It had been raining for hours.

• with the past participle to make the passive voice:

The house was built in 1890.

The street is called Montague Street.
This car was made in Japan.

Level: advanced

We use some nouns with the verb be followed by a that clause:

The problem was that I had no money.

The obvious explanation is that he simply forgot.
The danger is that the whole thing might catch fire.
It's a pity that the children aren't here.
The lucky thing is that nobody was hurt.

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Nouns commonly used in this way are:

answer hope
argument idea
assertion (a) pity
belief rule
claim (a) shame
explanation thing
feeling

We use some nouns with the verb be followed by a to-infinitive:

The only way is to start all over again.

His answer is to work a bit harder.
Her only hope was to find a new job as soon as possible.
The easiest thing would be to ask your father.

Nouns commonly used in this way are:

answer promise
decision thing
hope way
idea wish
intention

To comment on statements, we use some adjectives with it and the verb be and a that clause or
wh-clause:

It's lucky that we met.

It's not clear what happened.
It was amazing how he managed to escape.

Adjectives commonly used in this way are:

awful lucky
bad obvious
clear possible
extraordinary probable
funny sad
good true
interesting unlikely

101
+Present tense
Level: intermediate

There are two tenses in English: past and present.

The present tense is used to talk about the present and to talk about the future.

There are four present tense forms:

Present simple I work

Present continuous I am working
Present perfect I have worked
Present perfect continuous I have been working

We can use all these forms:

• to talk about the present:

London is the capital of Britain.

He works at McDonald’s.
He is working at McDonald's.
He has worked there for three months now.
He has been working there for three months now.

• to talk about the future:

The next train leaves this evening at 17.00.

I'll phone you when I get home.
He is meeting Peter in town this afternoon.
I'll come home as soon as I have finished work.
You will be tired out after you have been working all night.

102
Level: advanced

We can use present forms to talk about the past:

• when we are telling a story:

Well, it's a lovely day and I'm just walking down the street when I see this funny guy walking
towards me. Obviously he's been drinking, because he's moving from side to side …

• when we are summarising something we have read, heard or seen:

I love Ian Rankin's novels. He writes about this detective called Rebus. Rebus lives in Edinburgh and
he's a brilliant detective, but he's always getting into trouble. In one book, he gets suspended and
they tell him to stop working on this case. But he takes no notice …

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-Present simple

Level: beginner

The present tense is the base form of the verb:

I work in London.

But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:

She works in London.

Present simple questions

Look at these questions:

Do you play the piano?

Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person
singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?

What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?

Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Where do you come from? What work do you do?

Do you come from …? Do you like …?
Where do you live? Do you know …?
Do you live in ...?

104
Present simple negatives

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)

I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third
person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

Present simple and present time

We use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is true in the present:

I'm nineteen years old.

I'm a student.
He lives in London.

• something that happens regularly in the present:

I play football every weekend.

• something that is always true:

The human body contains 206 bones.

Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

We often use adverbs of frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present simple:

I sometimes go to the cinema.

She never plays football.

Here are some useful sentences. Complete them so that they are true for you and try to
remember them:

My name is … . I'm a(n) … .

I'm … years old. I … at the weekend.
I come from … . I often … .
I live in … . I never … .

105
Complete these sentences so that they are true for a friend and try to remember them:

Her/His name is … . She's/He's a(n) … .

She's/He's … years old. She/He … at the weekend.
She/He comes from … . She/He often … .
She/He lives in … . She/He never … .

Level: intermediate

Present simple and future time

We also use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is fixed in the future:

The school term starts next week.

The train leaves at 19.45 this evening.
We fly to Paris next week.

• something in the future after time words like when, after and before and after if and
unless:

I'll talk to John when I see him.

You must finish your work before you go home.
If it rains we'll get wet.
He won't come unless you ask him.

Level: advanced

We sometimes use the present simple to talk about the past when we are:

• telling a story:

I was walking down the street the other day when suddenly this man comes up to me and tells me
he has lost his wallet and asks me to lend him some money. Well, he looks a bit dangerous so I'm
not sure what to do and while we are standing there …

• summarising a book, film or play:

Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts School. He has two close friends, Hermione and …

Shakespeare's Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. One night he sees his father's ghost. The ghost
tells him he has been murdered …

106
-Present continuous

Level: beginner

The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a
verb:

I am working
You are playing
He is talking
She is living
It is eating
We are staying
They are sleeping

We use the present continuous to talk about:

• activities at the moment of speaking:

I'm just leaving work. I'll be home in an hour.

Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

• future plans or arrangements:

Mary is going to a new school next term.

What are you doing next week?

Present continuous questions

We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:

Are you listening?

Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?

Present continuous negatives

We make negatives by putting not (or n't) after am, is or are:

I'm not doing that.

You aren't listening. (or You're not listening.)
They aren't coming to the party. (or They're not coming to the party.)
She isn't going home until Monday. (or She's not going home until Monday.)

107
Stative verbs

We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative verbs include:

• verbs of thinking and feeling:

believe love recognise understand

dislike hate remember want
know prefer suppose wish
like realise think (= believe)

• verbs of the senses:

appear look smell taste

feel seem sound

• others:

agree belong need own

be disagree owe possess

We normally use the simple instead:

I understand you. (NOT I am understanding you.)

This cake tastes wonderful. (NOT This cake is tasting wonderful.)

Level: intermediate

We also use the present continuous to talk about:

• something which is happening before and after a specific time:

At eight o'clock we are usually having breakfast.

When I get home the children are doing their homework.

• something which we think is temporary:

Michael is at university. He's studying history.

I'm working in London for the next two weeks.

• something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

These days most people are using email instead of writing letters.
What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays?
What sort of music are they listening to?

108
 • something which is changing, growing or developing:

The children are growing up quickly.

The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.

• something which happens again and again:

It's always raining in London.

They are always arguing.
George is great. He's always laughing.

Note that we normally use always with this use.

Level: advanced

We can use the present continuous to talk about the past when we are:

• telling a story:

The other day I'm just walking down the street when suddenly this man comes up to me and asks
me to lend him some money. Well, he's carrying a big stick and he looks a bit dangerous, so I'm
wondering what to do …

• summarising a book, film or play:

Harry Potter is a pupil at Hogwarts school. One day when he is playing Quidditch he sees a strange
object in the sky. He wonders what is happening …

109
-Present perfect

Level: beginner

The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a
verb.

We use the present perfect:

• for something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They've been married for nearly fifty years.

She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

• when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

I've seen that film before.

I've played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.
He has written three books and he is working on another one.

We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:

My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.

and we use never for the negative form:

Have you ever met George?

Yes, but I've never met his wife.

• for something that happened in the past but is important in the present:

I can't get in the house. I've lost my keys.

Teresa isn't at home. I think she has gone shopping.

have been and have gone

We use have/has been when someone has gone to a place and returned:

A: Where have you been?

B: I've just been out to the supermarket.

A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?

B: No, but I've been to Los Angeles.

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But when someone has not returned, we use have/has gone:

A: Where's Maria? I haven't seen her for weeks.

B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She'll be back tomorrow.

Present perfect with time adverbials

We often use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to the recent past:

recently just only just

Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.

We have just got back from our holidays.

or adverbials which include the present:

so far until now up to now

ever (in questions)
yet (in questions and negatives)

Have you ever seen a ghost?

Where have you been up to now?
A: Have you finished your homework yet?
B: No, so far I've only done my history.

After a clause with the present perfect we often use a clause with since to show when something
started in the past:

I've worked here since I left school.

I've been watching that programme every week since it started.

111
 Be careful!
We do not use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a finished past time:
yesterday last week/month/year in 2017 when I was younger etc.

I have seen that film yesterday.

We have just bought a new car last week.
When we were children we have been to California.
but we can use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a time which is not yet
finished:

today this week/month/year now that I am 18 etc.

Have you seen Helen today?

We have bought a new car this week.

Level: intermediate

Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous is formed with have/has been and the -ing form of the verb.

We normally use the present perfect continuous to emphasise that something is still continuing
in the present:

She has been living in Liverpool all her life.

It's been raining for hours.
I'm tired out. I've been working all day.
They have been staying with us since last week.

We do not normally use the present perfect continuous with stative verbs. We use the present
perfect simple instead:

I've always been liking liked John.

112
Present perfect for future

We normally use the present simple to talk about the future in clauses with before, after,
until, etc.:

I'll keep looking until I find my book.

We'll begin when everyone arrives.

but we can also use the present perfect:

I'll keep looking until I have found my book.

We'll begin when everyone has arrived.

113
+Past tense
Level: intermediate

Past tense

There are two tenses in English – past and present.

The past tense in English is used:

• to talk about the past

• to talk about hypotheses (when we imagine something)
• for politeness.

There are four past tense forms in English:

Past simple: I worked

Past continuous: I was working
Past perfect: I had worked
Past perfect continuous: I had been working

We use these forms:

• to talk about the past:

He worked at McDonald's. He had worked there since July.

He was working at McDonald's. He had been working there since July.

• to refer to the present or future in hypotheses:

It might be dangerous. Suppose they got lost.

This use is very common in wishes:

I wish it wasn't so cold.

and in conditions with if:

He could get a new job if he really tried.

If Jack was playing, they would probably win.

114
For hypotheses, wishes and conditions in the past, we use the past perfect:

It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?

I wish I hadn't spent so much money last month.
I would have helped him if he had asked.

and also to talk about the present in a few polite expressions:

Excuse me, I was wondering if this was the train for York.
I just hoped you would be able to help me.

115
-Past simple

Level: beginner

With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding –ed:

called liked wanted worked

But there are a lot of irregular past tense forms in English. Here are the most common
irregular verbs in English, with their past tense forms:

Base form Past tense Base form Past tense

be was/were let let
begin began lie lay
break broke lose lost
bring brought make made
buy bought mean meant
build built meet met
choose chose pay paid
come came put put
cost cost run ran
cut cut say said
do did sell sold
draw drew send sent
drive drove set set
eat ate sit sat
feel felt speak spoke
find found spend spent
get got stand stood
give gave take took
go went teach taught
have had tell told
hear heard think thought
hold held understan understood
keep kept d wore
know knew wear won
leave left win wrote
lead led write

116
We use the past tense to talk about:

• something that happened once in the past:

I met my wife in 1983.

We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.

• something that happened several times in the past:

When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day.

We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

• something that was true for some time in the past:

I lived abroad for ten years.

He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.

• we often use expressions with ago with the past simple:

I met my wife a long time ago.

Past simple questions and negatives

We use did to make questions with the past simple:

Did she play tennis when she was younger?

Did you live abroad?
When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?

But questions with who often don't use did:

Who discovered penicillin?

Who wrote Don Quixote?

We use didn't (did not) to make negatives with the past simple:

They didn't go to Spain this year.

We didn't get home until very late last night.
I didn't see you yesterday.

117
-Past continuous

Level: beginner

The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

I was
You were working
He was playing
She was living
It was talking
We were
You were etc.
They were

We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

• for something which happened before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home.

Compare: The children did their homework when (= after) I got home.

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …

Last week, as I was driving to work, …

• for something that happened before and after a specific time:

It was eight o'clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare: At eight o'clock I wrote (= started writing) some letters.

• to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.

Everyone was shouting.

• for something that happened again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.

They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.

118
 • with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.

Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.

We do not normally use the past continuous with stative verbs. We use the past simple instead:

When I got home, I really needed (NOT was needing) a shower.

119
-Past perfect

Level: intermediate

The past perfect is made from the verb had and the past participle of a verb:

I had finished the work.

She had gone.

The past perfect continuous is made from had been and the -ing form of a verb:

I had been working there for a year.

They had been painting the bedroom.

The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past,
not the present. We use the past perfect:

• for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past:

When George died, he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didn't want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

For this use, we often use the past perfect continuous:

She didn't want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

• for something that happened several times before a point in the past
and continued after that point:

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on another one.

• when we are reporting our experience up to a point in the past:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.

I was pleased to meet George. I hadn’t met him before, even though I had met his wife several
times.

• for something that happened in the past and is important at a later time in the past:

I couldn't get into the house. I had lost my keys.

Teresa wasn't at home. She had gone shopping.

120
We often use expressions with for and since with the past perfect:

I was sorry when the factory closed. I had worked there for ten years.
I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode.

We do not normally use the past perfect continuous with stative verbs. We use the past perfect
simple instead:

Up until that moment, I'd never believed (NOT been believing) in astrology.

121
+Perfect aspect
Level: intermediate

We use perfect aspect to look back from a specific time and talk about things up to that time or
about things that are important at that time.

We use the present perfect to look back from the present:

I have always enjoyed working in Italy. [and I still do]

She has left home, so she cannot answer the phone.

We use the past perfect to look back from a time in the past:

It was 2006. I had enjoyed working in Italy for the past five years.
She had left home, so she could not answer the phone.

We use will with the perfect to look back from a time in the future:

By next year I will have worked in Italy for 15 years.

She will have left home by 8.30, so she will not be able to answer the phone.

Present perfect

We use the present perfect:

• for something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They've been married for nearly 50 years.

She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

• when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

I've seen that film before.

I've played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.
He has written three books and he is working on another one.

• for something that happened in the past but is important in the present:

I can't get in the house. I've lost my keys.

Teresa isn't at home. I think she has gone shopping.

We normally use the present perfect continuous to emphasise that something is still continuing
in the present:

It's been raining for hours.

I'm tired out. I've been working all day.

122
Past perfect

We use the past perfect:

• for something that started in the past and continued up to a later time in the past:

When George died, he and Anne had been married for nearly 50 years.
She didn't want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

• when we are reporting our experience up to a point in the past:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.

I was pleased to meet George. I hadn't met him before, even though I had met his wife several
times.

• for something that happened in the past and is important at a later time in the past:

I couldn't get into the house. I had lost my keys.

Teresa wasn't at home. She had gone shopping.

We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up
to a time in the past or was important at that time in the past:

Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.

Modals with the perfect

We use will with the perfect to show that something will be complete at or before some time in
the future:

In a few years they will have discovered a cure for the common cold.
I can come out tonight. I'll have finished my homework by then.

We use would with the perfect to refer to something that did not happen in the past:

If you had asked me, I would have helped you.

I would have helped you, but you didn't ask me.
You didn't ask me or I would have helped you.

We use other modals with the perfect when we are looking back from a point in time. The point of
time may be in the future:

We'll meet again next week. We might have finished the work by then.
I will phone at six o'clock. He should have got home by then.

123
or the present:

It's getting late. They should have arrived by now.

He's still not here. He must have missed his train.

or the past:

I wasn't feeling well. I must have eaten something bad.

I checked my mobile phone. She could have left a message.

124
+Continuous aspect
Level: intermediate

We use continuous aspect:

• for something happening before and after a specific time:

He's getting on the train. (before and after the moment of speaking)
It was a quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.

• for something happening before and after another action:

Mother will be cooking the dinner when we get home.

We were waiting for the bus when it started to rain.

• for something continuing for some time:

Everybody will be waiting for us.

They had been working hard all day.

• for something happening again and again:

They've been doing that every day this week.

The children were always shouting.
He will be practising the piano every night.

• for something temporary:

We are renting an apartment until our house is ready.

He was working in a garage during the vacation.

• for something new:

We have moved from Birmingham. We're living in Manchester now.

He had left university and was working in his father's business.

• to describe something changing or developing:

Everything has been getting more difficult.

He was growing more bad-tempered every day.

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We can use continuous aspect:

• with perfect aspect:

How long have you been sitting there?

I don't know how long she had been learning Spanish.

• with modal verbs:

Your friends will be looking for you.

They might be playing tennis.

• with both modal verbs and perfect aspect:

You should have been driving more carefully.

Soon we will have been living here for 25 years.

We do not normally use the continuous aspect with stative verbs. We use the simple instead:

I don't understand you. (NOT am not understanding)

When I got home, I really needed a shower. (NOT was needing)
I've always liked John. (NOT been liking)

126
+Modal verbs
Level: beginner

The modal verbs are:

can could
may might
must
shall should
will would

We use modals to show if we believe something is certain, possible or impossible:

My keys must be in the car.

It might rain tomorrow.
That can't be Peter's coat. It's too small.

We also use them to do things like talk about ability, ask permission, and make requests and
offers:

I can't swim.
May I ask a question?
Could I have some tea, please?
Would you like some help?

127
-Probability

Level: beginner

Possibility

We use may, might and could to say that something is possible, but not certain:

They may come by car. (= Maybe they will come by car.)

They might be at home. (= Maybe they are at home.)
If we don't hurry, we could be late. (= Maybe we will be late.)

We use can to make general statements about what is possible:

It can be very cold here in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold here in winter.)
You can easily get lost in this town. (= People often get lost in this town.)

Be careful!
We do not use can to talk about specific events:

A: Where's John?
B: I'm not sure. He may/might/could be (NOT can) in his office.

Notice the difference in meaning between can and may/might/could:

That dog can be dangerous.

(= Sometimes that dog is dangerous. I know.)

That dog may/might/could be dangerous.

(= Perhaps that dog is dangerous. I don't know.)

Level: intermediate

We use may have, might have or could have to make guesses about the past:

I haven't received your letter. It may have got lost in the post.
It's ten o'clock. They might have arrived by now.
Where are they? They could have got lost.

We use could to make general statements about the past:

It could be very cold there in winter. (= It was sometimes very cold there in winter.)
You could easily get lost in that town. (= People often got lost in that town.)

128
Impossibility

Level: beginner

We use can't or cannot to say that something is impossible:

That can't be true.

You cannot be serious.

Level: intermediate

We use can't have or couldn't have to say that a past event was impossible:

They know the way here. They can't have got lost!
If Jones was at work until six, he couldn't have done the murder.

Certainty

Level: beginner

We use must to show we are sure something is true and we have reasons for our belief:

It's getting dark. It must be quite late.

You haven’t eaten all day. You must be hungry.

We use should to suggest something is true and we have reasons for our suggestion:

Ask Miranda. She should know.

It's nearly six o'clock. They should arrive soon.

Level: intermediate

We use must have and should have for the past:

They hadn't eaten all day. They must have been hungry.
You look happy. You must have heard the good news.
It's nearly eleven o'clock. They should have arrived by now.

129
-Ability

Level: beginner

We use can and can't to talk about someone's skill or general abilities:

She can speak several languages.

He can swim like a fish.
They can't dance very well.

We use can and can't to talk about the ability to do something at a specific time in the present or
future:

I can see you.

Help! I can't breathe.

We use could and couldn't to talk about the past:

She could speak several languages.

I couldn't see you.

Level: intermediate

We use could have to say that someone had the ability or opportunity to do something, but did
not do it:

She could have learned Swahili, but she didn't want to.
I could have danced all night. [but I didn’t]

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-Permission

Level: beginner

Asking for permission

We use can to ask for permission to do something:

Can I ask a question, please?

Can we go home now?

could is more formal and polite than can:

Could I ask a question, please?

Could we go home now?

may is another more formal and polite way of asking for permission:

May I ask a question, please?

May we go home now?

Giving permission

We use can to give permission:

You can go home now.

You can borrow my pen if you like.

may is a more formal and polite way of giving permission:

You may go home now.

We use can to say that someone has permission to do something:

We can go out whenever we want.

Students can travel for free.

may is a more formal and polite way of saying that someone has permission:

Students may travel for free.

Refusing permission

We use can't and may not to refuse permission or say that someone does not have permission:

You can't go home yet.

Students may not travel for free.

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-Requests, offers and invitations

Level: beginner

Requests

We use could you … and would you … as polite ways of telling or asking someone to do
something:

Could you take a message, please?

Would you carry this for me, please?

can and will are less polite:

Can you take a message, please?

Will you carry this for me, please?

Offers and invitations

We use can I … to make offers:

Can I help you?

Can I do that for you?

We can also use shall I …:

Shall I help you with that?

Shall I call you on your mobile?

We sometimes say I can ... or I could ... or I'll (I will) ... to make an offer:

I can do that for you if you like.

I could give you a lift to the station.
I'll do that for you if you like.
I'll give you a lift to the station.

We use would you like (to) ... for invitations:

Would you like to come round tomorrow?

Would you like another drink?

Level: advanced

We can use you must … or we must … for a very polite invitation:

You must come round and see us.

We must meet again soon.

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-Suggestions and obligations

Level: beginner

Suggestions

We use should and shouldn't to make suggestions and give advice:

You should send an email.

You shouldn’t go by train.

We also use could to make positive suggestions:

We could meet at the weekend.

You could eat out tonight.

Level: intermediate

We can use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him.

Past tenses are more polite:

Dan would help you if you asked him.

Level: beginner

Obligations

We use must or need to to say that it is necessary to do something:

You must stop at a red light.

Everyone needs to bring something to eat.
You can wear what you like, but you must look neat and tidy.

We use mustn't for prohibitions – to say that it is necessary to not do something:

You mustn't make any noise in the library.

You mustn't say anything to her. It's a surprise.

We use had to (positive) and couldn't (negative) if we are talking about the past:

Everyone had to bring something to eat.

You couldn't make any noise in the library.

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-'can' and 'could'

Level: beginner

Possibility and impossibility

We use could to show that something is possible, but not certain:

They could come by car. (= Maybe they will come by car.)

They could be at home. (= Maybe they are at home.)

We use can to make general statements about what is possible:

It can be very cold here in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold here in winter.)
You can easily get lost in this town. (= People often get lost in this town.)

We use can't or cannot to say that something is impossible:

That can't be true.

You cannot be serious.

Level: intermediate

We use could have to make guesses about the past:

It's ten o'clock. They could have arrived by now.

Where are they? They could have got lost.

We use could to make general statements about the past:

It could be very cold there in winter. (= It was sometimes very cold there in winter.)
You could easily get lost in that town. (= People often got lost in that town.)

We use can't have or couldn't have to say that a past event was impossible:

They know the way here. They can't have got lost!
If Jones was at work until six, he couldn't have done the murder.

Ability

Level: beginner

We use can and can't to talk about someone's skill or general abilities:

She can speak several languages.

He can swim like a fish.
They can't dance very well.

134
We use can and can't to talk about the ability to do something at a specific time in the present or
future:

I can see you.

Help! I can't breathe.

We use could and couldn't to talk about the past:

She could speak several languages.

They couldn't dance very well.

Level: intermediate

We use could have to say that someone had the ability or opportunity to do something, but did
not do it:

She could have learned Swahili, but she didn't want to.
I could have danced all night. [but I didn't]

Permission

Level: beginner

We use can to ask for permission to do something:

Can I ask a question, please?

Can we go home now?

could is more formal and polite than can:

Could I ask a question please?

Could we go home now?

We use can to give permission:

You can go home now.

You can borrow my pen if you like.

We use can to say that someone has permission to do something:

We can go out whenever we want.

Students can travel for free.

We use can't to refuse permission or say that someone does not have permission:

You can't go home yet.

Students can't travel for free.

135
Requests

We use could you … as a polite way of telling or asking someone to do something:

Could you take a message, please?

Could I have my bill, please?

can is less polite:

Can you take a message, please?

Offers

We use can I … to make offers:

Can I help you?

Can I do that for you?

We sometimes say I can ... or I could ... to make an offer:

I can do that for you if you like.

I could give you a lift to the station.

Suggestions

We use could to make suggestions:

We could meet at the weekend.

You could eat out tonight.

Questions and negatives

We make questions by putting the subject after can/could:

Can I ...? Can you ...?

Could I ...? Could you ...?
etc.

The negative form is can't in spoken English and cannot in written English.

We sometimes say cannot, but it is very emphatic.

The negative form of could is couldn't in spoken English and could not in written English.

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-'may' and 'might'

Level: beginner

We use may:

• when we are not sure about something in the present or future:

Jack may be coming to see us tomorrow.

(= Perhaps Jack will come to see us tomorrow.)
Oh dear! It's half past ten. We may be late for the meeting.
(= Perhaps we will be late for the meeting.)
She's had no sleep. She may be tired.
(= Perhaps she is tired.)

• to ask for permission in a formal way:

May I borrow the car tomorrow?

May we come a bit later?

• to give permission in a formal way:

You may go now.

You may come at eleven if you wish.

• to say that someone has permission in a formal way:

Students may travel for free.

We can use may not to refuse permission or to say that someone does not have permission, but
it is formal and emphatic:

You may not borrow the car until you can be more careful with it!
Students may not wear jeans.

We use might when we are not sure about something in the present or future:

I might see you tomorrow.

It looks nice, but it might be very expensive.
It's quite bright. It might not rain today.

Level: intermediate

We use may have and might have to make guesses about the past:

I haven't received your letter. It may have got lost in the post.
It's ten o'clock. They might have arrived by now.

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We also use might:

• as the past tense of requests with may:

He asked if he might borrow the car.

They wanted to know if they might come later.

• as a very polite way of asking for permission:

Might we ask you a question?

Might I just interrupt for a moment?

Questions and negatives

Level: beginner

We make questions by putting the subject after may/might:

May I …? Might I …?

The negative forms are may not and might not.

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-'will' and 'would'

Level: beginner

We use will:

• to express beliefs about the present or future

• to talk about what people want to do or are willing to do
• to make promises, offers and requests.

would is the past tense form of will. Because it is a past tense, it is used:

• to talk about the past

• to talk about hypotheses (when we imagine something)
• for politeness.

Beliefs

We use will to express beliefs about the present or future:

John will be in his office. (present)

We'll be late. (future)
We will have to take the train. (future)

We use would as the past of will, to describe past beliefs about the future:

I thought we would be late, so we would have to take the train.

Willingness

We use will:

• to talk about what people want to do or are willing to do:

We'll see you tomorrow.

Perhaps Dad will lend me the car.

• to talk about typical behaviour, things that we often do (because we are willing to do
them):

We always spend our holidays at our favourite hotel at the seaside. We'll get up early every
morning and have a quick breakfast then we'll go across the road to the beach.

139
We use would as the past tense of will:

• to talk about what people wanted to do or were willing to do in the past:

We had a terrible night. The baby wouldn't go to sleep.

Dad wouldn't lend me the car, so we had to take the train.

• to talk about typical behaviour, things that we often did (because we were willing to do
them) in the past:

When they were children they used to spend their holidays at their grandmother's at the seaside.
They'd get up early every morning and have a quick breakfast. Then they'd run across the road to
the beach.

Promises, offers and requests

We use I will or We will to make promises and offers:

I'll give you a lift home after the party.

We'll come and see you next week.

We use Will you …? or Would you …? to make requests:

Will you carry this for me, please?

Would you please be quiet?

Level: intermediate

Hypotheses and conditionals

We use will in conditionals to say what we think will happen in the present or future:

I'll give her a call if I can find her number.

You won't get in unless you have a ticket.

We use would to make hypotheses:

• when we imagine a situation:

It would be very expensive to stay in a hotel.

I would give you a lift, but my wife has the car today.

140
 • in conditionals:

I would give her a call if I could find her number.

If I had the money, I'd buy a new car.
You would lose weight if you took more exercise.
If he got a new job, he would probably make more money.
What if he lost his job? What would happen then?

We also use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him.

Past tenses are more polite:

Dan would help you if you asked him.

Level: beginner

Expressions with would

We use:

• would you…, would you mind (not) -ing for requests:

Would you carry this for me, please?

Would you mind carrying this?
Would you mind not telling him until tomorrow?

• would you like ..., would you like to ... for offers and invitations:

Would you like another drink?

Would you like to come round tomorrow?

• I would like …, I'd like … (you)(to) ... to say what we want or what we want to do:

I'd like that one, please.

I'd like to go home now.

• I'd rather… (= I would rather) to say what we prefer:

I'd rather have the new one, not the old one.
I don't want another drink. I'd rather go home.

141
 • I would think, I would imagine, I'd guess to give an opinion when we are not sure or
when we want to be polite:

It's very difficult, I would imagine.

I would think that's the right answer.

142
-'will have' and 'would have'

Level: intermediate

We use will have when we are looking back from a point in time in the future:

By the end of the decade, scientists will have discovered a cure for influenza.
I will phone at six o'clock. He will have got home by then.

or looking back from the present:

Look at the time. The match will have started.

It's half past five. Dad will have finished work by now.

We use would have as the past tense form of will have:

I phoned at six o'clock. I knew he would have got home by then.

It was half past five. Dad would have finished work.

We also use would have in conditionals to talk about something that did not happen in the past:

If it had been a little warmer, we would have gone for a swim.

(but it was cold so we didn't go for a swim)

He would have been very angry if he had seen you.

(but he didn't see you so he wasn't angry)

143
-Modals with 'have'

Level: intermediate

We can use a modal verb with have and a past participle:

Subject Modal have Past participle

They will have arrived by now.
You might have seen the film.
Jack and Jill would have been late.

We use a modal verb with have:

• to refer back from the present:

It's nearly eight o'clock. They will have arrived by now.

• to refer back from a point of time in the past:

We were very worried. We thought someone might have taken the car.

• to refer back from a point of time in the future:

We won't eat until they arrive. They might not have had supper.

• to refer to past time:

You should have helped her when she asked.

They might have got lost. Nobody knows where they are.

144
+Active and passive voice
Level: beginner

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active passive
The hunter killed the lion. > The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows. > The windows have been cleaned.

Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

be past participle
English is spoken all over the world.
The windows have been cleaned.
Lunch was being served.
The work will be finished soon.
They might have been invited to the party.

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by:

She was attacked by a dangerous dog.

The money was stolen by her husband.

Level: intermediate

The passive infinitive is made up of to be with a past participle:

The doors are going to be locked at ten o'clock.

You shouldn't have done that. You ought to be punished.

We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:

Be careful with that glass. It might get broken.

Peter got hurt in a crash.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active passive
I gave him a book for his birthday. > He was given a book for his birthday.
Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros. > She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

145
We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active passive
They called off the meeting. > The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him. > He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school. > He will be sent away to school.

Level: advanced

Some verbs which are very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:

be supposed to be expected to be asked to be told to

be scheduled to be allowed to be invited to be ordered to

John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.

You are supposed to wear a uniform.
The meeting is scheduled to start at seven.

146
+'to'-infinitives
Level: beginner

Verbs with to-infinitives

We use the to-infinitive after certain verbs (verbs followed by to-infinitive), particularly verbs of
thinking and feeling:

choose hate like prefer

decide hope love remember
expect intend mean want
forget learn plan would like/love

They decided to start a business together.

Remember to turn the lights off.

and verbs of saying:

agree promise refuse threaten

We agreed to meet at the cinema.

Promise to call me every day.

Some verbs are followed by a direct object and then the to-infinitive:

advise intend remind would like/love

ask invite tell would prefer
encourage order want
expect persuade warn

He encouraged his friends to vote for him.

Remind me to give Julia a call.

Infinitive of purpose

We also use the to-infinitive to express purpose (to answer why?):

He bought some flowers to give to his wife.

He locked the door to keep everyone out.

147
We can also express purpose with in order to and in order not to:

We started our journey early in order to avoid the traffic.

They spoke quietly in order not to wake the children.

or so as to and so as not to:

We started our journey early so as to avoid the traffic.

They spoke quietly so as not to wake the children.

Level: intermediate

Adjectives with to-infinitives

We use the to-infinitive after certain adjectives:

able due likely prepared

unable eager unlikely willing
anxious keen ready unwilling

Unfortunately, I was unable to work for over a week.

I'm really tired. I'm ready to go to bed.

Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective:

amazed glad proud sorry

delighted happy relieved surprised
disappointed pleased sad unhappy

We were happy to come to the end of our journey.

(= We were happy because we had come to the end of our journey.)
John was surprised to see me.
(= He was surprised because he saw me.)

We often use it + be followed by an adjective to give opinions:

clever foolish nice right

difficult hard possible wrong
easy kind impossible silly

It's easy to play the piano, but it's very difficult to play well.
He spoke so quickly that it was impossible to understand him.

148
We use the to-infinitive with these adjectives to give opinions about people:

clever kind right silly

foolish nice wrong

She was right to complain about that hotel.

You were clever to find the answer so quickly.

We use the preposition for to show who these adjectives refer to:

difficult easy hard possible impossible

It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying.

It is easy for you to criticise other people.

With the other adjectives, we use the preposition of:

It's kind of you to help.

It would be silly of him to spend all his money.

Level: advanced

Nouns with to-infinitives

We use the to-infinitive as a postmodifier (see noun phrases) after abstract nouns like:

ability desire opportunity

attempt failure refusal
chance need wish

They gave him an opportunity to escape.

He was annoyed by her refusal to answer.
I have no desire to be rich.
There is no need to shout.

We often use the to-infinitive as a postmodifier after indefinite pronouns:

When I am travelling I always take something to read.

I was all alone. I had no one to talk to.
There is hardly anything to do in most of these small towns.

149
+'-ing' forms
Level: beginner

We can use the -ing form of a verb:

• as a noun:

I love swimming.
Swimming is very good for your health.
You can get fit by swimming regularly.

• as an adjective:

The main problem today is rising prices.

That programme was really boring.
He saw a woman lying on the floor.

-ing forms as nouns

-ing nouns are nearly always uncount nouns. They can be used:

• as the subject of a verb:

Learning English is not easy.

• as the object of a verb:

We enjoy learning English.

Common verbs followed by an -ing object are:

admit like hate start avoid

suggest enjoy dislike begin finish

• as the object of a preposition :

Some people are not interested in learning English.

150
-ing forms as adjectives

The -ing adjective can come:

• in front of a noun:

I read an interesting article in the newspaper today.

We saw a really exciting match on Sunday.

• after a link verb like be, look or sound:

Your new book sounds very interesting.

The children can be really annoying.

• after a noun:

Who is that man standing over there?

The boy talking to Angela is her younger brother

• especially after verbs of the senses like see, watch, hear, smell, etc.:

I heard someone playing the piano.

I can smell something burning.

The commonest -ing adjectives are:

amusing interesting worrying shocking

boring surprising exciting terrifying
disappointing tiring frightening annoying

Patterns with -ing forms

Because an -ing noun or adjective is formed from a verb, it can have any of the patterns which
follow a verb. For example:

• it can have an object:

I like playing tennis.

I saw a dog chasing a cat.

• it can be followed by a clause:

I heard someone saying that he saw you.

151
+Talking about the present
Level: intermediate

We use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is true in the present:

They live next door to us.

He works for the Post Office.

• something that happens regularly in the present:

The children come home from school at about four.

We often see your brother at work.

• something that is always true:

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

The Nile is the longest river in Africa.

We use the present continuous to talk about:

• something happening at the moment of speaking:

I can't hear you. I'm listening to a podcast.

Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

• something happening regularly in the present before and after a specific time:

I'm usually having breakfast at this time in the morning.

When I see George he's usually reading his Kindle.

• something in the present which we think is temporary:

Michael is at university. He's studying history.

I love Harry Potter. I'm reading the last book.

• something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

Nowadays people are sending text messages instead of phoning.

I hear you've moved house. Where are you living now?

• something which is changing, growing or developing:

The weather is getting colder.

Our grandchildren are growing up quickly.

152
 • something which happens again and again:

It's always raining in London.

They are always arguing.
George is great. He's always laughing.

Note that we normally use always with this use.

We use modal verbs:

• to talk about the present when we are not sure of something:

I don't know where Henry is. He might be playing tennis.

'Who's knocking at the door?' – 'I don't know. It could be the police.'

• to talk about things like ability (can) and obligation (should):

I can speak English quite well but I can't speak French at all.
You should do your homework before you go out.

153
+Talking about the past
Level: intermediate

Past events and situations

We use the past simple to talk about:

• something that happened once in the past:

The film started at seven thirty.

We arrived home before dark.

• something that was true for some time in the past:

Everybody worked hard through the winter.

We stayed with our friends in London.

When we talk about something that happened several times in the past, we use the past simple:

Most evenings, we stayed at home and watched DVDs.

Sometimes they went out for a meal.

or used to:

Most evenings, we used to stay at home and watch DVDs.

We used to go for a swim every morning.

or would:

Most evenings, he would take the dog for a walk.

They would often visit friends in Europe.

We do not normally use would with stative verbs. We use the past simple or used to instead:

He would looked much older than he does now. (NOT would look)
We would used to feel very cold in winter. (NOT would feel)

We use the past continuous:

• for something that happened before and after a specific time in the past:

It was just after ten. I was watching the news on TV.

At half-time we were losing 1–0.

• for something that happened before and after another action in the past:

154
He broke his leg when he was playing rugby.
She saw Jim as he was driving away.

The past in the past

We use the past perfect when we are looking back from a point in the past to something earlier in
the past:

Helen suddenly remembered she had left her keys in the car.
When we had done all our shopping, we caught the bus home.
They wanted to buy a new computer, but they hadn't saved enough money.
They would have bought a new computer if they had saved enough money.

The past and the present

We use the present perfect:

• for something that started in the past and continues in the present:

We have lived here since 2017. [and we still live here]

I have been working at the university for over ten years.

• for something that happened in the past but is important in the present:

I can't open the door. I've left my keys in the car.

Jenny has found a new job. She works in a supermarket now.

Be careful!
We do not use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a finished past time:

yesterday last week/month/year in 2010 when I was younger etc.

I have seen that film yesterday.

We have just bought a new car last week.
When we were children we have been to California.

but we can use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a time which is not yet
finished:

today this morning/week/year now that I am eighteen etc.

Have you seen Helen today?

We have bought a new car this week.

155
The future in the past

When we talk about the future from a time in the past we use:

• would as the past tense of will:

He thought he would buy one the next day.

Everyone was excited. The party would be fun.

• was/were going to:

John was going to drive and Mary was going to follow on her bicycle.
It was Friday. We were going to set off the next day.

• the past continuous:

It was September. Mary was starting school the next week.

We were very busy. Our guests were arriving soon and we had to get their room ready.

The past with modal verbs

could is the past tense of can:

You could get a good meal for a pound when I was a boy.

would is the past tense of will:

He said he would come but he forgot.

We use may have, might have and could have to show that something has possibly happened in
the past:

I'll telephone him. He might have got home early.

She's very late. She could have missed her train.

We use should have as the past form of should:

I didn't know he was ill. He should have told me.

You shouldn't have spent so much money.

We use would have and could have to talk about something that was possible in the past but did
not happen:

I could have gone to Mexico for my holiday but it was too expensive.
I would have called you, but I had forgotten my phone.
They would have gone out if the weather had been better.

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+Talking about the future
Level: intermediate

When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense.

1. We use the present simple for something scheduled:

We have a lesson next Monday.

The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It's my birthday tomorrow.

2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:

I'm playing football tomorrow.

They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We're having a party at Christmas.

3. We use will:

• when we express beliefs about the future:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.

I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I'm sure you will enjoy the film.

• to mean want to or be willing to:

I hope you will come to my party.

George says he will help us.

• to make offers and promises :

I'll see you tomorrow.

We'll send you an email.

• to talk about offers and promises:

Tim will be at the meeting.

Mary will help with the cooking.

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4. We use be going to:

• to talk about plans or intentions:

I'm going to drive to work today.

They are going to move to Manchester.

• to make predictions based on evidence we can see:

Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.)
Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will rain.)

5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and after a specific time in
the future:

I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later?

They'll be waiting for you when you arrive.

6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous or be going to when we
are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:

They'll be coming to see us next week.

I'll be driving to work tomorrow.

7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:

What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to university.

We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.

8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the future:

I might stay at home tonight or I might go to the cinema.

We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.

9. We can use should if we think there's a good chance of something happening:

We should be home in time for tea.

The game should be over by eight o'clock.

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The future in time clauses and if-clauses

In time clauses with words like when, after, until we often use present tense forms to talk about
the future:

I'll come home when I finish work.

You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.

In clauses with if we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:

We won't be able to go out if it is raining.

If Barcelona lose tomorrow, they will be champions.

Be careful!
We do not normally use will in time clauses and if-clauses:

I'll come home when I finish work. (NOT will finish work)
We won’t be able to go out if it rains. (NOT will rain)

but we can use will if it means want to or be willing to:

I will be very happy if you will come to my party.

We should finish the job early if George will help us.

159
+Verbs in time clauses and 'if' clauses
Level: beginner

Verbs in time clauses and conditionals usually follow the same patterns as in other clauses but
there are some differences when we:

• talk about the future

• make hypotheses.

Talking about the future

In time clauses with words like when, after and until, we often use present tense forms to talk
about the future:

I'll come home when I finish work.

You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.

In conditional clauses with words like if, unless, even if, we often use present tense forms to talk
about the future:

We won't be able to go out if it is raining.

I will come tomorrow unless I have to look after the children.
Even if Barcelona lose tomorrow, they will still be champions.

We do not normally use will in time clauses and conditional clauses:

I'll come home when I finish work. (NOT will finish work)
We won't be able to go out if it rains. (NOT will rain)
It will be nice to see Peter when he gets home. (NOT will get home)
You must wait here until your father comes. (NOT will come)

but we can use will if it means want to or be willing to:

I will be very happy if you will come to my party.

We should finish the job early if George will help us.

Level: intermediate

Making hypotheses

Some conditional clauses are like hypotheses, so we use past tense forms.

160
We use past tense forms to talk about something that does not happen or is not happening in the
present:

He could get a new job if he really tried.

(= He cannot get a job because he has not tried.)
If Jack was playing, they would probably win.
(= Jack is not playing so they will probably not win.)
If I had his address, I could write to him.
(= I do not have his address so I cannot write to him.)

We use past tense forms to talk about something that we believe or know will not happen in the
future:

We would go by train if it wasn't so expensive.

(= We will not go by train because it is too expensive.)
I would look after the children for you at the weekend if I was at home.
(= I cannot look after the children because I will not be at home.)

We use past tense forms to make suggestions about what might happen in the future:

If he came tomorrow, we could borrow his car.

If we invited John, Mary would bring Angela.

After I/he/she/it, we can use were instead of was:

If Jack was/were playing, they would probably win.

We would go by train if it wasn't/weren’t so expensive.
I would look after the children for you at the weekend if I was/were at home.

We use the past perfect to talk about something which did not happen in the past:

If you had seen him, you could have spoken to him.

(= You did not see him so you could not speak to him.)
You could have stayed with us if you had come to London.
(= You could not stay with us because you did not come to London.)
If we hadn't spent all our money, we could take a holiday.
(= We have spent all our money so we cannot take a holiday.)
If I had got the job, we would be living in Paris.
(= I did not get the job, so we are not living in Paris.)

If the main clause of a hypothetical conditional is about the present or future, we use a modal:

If I had got the job, we might be living in Paris now.

(= I did not get the job so we are not living in Paris now.)
If you had done your homework, you would know the answer.
(= You did not do your homework so you do not know the answer.)

161
If the main clause is about the past, we use a modal with have:

If I had seen him, I would have spoken to him.

(= I did not see him so I did not speak to him.)
You could have stayed with us if you had come to London.
(= You could not stay with us because you did not come to London.)
If you had invited me, I might have come.
(= You did not invite me so I did not come.)

162
+Wishes and hypotheses
Level: intermediate

Wishes

We use the verb wish or the phrase if only to talk about things which we want but which are not
possible:

I wish I could see you next week.

If only we could stop for a drink.
I wish we had a bigger house.
They are always busy. If only they had more time.
John was very lazy at school. Now he wishes he had worked harder.

We use wish and if only with past tense forms:

• We use past tense modals would and could to talk about wishes for the future:

I don't like my work. I wish I could get a better job.

That's a dreadful noise. I wish it would stop.
I always have to get home early. If only my parents would let me stay out later.

• We use past simple and continuous to talk about wishes for the present:

I don't like this place. I wish I lived somewhere more interesting.

These seats are very uncomfortable. I wish we were travelling first class.
I wish I was taller.
John wishes he wasn't so busy.
I'm freezing. If only it wasn't so cold.

• After I/he/she/it, we can use were instead of was:

I wish I was/were taller.

John wishes he wasn't/weren't so busy.
I'm freezing. If only it wasn't/weren't so cold.

• We use the past perfect to talk about wishes for the past:

I wish I had worked harder when I was at school.

Mary wishes she had listened to what her mother told her.
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

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Hypotheses (things we imagine)

Expressions

When we are talking about hypotheses, we use expressions like:

what if ... ? in case suppose (that) supposing (that) imagine (if/that)

We use these expressions:

• with present tense forms to talk about the present or future if we think something is
likely to be true or to happen:

We should phone them in case they are lost.

Those steps are dangerous. Suppose someone has an accident.

• with past tense forms to talk about the present or future to suggest something is not
likely to be true or to happen:

Imagine you won the lottery. What would you do with the money?
What if he lost his job? What would happen then?

• with the past perfect to talk about things in the past which did not happen:

Suppose you hadn't passed your exams. What would you have done?
What if he had lost his job? What would his wife have said?

Modal verbs

We use modals would and could for a hypothesis about the present or future:

We can't all stay in a hotel. It would be very expensive.

Drive carefully or you could have an accident.

We use would in the main clause and the past tense in a subordinate clause for a hypothesis
about the present or future:

I would always help someone who really needed help.

I would always help someone if they really needed it.

We use modals with have to talk about something that did not happen in the past:

I didn't see Mary, or I might have spoken to her.

It's a pity Jack wasn't at the party. He would have enjoyed it.
Why didn't you ask me? I could have told you the answer.

164
We use would have in the main clause and the past perfect in a subordinate clause to talk about
something that did not happen in the past:

I would have helped anyone who had asked me.

I would have helped you if you had asked me.

165
+Clause structure and verb patterns
Level: elementary

Clause structure

All clauses in English have at least two parts, a noun phrase (subject) and a verb phrase:

Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase

The children laughed.
All the people in the bus were watching.

But most clauses have more than two parts:

Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase

John wanted a new bicycle.
All of the girls are learning English.
This soup tastes awful.
Mary and the family were driving to Madrid.
She put the flowers in a vase.

The first noun phrase of a sentence is the subject. English clauses always have a subject:

His father has just retired. He was a teacher. (NOT Was a teacher.)
I'm waiting for my wife. She is late. (NOT Is late.)

except for the imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and requests:

Stop!
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again, please.

If we have no other subject, we use there or it. We call this a dummy subject:

There were twenty people at the meeting.

There will be an eclipse of the moon tonight.
It's a lovely day.
It's nearly one o’clock.

Verb patterns

Different verbs have different patterns, so the structure of the clause depends on the verb.

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Transitive and intransitive verbs

Most verbs in English are either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb has the structure noun
+ verb + noun:

Noun (subject) Verb Noun (object)

John wanted a new bicycle.

Transitive verbs need an object. Common transitive verbs are:

bring enjoy make want

buy like take wear

An intransitive verb has the structure noun + verb:

Noun (subject) Verb

John smiled.

Intransitive verbs do not have an object. Common intransitive verbs are:

arrive die happen smile

cry fall laugh work

Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive:

She sang a wonderful aria. Transitive: N + V + N

We were singing. Intransitive: N + V
We were playing football. Transitive: N + V + N
We were just playing. Intransitive: N + V

Common verbs like this are:

draw help ride watch

follow learn study write

167
Other patterns

Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive, but the object when they are transitive is the
same as the subject when they are intransitive:

Peter closed the door. Transitive: N + V + N

The door closed. Intransitive: N + V

I boiled some water. Transitive: N + V + N

The water boiled. Intransitive: N + V

These are called ergative verbs.

There are other kinds of verb patterns. For example:

• link verbs have the structure Noun + Verb + Adjective (She looks happy) or Noun + Verb +
Noun (He became a teacher).
• some two-part verbs can have the structure Noun + Verb + Particle + Noun (She gave back
the money) or Noun + Verb + Noun + Particle (She gave the money back).
• double object verbs have the structure: Noun + Verb + Noun + Noun (Peter sent his
mother some flowers).
• verbs followed by the infinitive (We planned to take a holiday.)
• verbs followed by the -ing form (I love swimming.)
• verbs with that, wh- and if clauses (She said that …, He explained what …, He asked if … .)
These are often reporting verbs.

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-Link verbs

Level: elementary

Some verbs are followed by either a noun or an adjective:

She was a good friend. V + N

She was very happy. V + Adj

He became headmaster. V + N
He became angry. V + Adj

These verbs are called link verbs. Common verbs like this are:

be appear look seem

become feel remain sound

He looked hungry.
He looked a good player.

She seemed an intelligent woman.

She seemed intelligent.

After appear and seem we often use to be:

She appeared to be an intelligent woman.

He seemed to be angry.

Some link verbs are followed by an adjective but not a noun. Common verbs like this are:

get go grow taste smell

He got hungry in the evening.

The dog went crazy.
She grew stronger every day.
The soup tasted wonderful.
This milk smells bad.

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-Multi-word verbs

Level: intermediate

Two-part verbs

Some verbs are two-part verbs. They consist of a verb and a particle:

grow + up
The children are growing up.

Often this gives the verb a new meaning:

take + after
She takes after her mother.
(= She looks like her mother or she behaves like her mother.)

count + on
I know I can count on you.
(= I know I can trust you or I know I can believe you.)

Some two-part verbs have only one pattern:

Subject Verb Particle Object

The children are growing up. –
She takes after her mother.
I can count on you.

But other two-part verbs have two different patterns. The usual pattern is:

Noun (subject) Verb Noun (object) Particle

She gave the money back.
He knocked the glass over.
We will be leaving our friends behind.

but sometimes these verbs have the pattern:

Noun (subject) Verb Particle Noun (object)

She gave back the money.
He knocked over the glass.
We will be leaving behind our friends.

170
When the object is a personal pronoun, phrasal verbs always have the first pattern:

She gave it back. (NOT She gave back it.)

He knocked it over. (NOT He knocked over it.)

We will be leaving them behind. (NOT We will be leaving behind them.)

Common verbs with their most frequent particles are:

bring about, along, back, forward, in, off, out, round, up

buy out, up
call off, up
carry off, out
cut back, down, off, out, up
give away, back, off
hand back, down, in, on, out, over, round
knock down, out, over
leave behind, out
let down, in, off, out
pass down, over, round
point out
push about, around, over
put across, away, down, forward, off, on, out, through, together, up
read out
set apart, aside, back, down
shut away, in, off, out
take apart, away, back, down, in, on, up, over
think over, through, up

Three-part verbs

Some verbs are made up of three parts: a verb and two particles. They have the pattern:

Noun (subject) Verb Particle Particle Noun (object)

His girlfriend walked out on him.
She caught up with the other runners.
Children should look up to their parents.

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Common three-part verbs are:

catch up with get on with look up to stick up for

face up to look forward to put up with walk out on
get away with look down on run away with watch out for

A few verbs have the pattern:

Noun (subject) Verb Noun (object of verb) Particle Particle Noun (object of particle)
We talked them out of leaving.
She put his mistakes down to inexperience.

Verbs like this are:

do out of put down to take out on

let it on put up to talk out of

172
-Double object verbs

Level: beginner

Some verbs have two objects, an indirect object and a direct object:

Subject Verb Indirect object Direct object

My wife sent me an email.
He brought his mother some flowers.
He cooked all his friends a delicious meal.

These clauses have the structure:

Verb + Noun (indirect object) + Noun (direct object)

Alternatively, we can use a prepositional phrase with to or for with an indirect object:

Subject Verb Direct object Prepositional phrase

My wife sent an email to me.
He brought some flowers for his mother.
He cooked a delicious meal for all his friends.

These clauses have the structure:

Verb + Noun (direct object) + to/for + Noun (indirect object)

Common verbs with to and an indirect object are:

give pass read send tell

lend post sell show write
offer promise

He gave his programme to the man next to him.

He gave the man next to him his programme.

They sent Christmas cards to all their customers.

They sent all their customers Christmas cards.

Common verbs with for and an indirect object are:

book buy find keep pour

bring cook get make save

173
They booked a table for me at the restaurant.
They booked me a table at the restaurant.

We made toys for all the children.

We made all the children toys.

If the indirect object is a long phrase, we normally use to or for:

He showed his ticket to the policeman standing by the door.

We kept something to eat and drink for all the people who arrived late.

If the indirect object is a pronoun, we normally use the Verb + Noun + Noun pattern:

I poured him another drink.

Their mother read them another story.

174
-Verbs followed by the infinitive

Level: beginner

Many verbs in English are followed by the infinitive with to. Some of these verbs take the pattern:

• Verb + to + infinitive

We planned to take a holiday.

She decided to stay at home.

Others verbs take the pattern:

• Verb + noun + to + infinitive

She wanted the children to learn the piano.

I told him to ring the police.

Two very common verbs – make and let – are followed by the infinitive without to. They take the
pattern:

• Verb + noun + infinitive

My parents made me come home early.

They wouldn't let me stay out late.

The verb dare can be followed by the infinitive with or without to:

• Verb (+ to) + infinitive

I didn't dare (to) go out after dark.

verb + to + infinitive

Some verbs are followed by the infinitive with to:

I decided to go home as soon as possible.

We all wanted to have more English classes.

175
Common verbs with this pattern are:

• verbs of thinking and feeling:

choose hate like prefer

decide hope love remember
expect intend mean want
forget learn plan would like/love

• verbs of saying:

agree promise refuse threaten

• others

arrange fail manage try

attempt help tend

verb + noun + to + infinitive

Some verbs are followed by a noun and the infinitive with to:

She asked him to send her a text message.

He wanted all his friends to come to his party.

Common verbs with this pattern are:

• verbs of saying:

advise invite persuade tell

ask order remind warn*
encourage

* Note that warn is normally used with not:

The police warned everyone not to drive too fast.

• verbs of wanting and liking:

hate like mean want

intend love prefer would like/love

176
 • others:

allow expect get teach

enable force

Many of the verbs above are sometimes followed by a passive infinitive (to be + past participle):

I expected to be met when I arrived at the station.

They wanted to be told if anything happened.
I don't like driving myself. I prefer to be driven.

Level: intermediate

make and let

The verbs make and let are followed by a noun and the infinitive without to:

They made him pay for the things he had broken.

The doctor made me wait for almost an hour.
They let you go in free at the weekend.
Will you let me come in?

But the passive form of make is followed by the infinitive with to:

He was made to pay for the things he had broken.

I was made to wait for almost an hour.

let has no passive form. We use allow instead:

We were allowed to go in free at the weekend.

I was allowed to go in.

dare

The verb dare is hardly ever found in positive sentences. It is almost always used in negative
sentences and questions.

When it is used with an auxiliary or a modal verb, dare can be followed by the infinitive with or
without to:

I didn't dare (to) disturb him.

Who would dare (to) accuse him?

177
But when there is no auxiliary or modal, dare is followed by the infinitive without to:

Nobody dared disturb him.

I daren't ask him.

178
-Reporting verbs with 'that', 'wh-' and 'if' clauses

Level: intermediate

Reporting verbs with that clauses

When we want to report what people say or think, we can use a reporting verb and a clause with
that:

He said that I had to see a doctor.

I thought that he was being silly.

We can leave out the word that:

He said I had to see a doctor.

I thought he was being silly.

These verbs have the pattern:

Noun + Verb + (that) + Clause

With some verbs, we can mention the hearer as the object of the verb:

She reminded him that it was time to go.

He told me he was a friend of yours.

These verbs have the pattern:

Noun + Verb + Noun + (that) + Clause

Reporting verbs with wh- and if clauses

Some reporting verbs introduce a wh- clause or an if clause:

She explained what we had to do.

I didn't know where to go.

He asked if I was ready.

I wonder if they're at home.

179
These verbs have the pattern:

Noun + Verb + wh- word + Clause

or

Noun + Verb + if + Clause

With some verbs, we can mention the hearer as the object of the verb:

He told me what I had to do.

He asked them if they were ready.

These verbs have the pattern:

Noun + Verb + Noun + wh- word + Clause

or

Noun + Verb + Noun + if + Clause

180
-Reported speech

Level: intermediate

Reporting and summarising

When we want to report what people say, we don't usually try to report their exact words. We
usually give a summary, for example:

Direct speech (exact words):

Mary: Oh dear. We've been walking for hours! I'm exhausted. I don't think I can go any further. I
really need to stop for a rest.
Peter: Don't worry. I'm not surprised you're tired. I'm tired too. I'll tell you what, let's see if we can
find a place to sit down, and then we can stop and have our picnic.

Reported speech (summary):

When Mary complained that she was tired out after walking so far, Peter said they could stop for a
picnic.

Reporting verbs

When we want to report what people say, we use reporting verbs. Different reporting verbs have
different patterns, for example:

Mary complained (that) she was tired.

(verb + that clause)

She asked if they could stop for a rest.

(verb + if clause)

Peter told her not to worry.

(verb + to-infinitive)

He suggested stopping and having a picnic.

(verb + -ing form)

Tenses in reported speech

When reporting what people say or think in English, we need to remember that the rules for tense
forms in reported speech are exactly the same as in the rest of the language.

This is a letter that Andrew wrote ten years ago:

181
I am 22 years old and I am at university studying engineering. I take my final exams next month
and I will finish university in July.

I want to take a year off and travel round the world. I will need to make some money while I am
travelling, so I would like to learn to teach English as a second language so that I can make some
money while I am abroad. A friend of mine has recommended your course very highly. She
also gave me some details, but I would like to ask a few more questions.

What courses do you have in the summer and when do they start? How much do the courses
cost? Is there an examination at the end?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Andrew Brown

If we wanted to report what Andrew said in his letter, we might say something like this:

Andrew said that when he was 22, he was an engineering student in his last month at university.
He wanted to travel abroad after he had finished his course at the university, but he would need
to earn some money while he was abroad so he wanted to learn to teach English as a foreign
language. A friend had recommended a course but Andrew needed more information, so he
wrote to the school and asked them when their courses started and how much they were. He also
wanted to know if there was an examination at the end of the course.

We would naturally use past tense forms to talk about things which happened ten years ago. So,
tenses in reports and summaries in English are the same as in the rest of the language.

Sometimes we can choose between a past tense form and a present tense form. If we're talking
about the past but we mention something that's still true, we can use the present tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it's the best hotel in town.
Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro is her favourite actor.
Helen said she loves visiting New York.

or the past tense:

John said he'd stayed at the Shangri-la because it was the best hotel in town.
Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro was her favourite actor.
Helen said she loved visiting New York.

If we're talking about something that everybody knows is true, we normally use the present
tense:

Michael said he'd always wanted to climb Everest because it's the highest mountain in the world.
Mary said she loved visiting New York because it's such an exciting city.

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-Ergative verbs

Level: intermediate

Ergative verbs are both transitive and intransitive. The object when it is transitive is the same as
the subject when it is intransitive:

Peter closed the door. Transitive: N + V + N

The door closed. Intransitive: N + V
I boiled some water. Transitive: N + V + N
The water boiled. Intransitive: N + V

Common ergative verbs are:

begin drop improve start

break dry increase stop
change end move tear
close finish open turn
crack grow shake

I broke the glass.

I dropped the glass and it broke.

The referee started the match.

The match started at 2.30.

We grew some tasty potatoes.

The potatoes were growing well.

The wind shook the trees.

The trees shook in the wind.

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Verbs to do with cooking are often ergative:

bake cook freeze roast

boil defrost melt

You should roast the meat at 200 degrees.

The meat was roasting in a hot oven.

I always defrost meat before I cook it.

I am waiting for the meat to defrost.

Melt the chocolate and pour it over the ice cream.

The chocolate was melting in a pan.

Verbs to do with vehicles are often ergative:

back fly run start

crash reverse sail stop
drive

I'm learning to fly a plane.

The plane flew at twice the speed of sound.

He crashed his car into a tree.

His car crashed into a tree.

Some verbs are ergative with only a few nouns:

catch: dress, coat, clothes, trousers, etc.

fire: gun, pistol, rifle, rocket, etc.
play: music, guitar, piano, CD, DVD, etc.
ring: bell, alarm, etc.

She caught her dress on a nail.

Her dress caught on a nail.

He fired a pistol to start the race.

A pistol fired to start the race.

Shall we play some music?

Some music played in the background.

There's a fire! Ring the alarm!

The fire alarm rang at 11.42 a.m.

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-Verbs followed by the '-ing' form

Level: beginner

Common verbs followed by the -ing form are:

• verbs of liking and disliking:

detest dislike enjoy fancy hate like love

I love swimming but I hate jogging.

They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

• phrases with mind:

wouldn't mind (= would like)

don't mind (= I am willing to)
would you mind (= will you please …?)

I wouldn't mind having some fish and chips.

I don't mind waiting for a few minutes.
Would you mind holding this for me?

• verbs of saying and thinking:

admit consider deny imagine remember suggest

Our leader suggested waiting until the storm was over.

Everyone denied seeing the accident.

• others:

avoid begin finish keep miss practise risk start stop

I haven't finished writing this letter.

Let's practise speaking English.

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verb + noun + -ing form

Some verbs are followed by a noun and the -ing form:

• verbs of the senses:

see hear listen to smell watch etc.

We saw everybody running away.

I could hear someone singing.

• others:

catch find imagine leave prevent stop

I caught someone trying to break in to my house.

We couldn’t prevent them getting away.

Many of the verbs above are sometimes followed by a passive form of -ing (being + past
participle):

I don't like being interrupted.

Our dog loves being stroked under the chin.

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+Delexical verbs: 'have', 'take', 'make', 'give', 'go' and 'do'
Level: beginner

We often use common verbs like have and take with nouns like a shower, a drink:

I took a shower. (= I showered.)

She had a drink. (= She drank something.)

We call these delexical verbs because the important part of the meaning is taken out of the
verb and put into the noun.

We often put adjectives in front of the noun:

I took a cold shower.

She had a nice, refreshing drink.

The verbs used most frequently in this way are:

have take make give

have

We use have with:

have ...
food and drink a meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, a cup of tea
Talking a chat, a conversation, a discussion, a talk
washing a bath, a shower, a wash, a scrub
Resting a break, a holiday, a rest
disagreeing an argument, a dispute, a fight, a quarrel

I had a good breakfast before I left home.

We had a long talk about the problem.
The kids should have a bath before they go to bed.
She generally had a short holiday in July or August.
They had a serious quarrel about their father's will.

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We also use have with nouns formed from verbs:

I think you should have a look at this.

She had a bite of the cake.
I'm thirsty. I'm going to have a drink of water.
I had a listen to that new CD in the car.
They are going to have a swim.

take

We use take with:

washing a bath, a shower, a wash

resting a break, a holiday, a rest

I always take a cold shower in the morning.

You look tired. You need to take a break.

and with these words:

care a turn trouble a chance a decision

care of turns the trouble a risk a photograph

We took hundreds of photographs on holiday.

Jane always takes a lot of trouble with her homework.

We also use take with some nouns formed from verbs:

I think you should take a look at this.

Let's take a walk.
They are going to take a swim.

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give

We use give with:

noises a cry, a laugh, a scream, a shout, a whistle

facial
a smile, a grin, a look, a glance
expressions
hitting a kick, a punch, a slap, a push, a knock, a blow
affectionate
a hug, a kiss, a stroke
actions
some advice, an answer, some information, an interview, a lecture, some
talking
news, a report, a speech, a talk, a warning

She gave a loud laugh.

John gave a happy smile.
He gave me a nasty kick on the leg.
She gave the children a goodnight kiss and put them to bed.
I have to give a speech at the meeting tomorrow.

make

We use make with:

talking and a comment, an enquiry, a noise, a point, a promise, a sound, a speech, a

sounds suggestion
plans arrangements, a choice, a decision, a plan, plans, an appointment, a date

Try not to make a noise.

They made arrangements to meet the next day.

go

We also use go as a delexical verb:

Shall we go swimming this afternoon? Or shall we go for a walk?

Mum and Dad have gone shopping.
We're going dancing tonight. Do you want to come?

We use go with -ing verbs for common activities:

We usually go walking at the weekend.

He goes running every evening after supper.
Mum's out. She's gone shopping.

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We use go for a with verbs to do with moving:

a jog a ride a swim a run a stroll a walk

I want to get out of here. Let's go for a walk.

He's gone for a ride on his bike.

do

We use do with -ing nouns to do with work, especially work in the house:

It's your turn to do the cooking.

You do the washing up and I'll do the drying.

and with other nouns to do with work:

I need to do a few jobs around the house.

I can't come out this evening. I have a lot of work to do.

We use do with nouns when it is obvious what the action is:

I'll have to do my hair before we go out. (= I'll have to brush my hair.)

Have you done your teeth? (= Have you cleaned your teeth?)

A question like

Have you done the car?

could mean

Have you washed the car?

Have you mended the car?
Have you put petrol in the car?

depending on the context.

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